What Pet Should I Get? by Dr Seuss - book review

I'm pretty sure that there isn't a single person on this planet who can say that they haven't heard of the Dr Seuss, whether it's Green Eggs & Ham or The Grinch - you know who he is!

We recently had the chance to review the wonderful new book 'What Pet Should I Get?' which became an instant bestseller in the US last summer and it's bound to have the same effect here in the UK when it's released in February this year.

'What Pet Should I Get?' was originally written in the 1950s but it (both the text and illustrations) lay undiscovered until autumn 2013 when Dr Seuss's wife Audrey and long-time secretary and friend Claudia Prescott cleared out his office space.

The book is written in true Dr Seuss fashion with his iconic rhyming style. I always find that rhyming stories tend to capture C's interest most so he sat quietly listening and looking at the beautiful illustrations.

The story is about a brother and sister whose parents say that they can get a pet, so they visit the pet shop to try and decide what to choose. They go between animals like dogs, cats and fish but in true Dr Seuss style there is a little made up animal. There are a couple of repetitive verses too which I really like.

As much as I hate to ruin the end of a book, I can't not talk about the end of this one. It's left wide open for you to make your own conclusions. A really lovely way to finish.

At the very back of the book there are some photographs of Dr Seuss and a bit of an explanation of how the story came about.

Following the release of What Pet Should I Get?, HarperCollins will launch a year of major publishing initiatives which include relaunching eight classic Dr Seuss books. In March 2016, they will also be releasing Horton and the Kwuggerbug - a collection of four Dr Seuss stories that were first published in the 1950s in magazine.

What Pet Should I Get? is published by HarperCollins and it's available to buy on Amazon for £12.08.

(Disclaimer: We received this item for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Look in my Letterbox #42

This was a good week win-wise but I am waiting on so much. I feel like Royal Mail are a lot slower than usual! As ever, I'm linking up with Look in my Letterbox.

Wins:

Spider-Man Talking Figure

C won this in a magazine competition. He was so chuffed when I told him the parcel had his name on it and he could open it.

Scrabble Frame

I won this in a Facebook competition. I'm planning on adding it to my friend's birthday present next month.

Soup & Soup Mug

This was from the Tesco instant win. I'm usually rubbish with these types of competitions but my winning entry was at 01.52am. The perks of having an awake child at stupid o'clock.

Hamster Bags

This was a blog Rafflecopter win. I've heard such good things about these. We don't drive so it's quite difficult to balance shopping whilst pushing the buggy so they'll come in so handy.

My Little Pony DVD

This was another blog win. Both kids love My Little Pony and as soon as C opened it he had me put it on.

Reviews:

Cloudbabies Pyjamas

Cloudbabies is another show that the kids love. These little pjs from Zippysuit are the cutest.

Purchases:

Glue Gun
I got a bargain glue gun from eBay as I have lots of felt (that I won!) and I want to try my hand at making E some bows. I totally forgot to take a pic but you can have a nosey here.

Did you receive anything nice this week?

Win a copy of The Little Penguin: Pororo's Racing Adventure on DVD

I've teamed up with Lionsgate today to offer my readers a lovely competition. You can get your hands on a copy of The Little Penguin: Pororo's Racing Adventure.

 

No dream is too big in this delightful February half-term family film! Follow plucky little penguin Pororo as his dreams come true when he participates in the ultimate Super Sled race with his friends. The film features an all-star voice cast including Rob Schneider, Drake Bell, Anthony Anderson, Jon Heder and Dallas Lovato.

When Pororo, the curious little penguin who dreams of becoming the Super Sled champion, accidentally causes an aeroplane being piloted by two turtles, Toto (Schneider) and Mango (Heder), to make an emergency landing in Porong Village, his life takes and exciting new turn. Pororo and his friends manage to hitch a plane ride to the ice metropolis of Northpia with hopes of racing in the Super Sled Championships. But to win, Pororo and his friends must compete against the current champions led by The White Tiger (Bell) as well as the scheming brown bears led by Fufu (Anderson) and numerous other teams. Along the way, Pororo will not only inspire the cynical duck sportscasters, Chip and Walter, but all of the animals in Northpia!

The Little Penguin: Pororo's Racing Adventure will be released on DVD and digital download on February 15th 2016 and run time is 75 minutes.

To be in with a chance of winning a copy, just fill in the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!

T&C's:

• The giveaway will run from January 29th until February 12th
• One winner will win one copy of the DVD
• Open to entrants aged 18+
• UK residents only
• Prize will be sent directly from Lionsgate
• No automated entries
• One entry per person

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

More competitions at ThePrizeFinder

Siblings: January 2016

Yay, we're into another year of Siblings! I loved looking back at all the photos I took of C and E together throughout 2015 and it was so nice seeing them grow. I did miss December's post as the month was so hectic but no harm done, I'm back now so I have double the photos.

This month, the children have been so loving towards each other. C will always share food with E and when E has a toy that he wants to play with, he'll either bring her another to swap or play nicely alongside her - no snatching!

E thinks C is the best person ever. She looks at him with such love and now that she's getting older she is more affectionate. She is always pulling her brother in for a kiss or hug and C does the same back. My favourite thing has to be though, when C is crying, E goes to straight to him, tousles his hair and says "Aww!" to comfort him. It is adorable. He loves her too and always asks me to wake her up when I've put her down for her nap.

I won't lie, it's not all plain sailing. We do have times where C just cannot have E anywhere near him, especially when he's building towers with his blocks. E always has to knock it down and I swear C transforms into Anger from Inside Out and pushes her over. We're working on it!

