Mummy & Moose
clapping, napping and yapping our way through the day

Beaker Creatures Whirling Wave Reactor Review and Giveaway | Ad

We were sent this toy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

STEM toys and blind bag collectable toys have been seriously on trend for the last year or 2 and their popularity certainly doesn’t seem to be waning. The Beaker Creatures Whirling Wave Reactor is a toy aimed at children aged 5+ which combines these two trends in a really cool and engaging way.

Moose absolutely loves simple experiments and anytime he is asked if he wants to choose a toy he will usually opt for a blind bag so I was interested to see whether the Beaker Creatures Whirling Wave Reactor would hold his interest.

What’s in the box?

beaker creatures whirling waves collectable

This 12-piece set includes:

  • 1 Reactor Pod with mystery Beaker Creature
  • 1 Limited-edition colour-change Beaker Creature
  • 5-Piece Whirling Wave Reactor
  • 2 Classification cards
  • 2 Mini-posters with amazing science facts
  • 1 Experiment guide

How does it work?

It’s actually quite a simple concept. Basically a bath bomb with a toy inside is placed inside a plastic pod and whirled around after water is added to the chamber to extract a surprise creature.

So simple in fact that Moose set the whole thing up all by himself.

Moose loved turning the handle to swirl the water around in order to excavate his creature. He was excited to find out which character he would reveal!

Extracting the character is just the first of the 5 experiment ideas on the instruction sheet included in this set. We will definitely give a couple of the others a try! You will need additional items for the other experiments but they are things you will have in your kitchen cupboards so no other major outlay is required.

After your creature has been revealed there is a character sheet so that you can identify him or her.

What did we think?

I thought that for the price point the Beaker Creatures Whirling Wave Reactor represents good value for money. Moose really enjoyed the extraction of his creature. He also played with it all (on the draining board to save mess) for ages afterwards. I like that there are other experiment ideas but I think it’s a shame that only 1 “pod” is included. It would have been nice to have 2 in the pack to be able to try a second time but you can buy  additional pods.

Giveaway

 

We have teamed up with Learning Resources to offer 1 lucky reader the chance to win their very own Beaker Creatures Whirling Wave Reactor worth £16.

Terms and conditions:

(Please note that all entries will be checked against comments for validation).

Once a winner is randomly picked, I will check if the winner has done what was requested and I will contact them, if they do not reply within one week, the prize will be allocated to another person.  The winner’s details will be sent to Playtime PR for Learning Resources, in order that they can arrange delivery.  Please allow 28 days for delivery.

This giveaway is for UK residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Living Arrows Week 20 2019

“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”

Last week we had to head back to the opticians to pick up some specs for Moose. He was absolutely adamant that he definitely didn’t need to wear them but a short visit to the eye clinic at our local hospital and a diagnosis of a lazy eye with a prescription of +4 said different.

I was a bit worried that the choice wouldn’t be there and to be honest being left to stand around feeling utterly clueless for half an hour. No, I am not exaggerating. Before a very nice man came to tell me that the pairs I had finally plucked from the shelves were entirely unsuitable did not help with the anxiety.

It didn’t take long to find a pair to suit Moose. He is of course, adorable.

However, he has inherited my big head so that cancelled off a big percentage of the frames on display. He settled on a pair with a Transformers character on them along with some super cool Spiderman sunglasses.

Then we went to Tesco where he successfully managed to time his request for LEGO with a massive wave of Mum guilt over not noticing his lazy eye up until now. Not that I actually noticed it at all. Thank Dog for school nurses and their checks!

He has now had his frames for a week and he has been so much better than I thought at wearing them. I presumed it would be a hard sell but they must be really helping his vision because he rarely takes them off which is great!

Moose had also completed 10 days of being dry overnight so we are having a pretty good time at the moment parenting wise. Of course, the reward he wanted for this accomplishment was more LEGO so now we are just resigned to being poor forever. Can’t win em all though.

 

 

Living Arrows

How to Stay on Track With Your Slimming Efforts

Body positivity is a wonderful thing, and we ladies should love our figures regardless of the size. However, if you have made the decision to lose a few pounds, you’ll know how tricky it can be to stay on track.

There are some clever little tricks that can help you to stick with your healthy eating plan. Here are just a few to help you.

Staying focused with your slimming

  • If it’s deprivation, it won’t work in the long-term. There’s no point in going on an extreme diet. Sure, you’ll lose the weight to begin with, but because you’ll feel deprived of all the foods you love, you’re likely to slip back into your old eating habits quickly. Plan what you’re going to eat in advance, and make sure it’s delicious, low-fat food. Remember, it’s a long-term lifestyle change, not a short-term fix.

 

  • Take up exercise. Exercise on its own won’t make you weigh less However, building muscle means you’ll be burning more calories, which is never a bad thing. You’ll also get the adrenalin rush of working out; another great benefit. Do an activity that you find enjoyable. There’s no point going on a five-mile run if you loathe every step of it.

 

  • Eat regularly. Feeling hungry is horrible. Those familiar mid-afternoon tummy-rumbles can swiftly derail your healthy eating plans! Keep some tasty low-fat snacks close to hand. A rice-cake with a smear of nut butter provides a hit of energy, and is pretty filling too.

