Saturday, 27 August 2011
A little bit of perfection
Last week we went camping, to one of the best camp sites I know of. Shell Island in Wales, it is Europe's largest campsite, catering for families only, no single sex groups are allowed so it is the perfect family retreat.
The island itself is huge, with no marked out pitches, you can find your own spot to set up camp, near the rocky beach where you can see the sea come in, or by the sandy dunes at the other side of the island where the children can run and play in the sand till dusk. 
The Beaches are simply amazing and there is something for everyone from fishing to sailing to plain old digging holes in the sand. 
The thing I like most about Shell Island when it comes to taking a holiday is the fact you go, you camp you enjoy the beautiful beaches and have good quality family time.
There are no distractions, no pleasure beach style rides, or ice cream stands on every corner, luring you in to spending too much additional money. There is a extremely well stocked supermarket, a restaurant with games room and pub, a souvenir shop and a camping shop on site, but if you set up camp away from these you would not know they were there at all. Their is only water no electric hook ups as they don't allow caravans only good old fashioned campers. 
The beaches are truly lovely, the huge sand dunes take you onto the sandy bathing beaches, long streches of sand, lovely and clean and never overly busy as they are private to the island campers. Across the Island there are Rocky beaches where shells are found in abundance, along with crabs and lobsters, starfish and lots of other natural delights.
Dogs are allowed and owners are responsible the site is kept clean and tidy and everyone gets along together,
there are fields specially marked with no dogs allowed if you prefer to not be near the four legged friends, Jackson came along with us and had a great time. 
We've been a few times and always had the most amazing experience, we've been lucky weather wise, but I think you could still enjoy the wonder of this amazing campsite even if the weather wasn't as good. It did rain on 2 of the days we were there but that didn't stop us enjoying catching crabs
and searching the rock pools. 
And when the sun came out we spent our time making sand boats 
and playing in the sea
We camped near the sandy dunes and could watch the children play from our tent 
It really was a great break, and we will be going back again, it cost us £107 for our Monday to Friday stay, and once we were there we spent a grand total of £40 Proving you don't need to spend alot to have a truly amazing experience
If you are thinking of going camping, and don't want lots of attractions and distractions then this is definitely worth a look : Shell Island WalesWe went and paid for this holiday ourselves and I wrote about it because I wanted to share our experiance and have not been asked to at all.
Friday, 26 August 2011
Listography - My Week!
Well Kate Takes 5, has a great Listography which was really for last week, but hey I'm a bit behind due to my week involving the following...
We have spent the most amazing week, camping at Shell Island, Wales. Which is quite simply one of my favourite places to be.
Now pop on over to Kate Takes fives blog to see what everyone else got upto :)
Sunday, 21 August 2011
Fun for three! Club Penguin Air Hockey
We received the Club Penguin Air Hockey playset in our toyology box.
My three were really excited to get inside and give it a test.
Anyone who doesn't already know, Club Penguin is a children's online world where they can have their own penguin and interact with a virtual penguin world. So these cute little penguins may well be familiar to your children and it makes a great gift for anyone who is already a club penguin fan.
The box is a fair size and looks impressive with a clear section so you can see the 3 penguins you receive in the box there are several other penguins featured on the box, which you can purchase separately. Also it does talk about the online world on the box and includeds a special code which unlocks features on the online world.
Inside the box you get the air hockey play field, which needs some building (clipping the nets in place and fixing on the door) a stadium seating section, 2 player penguins with 2 extra stands, and a referee. You only get one playing Puck, so be careful you don't loose that!
This toy needs 2 x C batteries which are NOT included so be sure to get some of them in ready if your purchasing this as a present.
Once you have built up the stadium and inserted your batteries your ready to play, the air blows up to make the puck float fractionally just like real air hockey. There is a score board with turning scores to keep track of whos winning.
My three had great fun with this its simple to use and the rules are easy.. hit the puck to score a goal!
My three played happily together which is getting quite a rare thing, and played in a 'winner stays on' method with a first to score 5 being the winner which enabled them to finish a round fairly quickly and not get frustrated or bored in the process. they have also gone back to this several times and had a fair few games over the past few days.
There are a couple of downsides to this game, one it is fairly noisy, like a hair dryer, and the penguins tend to mark the playing pitch a bit. But neither of these things has stopped my three having fun with this toy.
