We tried it! Batteries, a fryer and a book

Mami and I are very grateful when we are asked to review products. What we like the best is the different variety of things we get to test out and then we get to tell you all about them.

And we sure have a variety for you this week: batteries, a fryer and a book!

So here we go!

Tefal ActiFry

We don't really make too many fried foods. Mostly because smell lingers in our small flat and because mami is afraid of the hot oil. So when Tefal, the makers of ActiFry offered for us to try their low fat "deep fat" fryer, mami thought, "why not? It's got a top"

Mami and papi decided to make seafood empanadas, a Chilean like pasty. Normally you would have to fry them in a pan of oil, but with the ActiFry all you need is one spoonful of oil!

No mess. Easy to use and yummy golden empanadas

The fryer has a see through lid and it prevents any hot oil jumping up at you. There is a paddle that stirs the food so that is doesn't burn and to coat the outside of the pastry.

It can be used to fry chips, potato wedges, sausages, or even stir fries and many other recipes.

But our empanadas came out golden! Really! They were gently toasted, cooked all the way through and didn't have that heavy oily taste that fried foods can have.

Mami and papi are genuinely impressed. They normally don't buy too many kitchen appliances, but would recommend this fryer to busy families who want delicious low fat foods.

Papi says "Even easier than using the oven".

Mami says "Certainly worth investing in, especially for fast, healthy, great tasting meals"

Duracell Ultra Power Batteries

I wondered what had happened to all my toys. They suddenly all went quiet. I tried to turn them on and nothing would happen.

Turns out, the batteries had all run out and mami had never replaced them! She could have replaced them, but she just didn't like all the "noise" they made.

Sneaky mami!

It became clear when Duracell sent us a selection of their new Ultra Power batteries and papi put them into my toys.

Wow! They all lit up and I could now sing along with my tool bench, my choo-choo train moved on its own and my Dora the Explorer music box worked again! I'm not going to let the batteries run out ever again.

Besides, they have a little tester on the side, so I can see for myself how much power is left. But I have a feeling they will last a very long time.

Thank you Duracell for making my toys work again!


Ping and Pong

I love books. I also like to taste them too (sorry mami, I can't help it).

This month, one of mami's twitter friends Amy Trevaskus asked us if we wanted to review HER book Ping and Pong: Splash.

Can you believe it? She wrote the book. So cool!

I think it is for older kids, but mami reads it to me in parts. The pictures are very colourful and I like to look at the drawings.

Amy said another book about grandparents would be out soon. I can't wait for that one because I love my grandma and grandpa very much, I have four of them you know!

This book is all about a girl named Lucy who has two friends named Ping and Pong who live in a clock in her house. She takes them to the park in her pocket and they like to do what I like to do, splash!

My favourite line is "I love the rain and I love the park and I love PUDDLES!" Hey, just like me!

When mami reads me the book she pretends to splash around, but I know it's not for real (but it is very funny).

I give this book two hands up. Thanks Amy for letting us read this!


And that's all from us for today, let us know if you have tried any of these or want more details.

I know that mami has some other things she wants me to blog about, and possibly some giveaways too, so stay tuned.

Bye bye for now!

Just a Gleek!

It's Monday again.

That means it's GLEE day!

Last week mami had a special competition to win series one on DVD and the lucky winner is:

@BabesAboutTown

Felicidades! and thank you to everyone for entering.

Now, this week we just have a picture showing just how much of a Gleek she is.

Yes! That is a poster up behind the door to the laundry room. It's the only place papi would let her put it up.

And if you too are a Glee Mama then take our badge and spread the word!

<center><a href="http://mummysbusyworld.blogspot.com/"><img width="150" alt="I'm a Glee Mama" src="http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac230/RebaMc/GleeMamaBadge.jpg" height="150" /></a></center>

Mami wants YOU!

If you have a "Glee-ful" picture or post, or just love Glee then link up at the bottom and find other Glee Mamas!

Mami's running report

Big news, mami got a new pair of running trainers. Despite the cold she still went out for a long run. 1 hour and 30 min to be exact.

There's a mouse in our house!

I don't know what all the screaming and shouting was about.

We came home from nursery yesterday, mami turned on the lights and I ran into the living room like I do everyday.