 

  • Don’t ban foods. You can guarantee that if you try to ban your favourite unhealthy treat, you’ll only crave it all the more. Keep it on your eating plan, but eat less of it. For example, if you’ve got a major ice-cream weakness, have a small scoop with some berries as a treat, instead of an entire bowl with chocolate sauce on top.

 

  • Distract yourself. Don’t mooch around at home, as this will inevitably lead you to wander to the fridge. Instead, get out of the house. Go for a walk. Take the kids out somewhere and do a fun activity together. See some friends. Whatever you do, just make sure it stops you from brooding over food!

 

  • Give yourself a reward. Humans are hardwired to love rewards for good behaviour. Set yourself a target weight-loss (realistic, of course – don’t be brutal to your body), then, when you hit it, treat yourself to something. Don’t make it food, though. Instead, buy that eyeshadow palette you’ve been hankering after for a while, or a new perfume from a site like Copycat Fragrances.

 

  • Eat high-fibre foods. Aim to eat foods that are really high in fibre. Fibre’s not only great for your health, but it really fills you up. Good sources of fibre include: lentils, beans, brown rice, oats, peas and wholewheat pasta.

 

  • Keep track. As you’re getting started (and adjusting to your healthy-eating plan), use an app like MyFitnessPal to keep track of how much you’re eating during the day. It’s an effective way to stop yourself from snacking too much.

This is a collaborative post

AD | Feisty Pets – Sir Growls-A-Lot Bear

We were sent this toy to play with in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain our own.

My first encounter with Feisty Pets from Jazwares was just before Christmas. I had been searching for a gift for my niece and I spotted the unicorn but was sadly forbidden to buy it by my sister (aka lil miss party pooper). She was a bit worried that it would scare her then 3 year old. I still maintain that the niece is fiercer than the Feisty Pet – but it’s a close run thing.

feisty pets

Fast forward to much more recently and Moose was sent his very own Feisty Pet to play with. If you have been paying attention you may be aware that Moose has a bit of a strange taste in cuddlies… His favourites are still his Crate Creature and his Fuggler.

With this in mind I felt pretty confident that the Feisty Pets would be an equally big hit with Moose. There are several different ones to choose from. We were sent Sir Growls-A-Lot. He is a very cuddly looking bear with a fierce side!

feisty pets

Each Feisty Pet is undeniably cute but each has their own likes and dislikes. Just as well, so you can stay on their good side!

Sir Growls-A-Lot’s are:

Likes: Trash cans, raw meat and hibernating.

Dislikes: Waking up, loud noises, jail food.

The Feisty Pets plush is 25cm tall which is a good size I think for a toy that children will want to carry around (to play pranks on people) and best of all, they don’t take batteries! Their fierce side is brought to life using a mechanism you grip at the back of their head. It’s pretty easy to work and Moose had it sussed after a couple of attempts.

As well as the plush version, Feisty pets are also available as 4″ plastic figures. They have the same no batteries approach which is great and Moose loved taking this one to the park to surprise his friends!

Her name is Princess Pottymouth. Princess might seem like an average kitty, but do not assume anything. She is prone to sudden mood changes during human interactions. It is advised to wear thick layers of clothing before attempting to pet Princess Pottymouth. I grew up with a cat just like that – must be a ginger tabby thing!

In addition to the plush and the 4″ range there is also a Feisty Pets Mini Misfits Blind Figures range! Moose does love a blind bag and this one was a big hit. I quite like that this little 5cm collectable range comes with a mini Feisty Pet as well as a carry case/home for it.

I liked the quality of all 3 of the ranges and Moose really enjoyed pranking his big sister! Moose has been playing loads with his Feisty Pet friends and I will definitely be buying more for him to add to his collection!

Feisty Pets are available from all good toy shops.

 

Living Arrows week 17 2019

“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”

We are definitely back into the school routine this week. The weather has cooled off which seems to take everyone’s moods down a notch. I am looking forward to this weekend which I will spend with bloggers at BlogOn, a conference for those who blog to learn some things and generally go and be with our own kind.

Moose

Moose was chosen to receive his teachers ‘Star of the week’ award this week. He failed his sight check in February and we found out this week that he has a lazy eye. He has been trying really hard at school though and I am pleased that it has been noticed. Along with his certificate he had the honour of bringing home the class bear, Stanley, for the weekend.

As you can see, he was very happy about this!

Bess

Bess has chosen her options for GCSE at school and is waiting to see which classes she will end up with. She makes me laugh with her stories from school but this week I really felt for her. She mentioned that some boys make comments when her and her friend walk past them.

Names like “lesbian” and “tranny with a fanny” were thrown her way. I could feel my stomach knotting up as she was telling me. As she spoke, it brought back memories of my own school and having to sidestep the insults from people who felt threatened by someone who didn’t conform to their version of what a female should be.

Luckily my Bess is better than them. She laughed as she told me how she loudly shouted back “CORRECT” at their ridiculous attempts to insult her. I hope she was laughing on the inside too.

 

Living Arrows