Reviews Archives - Mummy 2 Monkeys

How do people afford to run two cars?

Maria Macnamara — Thu, 16 May 2019 13:14:59 +0000

Well, this is a personal bugbear of mine. The best type of family car is versatile. From picking up the children from school, taking the family cat to the vets, doing the weekly shop and traveling to work, the family car is a serious multi-tasker. And so they need to be!

It might be said by some (but not me!) that new cars, rather than used, are best suited as family cars due to their lower running costs, the wide range of options available and their inclusion of the latest electronic technology (vital to entertaining restless children on long journeys!). Second to a house, buying a new car is probably the most expensive purchase a family will make. So how can the modern family afford a new car every two years?? Well let’s share a secret – it’s called FINANCE. Everyone is up their ears in it nowadays it seems (or rather, it doesn’t seem, as they don’t talk about it!)

Me perusing cars – in the rain of course!

Things like Klarna are genuinely dangerous – what ever happened to be just spending money you have, and if you don’t then going without??! I am sorry but you don’t NEED new clothes every week, you don’t NEED a brand new Audi. If you can afford those things then, great. But if you can’t then I don’t really see why people are getting into debt over it.

A lesson learned the expensive way!

I bought my current car as a used, and despite the horror stories, there really wasn’t any need for me to be worried. I don’t like new car dealers any more or less than dodgy used card dealers – they all lie a bit. But if you weigh up the cost savings of me running my same 5-year old car versus buying a new one on finance every 2 years it’s so much cheaper. That kind of money I can put towards a holiday.

A word of warning though, I would recommend to run an HPI check from several of the companies that offer this service before buying. I almost got stung by a stolen car but luckily did my own checks… A good place to start is this website, they even offer a free summary / sample report so you can see exactly what you’re getting. For £8.95 it isn’t exactly expensive – if you compare it to HPI.com they charge 20 quid! And there are loads of similar companies that don’t charge much now.

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Let’s Go Travelling – Part I (And a free Checklist)

Maria Macnamara — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 14:33:11 +0000

Have you ever been stranded? It’s SCARY. There we were setting out with the triplets and the weather outside was very cold indeed, so much so that the car got stuck! Oh noes!

I have and it is a terrifying little thing, which is why each year we get prepared for winter driving and I have produced a winter car checklist. We live in beautiful rural Herefordshire which means that we have to be prepared when it comes to winter weather. More so DaddyBoy who often travels over some treacherous roads in the winter.

Since moving back to the West country we have become much more prepared for bad weather and both have emergency packs in our cars. We recently got snow tyres for our vehicles fitted at Kwik-Fit Tewkesbury, found via CompareTyres.com. All you need to do is go on CompareTyres and put in your postcode and vehicle registration – it will do the rest and save you money.

Now here’s some more tips for you saver mummies. x

Winter Car Checklist

Omg let’s try it.

Feline Litter – Don’t giggle yet a sack of feline litter is important. You sprinkle it under the vehicle tyres and over where you have to drive and it assists with footing. When I was growing up my Dad (not my hubby but my real daddy) dependably have a touch of floor covering in the vehicle for a similar reason, yet then he needed to get out and get the rug.
Wool/foil Blankets – Fleece covers are so economical and pack up little, they are ideal for cuddling under on the off chance that you do stall out, yet additionally to put under the vehicle tyres once more. I two or three them and furthermore several foil covers too.ter/nourishment – I have a jug of water in the vehicle if there should arise an occurrence of crises. I additionally have a container or two of grain bars and nuts. They are immaculate should we stall out and need something to nibble on.
Foldable snow scoop. We have one of these in every one of the carsthat we purchased in the deals two or three years back.
Vehicle scrubber with a brush. I am not graced with tallness, so my windscreen scrubber has a long handle and furthermore have a brush at the opposite end. Ideal for substantial snowfalls.
Wrap up light – there is nothing more awful than stalling out and going for you burn just to discover the batteries have run out. I adore my little wrap up light therefore. The Daddy Hubby has one that additionally has a radio as well., Perfect for on the off chance that he stalls out.

Make sure that you get a load of these free winter tyre checks and more by subscribing to my email newsletter.

