Graco Contempo High Chair Review

As a Graco ambassador, I'm lucky enough to receive all sorts of their products to try out with Squeaky.  Our last high chair met with a bit of an accident, so I was delighted that Graco sent me their Contempo High Chair for Squeaky.

Picture courtesy of Graco UK

The Contempo is a really attractive looking high chair, with clean lines, and smooth brushed aluminium legs.  There's 5 height settings, something I'd never considered before, but as Squeaky is getting older & wants to sit at the table with us, rather than using a tray, it's something of a godsend.  We've taken the tray off, and push the chair up to the table so she can sit and join the rest of us. There's also 3 recline settings for those moments when eating is just so exhausting your little one needs a nap before finishing.

The wipe clean plastic cover is getting a good testing, spaghetti hoops are easy to remove as there's no dodgy crevices for them to fall into.  I thought I would miss the basket underneath our previous highchair, until I realised it was just a place to gather crumbs and discarded vegetables.

The Contempo comes in a Butterfly Blue design, as pictured, suitable for both boys and girls.  The seat is comfortably padded, and it's not so big as to dwarf a small baby.  The high chair folds up to an almost unbelievable 23cms, meaning it will fit into a small cupboard space, and is easy to fit into the car to take away.

 As you can see, Squeaky really likes her Contempo High Chair, and feels like a proper grown up part of the family, now she can join us at the table properly.  I think that's really important, as it reinforces her independence and encourages her to eat properly with us as she gets older.

Thank you Graco, for giving us this lovely Contempo High Chair for Squeaky.  She sends you her biggest, early morning grin!

Disclosure: I was provided with the Graco Contempo High Chair free of charge as part of my Ambassador relationship.  I was not told what to write, and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for your convenience only, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

The Mystery of the Graco Potty

As a Graco ambassador, I get to try out all sorts of lovely products from Graco.  A little while back, I was asked if there was anything I'd particularly like to try out.  I'd seen a Graco branded potty at my mum's house, and as we're heading towards that wonderful stage, I thought one might come in handy, so I asked, as I hadn't seen anything on their website.

No-one knew anything. The only Graco potty that could be found was a toy one.  Ah well.  But I was still intrigued, because I knew this potty was there.  My mum had been given it by one of my cousins, not sure which, but both the possible suspects have children aged 6-7.

Thought no more of it, until I went visiting my mum this weekend.  I decided to take a couple of photos of the potty to see if I could get to the bottom of the mystery.  Yes. You read that right. I took photos of a potty.  What a glamorous life this blogging lark is.

The back held the answer to all my questions.  The company that own Graco, Rubbermaid, also used to own Curver.  And they sold Curver in 2005.  Both the possible previous owners would have bought their potty in 2004 or 2005.  So, they bought a Graco potty made by Curver, because Graco and Curver were part of the same company at that time.  They're not any more, so no more Graco branded potties.

And so the Mystery Of The Graco Potty was solved.  And I would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for you meddling kids! (sorry, Scooby moment)

I Go, We Go, U'Go!

I've never been one to shy away from the silly title, you know that.

As a Graco Ambassador, I'm lucky enough to be sent a range of Graco products to try out, and to make my life that bit easier.  The latest toy I've received is a U'Go stroller.

We had a lightweight stroller that we took on holiday with us.  While it lasted out the trip, Squeaky's not overly keen on it, and we get major dramatics most times we try to get her in it.  I'm also a bit wary of it, as it feels quite flimsy and exposed, though I like the lightness and how small it folds.  So, I asked Graco if I could try out one of their range, and chose the U'Go for the combination of compactness and looking a bit more secure.  I wasn't disappointed.

Compared to my previous Graco products, the box the U'Go came in was tiny!  Well, I should have guessed with it being a lightweight, umbrella fold stroller. As usual, very simple to put together, clipped the wheels on, adjusted the shoulder straps and we were ready for the off.  Squeaky looks unimpressed, but this is because nap-time was delayed for photos. The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice twitter open in the background, I doubt I was saying anything exciting.

