Cafe Bebe Loves- Baby Bjorn Miracle Organic Carrier
Thanks to Sam’s arrival, we have had the pleasure of trialing and reviewing several wonderful products. The Baby Bjorn Miracle Organic carrier is one of our latest LOVES!
Sam is a VERY snuggly baby. I have indulged this need considerably. I realised quite quickly that if I wanted to get anything accomplished in the time that Ella is at school, I would have to “wear” Sam in order to do so. Now, I’m not much of a “baby wearer”…at least I didn’t think I was. Until Sam joined our lives. He needs me…I need to keep him close. The solution for us was a carrier.
A lovely fellow blogger suggested a Moby wrap/sling and lent me hers to try. The Moby is a brilliant LONG piece of jersey cotton which wraps around you in a somewhat intriguing configuration to snuggle your baby into you. This type of wrap/sling is definitely more of a natural, traditional type sling. I just didn’t feel that it was ME, however. I never seemed to be able to wrap it just right and didn’t feel very supported when wearing it. While Sam was ever so snuggled, I was a bit wary.
We had a Baby Bjorn carrier with Ella but I had lent it to a friend about 2 years ago and never got it back. The Baby Bjorn’s have come a long way in the last few years. They now have the Baby Bjorn Miracle which is made of Organic Cotton…far more sustainable, better for the environment and just as sturdy and functional as every other Baby Bjorn carrier.
The Baby Bjorn Miracle carrier is DEFINITELY my kind of carrier. It’s easy to put on, very supportive with an ergonomic waist belt and keeps Sam just as snuggly and secure as the Moby wrap but feels far better on me. I purchased a weather cover to go with the carrier as we’ve embarked on a renewed fitness regime now that we’re past our six week mark. I can attach the weather cover in a flash, be out the door with Sam snuggled up, drop Ella at school with hands free for cuddles and then head off around the village for a breath of fresh air. I love it! Sam sleeps, I get some exercise and then when we arrive home, I can generally keep him in the Baby Bjorn Miracle for an hour or more while I get some jobs done. It is a miracle after all!
The price of the Baby Bjorn Miracle carrier ranges from £124.99. They are a bit more expensive but, in my humble opinon, are more than worth the investment. We’ll be using our Baby Bjorn Miracle for some time to come.
*Disclosure: We received the Baby Bjorn Miracle carrier for review purposes. I did purchase the weather cover myself and my words and opinions are entirely my own.
Cafe Bebe and the Philips Airfryer
The Cafe Bebe family had the pleasure of testing and reviewing the Philips Airfryer this weekend. I’m all for cooking gadgets that decrease cooking and clean-up time and the Philips Airfryer certainly ticks the boxes in these categories. We’ve vlogged our experience with the Philips Airfryer so have a look at what we got up to with our Chicken Goujons and Potato Wedges recipe challenge.
The Philips Airfryer is a lovely kitchen gadget for sure however, at a retail value of between £128 (Amazon.co.uk ) and £205 (Philips site) and with it’s size, it would not be one of the highest items on my wish list of gadgets. The Philips Airfryer is easy to use, clean-up is a doddle and it does cook quickly and healthily.
**Disclosure: For purposes of review the Cafe Bebe family received a Philips Airfryer, a bottle of sunflower oil, a bag of polenta and a Tesco gift card with which to buy the necessary recipe ingredients. The opinions and viewpoints of the Cafe Bebe family our ours alone.**
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Holiday Pool Observations
The Cafe Bebe Family has just returned from a 7 day Lowcostholidays adventure to the glorious Spanish island of Tenerife. I’ve never been on an “all-inclusive” holiday before, probably down to the fact that I lived 34 years in the US and the idea of travelling to a European All-Inclusive resort isn’t quite what most Americans do. Americans tend to spend summer holidays at their cottage or travelling around the US but that’s a whole other post, isn’t it?
Whilst lounging about the beautiful salt-water pool at the Ten Bel Aborada in the Costa Del Silencio, I made a few observations that I thought I might share with you. Tell me if I’m wrong!
- Worrying about your body is not necessary. All body shapes, types, colours and hirsuitness are welcome. You should not worry about sucking in your belly as you walk around. No one else will so why stress yourself out?
- There is no need to tan ahead of time. You will fit right in if you are as white as the driven snow. In fact, you are expected to be as white as the driven snow in order to turn the requisite shade of hot pink that denotes, “I am on holiday and I live in England/Germany.”
- Sunscreen is only required if you are a paranoid woman who does not want to age before her time. It is preferable to tan yourself to a mahogany-like shade in order to achieve the leathery, saggy, rough skin that is required of holiday-makers.
