Science toys for cool kids

When I was at Blog On Winchester blogging event last month I discovered the company Trends UK. They are the UKs number one science toy supplier.

As a toy company that seems to have some pretty cool toys! We met and slightly fell in love with the Roboraptor, which as his name suggests is a robot dinosaur of the raptor variety. He has various personality settings and could change from hunting mode to your best friend!

 

We also loved the funky haired Elektrokidz who shake their mop tops to any music they hear. A great addition to a teen bedroom or the top of a sound system, I imagine a tiny disco of various colours all wiggling about to the latest One Direction song or rocking out to some drum and base.

But while I loved the robot toys it was the science stuff on the website that really grabbed my attention. Great gifts like telescopes, metal detectors and microscopes. I'm a bit of a science geek and I know I would have loved to have had the tools to explore the world around me when I was younger, I think I made do with a magnifying glass.

Trends bring together some excellent brands, and have a chemistry section too. I still fancy having my own chemistry lab!

But I think for retro goodness alone, and huge 'dad appeal' the Haynes section of the website might be the winner. Airfix Spitfires, model engines, just brilliant! Find out how an engine works and build one, perfect for a tinker of a winter's afternoon in the shed.

Trends also have lots of great spy gadgets. So for the budding MI5 employee or the sneaky preteen there is plenty to choose from, night stealth goggles, door alarms and listening devices.

It's a great site with new toys arriving daily so it's well worth bookmarking and checking regularly. They even have science-y time-y wime-y Dr Who cybernetics labs!

Disclosure - Trends UK gave me the weird dancing music loving Elektrokid as a gift :-) But I wrote this post.

Safe and clean - a review of Aquaint water based sanitiser

A little gem has appeared and become an instant favourite on my 'things to take when I go out' list.


Small and easy to fit in my bag a bottle of Aquaint has replaced a previously carried bottle of alcohol based hand gel.


Aquaint's claims made me initially think it must be too good to be true! Kills 99.9% of all sorts of horrors, can be used on babies and children (from birth!), isn't dangerous if ingested, can be used to clean 'things' as well as hands, dummies, rattles, (so if anyone throws their toys out of the pram they can go right back in after a quick spray and wipe) plates (perfect when camping as I often leave things to dry in the sun where flies no doubt have a wander!) and even fruit!


So could it really be true? Water based, non toxic safe and yet kills bacteria, fungus, viruses...


Well it turns out yes it can! I had a look through various scientific papers that have looked into using hypochlorous acid as a disinfectant and the results were all positive. It's a naturally occurring acid and not toxic, your own body makes it anyway, and after testing it for a few days I'm hooked! No dry skin as it's water based, no strong smell (great just before you eat a sandwich!) I will be stocking up with a few bottles in preparation for festival season.


I can't imagine why I hadn't heard of this product before.


Disclosure - I was sent a couple of bottles of Aquaint for the purposes of the review - but I'm genuinely happy to recommend this product.

Aquaint is a 100 per cent natural, eco-friendly water-based sanitiser that kills 99.9 percent of bacteria in seconds. Water provides the base for the product to be highly effective as a cleanser and its only other ingredient, Hypochlorous Acid, provides its anti-bacterial properties. Hypochlorous Acid is a harmless, natural acid produced by the human body to kill bacteria.

Aquaint has passed official UK Drinking Water tests and is endorsed by Allergy UK as an ‘Allergy Friendly Product’. It is the safest sanitiser on the market and ideal for the most sensitive and delicate skin from birth. Its lack of chemicals, fragrances and preservatives mean it is completely harmless, even if digested. It can even be used as a mouthwash.

Product Overview

• Suitable for use on the skin, surfaces and even on food
• Safe to use from birth
• Suitable for sensitive skin and endorsed as an ‘Allergy Friendly Product’
• Kills 99.9% of bacteria in seconds
• Multiple uses at home, out and about and while travelling
• Does not dry out or irritate the skin, even after repeated use
• Does not need to be rinsed off
• Gentle, powerful and extremely safe
• Harmless if swallowed
• Safe to be handled unsupervised by infants
• Eco friendly
• Safe as drinking water!