The first thing I noticed was how much more comfortable the U'go is than the "average" lightweight stroller.  The black & grey seat cushion is really thick & squishy and despite the sulky look, Squeaky got in & settled down without complaint - none of the am-dram of our previous lightweight. It also feels impressively sturdy right from putting it up.

Off we went on our adventure. Up the hill, down the hill and into the village for a spot of shopping. The handles are well padded, and the angle makes them comfortable to push - in fact, the angle makes it easier to push the stroller one-handed.  That's something that's becoming more of an issue as Squeaky gets older and wants to walk herself more & more.  I can't push most buggies one handed and go in anything resembling a straight line, but the way the angled handles direct the pushing action across the buggy, it works.  (I know, my explanations aren't all that good).  Round the shops, and the narrow wheelbase came into its own.  There's an aisle of our corner shop that I still can't get down, but then again, you can't actually walk straight down it, as there's a stupid great pillar in the way, so you have to go sideways, but with the U'Go, I can get round all the rest without catching myself on things, and reaching the till with half a dozen things I wasn't planning to buy stuck to the sides of the chair. The generous basket underneath the U'Go was more than big enough for my bottle of squash, newspaper & loaf of bread.  And I found a very VERY useful pocket on the back of the hood.  Just the right size to fit your purse, keys and emergency bottle of diet coke!  With a velcro fastening so you don't need to worry about things falling out.

By this time, Squeaky had given up on her earlier sulk and succumbed to the comfort of the padded seat.  So I got to try out the recline.  Five recline positions, taking the seat to a complete lie-flat, making the U'Go suitable from birth.  You can tilt up the bottom where an older child's knees bend, so that small babies have a little more protection & don't wiggle down.  The recline is cleverly controlled by two slide mechanisms at the back of the buggy, you couldn't release them by accident, it takes a deliberate manoeuvre.  Very simple though.

Errands over, and the sky's looking ominous.  Time to head home. Back up and down the hill (I live in a really awkward place, ok?).  The hills are a nightmare with a heavy buggy, but the U'Go is so light it's no problem at all.  Evicted Squeaky from her seat, and folded up the chair.  And then I find not one, not two, but three of my favourite things about the U'Go.  First, the folding mechanism itself.  A lot of chairs claim to be one-handed-fold.  And a lot of them lie.  But the big twist handle, and the little finger-lift really do work.  So much so that SqueakyDaddy can manage it with ease, and I've never seen that happen before!  Second, the rigid clip on the side that keeps the chair folded, big enough to see, but not to get in the way.  And third?  My favourite thing of all?  On the side, when folded, there's a carry handle.  Such a simple idea.  And a work of flaming genius.  Really.  No need to tuck it under your arm, struggle with it upright, just grab the handle & carry it off.

The chair feels really sturdy & secure.  I said that was one of my concerns with our previous lightweight, but I don't have that issue with the U'Go, despite it being so light & narrow, it really does feel very safe, and I'm not paranoid about people squashing Squeaky in it.  We've taken it on the train, the bus, round the park, to In The Night Garden, shopping, and it's coped admirably (I even took it on the escalator, despite the signs, because there's not enough lifts in the shopping centre I was in, but being so light I managed it fine)  And unlike a lot of buggies on the market at present, the frame is narrow enough for so-called "universal" parasols to fit on.  Great if we get some summer!

Since I got the U'Go, I've seen quite a few of them about. (Yes, I'm one of THOSE people, a buggy geek. Sorry)  I'm really pleased with it, and it's a welcome addition to our household.  I'm sticking with the Symbio for everyday use, but the U'Go is now officially Daddy's buggy, which means it gets nearly as much use, as Daddy is normally at home a couple of days a week while I'm working.

The U'GO is available from Argos, Kiddicare, BHS Direct, Debenhams Extra and probably a whole lot more places besides.  I can't recommend any particular supplier, these are just a few I found online this evening.

Disclosure: I was provided with the Graco U'Go free of charge as part of my ambassador relationship with Graco.  I was not told what to write, and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for your convenience only, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

We're Back!

The mountain of dirty washing in the kitchen (and I've only opened the first case so far) is proof enough that we're back, and somehow survived a fortnight in the sunshine of Majorca.  Posts galore in my head, some or more of which might become reality when I get that far.

