Injecting a Bit of Passion into your Life with The Fantasy Box - Review

In this post I'm going to talk about *whispers* sex. Sorry to any family members reading! 

Chris and I have two kids so I think it's pretty obvious that we "do it" but after having children things can slip as much as you say they won't before they arrive! I had a c-section with C so we got back into things pretty quickly (so much so that I was pregnant with E when he was 15 months old!) but after my VBAC with E, it took me ten months to feel comfortable enough to have sex again - poor Chris! I underestimated how hard it was to have free time after having a second child too. Getting both kids to bed easily and at the same time is still proving difficult for us then we just end up being too tired.

We recently received a Fantasy Box to try out. The Fantasy Box is a luxury service designed to help couples explore new dimensions of their relationship in a safe, stress-free fun way. Their themed boxes include instructions for each person and products designed for each scenario, including correctly sized lingerie. This means that you literally need to plan nothing beforehand.

We all say that communication is the key to a great relationship but when it comes to sex, we never talk about it enough. The Fantasy Box has helped thousands of couples rediscover their relationships so I was really excited to give it a go.

 

The boxes come in four themes: Sensual, Control, Costume and Playful. You can decide which box is best for you by looking at the recommendations on the website. We received the "Introduction" box to give us a bit of a taster into what way the boxes work.

The box includes:

• Eyemask
• Vibrator
• Follower/Leader cards
• Candle
• Lube
• Babydoll and thong
• His and hers surveys

I really like the follower and leader cards. It took us out of our comfort zone and introduced us to something different which we both really enjoyed. 

The surveys were a great idea. We tend not to talk to much about sex, especially what we'd like to introduce. The survey showed that we had quite a lot in common but we had never mentioned to one another.

All in all, after using this box I did feel a lot closer to Chris and it was fun trying something new. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I do think that a Fantasy Box would be a great idea for couples to try. 

The Fantasy Box also offer subscriptions so you can receive the best of all themes randomly. Also, if you'd like to explore a certain theme in depth but you have no interest in the others, a bundle would be the best option. If a subscription isn't your thing, the boxes are available to buy as a one off. There are 12+ individual fantasies to choose from, one of which being The Honeymoon Box which would make a great alternative wedding gift.

Prices start from £49 per box for the Classic Box Subscription to £109 per box for the Platinum Box Subscription. 

You can find out more at The Fantasy Box website and you can also follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

(We received this product for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

 

E at 17 Months

I'm well aware of the fact that I sound like a broken record but I can't believe that another month has passed. My baby girl is becoming a big girl before my eyes.

She has turned into such a cheeky little monkey and she knows she's being funny too. When myself or her daddy tell her to stop doing something she'll tell us "no!" - a word that I was dreading her learning!

I mentioned last week that she was walking and she has come on leaps and bounds with it. We have almost no crawling at all, she thinks she's great when she walks. Although she does fall on her bum sometimes, it doesn't faze her and she gets straight back up.

Her speech is bloody amazing! I am so shocked. I do compare her to C (I know I shouldn't but I do) who didn't speak much until he turned two so I am really shocked by how much she repeats at only 17 months. I do think that watching and listening to her big brother helps. Just the other day, she saw a picture of Miffy and started to sway from side to side like she was dancing then attempted to "sing" (in her own little way) the Miffy theme tune! I was really surprised she remembered it!

She is really independent and knows what she wants. I love watching her figure puzzles out, you can almost see the cogs whirring in her brain. She has also discovered how to get out of her pram which is a pain. She'll manouvre her way out of the arm straps, pull herself up to step over the harness then slide under the bar. She always finishes it by walking out and saying "ta-da!" Little trickster!

We have gone up a shoe size into an infant size 4 and she is still wearing 18-24 months - I don't think I could squeeze her long legs into 12-18 anymore! We also have two new teeth - molars! They seem to be growing in the strangest way. She still loves her food - especially bananas. She'll take herself off into the kitchen, point at the table and ask for "nannys!" Oh, and she is absolutely bloody obsessed with Peppa Pig!