It is available in a 500ml trigger spray bottle (£4.99) for use around the house on kitchen worktops, dining tables or in the car and can even by sprayed onto food. The handy 50ml mini spray bottle (£2.49) is ideal for carrying in your handbag, keeping on your desk or taking on days out, camping trips and festivals as a quick and easy way to cleanse hands or skin.

It can be used to freshen-up and deodorise the body naturally, used as a mouthwash or mouth freshener and sprayed directly on to the skin or surfaces without the need to rinse off as it does not leave behind any residues or toxic chemicals. Aquaint is perfect if you’re worried about exposure to harsh chemicals as it does not contain any alcohol, Parabens, Pthalates etc.

Aquaint is stocked in Boots, Babies R Us, Ocado, Vital Baby, JoJo Maman Bebe, NCT Shop and Amazon and is available to purchase on the website at www.aquaint-uk.com.

Reading and giving away books

I like reading, though I used to read more before blogging and social media..well I used to read more books, now I read your stories, your news and your opinions.

But I do still read books, sometimes on my Kobo ereader, sometimes on my Kindle app and more often on actual paper.

The nice thing about paper books is how easy they are to share too. Even the very non-techy person can share a paper book.

BookCrossing is a rather fun way to not only share but to redistribute, give away and track your books.

You can register a book for free, add it's BookCrossing ID (BCID) to the book and then anyone that reads the book can log on and report on the books travels.

I'm a huge fan of 'wild releases' where you register a book, and then 'set it free' in any location you choose, a bus stop, a park bench, a playground, a cafe, a hospital, etc.


I had a sort of gap where I forgot to bookcross, I don't know why as it's great fun, one of my books travelled to New Zealand! but even those that don't get reported (what happens to them? where are they?) are still fun to release, to imagine their travels.

So I've started BookCrossing again. Why not register? Take a look, be my friend there, watch what books are released in your area, maybe even go hunting for some! Let your kids play too, I have just started a book release challenge involving kids books in kid friendly places.

Join in. Lets make the whole world a library.

There are useful printables if you can't afford to buy official labels, stickers and bags, but want your books to look a bit more official than just having writing in them.

Camp Bestival, or 'turning it off and on again'

Today in the news there was talking of the arrogance of the west (no arguments there) about sleep (oh, as you were...sleep eh?) and how sleep is important

I can see the parents nodding at the back, or maybe nodding off at the back. Yes they mumble, sleep is important, and I'm not getting any (no nor any of that either - I'm too tired)

Well I'm here to tell you exciting news!

Camping resets your body clock! Yes yes it does - the BBC wrote about it here 

Gratuitous Picture of Eton Mess served at Camp Bestival

Camping can be a great way to reboot, to 'switch yourself off and on again' as it were. Getting up with the light, snoozing in the sun if you get sleepy in the daytime, eating when hungry, going to bed when tired... And if you are panicking that you can't because ... you have kids and camping with kids is too stressful (I wrote about that here) then more good news!

Camp Bestival still has tickets and it's a festival designed for families, for children, for parents, even for babies! yes loyal reader a festival for all! (they don't mind if you are single, or even alone either, more the merrier, pile on in)

Camp Bestival has security to keep you safe and return lost kids, it has bars for relaxing grown ups and all kinds of free activities to keep small ones entertained, from clay modelling to dance schools. It has a quiet chill out baby tent, for snoozing babes, and breastfeeding mums (and bottle feeding mums and dads too of course!)

It has bouncy castles, jousting (yes real actual jousting!) circuses, dressing up with a cat walk (unleash your inner 'silly'!) lots of shops selling fun things, clothes, bubbles, wigs, food, hats...

This year Rob and Josie have been working on a Teen Arena so that those annoying lovely teens don't feel left out and can have some fun of their own, I know DD isexcited about this as we did start to feel she was getting too old for some of the kids stuff while not quite old enough for the grown up stuff.

I'm going this year as a Camp Bestival Official Blogger and I'm taking my brother and his family along to their FIRST festival! I can't wait to show them the joy of Camp Bestival.

Good gracious I failed to mention the MUSIC! It's a festival so of course there is music, dancing, Mr Tumble for the little ones, Chas and Dave for those older...I've been told to listen out for The Wedding Present, ... look at the whole line up here.

