Gazillion Incredibubble Wand

When I was lucky enough to be sent The Original Gazillion Premium Bubbles Incredibubble Wand to review, I imagined trying it out on a gloriously sunny afternoon running barefoot around the garden, entranced by magical, fragile, giant bubbles. It didn't quite turn out that way. It was overcast and chilly - the sort of afternoon when watching a DVD snuggled under a blanket might seem more appealing. Despite the lack of a perfect day, we could not fault the bubbles. They certainly lived up to their part of the picture in my mind.

The kit contains a doughnut shaped tray, the Incredibubble wand with detatchable handle and a bottle of The Original Gazillion Premium Big Bubble Solution. It retails at £12.99. There is currently a special offer available at Argos where the Gazillion Incredibubble Wand and the Gazillion 33-in-1 Incredibubble Wand can be purchased together for just £19.99 (see link below) 

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4966511.htm

To create enormous bubbles, simply pour the Gazillion solution into the tray, dip the wand into the solution and wave the wand.

The children wasted no time getting started. It was a little tricky at first to get used to such a big wand and how to manoeuvre it without the film of bubble mix popping but they soon got the hang of it. 

The packaging boasts the ability to create "Huge! 10ft Bubbles!" The wand design and the formulation of the Special Super Strength non-toxic Blue Gazillion Bubble Solution make it possible to make this claim. We probably got close to 10ft long sausage shaped bubbles but once they left the wand, they reformed into smaller, but still impressively giant bubbles that seemed to defy science with their existence as they hung in the air contorting under the opposing forces acting on them.

It was utterly mesmerising and in terms of bigger, better, bubble blowing fun, it was beyond compare.

I probably should not have left the kids to their own devices. Eight year old Addy decided it would be fun to try and get her little brother's head inside a bubble. It was a great effort that resulted in a soapy headed little brother. The bubble mix is non toxic but clearly doesn't taste very pleasant judging by how much spitting my poor son proceeded to do to get rid of it!

The children did not stop their bubble-tastic fun until the whole 16oz bottle of solution was completely used up. 

Addy Picks her Nose

We had snow today - not a huge amount, but enough.

Enough to make the world outside my window look magical...

 enough to get the kids excited...

 and enough to build a snowman.

We had a glorious, rosy cheeked walk through the woods by our house,

and the inevitable snowball mayhem.

Such a lovely way to spend a Sunday.

Of course, the title of this post makes no sense without my final photograph:

We Climbed a Mountain

When my daughter telephoned me with her AS results earlier this week, I was once again reassured that my husband and I had made the right decision supporting her move into independent education. Her astonishingly good results instantly wiped out the remnants of stress I'd been feeling ever since her minor pre-results nerves that we attempted to fix with pizza in a rather nice Italian restaurant. She is currently on her way to Scotland to perform in a musical at the Edinburgh Fringe which rounds off a busy summer that started with charity work in Malawi. She is certainly taking full advantage of every opportunity that comes her way.

Of course, all of these things cost money and although I am absolutely convinced that it is money well spent and my daughter is benefitting enormously, it does mean that there is little left in the budget to spend on such things as a family holiday. As much as I would have loved a week (or two!) somewhere beautiful (exotic?) and relaxing, we are having to be content with staying home and making the best of what's on offer locally.

During a shopping trip to Telford to buy new school uniform for my 6 year old Addy and my little Dylan about to start his Reception year, Addy's attention was drawn to a prominent Shropshire landmark - The Wrekin.

The Wrekin is a hill that rises 1,335 ft above the Shropshire Plain.

To my daughter it was a mountain.

It was a mountain she wanted to climb.

Climbing a 'mountain' seemed like exactly the sort of low budget activity that I wanted to encourage - combining fresh air, exercise and getting better acquainted with our local environment.

Back home I had a go at baking brownies to take on our expedition and told the children the story of the Shropshire Giant that allegedly had a grudge against the people of Shrewsbury and wanted to destroy the town. The giant had a plan to dump a shovel load of earth into the River Severn to flood Shrewsbury but did not know how to get there. He met a cobbler on the road and asked him for directions. The quick thinking cobbler was returning from market with a bag full of shoes for repair and sensing that the giant was up to no good, emptied his bag and told the giant that he had worn out all the shoes on his journey from Shrewsbury. The giant concluded that Shrewsbury must be too far away to bother continuing with his plan and dumped his shovel load where he stood. Thus, the Wrekin was created. A smaller hill next to the Wrekin known as The Ercall was created when the giant scraped his boots before returning home to wherever giants return home to.

Addy thought this was a stupid story...  and anyway, giant aren't even real.

She did, however, approve of the brownies.

The next day, we set off early to catch the best of the weather and climbed that mountain. We had plenty of breaks to eat brownies, climb trees and pick blackberries.

