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Daddy and Big J go to Play Expo

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Last weekend daddy and big J had a great time at their first games convention. We had been invited to review Play Expo at Event City, Manchester. 

I would class Big J and Daddy as 'gamers', big J loves FIFA and daddy likes lots of different games and has been playing since he had his first zx spectrum - a long time ago!  Although they both love games, they had never been to an event, and both where looking forward to it. 

Daddy's post

When we arrived, the queues looked huge! Luckily we had press passes and manger to squeeze through to the front of the queue to get in.  When we first walked in bumblebee and barricade - the actual cars from the transformers films, where on show protected by some guards with guns, that anyone could handle - hopefully replicas!    


The cars are very impressive, whether you like the films or not, and everyone was talking a photo or two. 

We had a look at the size of the event as we walked in. The place was enormous. It really was difficult to know where to go first as there really was so much on show.


The first thing little J saw that he wanted to look at was a stall full of all types of t-shirts, collectibles, toys and all kinds relating to games. He liked the look of some of the minecraft bits, but decided to wait before parting with his money. 

Next was a section with approximately 100 ps4 consoles showing new and older games for anyone to play. Driveclub is a new ps4 exclusive racing game and we enjoyed a few goes on this.  Big J is definitely a FIFA fan, whereas I grew up with PES being the only football game to play, back when FIFA was a game that allowed you to score easily from the halfway line! A match was due and PES 2015 was on show. After 3 games, I was the 2-1 victor overall. 


After this is was time for some pinball.  I have honestly never seen so many machines in one place, and all free to play.  We both had a good few games of some classic machines, the Addams family, lord of the rings and nba basketball to name a few.  





Next to the pinball was a large arcade with, again,  more machines than I have ever seen in one place.  All free to play, and we played the classics, outrun, afterburner, hard drivin' even virtual striker ( which little J comprehensively battered me on with a 3-1 score line).  SCI was next - for those who remember chase hq, this was chase hq2. I loved this game when I was younger but never managed to get past level 5. Now that I had lots of free credits, I managed to get to the end - and got the high score,

There was a large retro console area, which didn't really excite little J too much, although I was impressed and so many stalls selling all manner of gaming goodies.


The best parts of the show for me have to be getting my picture taken in the delorean from back to the future 


and on the iron throne from game of thrones. 

Although these needing paying for, well worth a fiver each in my opinion. 



We finished by visiting the same stall as we looked at when we first went in, little J sticking by his initial thoughts of minecraft stuff. One foam sword and cardboard box later - and he looks like he is from the game!

Then it was another look at barricade and bumblebee, and home, after a really good day.  We will definitely be attending another gaming convention!

To find out more about Play Expo you can visit the website HERE

*we were invited to review Play Expo all thought are our own*
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Lena Dunham - Girls

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A few weeks ago I didn't feel to good, well it was just a cough and cold but it took me out. I was really bad with it and it lasted almost a week which is really rare for me. I usually just have it for a day or two and still able to do my normal things, this wiped me out completely.
 
I looked after little J as normal during the day which was okay although he had his usual appointments so I just made sure I had lots of tissues with me. When Daddy came home he took over and I was able to go to bed. I just couldn't sleep, which didn't help me get better. Instead I was flicking through some TV Shows and I couldn't believe it when I realised the third season of GIRLS was out. 
 
I'm not quite sure how I came about watching GIRLS I think I had read an article about it when it had just premiered on HBO in America.
 
I watched the very first episode and I was hooked. It is such a great programme and I can relate with all the GIRLS in different ways.
 
If you have never seen it, GIRLS was created by Lena Dunham who also stars in the show. It follows the lives of four friends in their twenties living in New York City.
 
It reminds me of Sex in the City but more realistic and genuine. 
 
Anyway so I wasn't feeling well and found season 3 of GIRLS to watch. Now all parents will know it is hard to get a few minutes to yourself and it normally takes me a long time to get through a series of a TV programme but once I started watching it I couldn't stop. Although I felt like rubbish I was enjoying my chill time and I watched a whole season in less than a day. I really enjoyed it and I'm gutted I have to wait till next year for season four. 

