Mummy Alarm Review: Leap Frog Twinkle Twinkle Little Violet

Amy is a great sleeper, don't get me wrong, but getting her to settle down for bedtime can be a real struggle sometimes. She is just too interested in everything happening around her that she just can't switch off and relax. We have been thinking about different ways to help her wind down, e.g. taking her for a walk in her pram, sitting on the swing with her or giving her a calming bath. None of it did really work, so I was delighted when the lovely people from Leap Frog offered to send us a toy called Twinkle Twinkle Little Violet.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Violet is a soft cuddly toy that has two functions: a) it helps children to explore first words and counting and b) it gently teaches them to settle for bedtime.

Amy absolutely loves her new fluffy friend and I can't believe just how quickly she has got used to settling with Violet. As soon as she listens to the lullabies, Amy calms down and you can't believe how cute she smiles when Little Violet tells her "Night Night". It's just adorable. Her absolute favourite, however, are the environmental sounds that are the second sound setting that the toy comes with. You can hear a train, the ocean, a carrier bag in the wind (at least that's what I identified it as) and many more sounds which all send Amy to dreamland within minutes. How good is that? You can choose between two settings for sounds and music and either let them run for 10 or 20 minutes. We usually have Violet set for 20 minutes and in general, Amy doesn't need any longer to fall asleep, however, we sometimes have to give her an extra ten minutes to make sure she really is fast asleep. Unfortunately, this is where I can find the only little thing to moan about. Violet obviously does not know that Amy is almost asleep and gives her another cheerful "Night Night", so it can happen that my baby girl happily opens her eyes and gives Violet another big smile before settling again and cuddling with Violet's soft blanket.

Twinkle twinkle Little Violet is available in Leap Frog's Online Store as well as in all good toy stores and costs around £15 - in my eyes an absolute bargain because this toy is an absolute life saver and must-have for all parents of little ones that struggle going to sleep.

Five Songs To Live Your Life By

The lovely Liz over at The Mum Blog has tagged me in the Five Songs To Live Your Life By meme. As she has already said in her post, it is not as easy as it seems. There are hundreds of inspirational songs out there and this is where the whole matter gets tricky. I love music and I listen to lots of different genres, so how do I decide which songs I find most inspirational? Is it the ones I like best? Is it the ones I sing all the time or is it the ones that make me cry, laugh or think? Well, I've made it a mix out of all those attributes and have come up with the following five songs:

It's My Life - Jon Bon Jovi

Your Song - Elton John

Don't Worry, Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin

Eye of the Tiger - Survivor

That's What Friends Are For - Dionne Warwick & Friends

But it doesn't end here. The fun thing about memes is that you get to find out more about the people you tweet with or whose blogs you read by simply tagging them. So here we go

Jenny, Adele, Carol, Sarah, Sonia -I can't wait to find out which songs you live by, ladies!

Tuneful Tuesday

Last week, I decided to join Carol's Musical Week. Well, at least I knew that I was going to post at least one video a week. I simply like too many different songs to be able to make up my mind every single day of the week. I know, tough problems but hey, I've found my Tuneful Tuesday song.

Glee Cast - Halo and Walking on Sunshine Mash Up

Tuneful Tuesday

I love the fact that Carol over on New Mummy seems to love music just as much as I do. Even better is that she has managed to crack the days of the week to make our lifes more musical. According to her new musical week it is Tuneful Tuesday today. So here is one of my favourite tunes at the moment:

Mumford and Sons with Little Lion Man