The children made it all the way to the windy top where fifteen counties can be viewed - if you know what you are looking for!

After a slight disappointment from Dylan that it wasn't possible to sit down and slide back down the mountain, we made our descent.

It was a lovely trip with a great sense of accomplishment all round, not least because of the brownies that turned out to be a chocolatey success.

Fun Run

It was a perfect morning for a run this morning, which was lucky for us as the whole family (bar Charis who is now happily ensconced in her posh boarding school) were heading off to take part in a local  5 mile Fun Run.

Liberty, Taylor and myself had plans to run the course hopefully within an hour. Ivy was roped in at the last minute but would only commit to a leisurely walk. Dad was in charge of the two little ones who had their own race numbers and and a bicycle made for three.

Taylor's boyfriend's family were also taking part so we posed for a team photo before the start. That's me in the middle all in black, flanked on either side by my daughters with Ivy in the blue hoodie on the far right.  The little ones were still happily playing in the playground at this point and Liberty's boyfriend was busy doing a warm up run up and down the field. I am terrible for not warming up. I always think I'll use up all my energy before I've even begun. I did a token stretch then I was ready for the off.

It was a friendly, relaxed event with no official timing but I had my running watch on to see if I could hit my target time. The route was along pretty country lanes with very little traffic although I did have a bit of a mission trying to navigate around a huge tractor carrying straw bales.

There were two water stations on the course for which I was very grateful - more to douse myself with welcome coolness than for actual drinking (I worry about needing a wee). Liberty has not yet mastered the art of drinking and running at the same time so she and Taylor stopped to rehydrate. Worried that if I stopped I'd struggle to restart (I worry a lot!) I carried on moving. I assumed my girls would catch me up but they didn't. For a mile or so, I could still hear them chatting behind me but a niggle in Liberty's knee slowed her down and I ended up with a good lead.

I am quite used to running 3 miles but I wasn't sure how well I'd cope with the extra two, especially as the course had a fair few inclines. When I only had one mile to go, I felt great and even managed to pick my pace up. Then there was the hill from hell - not particularly steep, but very long. By the time I reached the top I felt as though I was practically crawling. But I did reach the top! From then on, it was a simple case of crossing the finish line. But where was the finish line? I passed the 5 mile marker and was very happy to see that I was comfortably within my 1 hour goal - but still there was no finish line in sight. Then I saw Liberty's boyfriend, long since finished his run, armed with a camera and shouting not far to go now. I have yet to see the photo he took but he did mention something about me looking very sweaty! 

I did not have much left for an impressive finish once the elusive official end finally came into view but I did cross with a smile and within an hour.

I was exhausted and elated in equal measures....

... the little ones were now proud owners of finishers medals....

...  and I recovered quickly enough to be there to cheer my girls as they finished.

I think the happy faces of the 'walking' contingent of our team sum up what a lovely family day it was incorporating a not insignificant sense of achievement, lots of fun and best of all ... sunshine!

Easter Days

The kids don't go back to school until next week but my husband is back at work already which definitely gives the feeling that Easter is over.

The Easter weekend itself was odd for me because two of my girls were in Portugal staying with their father. Although my eldest daughter joined us for lunch, our morning Easter Egg hunt was just for the two little ones, which is much how it will be once Taylor goes back to university and Charis goes off to boarding school. I viewed it as a little rehearsal for when that time comes. Life is going to be very different.

I made a chocolate fudge cake which Addy enjoyed decorating with mini eggs and everyone enjoyed eating.

To round off our Easter holiday festivities, we attended a special spring event at our local community owned organic farm. With the weather having drastically improved from the snow and icy winds of late, it was very well attended with people, possibly like me, desperate for signs of spring. What better 'sign of spring' than gorgeous little lambs playfully leaping onto hay bales. We were all enchanted by them, especially Dylan who just kept reaching in to touch them.

There were lots of activities for the children to get involved with:

Meeting the rescued Owls

Not too impressed with the sticky seed mix used for Making Bird Feeders

Enjoying the reward for completing the Easter Egg Trail

Wondering whether to dare entering the Straw Bale Tunnel

Certainly it was a stark contrast from shopping for designer clothes in Portugal but my girls seemed content enough drinking dodgy hot chocolate from chipped mugs and were massively enthused by the stall selling freshly made fudge in a baffling array of flavours (mars bar fudge was my personal favourite with chocolate and peanut butter being a high ranking contender for the accolade). Taylor bought a magic wand carved from a birch twig and her boyfriend demonstrated his manliness with some welly wanging.

Addy did threaten to spoil the whole experience by getting herself into the foulest of moods and insisting that we only liked 'boring fun' but it really was a lovely family day out to make up for my girls' absence the previous weekend.

