Blog : Little Lilypad Co

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The Little Lilypad is a lifestyle blog mostly written by a mum to two beautiful, cheeky and entertaining daughters. It is sometimes written by the Man on the Pad or by one of our baby bloggers. Occasionally we accept guest posts too. There is frequently talk of sustainable living, saving money, lifestyle and travel. It is hopefully helpful, sometimes funny and always honest.

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Category: Reviews

  1. Penclic | Helping to prevent RSI | Review & Giveaway

    Posted on

    I spend ALOT of time on a computer and use a laptop most of the time as I can work on the go (or while the girls are doing after school acitvities) but that flexibility comes with its downfalls.

    The "mouse" on a laptop isn't the best design for regular use which is why I was interested to find out more about the Penclic B2 Mouse. Apart from the strong ergonomic advantages found in Penclic products, they strive to include nifty technological functions and smart, clean Scandinavian design ... it also helps to prevent RSI.

    Penclic 1

    The Penclic Mouse B2 has the appearance of a classic inkwell with a stylish white pen.The pen and base together are one complete unit, joined at a ball joint. The base resembles a traditional mouse but you move the base itself across the surface of your desk for cursor movement, while you then use the pen portion, to action the standard mouse button controls.

    Penclic

    I have enough wires with different devices charging all the time so having a bluetooth connection makes sense and the USB port at the front of the base is definitely handy. This port is for charging up the AAA battery that comes with the Mouse B2. (having the rechargeable batteries come with the device is also a big plus point too).

    IMG_5272

    In all honesty, it took a little time to get used to using a physical mouse again and the B2 Mouse is VERY responsive so it pays not to get too click happy. After using it for a while, I became very conscious that my hands weren't aching in the same way they usually do. Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is a general term used to describe the pain felt in muscles, nerves and tendons caused by repetitive movement and overuse. It's also known to be caused by repeatedly using your muscles and joints in the wrong way, so the Penclic B2 Mouse corrects that positioning to make for a more comfortable working experience.

    Overall, the design is easy to set up, extremely responsive to use and comes with a handy pouch to keep it stored in, which is useful on the go. At £79.99 it might not be the cheapest accessory on the market but can you really put a price on the health of your muscles and joints?

    Win a Penclic B2 Mouse

    We are therefore thrilled to have the opportunity to give you the chance to win a Penclic B2 Mouse for yourself, all you need to do is enter below! Good luck!  

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    Terms & conditions

    • The Prize: Penclic B2 Mouse
    • The winners will be chosen at random by the random winner generator on Rafflecopter and notified within 7 working days by email
    • By entering this competition, you understand that your details may be retained for future mailings. You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.
    • There is no monetary equivalent.
    • Little Lilypad Co take no /responsibility for loss or damage in the despatch of prizes
    • If the prize is unclaimed within 7 days we reserve the right to redraw the winner.
    • End Date 08/10/2017 at 12am

  2. Philips ADR 810 Dash Cam Review

    Posted on

    We might consider ourselves to be a tech savvy family but reviewing gadgets doesn't usually fall in our remit however with so much focus on dash cam's in the news lately, we jumped at the chance to flex our review skills and take a look at the Philips ADR 810 Dash Cam. 

    We were told the usual sales spiel in that the Philips ADR 810 Dash Cam offers peace of mind when you need it most and with automatic recording means there’s no need to spend ages setting it up each time, simply switch it on and drive. In case of a collision, the Dash Cam automatically saves the recording to secure your evidence and prevent it being overridden.

    So what did we think?

    IMG_4313

    Setting it up

    There isn't much in the box so thought it would be nice and easy to set up but we hit an intiial hurdle when we realised that you need an SD card to do the recording on and the dash cam doesn't come with one. It is worth noting that it is a micro SD card that you need, so worth making sure you have one before trying to set up.

    Once we got past this little blip, the setup was actually very quick, although you don't get a full set of instructions just a handy little guide but even I could work it out. To be honest, the set up takes less than a minute but worth noting that the Philips ADR810 Dash Cam doesn’t have its own internal battery which means it needs to be plugged into the cigarette lighter socket on the car to give it some power.

    It comes with super sticky pads so that you can attach it securely and as the Dash Cam is super lightweight at only 83 grams, with dimensions of 106.7 x 50.0 x 32.5mm, you don't worry about it falling off as can happen with some of the plastic sucker attachments. 

    Functions

    The Philips ADR 810 dash cam features smart automatic functions, excellent video performance with perfect night view and a 156° wide angle lens.

    • In the case of a collision, an emergency (and handy) recording is automatically saved to secure the evidence and prevent overwriting
    • A clever fatigue index will produce a visual and audible warning message when the driver should take a rest (unless you don't like being told what to do by a machine)
    • Instant replay function can help to clarify responsibility on the spot with date/time stamped proof
    • The ADR 810 captures details day and night with optimised night view
    • A 156° wide angle lens captures more of the road with this wide angle lens 

    IMG_4570

    The power cable is REALLY long which is a good thing if your cigarette lighter socket isn't at the front of your car but the wire does need keeping under control (a bit like my kids!!)