Do you watch GIRLS?

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#Win Gioteck EX3-R Inline Messenger Headset

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Daddy has been trying out the Gioteck EX3-R and you can read all about it HERE
If you would like to win one then all you need to do is answer the question and leave the answer as a blog comment.
Q: If you won, who would you give the headset to?
Good luck
Gioteck EX3-R Inline Messenger Headset
To view more Gioteck Products please visit the website HERE
Terms and Conditions
Competition closes on Sunday 26th  October 2014 at 12AM
Entrants must have a valid UK address
Bulk, third party or any other entries using automated software will be disqualified
All entrants and entries are checked and verified.
All entrants must follow the mandatory step and answer the question as a blog comment.
1 lucky winner will be chosen at random by the Gleam application.
Mummy2Monkeys will contact the lucky winner within 1 day of the competition closing
The winner must respond within 28 days. If no response a new winner will be chosen.
The prize is a Gioteck EX3-R Inline Messenger Headset
There is no cash alternative.
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Gioteck EX3-R Inline Messenger Headset

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You may have already read that Daddy and big J love their console games. 

Daddy has wrote a post for me based on a review of the Gioteck EX3-R Inline Messenger Headset

Gioteck recently sent us the EX3-R inline messenger headset to try, as a quality alternative to the usual range of headsets on offer for ps4.

The headset arrived in a well packaged and typically blue and black box, with some of the headsets key features shown.

Inside, the headset is of good sturdy quality, simple and easy to set up with your ps4 controller - it really is plug and play (or plug and talk I should say!)
The set fits nicely around your ear to keep it in place and the earphone fits into your ear like any other in ear headphone would. You can adjust the set to get the right fit for you. The voice piece is nice and short and doesn't get in your way at all, but picks up very clearly what you are saying.

You can hear clearly what your friends (or enemies depending on the game) are saying and the quality does rival some of the more expensive sets outs there. 

If I was to sum up the EX3-R inline messenger headset, I would say simple, inexpensive, and good quality headset. If you are looking for a cheaper chat headset, but don't want to lose the quality then I would recommend the set. 

As an added bonus, I have also discovered that this set works on Xbox one too, when used with the controller and adapter.

Thanks Gioteck, I am now looking at buying my next gaming chair from your site. 

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To view the Gioteck range you can visit the website HERE
If you would like to own a Gioteck EX3-R Inline Messenger Headset make sure you check out my competition HERE


*we were sent the gioteck headset in return for a full honest review - thought and any opinions as always are our own*
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Frozen and Fajitas

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At the weekend we had a Frozen and Fajita night. Frozen is one of my favourite Disney movies and it was perfect to cuddle up to, all cosy on a chilly Saturday night.

Our movie feast was Fajitas. We were sent a selection of Santa Maria goodies and Frozen to create the ultimate movie night in.

You may already know that Santa Maria is the new brand name for Discovery products. We have bought Discovery products in the past but we hadn't tried the new Santa Maria products yet. 

So for movie night Big J wanted a bowl of Sweet Chilli Nacho Rolls with Salsa and Guacamole to dip. He's not a lover of peppers or onions so has never tried a fajita before but he said he would give it a go.

There is a chicken fajita recipe online for those who have never made them before

I am not the best cook but they are very easy to make but I have included the recipe below 

Chicken Fajitas (serves 4)

2 tbsp oil
500g chicken breast, cut into thin strips
1 sachet of Santa Maria seasoning mix mild.
1 onion
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 packet of Santa Maria corn and wheat tortillas

To serve

Green Salad
Fresh tomatoes, slice
Santa Maria Salsa 
Santa Maria Guacamole

1. Coat chicken in oil and seasoning mix. heat a heavy based frying pan until very hot and add the chicken. Fry for about 3 minutes until well browned.

2. Add the onions and peppers and cook for a further 2 minutes or until meat is cooked.

3. Serve with warm tortillas, green salad, tomatoes, salsa and guacamole, roll up and enjoy.

There are two fajita seasonings available hot and mild. For me the mild is hot enough so I wouldn't try the hot one but that would be down to personal choice.

