mumsnet - Single Parent Pessimist

Testing BIC KIDS Pens, Crayons and Pencils

Claire — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 18:48:00 +0000

My son broke up from school today and already I'm worrying about how to fill up the six weeks for both of our sanity's!

I'm hoping to do lots of arts and crafts, as well as reading and maths to try to keep his mind active before he returns to school in September.

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The Sony Xperia X Mobile Phone: My Review

Claire — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 18:10:00 +0000

A smartphone camera that predicts your next move you say? I’m sold! I’ve been incredibly lucky by having the opportunity to test out the latest smartphone in the Sony Xperia range, the Xperia X for the last couple of weeks and it’s safe to say I’m in love. For the past year I’ve been using an Xperia Z3 so am already familiar with the basic set up of the Xperia range, and this new model has not let me down. First Impressions It comes in a compact, but colourful, box with a charger and basic instructions. I would have liked to see a hands-free kit in there, but apart from that I was impressed with the packaging and contents. The phone comes in four colours: Graphite Black, White, Lime Gold or Rose Gold. I had a rose gold Xperia X which was a nice change from the usual black handsets I’ve been used to in the past. It has a metal back and the phone is shaped to fit your hand as best as possible, and I must admit it does just that. It’s lightweight and has a curved glass edge around the screen which feels lovely when you’re typing or scrolling. It took no time at all to charge the phone, because the Xperia X battery has the longest battery lifespan by Sony smartphones to date. The battery can apparently last up to two days without charging and the quick charger (UCH12) can give the phone 5.5 hours of power in just ten minutes. This is handy when I’ve forgotten to charge it whilst getting Chunk ready for nursery and only realise just before we’re due to leave, which seems to be most days recently. The battery uses amazing new technology known as Qnovo Adaptive technology which basically monitors and adjusts the charging currents to improve and maintain your battery’s lifespan- clever or what?! Once I had charged the battery in no time at all I then set it up. It was pretty simple (thankfully) and there was even a useful guide you could use on the phone to ensure you have set everything up. I was able to plug it into my computer to transfer lots of photos that I wanted to keep that weren’t on my SD card, and I love how there is much more space on this phone than the Z3, as I now have 32gb to play with as well as any SD card I add to it. Because I have a Google Plus account it meant I could transfer phone numbers and emails quickly too which is always handy, and I found it easy to change the basic settings, such as the phone’s wallpaper, screensaver and sound notifications. Security A clever little thing that this phone does is fingerprint recognition. I always have a pin number to get into my phone to avoid my gorgeous son accessing it while I’m vacuuming or out of sight for more than thirty seconds, so this is one step better. It basically knows my thumbprint so as soon as I press the button it unlocks it for me. This is so much quicker than typing in my code every time (and re-typing when I press the wrong numbers a few times which is nearly every time), so thank you Sony! Phone Specifications These are always important, so for you fellow techno geeks I’ve listed them just here: Camera Heaven The camera for me is by far the best thing about this phone for so many reasons! Phone cameras are vital to me because I cannot afford a blog-tastic DSLR camera at the moment but I still want high quality shots. The handset’s main camera is a whopping 23 megapixels and has some fantastic features including Smart Capture Technology and Predictive Hybrid Autofocus. To put it simply, these features allow you to take clearer photographs. The award winning G lens mixed with this technology enables you to pick a person or object on the screen so the camera can track them and keep them in focus whilst they’re moving. So many times I attempt to take an action shot of Chunk whilst he’s running around or playing football and I end up with blurry shots, so I tested this out with a spot of garden football and the photos did not blur. Nope. Not once. The camera also features Steadyshot™ which helps you to shoot steady images and videos as it rather cleverly compensates for your hand movements, making panning a lot smoother which is definitely something I’m benefiting from! And to further add to this phone’s list of positives is the front camera, which on most phones can be shockingly poor. The front camera is 13 megapixel and includes low-light sensitivity and noise reduction technology so you can take sharper, clearer selfies during the day and night. No more dark, blurry selfie shots on rare nights out for me then! #WhatsYourX Moment? I’ve recently taken part in Sony’s new photography challenge called #WhatsYourX with this phone as it can take shots of things that happen so fast that you may otherwise miss them. This is because the camera starts up really fast- it can go from standby to capturing a shot in 0.6 seconds! So it literally can shoot those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments which they have called ‘X Moments’. To take part in their challenge too, just upload your X Moment photo on Twitter using the hashtag #WhatsYourX and add @SonyXperiaGB so they can see them. I love checking out this hashtag on Instagram too, which is a place I’ve started storing all of my Xperia X shots that I treasure most. Here’s some of the best shots I’ve taken with the phone so far: Selfie (left) using the superb front camera, a beach shot (top right) and a flower close-up using the main camera More beach shots from our recent day out (click on it to enlarge) Using the background defocus camera mode Close up of some flowers in my mum’s […]

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#WhatsYourX Moment?