I can't wait to see the mischief she makes this month! 

 

Look in my Letterbox #43

Usually my Look in my Letterbox posts contain mostly wins but I've been a bit happy with my debit card this week and bought quite a bit! It's Chris's birthday next Sunday so I haven't included his two gifts that arrived but I might pop them in next week's blog post so you can have a nosey. !

Wins:

Beauty bundle

 

I won this amazing bundle over at The Life of a Glasgow Girl's blog. It's pretty amazing and my sister has claimed some of it!

Go With Your Gut cookbook

 

This was a little Twitter win and it was perfect timing. Chris and I are on a bit of a health kick at the mo so I'm excited about trying some recipes out.

Tripod 

 

I have wanted a tripod for ages so I was over the moon to win this! It will be perfect for blog photos - especially Me & Mine at the end of the month as all mine tend to be selfies where I try and squeeze the four of us in the frame!

Reviews:

T-shirt

 

How cute is this little t-shirt? C chose the dinosaur motif and the colour himself.

Book

 

We received this as we are Little Tiger Press bloggers. E's speech is coming on wonderfully so she will love trying to repeat the words.

Purchases:

Stickers

 

Chris and I bought ourselves new (matching) laptops so we just had to buy some stickers to differentiate between them. The 15 Yemen Road, Yemen makes me laugh so much. I'm a massive Friends fan! Also, I had to have one of Sergeant Doakes!

Mattress
We bought a new memory foam mattress after years of a horrid springy one. It is bliss!
  

Romper

 

I bought this from @littlesquidges on Instagram. It's made from a ladies t-shirt. I love The Little Mermaid so I couldn't not get it. It says "TROUBLE MAKER" along the bottom but I couldn't get a good enough picture.

Bows 

 

Yay, bow post! These were from my favourite shop @leahannboutique on Instagram. The yellow one will be lovely in summer.

Did you receive anything nice this week?

Baker Ross Valentine's Crafts

As part of our role as Baker Ross Bloggers we occasionally receive little boxes of craft items to try out. C gets really excited when he sees the box because he recognises the branded tape along the box. He kept excitedly repeating, "the man brought me crafts!" when he saw this one. The theme was Valentine's Day and Spring.

I'm just going to talk about the Valentine's bits in this post and do the Spring ones in a separate post.

Here's what we received in our box:

 

 I'll touch more on the Spring bits next time, but the Valentine's bits were:

Heart Pop-a-Crayons (£1.99 per pack of 5)

Heart Stampers (£3.60 per pack of 10) 

I also used the 4-Part Multi Paint Pad (£3.60)

Initially when I saw the Heart Pop-a-Crayons, because it just says "Fun Toys" across the top, I thought that's all they were - toys! I eventually opened them out and a wave of nostalgia came across me. I loved these types of crayons when I was little. C thought they were really cool and they were easy for him to pull off and find another colour by himself. He struggles with the ones that you have to push up the inside of the plastic "pen". He did go a little hard when colouring and break a few tips but losing one doesn't mean that you can't connect the rest. These are so handy for carrying around in the changing bag for meals out, rather than a big box of pencils or crayons.

Stampers are C's favourite. He's only ever used regular bottled paint so he was a little baffled by the paint pad. Once I showed him how to get the paint on by pressing the stamper down, he took to it like a duck to water. Sometimes even getting a little too carried away with the pushing - he looked like he was Hulk-ing out! I love the chunkiness of the foam stampers. They're easy for his little hands to hold. He and his daddy made me a very lovely Valentine's picture.

You can view the range at the Baker Ross website and you can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.

(Disclaimer: We received these items as part of our role as Baker Ross Bloggers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

 

 

HiPP #MilkMoments (+ win a HiPP Follow-On Milk Hamper!)

