Wicked Sports Equipment to keep you Active through Lockdown

Having Fun Indoors

Check out all these fabulous items from Wicked Mania to help you stay active during this lockdown, bot in the home and in your garden. 

Indoor Booma (Foam Bomberang) - £6

We were sent an indoor booma and I must admit I thought the idea was nuts, I had visions of cracked vases and mess everywhere, but I need not have worried as it is made of foam, but apparently, it isn't just any foam though, it is 'memorang' foam. When the booma is tuned correctly (slightly bent) and thrown right it will fly 4-6 metres and return to the person. I first started out in my kitchen and the instructions on the packaging are useful for getting you started, but it soon became obvious my kitchen was too small and a larger room is needed. I wasn't much better in my lounge I have to admit but my son had a more natural talent for it than me!

Have a look at this clip and see the experts fly the booma, neither myself or the kids have got to this level of expertise as yet!

Mega Jump Rope - £8

This can be used both indoors or outdoors and my girls are loving their new jump rope each. We're lucky that we have a courtyard right outside our door and they can get out and play to let off all their energy, but if you live in an apartment and can't get out, or just have a balcony then this might be perfect. You might have to adjust the length being aware of the ceiling height, and ensure no-one is around as you skip, but it is such a fabulous form of exercise, very high intensity.

It was easy to adjust the 300cm rope length to ensure it fitted my daughters perfectly, and it feels nice and solid to hold on to and skip with. The handgrips are also easy to hold and comfortable. It's definitely worth checking on the Wicked Vision TV channels for tutorials for use with this jump rope too, and there are three levels - beginner, advanced and pro. 

UKick - £8

This was another one I was totally useless at. I'm just not fast and agile enough, but I was very impressed with how good Miss E got in a short space of time with some perseverance and practise. The idea is that you keep the UKick flyer off the ground for as long as possible, either playing alone or with a friend. You can use your feet and hands, or even other parts of your body and face to keep it off the ground. The possibilities are endless.

There are 6 little discs that you can add or remove from the bottom to adjust the difficulty of using the UKick and I like how it is super light and won't damage anything in the home, even if it does end up where it is not supposed to. Check out the advert and see how it is done by people with far more skill than us.

Having Fun Outdoors

Sky Rider - £10
There are various styles of this high-performing flying disc. We have the 175g ultimate one, which meets competitions specs, not that we are going to do any competitions, as we've all been pretty useless with our attempts. I'm blaming the wind and really should have got thee things out earlier this week when the weather was much better. I'm praying for some nice still weather next week, with minimal wind.

Mega Bounce XL - £20

The Mega Bounce XL ball has a circumference of 2.51 metres, it is huge and we haven't even blown it up completely yet, as otherwise, we can't get it in and out of the house, and it isn't warm enough to just leave it outside at the moment. 

It comes with a foot pump, which Miss E used and found the ball easy to inflate. It is a pretty flimsy pump and I'm not sure how long it will last, to be honest, but we'll just switch to our electric one when we need to. I like that you get a plastic tape measure so you can see when the ball has hit full inflation.

The ball has the wicked graphic all over it and this slight protruding text gives it good grip-ability for catching it. I can confirm that it really is a super bouncy ball and for us so far it has worked on cobbles, paving slabs and grass. It's not something I'd recommend for inside play, for obvious reasons! lol The actual ball itself feels really durable and I'm sure we'll get lots of good use out of it. 

Our Thoughts

In conclusion, we love the Sky Roider, the Mega Bounce XL and the Mega Jump Ropes, I think all these things will be used loads, especially outside and as the weather gets better. All three kids used to love creating a sports club together, so I can see this coming back as a feature during these times when we have to stay home. I think each of these is good quality and worth the money, so I am hopeful they will last a very long time. 

I think we'll use the indoor booma and the UKick less, basically because we do not have the skill for them. Miss E has vowed to practise with the UKick and to get much better at it, and it is good she has something new to enjoy and try to master over the coming weeks.

Disclaimer: We received the Mega Bounce XL and the Sky Rider at Christmas and last week Wicked Vision sent us the other items for use during the lockdown time, in exchange for an honest review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest. 