- If you do choose to apply sunscreen, do so in a haphazard fashion that will allow you to have bizarrely placed red spots all over your body. Be sure to forget to put sunscreen on your feet AND wear sandals everywhere so that you end up with stark white reminders of why you should never spend time in the sun.
- In order to get the best sun lounger with the lengthiest rays of sunshine, remember to lay out your beach towels either before you go to bed at midnight/1am/2am or set your alarm in order to wake up at the crack of dawn to lay your claim. Otherwise you might have to sit at a slightly less appropriate sun lounger and you won’t be able to increase your risk of skin cancer as much.
- Be sure to bring young babies and toddlers to the pool, set up camp and forget to put sunscreen on your children or clothe them with hats, sunglasses and/or UV suits. In fact, just let them toddle around the pool in a nappy or swim bottoms so that you can have a family sunburn together.
- If your children are old enough to paddle in the pool on their own, be sure to be as far away from them as possible so that you can’t actually see what they are doing or if they might be in trouble. In fact, if your children have some sort of life preserver/swim aid on, they will be just fine on their own. If you do remember to check on their safety/security/swim ability/sunburn, please saunter down to the pool without urgency, shouting expletives and holding a cigarette.
- Be sure to allow your school age children to flounce about in just a swim bottom even when they are beginning to sprout breasts. You may as well start at an early age. The same applies to any age woman, as a matter of fact, including the women who have obviously long ago abandoned the support of a good bra. Saggy breasts of all size and shape are more than welcome at any pool in Europe.
- Be sure to eat like it’s going out of style or like you won’t be fed for at least 2 more hours because you probably won’t be fed for at least 2 more hours. The same goes for drink whether it be soft drinks or alcoholic drinks. The object should be to accumulate as many cups as possible in order to re-create your own Leaning Tower of Pisa.
- Remember that the pool area at night becomes just like any nightclub where you might live. Relationships are born and die a death within the space of 5-7 days, all enhanced and/or devastated by the light of the pool.
Do you have any others to add? Am I wrong? Or have I sussed just how all-inclusive holidays work in just one attempt? I will be reporting more about our holiday and excursions over the course of the week. I highly recommend Tenerife for your next family holiday. We had a simply brilliant time! Thank you Lowcostholidays!
**The Cafe Bebe Family were fortunate enough to be treated to our all-inclusive family holiday at the Ten Bel Aborada hotel in Tenerife. The words, opinions and observations are entirely my own.**
Read MoreWoburn Safari Park with Hyundai
On Saturday we had the delight of visiting Woburn Safari Park, near Milton Keynes, courtesy of Hyundai. All that was required for our wee family of 3.5 was to test drive the new Hyundai i40 Tourer around the Safari Park. That was more than doable! Test drive a new car that’s not even on the roads yet? Visit a Safari Park with animals and attractions? Yes, Cafe Bebe Family was happy to accomodate!
I decided to let Mark drive (as we could only have one driver and I didn’t want to get shouted at if I stalled the car!) and off we went on our Safari Adventure. The Hyundai i40 is exceptionally comfortable, I thought. Mind you, we had the cream of the crop car with gorgeous leather interior and all the bells and whistles that we probably couldn’t afford in real life BUT the seat hugged your body nicely, the ride was smooth and quiet and the panoramic roof was rather pleasant. Mark is 6’2″ so a panoramic roof isn’t perfect as it cuts into his head room a bit but Ella was most fond of it! I was really impressed with the spacious back seat and the MAHOOSIVE boot which would be really helpful for us when we are 4 instead of 3.5. The Cafe Bebe Family definitely approves of the Hyundai i40! Now, if we could just have a chance to drive it faster than 20 mph max!
Spending the rest of the day at Woburn Safari Park was really fun as well. There were plenty of animals to see on the Foot Safari and there were some activities and “rides” for the whole family which was great for Ella. The Two by Two restaurant had reasonably priced food that went over well with all of us and of course, we managed to find ice cream as well. My only challenge, with most “adventure/amusement parks” is the price. We were lucky enough to be granted free admission as a result of the Hyundai i40 test drive but adult tickets run £19.95 while child tickets are £14.95 (ages 3-15 yrs). That means that for the Cafe Bebe family to visit Woburn Safari Park it would have cost us £54.85! Basically £55 to drive around a park, in our own vehicle, to see animals. Now, we did enjoy our visit but if I had to pay £55 for our family to tour around a park, I would expect a little bit more. But unfortunately, sometimes my expectations are a bit high!
Ella’s favourite part of Woburn was feeding the Lorrikeets in the Rainbow Landing. She was so brave! Never once balked at feeding the birds. Thank God none of them got a nip in!
We also took a ride around Swan Lake in giant swan paddle boats which Ella was quite excited about. Too bad she doesn’t steer very well!
