Rubik's Junior *Review and Giveaway*

Are you looking for a toy that will challenge and encourage your child to develop logical thinking and develop their fine motor skills as well as having fun? Sometimes, finding a toy that is much more than just to play with can be a challenge. If this sounds like something you're looking for then I can perhaps help with that. I have a lovely giveaway to bring you today,  2 of you can be in the chance of winning one of these fab Rubik's Junior pets from John Adams toys. 

Designed for ages 4 and up these bright and playful animal designs will really capture your child and their imagination. Elarna was particularly attracted to them, although she's only 2, well 2 1/2 she seemed to take a great interest in playing and twisting them. She's a bit young to get the concept but they really did entertain her for quite some time. Alfie also enjoyed playing with them but they did seem to capture Elarna's attention more hence why she is pictured with them in this post.

As they are aimed at younger children they are less complex than the classic Rubik's cube with fewer mix up possibilities. I very much like this fact as they don't seem as daunting as the usual cube design (which I've never been able to complete!). 

What do we love about the Rubik's Junior?

• They are bright, colourful and appealing

• They are super cute, we love all the designs available

• They are the perfect size for smaller hands, easy to hold and twist and really fine tune those motor skills

• Less complex than the classic cube making them easier to solve

• Would make a great stocking filler and they have a very reasonable retail price of £9.99

• Encourages logical thinking and puzzle solving

• Small enough to be put into a handbag and entertain the kids when out and about!

• Perfect for car journeys

Is there anything we're not keen on?

• Overall everything is positive. Some more choices in animal design maybe? Currently there are 4 animals available and Alfie said he would have loved a snake (not sure how easy that would be to make!) or lion or tiger

• The only thing (and it is really very small) is the packaging was a little hard to get in to, adults would need to be helping to remove the animal to be played with. Other than this there really are no negatives

So if you like the look of these then you must enter my giveaway to win one. I have two to give away (no choice in design I'm afraid it will be pot luck). UK entries only please and terms and conditions are included on the Rafflecopter. These would be a brilliant stocking filler as I mentioned previously so if you fancy it head down to the bottom of the post and enter. 

The giveaway will run for 4 weeks so plenty of time to enter. If you aren't lucky enough to win at the end of this then Rubik's Junior toys are available at all leading retailers. So if you have a child that likes a puzzling challenge, you want to encourage them to use their logic and thinking skills then the Rubik's Junior pets are absolutely for you. 

So all that remains to say is good luck!! Enter via the Rafflecopter below and please ensure you leave a valid Twitter username and email address so you can be contacted if you win. Happy comping!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ups and Downs with the NHS.

Before I write this post I want to make it clear that I love our NHS, we are extremely fortunate to have it but it is stretched to its limit and this does make it hard to provide the service that they're striving for. Although I'm not personally employed by the NHS as I'm a Practice Nurse in a GP surgery currently, I do have many memories of wards being understaffed, bed blocking and the difficulties of being a Student Nurse. It was hard to try and embrace the NHS at this time and difficult to comprehend how you can try and do your best when you're working against the odds. That being said, I am as you know very proud to be a Nurse, love my job and am very passionate about nursing. However, this post isn't about me. It isn't about my role as a Nurse nor is it about bashing the NHS. What it is about is how earlier this year I felt let down by the NHS and how I feel it could have been prevented. 

Earlier this year many of you who read my blog know my daughter Elarna was quite poorly. You can read more about this by heading over and checking out this post, our 2 months of stress. I'm not going to go into masses of detail as the post I wrote back in May explains more, but in a nutshell, we found a lump, cue worrying (naturally), we saw several Doctors (all locums I need to add) who didn't seem to know what was causing it or really know what to do. We were never issued any antibiotics or had bloods taken after the first couple of appointments which if had been may have prevented it developing further. However we will never know now if it would have helped. We were eventually referred on the NHS for a variety of scans and tests but this was not until after we'd decided to go down the private healthcare route. My husband had been paying for it so we figured we may aswell explore all avenue's. We were seen quickly going private and although we had to travel to Leicester so not exactly local things moved swiftly and we had answers and options available to us. After the advice of the private consultant we opted for surgery and it would seem that it was the best option. Between waiting for surgery we did need to be seen out of hours and I cannot fault that service. It's just the bits in between that could have been better. 

