Thursday 30 April 2015

My Horse - Wearable Hobby Horse Review

My Horse wearable hobby horse - Emma in Bromley
My little Meg (age 3) adores horses - she has quite the collection, including vintage 80's my little ponies!

She had a wonderfully pink sparkly unicorn hobby horse that made a neigh and clippity clop sound from a button in it's ear. But this unicorn hobby horse did not last long - the fabric covering the stick was so thin a hole wore on the bottom within minutes and in an incident involving Blake (big brother age 5) the stick snapped and the unicorn hobby horse was no more.

My Horse wearable hobby horse - Emma in Bromley


When I was asked to review My Horse, I knew my little girl would be excited!

My Horse takes hobby horses to a new level - they are stick free! Making them more durable (less dangerous) and readily portable - you can pop it in your bag if out and about as they are a wearable hobby horse.

My Horse comes in a range of colours and styles and are of a gender neutral design - available in two sizes, both with velcro fastenings so they are pretty adaptable.
Maegan Clement with her My Horse wearable hobby horse - Emma in Bromley

We love that the horse is on an adjustable - Velcro fastening - skirted waistband so your little person wears the horse. Ours is age 3-6 and fits both my children comfortably.
Maegan Clement with her My Horse wearable hobby horse - Emma in Bromley

With soft but durable fabric and yarn loop mane and tail our My Horse has already lasted longer than the old hobby horse. My daughter loves the soft yarn and will play with it - often when sleepy. 

My Horse also has a lovely range of accessories such as small felt jumps to choose from and rosettes - The only problem we had was that the rosette didn't attach to the horse so I added a small stick on velcro dot.

At first Meg just wanted to cuddle her My Horse and use her like a soft toy, I have to say as a grown up, it did raise a little giggle when you realise your youngest is snuggling up to a horses head! This was simply because Maegan isn't keen on waistbands! But she loves her My Horse and I prefer her playing with this than a traditional hobby horse because it all just seems a lot safer without the long stick to either trip over or hit your big brother with!!!

Maegan Clement with her My Horse wearable hobby horse - Emma in Bromley
We've found that it's quite the conversation starter - other mums often come over to ask about our My Horse when we are in the park and it certainly catches the attention of other small people - it seems that most people who see My Horse, want a My Horse - I'm considering asking Ellen, the owner, for a stash of business cards to hand out!

The owner of My Horse is a mum herself - you can see how much love she has put into making My Horse.

We can't wait to take My Horse on our summer trips to the Lakes and Wales!

Please visit http://www.myhorsetm.com to see the current range.

Emma in Bromley xx





Disclaimer - I received a My Horse for the sole purpose of carrying out a review - all thoughts, link choices and photos are my own and I would (and do) recommend this product to others.

Tuesday 28 April 2015

Did You Know Your 7 Year Old Daughter is Posting Selfies on Instagram? - Teabreak Tuesday

If we go back several generations, it was the norm to get your first part time job at 10, leave school at 15, fall in love and marry off at about 18 years old and live to about 60.
Skip forward a few generations to now and it's the norm to get your first part time job at 16, leave education at 22 and fall in love, marry off/start a family in your late 20's and live to about 85.

With life being extended, children have a chance to be children and enjoy childhood for longer, don't they?

So when I went to a girl's 8th birthday party recently I had a bit of an eye opener (my own children are 3 and 5) - there were two distinct groups, you had about two thirds in pretty pastel party dresses and sparkly shoes having fun with their friends and enjoying party food exactly as you'd expect for 7 and 8 year old girls but then there was that other third, a group of a few girls that literally left my jaw on the floor! I couldn't believe what I was seeing!

The 7 and 8 year olds who in my opinion seemed more like 14 year olds ... And looked it! They wore black high heels, cropped tops, leather jackets and stood around chewing gum, talking about which 1D they liked best, overly (I can't stress the overly bit enough) applying bright red lippy and alarmingly spending most of the party on their smart phones either taking selfies, using Instagram (seriously!) texting (goodness knows who) or randomly I spotted one just sat playing with the timer on her phone?! (Maybe giving the impression she was doing something "cooler"?) these girls demonstrated they were too old for party food by throwing biscuits across the table and one girl made a rather mean comment about the birthday girl while the others tittered .... nice!

After the party there were some gifts for party girl - lovely things like clip in hair plaits, dolls and craft kits but there was an awful lot of cards ... with cash - I couldn't help but feel that at 8 surely it's still more fun to open a gift than just collect all the money? And really is it that hard to find something in the shops your friends would like? 

Now I know I'm not "with the times" and I believe childhood should be embraced for as long as possible - makes sense given we live for longer! I also think that the age of consent should be raised to 18 but that's a whole other argument!