So fajitas and nacho rolls were ready and we were ready to watch Frozen.

We have not tried corn and wheat tortillas before but I would definitely buy again, they were delicious. They were slightly smaller than are usual tortillas but they were very soft and had a nice taste to them.

The salsa was mild too so perfect for me who doesn't like to spicy. It was nice to try guacamole as we have never tried it before. It was actually quite nice. I think the colour usually puts me off which I know sounds silly but it did so i'm glad I had a taste.

We were all fans of the nacho rolls they are so yummy. I love anything sweet chilli flavour so for me they were probably my favourite. I could just eat them on their own without dips, just like crisps.

I was really impressed with the Santa Maria range and it was nice to sit down as a family with a movie and have something different for dinner. Quick and easy to prepare and cook and very tasty.

You can visit the Santa Maria Range HERE

 
*we were sent a selection of goodies in return for a review*
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Pop Art Fun

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We have recently taken part in a challenge to create some POP art. We are not the most creative family in the world but we give it a go and we ALWAYS have fun. So no matter how amazing (or not) our creations turn out we know we had a giggle doing it.
 POP is a high energy childrens channel for 4-9 year olds and they are hosting the blogger challenge.
So what did we decide to create? Well big J wanted to create Bumblebee from Transformers, which is shown on POP
I had no idea how to make a Bumblebee but we got a box and paint and just went with the flow.
So here it is our POP art fun creation. We had lots of fun making it and was nice quality family time with big J. He did want to make it so it turned into the robot but I couldn't even imagine how we would do that..haha.

So big J is happy with his creation and that's all that matters.

Its now took pride of place on his bedroom shelf.

To find out more about POP the first channel to be added to the freeview children's portfolio in eight years you can visit the website HERE

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No More Stinky Smells

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When little J was born I was actually overwhelmed with what you can buy for babies these days. It was so long since we had big J that I actually forgot how much stuff a little one needs. On top of all the 'must haves' we did get a little carried away with buying stuff we didn't actually need. 
Not once did it cross my mind to buy a nappy bin. I'm not sure why but I didn't actually think we would need one. Since having one for just a week I realised that a) We did need one and b) We should have got one from day one.
We were given the chance to review the Tomee Tippee Nappy Disposal System and like I said I had never thought we needed one so I wanted to give it a go.
The nappy bin comes in two new colours, pink and blue and are exclusive to Mothercare. I chose blue for my monkey.
When it arrived it was smaller than I imagined and was a nice soft baby blue. It was already set up and ready to use in the box but I'm not sure whether all bins come like that. If not there was a step by step guide on how to get it ready and it does seem quite easy to fit the nappy bag refill. I will need to refer back to it when its time to refill the nappy sacks.
So its not rocket science really what the nappy disposal system does, basically your little one does a stinky and you pop it in the bin. It is however quite clever so let me explain.
You pop the nappy in the bin which is lined with a nappy sack.
Once the nappy is in the bin you need to twist the outside wheel which is grey with a little handle to grasp.

As you twist in a clockwise direction you will see the nappy sack start to close with the nappy inside.

Once you have have turned the wheel clockwise in a 360 degree turn the sack should be completely closed.

Then all you need to do is close the lid. This then pushes the nappy and sack down in the bin.

When you open the lid again a new fresh nappy sack is waiting for the next nappy.

I thought the nappy would just fall to the bottom of the bin but it doesn't it hangs onto the fresh nappy sack and so on. It reminds me of a string of sausages. 

The nappy bin came with a free refill which is just a cartridge which like I said earlier seems easy to fit.

So that's it. Very simple but very useful and easy to use. 

There is a  list of key features on the website HERE but a few points to mention are

The system holds 28 nappies at any one time (based on size 1). I can't imagine letting it fill up with that many nappies though.

The system comes with a nappy cassette pre loaded.