Review - Azul Board Game: Great Fun for all the Family

{This is a collaborative post & as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, 

any affiliate links will be marked with #ad)

During this Coronavirus lockdown, we have been so lucky to have a new game to play. I was first introduced to the board game, Azul (#ad) in February when I played it with a few friends and I was hooked from the start. It seems to retail for around £32 - £35 but I came across a brand new copy on eBay for £12 so I was very chuffed with that. Read on for our Azul review -

Azul is suitable for 2 - 4 players and adapts well to whichever number of players we've tried it with. I think 2 player is probably my favourite though as the gameplay is quicker and feels more exhilarating. It says it is suitable for ages 8 plus, but our friends have it too and they play with their 6 and 8-year-old daughters, so the concept is quite easy to grasp, but they may just need a little help with the scoring.

The box contains:
100 Resin Tiles
4 Player boards
9 Factory displays
4 Scoring markers
1 Starting player resin tile
1 Linen bag
1 Rulebook

The aim of Azul is to score the most points by placing various coloured tiles onto your game board, over a number of rounds. It sounds simple but there is actually a little more to it than that, the skill is in deciding which tile/s to pick up each turn and where to put them to gain the advantage against your opponent/s.

Set-up is super easy and the instructions are clear and give all the details you need. My 12-year-old twins had it mastered after one game and have played it dozens of times since. My 16-year-old has also joined them a few times to play and he plays a more cunning and devious game, as he likes to strategise and project where others might want to go. It is certainly more challenging when he is playing.

The quality of the board and tiles is really good. They are sturdy and feel like they will last a very long time. You get a large bag with the tiles, to hide them whilst you deal them out at the beginning of each round and that it is a bit flimsy and has already lost one of its strings in the first week. I really can't moan though, given the £12 price tag I paid.

Azul has only been on the board game market since 2017 and in 2018 it won the Spiel des Jahres award, making ti the board game of the year, a highly coveted accolade in the board gaming world. This seal of approval means that board gamers the world over agree with me and find it a fabulous fun game for all ages. That engages but is easy to learn and play.

Gameplay takes about 30-40 minutes and again that makes it very easy to play, or you may get hooked like us and still be playing 3 or 4 games down the line. There is also a more freestyle version of the game on the back of the game boards, but we haven't tried that as yet.

As I just had a look on Amazon I was pretty excited to see there are two newer versions of Azul as well - Azul Stained Glass and Azul Summer Pavilion, so I know what I might be buying if this lockdown goes on for too long!

(#ad) Azul is currently for sale on Amazon for £37.36

If you want a good instructional video on how to play Azul, rather than reading the instruction booklet, have a watch of this one, it is clear, concise and very accurate.



Why not pin this post for later?

BBQ Fail #TheCharcoalChallenge

I've got a bit of a secret to let you into.....  I can't BBQ, I am just rubbish at it.  I want to be good and I'd love to have serene evenings spent outside with my husband and the kids chilling as the meat slowly cooks and the beautiful smells waft over towards me.  This just does not happen. I bought a nice red gas BBQ once and we used it twice and that was it - it just seemed too much fuss and cleaning for the food we got.

Then I heard that MoneySupermarket.com where offering bloggers £50 to take part in the #thecharcoalchallenge and I thought perfect, I can try again - surely even I can manage one of those disposable BBQ's and we can have some yummy smoky burgers to enjoy for the girls birthday tea with their grandparents whilst we were on holiday.

Oh dear, how wrong was I?  We got the BBQ lit and that seemed fine, the instructions advised me to wait 20 minutes for the flames to die down and the charcoal to look covered in ash. All looking good 10 minutes in -

But then the smoke started as the wind had got up and the patio area started to look as if we needed a fire engine to come visit. My Dad could take the smoke no longer and we decided to put the BBQ out and stop trying to annoy the neighbours

So it was under the grill that the burgers went, ideals of smoky flavours out the window.  We did enjoy our birthday tea and then everyone loved the meringue, cream and strawberries after and we finished up with a game of monopoly. At least we got something out of the £50 that will last us for some years yet and give us lots of fun!

 Thanks to moneysupermarket.com for helping us have a fun evening as a family.