Pleased to say she is much better now!

The waiting times, lack of consistency in GP's, the delay in treatment in the first instance made for a disappointing and loss of faith with the NHS. What I can't fault however is the care we did receive when Elarna was admitted for tests and investigations on the children's assessment unit. Although the wait to be seen  on the day was ridiculous (I was there over 8 hours) the care and attention from the staff was second to none .

I wouldn't say we received awful care from the NHS, it was just inconsistent and being passed from pillar to post wasn't ideal. It would have been good if the 1st GP we'd seen had issued antibiotics, requested bloods and other tests at the time meaning things may have moved quicker than they did. It was a very stressful time for us all and I think it'll stay with me for a long time just how grateful I am for my beautiful children and the medical professionals that do work so hard to keep our healthcare ticking over, be it private or NHS. 

This is just a snapshot of what we went through with Elarna and people go through a whole lot worse than what we did. Sometimes as hard as us healthcare professionals work, sadly things don't always go to plan and things are occasionally beyond our control, such as waiting times. Sometimes you may need to take further action in the legal respect if things haven't gone as planned. There are many different ways you can do this but Your Legal Friend is a good place to start for advice and guidance. Head on over to the website for further information.

What has your experience with the NHS been like over the years?

* Collaborative content.

Autumn Fun with The Very Hungry Caterpillar *Review*

1969!! Can you actually believe that The Very Hungry Caterpillar was published then? The ultimate classic and ever popular book that has seen many a childhood, including my own and now my children. How completely wonderful and magical is it that you can share such a thing with your own children after years and years of enjoyment of the same story. Did you know there has been over 41 million copies sold and has been translated into more than 62 languages!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, is without a doubt one of the most loved children's books. There is something about the bright, colourful and charming tale that just appeals. The beautifully illustrated books are just wonderful and there is a huge range of merchandise that can be bought in accompaniment to the books and we were extremely lucky to be sent a selection of items from the many items available. I'm going to talk you through what I was sent, it really was a lovely bundle of goodies. 

Where is the Very Hungry Caterpillar? A lift the flap book retailing for £7.99, this is a sturdy board book, fun to read and as expected the pictures are bright are beautiful, this appealed very much to my 2 year old daughter and she loved looking under the flaps. The developmental caterpillar toy (RRP £9.95) was great, aimed at babies so a little young for my two but I can see it being very popular with younger ones. 

Press out and Play (RRP £4.99) is a lovely book to encourage the little ones to be crafty and creative. Featuring pop out card pieces that are to be coloured  in (using the bright and bold crayons provided) and then slotted together to make the animals from the book. Mine both loved doing this, although did need a little help to slot the pieces together, a very reasonable price for this book considering crayons are included. 

Let's Explore! Another fun and interactive book, full of activities for the children to do with the added addition of the stamp pad (and my 2 looveeee to stamp) so this was a brilliant book, so much so we might have to buy a new one soon! This retails at less than £4.00, you can't argue with that price for the entertainment it brings. 

We then have these 3 items, a pack of apple juice (RRP £1.50 for 3 cartons), a plate and some doodly place mats. Elarna preferred the apple juice to Alfie, he's very much a 'purple juice' aka blackcurrant boy but Elarna loves anything vaguely fruity so these were very well received. It's worth mentioning that this is 50% pressed fruit mixed up with water making it less sweet for littleun's which is a bonus. 

My favourite items have to be the plate and the doodly placemats. The plate is a gorgeous design in robust melamine and is of course beautifully illustrated. Elarna uses this alot and I really like that it has sections so I can easily provide snacks on it and separate a variety of food items out. 

The doodle placemats (RRP £10.00) are, I think my favourite item. Packed full of activity and colouring sheets it is brilliant for entertaining my 2. I love that there are so many different activities featured in it, I have been taking a couple of sheets of it and popping them in my handbag just in case we end up eating out, and the picture of Alfie in the restaurant is him working his way through the restaurant's sheet before starting on one that I brought with me! I would highly recommend if you have restless kids when you eat out, it has bought us a bit of time while waiting for food to arrive. Also, it's worth saying it is fairly thick paper so perfect for over excited children and there are plenty of sheets within the pad so will last for a long time. 

