Mambo play centre, Cardiff

After Mondays experience at a local play centre, yesterday we decided to pay Mambo’s a visit.

Mambo’s has only been open a few weeks but I’ve already heard some good reviews from friends, my inner child couldn’t wait to go!

Mambo is situated 5 minutes from Cardiff city centre and is easy to get to with plenty of parking available on site.

Upon entering there are ‘rules of play’ posters next to the desk, where you need to sign in and pay.
I like these rules of play posters, it tells parents and their children, what’s acceptable behaviour and what’s not.
As Willow is under 12 months old, we didn’t need to pay for her and parents go free, bonus! To get to the play area, a staff member needs to open a little picket fence that’s magnetically locked, great security to stop little ones escaping.

Once inside, we could see all the different areas clearly defined, baby, toddler, party area ect. We choose a table, took off our shoes and made our way over to the baby area, which consists of soft play shapes. I think it would have been nice to have a little ball pit for the babies even though there is one in the toddler area.
One thing that I love about Mambo’s is the ‘rules’ signs, there was one on the baby area…..

And one on the toddler area…..

Not once did I see a child in the wrong area and Willow was safe to explore the soft play. Friends have even told me that staff do enforce the rules and they make sure all children play in the right zones.

One thing I did find odd, Mambo’s has carpet tiles. Whilst we were there, we saw staff cleaning with a hand held Hoover several times. Although the carpet was very clean, I can’t help but to think that in a few months times, it won’t be as nice. But it did feel nice to walk on!

After Willow had a little play, we decided to order some lunch. They have a decent menu available and they are competitively priced.

I ordered a latte, hot chocolate, baked potato with beans, tuna melt panini and a child’s meal, burger and mash, it came to £14 odd.

Please excuse the drinks pictures, I ate all the yummy cream off my hot chocolate before I remembered to take the picture!

All of the plates, cutlery, high chair ect were spotless, there were staff members constantly cleaning and they were easily identified as they had ‘STAFF’ written on their t-shirts. A staff member was never far away, there were plenty of them and they also engaged in conversation with us.

I do think that they need to update their website and social media with real pictures of their play centre, even though the artist impression pictures are pretty accurate, it’s nice to see the real thing before you visit. At the moment, their website says ‘Real images will be available shortly’.

Overall, we had a very pleasant experience. I will be telling friends about Mambo’s and would most definitely recommend to others. We’ll be back!

 

Children’s play centre

On Monday we attended a relatives birthday party at a local children’s play centre, all was well until we took Willow to play in the baby and toddler area.

I don’t begrudge any parents having five minutes peace with a cuppa, but please, supervise your children. Don’t use a play centre as child care and don’t let them run riot whilst you use the time to gossip with friends. It spoils the experience for others and I very much doubt we will be returning any time soon.

Every play centre we have visited, have designated areas for certain ages and activities. These areas need to be enforced by the staff to avoid little ones getting injured. Boys kicking a ball about next to the baby and toddler is dangerous, what annoys me more, is that there’s a special enclosed area for ball games, that they chose to ignore. The ball got kicked at my head and narrowly missed Willow.

The baby and toddler area is for 0-3 year olds, I’d imaging it’s more or less the same age limit for most play centres. One little boy, older than three (he was wearing a school uniform) was in the baby and toddler area and was throwing the soft play blocks about, he held one above Willow head, ready to drop it, Simon gave him the death stare, he soon moved. Another child shoved Willow out of his way.

I’m shocked that parents allow their children to ‘play’ like this and even more shocked that the staff don’t enforce the designated areas.

Children’s play centres aren’t the cheapest places to visit, for the amount they charge, I’d at least want a safe environment for my child to play in.
This afternoon we will be visiting a new play centre that has recently opened, it’s about 15 minutes drive away but I’ve heard some good reviews, watch this space!

Klorane, Bioderma and Avene.

When a request was put out asking for bloggers to review a shampoo for oily hair, I had to apply.