GoGoGo! Show Review (at the Empire, Leicester Square)

We had a wonderful time today at the GoGoGo! show.  You know we had a good time as here I am on the same day but 12 hours later writing this review up.  I know exactly what I want to say and it is no hardship to write it.

In short, the show is fabulous if you have young girls in your family!

My twin girls turn 5 next week and we took them to the show as part of their birthday treat (oh the perks of being a blogger) and what a wise decision that was.  There were two other groups of girls there on birthday party treats and I would guess those girls were more like 8 and 10.  So the age appeal of this show is pretty wide, my guess would be 2-11 years, or maybe even beyond.  My JJ came with us and he is nearly 9 and whilst there were a few parts where he was chuckling away, mainly when a bit of gentle toilet humour appeared, in the main this was probably not really his thing.

So what is the GoGoGo! Show?
Basically it is 1 hour and 30 minutes of 5 super happy and contagious young people dancing and singing fabulous pop songs which have been penned by Mike Stock (yes, as in Stock, Aitkin and Waterman fame) and Steve Crosby who created Steps.  The songs were definitely my favourite part of the show, they had my feet tapping and even my dh commented how catchy they were. The show is interactive and you get to shout out and join in very regularly, oh yes do not get too comfy in your seat!

What did we think?
Fab, fab Fab!  Yes I cannot shout it enough, this show is perfect for anyone who likes things like Glee and High School Musical.  Or even if you just like holiday camp shows, this did remind me of the Skyline gang from Butlins but of course the songs are a cut above.  I could easily imagine a top 10 hit coming out of this show.

For Miss M it was the dancing that really captured her and she loved that the show is completely interactive and they want you on your feet joining in. The more you boogie, the better!  Apparently Miss M tells me Holly is the best dancer and she wants to be just like her.

And look, Miss M has not seen yet but on the website they have loads of dance tutorials -



Miss E would quite like a Fluffalope to take home with her, apparently the purple fluffy creative is 'really cute mum'.

JJ had to admit to enjoying some of the magic tricks performed by Carl, as he does have aspirations of being a magician himself one day!

Value for money?
I have to say yes, I have wanted to take my kids to a live stage show but I find London theatre so prohibitive when it comes to cost.  The GoGoGo! show is shown at the Empire, Leicester Square at 11am and as such they are able to keep the costs down.  It is £15 per adult and £12.50 per child but if you take a family of 4 it is £50 or 10 or more can get the tickets for just £10 each, that is practically cinema prices for a fully live and interactive show.Superb value and I also liked that you could buy a reasonably priced ice-cream in the interval.  The deal at the moment is 2 of the individual Hagen Daz pots for £3.00.

A fabulous extra!
For completing the tasks (which are part of the stage show) the kids all get a gold membership to the GoGoGo! getters club and they can go online and receive posters and music downloads.

My girls felt like special VIPs today, not only could the kids go down the front at the end of the show, all 6 stars then go out to the lobby after each show to sign autographs and have their picture taken with the children.  Today was not the busiest show but from what I saw I believe they would stay there as long as it took to speak to all the kids.  The 6 performers are genuinely warm and friendly towards all the kids.

In their birthday outfits chosen by them!

Mr Baffled signing the kids programs.

 

The GoGoGo! show is at The Empire over the summer, it would make a great day out during the holidays, especially if this awful rain keeps up!  You can book on the Empire's site. Go and check it out now.....

Disclosure: We were given free tickets to attend this show for the purposes of a review.  I was not instructed what to write and I remain honest.

Review - Frankie and Benny's Restaurants

At the moment I am sat in Butlins on holiday, we have come away for a week to a large Christian festival for Easter, whilst my Dad does some decorating for us at our house - how lucky is that?

Even luckier is that on the way we stopped and stayed the night in Bristol and as part of this stop we got to go to a Frankie and Benny's restaurant and try out their new menus. I'd thought I'd share with you with thoughts on our Frankie and Benny's experience.

