The first playing of this CD was one Tuesday afternoon, about 4.30pm – Crazy Time. It’s a unique moment in the day when a very skilled, multi-tasking, keep-your-temper-juggling act is performed many school weekdays by this Mama. It is when Jacob, my 5 year old, is home from school, fizzing with that bizarre mix of surplus energy and tiredness that results in a meltdown if not guided gently yet firmly into some constructive and absorbing activity. On this day he created, of all things, an opticians eye test at the kitchen table using all sorts of scraps from his art & craft drawers.

Also included in this scenario is Benjamin, who’s 20 months. There he is, jumping up and down, oh so pleased to have his big brother home from school and desperate to join in with whatever big brother is doing. Grabbing all sorts of stuff off the kitchen table and running off with a big squeal, into the hall, squirreling it all away somewhere, not to be rediscovered for at least 7 years…

And last but not least we have me, the Mum, who is trying to get dinner and keep her cool in the middle of the madness.

Ach, plonk ‘em down in front of Cbeebies I hear you cry. Well, yes, that does work sometimes – ‘tis educational you see ;-)…. But wouldn’t it be nice to give them something else from time to time?

Cue ‘Thula Mama’ and their ‘Soul Cool Babies’ album…. Soothing, calming, culturally diverse and interesting. The voices are clear and harmonious. The tunes are beautiful. Both boys went quiet, listened and then carried on with their very important jobs but quietly, with their ears wide open. Ahhhhhhh. Peace. The best bit is that I enjoy listening to it too. I’m not a fan of children’s music that grates on a parent’s ears. So much nicer to have something playing that everyone enjoys listening too. It’s also superb for in the car when the journey is quite long and you want them to just relax and enjoy the ride.

All the tracks on this CD are great and I am unable to listening to ‘Put on de Skillet’ without tapping my toes and humming along, picking up my smallest boy and swinging him around, much to my biggest boy’s amusement.

£12.95 direct from Thula Mama

This weeks post is from one of my regular reads – Keris Stainton’s blog. Keris is one of our reviewers, a journalist, about to have a book published, has two beeyootiful boys… and I just love the way she writes. This post (which is actually a meme for anyone who loves ‘em) gave me that warm and squooshy feeling that just makes you want to lift your child and whiffle in the nape of their neck, y’know?

Do you hear that giggling? It’s that real belly-laugh-gurgle that only those below the age of 2 can really muster. This particular outburst is coming from Ben and the object of his delight is the colourful balloons with faces drawn on that are popping up and down on the TV screen as he watches the ‘Oxbridge Baby – Learn to Talk’ DVD. Ben likes this DVD because it’s interesting, colourful, musical and funny. Several attempts have been made to try and grab hold of the toys and objects on the screen. Someone pass me a damp cloth please, the screen is all sticky now. Anyway, he especially likes the real animal shots of lambs, fishes and teddies. The farm animals section on the ‘extras’ is a big hit. It’s very sweet how he tries to make the same sounds as the animals but all he can manage is an uncannily realistic ‘miaow’ and a deep-throated growl. Who knew that sheep say ‘miaow’, eh?

On his first viewing of the DVD his attention was totally captured for a solid 20 minutes, not bad going for an 11 month old, I thought. After that he began to wander around the room, grabbing teddies and patting Mummy’s knee but his attention would return, now and then, to the DVD. As with most children, depending on what time of day and how tired he happens to be will determine how much attention he pays to the TV. I’ve found it’s just the perfect wind-down thing at the end of a hard-toddling day whilst curled up in Mummy’s lap. Ahhhhh, sheer heaven to have a relaxed baby wanting to snuggle.

I like this DVD too and not just because he likes it. It has my approval for many reasons. I like the lady who is presenting; she is very good at the job. She has one of those really nice faces that is very natural, un-posed and genuine. I love the British-ness of this product. Other similar products are very obviously made in big American studios and it is sometimes difficult to identify with the feel of it all. On this DVD I love that the toys being used are recognisable as ones available in the UK, ones that we might have scattered about our house.

As a parent, who is not an expert in linguistics, I can see how this DVD can be used as an aid to language development in babies and toddlers. There is a nice emphasis on some key, simple, everyday words with some simple sign-language being shown too. My parenting-instinct tells me that this DVD will support what I do with my children but it will not replace the magic of language development that happens between parents and children.