I’m not a beauty blogger but I felt that this product would be relevant to me as I’ve always suffered with greasy hair. I have medium length, thick, coloured hair (got to cover those greys), I tend to wear my hair tied up quite a lot because I have a little one and don’t have the time to wash it everyday. If I wanted to wear it down, I’d have to wash it everyday.

Klorane Nettle Shampoo for oily hair
The only experience of nettles I’ve ever had is stinging myself! It’s never occurred to me to try products that are made from nettles. I’ve seen some crazy people eating them in a contest, ouch!

As I knew I would be trying this product, I let my hair get really dirty for a few days, yeah, yeah, gross I know, but I really wanted to put this shampoo through its paces.
It’s a boxed product that comes with a leaflet about their different shampoos and conditioners.

I think that they could do away with the box and leaflet to be more environmentally friendly.

After wetting my hair and pouring some shampoo onto my hand, my first thought was that it’s really runny and not as thick as other shampoos. I had to get it onto my hair pretty quickly before it ran off my hand. The first application didn’t lather up at all because I’d let my hair get really dirty to test the shampoo. The second application lathered up beautifully and I finished off by conditioning the ends of my hair.
This nettle shampoo doesn’t have a strong scent at all, the only way I can describe the faint scent is by saying it smells ‘green’. After drying, my hair felt soft and the shampoo had done a wonderful job in cleaning it. At the end of the day, there was no grease in sight. The grease started the next morning but it’s an improvement on my usual shampoo.

Priced at £5.10, it’s slightly more expensive than what I’d normally pay for shampoo but if it keeps the grease at bay, it’s worth every penny.
Klorane claim that ‘after sustained use, oil secretion is regularised, enabling you to wash your hair less frequently’. I will continue to use this product and hope that the claims are true, if they are, I will most definitely purchase in the future.

I was also lucky enough to be sent two full sized cleansers to test.

Bioderma Sensibio H20 Micelle Solution

Priced at £14.50 for 500ml, this gentle, fragrance free cleanser is suitable for sensitive and normal to dry skin. It gently removed my make-up and cleansed my skin, was easy to use and doesn’t need to be rinsed off. It’s alcohol free, so it didn’t leave my skin feeling tight or dried out. It costs more than I would usually spend but it’s such a big bottle, it will last ages and probably works out to be rather cost-effective.

Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser.

At £3.40 per 100ml, this cleanser works our more expensive than the Bioderma (depending on what bottle size is bought).

My first impressions are that this looks like a liquid soap or handwash, its fragrance free with a no rinse formula and is suitable for sensitive to irritated skin and doesn’t contain any skin irritants such as paraben preservatives or colouring agents.

It was very simple to use, I applied it with my fingertips, worked into my skin and wiped off any excess with a tissue. Just like the Bioderma, my skin felt lovely afterwards, without any tightening but I must be honest and say I didn’t like the way it felt, it feels almost soapy, like a liquid soap. I’m just being picky because I prefer to soak a cotton pad and wipe my skin. If I had to choose, I’d choose the Bioderma over the Avene, they are so alike in the benefits, skin types, cost and how my skin felt afterwards, that I have to be picky and I found the Bioderma slightly quicker and easier to use.

* I received these products to review, all opinions are honest and in my own words

Photo A day, Feb 2014

2. Favourite.

One of my favourite things is shopping and today we had Willow’s feet measured and we bought her first pair of shoes.

 

February Photo A Day 2014

A friend on a Mummy group asked if we were up for a Photo A Day challenge, we were given a list of words, a different word for each day of the month. Every word can be interpreted differently and I’m sure we will come up with some funny, artistic and happy snaps.

I’m not sure who started the Photo A Day challenge but as you can see from the picture, this list was made by Fat Mum Slim. It’s a fun challenge, nothing too taxing and hopefully I wont get bored. I hope my readers will enjoy looking at my pictures and even join in, share your pictures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #FMSphotoaday.