But for now, a little light entertainment.  I posted not that long ago about the Graco Press Day Squeaky & I went to in London last month.  Well, now see for yourself!  Here's the video, featuring Dr Suzanne Zeedyk, Emma Kenny, the lovely ambassadors Wendy, Emma & Danielle, and yours truly.

Graco Parent & Child Interaction Day

Was it really a week ago?  Apparently so.  Well, it was a week ago that I found myself in the bar of the Drury Lane Travelodge with Squeaky, a couple of good friends and a reasonable bottle of red wine, anyway.

Last Wednesday, Squeaky & I jumped on the train to make our way to London for a press day with Graco,  along with some of our fellow Graco ambassadors.  We had a reserved seat. but as I had the Symbio with me and didn't really want to leave it unattended, we commandeered the wheelchair space at the end of the carriage (there weren't any passengers with wheelchairs needing it, don't worry!) and left our seat for someone else.  This meant we had a lovely space for Squeaky to stretch her legs & enjoy the journey (and I didn't have to have her on my lap for 2 hours solid).

I'd already scoped out my routes from the station to hotel, and hotel to The Future Gallery, and found that due to some fairly major works, the underground was a non-starter, so we leapt on the bus, and watched the world go by as it limped slowly up Oxford Street. I was having visions of trying to get us both on board an old-fashioned London Routemaster bus (you know, the ones with the door at the back & the spiral staircase), but they don't really exist any more, or at least not on the route I needed.

Well, enough about that.  The press day itself, seeing as that's what we were there for.  Squeaky & I were the first to arrive (by about an hour & a half, if I'm honest, but that includes the time spent having a sneaky McD's breakfast & a stroll round Leicester Square), and were greeted by the lovely Jane, who has been at the receiving end of a lot of my emails over the last few months (and yet she still smiles!), and we were soon joined by Wendy, Emma, Danielle & Lindsey with their lovely children, Symbios & Fusios.  (That's the pushchairs by the way, not their children's names.)

Dr Suzanne Zeedyk & Emma Kenny both gave presentations regarding child psychology, parent/child interaction, the effects on children's development & how changes to pushchair design through the years, and across the globe, have changed the way children experience their world.  There are many reasons why the old fashioned Pram (think Princess Di pushing Wills around [look! I'm being topical!]) has given way to the outward facing buggy so popular today - greater use of cars, engineering, safety advances, storage, fashion, celebrity, the list goes on.  But these outward facing buggies, allowing children to see the world, could be creating stress for the baby, as well as denying them the opportunity to interact with their parents.

Children are born connected, and not just by the umbilical cord.  Studies have shown that babies can recognise sounds, songs, and words heard in the womb after they are born.  Babies are born mimics, and face-to-face interaction helps stimulate the growth of neural paths, promoting the child's intellectual and emotional development.

Both the Symbio & Fusio have the option to face either inwards or outwards, enabling communication and building stronger bonds between parent & child.  I love this, and usually have Squeaky facing me to we can chatter while we walk - but I've always got the option to flip the handle and show her the world (or pull her through a doorway, honestly, that is such a useful feature).

I have to admit at one moment during Suzanne's talk, my little brain went walkabout.  Suzanne spoke about how touch stimulates the production of Oxytocin, a hormone that promotes happiness, love, and a warm & squishy feeling.  My brain, still filled with breastfeeding mentor training went haywire, and started wondering why we weren't also talking about Prolactin and "P makes it produce, O makes it flow!" Luckily I kept that thought to myself, until now at least.

We also had a bash at baby massage, with the lovely folks from Tiddley pom, and had a Symbio vs Fusio pushchair shootout, where Squeaky & I came second to Danielle's lightning Fusio skills!  Seriously, she's a whizz. I also had a lovely chat with Katy from Pushchair Trader about the FlipFlop test (or what happens when you galumph down the road rather than taking delicate tippy-toe steps and fall over your footbrake) The Symbio's fingertip brake is a great big pass on that test.