Mami was talking to papi on the phone when suddenly she just started screaming "Ahhhhhhh, oh no, Little M, ven aqui, come here! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek! There is a mouse! Little M ven, ven" and she jumped on the sofa.

I had no idea what the fuss was about.

I thought "what is she yelling about now? I haven't done anything" and I just stood there staring at her. She looked different, almost crazy. I didn't want to move, I was happy were I was.

She kept saying there was a mouse. A mouse? I don't think I've ever seen one of those. She yelled at papi on the phone to "come home now. I'm leaving the house and not coming back until its gone!"

And so we put our jackets back on and hurried out the door. Mami was super jumpy and nervous and when a branch brushed her leg outside she squealed out loud! Geez, not again!

What was going on? This mouse business really scares mami.

We headed to our local Starbucks but had to leave because they were closing.

So we went to a better place....McDonald's! I had never been there before, but mami ordered a chicken sandwich for her and I had my very own FRIES! They were so delicious!

Thanks to that mouse, I got to have McDonald's!

I still haven't seen this mouse and I know it scares mami a lot, but if it means going to McDonald's again, then I don't have a problem with them!

But don't tell mami that.

P.S. this morning mami called "pest control" Does that mean no McDonald's for me??

It's GLEE day!

It's Monday. And not only does that mean that mami was late to work, but that GLEE is on tonight!

Mami is a self proclaimed Glee Mama, and along with Rock and Roll Baby World, Transatlantic Blonde, Mom on a Wire, Where's my Glow? and The Wicked Mama they are all joining forces to make sure everyone is singing along to Glee every Monday night.

You'll know a Glee Mama when you see one because of this badge:






If you want to be one too, just take the code from the sidebar and let us know to include you in the next update.

Okay, now for some big news.

Some of you may know this, but back in November mami went to a Glee party hosted by Pringles and won tickets to LA for five days in March which includes a visit to the set of Glee!

Not only did she dress up like a geek, but she got to sing and learn the dance routine to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance", just like it was done on the show.

Bad Romance

She really got into it!

Ain't no party like a Glee party

So at the end of March, mami and papi are taking off to la la land and leaving me with grandma and grandpa.

And even though there is no guarantee of being able to actually meet Mr Shue, mami is going to try her hardest to talk her way into a picture or two. Or three, or four.

And maybe some video too. And possibly go out to lunch with them? Who knows.

All I know is that when mami wants something, she usually makes it happen.

So in honour of her trip and just because Glee makes us happy, mami has teamed up with UK Glee DVD to give one lucky reader the complete first series on DVD!

Not only that, but you can pre-order to the second series and get it before everyone else!

Here's what you have to do to enter:

1) Follow mami and me on Google Connect

2) Follow mami on twitter @verybusymama

3) Leave us a comment telling us you are following and

4) Tell us which song on Glee has been your favourite so far

For one extra entry you can tweet:

I'm a GLEEK! I want to win Glee Series One on DVD with @UKGleeDVD and @verybusymama http://bit.ly/ebyGcU

One entry per person

UK Only

Winner selected at random

Closes Sunday 30th of January

Training day and papi day!

Two important things happened yesterday:

1) Mami had her first London marathon training day with the Nestle Pure Life team and Full Potential

2) I got to spend the WHOLE day alone with papi. Yep! Just the two of us and it was great!

Okay, so the first point is very important for mami because she means business. She is dedicating lots of time to training for the marathon and yesterday she realised just how much she loves to run (even though it hurts sometimes) and that she needs to lose weight.

She met up with Emma from Me the Man and the Baby and Mirka from All Baby Advice who are both running with her.

By the looks of it I don't think the workout was hard enough because they are all smiling in the pictures! (that's them with their trainer Karen who is super fit)

Mami, Mirka, Karen and Emma

They learned all about running techniques, stretching (which mami is not very good at) what to eat (she is very good at that) and that it IS possible to train around a busy schedule!

Let's hope she remembers to stretch

They were even interviewed for a video so keep an eye out for that.

She has her running kit thanks to Pure Life and next on the list is to get a proper pair of running shoes.

As for papi and me, we had lots of fun.  I missed mami, but only at the very end.

Shhhh, don't tell her that!

Silent Sunday - Rare moments

Have you seen our Thank You vlog? Have a look!

Our thank you vlog!

I have have been trying to schedule mami in to make a thank you video for everyone who voted for us in the Brilliance in Blogging Awards in the Fresh Voice 2010 category and for everyone who follows our blog.

