Friday 28 October 2011

Mummy Alarm is moving websites!

Mummy Alarm is moving websites. From now this website won't be updated anymore. If you like what you are reading and want to continue reading about our life as a English/German family, please make sure to subscribe to the new site

Wednesday 12 October 2011

Amy's first visit to Rostock Zoo

When we went to Germany about two weeks ago, we were blessed with absolutely gorgeous weather, so we tried to spend as much time as possible outside. On a gorgeous Sunday, we decided to make the most of the weather and take Amy for her first visit to Rostock Zoo.

Rostock Zoo is the biggest zoo on the German Baltic Coast and a place that I visited many a times with my family when I was a child. It is literally round the corner from where I grew up and where my parents still live and it guarantees a perfect day out for all the family. Young and old can see 1700 animals in 250 different species, enjoy water play and adventure playgrounds and stop for snacks and drinks in the many little cafes that you will pass when you make your way around the 56 hectare extensive grounds. (see map below)


We started our tour at the duck pond, said hello to the penguins and walked along the monkey house where Amy decided that it was time for some yummy banana and apple puree. After finishing the entire glass, looking at animals makes hungry after all, we made our way to the elephants before we came to Amy's absolute highlight: the polar bears. The polar bear enclosure is situated in the heart of the historical park tract (since 1899) and impresses with a huge polar bear castle with rocks, waterfalls and a bathing basin, which has over the years become the zoo’s centrepiece. In fact, due to Rostock's success in propagating polar bears, many European zoos are now housing the white giants from Rostock. Amy really enjoyed watching the bears jump into the water and catch their food and I have to say that I was more than impressed by how attentive she was. Amy followed the zoo keepers every move and giggled whenever the bears landed in the water with a big splash.

After strolling through the historical part of the zoo, we watched the cheeky capuchin monkeys jump from tree to tree, relaxed with the gnus and antelopes that were lazing around in the sun and ignored the terrarium which is forbidden territory as I have a massive slight snake phobia that would have spoiled the whole day for me. At this point, Amy got a bit grumpy because her teeth started to bother her, so we decided to finish our tour by walking past the flamingos and visiting the wild cats. There is much more to see but we will save that up for our next visit because that one is booked already.


Tuesday 11 October 2011

Mummy Alarm Review : Stokke® PramPack - protect your pram when flying with babies

I love my pram. I love my pram so much that I couldn't bear the thought that something might happen to it on our flight to Germany. So you can imagine that I jumped up and down in excitement when Stokke got in touch after overhearing a conversation with another mummy on Twitter and asked me if I wanted to review the Stokke® PramPack. Of course I did, what a question!?

I might be slightly exaggerating but I am not lying when I tell you that the Stokke® PramPack is the most clever travel bag for pushchairs that I have ever come across. It is designed to protect 99% of all ordinary strollers and 30% of all twin strollers against bumps, knocks, drops and all the other scary things that can happen to a pram when it goes traveling. At around £140 the Stokke® PramPack is not as cheap as other travel bags, but if your buggy cost nearly as much as your car, then it's definitely worth the investment.The
Stokke® PramPack™ is airline approved, super padded and has lots of straps that stop your pram from moving around. On top of all that, it is more than simple to use. We had one trial run before driving to the airport and can truly say that it is easier to wrap up your pram than Christmas presents. Big Mummy Alarm promise!


The Stokke® PramPack™ comes rolled up for super easy storage and only needs unclipping and unrolling for you to start packing your pram up into this cleverly designed travel accessory. Once unrolled, you simply fold out the wings to both sides, put the pram in the centre of the pack and secure it with 2 straps on the top and one on each side to make sure that your pram is not moving about. Finally, you pull the top over the pram and secure it with two more clips and fasten them according to your pram's size.
The Stokke® PramPack™ comes with two wheels that allow you to pull your safely wrapped up pram behind you and has two padded handles that even give baggage handlers at the airport some comfort. There is also a little pocket for an address slip and a big caution print reminding airport staff to be gentle with your fragile cargo.


All in all, the Stokke® PramPack™ is a very impressive product that is not only good value for money but also an absolute must-have for all globetrotters. To check if your pram fits into the Stokke® PramPack™, simply visit Stokke's PramPack checker.

Disclosure: Mummy Alarm received the Stokke® PramPack™ free of charge for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced by Stokke.

Monday 10 October 2011

Fill the Gap Friday #2 - reloaded

Do you catch yourself finishing other people's sentences in your head?

Well, now is the time to do it loud and proud. Every Monday, I will give you the start of a sentence that can cover various topics you come across when you are a parent. On Friday, I will then open a Linky for you to share your finished sentences, blog posts, pictures, poems or anything else that fills the gap (for you). 

As Blogger didn't want to post my scheduled post, I am giving you another chance to join in with the sentence: "Before having a baby, I wish I had known...".

There are no limits - so let your creativity flow and fill those gaps. If you could pass the info about this new Linky on to everyone that might fancy joining in, that would be great. The more the merrier and if you want to share on Twitter too - why not use the hashtag #fillthegap to let everyone else know that you have updated your blog?

I'm looking forward to see you all on Friday!



And the winner is...


And the five winners of a Green People toothpaste of their choice are

Joan Sawka - @joanna_kow
Maya Russell  - @maisietoo 
Claire Butler - @BBDIVA1977 
Clare Leahy - @clareandtribe 
Helen Harris - @picklepie35

Congratulations - please get in touch via the contact form and let me know which flavour you would like to receive!

And the winner is...


The two winners of a GumiGem teething necklace of their choice are

Jodie Smith - @meetjosmith

and 

Carolina J.- @pandcands

Congratulations - please get in touch via the contact form and let me know which necklace you would like to receive!

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