It was great to meet the other ambassadors, and we had a good chat, ate lots of cake and played a quick round of baby Russian Roulette (go me, linking to my own posts!) before heading back out into the world with our goodie bags. At this point, I should admit that my macaroons didn't make it past Paddington Station, but they were lovely. Our journey home was completed with a cancelled local train, the next one being full to bursting with drunk & sunburnt people who'd spent the whole day on Barry Island beach, and a slow stagger up the hill home.

Graco Nautilus Car Seat

One of the great things about being a Graco Ambassador is getting the opportunity to try out some of their wide range of baby kit.  Squeaky only recently outgrew her infant carrier/Stage 0 car seat, and we were very pleased when Graco sent us their Nautilus car seat to try out.

The Nautilus is a Stage 1/2/3 car seat, meaning it will last her all the way until she's 12 - all the car seat she'll need!  That by itself makes it a great value buy.  I really like the idea of having one seat that will carry her all the way through to being a teenager (argh! Does that have to happen???????)  The seat is quick & easy to fit into the car, meaning we could be off on an adventure in no time at all.

The Black Stone colourway (black & gray-brown) is really smart, and actually goes well with the inside of my car.  It's a good neutral option, suitable for boys & girls (our other car seat is very, very pink) and the covers are easy to clean, as proved by Squeaky's decision to throw her drink around when I wasn't looking.

She seems very comfortable in it - the harness is easy to adjust and do up, and I'm confident she's safe, the adjustable headrest keeps her head in place even when she's dropped off for yet another nap.  As she's still at the lower end of the weight range, she's not made use of the cup holder yet (she can't quite get to it), but I've found it's a good place to put my car keys when I'm getting her sat & strapped in .

I'm really taken with the Nautilus, and it seems Squeaky is too. The RRP is £129.99, and it's available from Toys R Us, Mothercare and other good retailers.

Wrapping Up

It's almost the end of our trial of the Graco Symbio, and barring some kind of time-travel related miracle, this will more than likely be the last of my Symbio Advocacy blog posts.  We've got a busy few days coming up with Squeaky's 1st birthday party on Sunday, and the big day itself on Monday.  The house is currently awash with toys borrowed from the Toy Library and buffet items to assemble, plate up or cook.

So, I wanted to sum up the whole experience of the last couple of months with the Symbio.  I still can't quite believe I was lucky enough to be one of the finalists.  I had a million & one ideas that I wanted to do in these 2 months, but thanks to the weather, life in general, and the fact that 2 months in reality is nowhere near as long as it sounds, I didn't get to do all of them.

I tried to take Squeaky & the Symbio on as many forms of transport as I could.  It's such a light & easy travel system to use, I thought this would be fun.  So we went in the car, on the bus, on the train & on a steam train. I had hoped to get on the water bus/boat thing too, but it didn't work out, and no-one was prepared to lend me a milk float or horse & cart.  It did get me out of the house, and going places I'd never been before though.

I did hope to be let loose for a wee while on SqueakyDaddy's Sunday morning radio show, but the bosses said no, sadly.

I've honestly fallen in love with the Symbio, if Squeaky was due THIS year, not last, I'd buy one.  That's how much I've enjoyed it. The Symbio won Gold in the 2010/11 Mother & Baby awards for Best Travel System, and Silver for Best Pushchair, and I can understand why.  The design catches people's eyes, I've had any number of compliments on it when I've been out & about.  And talking of out & about, we got solidly rained on today, but thanks to the easy-to-fit rain cover, Squeaky at least stayed dry.  The same can't be said for me - drowned rat springs to mind.

So, in conclusion, I want to say a HUGE thank you to Graco for choosing Squeaky and I to take part in the Symbio Advocacy competition.  And we'd like to offer you a piece of birthday cake...

Visitors

It was my birthday on Tuesday, and seeing as no matter how many competitions I enter, no-one seems to want to let me win a Flip, I bought myself one.  Consider this a warning, I can now make better videos than the ones on the camera.

But that's not what this post is about.  As SqueakyDaddy & I were going out for a meal, my mum & dad came over for the day, and to babysit Her Squeaky Highness for the evening.  And to have a look at the fabled Symbio, of course. Unfortunately I didn't get to take many photos, but here's one I did manage to sneak while my dad was trying not to look at anything in the sales, in the hope it would stop my mum from shopping.

