Dyson ball vacuum cleaner toy review

This week my little girl has been helping me with the vacuuming with her very own Dyson. Lucky her, I am yet to get one of my own! Believe it or not she now has two, her cousins passed down a cylinder toy Dyson (which is fantastic) and then Geoffery kindly sent us this upright version to review.

It is very realistic looking and well made, I don't think it would break any time soon. It also makes a great Dyson sound so they feel like they really have their own mini version and are really helping with the housework! You can set it to suction mode or have the little balls swirl around inside which is great fun for little ones!

Having its own real life suction is such a great idea for play that we couldn't help be a little bit disappointed when we put it to the test. I can't help but compare it to the other Dyson toy she has which has similar features and is really fantastic. It could be just our model but this one doesn't really seem to have any suction. I know as it is for little ones it can't really be very strong but this is much weaker than I expected. My daughter tried for ages to suck up a bit of paper in the end became frustrated and gave up. On the Dyson she already had she absolutely loves sucking up the bits and then removing them from the compartment herself... and then, of course, starting all over again.

The compartment on the back of this vacuum is really tricky to remove and she can't do it by herself which is such a shame as this is her favourite part of the game! Maybe as she gets older she'll get the hang of it but I even found it fiddly.

She has also found just turning it on a little confusing to start off with. There is a big red button on the front which is perfect but then you still have to use the more adult style switch on the back to select suction or pretend mode. This doesn't make sense to me, toys should be designed so that little ones can play with them all by themselves if they want to. The overall result is that she hasn't played with it as much as I expected.

I think it could be simplified and aimed at younger children as from my experience it is aged around 1 to 2 years that my little girl wanted to roll play such games and do everything mummy did!

Having said that she says she loves it and when I have been vacuuming she's been having a go too - and there's no denying it looks fantastic and just like a real life Dyson!

Hello Kitty Pretty Pushchair Toyologist review - so easy to push and play!

Last Christmas I spent a long time choosing my daughter's first pram – like choosing a real pram I felt there was a lot to consider. I was pleased with my choice except one thing, she found it really difficult to turn and a year later still does really.

This is where the Hello Kitty pushchair steps up to the mark. I am so impressed with the swivel action on the front wheels, it is the easiest pushchair for a little one to manoeuvre... I wish my buggy was as easy to push!

It seems well made, no problems so far and is pretty easy to fold flat so you can store it away neatly (very important in our house).

It has some little straps and a bar across the front so little ones can play easily at sitting their toys in. It is a plastic clasp so maybe not suitable for children much younger than the recommended age if you don't want pinched little fingers. My little girl who is going on 3 loves the clasp though as it is more realistic and wants to learn to do all these things.

It's a nice girlie design and pattern – extra cute with a little felt flower on the hood. The other great feature is that they can easily push the seat back to recline it, and with that and the hood down they can get their toys off to sleep. It also has a bottom compartment for storing dolly's essentials, or if you're my daughter, for storing leaves and conkers you have collected out on your walk.

It feels quite sturdy, here is my little girl zooming along with it. If you are wondering what's happened to her doll, in typical Squiggle style she insisted on taking her dinosaur for a walk instead. She then insisted he preferred to sit underneath where he would find it much bumpier... like a trampoline.

Hey it's her pushchair!
And we love it!

The 'Hello Kitty Pretty Kitty Pushchair' will be available in Toys R Us for Christmas.

Mummy and Squiggle visit the midwife

Yesterday I was so happy and proud of my little girl. I suddenly remembered I had a midwife appointment so Squiggle and I rushed off to it together. She was such a good little girl (not in the sit quietly in the corner type of way) but in the have a chat chat chat about everything kind of way. Sometimes I just feel so proud of her and how much personality she has. Everything seems ok (touch wood) and I heard the heartbeat for the first time, it was a really special moment to share with my daughter who said she could hear the baby. It was a totally different experience from the first time around, but just as special for all different reasons. :)

Pregnancy = some crazy old dreams!

With my second pregnancy have come a whole new set of weird and wonderful dreams. I know it's said that telling people your dreams is the most boring thing in the world, but I feel the need to write them down!

The strangest I had last pregnancy was my tummy stretching and stretching until my baby popped out. She told me she was fine but could I please eat some more peanut butter. Although some people swear "no nuts when you're pregnant", I decided to take the advice of my unborn child and had some the next morning!

I've had a few this time around but the strangest came last night and was so unsettling... In the dream I was at a routine appointment when I spotted I could see a scan of my baby, it was perfect, but it was in my arm. They took the heartbeat and it confirmed it was growing in my arm. I was quite upset but apparently the baby was going to be fine, I just needed my arm to be amputated to deliver it. Surprisingly I was pretty ok with this but I was just fuming that it was my right arm as I am hopeless with my left!

I woke up pretty confused and stressed out, does it mean anything?? Probably that I am slightly nuts whilst pregnant. The previous one I had, I met my child briefly and they had amazing glittering gold eyes which I just stared into. This also panicked me when I woke up, I keep worrying they mean there is something wrong.

I would love to hear if anyone else had had just as strange dreams? Please it will make me feel better, I've even taken to googling them - not healthy!!