‘OXBRIDGE BABY – CLASSICAL MUSIC’ CD

A great thing to have in your car, for those moments when fidgety children could do with calming down, when barking at them to ‘CALM DOWN!’ just doesn’t work (does it ever??). Just slip this CD into the player and wait for the relaxing waves of classical music to take affect. This CD is also nice to play in the background while you stretch out on the floor with your 1 year old building endless towers of wooden blocks while he knocks them down again and again and again. Personally, I would be just as happy if the music was a full orchestral version of the tracks but as it goes, the simplistic sounding versions on this CD are pleasant and soothing.

I’ve seen adverts for Baby Blooms for a while now and always thought they looked cool.

The bouquet was delivered in a cardboard box, but once I took it out I found that it genuinely looked like a hand-tied bouquet. (And every time I showed it to someone I had to point out that most of the flowers weren’t flowers at all. Everyone thought it was real.)

Fake flowers are mixed in with the clothing ‘blooms’. Mine looked like cream roses and freesias (I’m rubbish on flowers), they were pretty anyway. The pot was wrapped in fabric and tied with a ribbon.

The clothing included socks, hats, bib and a babygro (0-4months) all in either pale blue or white and bearing the subtle ‘Baby Blooms’ logo. They weren’t of the highest quality, but nothing lasts very long at that age anyway, so it wasn’t a problem. My only complaint was that they were murder to get out of the packaging since they were wrapped and attached to the stems.

All in all, an absolutely lovely present to give to a new mum.

Small bouquets start at £26.50 from Baby blooms

No less then FOUR new competitions are online for you – so go enter!

First up Early Years Resources is offering one lucky winner the ‘Fish & Spell Race’ game by Fiesta Crafts. Winner of the Silver Award Good Toy Guide 2008 and the Silver Award Practical Pre-School Awards 2008 – learning to spell has never been so much fun!

Next for you to enter is a draw for a Tobyboo custom made cute Initial Frame Keepsake! Tobyboo create fabric hotchpotch works of cuteness, gorgeous gifts and accessories perfect for children and some you might just like for yourself.

The third competition is for THREE miPump electric breast pumps, worth £69.99 each! Obviously this one is most appealing to pregnant and breasfeeding mummas – the new, easily transportable miPump electric breast pump from The First Years is not only up to 60 per cent faster than other pumps on the market, but is also up to 60 per cent lighter and quieter as well. Added to this, the easy Flexi-Fit shields offer a comfortable fit on the breast. Complete with its own discreet carry case, the electric pump is small enough to carry in a handbag.

Lastly we have two of the award winning, utterly fabulous Bambino Merino sleep bags to give away to two lucky winners. Each sleeping bag is made from the world’s finest merino wool. Silky soft merino is a breathable natural fibre which regulates body temperature, is kind to delicate skin, easy to care for, safe and great value – what more could a parent ask for?

I was very excited when I spoke to the lovely people at Little Helper this week, who are really keen for us to review their new highchair version of the amazing FunPod.
It arrived on Friday, and I couldn’t help but immediately put it together – despite lack of adult company to distract the eager 2yr old assistant:

This was how it looked when I unpacked the box:

10 minutes later I was this far – note the oh-so-helpful assistant:
Assistant is bored now…
20 minutes in, and it’s all looking very exciting again:
The little chair is VERY popular:
Yes, that’s the little chair in pieces behind her – trying to fix the tray on I realised that I had the sides on the wrong way round. The consequent dismantling of the chair caused a mini furore…
With the sides on the right way, the tray works, and Ella is content again:

35 minutes and Looking Good! Now just the tricky bit of getting her out again to put the cushion in…

TADAAAAAA :)

I read this (slightly old) post this week, and literally snorted out loud. My No.1 son has a lion – in fact he has two, as a clever childminder forewarned us when he deeply attached to one before he could crawl, just so that we could rotate them for washing – and I clearly remember the distress when his much-twisted and sucked and chewed tail became detached and had to receive emergency surgery.
But this post about (nearly) killing baby had me in stitches!

The Beach Factory offered five fabulous, red & white O’Neill toddler sun protection suits – the competition closed last Friday, and here’s the list of winners:

Lydia Bickerton, Milton Keynes
Pamela Kerr, Isle of Wight
Helena Jones, Bedford,
Donna Burton, Dundee
Rachael Drewe, Exeter

Congratulations all! Sun suits in the requested size are coming your way oh so shortly!