As for the Grand-parental verdict?  Grandma says "It's ever so easy to steer" and "I didn't think it would be this light".  Grandpa, as a retired tyre salesman was more interested in the pneumatic tyres, which he tells me are why it's so light & easy to drive, and more comfortable for Squeaky to ride.  He also mastered the art of assembling, collapsing and fitting the Symbio into the back of the car after only one demonstration, so it officially passed the Grandparent Test.  We managed to negotiate our way around the electrical store (I can't remember which this one was, but there was one of each of the ones that begin with a C), and a couple of clothes shops without hitting anyone or anything we shouldn't, and only spending money that needed spending (see earlier comment about buying a Flip)

Happy New Year Folks

Happy New Year, from the whole Squeaky family, and the Symbio!

SqueakyDaddy did his annual run at Nos Galan, which meant we had to stand around in the cold & dark in a big crowd waiting for him.  Thank goodness for cosytoes & manoeuvrability!  Up & down the pavements, over the power cables & through the crowds, the Symbio made it easy.

And Squeaky had a new toy!


We also got to watch the fireworks before the race started.  So here's your festive NewYear's firework photo.

The Runaway train came down the track, and she blew...

After the appalling night last night, we deserved a treat. So off we trundled with our Symbio to Pant, to the Brecon Mountain Railway to have a ride on a real life steam train.

Squeaky greeted the station with her usual level of confusion. 

Despite her lack of appreciation of all things steam-train related, we went and had a look at the engine. 

The carriages themselves were very, very narrow.  I saw a couple with a lightweight stroller, and they had to collapse it to get it on.  As I was on my own with Ms Squeaky, that wasn't really an option.  Fortunately, the rear/front carriage was wider, and the guard helped me lift the Symbio on board, so Squeaky could have her ride, and look out the window.

I say rear/front carriage because the engine turned around to pull us back in the opposite direction. I'm not a travel-sick kind of person, and the train was fairly quiet, but I can picture some people getting concerned if they'd picked a forward facing seat, and it then turned into a rearward one.

We stopped at the halfway point, got off, and I had a sherry & mince pie that Santa had left for the grown ups (he'd had his grotto there until last week), and Squeaky had a bite of lunch.  The engine was taking on water & coal, and making a lot of steam.

Off we set again, all pturshticwm. (Sorry, I'm channelling Ivor The Engine, I think)


And then, before you know it, we were back in Pant, and admiring the engine again before it went off on its next trip.

The railway's lovely. Not a great long journey, but lots of pretty scenery, much better in the summer than a chilly December day, but even so, well worth the visit.  Come to Merthyr, we have tourist attractions, honestly!

Happy Betwixtmas!

We're back, after a lovely Christmas break with Squeaky's various grandparents.  Now just catching up on the mountain of washing - I swear it's been breeding while we were away!

One thing with being away though, because there was so much other stuff in the car (travel cot, presents, clothes, us, etc), we didn't take the Symbio with us, and relied on the older strollers that live at our parents' houses.  What a difference!  I missed my suspension, the cosytoes, the brake, and most of all the flippy handle!  So much so, I wrote a song.  I would have sung it and put it on youtube, but I don't like attracting the attention of overly-litigious record companies. So you'll have to hum it yourself.

With apologies to Sting & The Police...

Every step I take
Walking 'round the lake
It's true you know
Graco Symbio
I've been missing you

Even on Christmas Day
When we went to play
In the freezing snow
Graco Symbio
I've been missing you

The Tower Teddy Show

Tower Teddy & special guests have recorded a Christmas Special, all about the Graco Symbio.  There's drama, excitement, suspense, and general silliness.  Watch it!

Let the train take the strain

I needed to do a last bit of Christmas shopping today, before the weather turns again, and shopping in proper shops, not just the same old few that Merthyr has to offer.  So, rather than braving traffic, car parks & obscene parking charges, Squeaky, the Symbio & I jumped on the train to Cardiff.  Jumped being the operative word.  The train was in the station as we RAN up the slope, and we just got on before the conductor closed the doors.  Phew!  This train was pretty easy with the Symbio, a nice single step entry, and plenty of parking spaces for buggies, wheelchairs etc.  Off to a good start.