She finally had a free moment, so here we go!



We just really want you to know how much we appreciate your support and how happy we are with our special award!

Mami's big run!

That's right. Mami is going to be doing a very long run in April, or the Virgin London Marathon as you might know it as.

I can't fully explain the excitement that this has caused here at our home, but it is all thanks to Nestle Pure Life sponsoring her to run and working with Full Potential to make sure she makes it in one piece.

Papi is jealous because he wants to run it and mami is busy getting into "marathon mode" as she calls it.

"I need to sleep well, eat well, get running and strengthen my knees" she says to herself and makes another "to do" list (she has lots of those!)

She has been taking care of her ankle since spraining it last year running the Adidas 5K Challenge, and is ready to get back to it.

"Remember when I did my first marathon?" She said to papi.

"We weren't even married yet! And you were my coach"

Papi smiled and says "You did so well, I was very proud of you"

See mami did the Marine Corps Marathon (that's 26.2 miles by the way) many years ago in 2004 just one week before she and papi got married.

She said her legs and feet still ached when she walked down the aisle.

Papi was already a runner when they met and he got her into it too. So when she decided to do the marathon, papi would run with her, encourage her and even cycle next to her on those long runs carrying extra water!

Now I carry her water when we go running with my buggy and I even cross train with her at home. Check us out doing weights and bicycle crunches!

This Saturday she has her first training session with Full Potential and nutritionist Anita Bean along with Mirka from All Baby Advice and Emma from Me the Man and Baby who are also running it.

As always, it is my duty to tell you all about mami's busy world, so until the big day I'll bring you her running report and progress.

So far so good, she did 60 minutes on Sunday and today we are off for 30 minutes.

Got to get her to the finish line!

Birthday cake!

Yesterday was my number 2 birthday!

Mami and papi came into my room in the morning with a big chocolate cake and 2 candles and then sang "happy birthday" to me in English and Spanish.

Its a tradition for us to to come and sing first thing in the morning. Then we got up and I got to open my gifts!

Mmmm cake!

The rest of the day was a blur. Some friends came over, I opened more gifts and then I FINALLY got to eat some of the cake with white chocolate buttons.

And it was soooo good!

Getting ready to blow out the candle!

Mami and papi looked really tired at the end of the party but I wanted to play all night long. I did everything possible to stay up and enjoy my birthday.

I jumped from sofa to sofa and ran away when mami said "a la cama" (time for bed).

I guess I did fall asleep at some point, because next thing I know I woke up and it was today.

And let me tell you, I was partied out! I did not want to get up but mami made me go to nursery.

But despite being tired, I discovered that I love to party - I can't wait for the next year!

I can't hear you, I've got glue ear

It's true. I can't really hear what mami or anyone is saying. I didn't really know it until now. See I have glue in my ears. Or glue ear as the ear doctor called it.

Glue ear happens when the middle ear fills with a sticky, glue like liquid instead of air.

That's a picture of the inside of an ear

I mean, I can hear, just not very well. Sometimes I can hear mami loud and clear when she is standing close to me. But sometimes, if I am watching TV or the radio is on, I don't hear her calling and she thought I had "selective hearing".

Mami knew something wasn't right when she realised I wasn't speaking as much and repeating words the same way she did. I was just repeating them as I heard them. I guess it wasn't the right way. So she took me to the GP and they sent me to the ear doctor.

The best example I can give of how I hear things is that it sounds just like when I was in mami's tummy in the waters. I hear voices, but it's just not clear.

Still don't get what I mean?  Then, try this:

Stick your fingers in your ear
Have someone talk to you from far away
Now have someone talk to you very close to your face

You can hear something, but you are not really sure of what it is, right? Mami says its "muffled".

And that's how I hear!

The doctors say its very common in kids, especially toddlers like me,  but that I have to be tested again very soon. If the liquid in my ears gets worse, I may have to have a little procedure.

I sure hope not because I really didn't like them sticking things in my ears!

Do you know about glue ear? Have you had it? Mami and I would like to know what you think.

I'm just glad she knows now.

See mami, I wasn't being stubborn I just couldn't hear you! I really am a good boy.

New Year Reviews - Check these out!

New Year, New (Maclaren) Beginning
Back in June, we received a Maclaren Triumph buggy to review and we love it! But little did mami know that Maclaren also have mother and baby care products too!

