I'm a full-time mummy

Our 4.5 years old boy is a big fan of Lego stuff, so I just can't say no when I see this book available for review!

Title: Beautiful LEGO
Author: Mike Doyle
Publisher: No Starch Press
ISBN-13/-10:  978-1-59327-508-2 / 1-59327-508-0
Paperback:  280 pages

Description from the product page:
"Mix hundreds of thousands of LEGO bricks with dozens of artists, and what do you get? Beautiful LEGO, a compendium of LEGO artwork that showcases a stunning array of pieces ranging from incredibly lifelike replicas of everyday objects and famous monuments to imaginative renderings of spaceships, mansions, and mythical creatures. You'll also meet the minds behind the art. Interviews with the artists take you inside the creative process that turns simple, plastic bricks into remarkable LEGO masterpieces."

'Fun, fun, fun!' is all I can think of as I flipped through this book! I got our 4.5 years old to sit with me as we flipped through each pages in the book, and oh wow... I'm so thrilled to see our boy getting more and more excited and anxious to see what's coming up in the next pages and boy oh boy, the pictures of the Lego creations included in this book are just gorgeous and droolworthy! 

Some of the Lego creations are totally awesome and got our boy so inspired and amazed! Pictures below are some of the Lego creations that got our boy's attention:

Lego Ironman! Our boy is a big fan of Ironman and to see it made with Lego, oh wow... our boy was totally blown away!

The castle from Alice in Wonderland story. Our boy has only watched Alice in Wonderland movie once so he does not really relate the castle to the story. He sees it as a castle and just wanted to build a castle!

I also used the opportunity to educate our boy when we come across some of the Lego creations showcasing the olden days gadget like telephone, game console player and etc. Really nice to see all this in Lego creations!

In summary, it  is so much fun to just flip through this amazing book and just be amazed (and drooled over them) on what other people have managed to achieved with tons of LEGO bricks! I hope this book is able to inspire our kiddos in creating more awesome designs using Lego bricks. Just in case you want to have a look at some of the creations by our 4.5 years old boy, feel free to hop over and check them out in my FB album.

You can get this book here.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a PDF copy of the book in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"

Over 2 months ago, I was approached by Ciinolin to review one of their muslin swaddles for our coming baby in October. The only swaddles I remembered using were those white colored cotton nappy cloth and I was interested with Ciinolin's products as I was told that we can still use it for our child as they grow along. I wouldn't say no to value products like this! So here goes my review:

Description from the product page:
"Ciinolin (pronounced “See – no – leen”) was founded under the very same belief that “all things grow better with love, care and diligence”. Similar to Aden and Anais it was made using a blend of cotton and bamboo rayon. A set contains 3 different 47″ x 47″ swaddles made from 70% rayon made from natural bamboo fibres and 30% cotton. Comes in a box of 3 swaddles and for every box, Ciinolin intend to donate 6 sets of school stationery to children in Myanmar through B1G1, an NGO registered and regulated in Singapore."

There are currently 2 designs available which are: Cirebon Adventures, a narrative inspired by children’s imagination for exploration and adventure in faraway places and Madura Merrytime, a celebration of the rustic bold colored batik from the Javanese island of Madura.

* PACKAGING: I received the Cirebon Adventures design and love the cute and practical packaging box that comes with it.  

* INSTRUCTIONS & LABELING: There is ample information all over the packaging box which explains why you should swaddle your child, how to swaddle your child, the features of the swaddles, how to care instructions and more. Label instructions are clear and easy to read and follow as well.

* DESIGN: The Cirebon Adventures design are very cute! Love the cute animals going off to a faraway place, on aeroplane, birds and hot air balloons! So carefree and adventurous at the same time!

* FEATURES: The moment I opened up the packaging and touched the swaddles the first time, oh boy... it is sooooooooooo soft to the touch, I just caressed it gently and lovingly.... ahhhh... soft and smooth like a newborn skin, I say! FYI, the swaddles are made from 70% rayon made from natural bamboo fibres and 30% cotton.

Another thing to note is the swaddles are very huge!!! Love the big size!

I immediately got on to soak, rinse and wash the swaddles. It is very fast to dry and requires no ironing at all! I gave one of the swaddles to my sister-in-law who is expecting her 2nd child and due 2-3 weeks after me. The other 2 swaddles go straight into my labor bag!

* USING IT: Ta-daaaa! Pictures below showing you our newborn baby girl being swaddled in Ciinolin while we were in the hospital.

I love seeing her safely and comfortably cocooned in the cute and comfy swaddle! To sum up my review of the Ciinolin muslin swaddles, I am glad to be able to review it and happy to know our baby girl is comfortably swaddled in this oh-so-soft and comfy swaddle! Oh by the way, I also use the swaddles as a blanket sometimes! Definitely a keeper!

You can find out more information at http://www.ciinolin.com/where-to-buy/ and http://www.ciinolin.com/swaddles/

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the product by Ciinolin in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

We had just recently reviewed "Little Critter At Scout Camp" and now, we have the privilege to add this story app to our collection! We are a big fan of Little Critter's apps and I love the educational values that comes along with the story apps and this is no exception!

* Title: Just Saving My Money
* Price: $0.99
* Category: Books
* Released: Sept 18, 2013
* Current Version: 2.3
* Size: 38.2 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: Oceanhouse Media, Inc.
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Description from the product page:

"Little Critter's eager nature and inquisitive mind help him explore the great outdoors at Scout Camp. He and the other critters race canoes down the river, learn about different types of plants and trees, and make gifts for family members. Scout Camp is running smoothly until Little Critter explores a little too far and gets more nature than he bargained for! "

* It is engaging and interactive and I love that we can also touch the objects in each page on the screen and the words pop out to tell you what it is!

* I took this opportunity in this story app to teach my boy the importance of saving money and the responsibilities that entails with having to save up your own money.

* Prior to this, I have been introducing the idea of rewarding our boy when he does the household chores without being asked to. When he sees me mopping the floor and he offered to help and does the job (whether still messy or not) I will still reward him with a few coins so that he knows we do appreciate his contribution and help in reducing our workload in the house.

* We also bring our kiddos along to the bank (whenever possible) when it is time to transfer out the heavy coinbox and put them into his savings book. Each of our kiddos have their own savings book although they have yet to figure out what the book does, we do hope they will get the idea soon.

You can purchase the "Just Saving My Money" app from the iTunes App Store.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code by the sponsor to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"