Weaning, for me, was one of those milestones where you don't know how to feel. I was excited to introduce tastes and food, I worried that I was doing it wrong or giving the wrong types and it was a bit bittersweet as I realised that my little newborn wasn't a newborn anymore.

I weaned slightly differently with both of my children. With C as a young, first time mother, especially to a premature baby, I felt like I was thrown in at the deep end. He was fed as much breastmilk as possible for the first few days of his life but with the both of us being so ill, I moved to formula which he was happy with and weaned in the "normal" fashion. My health visitor advised us to introduce spoon feeds at five months actual (which seems a little odd now I think back as he'd only be three months adjusted) so I started with plain baby rice as it is advised. Eventually I added in fruit flavours, mashed banana being his favourite before progressing to the HiPP jars. I started with single flavours then as he got older, I used the 'dinner' jars. HiPP Organic was always my go-to because the meal ideas were plentiful and he always got a different one each day - it helped that Tesco always had a multibuy deal on them too!

E was a little different. I only breastfed her for three days (something which I kick myself about for not doing it longer) and I'd read up more about baby led weaning so I wanted to give that a try. She took to it so well and although I obviously had worries about her choking, she was absolutely fine and we had none of these incidences at all.

With the baby led weaning, I was unsure of how much of the food she was really eating as most of it ended up down her t-shirt or on the floor, with C I could measure how much of the jar he'd taken. Follow-on milks are designed to complement the weaning diet while your baby is getting used to a variety of different tastes and texture. They are higher in iron and vitamin D than standard infant formulas which can really be a help if baby is not eating as many iron-containing foods and is therefore at greater risk of iron deficiency, and to help protect baby against becoming vitamin D deficient. HiPP Organic have been researching breastmilk for over 50 years so you can rely on them to include the ingredients your baby needs to grow strong and healthy. The Follow-On Milk includes essential your baby needs including iron for cognitive development, vitamins A, C and D for the immune system and PRÆBIOTIK® a source of allgosaccharldes. 10 out of 10 mums who have changed to the Follow-On Milk say that their babies are happier.

One thing I wish I knew about was the fact that HiPP have created a reusable milk storage box with a built in scoop holder in the lid and scoop leveller inside. How handy!

I am such a worrywart but the weaning stage goes by so quickly and I loved my kids faces when they tried new, strong flavours but my absolute favourite part was letting them get messy in the process!

If you are about to start weaning your little one, I have a lovely giveaway for you. Courtesy of HiPP, you can get your hands on:

• HiPP milk storage tin
• HiPP’s ‘HiPPofant’ cuddly toy
• As well as a number of HiPP products (+6m): 
• Creamed Porridge Breakfast 
• Penne with Tomato & Courgette
•  Pasta in a Tomato & Ham Sauce
•  Spaghetti Bolognese 
• Carrots, Sweetcorn & Sweet Potato with Apricots 
• Pumpkin, Carrot & Apple Spaghetti 
• Apple & Banana Crumble 
• Pear, Banana & Kiwi 
• Cherry, Apple & Banana Breakfast
•  Apple, Blueberry & Banana Muesli with Yoghurt

All you have to do is fill in the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!

T&C's:

• The giveaway will run from 2nd February until 16th February
• One winner will win one HiPP hamper
• Open to entrants aged 18+
• UK residents only
• Prize will be sent directly from the PR
• No automated entries
• One entry per person

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Milks Disclaimer: 

The Department of Health recommends that you breastfeed your baby exclusively for the first six months of their life; at around six months you can start to wean them on to solids and start to combine breastfeeding with bottle feeding. HiPP Organic understands that all babies are different and some mums might want to transfer to bottle feeding earlier than others. HiPP Organic would always advise that you speak to your midwife or health visitor before changing your feeding method. For more information on milks, please visit the HiPP Organic Website http://www.hipp.co.uk/milks-important-notice

(Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.)

UK competitions at ThePrizeFinder