Sing My Name are a company that have been around since 2003, so I'm stunned I haven't heard of them before. They sell several different products personalised with your child's name - in song!

Recommended for children aged from birth to around 6 years, Sing My Name have literally thousands of names to choose from, and even though both of my younger children have names that are traditional but not common, they were both included on the list.


We were sent a personalised alarm clock and a personalised CD. I was a bit unsure as to just how cheesy this was going to be, but it's actually really well done. The songs are fun and well sung, and not grating like some children's music.

Next Marvellous Mix-Ups With OREO. Again, a definite hit. These looked less appealing because the OREOs leave dust all over everything, but it doesn't affect eating. I didn't like these as much as the Maynards, but at least 3 of the children preferred them. Favourite part was the pebbles - they were fought over.





This was really much nicer than I even expected. I like banana, so I was expecting to like it, but thought it would be banana flavoured chocolate. Actually it's chocolate with crispy bits, soft caramel pieces and banana sweets - they taste like the soft chewy bananas you get in a 10p mix, and it's lovely. A firm hit.




We're impressed and all of these were a hit all round. Really tasty and delicious. The Marvellous Mix-Ups retail at around £2.00 a bag, and the Marvellous Creations bars are around £2.50 (including from Cadbury's website). Prices vary - the most expensive I've seen today is £3.69, so be careful where you shop.

The LEGO DUPLO How Do You Play Facebook competition is now over, and the lucky winners are on their way to Billund, but I still have 1 more prize left to give away - and this is the big one!


The LEGO DUPLO Big Farm set 10525 is a huge play set that contains everything you need to introduce your child to a whole new world of construction.

Recommended for children aged 2-5 the Big Farm has 121 pieces, including 3 farm buildings, figures, animals, a buildable tractor and a whole host of accessories.

Children learn best with familiar items, and with this set they can learn about animals, colours, families, homes and jobs as well as practice a host of other skills including building, creating and story-telling. It's perfect to encourage the imagination and keep your child occupied for hours on end.


The Big Farm retails at £49.99 and is available from The LEGO Shop - where you can collect VIP points towards discounted and free LEGO!

As I have to pay postage the giveaway is UK only, my apologies to everyone else. Entry to the giveaway is by rafflecopter form below. If you aren't sure how rafflecopter works, there's a 52 second video here.

If you haven't already entered my other LEGO DUPLO Creative Cakes Set giveaway - you can find it here. 

Entries can be gained by completing the tasks within the rafflecopter form. Each extra task completed gives you extra entries.  Please read the additional terms and conditions at the bottom of the rafflecopter form. This giveaway will end at midnight Friday 20th June when the timer will end and no more entries will be allowed.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Have you ever dropped your phone? Spilt coffee on it? Tried to use it in the pouring rain? Done that thing where you take it out of your pocket and don't have it held securely and can only watch in horror as it skitters across the floor? I know I have....





I can confirm mine's been dropped many times since I first put it in the fre case, and there's not a scratch anywhere. It's also been used in the pouring rain and even in a pool, and the case has been as good as it's word.


What makes the nuud case  so new and different is that it has no built in screen protector. This case is the first to have screenless technology and uses the phone's own glass screen, alongside the specially shaped rubber seals built into the case, to form a tight vaccuum seal which will dustproof and waterproof the phone.


 Inside the box, along with the 2 part case are an optional screen protector, a dust removal cloth and a shaped insert so that you can test the case underwater.


Obviously it had to be tested, this meant putting together the 2 [parts of the case. I have to say this was really tricky! I found the nuud case much harder to clip shut than my previous fre case and spent 10 minutes panicking about breaking it. I couldn't get the final corner to snap closed at first at all and ended up taking it on and off a few times.


In the end I found it much easier to fasten shut the bottom end of the case first, then the top, followed by checking the edges were both tight. Then the water test...30 minutes submerged.


It may have only been an inch under water, rather than the 2 metres that it's safe for, but it performed excellently, and after my experiences with the LifeProof fre case over the last 6 months, I had every faith.


I'm really impressed. I like it better than the fre case because this removes the one minor gripe that I've found - the fre case screen protector seems to attract mystery grease inside, which collects together and every couple of months you need to remove the case and wipe it inside. I think it's something you'll always have with a screen protector that isn't actually attached directly to the screen.

nuud case/fre case with built-in screen protector

The Lifeproof nuud seal works really well. I'd trust it entirely. You can see it's very different to the seals on the fre, with a much deeper profile.

nuud with black rubber seal/fre with yellow rubber seal

Overall I think the Lifeproof nuud case is excellent. It's attractive, incredibly strong and does exactly as it promises. I'm certain I'd have broken my phone by now, and I have dropped it in water, which could have been the death of it alone. I feel confident passing my phone over to my 4 year old occasionally to play LEGO Fire Stations or just leaving it on the table where all of my children are likely to spill or put things on it or knock it onto the floor.

