Product Reviews – Page 2

Have you ever tried to walk with a broken flip flop?

I have done some challenging things in my time, running 3 half marathons, climbing Mt Kinabalu (the 2nd highest mountain in South East Asia) and of course giving birth. But have you ever tried to walk with a broken flip flop?

It was one of those days, we needed to take the dog for a walk as we were going to be out for a few hours. We tend to go to the local park and let him have a paddle in the river, so my daughter planned her footwear carefully, or so I thought. She decided on a cheap pair of Jelly Shoes. We got half way down the road and then had to come back, to change them as they were hurting her feet. I’m not surprised.

We eventually got to the park, then sadly there was a slightly grumpy grandfather of three who obviously would rather I didn’t let my dog off the lead to splash in the river. So, we admitted defeat and started for home.

This is when my flip flop broke…..

Flip-flop malfunction in the park help I’m stuck!

This isn’t the first time this has happened to me. Once it happened in a pub but we had some duct tape and taped it to my foot so I could get home. However, being at the local park I did not have any on me.

The Best Flip Flops for Corn Sufferers (IMO)

‘Beach shoes are an excellent solution – flip-flops that have a thong for each toe are marvellous at restoring correct functioning in the foot and toe.’ – via the Daily Mail

I won’t go into too much detail about my dodgy feet, but I do have a corn on the ball of my right foot, which makes walking barefoot excruciating. It feels like walking on a golf ball. I do get it treated regularly but it does tend to build up again. Anyhow, I had to circumnavigate the gravel paths and cobblestones, nearly making me break down in tears. In the end, I had to call hubby to come and rescue us in the car.

I was absolutely gutted that I broke my favourite pair of LuLu Fit Flops, which I bought last year and wear all the time, as they are one of the only ones I can wear comfortably. They’ve a comfortable toe piece and a very thick spongy foot bed, which accommodates my dastardly corn.

Luckily, I have a spare pair of Reef Flip Flops. Up until the weekend I hadn’t worn them a lot, but found them just as comfortable. The toe post is soft, so none of that first day flip flop pain. The straps are lined with an ultra soft lining, plus they have a built in arch support to support my rather flat feet and the suede foot bed allows me to walk virtually pain free. They are a bit more casual than my Fit Flops and couldn’t wear them to work but they are perfect for a day at the Lido.

Win a Trip of a Lifetime by Geocaching #mwgeotrail

I’m all up for an opportunity to win a FREE trip courtesy of Mountain Warehouse. I love travelling and my daughter is turning into quite the intrepid traveller. I have no idea where we would go if we won. Anyhow, the task was simple really and involved one of our favourite activities Geocaching. We had the Shaun the Sheep Trackable, and all we had to do was find a cache, take a photo, instagram it and leave the trackable for the next person. I checked our Geocaching app and there were 3 in close vicinity to our house. So we got kitted up and headed out.

Kids Walking Gear Courtesy of Mountain Warehouse

We absolutely love geocaching and hopefully this doesn’t put you off. Part of the fun is that you are not always successful and it can be challenging.

The first one was only about 8oo meters from our house, we read the notes and it mentioned we would need a long pole to grab the cache so we took an umbrella, we closed in on it quickly with a bit of bush whacking involved, my daughter shouted ‘I found it’ and then proceeded to come out of the bushes with this.

As you can imagine, I nearly had a heart attack. It’s paraphernalia for taking Heroin – needles, swabs and citric acid. Thankfully it had not been used and the needles were not open. I rang the non-emergency police number and they had no one to come and collect it and our local police station was shut on the weekend so I couldn’t drop it off. They gave me very bad advice and suggested I stick it in the closest bin, I did question the safety of the Bin Man. Anyhow, for future reference pharmacies tend to have places to dispose of needles safely.

If at first you don’t succeed……

Anyhow that didn’t put us off so we headed for the next one which was only a few hundred meters away. We had to climb over the railing on the wooden walk way, we hunted high and low, even crawling under the bridge, we even resorted to reading the notes but no clues, I did then check previous logs and it looks like this one may have gone on a walk about as others were not able to find it either. We weren’t doing so well today.

Try and try again!

We decided to have one last ditch attempt, there was another one within 500m and our dog needed a walk anyhow so we toddled off along the river. When we popped out the other side, we knew it wasn’t going to be our lucky day, the site of the geo-cache had been completely dug up and was fenced off so we wouldn’t be able to get to it even if it was still there.

We still have Shaun the Sheep so will try again soon.

