Why are you staring,
Is it cause I have
A sign saying look at me.
I think you can tell,
I am socially awkward,
I worry far too much
About where to put my hands.
I wish they would stop shaking,
It feels like an eternity,
Waiting for this
Two minute bus.
Hey readers,
Have you heard of Moshi Monsters – it is basically a virtual game for children between the ages of 5-12 years old. You have a pet and customise your pet then you can go on the game and complete tasks and get rewards. You can personalise area and communicate with other players.
Moshi Monsters have brought out a mystery box that you receive in the post. I am trying it out with my five year old.
Well first and foremost you can personalised letter sent to your home outlining that you are on a secret mission and that in the coming week you will get send a personalised box that you need to complete the task.
When receiving the Moshi mystery box there is a enclosed letter with a Moshi monster stamp making it very realistic and fun for the child. It is an introductory letter outlining what the child has to do and also details about codes and the Moshi monster app. Also a special code on the bottom of the letter to get your next Moshi mystery box. On the other side there is fun activities for the child to do, a word search with all words relating to Moshi Monster. Then the second activity is to spot ten differences between two pictures. PICTURE OF MOSHI LETTER / BLUR OUT PICTURE
This is what the box looks like below.
A few days latter a lovely designed box with my son’s name on arrived in the post, which made him super excited because he doesn’t normally get post for him so it makes him feel super special and all grown up.
I love all the charters and the playful design. When you open it is a small letter and then the main section is a map of Moshi city which is another genius idea.
In the box contains several activities, which is such a cool idea to keep children entertained (perfect for rainy days or the summer holiday). It is a subscription box and it all links together. There are codes that I believe you need to collect or open up online in order to get more boxes. You have to visit the Moshi Monsters site here.
One of the items is a comic of story which is continued in the next month’s box. It is called The Poached Egg (so it is great for practising your reading skills). The story is left open until you get the next subscription box.
There are two fun activities you can do with your child. I like the fact all the materials are provided and that they are in a yellow or green envelope which is associated with the same colour instruction leaflet. For someone like me who gets in a mess easily this is a top idea. On the instruction also it indicates how much time it takes, how much mess and how difficult it is so you can plan around what works for you.
One of the activities is an arty type theme activity called monsterific moshling egg. You can get creative and allows the child to help cut, glue and paint (all things my child loves) cue best mummy ever!!! It is really easy to follow and not as stressful as originally thought. Step by step guide with pictures is a lifesaver, making it less stressful for me. It allowed quality time with my child and he really enjoyed working together as a team.
The other activity is the the frozen moshling eggs which is a fun way to learn about science and the different properties of water. My son was really excited and enthusiastic with this one, as he loves learning and seeing how things worked out. We got a balloon put each Moshi monster into a balloon. Then filled it up with water and tied a knot in the balloon. Really straight forward and fun. We had to then put the ‘eggs’ into the freezer and wait three hours so they got frozen. Then the fun really began for my boy when he snipped the balloons and released the frozen egg. He then put the sachet of salt onto the egg and also with the pipette but warm water on top of the egg. Both my five year and three year old enjoyed watched the frozen water turn to liquid water. The best bit for them was getting the frozen water shall, AKA the egg and smashing it up. Nothing beats playing with water for my boys. The loved finding the Moshlings and this was such a fun and different way to do something with your child.
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We also had to put a sticker on completion of activities which was a great way to praise a child.
Inside the actual physical box is a A4 certificate where you can write your child’s name in to say that they have completed the tasks set out by Buster BumbleChops – one of the characters in Moshi Monsters. This is a fantastic way to encourage and praise your child, making them feel really good.
There is also two pictures on one piece on either side of Moshi monster related stuff to colour in. So there is an element of creative and imagination for the child.
There is a sheet with pictures of all the Moshi Monsters and a brief overview of what each character is like.
There is a sheet with jokes on based around Moshi Monsters (probably more advanged for the older child) but still an element of fun for the younger child.
It such a fun and creative way to do something with a child. If you struggle with thinking for ideas then the proscription gives you all the ideas/instructions plus materials so there is less stress.
The only thing that I would say and this depends on your child as well is the online game and some of the material like the jokes were not really age appropriate for my son. I think he found it quite difficult to understand. But this is a wide age range from 5 to 12 and definitely the online game is more marketed towards the older end of the age range. Some of the basic games my son can play and enjoyed. He also liked creating a personalised chatrater, giving it a name (poppy) and designing hte room.
Also there were trading cards, where you can scan the code, found on the app and you can get special characters, diamonds or other type of rewards. The trading cards also game in the box and you had to scratch the box to find the code, which is something my son really loved doing.