As with the fre case you are limited to what chargers will fit into the port, but the original Samsung charger fits just fine, it's mainly cranked and a few generic cheap chargers that are an issue.

The screen protector was easy to apply well and feels lovely.  It's very sensitive and I've no problems using my touch screen. It's very thick compared to any other screen protector I've used, so hopefully it will give good protection, but only time will tell me that. I prefer it to the fre's built in screen protector, but I imagine it will need replacing more often as dust will inevitably get underneath it.

There's absolutely no loss of performance, sound or camera picture quality that I have noticed, and I was pleased to find when I removed the fre case that my phone looked immaculate and brand new - there wasn't any grit in there scratching it while in use.

The Lifeproof nuud phone case is currently available in various sizes to fit the iPad, iPod, iPhone and Samsung Galaxy. My case for the Samsung Galaxy S3 retails at around £40-50, which isn't cheap, but is substantially cheaper than a new phone or screen and comparable to 1 year's insurance.

Algy's Amazing Adventures At Sea is a new book in the Orion Early Readers. Written by Kaye Umansky and illustrated by Richard Watson, this is a Red Band book suitable for children who are beginning to read independently and who can work out more words for themselves.


The story follows Algy, a little boy who has a secret. There is another world behind a loose plank at the back of Algy's shed.

Algy, his friend Cherry and her little brother Brad go on adventures in the secret world inside the shed. This time they find the sea!


They also find some angry pirates, and their adventure has a little peril and a lot of humour but in the end all is well and everyone is happy.

This is a great book for a new reader. The text is really well-spaced out, and repetitive enough that it doesn't intimidate my 5 1/2 year old. There are a new and tricky words, but they're repeated to reinforce them immediately and so my son at least wasn't put off at all. The storyline is interesting and intriguing, and really keeps you wondering what's going to happen next.

The illustrations in Algy's Amazing Adventures At Sea are really nicely done. The pirates look quite terrifying at first, especially the Captain with his hairy nostrils, and the faces are very expressive. There is good use of bright colour, which works really well with the sea, sky and sand.


This is a 'proper' book, with 62 pages split into 6 easy chapters, so your child doesn't feel obliged to try and read it all at once,and if they're new to longer texts, they can continue to feel a sense of progression and achievement.

My boys liked this book a lot, and so do I. The ending was a real surprise - we think we know what's bothering the Pirate Captain, but we're wrong. It's a nice, clever twist.

We just reviewed Stew - The Magazine For Curious Kids and we loved it so much I'm delighted to be able to offer a year's subscription as a prize for one of my readers.

We've been sent Make, Bake, Cookies from Parragon Books for review, and here's how to make swirly rainbow cookies with your children. Super easy and very attractive...


As soon as I got an email from Parragon Books to tell me I was going to be sent Make, Bake, Cookies my mouth started watering. We very often make cookies for dessert and snacks, and get through a couple of batches a week if I ration them well.


Cookies are perfect for baking with children and encouraging a love of cooking, understanding of where food comes from and the effort involved. They always bring a sense of pride and achievement and delight the rest of the family. With this in mind I handed this one over to my 14 year old daughter and 5 year old son...

When I was asked to have a look at Stew magazine for curious kids I had to point out that I don't have any children in the recommended age range of 8-12, but it really intrigued me and I was keen to have a look. That 'tween' stage is really quite tricky to cater for and there isn't much around really, so it's nice to see that someone is filling the gap.

"Stew is a bi-monthly print magazine aimed at 8-12 year olds who love to read, write, draw and think. It aims to support the school curriculum by including informative features in each issue on the arts, science, history and world affairs. There are also short stories, book reviews and even an age-appropriate agony column.

The magazine tries to challenge and stimulate its readers in an entertaining fashion, and one of the ways it avoids being stuffy and didactic is through its use of original and stunning illustrations on practically every page. These give Stew a distinctive look while providing a platform for some superbly talented art school students and graduates".

Two of our children turned 16 in the last few months and are now mid-way through doing their GCSE's. 13 years of education compacted into 7 hellish weeks of revision and exam.


Our entire household is in a kind of 'pause' while it all goes on. No-one wants to put a foot wrong, but it's far too easy to say the wrong thing. Even the little boys know to stay out of the way and not disturb them when they're in their rooms revising....


Today they have both had their last full day at school.....




Sigh.......

I was asked if I wanted to test the Persil Small & Mighty with it's new formula and Stain Eraser Ball, and as I generally use Persil Non-Bio Small & Mighty anyway, I felt it was something I was more than happy to do. They claim it should remove the need for lots of different products in your cupboard, as their Small & Mighty liquid can do the job alone. Not only that, but it can do it at lower temperatures and even in a quick wash.


I was sent a Stain Kit, and a bottle of Biological Persil Small & Mighty. I'm always a bit scared of different wash powders and liquids, as a couple of my family have sensitive skin, but it's good to try new things periodically as technology and skin alter.