I was just absolutely gobsmacked by seeing 7 and 8 year old girls acting and looking like what I would guess as 14 year olds - having a daughter myself, that just scared me - I wonder how they have been allowed to get so teenage so soon?! 

I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion but does your 7 or 8 year old daughter really need those black high heeled shoes and cropped top outfit? does she need the brightest red lipstick? does she have to have a smart phone already? did you say she could use it during the party as much as she liked? are you really OK with your 7 year old daughter posting photos of herself in a crop top and pouting with her bright red lippy to a public instagram account? do you even know who she was constantly texting instead of joining in with the party games - after all you didn't stay at the party? 

Why don't you try harder at saying no, protecting your child and helping her to embrace her right to stay a child just that little bit longer - if at 7 she's already acting 14 - what's going to really happen to her at 14? 

I know I'm in no position to judge other parents and I really hate doing it but I have to say, I judge that first parent who irresponsibly bought their 7 year old daughter a smart phone and gave them complete free reign with it!

I'm pleased the birthday girl was still in the majority pretty party dress group and not looking and acting like she's an extra in the "mean girls" movie.

Maybe I baby my children too much but I do think as parents, surely we should be helping our children have a childhood?

Monday 27 April 2015

Mulberry Silk Cotbed Duvet Review Silk Bedding Direct

Mulberry Silk Cotbed DuvetWhen I was approached by SilkBeddingDirect with an opportunity to review a luxury 100% mulberry silk cotbed duvet for them, I was excited to accept the challenge - within our family, we have asthmatics, allergies and sensitive skin so I was already aware of some of the benefits of silk bedding. 

 Silk Bedding Direct duvets are filled with 100% Mulberry silk (the type of silk filling is important) which makes them naturally hypoallergenic and dust mites can't live in silk and have a luxury 300 thread count cotton casing. Mulberry silk bedding is my personal preferred choice for my children given the asthma and allergies we have.

I wanted to quote a list from the website which highlights many more benefits of mulberry silk bedding:
"
 Allergies
 Asthma
 MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities)
 Eczema and dry or itchy skin
 Skin inflammations (psoriasis)
 Sunburn
 Burns (particularly 1st and 2nd degree)
 Post-chemotherapy sensitive skin
 Vascular sclerosis
 Osteoarthritis
 Shingles
 Overheating

Mulberry Silk Cotbed Duvet

All Silk Bedding Direct duvets are filled with top grade long-strand 100% natural mulberry silk.  And, importantly, are loop sewn and tied by hand through the casing to prevent movement.  Hand sewing is used to avoid crushing the precious silk inside and is a much superior method to machine "pattern" sewing"

Mulberry Silk Cotbed Duvet
The duvet arrived in a lovely storage tote, and is extremely soft and snuggly - this one is being used on my daughter's bed - Maegan is 3 years old and loves how squishy her duvet is. 

SilkBeddingDirect children's duvets are thicker that the adult sized ones and we are using a Spring/Autumn weight - we've had some unusually hot weather so far this April and I have found that this weight has still been great for my daughter - the natural silk has meant overheating hasn't been an issue. 

along with the duvet, you also get clear care instructions and a lovely little touch - a 10% off code - SBD10E to share with friends and family (That'd be you x)
Mulberry Silk Cotbed Duvet
As a sweet little detail, there is a small inspection zip so you can peep at the mulberry silk inside - I've put a small stitch to keep it closed because Maegan can unzip it! 

There are also clips attached where you can join the duvet to an additional one to make a winter weighted duvet.
Emma in Bromley xx





Disclaimer - I received a Cotbed Duvet for the purpose of this review - all thoughts and photos are my own.

lifestyle blogger

Friday 24 April 2015

Mr Men and Little Miss Vitamins from Haliborange

Mr Men and Little Miss Vitamins from Haliborange
We were sent some new Haliborange Vitamins to try with the children - Mr Men and Little Miss Immune Support and Omega 3 with Multivitamins.

Mr Men and Little Miss Vitamins from Haliborange
One of the first thing I noticed about these that are different to a rival brand we were using was that you can take 1 to 2 chewies a day - so for us, we found when we had cold going around the family, we could take both an Immune support with the Multivitamin one without worrying about taking too much. 

Mr Men and Little Miss Vitamins from Haliborange
The Immune Support ones are blackcurrant flavour and neither of my children liked the taste the first few times they tried them but all of a sudden they decided they did like them after all! The orange flavour ones were loved straight away!

These have big smiley faces and the texture of a jelly sweet so children are happy to have them. 
I loved details such as Mr Sneeze on the Immune Support packaging ad Mr Clever for the Omega 3.