The Blue and Pink version are exclusive to Mothercare at the moment and are currently priced at £15.50 although it does say original RRP is £31 so if you are wanting to buy one I would suggest sooner rather than later as the price may go back up. This does include two refills.

For more information you can visit Tommee Tippee HERE

I am really pleased with the nappy disposal system. It has saved me going back and forth to the bin and there has been no nasty smells lingering since we have been using it so I would definitely give it a Mummy2Monkeys thumbs up.

*we were sent the nappy disposal system to review in return for a honest review. all the thoughts and opinions above are my own*
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#Win 27 Polaroid Style Images from Square Snaps (3 winners)

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When you are a blogger taking photos becomes a huge part of your life. I always have my camera ready to catch a special photo of my monkeys. I also like to choose my favourites and have them printed so I also have them at home to look at.
 
I have just been introduced to Square Snaps and I love it. They offer to print your photos either from your computer or instagram.
 
They have mini snaps, standard snaps, super snaps and polaroid snaps which I am lucky enough to give away in my competition.
 
Three winners will each win 27 polaroid style images from Square Snaps.
 
Each photo is 3.5" x 4.2"
 
To enter all you need to do is LEAVE A BLOG COMMENT telling me which website is giving away this amazing prize?
  
Once you have left the comment, more options will be available for you to enter with.
 
GOOD LUCK
 
Square Snaps Competition  
 
To view all the available prints available visit the website HERE
 
 
for more competitions visit Loquax
 
Terms and Conditions
Competition closes on Tuesday 21 October 2014 at 11:59PM
Entrants must have a valid UK address
Bulk, third party or any other entries using automated software will be disqualified
 All entrants and entries are checked and verified.
All entrants must follow the mandatory step and answer the question as a blog comment.
3 lucky winners will be chosen at random by the Gleam application.
Mummy2Monkeys will contact the lucky winners within 1 day of the competition closing
The winners must respond within 28 days.
If no response a new winner will be chosen.
The prize is 27 Free Polaroid Style Images from Square Snaps.
 There is no cash alternative.
It will be the responsibility of the representative of the company representing the above to issue the prize.
 The winner must consent to their name and details being passed on to the representative so their prize can be distributed.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
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September Degustabox

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This months Degustabox was a great mixture of items. There was a few brands I hadn't heard of before, Little Miracles and Righteous and there were some brands that have appeared in Degustabox before.
There was option this month for non alcoholic or alcoholic products and we received both to try.
As always I am usually last to have a look inside the box as big and little J normally dive right.
 This month was no different and they both jumped on the Bahlsen Pick Up biscuits.
Bahlsen Pick Up Biscuits 
RRP £1.69 per pack of 5
These are delicious and we have tasted them before but not the Black N White flavour which is new. You have two biscuits on top of each other separated by a layer of thick chocolate. The Black N White was cocoa biscuits surrounding white chocolate. As expected these went down well but I prefer the milk chocolate version.
Burts Lentil Waves
RRP £2.07
Avaialble from Waitrose in three flavours, Sour Cream and Chive, thai Sweet Chilli and Lightly salted. We havent tried these yet but I cant wait. They sound and look delicious.
Jordans Simply Granola
RRP £2.69
My mum loves granola so I gave this to her to enjoy. She eats it on its own or with milk and she loves it. These crunchy oats have a hint of honey to add to the flavour.
Crabbies Alcoholic Fruits 
RRP £1.50 (normally sold in 4 packs for £5.99)
We have actually tasted these before. Daddy enjoyed these throughout the summer as they are very light and refreshing and made with upto 10% natural fruit juice. Three flavours to choose from, black cherry, zesty lemon and raspberry and rhubarb which is Daddy's favourite.
Carnation Cook With it.
RRP £3.30
I don't cook with cream so I wasn't too excited about this but after reading that it actually has 68% less fat than single cream i may give it a go. Its made with fresh milk and might be good for my chicken korma.
Crabbies Lemonade
RRP £1.20
This was the non alcohol option and it went in seconds. Big J absolutely loved it. It had a hint of ginger and he is excited to try out other flavour Raspberry.
Little Miracles
RRP £1.59
Like I said earlier I've not heard of Little Miracles before. Its a blend of organic tea and fruit juice. Sweetened with Agave and less than 90 kcals. We've not tried it yet but will be happy to give it a go.
Elizabeth Shaw Dark Chocolate Mint Thins
RRP £2.50
We have received Elizabeth Shaw items before in Degustabox and we have also bought some ourselves. These are absolutely delicious.
Righteous Dressings
RRP £2.19
Made with 100% natural ingredients Righteous have created some lovely salad dressings. Mild English Blue cheese in cider is my favourite out of the three. Very tasty and perfect on my salad. The other flavours were lemon and mustard seed and raspberry and sweet basil. Both very tasty but I did have to pick a fave.
As always you can click on each of the above to get more info and if you want to sign up to Degustabox you can by clicking HERE and as a special treat I have a £3 discount code for you to enter
4784591
 