I have eaten at one of these restaurants before and so has dh but not for a very long time if I am honest. JJ has been for a birthday meal with a friend and enjoyed it but it is all new to the girls.  I have to be honest and say that Frankie and Benny's had not been on our shortlist of restaurants to take the kids to as we were not sure how kid friendly they would be and we expected them to be a tad expensive.  At a total bill of £51.70 for the 5 of us to have 2 courses, side orders and drinks that assumption has been blown away.  Yes it is not the cheapest restaurant there is for a family to eat out at, but it is certainly competitive.  No more expensive than the other brands we may visit such as Pizza Express.

We arrived at the restaurant at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol at 6.15pm on a Wednesday evening.  We expected the restaurant to be pretty dead but we were wrong, it was the school holidays and people were out to celebrate.  We had a 15 minute wait with a drink for our table to be ready, but this was pleasant as there was seating available for us and the kids felt very grown up in the bar area.  When our buzzer went we were shown to our table and the kids were given an activity pack each.  I have to say these were far better than any I have received before from any of the branded chain restaurant we have visited.

I was super pleased to see a 2 course set menu for a price of £10.95 and I felt there was a good selection on the menu although I have to say that dh was disappointed with it.  As a vegetarian he had one option open to him and even this contained Parmesan, so he choose to eat off the main menu and really enjoyed his veggie burger.  I opted for the chicken carbonara bake and a side order of cheesy garlic bread, which was promptly nicked by all the kids!  In general the food was good but I did feel my pasta lacked some sauce although the flavour was good and I ate it all up.

My main, Chicken carbonara and cheesy garlic bread

I was most impressed by the kids menus, there was a small childs menu which my 4 year old girls choose from and an older choice which JJ choose from.  JJ's hotdog and fries were enormous, a good enough portion for an adult and this had him overjoyed.  The £7.55 we paid for his meal was well worth it as it included a drink and a chocolate pancake afterwards.

JJ's hot dog & fries, yes this is a kids portion!

With so many kids set meals you just get offered boring ice cream afterwards and and have to pay more for a better dessert if you desire one, but not so at Frankie and Benny's - that was a winner with me. At just £.95 for my girls to have a main course, refillable drink, side order of veg, beans or salad and a dessert of theri choice I thought it was really excellent value.

Pleased as punch!  Miss E with her bananas and custard & a pasta sauce stained mouth! lol

The girls both wanted spaghetti bolognaise and again the portion sizes were large and it must have been tasty as my little ladies ate it all up and enjoyed my garlic bread. There was also then room for ice cream for Miss M and bananas and cold custard for Miss E.  I opted for a yummy cherry crumble with ice cream which looked small but was just right and dh had a piece of cheesecake, which was a tad sweet for him, but I could have happily devoured it.

Empty plates all round .... good job!

In general I was really pleased with our trip to Frankie and Benny's, the service was prompt and very attentive.  The meals looked and tasted good in the main and our children were happy with their activities.  My only qualm would be with the noise level, as the room is very open and there are not any soft furnishings it does get exceptionally noisy when busy and this meant my kids got noisy to try and be heard over it!

As we left I asked all the family for their opinion, if they had enjoyed the meal.  Here is what they said -

JJ - Yes loved it Mummy, can we eat there every day?
Miss M - my ice cream was so nice and it is dark outside, have I missed bed time?
Miss E - Can we go again please Mummy?
Dh - Yes the veggie burger was very good but at £9.45 I would expect it to be.
Me - A fabulous meal in all, a happy family equals a happy mummy.

Frankie and Benny's have just launched 4 new menus.  There is the evening £10.95 set 2 course menu that I chose from, a £5 breakfast menu which includes red berry pancakes (yummy), a varied set lunch menu which offers 25 different main courses for just £5.95 or top up to 2 courses for £8.25 or push the boat out an dhave 3 for just £9.25 available week days and a very temping dessert menu.

Disclaimer:  I received a  voucher for £50 to eat at a Frankie and Benny's restaurant for the purpose of this review.

DVD Review: A Dolphins Tale

I was invited to a preview blogger event before A Dolphins Tale was released at the cinema and sadly I could not make it, so when Warner Bros. asked me if I would like to review it on DVD I nearly snapped their hand off.