Best of all for me though was a warm sunshiny day just before my husband had to return to work. We got out into the garden for a good session of weeding, pruning and preparing for the growing season with Dylan and Addy as willing 'helpers'. I was really excited to see that the snow had not damaged my rhubarb which was bursting into life with the promise of rhubarb crumbles to come. I can't wait to get back out there and start planning and planting. Happy days.

Family Fun with Dobble & Jungle Speed

The lovely folks at Esdevium Games, that impressed me so much with their Retro Monopoly at the Christmas in July Event, have kindly sent me two games to try out with my family:

• Dobble, and
• Jungle Speed.

Both are card games based on simple matching, both are presented in practical containers making them ideal for travel and economical on space in the games cupboard, both are a huge amount of fun.

Dobble

RRP £12.99
Age: 6+

Fifty five glossy, round cards are housed in a strong tin bearing the distinctive Dobble logo. Each card is illustrated with eight symbols (and here's the clever bit) with only one symbol in common with any other card.

There are five different variations of the game explained in the rules but the general idea is to find the matching symbols.

This is not as easy as it sounds! As well as having to process the visual information from more than one card at a time, there is an added complication of scale and orientation. The images vary in size which can really confuse your mind and owing to the circular nature of the cards can be in any orientation relative to the observer. Sometimes the matches seem to jump out at you - other times you can stare blankly at your cards wondering why a seemingly simple task is beyond you!

Even if you spot a match, you still have the difficulty of shouting out the name of your object before anybody else. This resulted in much hilarity during our games with the misnaming of things and words getting stuck somewhere between brain and mouth in our haste to claim our matches.

The video shows a small taster of game play from each of the five variations.

We were able to adapt the game to include my eager three year old by allowing her a turn in which she was given time to find her match without being in competition with anyone else. Of course we gave her lots of encouragement and praise when she succeeded. It did slow down the pace of the game but remained challenging to the older players whilst giving the little one the chance to feel properly involved.

Jungle Speed

RRP £14.99
Age: 7+

Although essentially this is another card matching game it has a very different character to Dobble. It comes with a drawstring bag to store the 80 beautifully illustrated symbol cards and a wooden totem. To me, it has a very exotic feel.

All the cards are dealt out amongst the players and each player takes it in turn to turn over a card from their pile. If this card exactly matches the symbol on another player's card,  a 'duel' commences between those two players. The 'duel' consists of making a grab for the wooden  totem which is positioned centrally. The person to grab it first wins the duel and the loser must take all the cards in their discard pile. The object of the game is to be the first to rid of all their cards. 

Some of the cards have similar but not identical symbols so care must be taken when deciding whether or not a pair match. 

There are also three special cards that change the gameplay eg for one round players must match the symbol colours rather than the actual symbol. 

It is a very fast paced game with the duelling aspect creating much excitement.

In case you are still in any confusion over how this game is played, the video attempts to explain it!

Again, we were able to adapt the rules slightly so that the thee year old could be involved and feel as grown up as the rest of the family.

Dobble and Jungle Speed are both available to purchase from Amazon.co.uk

what a performance! - review

I'm always keen to try new family games so I was delighted to be offered "what a performance!' from Orchard toys to review for Izziwizzikids.co.uk.

The box boasts an action-packed game of fun for all the family and is recommended for ages 5 - adult.

My little girl is only 3 years old but I knew that with a bit of support she'd give it a good go and she was very keen to try.

The colourful board is in four pieces that fix together like a jigsaw. Counters, dice and shaker are provided as well as a spinner, activity cards, timer and a magic decoder which my little one was intrigued by. She may not be able to read yet but she enjoyed holding the decoder to her eye and pretending to read the encrypted forfeits on the reverse of the activity cards.

The idea of the game is simple. In teams or as single players you throw the dice and move around the board to the finish, landing on special instruction squares as you go. You may be instructed to do a forfeit, perform an activity or spin the spinner to choose a category on the activity card. Other players must try to guess what you are attempting to perform. A successful guess is rewarded by the guesser moving one square forward. If no successful guess is made or the player fails to do the activity, they must carry out a forfeit.

The game is fast paced with a great variety of activities.

We had a lot of fun playing but be warned that some of the activities do require a fairly generous amount of space.

This is our video review for "what a performance!"

For more "what a performance!" information and reviews see http://www.izziwizzikids.co.uk/what-a-performance-by-orchard-toys/

Five Family Fun Games (review)

In the post-Christmas lull before school resumed, we have had plenty of time for family games.