The Club Penguin Air Hockey Set is Priced £39.99 and can be purchased from Toys R us now
Take a look at our video review here:
My three were really excited to get inside and give it a test.
Anyone who doesn't already know, Club Penguin is a children's online world where they can have their own penguin and interact with a virtual penguin world. So these cute little penguins may well be familiar to your children and it makes a great gift for anyone who is already a club penguin fan.
The box is a fair size and looks impressive with a clear section so you can see the 3 penguins you receive in the box there are several other penguins featured on the box, which you can purchase separately. Also it does talk about the online world on the box and includeds a special code which unlocks features on the online world.
Inside the box you get the air hockey play field, which needs some building (clipping the nets in place and fixing on the door) a stadium seating section, 2 player penguins with 2 extra stands, and a referee. You only get one playing Puck, so be careful you don't loose that!
This toy needs 2 x C batteries which are NOT included so be sure to get some of them in ready if your purchasing this as a present.
Once you have built up the stadium and inserted your batteries your ready to play, the air blows up to make the puck float fractionally just like real air hockey. There is a score board with turning scores to keep track of whos winning.
My three had great fun with this its simple to use and the rules are easy.. hit the puck to score a goal!
My three played happily together which is getting quite a rare thing, and played in a 'winner stays on' method with a first to score 5 being the winner which enabled them to finish a round fairly quickly and not get frustrated or bored in the process. they have also gone back to this several times and had a fair few games over the past few days.
There are a couple of downsides to this game, one it is fairly noisy, like a hair dryer, and the penguins tend to mark the playing pitch a bit. But neither of these things has stopped my three having fun with this toy.
The Club Penguin Air Hockey Set is Priced £39.99 and can be purchased from Toys R us now
Take a look at our video review here:
Saturday, 20 August 2011
Real Construction Review
We received the Real Construction Deluxe Workshop set in our latest Toyology box from Toys R us UK.
This was something I was really interested in testing, I had seen it advertised and wondered if it would be any good, my three were equally as interested in putting it through its paces.
On the front of the box it shows you several pictures of models you could make, and has a 'feel it' hole so you can feel the 'kid wood' through the box, the wood is more foam than wood, and because of which it doesn't splinter, or make dust. The tools are not at all sharp and so very child friendly.
The age rating on the box states 6 and up.
In the Kit you get 6 tools, (the hole cutter has 2 size pieces so you could count that you get 7 tools if you wanted) You also get 19 piece of foam wood, 50 screws and 50 nails, along with 2 hinges to help with your projects.
The instruction Manuel is a fold out paper sheet, which just shows briefly ideas for you, there is no measurements or long winded details shown.
They encourage you to use your imagination which is a great thing, as I doubt children could make the models to look like the neatly made ones on the box.
My eldest two (Jakes 9 and Chloes 8) really loved this kit and got right into the whole model making process, they worked together to think about what they needed to do in order to produce a model at the end and I left them alone happily making their models, they spent a good hour or two building and were happy with their finished piece, My youngest was desperate to join in, and although he tried his hardest the concept of thinking through the decisions to make a final product were a bit over him, however with the instructions of what to saw and where to hammer nails coming from his older brother he did join in and was very proud he'd helped complete the finished models. The only down side for younger children is that as the wood is soft, foam it tends to be tricky to start sawing, or cutting holes, but with guidance younger children may well be able to enjoy this kit, just be aware that it will take some adult supervising for young children to enjoy this kit and they may get frustrated if they can not produce things as quickly or as easily as they wanted.
Priced at £29.99 this is a great substantial toy, and you are able to build at least 2 decent sized models, but you would soon need the refill wood so that is something to keep in mind Refill sets are priced from £7.99
I think older children will get the most out of this kit (8 -12 year olds) as they can really think about what it is they wish to make and be satisfied that their idea worked and they have created something good, I think boys would like this alot more than some of the other crafty sets which seem aimed at girls and it was really nice watching my three work together and think things through to create something that they were proud of.
Heres my video review
Be sure to check out the Toys R us Facebook page and the ToyBox ap to see all the toyologists reviews!
This was something I was really interested in testing, I had seen it advertised and wondered if it would be any good, my three were equally as interested in putting it through its paces.