Also in our bundle was a busy box packed full of stickers, felt tip pens, activity pads and a colouring book. A very busy box indeed! I've put this away for the children to enjoy on a rainy day, I'll also be using the tin after to store pens and pencils as it's the perfect size for that. A lovely item to be sent. 

Finally, 2 gorgeous calendar's. I can't tell you how handy these are.....I need to plan months in advance for some things so having a couple of 2018 calendar's has been very well received. I love them both, they are bright, bold with plenty of space to write in, I also love that you can put family members names across the top so you know exactly what's planned for each family member. These  are retailing for around £10.00 each. Wonderful!

So if you're a fan of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and let's face it, who isn't. ...... then as you can see there is a plethora of merchandise to choose from, this is just a snapshot of products but there are lots more available. What takes your fancy out of this lovely selection?

* Please note we were very kindly sent the items free of charge in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are that of my own.

Tips for Choosing a Courier.

Being a blogger one of the things I find is I get sent a lot of parcels. These come by a variety of courier's and I'm always amazed at how many there seems to be available these days. When sending a parcel myself it can often be a minefield to decide who to choose and why. Here are a few top tips to help you make the right choice when choosing a courier.

• Do your research and seek the opinion and recommendation of others. It's always good to find out what other people think and if they've had dealings with them.

• Where are you shipping to? If abroad make sure you check that the company does offer this service. A company like TNT for example has a number of delivery options available that are likely to meet all needs.

• Cost. What are you willing to pay? Make sure you do an all round price check!

• Packaging. Make sure you read the terms and conditions regarding what can be sent, also how different companies expect items to be packaged ready for delivery.

• Can you track your parcel? I don't know about you but I find this so handy to be able to see exactly where my parcel is and if it's been delivered.

• Finally, is there is weight limit on what you can send. Some companies may not send very large items so you may need to consider an alternative.

So these are my top tips when sending items within the UK or abroad. Have you guys got any other suggestions?

* Collaborative post.

Juggling.

Lately I feel like I'm on a treadmill, I keep running and running but getting nowhere. Things have been ticking along in life and here we are in October. I won't be sad to see the end of the year, I confess. This year hasn't been great, we had the fire in March, months of stress with Elarna being poorly and numerous illnesses, car issues and things just going wrong. Oh and not to mention getting used to lack of sleep due to Elarna waking lots in the night (yawn).

It has felt like one thing after another. My blog has massively taken a back seat, I've felt very little motivation to write anything of value, I've become behind in my reviews, been working so many hours at the GP hub (out of hours) as well as my usual job and taken on a diabetes module which needs to be completed by March.......anyone want to help me write a 3000 and 2000 word assignment?! Arghhhhh. So I think it's fair to say I've been feeling pretty stressed. On top of this my husband has started a new job which is now requiring him to travel to Derby everyday, meaning we've had to juggle around with childcare adding another spanner in the works.

This isn't actually meant to be a moany or whiny post, although I'm aware it might be coming across that way so for that I apologise! Sometimes offloading here can be helpful. I feel like I've taken too much on but yet can't ever seem to say no to anything, I take on extra shifts to get more money to treat the kids, I take on review items for the blog as I'm lucky that I get offered these things and want to continue to blog but need to remember that my blog is a hobby and it doesn't matter if I don't blog everyday, promote the posts or keep up with social media channels. It can be hard to let go though as I've poured so much time and effort into my blog I will it to continue, I really do. There's also the mundane things that I need to keep on top of like housework. I really think I need to try and be more organised!

Somehow we all go through life and deal with things that are thrown with us and we climb over the mountain. I kind of feel I'm still at the bottom of the mountain and keep slipping back down. Don't get me wrong, I like being busy, I get bored easily and like a challenge so I'm just going to keep ploughing away at things and hopefully I'll stop feeling like I'm treading water. 

We're going away over half term, I can't wait. We all need some family time and to chill. Although saying that I'll probably be trying to catch up on some blogging while I can!

How do you all deal with juggling life and everything in between? Any advice will be appreciated. 

Blogger's Best Linky

Well hello!! Welcome back to the new and improved Best and Worst linky now named Blogger's Bests. You may have noticed a bit of radio silence from myself and Sarah over the last few weeks. We took some time out over the summer and decided to put Best and Worst on a little vacay while we enjoyed our Summer hols, but it got us thinking about having a little revamp and injecting a little freshness into the linky. 