Five such games that we have played are:

• Pass the Bomb Junior £12.99
• Pirate Snakes and Ladders and Ludo £8.99
• Ravensburger Jolly Octopus Game £16.99
• Pig Goes Pop Action Game £16.99
• Timmy Time Pop Up Game £9.99

£12.99

Pass the bomb was great fun. Press the button on the cartoon style fused 'bomb' and it starts to tick. The illustrated cards give you a location such as: at the beach, camping, in space. The aim is to name something that could be found at the location and pass the bomb to the next player before it 'explodes'. The timer on the bomb is random to make it unpredictable, adding to the excitement and pace of the game. The bomb exploding signals the end of play and whoever is left holding it loses that round.

Some of our suggestions for things that could be found at any given location became quite bizarre as the game progressed although still grounded in logic and therefore permissible by our adjudication. It started to be a new challenge to give the whackiest acceptable answer.

And then, of course, there is that horrible moment when your mind just goes blank and the ticking bomb is in your hands and will you be able to come up with an answer quickly enough so you can pass the bomb to the next pla .....kabooom!!!

£8.99

There is something delightfully wholesome about playing a good old-fashioned game like snakes & ladders and ludo. This set has a pirate twist for extra appeal. The double sided playing board is good quality and colourfully illustrated.

From an educational point of view, it teaches turn taking, number and counting skills and in the case of ludo, a certain amount of strategy.

I do feel that the manufacturers missed a trick though by failing to extend the pirate theme to the counters. 'Pieces of eight' would have been a lovely touch or maybe dressing up props to create a total immersion pirate experience.

Having said that, there is nothing stopping you delving into your own dressing up box for a 'Pirate Games Tournament'. As ideas go, that's not bad. I might just organise it and let you know how we get on!

£16.99

The Jolly Octopus game was my least favourite of the five games. It required batteries and a small amount of assembly, which when done meant it did not fit back into the box. 

The jolly octopus himself is vibrantly coloured and friendly looking. Press his head and music plays as his tentacles wave up and down and round.  The aim of the game is to take it in turns to grab the little coloured crabs nestling in the crevices of the rock on which the octopus is perched with the tweezers provided, without touching the tentacles.

If the tentacles are touched, the ticklish octopus stops moving and giggles signalling the end of your turn. 

The things I did not like about this game are:

• the fact that it does not fit back inside the box once assembled is a 'tidy away' issue
• the head sits quite loosely on the body and is prone to being knocked off and potentially lost
• the little crabs are a fiddle to position in their crevices and would need some sort of storage bag to prevent them from getting lost
• it is frustratingly difficult to play

The thing I did like about this game was watching my two year old deliberately touching the tentacles to hear the octopus giggle and imitating it!

£16.99

Like Jolly Octopus, Pig Goes Pop is another game based on a lovely, friendly, cartoon-style character. The roll of a special dice determines which coloured burger you are to feed the open mouthed, expectant porcine mammal with the big appetite. On the base of the burger is a number which corresponds to the number of times you must then 'pump' piggy's head. The pumping action inflates the belly of our rotund friend to the point that his jacket pops undone and his arms fly into the air in protest, signalling the end of the game.

I loved the simplicity of the concept of this game. The dice throwing part was a good learning experience for the two year old, along with matching the colour thrown on the dice to the burgers.

The two year old enjoyed posting the burgers into the pig's mouth but the pumping part proved a bit tricky. I was never quite sure if we were doing it right.

As for the 'popping' part, it never really seemed to happen all at once in the dramatic fashion that, for example, the Buckaroo horse would kick off its weighty burden. The coat would gradually loosen and the arms would half pop up either before or after the belt buckle finally popped open. It tended to be a bit anti-climactic.

The most satisfying part, for me, was twisting the tail to release the air pressure of the inflated belly before the game could begin again.

£9.99

The Timmy Time character from this game was instantly recognisable to the two year old from the TV. The sheep needed to be slotted onto the base and some stickers applied before play could commence. 

 It is basically Buckaroo for beginners. Timmy is clicked down into the base which raises his arms and a leg onto which you must carefully hang his accessories. The ears are also suitable for hanging or balancing on.

The most difficult of the accessories to place was Timmy's bib that can really only be placed in one position.

It was challenging, but not impossible, to load Timmy with all his accessories. If you are not careful, he springs loose from his base, arms and leg relax, he drops his load and you must start again.

The two year old thought it was hilarious every time Timmy dropped his load and it became the outcome she sought in favour of actually completing the challenge.

I thought Timmy himself was gorgeous and I loved all his little accessories but I was bit disappointed in the mechanism for setting the game up ready to begin loading. It took quite a few attempts to get him to click into position, with all the players thinking they had the technique or the magic touch.

Apart from that, it was fun little game with lots of appeal.

In order of merit, as decided by my family, the best game is:

**PASS THE BOMB JUNIOR**

followed by:

TIMMY TIME

PIRATE SNAKES & LADDERS/ LUDO

PIG GOES POP

JOLLY OCTOPUS