The journey's pretty dull to be honest with you.  I'd grabbed a shopping bag out of the back of the car before we set off, and on looking inside, I found some tinsel.  Hmmm.  Do you know what happens when I'm bored, and there's tinsel?  Something's going to end up sparkly!



The shops themselves proved to be fairly, well, shoppy.  Not too busy because it was a Wednesday, and even finding a seat in the coffee place wasn't too much of a challenge.  One thing I've discovered since having Squeaky is how many lifts there are, tucked away in corners you'd never have noticed otherwise.  However, there's still a few useless places.  Step forward & take a bow Benetton.  One escalator (up), one set of stairs.  Children's clothes on the top floor.  NO way to get to them.  The Symbio may be light, but with a Squeaky in it, it's not THAT light.  Oh well, they can't have wanted my money, I just had to spend it elsewhere!

Mooch mooch, shop shop.  Decided to come home before it got too late, and the trains got too busy.  The trains are a nightmare after 4, you can't get a seat for love nor money, and I didn't fancy squashing Squeaky onto the commuter train either.  So off we trrundled to the station, complete with its bilingual signs.



And along came the train home.


This train was a bit more difficult.  Two steps on - though there was a ramp, the conductor wasn't being visible or offering any assistance.  No buggy/wheelchair spaces, and such a narrow aisle, the only place we could go was right next to the door.  Grump grump, groan groan.  But we managed.  Squeaky wore her new hat and got grouchy.



Finally though, I found something to occupy her.  A little bit of work experience, as a ticket collector.



The Symbio was great, the trains varied.  I'd've struggled more with the old buggy, so it's got to be a win.

The hat?  Angelic Upstart, from preschoolpunk.  Adorable or what?

I'm BAAAAAAACK!

After a week of near internet-silence, I'm back!  Don't worry, I hadn't fallen off the side of the world, or damaged myself, just the computer decided to have a bit of an existential crisis and needed to go for a little holiday.

But we're back now, with a little update to remind you that we're around.

TBH, even without the computer to distract us, we didn't get up to an awful lot last week.  Doctor's appointment to get them to look at Little Miss Squeaky's eczema (poor little mite), and visiting pretty much every relative under the sun seems to cover it.

But we did indulge ourselves with a trip to the car boot sale on Sunday.  Not that we were really looking for anything, but we went anyway.  The ground was horrible, all frozen & lumpy and slippy, but the Symbio coped admirably, far better than me in my boots.  And the blessing of it being frozen, I guess, is that everything stayed clean.  A little more thawing & I'd still be hosing the mud off now.  I love the way the cosytoes can fold down over the bar, or up, practically to Squeaky's nose.  She's a little demon for sticking her hands out into the cold, but this way she stays lovely and toasty warm.

 

I won't lie to you, the Symbio's crackin'

Oh! What's occurrin'?

Well, I've been looking at the telly for Christmas, and to be honest, there's not a lot on.  So Squeaky & I decided to have our very own Christmas Special edition of Gavin & Stacey, and had a little tour of Barry.  Come & join us.

First of all, we packed the Symbio into the car.  I just realised, I haven't shown you this before.  If it fits in here, which it does with room to spare, it'll fit in your car too, unless you've got one of those Smart things with no space to fit a hamster wheel.  (Well, actually, really first SqueakyDaddy scraped the ice off the car, but I didn't take pictures of that.)



This is Barry Island Pleasure Beach.  Funfair by the sea, sadly closed for the winter, and barely open this summer, by the looks of the weeds growing through the paving.  We wanted to go on the Pirate Ship. :(



Our first stop on the Gavin & Stacey tour was Marco's, where Stacey works when they come back to Barry.  They do a fine cuppa, and are always busy, even though the seats are all outside & despite the sunshine, my car said it was Minus Zero.  Yes, that's a real temperature, according to my car.  We were VERY glad of our cosytoes.