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MyNameTags Giveaway – with Boots

Maria Macnamara — Tue, 14 Aug 2018 12:43:02 +0000

I really hate spending precious time labeling clothes, as a busy mummy. Kids lose a lot of stuff when they are at school it seems or they swap parts of their PE kits without realising! If you want to have a chance at keeping their clothes you must label them clearly! My Nametags recently got in touch asking if I would like to review their Colour Sticker Nametags and I jumped at the chance to share them with you. I have been using their labels since Little Man started school in September after being recommended by another Mum.

I can honestly say I love these labels and they have made my life so much easier. No ironing labels on, no marker pen scribbles. They just stick on! Yes, it really is as simple as that.I truly do rate MyNametags and would profoundly suggest them. They will spare you time and ideally cash when you don’t need to purchase substitution uniform! Little Man cherishes his marks as well and knows which names are his. My Nametags have been a tremendous hit all round in my home.

My Nametags have sympathetically allowed you to win a sheet of their Color Sticker Nametags. You can plan them yourself and be good to go for September. You can enter with the Rafflecopter underneath. You can also get them at boots, using a 10% off code from Amazon S3 Vouchers here I managed to get 30% off.

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Miraclesuit Costume For Swimming

Maria Macnamara — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 10:54:37 +0000

Swimming is something my children do enjoy and love it when we get to spend the morning swimming.

However… I ALWAYS feel really uncomfortable in what I wear.

My stomach is quite pronounced as I am constantly bloated and I have a lack of support in the breast department.
I just feel really awkward and hate going swimming. It makes me really anxious.

Then I was sent a Miraclesuit swimming costume. Yes I had my reservations about it because of the many I own currently, feeling super uncomfortable and awkward.

First trying this on, it was super tight and I have quite big thighs so did struggle pulling it up my thighs, however once I had it properly on, the change was so apparent.

My stomach looked suitably flatter, the ruched part across the stomach did give the appearance of a flatter stomach and as it was tight it sucked my awful parts in.
My hips looked a lot smaller and more in tune to the rest of my body.

I also had a lot of support for the breast department and this particular one has cups that support and stop any awkward flashing.

There is also a band across my ribs for more added support

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Time Tokens Review

Maria Macnamara — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 10:52:39 +0000

It was easier to persuade him to do his homework, go to bed or eat veggies!

Fed up with emotionally draining battles over screen-time, Amanda and Harry set about inventing a system that would work for both of them – Time Tokens was born.

It worked so simply and effectively, soon temper tantrums were a thing of the past and Harry was actually using less screen-time and was happier and calmer as a result. After trialing it with friends and family Amanda realised they had hit on something really special.

So how does it work?

Each child is given a Time Token wallet which contains a selection of tickets each worth a certain number of minutes. The parents decide how many tickets they are allowed and the children hand them in to gain the appropriate number of minutes of screen time.

There is also a Golden Ticket which the children get as a reward for sticking to their side of the bargain and which they can exchange for a non screen-based family activity (an ING) of their choice.

The pack also contains a timer so they can check they are sticking to the number of minutes they have ‘bought’ and a contract which the child signs to say they promise to stick to their side of the bargain by not going over their allotted time.

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My review of Dont Rock The Boat

Maria Macnamara — Mon, 04 May 2015 11:45:31 +0000

A 3D boat and 2-piece water wave are assembled, and 16 pirate penguins are divided according to the number of players. The object is to balance your pirate penguins on the boat without making it tip. Players take it in turns to place their penguins standing up on the boat, wherever they wish. As soon as the boat rocks and one or more penguins fall over the game, or round, ends. The last player before the player who rocked the boat is the winner.

Recommended ages: 5-15 years

We all love playing games and are really starting to get into turn based games so when we were sent Don’t Rock The Boat from University Games to review they couldn’t wait to play – especially as they are both obsessed with pirate ships at the moment!

Daddy loved trying to balance the penguins on the boat and the game kept them occupied for quite a while. I’m sure as they get older there will be more balancing going on and less boat rocking! For now they are both happy watching the penguins dive overboard and then try and balance them on again.

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