1. You.

You are probably expecting a picture of me and you are right, but a picture from when I was younger. Yeah, Yeah, it’s a cop out, I know, but I didn’t want to do the obvious selfie, maybe later in the month. Anyway, this is me as a baby……

I wanted to include the following picture because I’m around the same age as Willow is now, maybe slightly younger.

And finally, me, my Mum and my Granny. How amazing is my coat?!

I know it’s meant to be ‘Photo A Day’, I knew I wanted to use an old picture and when I was looking through them, I couldn’t help myself!

2 down, 12 to go. 14 things for 2014

One thing on my ’14 things for 2014′ list, was to learn a new craft of skill. After getting some inspiration from a friend, Pinterest and etsy, I’ve decided to have a go at Lino printing.

I did try it in school many years ago, cut my fingers to shreds and 16 or so years later, I’m going back for more.

I’ve purchased a few bits to get myself started, a Lino cutter (with 5 different attachments), brown paper and some Lino blocks. I still need to buy some ink or paint and I’m good to go. It’s a very cheap craft to start doing, under £10 so far. The potential is there to save money, especially if I make my own gift wrap, tags and bags ect.

I have a few simple designs in mind to get myself started but I won’t reveal anything just yet, incase it goes pear-shaped Lino printing isn’t for me.

 

I like to think I’m quite crafty and I can turn my hand to most things, with the exception on knitting and crochet. They have both been disasters! I wanted to knit a baby blanket and crochet a baby hat but I don’t have the patience for either. Hopefully I won’t find Lino printing too difficult and will get quick results.

Moments that mattered in 2013

Now that we are in 2014, I want to reflect on the moments that mattered in 2013.

2013 was a life changing year for us, instead on being a couple, we became a family by welcoming our baby daughter, Willow into the world.

After an awful pregnancy, our beautiful daughter Willow was born on the 21st February 2013, at 12.39am, weighing in at 7lb 11oz, we didn’t realise how much one little person could change our lives forever.

I knew the first few weeks would be tiring, but nothing can prepare you for how tired you’ll be, but it does get easier.

They say, that you don’t understand the concept of time until you have a child and it’s soooo true, the time is flying by and we will be celebrating Willows first birthday in a few weeks. It’s amazing how fast she’s growing and learning new things, from crawling and now trying to walk. At times she can be a handful and demanding but we wouldn’t change her for the world and we knew what we were letting ourselves in for.

2013 was a year of firsts for us, lots of firsts that mattered…..

First bath

First Fathers day

First time at the park

First tooth

First taste of chocolate

First pair of pj’s

First pony tail

First Summer

and the first time she ever fell asleep by herself!

All of these firsts may not mean a lot to you, but they are my moments of 2013 that mean the WORLD to me!

*This blog post is my entry into the moments that mattered prize draw in connection with http://www.lloydsbank.com/ *

Yum Yums

As the husband has been ill with a virus, I thought I’d be a good wife and try cheer him up by making him some Yum Yums. I did a quick internet search and found that all the recipes we quite similar, so I settled on using James Morton’s Yum Yum recipe. If you click on the link, you will see they are so simple to make with only basic ingredients. The hardest part was waiting, when I make cakes ect, I want to eat them straight away but I know that resting/proving is an important part and shouldn’t be rushed. I do have a thermometer and I was checking the oil almost constantly to try and maintain a steady temperature. If I make these again, I’d like to try a different oil. I used a vegetable oil , they weren’t greasy but did taste of the oil. Simon didn’t complain though.

They look absolutely amazing!

 

I do apologise if people find this post a bit picture heavy but I was so impressed with how they turned out and I wanted to share all the pictures!

1 down, 13 to go – 14 things for 2014

Cross number 10 off the list, Willow is in her own room! She’s been in her own room for a week and has also been sleeping 12 hour nights! Willow has always been pretty much a good sleeper but not quite 12 hours, I realise I have now probably jinxed myself!