Trampoline for a Small Garden

I don’t know what possessed me to agree to an 8ft Trampoline from Asda. Our garden is tiny, at most measuring approximately 20 x 30 feet. The look on my husband’s face when the trampoline arrived said it all really as I hadn’t told him it was coming. It took a bit of persuading to get him to help put it together as he wasn’t convinced.

However, with Summer looming and no prospect of a big trip this year, I really need stuff to entertain her and she’s always wanted one. Our garden isn’t that enticing and she rarely plays out there. We did try a small Wendy House but she has outgrown that now.

Assembly

It really wasn’t that difficult to put together. It came in two boxes, with all the pieces, including a tool to stretch the springs and a set of instructions. Like with any instructions for self-assembly, they could have been a bit clearer but we managed.

I’d read a lot of the reviews beforehand and was prepared for it to take about 3 hours. It took us about 2.5 hours and very few domestics. We did have to improvise on a few occasions as a few of the punched holes didn’t line up but nothing a hammer wouldn’t sort. We did end up with 6 random plastic disks left over, but they don’t seem to be an integral part.

Design

I opted for the 8 foot design so it wouldn’t dominate the garden, but if I’m honest it does a bit, but we still have enough space to shift it around so the grass underneath survives. I love the fishbowl design of the netting as it gives kids more space, on a smaller trampoline, to wave their arms about. It’s low enough to the ground so you don’t really need a ladder. The black looks more stylish/contemporary than the usual green or pink ones. But most of all the springs are on the outside of the netting so no danger of trapped fingers or toes. A few reviews mentioned issues with the zipper but we haven’t experience that yet.

Capacity

According to the literature, it’s designed for one child up to a maximum weight of 50kg. But as you can see, which I wouldn’t recommend, my husband had a bit of a play on it as well. As a parent, I’d be happy for her and one other 7 year old child to play on it.

Value for money

The 8 Ft Plum Trampoline comes in at just under £200, you can get cheaper 8 ft trampolines, but I’d rather spend a bit more for the safety features and quality. It’s a bit heavier which means it’s not going to blow away the next time the wind kicks up but still light enough to move around the garden.

Our Verdict

It’s one of the best things we have done, we have had to sacrifice a part of our garden, but our daughter is hysterical with happiness.

She spent most of the weekend on it and we had to drag her off it this morning before school. She can’t wait to have a friend over to play soon.

Could you give a REAL Fairy a Home?

My Own Fairy Door – Review

“Everything you can imagine is real.” – Picasso

I absolutely love these Fairy Doors, put them inside our outside and invite a fairy to come and live with you. I’m all up for anything that stimulates imagination, encourages creative play and promotes writing.

I’ve just survived the school holidays and was nearly broken by the repeated pleas asking ‘what are we doing today? Who are we going to visit?’ My 7 year old daughter, an only child, has never been brilliant at playing on her own and a simple ‘go and play’ doesn’t work.

However, the morning after our ‘Own Fairy Door’ arrived she set upon opening and became totally immersed in creating a home for her Fairy. She spent a good two to three hours playing independently with very little input from us.

She made her a house

Decorated her room

And named her

Landscaped her garden

(excuse the cat hair in the photo, you know what it’s like if you leave a box unattended with cats around.)

Now we just need to wait for her to move in. Apparently, once the key is gone and there’s fairy dust on the doorstep we will know she’s arrived.

We will then need to go online and print off her a naming certificate for her.

These would make excellent gifts for some of her school friends and reasonable priced at £19.99.

Truly Magical.

Card Games for the whole family – Giveaway

Dobble is Brilliant!

As a family we really should play games more often. We have a sideboard full of games from Kerplunk to Kerfuffle plus a few traditional ones like The Game of Life. We do play cards on occasion and daughter a dab hand at Snap, Go Fish and War.

However, I had never played Dobble and had no idea how brilliant it is. I would describe it as super-charged snap. It’s both simplistic and challenging at the same time. The first time we took it out we played 8 games back to back. There are 55 card with 8 symbols on each card and there is one identical symbol in common with each card. I have no idea how they did this. There 5 mini games to choose from; Towering Inferno. The Well, The Hot Potato, Gotta Catch ‘Em All and The Poisoned Gift. We’ve only played two so far and are hooked.

It comes in its own storage tin and is very portable so we will definitely be taking it on car journeys, plane trips and camping.

Win Dobble for your Family

To enter simply use the Rafflecopter form below. In short it’s open to UK residents 18+ years of age. Full Terms and Conditions can be found at the bottom of the form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!

If you don’t manage to win it, I’d suggest popping out and buying yourself one, Argos and WHSmith are currently offering 20% off.

This competition is listed on Loquax, Prize Finder and Competition Hunter.