So? Are you coming? Grab a tent, some bubbles and some glow sticks, I'll save you a pitching spot...

It's NOT big, and it's NOT clever,

When I was about 15 or 16 I smoked.
Only a bit, maybe one or two a week if I was lucky (should that be unlucky?) I was strictly ‘other peoples’ in what brand I smoked.
Once I was 18 and living outside of home I occasionally bought my own cigarettes. I still rarely smoked more than one or two a week, mostly I smoked when friends did on a Friday or a Saturday night. Peer pressure, yep, it was both big and clever. But it was also ‘cool’.

I usually smoked exotic and enticing brands like Black Russians, More Menthol or Multicoloured cocktail cigarettes with gold coloured filters ...it was all about the glamour. Packaging and presentation had a direct effect on whether I would buy a brand, I was beyond excited to discover a brand called DEATH that was sold in Brighton that came in a suave black coffin shaped box, too naïve, and too stupid to care about the irony it was quickly my favourite.
I never became addicted to cigarettes, I never smoked more than a couple a week and after the age of 24 rarely smoked at all. I haven’t smoked now in over 20 years.

 I wish smoking wasn’t cool. A smoking ban in public venues has done a lot to stop smokers, it is not so chic to huddle out in the rain to catch a quick puff. Lack of advertising has also helped to stop children and young adults starting the habit and of course you now need to be 18 to even begin. But I think another great preventative would be plain boring non-trendy packaging (think the classic TESCO VALUE campaign!) which is why I’d be happy to see all cigarettes sold in plain white cartons.
 I know all the arguments about cigarette taxes helping the country. I’ve heard things in favour of an outright ban (I’m not in favour mainly as it would only serve to make it cooler!) I think the best way to ensure that less people risk their health is to make smoking a real decision, based on proper information and not ‘oooh look – how cool is that packet!’ or ‘how handsome is that cowboy smoking!’

Long, long ago...

well ok, September actually,

I had a plan for a Handmade Christmas Decoration swap. I didn't know how much interest it would get as I'm not a very prolific blogger (haha!) and although I have lots of friends on Twitter, one can never be sure anyone is really paying any attention, so it was a nice surprise when my 'limit' of 20 people was reached!

The range of decorations was fabulous, from simple ideas that we could all have a go at to eleborate artistic ventures, and all were really Christmassy, made with love and generally wonderful.

Lazily I haven't got around to posting the pictures of these gems, so now is the time.

Behold the glory of the Handmade Christmas Decoration swap!

with many thanks to the twitter users who played

@beckycheeks
@frugalfamily
@Lady_Gyr
@mamacrow
@mummylion
@redtedart
@missielizzieb
@peekaywrites
@rea_g
@MotherScuffer
@snafflesmummy
@chickenruby
@cherrytweep
@smokerette
@liveotherwise
@WahooCoo

@smiffysmrs

@Georgina_Giles

(You'll see I am missing some pictures - watch this space - I'm hoping to have more up soon)

Perils of the older child and Sleep Overs

I wrote some time ago now about being Nemo's Dad and the protective neurotic you become when you have a child. How it's a fine line between protection and stifling a child, and how hard it can be to find a balance.

Now my DD is 11 years old. She walks to school alone, she goes to call for friends alone, she goes to the shops alone. She also still does a lot of things with us as a family. She has yet to catch a bus or a train alone for example.

When I was 11 I did all these things too. And also, now she is older, she has friends where we don't know the parents. Not don't know them very well, but don't know them at all, have never seen them, don't even know their names.

So last night a long phone call from a friend resulted in 'Mum can I go for a sleep over at Ophelia's house?' (names changed to protect the innocent) and I stopped and thought.........

well why not, she goes out a lot by herself, she plays with this girl at school....

but....

I don't know the family, at all. I have never met the mum, I have never seen the house, I don't even know where it is! DH has seen the house once when he gave Ophelia a lift home from a tea at our house once (her mum obviously trusts US!) but that's it. 

I guess I just need to ring the mum and confirm the arrangements and try and assess from a phone call that all will be OK.

I asked on Twitter what people thought. And in response to a Question - Would you allow your 11yo daughter to go for a sleepover with parents you didn't know? and if not how would you go about 'vetting' those parents? I got many and varied answers! ranging from

Never! I would have to know the parents well

No, I would meet them over coffee first

I would ring them and chat on the phone.