I think we must have been waking her up, either Simon snoring or the quilt rustling (no funny business) we have a feather quilt.

We are finally getting her into a proper routine, she’s in bed between 8pm-8.30pm and fingers crossed, it seems to be working.

I’m surprised it has been so easy, I was prepared for a very unhappy baby that would be up most of the night.

I soooooo hope I haven’t jinxed us, I’m enjoying my full nights sleep hahahahaha!

I wonder what will be crossed off the list next? Probably the cake smash as I wanted to do it pretty close to her 1st birthday. I bought some ‘W’ props from hobby craft that were in the sale. They will need to be decorated but I’m still not sure on the colour scheme for the shoot yet. I will also need to sort a backdrop and an outfit. I need to quickly improve my photography skills as well, they ain’t so great at the moment!

New Camera

A few days ago, I bought a new camera. Our old camera is 5 years old and technology has moved on since then. My blog pictures were suffering as I was using the ipad, I want a more professional looking blog and buying a new camera was the next step. I’ve only had a quick little play with my new camera, but so far, I’m impressed!

I went for a Nikon Coolpix L810 in a funky red colour. I was going to buy a more expensive camera but this one had over 270 positive reviews, bonus!

The spec sounds impressive…….

• 16 megapixels.
• 26x optical zoom.
• 4x digital zoom.
• 3in screen with LCD technology.
• 22.5mm wide angle lens.
• Up to 30 frames per second.
• CCD sensor.
• Lens type: zoom.

Features:

• Minimum ISO rating 80 and maximum ISO rating 1600.
• Built-in flash.
• 720p HD recording.
• Video capture with sound.
• PictBridge compatible.

This compact camera lets curious photographers get up close from anywhere with the incredible Nikon COOLPIX NIKKOR 26x optical zoom lens (22.5mm – 585mm). Taking the perfect picture is made simple with Easy Auto mode which takes care of all the camera settings. For super-sharp shots it has Nikon’s clever anti-blur technology and a side zoom lever to help keep a steady hand.

Image stabilised 26x zoom with wide-angle capability

It’s hard to imagine such a delightfully compact body could house a powerful 26x optical zoom NIKKOR lens with 22.5 mm wide-angle to 585 mm super-telephoto coverage (35 mm format equivalent. Outstanding range and reach makes it as easy to frame a large group or broad vista as it is to zoom right in and capture an extreme close-up from a distance.

Engineered to help achieve consistently sharper results

Whether shooting still images or movies, and even when operating the zoom while recording movies, Nikon’s Lens-shift VR image stabilisation compensates for camera shake to help obtain sharper results. The handgrip is designed to ensure a firm hold and help minimise camera shake. And there’s also a side-mounted zoom control for stable handling.

Easy auto mode and 7.5 cm (3-in.) high-resolution LCD monitor

Easy auto mode lets you simply turn on the camera and start shooting, while leaving the settings to the camera. Also enhancing the shooting and playback experience is a 7.5 cm (3-in.) 921k-dot (approx.) high-resolution TFT LCD monitor. Employing Nikon’s Clear colour display technology, the monitor remains highly visible and sharp indoors or out. The extremely wide viewing angle it offers is free of colour or contrast shifts, so you and those you are with can all fully enjoy the viewing experience.

Anti-Blur Functions –Lens Shift Vibration Reduction (VR)

Anti-Blur Functions –Lens Shift Vibration Reduction (VR) reduces the effect of camera shake and allows use of slower shutter for sharper images – High ISO (up to 1600) light sensitivity for sharper images in low light. Motion Detection compensates for blur from subject movement. The Side Zoom Lever maintains a steady grip on the camera when shooting (the less the camera shakes when held, the sharper the images). Best shot selector (BSS) selects the sharpest of up to ten automatically taken sequential shots.

 

I guess I better read the manual and learn how to use it! I will update on the weekend with some pictures I’ve taken. x