We had a great time walking around the grounds after our driving safari and, as I said, there are plenty of animals to see up close and several displays at different times of the day.
I think when Ella is a bit older, we would potentially get a bit more out of a place like Woburn Safari Park but on the whole, we thoroughly enjoyed our day out thanks to Hyundai. Here’s one of my favourite pictures of the day…you figure out why!
**Disclosure: We visited Woburn Safari Park courtesy of Hyundai for the test drive of the Hyundai i40 Tourer. Our admission was free but we paid for all other costs on the day (food, ice cream, etc). The opinions on the Hyundai i40 Tourer and Woburn Safari Park are entirely those of the Cafe Bebe family.**
What’s in your handbag?
I’m a member of BritMums, the largest parent blogging social network in the UK. BritMums is an amazing support network with educational opportunities, community-building and promotion for parent bloggers. One of our latest challenges is sharing “What’s in your handbag?” with the blogging community. I did a video blog about 18 months ago where I shared every single item in my handbag on CAMERA for the blogosphere. This time, we’ll stick with still life.
Name: Karin Joyce (aka Cafe Bebe)
Number of Children: 1.5
Blog: http://cafebebe.co.uk
Date of Photo: 11 August, 2011
Items from left to right: small zippered bag w/ various lip glosses, inhaler, ponytail holders, make-it-better-cream Neosporin; won’t-leave-home-without-it London Guide; BritMums business cards; Cafe Bebe business cards; Soltan Kids 50 Sunscreen; Pen from The Portland Hospital; Box of Anadin paracetemol; Cuticura Hand Sanitizing Spray/Gel; Sunglasses; Baby Wipes; purse w/ various cards, vouchers, receipts & change but NO cash; t-shirt/shorts/pants for Ella
All of these items fit happily and spaciously in my NEW Mia Tui Changing Bag which I received to review from Charlotte, the genius behind Mia Tui. As we’re expecting a new Bebe in the household, I figured it was time for a new changing bag. Changing bags are just about as important to me as pushchairs. That’s important.
The Mia Tui Amelie bag which now graces my shoulder is simply delightful. I could probably put the baby IN IT when he or she arrives, it’s just that big! But it’s stylish, comfortable and sits easily and painlessly on my shoulder while carrying everything I need and then some. Mark laughs at me…I’m happy. That’s all that matters!
So that’s what’s in MY handbag! What’s in yours? Do you need to clean out your handbag before displaying its contents to the blogosphere? Well, start putting receipts and fluff in the bin and get thee to What’s in Your Handbag and share your secrets with the world.
Tenerife, Here we come!
The Cafe Bebe Family will be off on a BIG adventure in 2 weeks! We’re going on our final family-of-three holiday to TENERIFE! We are so excited! New swimsuits will have to be bought, bags packed and smiles polished. We have never been on a tropical holiday nor have we, as a family of three, been out of the country on our own for two years now. I think the time has come!
I’m so excited about this opportunity for our family. We’re holidaying courtesy of LowCostHolidays and will be bringing you loads of reports about our stay and the excursions we will be enjoying on the gorgeous Costa Del Silencio. Ella will be wiggling around on the beach, I hope to be enjoying the comfort of a lounge chair or two and Mark, well, Mark will be making sandcastles, swimming and enjoying beverages in the sun.
I’m a little bit nervous though! I’ve never been on this sort of holiday before! I’m not entirely sure what to bring or to expect. I’m TERRIBLE at having REALLY high expectations and then ending up disappointed. I’m sure that this will be an amazing holiday but I would appreciate any suggestions, ideas, tips and or ideas as to how the Cafe Bebe Famille can get the most out of our Tenerife holiday. Oh, and one other thing…I speak extremely limited Spanish! I’ll happily accept any phraseology that might be helpful.
By the way, I’d love to draw your attention to LowCostHoliday’s competition to win a Fujifilm Finepix Digital Camera in the Go Snap Happy competition. You can enter through the LowCostHoliday Facebook Fan Page.
Two weeks from today we’ll be jetting off to Tenerife for a week-long holiday…wish us luck and PLEASE share any tips you feel might help us out!
**Disclosure: LowCostHolidays is sending us to Tenerife and is covering all expenses including: air travel, accomodation and excursions while on Tenerife. The Cafe Bebe family is EXCEPTIONALLY grateful for this opportunity to take this amazing adventure HOWEVER all opinions, reviews and reports are the unbiased words of Karin Joyce alone and are not influenced by LowCostHolidays.**
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About Me
Welcome to Cafe Bebe...a tale of the adventures of two parents who found each other across an ocean, learned how to parent thanks to a toddler called Ella and a bebe called Sam while maintaining their sanity...just. Subscribe Here!
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