Then, round the corner to Boofy's.  Gavin & Stacey's favourite chippy, according to his sign.  Mine too, truth be told.  They do a lovely bacon bap, and the bloke working there was aces, & told me how to find Gwen's house.  I knew roughly where it was, but he gave me proper directions & everything.  And he smiled for a photo, which is always good.



A couple of doors further down, to Island Leisure which, when it's open, is where Nessa works in her little booth & stops people winning on the slot machines.  Being a bitterly cold Sunday morning in December though, it was closed.  I would've had a go on the machines otherwise.  Really, it's hard to stop me feeding 2ps into the machines, in a very scientific experiment to see exactly how much fun can be had from £1.  (Winner so far - somewhere in Torquay - £3.46 and a pool ball).  Anyway, Nessa'a arcade.



I didn't go down on the beach, partly because it was so c-c-c-c-cold, and partly because I really didn't fancy brushing the sand off the wheels of the Symbio in the aforementioned cold. I want to keep my Symbio nice & shiny, thanks. Just before leaving the island, we spotted this gift shop.  Most of Barry Island seems to have become a Gavin & Stacey theme park now, everywhere is full of mugs, t-shirts, rock, etc with catchphrases on, or someone's face.  Strange old world.


Then we drove off the island, into Barry itself.  And to Gwen's house.  Oh My Gooses.  I joke about living on the side of a mountain, but seriously.  I've never driven up a road so steep in my life.  I honestly didn't believe the car was going to get up the hill.  Number 47, Gwen's house, and number 45 (just visible), Doris' house, are on a less steep bit, with Bryn's house just over the road.  The lady who lives in number 47 is happy for visitors to knock her door & come in & have a look & sign her guest book, but we were just too cold to get out of the car.  (I was parked when I took this, by the way, don't worry)



And after all that excitement, Squeaky & I went to Morrisons for a cuppa.  Not at all related to Gavin & Stacey, but warm, convenient & cheap.  Mama needs her coffee, and we shared a yogurt & fruit snack bag.  Squeaky would also like to draw your attention to her top, which is the Feu Follet top we got in the Nearly New a couple of weeks back. She's very proud of her continental stylings.



And that concludes our adventure.  I could've tried to find the Billericay house, which is somewhere in Dinas Powys, but the last time I went there I crashed my car, so probably not a good idea (I crashed it in Newport, but that's not the point).  I could've gone to Marks & Sparks' at Culverhouse Cross, which also pretends to be in Billericay, but that involves dealing with horrible roundabouts that I'd rather avoid, so I didn't. I could've gone to Cardiff Gate services, which pretends to be Leigh Delamere or something in the last special, but that's a bit of a ride away.  And I don't know which of the caravan sites Nessa & Dave's caravan is on, so I couldn't go there.  So that's your lot.  Squeaky, the Symbio, and a Gavin & Stacey tour all of our own.  You can do this on an organised trip if you want, but we had loads of fun on our own.  Where to next?

Snow!

Gosh, the snow's a bit unexpected, isn't it? I was happily sitting in my breastfeeding peer support training yesterday morning, when I spotted the first little white flutter, and within an hour it was properly sticking.  Brrrrrr!  The girls at the peer support group were very impressed with the Symbio, and I had to keep popping outside to demonstrate it to them.  I was very glad it's so light, too, as I had to push Squeaky up the snowy hill from the class to the car park before we could go home.  Our other pushchair would have been pushing me back down the hill!

We spent yesterday afternoon hiding out in the house, making cheese straws.  They definitely get the Squeaky seal of approval, as well as the Mummy & Daddy approval.  Definitely moreish.  If I can work out how to do a cut on here, I might go as far as to give you a recipe, but that's something for another day, 'kay?

Today we decided to stave off cabin fever by heading out into the big wide world.  It's pretty much impossible to get the car out of our road when the snow hits, we're on a steep hill, on the side of another steep hill (does that make sense?).  Last year (well, January this year really), I was hugely pregnant in the snow, and completely stuck in the house for 2 weeks, as I couldn't get past the front door for fear of falling onto my bump.  Very glad that's over.