The DVD arrived yesterday and what better to do on a very cold and bitter Saturday afternoon than to sit under the duvet with my little ladies and watch the movie. I proved to myself yet again that since becoming a mum I have turned into a blubbering wreck, this film and knowing that it is based on true events really moved me and I absolutely adored it.  I expected the film to be a big hit with JJ but due to his friends being here he has not even watched it yet, it was me and Miss E that it really touched.

I did not expect a 4 year old girl to be able to get so much of the film, but she was really engaged and enjoyed it and now keeps chatting about Winter the dolphin and her tail that died. The plot in a nutshell, is that Sawyer, an 11 year old boy who is struggling at school finds a hurt dolphin washed up on the beach and caught in a  crab trap. He starts to set the dolphin free and in those moments develops a special bond. When the dolphin is moved to the Clearwater marine hospital and named Winter, Sawyer breaks in to find her and ends up bunking off summer school so that he can spend time with Winter and nurse her back to health along with the staff at the hospital. He manages to engage a specialist to help build a prosthetic tail for Winter and organises a special event with his friend Hazel and her family so that Winter and the hospital can be saved.

This is a real feel good movie and one I would definitely recommend for great half-term viewing for kids of all ages. We will most definitely sit down and watch it again, with JJ this time. Take a look a the official trailer below and see if you fancy it too.
Dolphin Tale is out on DVD on 13th February 2012, it is available to pre-order on Amazon for the cost of £9.99 and Blu-ray is £14.99.

Run time - 108 minutes
Rating - U, suitable for all
Cast - There is  superb cast, including Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jnr and Kris Kristofferson



Disclaimer:  This is a review post

Our Family Roadtest an Ask Restaurant

If you have ever read my other blog you may well know that I have very lively kids.  Nice kids you understand, but they are not exactly quiet and they have a real sense of fun!  This is OK, I don't mind, I always wanted children to be full of life and to have their own personalities but this can present challenges when we want to go out and eat as a family.

Not to be deterred, my hubbie and I have taken the children to restaurants from an early age and thus they have become used to having to sit down but that does not mean they like it! When I heard that Vouchercodes.co.uk online lifestyle magazine, Most Wanted were putting together the Fuss Free Dining Report I thought this sounded like an excellent resource for parents who feel a bit nervous about going out to eat with their children.

Our family task for the Fuss Free Dining Report was to eat at an Ask Italian restaurant earlier this week and we got the children to fill out scorecards and let us know what they thought.  Dh and I also give our review here.

6pm on a weekday we decided to head to our local Ask restaurant in Hertfordshire.  It was not too busy and we were seated straight away.  We were aware that this was later than normal for our kids to be eating so this could present some challenges but great we thought, lets see how the restaurant deal with it.  Upon being seated the kids were given a children's menu that they could draw a picture on the back of. Plenty of pencils were handed to us as well.  All the kids were quite happy and when they saw there was a display wall just behind us they were ecstatic to think that their prized pictures could be featured in the restaurant for all to see!



We were pleased with the children's menu, it is £6.10 for garlic bread,  a small Mediterranean salad (cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pepper slices and olives)  and a main and dessert of their choice.  Miss M and JJ went for a pizza each, these were very authentic and tasted great and Miss E opted for a creamy pasta dish, her portion was enormous!  Dessert was banana, ice cream, sauce and sprinkles for the girls and JJ ordered his own Gelato, because he did not want ice cream! lol

The drinks for children was a bit lacking in selection, the only thing on the kids menu was milkshake, which costs £1.95.  JJ had one of these and thoroughly enjoyed it, Miss M just had tap water and they were happy to oblige with this and Miss E had milk and this was not on the menu but there was no questions asked, it was just served and we got charged £1.40.  There did not appear to be any squash available and the juice was £2.45 a glass, so on the steep side for a child.  This is perhaps an area they need to think more about.

This is the only thing I could knock to be honest, so they did very well.  The food arrived quickly, the serving staff were attentive but not too much so.  My husband had a pizza and it was large and full of topping, he also ordered a side order of fries with garlic mayo to try out and these were tasty but nothing special really.  My main meal the chicken Marsalla was divine and I loved it and would certainly order again.