    The children have been fascinated by the Dash Cam, although my eldest said that I will have to watch my own speed now as it is being recorded (I am not entirely sure what she is implying) but the youngest has become convinced that we are going to catch "bad guys" doing "bad stuff" on our Dash Cam and become heros! So everyone is a clearly a fan, even if they don't understand the tech side of it. 

    The Pro's

    • Lightweight small & compact
    • Not easy for thieves and other motorists to see, unlike some other cameras
    • Driver fatigue warning that alerts the driver if their tiredness is affecting the quality of their driving.
    • Easy to navigate menus

    The Con's

    • The sticky pads are extremely sticky which is great for keeping its position in the car but not ideal if you want to change it into a different vehicle. A suction mount would be a good option in addition to the sticky pads.
    • You need to purchase a seperate micro SD card before you can start recording. 

    So if the only real downsides relate to sticky pads, we think this is a pretty impressive piece of kit for £139.99.

  3. LOL SURPRISE Dolls "unboxing" & #giveaway

    Posted on

    If, like me, you live in a world where baby dolls are treated the same as real babies and your children watch endless videos on Youtube of toys being unwrapped then we have something for you! 

    LOL Surprise Dolls are the ultimate unboxing toys with 7 layers to get through. There is a cute little printed zip design on each layer, which, once you have pulled it open reveals stickers and blind bags inside. The "let me out of here" blind bags contain everything you need for your LOL Surprise Doll such as dresses, shoes, accessories and a drinks bottle for each character. 

    LOL Dolls image

     

    We have had great fun trying to find out which of the dolls cry, spit, tinkle or change colour. There are 45 in Series 1, so there are lots to collect but you just have to keep your fingers crossed that you don't get a duplicate as each ball really is a surprise!

    So if you want to join the LOL excitement with the ultimate unboxing experience that offers a different surprise with each layer, we are thrilled to have one of the LOL Surprise! Dolls to giveaway. Just enter below and good luck!

     a Rafflecopter giveaway

     Terms & Conditions

    The Prize: LOL Surprise - Series 1
    The winners will be chosen at random by the random winner generator on Rafflecopter and notified within 7 working days by email
    By entering this competition, you understand that your details may be retained for future mailings. You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.
    There is no monetary equivalent.
    Little Lilypad Co take no /responsibility for loss or damage in the despatch of prizes
    If the prize is unclaimed within 7 days we reserve the right to redraw the winner.
    End Date 08/07/2017 at 12am

     

     

  4. Lalaloopsy Babies Potty Surprise Review & Competition

    Posted on

    Many years ago my eldest daughter had a number of Lalaloopsy dolls and whilst I always thought that they were super cute, my youngest daughter never showed much interest. So when the time came, I gave her collection of dolls away to a charity shop. Typically just months later my youngest daughter becomes obsessed with baby dolls and suddenly I am kicking myself for giving her sisters away. Since then and on a fairly daily basis, my daughter asks for a potty for her "babies" so when we were given the chance to review the Lalaloopsy Babies Potty Surprise, we leapt at the chance. 

    Lalaloopsy Potty Surprise DollReview & Competition (1)

    Lalaloopsy dolls are not your conventional "baby dolls", they have a  very distinctive look about them and the Lalaloopsy Babies Potty Surprise is no different.

    Obviously you have to wrestle with all the ties and packaging whilst having a small child bouncing up and down next to you while you attempt to remove everything from the box but once it is open, the set includes:

    • Lalaloopsy Baby wearing a cute little bib and a pretty nappy.
    • Potty,
    • Bowl with spoon
    • 3 pots of magic food. wearing a cute little bib and a pretty nappy. 

    535737 Lalaloopsy Babies Surprise Potty (5)

    My daughter played with the doll by itself for some time before asking about the "potty surprises" and so we set about trying to feed the doll with the food. (Think magic sand and you won't be far wrong).

    535737 Lalaloopsy Babies Surprise Potty (6)

    So in theory you pop the spoon with some food on it into her mouth and turn the dial on the back of the baby to one of the four positions.Then you need to turn the belly button to the right and hold it there for a few seconds. (this is the tough bit and my daughter couldn't do this by herself). You then need to sit the baby on the potty and gently rock her forwards and backwards a few times, which techinically triggers the poop release and out comes the potty surprise. 

    535737 Lalaloopsy Babies Surprise Potty (3)

    In all honesty, we haven't managed to consistently achieve some of the shapes above but that doesn't mean we haven't laughed everytime the baby has pooped out a random shape into the potty.

    At £29.99, the Lalaloopsy Babies Potty Surprise is not only well priced but well made too. Aside from this, my daughter adores her and gets excited to play with her every single day. We are therefore just as excited to give you the chance to win one and all you need to do is enter below!

    Good luck

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    The Prize: Lalaloopsy Babies Potty Surprise Doll £29.99
    The winners will be chosen at random by the random winner generator on Rafflecopter and notified within 7 working days by email
    By entering this competition, you understand that your details may be retained for future mailings. You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.
    There is no monetary equivalent.
    Little Lilypad Co take no /responsibility for loss or damage in the despatch of prizes
    If the prize is unclaimed within 7 days we reserve the right to redraw the winner.
    End Date 30/06/2017 at 12am