So seeing that it is a new year, I thought what better than to tell you about Beginning. I'm nearly 2 now, and if I've learned anything is that you mums love your products!

They have made an organic based range that helps the well-being of mums and babies. Mami really likes their candles and especially the smell of lavender. Some of our other favourites the belly balm (which mami just uses as moisturizer), the massage oil and the bath and shower exilir.

Maclaren have lots to choose from and they make great gifts for new mums and babies. Check out their range, and they also have toys too! Cool!

Twitter @MaclarenBabyUK

Pabobo Barbapapa lights
I love lights! I run into mami's room in the morning and turn on her light. During December, I was in charge of turning on the Christmas tree lights and now I turn on my Pabobo lights before bedtime. These lights came all the way from France. Oui!

Mami wasn't sure where to put the lights. Since they are the Barbapapa Chain light, we decided to wrap them around the tall lamp - they look so cool! Especially the little faces on them.

I wake up at night sometimes and I don't like being in the dark, so seeing the lights makes it easier for me to find my way.
But you don't have to do to France to get these light, nooooo. You can get them here in the UK or online.

Twitter: @Pabobo

Twist n' Pop Straw Baby BornFree Cup
Ever since I discovered how to use a straw its been loads of fun. I slurp my juice and water from my cup spit it out! Mami doesn't like when I do this, but I just laugh and she can't help but laugh too.

Anyway, my newest cup has a straw that folds away which helps keep it clean. Its called Twist n' Pop Straw Cup by Baby Born Free. They got in touch with mami and sent me this green cup to test out.

Its very easy to sip and I don't have to make a big effort to suck up my juice!

Mami also likes it because the free flowing liquid can help avoid middle ear infections and the soft straw doesn't interfere with speech development that some teated cups have been known get in the way of.

She had no idea that children's cups could affect speech or teeth development, so this was very surprising to her! (and me)

Twitter: @BabyBornFreeUK

So there you have it, 3 great products that mami and I were fortunate to try out. Give them a follow on twitter and see what thy are all about. You might be surprised like we were.

And if you've tried them out let us know what you think!

GLEE Mama!

You know when you have a feeling something isn't quite right?

Well, tonight I had a very sneaky feeling that mami was really desperate to get me to bed, fast.

She only read me one book instead of the usual two and we only sang one song. I knew something was different but didn't know what. Hmm? Very suspicious!

But then I remembered! Tonight was the return of GLEE here in the UK. You have no idea how much mami has missed this show.

And to let everyone know just how much of a GLEEK she is, she asked our friend Rebecca at Two Become Four to make her this cool badge.

Check it out! What do you think?



<center><a href="http://mummysbusyworld.blogspot.com/"><img width="150" alt="I'm a Glee Mama" src="http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac230/RebaMc/GleeMamaBadge.jpg" height="150" /></a></center>

It's awwwwwsome, isn't it?

And if you love Glee as much as we do, then take the badge and show everyone just how proud you are to be a GLEEK! Leave us a comment so we can include you in our posts.

(AKA: Little Gleek)

Silent Sunday: Toddler Super Hero

Hanging out with grandpa!

I don't know if you have noticed or not, but we haven't been around much lately.

Mami really took her time off work very seriously. She really didn't do much of anything. She was in pijamas a lot, watched lots of movies and spent most of her time on Skype seeing and talking to abuelita. So pretty good I'd say!

As for me, I have really liked being at home with mami and papi everyday. That doesn't happen often, so I took advantage of our time together.

But best of all, grandpa and grandma FINALLY came to visit me. They hadn't come since I was a little baby and it was about time!

That's me and grandpa out for a walk

And guess what, I love my grandpa! He is so much fun! He is tall like papi, likes to play blocks with me and lets me do ANY-THING I want. I repeat, ANY-THING I want.

But don't tell mami because she really wouldn't be too happy.

Grandma is fun too, but she just tries to kiss me all the time so I run away. Sometimes I sit in her lap and let her read me a story. I love her too.

Oh, and its January which means we are starting all over again, and that means one thing: I'm going to be 2! Yahhhh!

Last year we had a big party, but I just want to take it easy this year, you know, just me, papi and mami.

Whatever happens, I will keep you posted.

Now, it's back to business as usual!