Emma in Bromley xx




disclaimer - I was sent some of the new vitamins to try, I wasn't actually asked to blog about them, I just thought it would be nice to share with you because my children genuinely liked them and I know it's not always easy to get children to take their vitamins. 

mummy blogger

Wednesday 22 April 2015

Ladybird by Design - Lawrence Zeegen

I'm absolutely loving this book! Ladybird by Design - 100 years of Words and Pictures by Lawrence Zeegen starts with the early days, through the golden ages and all the way up to the innovation of today - looking at design desicions, illustration influences and details such as typography and layout of the books.
Ladybird by Design - Lawrence Zeegen



Everytime I open this book, I spot something new or read an interesting snipet such as what the digits in the series numbers mean or have a memory pop up - seriously - Shera and He-man are in this book!
Ladybird by Design - Lawrence Zeegen

I studied a BA (hons) in Marketing and Advertising at the London College of Printing (university of the Arts) and I often got to explore other departments in the building and ones that always intrigued me were the typography exhibits and printing departments! The author, Lawrence Zeegan is the Professor of Illustration and Dean of the school of design at the University of the Arts :)
Shera and He-man!
Ladybird by Design - Lawrence Zeegen
Definitely one to add to the collection.
Ladybird by Design - Lawrence Zeegen
My daughter (age 3) likes to look at the cat pictures!
Ladybird by Design - Lawrence Zeegen
Don't you just wish to sneak a peek inside these travel books!
Ladybird by Design - Lawrence Zeegen
I love the section on typography 
Ladybird by Design - Lawrence Zeegen
This book is jam packed with brilliant illustrations and details. 

Ladybird By Design
  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9780723293927
  • Size: 184 x 219mm
  • Pages: 256
  • Published: 05 Mar 2015
  • Publisher: Ladybird

Emma in Bromley xx




disclaimer - I was sent a copy of the book for the sole purpose of reviewing it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Book review blogger

Tuesday 21 April 2015

TeaBreak Tuesday - Suburban Funk

I can't stop giggling and singing along to this at the moment so I thought I'd share it for this week's TeaBreak Tuesday ... I think its the coffee and the laundry bit that really does it for me!

One of my favourite songs at the moment and perfect for this lovely sunshine we keep getting!




Monday 20 April 2015

My Child has an Egg Sized Lump in her Neck - Lymphadenitis

We had a normal Monday, after bedtime bath my youngest, Maegan (age 3) was very shivery and complained her neck was sore. Not long after, when she was sleeping, we noticed she had a temperature and was crying in pain everytime she rolled or moved, she was also delirious.
Lymphadenitis - Boiled Egg Size Hot Lump in the Neck

Calpol was given and reduced her temperature slightly and helped with the pain.

The one thing that really stood out was that her feet were hot - usually with a temperature, I notice freezing cold feet.

It was a tough night, not much sleep was had, Meg kept waking and crying in pain with every slight movement and pulling at her ears and neck, the calpol stopped lowering her temperature and I ended up giving neurofen too just to try and bring it under control.


By the morning we had thought that perhaps she had an ear infection and it was whilst I was on the phone to the doctor to make an appointment that I realised she had a swelling on her neck that I can only describe as a very hot golf ball or boiled egg!

We managed to see the doctor that morning and Maegan was diagnosed with Lymphadenitis, an infection actually inside the Lymph nodes itself. The doctor had said it was good I'd managed to get her into see her so quickly and that she needed to start antibiotics immediately.

I'd never heard of this before, the doctor said it was unusual but not unheard of, likely as a result of trying to fight off a throat infection but the infection had spread and infected the actual lymph glands trying to fight of the original infection! 
Lymphadenitis - Boiled Egg Size Hot Lump in the Neck

I did google it, but the internet is always full of nasty stories, so I thought I'd blog it just incase anyone else is looking for sensible information rather than a horror story.

Lymphadenitis comes on very fast. I'm talking about having a normal child without any sign of illness at all to full on delirious fever, pain and swelling in the space of a couple of hours.

It's very very sore, even small movements hurt. - pain relief will be needed.

Antibiotics will be needed. I used the calpol oral syringe to administer this. (we had Co-Amoxiclav which smells and tastes a bit like sweetie bracelets!)

The fever/temperature will need to be controlled - we found neurofen and calpol worked best for us.

Watch out for your child becoming lethargic or not wanting to move about or do anything and speak to the doctor straight away.

Your child will likely have a loss of appetite, just encourage drinking as much as you can and try and get some food in them - my daughter craved sweet things which is unusual for her.

A cold compress will feel nice on that hot boiled egg lump! (we have one of those Mr Bump things that stay in the fridge)

You child will not be able to move their arms up easily so use clothes that button down so you don't have to go over their head.

The lump should start to go down within two weeks and you will need to go back to the doctor for a check up - it'll take about a month for the swelling to go completely but your child should start to pick up after about 4 days.

I am not a doctor, this is simply my experience as a mother. 

Emma in Bromley xx

Lymphadenitis - Boiled Egg / golf ball Size Hot Lump in the Neck









Saturday 18 April 2015

Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa

Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa.