So Sarah from RunJumpScrap and I would like to introduce you to the Bloggers Best linky. A place for any post, whatever the post, the best post of your week or simply a post you are proud of and want to shout about it. This is the place to share it and we can't wait to read them. The linky will open at 05:30 on a Wednesday and remain open until Friday 23:55.

There isn't many rules because lets face it, rules are boring right? However, linkys only work if you share the love and support your fellow bloggers so what we do ask is.....

• You comment on the host posts and at least a couple of others, of course if you want to comment on more  then please do!

We would also love if you could .....

• Tweet us over on Twitter (I'm @helsy_1983) and Sarah is (@runjumpscrap) so we know you're joining in ( and please do use #bloggersbest) and we can give you a retweet

• Join us over on Instagram with the hashtag #bloggersbest and tag us in, we both love a bit of Insta! You can find me here @helsy_1983) and Sarah is @runjumpscrap

• Add the badge at the bottom of your post so we know which post you've added to the linky

But these are pretty much all the rules. Sarah and I will continue to have featured posts each week and will of course be retweeting your links when you link up. We're really looking forward to hosting a fresh and vibrant new linky and hope you'll enjoy linking up too! Spread the word, Bloggers Best is the place to be!

Thanks to all that linked up last week, it was, as always lovely to have you all. Now on with the featured posts from last weeks linky......

My choice was from A Mum Full of Dreams this post was tough to read but made me think and feel eternally grateful. Please do have a read. 

Sarah's featured post is from Nige over at DIY Daddy this is such a good post and I totally resonated with it also. Head over and have a read. 

On with the linky, below is the badge and code to add to you post and the inlinkz where you can add your post/s to join in with Blogger's Bests. We look forward to reading the posts.

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An InLinkz Link-up

Magicube *Review & Giveaway*

I want to introduce you to Magicube by Geomag a new era of building blocks. When these arrived the other week Elarna was so excited to play with them, I could see the delight on her face when she clocked the packaging with the animals on it and I pretty much knew instantly that these were going be a hit in the Blogging Beautifully house. They've also helped us just get through a particularly nasty bout of chicken pox, they made a good distraction!

Aimed at children from 1 1/2 - 3 years old these blocks are perfect for my daughter as she sits right in the  middle of the age bracket and is currently loving building and exploring block constructions. I often find her building towers and a variety of structures with different toys.

We were sent the safari animals and polar park but there is a variety of other designs to choose from. Each box comes with the blocks and 4 building ideas which are provided on a glossy postcard, they are clear and simple for a child to follow but a little bit of guidance is required. 

The blocks are brilliant for encouraging hand/eye coordination and independent playing. There are lots of possibilities to create with them and it's a fab interactive toy.  You can build 2D or 3D designs, the latter is a little more tricky to be built and an adult is likely to need to help. 

The cubes are perfect toddler size, gently curved and textured making them easy to hold in little hands. They are bright and colourful and the images on each of the blocks easy to see. There are 8 cubes included in the polar kit and 14 in the safari and each one is magnetised so they gently attach to the other cubes to enable the child to create the animals. 

What did we like about the Magicubes?

• They are easy to hold and fairly simple to create the images
• Encourage fine motor skills and hand/eye coordination
• They are a twist on the traditional building block
• They are appealing, bright, colourful and younger children will love them
• There is endless building possibilities, it captures the imagination of the child
• It's a lovely bonding experience helping your child with the cubes
• They are alot of fun!

We really do love the cubes and they're going to be a firm favourite in our playroom, I can tell. They're going to be coming on holiday with us as not only are they great for Elarna but Alfie also enjoys playing with them. Perhaps not as challenging for him but he certainly enjoys making the different designs.

So in the Blogging Beautifully household we give the Magicubes a big thumbs up! We absolutely love them and although I think the RRP is maybe a little steep (£27.00 for the smaller pack and £35.00 for the larger) I do think that these are toys that will continue to be played with time and time again. I have to confess I had quite alot of fun myself building the giraffe!