We wrapped ourselves up nice & warm, gave a silent thanks to Graco for sending us the cosy-toes to go with the Symbio, and walked into the village.  No plan of where to go & what to do, so decided to jump on the bus & head to town. 

The big wheels on the Symbio, as well as how light it is, made it really easy to get onto the bus, and the swivelling front wheels meant we could get into the space at the front with no problems.  Brake on, and away we go.  SOMEone slept through the whole journey, which goes to show how comfortable she was.    The subtitle to that photo is "This gives me an idea..."  which it does, or I wouldn't have said it (durrr).  I'm not going to say what my idea is just yet, it's going to take a little bit more planning, but it could be a lot of fun.

Town was freezing, though the streets were nice & clear, and we had a happy shopping excursion, not spending much, but trying to.  The Symbio was lovely to manoeuvre around, and comes in slightly narrower than its predecessor, as I could fit through a couple of gaps I've got stuck in before.  After a while, we popped into the pub for a spot of lunch (fish & chips, yummy), and to warm up our freezing hands. 

As you can see, we got the "Moon" grey colour version of the Symbio & cosy-toes.  While I've been loving pictures of the red, I can just imagine it clashing with the snowsuit.  Grey is perfect for us, so stylish, and goes with my roots!

The big day arrives!

After a week or so of antici...pation, the big day has arrived.  And with it, the Symbio!  A couple of false starts, the postie and the breakdown guy both knocked my door without giving me a shiny new travel system, but just before 2 o'clock, the knock I'd been waiting for - the UPS guy.  And of course, I was armed with the camera. 


Not entirely sure he was expecting to have to pose for photos on a Monday afternoon, but he was very obliging.

Nothing in this house can be done without Squeaky's assistance, including opening boxes.  She decided that as the chair was for her, she would be the first to see what it looked like.

As we are good girls, we read the instructions before we started trying to put the chair together. 

Not that it was difficult at all.  The whole thing took less than 20 minutes, and that included getting the black plastic stuff off the cosy-toes box.  Oh, yeah, Graco gave us a cosy-toes as well.  A very welcome extra treat in this cold weather.  Do they come in adult sizes?

And there you have it, one completed Symbio, with added baby. 

Of course, it's no use having a lovely new travel system if it just stays in our living room.  So we put on our coats, climbed into our cosy-toes, and went for a stroll.  A quick lap of the park, and a ride on the swings, and we're ready for our tea.  Do you like rice pudding? 

I wonder what adventures tomorrow will bring?

What a difference a day makes!

Yesterday afternoon I was feeling a bit cold.  Hmmm.  Felt the radiators, nothing.  So went & checked the timer on the central heating, gave it a tweak because it was almost time for it to come on, and waited.  Nothing.  Checked it again.  Ran the hot water - water worked, but still no heating.  Phoned the gas board, and waited for the man to come along & fix it.  Which he did, but it meant Ms Squeaky had to have a late night, as she couldn't go to be while he was working on the boiler in her room.

Eventually it was fixed, Squeaky went to bed, and shortly after, SqueakyDaddy followed, as he's been on early starts this week.  I took the peace & quiet as chance to catch up on the internet, and some of the blogs I read.  Among them, I came across this post from Emma And 3, and thought how lucky she was.  Followed the link to Graco's facebook page, and noticed that they had a competition ending today (Friday)  for people to test the Symbio pushchair.  Better be quick then, yeah?

I put together an email, surprised myself how many ideas I could come up with, with only a mince pie to help my inspiration, and zapped it off, not expecting to hear anything.  How excited was I this afternoon to receive an email telling me I'm a winner????  There may have been a small amount of dancing around the living room.  Maybe.  I'm just glad the camera was away.

So, we're going to be the lucky recipients of a brand spanking new Graco Symbio, and Squeaky & I are going to have loads of exciting adventures with it, and make a photo journal of our experiences.  This is going to be FUN!  We've got a 1 in 5 chance of becoming a Graco Ambassador for a year, which would be just brilliant, and give us the chance to try out other Graco products.  And you, you get to read all about it.

From freezing to fabulous in 24 hours.  All I need now is to win the lottery & the day will be perfect.  Kisses, all.