Kerwhizz Magazine from CBeebies - Review

Review Post

We were sent 2 copies of the new Kerwhizz Magazine from CBeebies to review.  I have bought the standard Cbeebies Magazine for Maxi in the past, but stopped as he is getting too old for it and Mini has never really been in to magazines, so I had an idea of what format the magazine would be.

The Magazine is monthly and prices £1.99 and comes with  stickers to collect and a free gift in every issue.  I actually think this is pretty reasonable, must better than the cost of a weekly Cbeebies Magazine.

The boys are also avid Kerwhizz watchers (KerwizzKids) on Cbeebies and we actually have 4 episodes on Sky+, as they love the format of the show.

The Magazine has been designed to give kids confidence at school with quizzes and puzzles based on the National Curriculum. 

I have to say that the magazine appealed to both the boys, but it was far too easy for Maxi  (5, but he is a bit of a whizz).  It held his attention for all of 30 minutes and then it was all done and completed too, with every question right!

Mini (4), however, got much more out of it.  I loved the fact that the stickers meant that he didn't have to write (he hates even attempting to at the moment).  We spent a couple of evenings sitting together with the magazine after bath time and really enjoyed the time and the questions.

If you have seen the show then the format will be familiar to you and the magazine has all the same characters in, like King Pong and Cat Cool.  There is a good mixture of questions and activities, including colouring, mazes and a story, which meant that Mini didn't get board.  In fact he has kept coming back to it and reading it on his own.

I will be buying this for Mini again.

There is also a game you can play here, with  10,000 copies and 5 annual subscriptions  of the magazine to win.

To find out more about my disclosure and review policy click here.

Review - 3 Mobile MiFi

Review Post

A while back Liz at Violet Posy did a review on Mifi in car wifi from 3 mobile and I commented that we would love to give this a try, so guess what the lovely people at 3 mobile sent one of their MiFi systems for me to review too.

I have to say I didn't know what to expect, as I am not all that techie, but I was super surprised.  The wireless modem is about half the size of a mobile phone and really easy to connect and use.

MadDad has an ipod touch and we had both the laptop and the ipod touch connected to it whilst we were in London.  I also used it on the train to and from London for the John Lewis Christmas event.

But do I need one?  for every day use I would have to say no.  I can not justify the £50 one off cost or the top up fees, as we have wireless broadband at home, but as it looks like another hospital stay in on the horizon for me again I would love one and would use it all the time.  If I had one of these the last time I was in, then I would have been a much happy mummy.  It would have allowed me access to twitter, my blog, but more importantly I could have seen my boys without them having to come in and see me, we could have chatted by Skype and web cam, which would have made everything much less traumatic for both them me.

Chocolate Weetabix - Review

We were sent a pre-release box of new chocolate Weetabix (which will be available in Sainsburys from 12 July) this week.

Now I don't know about your children, but my two are chalk and cheese when it comes to breakfasts (even though they were weaned the same).  Maxi is a porridge every morning without fail chap, but Mini, well he is a whole other story.  He just isn't in to eating first thing in the morning and we often resort to anything to get him to eat, including boiled eggs, pastries and chocolate cereals.

Well I was pleased to find out that Chocolate Weetabix has all the goodness of wholegrain in normal Weetabix, but contains half the sugar of the average chocolate flavoured breakfast cereal (yes I did check all the boxes we have in the cupboard, I have tried all sorts to get Mini to eat on a morning).

So did he eat it?   The answer is yes he did 2 out of 3 mornings, but then that is an achievement for us.  Maxi wasn't keen, he did try it, but couldn't eat it and asked for a bowl of his normal porridge (but he doesn't like standard Weetabix either).

Will I be buying it?  Yes, I will do anything to get Mini to eat breakfast as I know and understand the benefits of a heathly breakfast and this is  a great healthier alternative to other "chocolate" cereals on the market.

This is a review post

Chocolate Weetabix - Review

We were sent a pre-release box of new chocolate Weetabix (which will be available in Sainsburys from 12 July) this week.

Now I don't know about your children, but my two are chalk and cheese when it comes to breakfasts (even though they were weaned the same).  Maxi is a porridge every morning without fail chap, but Mini, well he is a whole other story.  He just isn't in to eating first thing in the morning and we often resort to anything to get him to eat, including boiled eggs, pastries and chocolate cereals.

Well I was pleased to find out that Chocolate Weetabix has all the goodness of wholegrain in normal Weetabix, but contains half the sugar of the average chocolate flavoured breakfast cereal (yes I did check all the boxes we have in the cupboard, I have tried all sorts to get Mini to eat on a morning).

So did he eat it?   The answer is yes he did 2 out of 3 mornings, but then that is an achievement for us.  Maxi wasn't keen, he did try it, but couldn't eat it and asked for a bowl of his normal porridge (but he doesn't like standard Weetabix either).

Will I be buying it?  Yes, I will do anything to get Mini to eat breakfast as I know and understand the benefits of a heathly breakfast and this is  a great healthier alternative to other "chocolate" cereals on the market.

This is a review post

Christmas with John Lewis

The institution that is John Lewis invited me to their Autumn/Winter and Christmas launch this week and I had a great big glimpse into what they think might be the next big thing and guess what I love it!

From a toy perspective, I was really pleased to see that there was a focus on traditional role play and musical instruments.  I have earmarked the fantastic electric guitar for Mini a snip at £35 when they get them in stock (well Grannie will be purchasing it for his Christmas present).  There was a lot of toy story on display too, in addition to a fab Lego camera and MP3 player.

I have always been a fan of John Lewis' Christmas section and was very impressed with their offerings for Christmas 2010.  I was really inspired by the crackers made from recycled newspaper.

I have to say though it was the home section that totally blew me away.  I loved the retro vibe of the connections fabrics and prints, which they had actually gone in to the JL archives for. 

The furniture was stunning, I especially liked the Mr Bright Chair, each of the buttons were a different colour.  If made my heart sing!  Rob Ryan has also done a fantastic collaboration too and they his and hers mugs are on my Christmas list.

Then  there was the haberdashery, how wonderful, so much eye candy.  Beautiful buttons, ribbon, fabric and  rickrack.  John Lewis are going to start stocking fat quarters and quilting fabric too.

So thank you to John Lewis for a great day.