Littlest Pet Shop: Little Pets, Big Adventures is a brand new release from Hasbro and will be available to buy in the shops and on digital download from 3rd August. U rated and suitable for everyone, it contains 7 episodes where we meet the star Blythe, and her Dad, as well as all of the pets who hang out in the shop.


The Littlest Pet Shop is a concept that my boys are aware of, but a show that's new to us. My boys hadn't seen it at all before our review DVD arrived. My first impression was that it's more 'girly' than I expected, but although the main character is a young teenage girl, the storyline is something all children can appreciate.

We had a really exciting delivery today - the brand new LEGO Scooby Doo The Mystery Machine set 75902.  I wasn't expecting it yet, so this is awesome timing because it can come away on holiday with us! This set is now released tomorrow - along with the other Scooby Doo sets, including the Mystery Mansion and bargain Mummy Museum Mystery.



The Mystery Machine is recommended for age 6+, and is a smaller model with around 298 pieces (the press release isn't ready, nor do UK boxes help with this, so I had to count!). In the set are 3 minifigures - Shaggy, Fred and a Zombie, and Scooby Doo himself....

If you haven't heard of Google's Chromecast then you could be missing a trick. It's a handy little gadget that allows you to watch what you can watch on your phone or tablet - on the big telly! I'm being given one myself, and I've got one to give away thanks to the lovely people at the Manchester based JNB Aerials.
The Chromecast is a really small USB style device that plugs directly into the TV in a HDMI port. The Chromecast then talks to your phone or tablet when you tell it to, and it will stream your movie, music videos, TV shows etc directly to the TV.

The LEGO DC Super Heroes Jokerland set is one of the most playable sets we've ever owned. Tons of fun to build, and as each part does so much the level of interest from my kids as we built was immense. It's the first ever time I've had to send them out of the room because they drove me bats! I couldn't build it quicker than they were taking it away to play with it....


Jokerland is a set recommended for age 8+ set with 1037 pieces which go together to form the Batmobile and all of the renamed fairground attractions. There are 8 fabulous minifigures in this set with lovely accessories.

For the SuperHeroes we have Robin, Beast Boy, Starfire and Batman...


For the bad guys we have The Joker, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn and The Penguin....

If you like games then this is for you. If you ever had an Atari, or played Street-fighter, or thought Sonic actually might be a hedghog, then this is for you. An event featuring over 120 games consoles from the last 30 years, all playable and with limited entry numbers to the hall so that everyone gets a turn...

Did we want to come and review ? Yes thanks!!

The Baby - The Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine The first ever stored-program computer.

PLAY it Manchester takes place on the 2nd floor of the Museum of Science and Industry. Very apt that below us is The Baby - a replica of the first ever stored-program computer. PLAY it is in a huge space with loads of room, and the all important video games consoles and arcade machines. Tons of seating, a cafe area, and all of your favourite games from the last 30 years. It even has 2 player, 4 player and larger multiplayer games, and it's only £4 entry. Heaven.


My 5 and 6 year olds love their console games and have played and watched since they were tiny. Our  family don't watch a lot of regular TV, games are a living room event and we all join in. They've never played on arcade machines before though and the big joystick was a brand new thing to them!

My 2 young children are pretty good eaters and will try most things, but they draw the line at "seeds". If it looks too healthy they'll moan and tentatively lick one corner before declaring it poison. But even without trail mix, cereal bars or home-made pots of interesting yogurty stuff, picnics and snacky hand foods don't actually have to be all bad, and maybe the kids won't notice...

Before we get to food let's consider drinks. We all function better when we're properly hydrated. Exerting yourself, being out in the wind and the (rare glimpses of) sunshine all steal our fluids. Water is great. Available everywhere it has no fat, no sugar, no allergens.


If you like a bit of flavour in your water it can be hard to find something decent add to it. We are not fans of Aspartame here (the taste and what it does to you) so we avoid it. Unfortunately, in an effort to keep calories low, most juices and cordials contain it. Not so with Stur. Sugar free, and with no artificial sweeteners, flavours or colours, it is sweetened using Stevia.

Smart Eggs are a brand new toy brought to us in the UK by Esvedium Games. A 3D puzzle in the shape of an egg, and all you have to do is guide a barbell-shaped wand through the maze inside the egg, from the top to the bottom.


Smart Eggs come in a range of difficulties, and for the more advanced puzzle-solvers there are even 2-layer eggs. We were sent two single layer eggs - Techno (level 7) and Lava (level 8).

Well, it isn't every day you get an email from Carol Smillie asking what size pants your daughter wears, and that alone was clearly enough for me to do this review. Carol wanted to know because she's one of the two figures behind Diary Doll Pants, a unique new pant with special features. It won't make you Wonder Woman, so blokes, you will probably have a better time if you go and read about Sprukits or Bacon Sandwiches or the Ventura Powerpack with Jump Start.


The packaging is really nicely thought out. When you order online they arrive in a little button fastening fabric pouch which is ideal to pop in your bag. These are expensive knickers, so these little touches make it more of a gift, and something you can see is different to normal.


Diary Doll pants have a hidden waterproof layer. They're super handy if you have heavy or irregular periods, or want to wear white trousers or an Elvis Presley style jumpsuit with confidence any day of the month.

Tiggly are a company making award winning educational apps with supporting tech toys for children aged around 2-8. Tiggly Shapes, Words and Maths are all designed to be fun to play with while your child learns, and will work on Kindle Fire HD, and most IOS or Android tablets.

The Tiggly apps and supporting toys work directly with the tablet touch screen - no batteries, bluetooth or anything else is required.
Tiggly Shapes is for younger children aged 2-5. Featuring 4 toys and 3 learning apps this set for younger children teaches shapes and strengthens fine motor skills and creativity.
Learning using shapes isn't just as simple as learning square, triangle etc. Tracing around (and inside) shapes helps with fine motor skills, and it teaches children that different shapes have a different name and different meaning, which is a tricky concept to grasp, but is essential if we want them to go on to learn letters and words.

I don't often review books for grown ups because it's incredibly hard to find the space in my day to read for myself, but I found a little extra time when the married co-writing team Carole and Nadim Saad asked me to make a look at their parenting book 'Kids Don't Come With A Manual'.


Kids indeed do not come with a manual, and I like the title, it implies this book is going to be a little chatty and less formal, and actually it is. The style is very friendly and understanding, with lots of personal anecdotes and examples of when the couple themselves didn't agree about how to handle a siutuation, and how they worked together to come to the best solution for all.