Peppa and George are in the holiday villa! Open up the playset and play with George in the paddling pool! There's lots of holiday accessories and furniture for holiday fun. Also includes a carry handle and packs away for easy storage.

The playset is aimed at children aged 3+, have a look at http://www.character-online.com/products/Peppa-Pig/Holiday-Time/Sunshine-Villa/

The packaging is exciting - you can have a glimpse at what's inside, Maegan age 3 kept peeping at all the little accessories but there was even more hidden inside so we had a big "OOHHHH WOW" which I always love to hear! 

Maegan had had a bit of a rough time with a nasty illness (Lymphadenitis) so it was really lovely to see her excited and playful, I couldn't get everything out fast enough for her!

Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa



Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa

Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa
Lots of wonderful details hiding inside
Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa
Couldn't  wait to set up the Villa 
Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa
Love the moulded details that work well alongside the accessories such as the removable show unit.
Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa
Peppa's bunk bed is a big hit!
Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa
How sweet is the paddling pool complete with boat and rubber duckie
Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa
This clever BBQ has a reversible grill, simply clean it by flipping the food side down to reveal an empty grill!
Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa
Peppa and George can chillax on the sun lounger or sit under the parasol when its too hot. 
Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa
Lets just move the bunk bed to the great outdoors and snooze next to the BBQ
Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa
Peppa and George are ready for a splash!

Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa
Maegan Darcie (Age 3) Loves putting George in his rubber ring.
Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa
Blake (age 5) just couldn't resist joining in too!
Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa
Well this is just brilliant! - Look! the Villa is big enough for two to play at the same time, and they are playing nicely!
Emma in Bromley - Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa

The new collection is the same size as previous ones such as the Peppa Pig funfair so they are all compatible.

My children enjoyed playing with the Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa and we love that it packs up into a handy carry case making it the perfect travel (or playdate) companion - Maegan (age 3) loves Peppa and enjoys playing with Peppa toys, Blake (age 5) is moving away from watching Peppa, he prefers other programs now but he still very much enjoyed playing with this playset and will often join in with meg when she's playing with her Peppa pig toys. 






Disclaimer
I received Peppa Pig Holiday Time Sunshine Villa playset for the sole purpose of reviewing it. 




Thursday 16 April 2015

Eye Doctor Doc Mcstuffins Doll



Eye Doctor Doc Mcstuffins Doll - Emma in Bromley

We were recently very lucky to review one of the new Doc Mcstuffins specialist dolls - the timing couldn't have been better for 3 year old Maegan as she was very, very poorly with Lymphadenitis which was awful! 

This set is so sweet and we had seen the episode that the playset is based on - actually I think we may have seen every episode!

We're in the middle of creating our play room at the moment and we will be having a Doc Mcstuffins corner!

Eye Doctor Doc Doll
  • 30cm hard bodied Doc eye doctor doll
  • Comes with a 12cm Hootsie character
  • Hootsie is cross-eyed: when you put on his glasses, his eyes will straighten up
  • Comes with everything you need to become an eye doctor
  • Includes an ophthalmoscope, removable eye glasses, an eye dropper and a comb

Eye Doctor Doc Mcstuffins Doll - Emma in Bromley
Eye Doctor Dottie comes in simple packaging - I managed to get her out without needing a screwdriver which is always a bonus!
Eye Doctor Doc Mcstuffins Doll - Emma in Bromley
Plenty of accessories to encourage roll play
Eye Doctor Doc Mcstuffins Doll - Emma in Bromley
Hootsie with poorly eyes
Eye Doctor Doc Mcstuffins Doll - Emma in Bromley
Slide the glasses on and ... 
Eye Doctor Doc Mcstuffins Doll - Emma in Bromley
Hoots can see clearly!
Eye Doctor Doc Mcstuffins Doll - Emma in Bromley
Dottie is pose-able so she can sit down
Eye Doctor Doc Mcstuffins Doll - Emma in Bromley
Doc Mcstuffins can also stand up unsupported.
Eye Doctor Doc Mcstuffins Doll - Emma in Bromley
Her doctors coat is pink and glittery!
Eye Doctor Doc Mcstuffins Doll - Emma in Bromley
Poorly peaky looking Maegan adores her new Doc Mcstuffins Dottie


Eye Doctor Doc Mcstuffins Doll - Emma in Bromley
Sliding the glasses on hootise is lots of fun.

Straightening up Doc's lab coat. 
Eye Doctor Doc Mcstuffins Doll - Emma in Bromley
The comb is being well used - I'm pleased to say that the plaits are still in place too!

You can also get a Dentist Doc Mcstuffins too!
Eye Doctor Doc Mcstuffins Doll - Emma in Bromley






disclaimer - I was sent Eye Doctor Dottie for the purpose of reviewing her.