It's that time of the month again and crikey it's come around quickly! I haven't had time to comment on everyone's #TBCSmiles photos on Instagram, but I will do as many as I can. Thanks to everyone who shared their grins, chuckles and laughter with us - they brighten any month.


This month we had weather!! Loads of glorious sunshine for much of the country and so much colour! Up here in Manchester the lack of grey has brightened everyone's mood. Bright blue skies, amber evenings, lush green grass and a rainbow of flowers. It's been very nice to escape the gloom for a while and I hope it lasts a little longer.

We really escaped by making a trip to Scotland to see the children's Grandparents. It's ridiculous how hard things are now, and we aren't in a position to cope with failure, so naturally avoid anything with potential to go wrong. Taking a 400 mile round trip has seemed like an expedition to the moon for the last 4 years, and we couldn't plan it too far in advance as it gave us time to talk ourselves out of it.

BubbleBum have been around for a good few years now. Their inflatable children's booster seats are perfect for taxis, if you need to fit 3 car seats or booster seats in one row, great extra car seats when you have an extra child with you, and ideal for any child who regularly changes vehicles or is going abroad on holiday. I'd never seen one in person before, so I was really intrigued to find out exactly how they work...


The BubbleBum is designed for children aged 4 to 11, who weigh between 15-36kg (height restrictions apply, see the ROSPA site for more information). Much more than simply a comfy cushion to sit on, the design holds your child in the correct, safe position for travel. In the event of a crash it is important your child isn't slumped forward, and belts are guided into the correct position over the lap and shoulder, so that injury to internal organs and the chances of your child 'slipping out' of their harness are minimised.

BubbleBum is crash test approved and meets and exceeds the EU ECE R44.04 and the US FMVSS 213 safety regulations for both Groups 2 and 3 and is a totally safe option for your family. These tests cover both crash testing and materials testing. The components used to make BubbleBum are similar to those in life rafts and air bags.

Exploding Kittens is the latest game to be sent to us to review for the Blogger Board Game Club. This is a family card game suitable for 3-5 players aged 7+, and as it says on the box, it takes 2 minutes to learn, and a game lasts about 15 minutes...


Inside the box are all of the 56 cards you'll need to play, plus the instructions. It's a nice sturdy box and it's really small, with no pieces to lose, so perfect for taking with you as a travel game.

The full title for this toy is Star Wars Force Link 2.0 Kessel Run Millennium Falcon with Han Solo Figure and it's worth that mouthful. This is a fantastic vehicle which acts exactly as you'd hope, and we've been sent it to review by Hasbro...


We are long-standing Star Wars fans here and so Star Wars toys are always welcome. Over the last 24 years I've watched all of my children 'shhhhhooooosh' around the room with various Millennium Falcons and other Star Wars vehicles, and this is by far the most impressive and special. No longer do you even have to make your own sound effects...

Five years ago I hadn't heard of Hotter Shoes and now I'm a complete convert. I lived in Dr Marten Boots for about 20 years and in the Summer flip flops or barefoot did me. I thought there couldn't be anything more comfortable, but I'm willing to admit I was wrong.


At BlogOn conference I won a pair of shoes from Hotter and it was a win I was really delighted about. Since the loss of my last pair of 3 year old DM boots (they don't make 'em like they used to), I've been wearing the Hotter shoes that I chose for review last year. No longer relegated to fancy evenings and days out, they became my everyday shoes and I like it a lot.

The new Jurassic Kingdom movie is out and so are some brand new Dinosaur toys! On Thursday 14th June BrainStorm will be having a Twitter party with several fantastic giveaways, and they've sent us some of their newest dinosaur toys to take a look beforehand...


Brainstorm bring us a lot of really excellent STEM supporting toys for curious kids and future scientists. They help children explore their world - and beyond! We last worked with them on a project involving Brainstorm's Space Toys. This one is based a little further back in prehistoric times...

I'll start with the important bit. We absolutely love this book. 5 Simple Steps To Saving Planet Earth is a fantastic read for any young independent reader aged around 7 or over. It may also be a children's book, but it's a brilliant story that pretty much anyone can enjoy.


Funny and cleverly inventive, the science fiction and adventure storyline has hints of ancient tales with heroes like Hercules, and more modern adventurers like Percy Jackson, yet still manages to be completely different.

Our heroes are Billy Hollingworth, a regular dinosaur-loving, rugby-playing schoolkid, and the Ysygol, a tiny little alien who has been sent to find him. Billy has been chosen for a very important mission crucial to the survival of the planet, and the pocket-sized Ysygol (I-cy-gol) is his guide.

We've all played with a Rubik's Cube and you've probably had a try of a Rubik's Snake, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. Rubik's have a whole range of toys and games for one or more players, and they've sent us 2 of their new games to review.


We've been sent the Rubik's Battle Card Game and the Rubik's Flip 2 player game. We have also been sent one of the original Rubik's 3x3 Cubes - updated to be smoother and faster than ever.

We are big fans of StikBots. These little jointed characters have suckers on their hands and feet, and are perfect for your amateur film makers to practise with. We've been sent the Movie Castle Set to review, and it's a fantastic backdrop and accessories for our next StikBot movie...


Inside the box are lots of pre-cut sheets of construction material, accessories, 1 x StikBot, a sheet with loads of stickers and instructions. You don't need anything else, this is glue-free and slot-together.

The Varta Slim Power bank promises up to 5 full phone charges or 2 tablet charges before it needs to be recharged itself. Smaller than a paperback book, and safely encased with a metal cover, it is ideal to take away with you and likely to be invaluable to us this Summer.


Everyone has a cupboard somewhere full of very exciting electrical gadgets. Sometimes this is a drawer, sometimes it is called a garage or a shed. Your gadgets (including your vehicle) will all need power and this is where Varta come in. They have been making batteries for over 100 years and more recently have increased the range, now making chargers, torches and other consumer products.