Claire — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 11:06:00 +0000

There are moments in life that are so quick, so fleeting but so very precious and I really want to remember them. These blink and you’ll miss it moments are sadly things I so easily forget, so to minimise this I’ve joined a new hashtag on Instagram to try to record these X Moments. Sony have launched a new mobile phone, the Xperia X (which I’m reviewing very soon), and to celebrate they’ve created the #WhatsYourX hashtag. Sony describe an X Moment as a “split second in time that means something to you that’s here and then gone. It could be a baby’s first steps, achieving a personal goal, a sporting achievement, your dog’s whimsical expression, or just a random flash of happiness and hilarity”. I’ve had a few X Moments recently which I’ve managed to capture and added to my Instagram, and here is my favourite: A photo posted by Claire (@singleparentpessimist) on Jul 6, 2016 at 1:23am PDT This week we had an afternoon of sunshine (yay!) so I grabbed the opportunity to take Curly and Chunk to our local beach. They took their fishing nets and as soon as we got there Curly was quite frightened as he doesn’t go to the beach as often as Chunk. He didn’t like the large waves or the tide so it took a while to encourage him to get closer to the water. Chunk took his net to the water and then realised he could turn it around and draw in the sand. Curly watched and decided to give it a go and loved it. I managed to capture the moment Curly started to enjoy being at the beach and from this point on he went closer to the water to the point were he fell on his bottom at one point, got wet and actually laughed! Very proud X Moment! What’s your favourite X Moment of the week? Let me know! “I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity.” Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook.

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Film Review: Snoopy and Charlie Brown The Peanuts Movie

Claire — Tue, 24 May 2016 06:00:00 +0000

Snoopy And Charlie Brown The Peanuts Movie has been released on DVD so Chunk and I have had a sneaky peak to let you know what it’s like! The story is about the well known characters Charlie Brown and Snoopy and has been made by those clever people who gave us the Ice Age films. The Peanuts Movie sees Charlie Brown facing an epic and heroic quest, and it also has Snoopy going head to head with his nemesis the Red Baron. The moral of the story is that every underdog has their day, so never give up. The DVD has some great special features including all-new Snoopy snippets, step-by-step drawing tutorials, dance and sing along sections and Megham Trainor’s music video soundtrack. As a Meghan Trainor fan I quite enjoyed watching the behind the scenes footage of how her video was made, and Chunk liked the extra Snoopy snippets! Chunk really enjoyed the film and his favourite character was the rather cheeky, but loving Snoopy. It was refreshing for me to watch the film as I grew up watching the cartoon so I was eager to see if it had changed. Thankfully the makers have kept the same style and character personalities as the original so I got to regress back to my youth for an hour! Chunk and I found it quite an easy watch, so it’s definitely something that would add to a chilled out afternoon during the half term. I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity. Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook.

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Baking With My Toddler: Cinnamon & Ginger Xmas Biscuits

Claire — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 21:35:00 +0000

Today (Christmas Eve) I decided to be creative and bake biscuits with my little boy, both for Santa tonight, and to put in treat bags for my son and his cousin for Christmas Day!

I found a recipe for cinnamon and ginger snowmen biscuits, and decided to put my own little spin on it!

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My Baby’s Heart Condition Went Undetected Like So Many Others: – Let’s CHANGE THIS! #ThinkHEART

Claire — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 21:42:00 +0000

Only one third of babies with heart conditions are detected during pregnancy scans. This leaves SO MANY babies being born with parents not knowing there is something wrong until they become ill, at which point can risk death or severe long-term health problems. My son came under the other two thirds who remained undetected last year. Firstly, they did the usual check-up after I gave birth which showed nothing (other than a 100% tongue tie they took three days to notice, which was stopping him feeding!). They then did the 6 week check at the GP surgery, which included listening to his heart, but again nothing came up. It was only when I tripped over a step and fell onto the patio with him in my arms a few weeks later, that led to a trip to A&E where it was flagged up. He was checked over and as the doctor was giving the all clear, he casually slipped in; “The only thing I found was the heart murmer which you’re obviously aware of.” Err..EXCUSE ME?! Say that again? He then advised me to take Chunk back to the GP in a couple of weeks time in case the murmer was temporarily there due to the stress of the accident. When I took him to the same GP who did the 6 week check, he heard it straight away; Funny that! Chunk was referred to a children’s heart specialist, and a few months later we finally got to see him. He had a heart scan and I was told he had PDA (Patent ductur arteriosus). This is a congenital disorder in the heart where a duct fails to close after birth. This can cause breathing problems and poor weight gain, and if left for too long, can cause heart failure or severe breathing problems. As you can imagine, I was in floods of tears and was very grateful that my mum came with me to absorb all the information, and to hold my hand. Chunk’s now seen every few months and will shortly be having some very scary tests in London (including tubes going down his throat to look behind his heart) before his big heart surgery is booked. It’s taken so long, because the surgical tools have a high risk of causing paralysis in children under 15kg as the tools are not much smaller than the arteries. So the bigger he gets, the less risk. However, if his breathing problems were to severely increase or he contracted illnesses (e.g. chest infections) that were not shifting, surgery would have to be done immediately. Every day I worry about this, and I also get incredibly angry. Had I not have fallen over that day, we would never have known about his problem until he would have become seriously ill. A charity called The Children’s Heart Federation are campaigning to introduce Pulse Oximetry tests for ALL newborn babies to have, to help diagnose more heart conditions earlier. Unfortunately these Pulse Oximetry tests will not detect all heart conditions, but they do test for three quarters of them, which is more than what is on offer currently! Sadly, one of the conditions it does not test is PDA, so I’m writing this in the hopes that a campaign could be set up to fight for PDA testing to be mandatory for all babies too! But whilst I fight for this, if the charity can at least get more of the conditions tested, then that’s still more children being treated before it’s too late. Get involved with spreading the word use #thinkheart on Twitter. Follow me on Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook.

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