Look in my Letterbox #41

This week has been another good week for post - especially for C! He's had quite a few goodies arrive for him. He also had a red card come in his name yesterday which I'm assuming is a kids magazine win. We'll find out on Monday! As ever, I'm linking up with Look in my Letterbox.

Wins:

Fire Station Activity Book and Playset

I won this with Parragon Books on Twitter and C was so chuffed with it. He's recently discovered Fireman Sam so he thought it was great!

Lego Minifigures

This was a surprise win that turned up in the post from Dennis & Gnasher Epic magazine addressed to C. They are the monster figures and C is obsessed with all things Halloween so it's a lovely win.

Wychwood t-shirt

I won this on Wychwood's Pintology instant win. I then discovered that it was a glitch and everyone was winning but they were lovely and honoured the prizes. Chris is pleased!

Snoopy keyrings

These were from the Snoopy instant win.

Sheep crayons

I won this in a Facebook competition run by Colourful Crayons by Jess. They are so cute and much better quality than regular ones!

Huggies potty training bundle

I won this in a blog competition and it is perfect timing. C turned 3 in September but he will not entertain the idea of using the potty. He's fine sitting on it with his nappy on but screams and cries when I take it off. Hopefully we'll crack it soon.

Purchases:

Postcards

I always get these cheapie ones on Amazon for my postal competition entries.

Hair accessories

I bought E a gorgeous handmade Valentine's day dress and I needed a hairband to go with it. This heart one from Roses & Bows will match perfectly. I also spotted the St Patricks Day range so I couldn't not get these wee shamrock clips for her piggies!

Valentine's t-shirt

A little sneak peek as I don't want to spoil it but I went to Miss Boos Boutique (who I get all the kids printed tees from!) to get C a Valentines t-shirt. He'll look adorable!

Others:

MaxFactor lipstick

This is a SoPost freebie and my sister has already claimed it!

Did you receive anything nice this week?

Look in my Letterbox #40

This week was a lot busier than the past few weeks but I'm still waiting on tons to arrive from December. I think I'm gonna have to start chasing things up.

As ever, I'm linking up with Look in my Letterbox.

Wins:

WOW Toys

I won these in Mummy Constant's advent giveaways. Both kids absolutely love them! They are our first WOW Toys and I didn't realise how good the quality is so I'll definitely be buying more.

Webbox treats

This was a nice little Twitter win and I've given them to Chris's brothers two doggies.

Easylaces

This was another Twitter win which my sister has claimed!

Clover the Lamb

Yep - another Twitter win. He is so cute and E is in love with him. She keeps giving him hugs and kisses.

Lily & Me dress

I won £50 to spend at Lily & Me in Slummy Single Mummy's blog competition. I chose this gorgeous dress!

Reviews:

Dr Seuss book

I've always loved Dr Seuss but the kids have none of the books so I was happy to be offered the chance to review one.

Young at Art ticket

My first ever local event invite! Young at Art at the Belfast Children's Festival is in March and I've been invited along to the press event next week. I'm really excited to meet some other local bloggers and get all the information about the event to share on the blog.

Baker Ross bundle

I love when these big unexpected boxes show up. C knew what it was right away (just from the writing on the box) and he excitedly said, "The man brought me crafts!!" Cute.

Others:

SoPost foundation

SoPost mascara

I love these little SoPost samples. I usually stick to the make up that I know so it's nice to try before I buy!

Did you receive anything nice this week?

Beldray Ironing Board - Review

A few weeks before Christmas, I was offered the chance to try out a new Beldray ironing board. I've heard of the Beldray brand before but never used any of their products. 

My previous ironing boards have always been small, cheapish ones from discount stores so when I opened this up, at 126 x 45 cm, it looked absolutely massive compared to my dinky one. Any ironing board I've used has been pretty standard, the board to iron your clothing on plus a rest for your iron. The Beldray one is so much more. 

The Beldray ironing board comes with a clothes rack underneath. I may be living under a rock, but this is the first ironing board I've seen with one of these on. It makes life so much easier as I can fold up my ironed clothes and keep them underneath until I can put them away or when ironing shirts and blouses, I can hook the hangers on so that they don't get creased.

It also comes with an iron holder and you can change the height to eight different positions, which is great for us as Chris is a little taller than me so he can change it with ease. The board folds away flat too and doesn't take up much space. The cover is removable, machine washable and simple to put back on.

I was happy enough with my previous board as that is all I knew but since giving the Beldray one a try, I will never look back! I never realised how much I needed one. I've gotten used to how much heavier it is compared to my old, tiny one!

The 'Mighty' Ironing Board with Clothes Rack and Iron Holder retails at £59.99 and you can find out more at the Beldray website.

(Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

We're back!

Hello!
I'm officially back to posting proper posts after the Christmas/New Year holidays and I hope you all had a lovely festive period.

We did our Christmas Eve box which the kids loved, got snuggled up in pjs and went to sleep to wait for Santa to come. Both kids were overjoyed in the morning. They both understood more this year and their happiness was amazing.

I'd been waiting ages to get them in their gorgeous Christmas clothes. It wasn't until Christmas morning that we realised that C looked a little like Doctor Who! I got E's dress and headband made from two Instagram shops and I was over the moon with them. 

E had her first ever Christmas dinner and she absolutely devoured it. I was ill in the run up to Christmas so I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get to visit Santa but my dad says that I'm the only one who'll remember, the kids won't be fussed!

Anywho, as of tomorrow I have lots of lovely review and personal posts coming so please keep reading. It's also my blog's 3 year anniversary on Thursday - how crazy is that!? I can't believe I've kept it up this long.