On the front of the box it shows you several pictures of models you could make, and has a 'feel it' hole so you can feel the 'kid wood' through the box, the wood is more foam than wood, and because of which it doesn't splinter, or make dust. The tools are not at all sharp and so very child friendly.
The age rating on the box states 6 and up.
In the Kit you get 6 tools, (the hole cutter has 2 size pieces so you could count that you get 7 tools if you wanted) You also get 19 piece of foam wood, 50 screws and 50 nails, along with 2 hinges to help with your projects.
The instruction Manuel is a fold out paper sheet, which just shows briefly ideas for you, there is no measurements or long winded details shown.
They encourage you to use your imagination which is a great thing, as I doubt children could make the models to look like the neatly made ones on the box.
My eldest two (Jakes 9 and Chloes 8) really loved this kit and got right into the whole model making process, they worked together to think about what they needed to do in order to produce a model at the end and I left them alone happily making their models, they spent a good hour or two building and were happy with their finished piece, My youngest was desperate to join in, and although he tried his hardest the concept of thinking through the decisions to make a final product were a bit over him, however with the instructions of what to saw and where to hammer nails coming from his older brother he did join in and was very proud he'd helped complete the finished models. The only down side for younger children is that as the wood is soft, foam it tends to be tricky to start sawing, or cutting holes, but with guidance younger children may well be able to enjoy this kit, just be aware that it will take some adult supervising for young children to enjoy this kit and they may get frustrated if they can not produce things as quickly or as easily as they wanted.
Priced at £29.99 this is a great substantial toy, and you are able to build at least 2 decent sized models, but you would soon need the refill wood so that is something to keep in mind Refill sets are priced from £7.99
I think older children will get the most out of this kit (8 -12 year olds) as they can really think about what it is they wish to make and be satisfied that their idea worked and they have created something good, I think boys would like this alot more than some of the other crafty sets which seem aimed at girls and it was really nice watching my three work together and think things through to create something that they were proud of.
Heres my video review
Be sure to check out the Toys R us Facebook page and the ToyBox ap to see all the toyologists reviews!
Thursday, 18 August 2011
So...? for me!
Being a parent is one of them selfless things isn't it? You give up your evenings pampering yourself in a hot bubble bath to instead wash hairs and read stories, you give up your hot cup of tea in the morning to instead make bowls of breakfast and wash pots, you go from loving expensive clothes and posh restaurants to being excited about toys and supermarket offers.
So when the postman knocked on the door and I scrambled over several toys and pairs of shoes, holding back the dog, who incidentally is always rather too happy to see the postmen! I swept my unbrushed hair out of my eyes and thanked the postman for the package, and I was really happy to see that inside was something for me.
The new fragrance by So...? aptly named 'For me' was what greeted me in the package, and what a lovely fragrance it is. Definitely one to keep your eyes open for next time you quickly whizz down the supermarket isle huddling your children along as they drag you to the sweet section, remember even as tired mums we all like a little something thats 'just for me' (although I have had to retrieve MY so..? spray from my daughters room more times than I would have liked!)
Thank you to So..? you really made my day. Why not pop over to the great So..? facebook page to see all their great offers, competitions and giveaways :) I was not asked to write about So..? I am doing this post because it genuinely did make me smile, and I received the spray from a giveaway on their facebook page, with no connection to my blog :) They currently have a fab competition to win a goody bag worth £50 so be sure to check out their page and enter!
So when the postman knocked on the door and I scrambled over several toys and pairs of shoes, holding back the dog, who incidentally is always rather too happy to see the postmen! I swept my unbrushed hair out of my eyes and thanked the postman for the package, and I was really happy to see that inside was something for me.
The new fragrance by So...? aptly named 'For me' was what greeted me in the package, and what a lovely fragrance it is. Definitely one to keep your eyes open for next time you quickly whizz down the supermarket isle huddling your children along as they drag you to the sweet section, remember even as tired mums we all like a little something thats 'just for me' (although I have had to retrieve MY so..? spray from my daughters room more times than I would have liked!)
Thank you to So..? you really made my day. Why not pop over to the great So..? facebook page to see all their great offers, competitions and giveaways :) I was not asked to write about So..? I am doing this post because it genuinely did make me smile, and I received the spray from a giveaway on their facebook page, with no connection to my blog :) They currently have a fab competition to win a goody bag worth £50 so be sure to check out their page and enter!
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