Another factor that made our meal even better is that we had a 2 for 1 voucher direct from Ask.  About once a week I get an email from them with their latest deals, this is certainly worth signing up for.  Our meal for 5 people, including starters cost us just over £41, you can't knock that!  We were in the restaurant for about 1 hour 20 minutes and it was a pleasant experience.  I would highly recommend Ask as a family friendly restaurant.  When the girls wanted to go the the toilet numerous times during the meal (just to have a look around you understand) no one batted an eyelid and when the noise level rose and they had a bit of kiddish fun, we fitted right in as there were numerous other families with children in the restaurant.

We were asked to rate the restaurant on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the best I assume!) on the following categories -

Friendliness of service       4/5

Range of choice for kids   5/5
Entertainment on offer    3/5 (only the colouring really!)
Value for money  5/5 (with the voucher, perhaps 3.5 without the voucher)
Quality of Food    5/5

I asked each of my kids to give their opinion on our meal out and they all said big thumbs up! JJ said the best thing was having his picture on the wall for all to see, apparently we have to go again soon so he can see it displayed.  Miss E said she loved her pasta and Miss wants more pink ice cream!



Yum, I could eat this again, right now!



This is a review post.  I was renumerated to eat in the restaurant and to report back on our findings.  I was not instructed what to write and I remain honest.

You're Taking your Kids on the London Eye?

Look, there it is Mummy!

That was what a good friend of mine said at the weekend when I told her where we were going to the London Eye and out for a day in London on bank holiday Monday.  She was astounded and had no idea that it would appeal to kids but I have to tell you that all three of my children (near 4-year-old twins and a 7-year-old) really enjoyed it.

Miss M kept referring to the big windmill and Miss E announced upon seeing it, that she did not want to go up high. A naughty white lie from Mummy that our capsule would not go too high and we were OK. Dh had reservations that we might spend hours in the queue but take a look at the picture below, this is the queue we literally walked straight through - fabulous!

The wheel never really appears to stop so you get on and off as it slowly moves by but it really is very slow so this is not a problem, even with toddlers.  I was completely impressed with the staff who clean each capsule and check it over for safety reasons between travellers.

JJ tells me there were about 25 people in our capsule and this number was fine.  Yes it was busy but we could see out of every window and get good views, we always managed to get a seat on the central bench when we wanted one and everyone seemed to help each other out with taking group photos etc.  I was being a bit silly that day and ducked out of most photos!

The views were excellent and I loved the fact that you could see in every direction and the capsule was labelled so you could tell if you were looking North, South, East or West. We were lucky that the weather was good and thus our views were excellent, the kids got very excited when they could see the Wembly Arch.  Daddy was able to talk the kids through what they were seeing and even the girls could not keep away from looking out and watching London go by!  I was just grateful for a completely smooth ride.

Once we left the ride you were ushered into the shop but I have to say there was no pressure, the door was right there and you could escape if you did not wish to purchase anything.  Whilst you ride the eye a photo is taken from the outside and that is quite a novel photograph to buy, but at £10 per print, it was an expensive luxury in my view.  So we bought JJ a nice acrylic frame with the London Eye on it for £5 and we will print out our own photo so he has a nice memento.

With regard to price, you are best to book online at least 24 hours in advance and this will save you about 10% on the ticket price.  The price is £16.74 for an adult and £8.59 for a child aged 4 - 15.  Children of 3 and under are completely free, so all the more motivation for taking your pre-schooler on the London Eye.

The day does not have to turn out to be too expensive there is a great grassy area right by the eye and you could easily pack a picnic, or do what we did and have a McDonalds treat on the grass.  There is also a good adventure park right there.  We had thought that we would travel over to a museum after finishing the eye but the South Bank provides a day out in itself when the weather is nice. All the street performers and exhibitions outside the National Theatre made for a fun day.  I think my kids favourite part of the day was the bus ride back to Kings Cross on the double-decker - yes, they are easily pleased! However, if you want to extend your day into a weekend then check out some of the best Airbnbs in London.

All in all, we had a great time and every one of our kids said they would love to visit the London eye again. You never know if we win the lottery I might even let the is have a birthday party on the eye!

This is a review post.  I was provided with free tickets to the London Eye for the purposes of writing this review.  I was not instructed what to write and I remain honest.