I would facebook them (I don't have facebook and besides that I don't know the mum's name!)

to

Yeah, there comes an age when you can't know all the parents

Yeah if she's happy to go

Yes it will be fine, just check the mum knows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I'm none the wiser, I guess that DD will go, I guess there will be a phone call, I guess all will be fine. What would you do?

A Give Away!! Roll Up Roll Up!!

Recently I entered a draw to win a book on The BabyBudgeting Blog and was super lucky and won!! (yay me!)

Then a weird thing happened, the lovely book that arrived was not the book I expected to win, it was not Cool Camping Kids, but was in fact The Cool Camping CookBook. Now, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth so I started to read it and hoped it would be filled with fabulous recipes that I could use when camping in one of my many tents (oh the camping addiction!) but..

...it's not a recipe book for me; to start with the foreword is written by Bear Grylls, never mind his daft name, the picture of him says it all, lounging, posing on a camp bed with artistically smeared muddy face.....yuk, loves himself far too much, give me Ray Mears any day. So a bad start but let's be brave and launch into the food itself, after all it's what the book is about.

The recipes are illustrated with gorgeous pictures of food and campfires. The recipes themselves sound lovely and use various cooking methods, fire pits, barbecue's, camp stoves, pots etc......... But (and it's a big but, as would yours be if you ate too many of the roasted chocolate bananas ) most are not 'easy' recipes for a minimalistic camper, so unless you take a large amount of kitchen stuff with you, you'd be out of luck. many recipes rely on planning at home such as marinating or bringing a large selection of both food and cooking utensils and so for me this book was not really helpful. I need to know what to cook in a single pot on a single stove with only a penknife!

That said if you planned a barbecue or an evening round a fire pit with friends, or even an evening in, there are some great recipes, it's just that I don't think they are ideally suited to camping.

I may be wrong of course, you may always cook elaborate meals outside your tent in which case you'd love to take this book camping!

And with that in mind I would like to pass it on, give it away, to a blog reader, all you need to do to enter is to comment on this post and tell me either your best or worst camping food story! have you cooked a great meal in 10 minutes/ or slaved for 2 hours to produce a burnt sausage? let me know.
(if you've never camped tell me what you would attempt to cook - that should be fun!!)

I'll draw the name from a hat and contact you for your address if you win on or about the 10th July 2010

I haven't actually told you the best bit, when I told the lovely Becky at BabyBudgeting she sorted out the correct book to be sent out - and it is perfect in all respect and I love it! but even better, the lovely publishers sent me an extra book.....which I will reveal and review soon...it's a cracker!

Uncomfortable Talks with Kids

you know, the sex talk, the........., well basically just the sex talk!!

my 9 year old knows most of what there is to know to be fair, she had the book by Babette Cole bought for her (by me) when she was about 3 - seemed easier to treat the whole thing like it was just ordinary and normal from the start and that has worked well. She is calm and easy to talk to about sex. When she was about 7 we had the 'what does Gay mean?" conversation, all straightforward, because, let's face it, it is pretty straight forward and easy to get! (it's when a lady loves another lady, or a man loves another man just like your mummy and daddy love each other)

* off the point but she got the giggles in class after asking her teacher what it meant, and the teacher said "it's when two men of the same sex love each other" (think about it)

anyway back to the talk, so a few mornings ago she asked "can a man have a baby? because I saw one on YouTube, and on the news" so of course YES was the answer - "but how"

"well in this man's case he was born with a lady's body, he felt sad in the body he was in, he felt like a man but looked like a lady, imagine if you woke up one day and were a little boy not a little girl, wouldn't you feel odd?"

she was thinking and nodding

"so he was lucky, the Drs could give him medicine and do some surgery to make his body match what he felt he should be - but they left some bits so he could have a baby, some lady bits"

her face now a picture...."they made a WINKY?" me"yes they can do that"

"Oh OK"

end of discussion.

she's the best.

Oh and we know a few men that like to dress as ladies, either all the time, or sometimes, she thinks it's funny, but then she thinks it's funny I have boobies so go figure ;-)