we were sent Degustabox to try in return for a honest review
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#Win Dr Oetker Baking Goodies #Competition

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I love spending time in the kitchen with my monkeys, baking cakes or trying out new recipes.
 
If you like to bake with your little one then I have a lovely competition for you.
 

Enter below to win a selection of Dr Oetker Baking Goodies. All you need to do is ANSWER THE QUESTION by commenting on the blog below.

Q. What do you like to make or bake?

All entrants who leave a blog post will be entered into the draw. More ways to get extra entries will become available once a blog comment has been made.

GOOD LUCK
 
 
Dr Oetker baking Goodies  
 
for more competitions visit my competitions page HERE or Loquax
 
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Back To School Meals with Birds Eye

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Last week we have been trying out some Back To Meals thanks to Birds Eye.
 
Birds Eye recently enlisted a panel of mini-chefs aged between 7-12 years to develop a range of delicious kids approved recipes and we gave a few a go.
 
We are not the greatest chefs and I often read recipes and think wow - that looks amazing but I know it wouldn't be if I gave it a go.
 
These recipes looked good and easy to make and I know my monkeys would enjoy them because its what we eat.
 
First we created
 
WAFFLE NACHOS
 
Pre heat the oven and cook Birds Eye mini potato waffles (4 per person) as per instructions on back of packaging
 
Heat baked beans as directed
 
Place shredded lettuce on a plate and top with waffle, beans and salsa
 
Sprinkle grated cheese on top
 
Place under the grill until cheese is nicely melted.
 
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Chicken Finger Pizza
(we substituted fish fingers for chicken fingers) 
 
Cook Birds Eye Chicken fingers (2 per person), Birds Eye Fresh Supersweet sweetcorn and Birds Eye field fresh Garden Peas as per instructions on packaging.
 
Spread tomato sauce ( tinned chopped tomatoes or a tomato puree) over a naan bread and scatter peas and sweetcorn over the top.
 
Chop Chicken Fingers and place onto naan bread - scatter a little grated cheese to finish
 
Place in the oven for 12-15 minutes at 200 degrees.
 
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We haven't tried this one yet - but really looking forward to it.
 
Chicken Dipper Fajitas
 
Pre heat oven and cook Birds Eye Crispy Chicken Dippers ( 4 per person) as per instructions on packaging
 
Finely slice onions and peppers
 
Fry the onions and peppers with a dash of oil and a pinch of seasoning
 
Heat tortilla wraps as directed
 
Dollop tomato salsa onto your wraps, add the peppers, onions and dippers
 
Wrap up tight, cut in half and enjoy
 
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We are big fans of Birds Eye anyway and we do buy lots of Birds Eye products but it was nice to use them as ingredients to create some teatime meals. 
 
My favourite was the waffle nacho's they were so yummy. Daddy, big and little J enjoyed the chicken finger pizza. It was strange putting tomato puree on a naan bread but somehow it worked.
 
For more yummy recipe ideas visit Birds Eye Website HERE
 
 
*we were provided with birds eye vouchers to buy ingredients to create the birds eye recipes. recipes above belong to the mini chefs who created them - all photos above are our own* 
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