Overall, it is a fun way to play with your child and get them excited because it is personal to them, making them feel extra special.
Cheers for reading X
I was given a Moshi mystery box. However, all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.
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Hey readers,
You properly have heard of the American show called Extreme Couponing and the craze is here in the UK. Sadly though there are less coupons available here in the UK.
I love saving money, so I researched online about what all this fuzz of extreme couponing is about. Since 2008 couponing and finding ways to save money has been a big interest in a lot of peoples life. At the time recession hit hard and people wanted to save money as there was less disposable cash available, especially through loans etc from the bank.
Now there are loads of different ways to save money. A common one is searching and printing coupons, from magazines such as the Tesco Magazine which comes out monthly. The other way is to go on to the companies own website and if you sign up to a newsletter it gives you free coupons to print at home, such as Coca Cola or Covent Garden Soup.Next thing you have to do is go on mysupermarket.com which allows you to find the cheapest product at the time and in most cases you can get it for free.
An alternative way to save money is through top cash back sites and SwagBucks.
Then there is the good old yellow sticker hunting where if you go closer to the time the supermarket closes you can be lucky to grab some fab bargains with up to 75% of the original price of the item.
Now I do use some of these methods such as yellow stickers, SwagBucks, Receipt Hog which are fab and fairly straight forward to get. Though the only downside with these apps is they take time to build up the reward.
The thing that I can’t manage is extreme couponing, where you do the whole signing up to the company and also get a a lot of people such as friends or relatives to sign up. Therefore instead of getting one bottle of Coca Cola you can get four.
Now I am a mum of two young children so don’t have a lot of time to faff about and get the permission of others to sign up, hunting for coupons or money back from items etc. Most of the stuff I tend not to use so I ask myself do I really need this, nine times out of ten the answer is no. I would much prefer to spend my time doing something a bit more exciting to be honest with you. I think the key thing to be a successful extreme couponer is time to do the research of looking around for the best deal, printing out and travelling.
Now I do use coupons casually for the odd thing here and there but I don’t buy multiple items as I do not have the space to stock pile (where you buy large amounts of the same product and store them typically in a cupboard). Fair play if you do, but if I did have the space I can’t really be bothered to have say 15 bottles of strawberry shampoo, 6 bottles of washing up liquid and so forth.
My other problem is that the products tend to be store cupboard or junk food most of the time. You may get the odd offer for yogurt or Nakd bars but they are few and between. As someone on low income I need food to feed my family that is reasonably healthy and that I would definitely use.
I believe that nothing is free, there is a cost somewhere down he line. Yes you can get a coupon but you need paper and ink to print it. If you are skint and you can’t afford travel, I mean for me to get on the bus it would cost me £3.10 for my 5 yo, and £4.00 for me to travel anywhere.
Not to mention the fact that different offers are on at different stores, you have to travel here there and everywhere. Which I don’t mind but with two young kids, going on the bus and then shopping is a depressing state of affairs.
I also want to point out that it is better to shop less frequently then go to loads of different places as it saves you in the long run. If you don’t shop you will find a solution. Whereas if you are constantly in the supermarket the temptation is there and you just waste money just for the sake of couponing.
A lot of the time the supermarket’s own brand is just as good (if not better) then the actual branded stuff, instantly you save a small fortune just by swapping.
Therefore, extreme coponing is not suited for me. I don’t knock people for doing it, it is there choice but for me personally I don’t have the time/money/need to warrant the item. That doesn’t mean I don’t use coupons and they can be beneficial but you have to weigh it up do I really need this and if so go forth and buy.
Cheers for reading X
Sat here,
Alone,
Different and isolated,
All I hear is noise,
I want to drown it out,
But you got to see it through.
Hey readers,
My word of the week is
blinking Nora it is hot, and the sweating is something else. I don’t know how people can enjoy this weather *ahem, my husband* I don’t like humid! It turns me into a moany cow, thank goodness for Twitter where I can just tweet my hatred for this weather. Don’t get me wrong I like sun but not with the stickiness.
Shall I discuss children? why not the struggle of bedtime, oh my word how hard is it to get children in bed in this heat.
Thank goodness for the sprinkler on my balcony because that is where they have been most of the week, along with tons of showers.
The nights are the worst in the heat, I’m exhausted and hot, such a fun times to get through the days.
Then there is heat stroke, we didn’t even stay in the sun for a short while but they caught it and my this takes the grumpiness on to a new level.
Thank goodness that the weather is changing today, I am so very happy right now about this fact.
Cheers for reading X
The noise won’t let me sleep,
I need a rest,
form this fast pace,
of chatter and self -doubt.
I don’t have solutions,
I feel scared,
I fear for my future,
when the control is somewhere else.