So if you like the look of the Magicubes I'm very pleased to tell you have I have a set of the safari cubes (worth £35.00) to give away. I'm super excited to be running this giveaway as they would make a fab Christmas gift for a budding builder or designer. 

If you fancy entering to win then please use the Rafflecopter below. UK entries only I'm afraid as I will be posting them out. Please ensure that you leave a valid email and Twitter handle so I can continue you should you be lucky enough to win. I'm going to leave you with a few more pictures of Elarna enjoying the Magicubes, I think you can see much she loves them! 

Lots and lots of luck and please do share among your friends if you think they'll also fancy being in with a chance of winning! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

* Please note we were kindly sent the items free of charge  in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Getting your Garden Autumn Ready!

We are well into Autumn now and I don't know about you guys but I love the transition between Summer and the colder months. There is something about seeing the trees changing colour, the darker nights and a chill in the air that just makes me happy. We've been spending some time outside lately getting the garden ready for the Autumn. With the changing season comes a rather untidy lawn with leaves everywhere, dead plants in the flower beds and general untidiness and weeding that needs to be done. 

We decided to rope the kids in, make it a bit of a fun adventure and set to work in the garden making it ready for the Autumn! I'm sharing a few tips that might help you when sorting the garden ready for the colder months. 

• Rope in the family! Make it fun and a game, you'll soon find the kids are willing to help.....especially with the reward of a couple of sweets at the end as a treat. 

• Invest in some decent gardening tools. SGS have some great deals on gardening essentials like lawn mowers, leaf blowers, pressure washers and hedge trimmers. 

• Get yourself a garden bin, we pay for 2 brown bins that are available in our area. They get emptied fortnightly and they really are useful to have instead of shoving garden waste in our black bin.

• Remove any dead plants and flowers and turn the soil over ready for new bulbs and plants to be planted in the warmed months. 

• Stack empty plant pots and containers and put them somewhere safe. We're lucky to have a greenhouse and anything that is loose or prone to flying around in windy weather gets stored in there until Spring comes around. 

• Give the patios a clean. Now is the time to give the slabs a good scrub before Winter arrives. It's always nice to have a sparkly patio. 

• Enjoy your garden from the inside. It's not so much fun sitting outside in the freezing months, but by then you'll have stored any patio furniture away so you'll have no choice but to enjoy your garden from the warmth of inside the house. 

So these are a handful of tips for getting your garden Autumn ready. What tips have you guys got to get the garden sorted?

* Collaborative post.

Blogger's Best Linky

Well hello!! Welcome back to the new and improved Best and Worst linky now named Blogger's Bests. You may have noticed a bit of radio silence from myself and Sarah over the last few weeks. We took some time out over the summer and decided to put Best and Worst on a little vacay while we enjoyed our Summer hols, but it got us thinking about having a little revamp and injecting a little freshness into the linky. 

So Sarah from RunJumpScrap and I would like to introduce you to the Bloggers Best linky. A place for any post, whatever the post, the best post of your week or simply a post you are proud of and want to shout about it. This is the place to share it and we can't wait to read them. The linky will open at 05:30 on a Wednesday and remain open until Friday 23:55.

There isn't many rules because lets face it, rules are boring right? However, linkys only work if you share the love and support your fellow bloggers so what we do ask is.....

• You comment on the host posts and at least a couple of others, of course if you want to comment on more  then please do!

We would also love if you could .....

• Tweet us over on Twitter (I'm @helsy_1983) and Sarah is (@runjumpscrap) so we know you're joining in ( and please do use #bloggersbest) and we can give you a retweet

• Join us over on Instagram with the hashtag #bloggersbest and tag us in, we both love a bit of Insta! You can find me here @helsy_1983) and Sarah is @runjumpscrap

• Add the badge at the bottom of your post so we know which post you've added to the linky

But these are pretty much all the rules. Sarah and I will continue to have featured posts each week and will of course be retweeting your links when you link up. We're really looking forward to hosting a fresh and vibrant new linky and hope you'll enjoy linking up too! Spread the word, Bloggers Best is the place to be!

Thanks to all that linked up last week, it was, as always lovely to have you all. Now on with the featured posts from last weeks linky......

On with the linky, below is the badge and code to add to you post and the inlinkz where you can add your post/s to join in with Blogger's Bests. We look forward to reading the posts.

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An InLinkz Link-up