20190316_123047

With the start of the summer holidays, I don’t envy the working mum who has to somehow juggle full-time work with young children looking to be kept animated for seven days each week – luckily, with my little one still at the age of three I can find some comfort in the regular opening hours of the nursery!

And so, the launch of Tickety Toc’s very first toy range could not have come at a better time – and to top it off, taking place in the toy heaven that is Hamleys on Regent Street.

Tommy and Tallulah, stars of the show which screens on both Nick Jr and Channel 5’s Milkshake, were there in all their (bigger than) life-sized glory to greet the VIP testers, who included Denise Van Outen joined by husband Lee Mead and their daughter Betsy.

Other VIPs enjoying a day out with the family included Tamzin Outhwaite, John Sergeant, Laila Rouass, Lauren Crace, Charlie Condou, Shaun Dooley and Luisa Zissman.

The children were all smiles as they joined in with the activities and dancing led by Channel 5’s Milkshake! presenters Kemi and Olivia.

While the obvious point of conversation was the fact that Van Outen and Mead were pictured out together for the first time in months, helping to put to bed rumours of marriage problems – I took the opportunity to chat to TV presenter Kate Garraway and see if she had any tips about the joys of juggling.

Mum to Darcey, seven, and William, three, 45 year old Garraway gave a wry smile when I asked for her words of wisdom.

‘Like alot of parents out there these days I do rely on my own parents – their grandparents – who help to look after the children when I’m working, but when it comes to summer, everyone, even my parents want to take their holidays, so I’d definitely advise people to plan, so no-one gets left in the lurch’.

The Tickety Toc toy range is available from a range of retailers including Argos, Smyths and Amazon and include talking Tommy and Tallulahs, a Clockhouse playset, and a musical Pufferty train, with prices ranging from £6.99 to £30.

MY daughter is going through a major slime phase at the moment, so when we were invited to the Poopsie Slime Surprise VIP event, she could hardly contain her excitement!

Arriving at the brightly decorated London venue, she made a beeline for the slime-making table and proceeded to lose herself in the different varieties of slime being created. Meanwhile, I occupied myself by taking a picture on a giant toilet, lol.                                             

The day was was a chance for fans to try out new additions to the range including Cutie Tooties Surprise and Sparkly Critters – which rather pleasantly spit or ‘poop’ slime.

The mix of toilet humour with sparkles is a winning combination for the brand – my daughter’s favourite is the Cutie Tooties Surprise which is a giant glittery poo complete with different types of slime, for example, water, crunchy, bouncy, marshmallow….! In addition, you also get a mini collectable character inside.

Meanwhile, my toddler is yet to show any interest in the wonderful world of slime and instead spent the day captivated by the balloons!

How long before he joins the tribe of kids fascinated by unboxing toys? The countdown begins….

It takes a lot to get me up and out of the house before 9am on a Sunday morning – luckily enough my early hour traipse into the West End with a toddler to attend The Croods gala screening was well worth it.

Joined by the likes of  Elen Rivas, Olympic athlete Steve Backley, Gaby Roslin and their broods, we all had the chance to enjoy ‘fun in the foyer’ – face-painting, balloons etc – before heading into the 3D screening.

If you’re looking for a film to take your little ones to I would highly recommend this offering from DreamWorks, the makers of How To Train Your Dragon and Madagascar. The ‘pre-historic’ animated comedy follows a stone age family as they finally venture out from the cave that has always been their safe haven. In my mind it was the perfect mix, appealing to both adults and children – I mean I laughed so many times I lost count and hell, I even almost shed a tear at one point (yeah, I said it).

Admittedly 3D screenings with toddlers who lose quickly lose interest in wearing 3D glasses is a challenge, but mine managed at least 40 minutes before deciding to discard them…

With characters voiced by Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone and Catherine Keener, each of them had something about them to draw you in, but when it came to my three year old, the star of the show was definitely the sloth and his catchphrase ‘dun, dun, daaah!’

So basically, I loved it, my daughter loved it – watch it.

Believing my eyelashes to be one of my better features, I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for any product claiming to enhance their length or volume. But my desire for longer, fuller lashes has always been within a price range, so value for money would always be at the back of my mind when purchasing the latest volumising mascara.

And not wanting to go down the path of faffing around with false eyelashes, it was with some interest that I took up the opportunity to try out RapidLash Eyelash Enhancing Serum. With celebrity endorsement in the form of presenter/model Lisa Snowdon, it promises ‘up to 50% longer natural lashes with up to 75% more volume’ and already boasts over 1.5m sales worldwide

.     

Easy to use – you just apply to the base of your (make-up free!) eyelashes each night and wait for the magic to work… I’ve been using it for about four weeks now and I can honestly say I’ve noticed a difference – although with a RRP of £39.99 I’d be seriously screwing if nothing was happening!

The other day I even ventured out of the house without a single lick of mascara on. Not a big deal for some, but for me and the lone grey hair in my otherwise perfectly dark set of lashes – it was pretty momentous…!

My verdict? Definitely worth a try, if you have some cash to treat yourself.

RapidLash, RRP £39.99, available from Boots, ww.boots.com  and www.rapidlash.co.uk