Shine Bright...

When I was expecting Honey, we waited with baited breath to see if we were going to welcome the little girl I so hoped for and as soon as we found out it was going to happen, I was straight on the internet ordering our travel system! I have a Fiat 500 so had done lots of research into which buggies would fit in the small boot and the Quinny Buzz 3 was by far my favourite BUT I REALLY wanted it in Blush Pink (which will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me).

It's a lovely pushchair, really sturdy and has been on loads of adventures with Honey and is now doing the same with Ace (because real men wear pink don't you know) but when I chose the colour, I didn't really think about sticky fingers eating rainbow snacks and using the seat as a napkin...

Enter The Sparkling Pushchair Company! I was lucky enough to win a free clean in a competition on their Facebook page and was excited to see what a difference a professional clean could make. I had previously washed the seat fabric in the washing machine but could still see greasy marks from the aforementioned rainbow snacks and with the hood being such an awkward, rigid shape, that had never been washed and was really grubby. 

Arranging to have the buggy collected was simple and a mutually convenient time was quickly arranged via Facebook messenger. Darren arrived at our house during the agreed time slot and explained the non toxic, baby friendly cleaning process and timescale, asked me to show him any particularly dirty spots then expertly loaded the Quinny into his car, ready for the off! 

A few days later, I received another message from Laura letting me know that it was all done and suggesting a drop off time. Once again, Darren arrived as agreed and returned our (now sparkling) pushchair!

Unfortunately, the photos aren't as dramatic as some you will see on their Facebook page (example below) but I was really impressed and also loved that the frame, wheels and basket had obviously been given as much attention as the seat and hood! 



Ace is now not allowed anywhere near the buggy with snacks (this will last for approximately one week or until I want to stay out shopping for longer and need to bribe him) and I'm really glad it's cosy toes time so at least the seat has a chance of staying sparkling for longer than a day!

Ace wears... Hoody by Make Your Marque

Bags of fun...

I don't know about you, but in our house, snacks are a big deal! Honey has her own cupboard where she goes to grab a snack (she does have to ask first but she gets to choose whatever she wants from a carefully selected box) and when we're out and about, she knows where to buy her favourite snacks. 

One thing that does get on my nerves, is those little plastic clips you use for sealing half eaten packets, they're brilliant but I find I either forget them and end up with soggy, leftover crisps or lose them. That's where Nom Nom Kids can help, the makers of our favourite reusable pouches have come up with a new snack bag which seals snacks tightly to keep them fresh. We have used them for everything from carrots to crisps, as well as apple and satsuma slices and everything stayed just as fresh as when they were filled!

 

Honey instantly fell in love with the bags and enjoyed helping me choose what to put in them, she also took responsibility for packing them and choosing which ones she and Ace would have at snack time. With a little practise, Honey was able to open the bags by herself which is a huge bonus in my book, as I love anything which encourages independence! The size of the bag means that I can get away with splitting a packet of biscuits or carrot puffs between the two of them rather than taking two packets and the best bit is that Honey hasn't even noticed! This not only makes them fab for portion control, but also for budgeting as you can buy bigger packets of things and share them out, instead of buying ready prepared snack sized portions, which usually works out cheaper overall.



Honey's not the only fan, when she had a snack at a friend's house last week, her friend Rory totally abandoned his bowl and asked for his snacks to be put in one of the monster bag and came back for at least three refills! That's a 10/10 review right there and we left the pouch for him to use in future!














I can safely say that this is another triumph for Nom Nom Kids and the bags are a total toddler must have. Ours are currently in the dishwasher preparing for their next use, I wonder what we'll put in them next!

*Although we were kindly given some snack bags to test, all opinions expressed in this blog are my own.

Honey wears... Bunny tights by Mini Boden