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Songmics Double Canvas Wardrobe Review and Giveaway

It’s not long until the boys go back to school and we have started to have a look at where we are going to hang all the shirts, jumpers and his new suit. Starting the senior year is a big event and we are all very excited. As the boys are getting older they are having more and more clothes between them and its all taking up so much space.

So, when Songmics offered us the chance to take a look at their Amazon store we were delighted to have the chance to browse. There is so much that they sell and we were so pleased to see this massive double wardrobe which we knew was just what we needed.

A huge bonus for you today is that I have a double wardrobe to giveaway! It’s such a super prize and so generous of Songmics. I’m over the moon to be able to offer this to you. The rafflecopter entry form is further down the post.

My eldest son wanted to be in charge of putting together the wardrobe as it was for his room and I was pleased to let him! For once it was great to see clear instructions of how to put it together and what was even better was that all the pieces were there and labeled correctly. It was such a good start!

I left him to it and within 10 minutes look what he had done. He made a great start and there was a calm in the room that I was pleased to see. It helps that everything is in order and packed well.

Bit by bit he built it up and the wardrobe was starting to take shape.

Look at this, no bendy or wobbly bits, it’s perfect for the space too.

The structure is really sturdy and you can see and feel that it will stay together very well. There are two hanging spaces either side of a central shelving unit.

Once the inside of it is all put together then it was time to put the non woven fabric cover over it. That is a bit more of a two person job but still really quick.

The front covers are in three parts and roll up when you need them to and they have zippers so that you can close it up. There is plenty of space in it and as it carries a load of 5kg on the shelves and 15kg for the hanging space it will suit us down to the ground.

Please pop over to the songmics facebook page and give them a like, you can also click on the in the competition below. good luck everyone and thanks again for joining me, it means alot that you have enjoyed the post so please do let me know what you think!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I was given a this double wardrobe for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and written views are my own. I would also like to thank Songmics for supplying the prize for the giveaway

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10 Quiz Questions You Need To Know

10 Quiz Questions you must know! Test yourself with these 10 well known quiz questions that you will have on the tip of your tongue, but will you remember?

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I love going to our local quiz. It’s a great time that I get to spend with my family and friends. It taps into areas of my brain that sometimes don’t get an airing and are stuck on mum or work mode. I like the movies and tv or pot luck, my OH is good at maths and geography, my brother is a good all-rounder and my nephew is right on the button with modern music.

There are some great general knowledge questions that I always have on the tip of my tongue, really should know but can’t recall them. So, I thought I’d put them down in a quick fire 10 Quiz Questions you need to know post. Questions first and then answers below. Keep them for reference later on:)

Are you ready for the Questions?

1. What is the total number of dots on a dice?

2. What country has the smallest coastline?

3. What is Sir Elton Johns real name?

4. What is the largest state in the USA?

5. What is a baby spider called?

6. What is the chemical symbol for Gold?

7. What is the name of the large snake in Jungle Book?

8. How many minutes in a week? You have 30 seconds to work it out – set the timer!

9. If you were born on May 13th what star sign are you?

10. Is the capital city of Germany Berlin or Munich?

See Below for the answers

The Answers are…

1. As there are six faces on a die: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. These total 21

2. Monaco. It’s only around 3-4 kilometers

3. Reginald Kenneth Dwight

4. Alaska

5. Spiderling

6. Au

7. Kaa

8. 10080

9. Taurus

10. Berlin

How did you do? If you liked these then I think you’ll also enjoy my 10 Amazing Facts you never knew you didn’t know!

I’d love to hear your score today and also if you have any great quiz questions then please put them to me in the comments section!

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Bicycle First Aid Kit Review and Giveaway

We go on a fair amount of trips in our household which is great fun. The boys and my OH have been increasing the distance in their bike rides and I’ve been pretty blown away by how far they are managing to go on their boys outings. I’m not a massive lover of riding so that’s normally when I get in a bit of blogging time. Saying that, when we went to center parcs I loved it because I had an electric bike and the difference it made was amazing and I loved every second.

I always pack a first aid kit in the car so that I’ve got the essentials on hand should I need it. With my 2 boys there is often the odd graze, cut or sting to take care of.

I’ve never seen or had a bicycle first aid kit though. It was great therefore to try out these first aid kits from SJ Works specifically for attaching to bicycles and putting family first aid as the priority.

Aswell as being able to show you how good they look and to give our first hand opinion, I also have one of the saddle first aid packs to giveaway! You can see how to enter further down the post.

Now as some of you may be aware, my OH has got a big trip coming up in the new year that will see him going off to New Zealand for a few weeks and spending quite alot of time on different cycling treks. He’s even taking his bike from here in the UK over with him so he’s pretty committed. I don’t think that my electric style of biking would go down too well over a long period and this is something for him to get out of his system while I will probably be doing something far more sedate like spa days and girly lunches!

He will be taking the saddle pouch first aid kit with him on his trip which gives me peace of mind. Him too but he’s far too butch to let on that much. Since it will deal with most minor first aid needs it is ideal to have on the bike. It’s better to have and not need than to deal with an accident and be left kicking yourself for not putting it on.

There is so much included in this SJ Works saddle pouch kit. Including:

1pcs An empty saddle bag
1pc American Red Cross First Aid Guide
6pcs Antiseptic Towelettes
5pcs Easy Access Bandage 3*1″—5pcs Easy Access Bandage 3/4*3″
5pcs Junior Easy Access Bandage 3/8×1.5″
5pcs Butterfly Wound Closures
2pcs Sterile Non-Adherent Pads 2″x3″
2pcs Sterile Non-woven sponges 2″x2″2pcs/pk 4ply
1pc Sterile Eye Pad
1pc Pressure Bandages 2″x2″
1pc Pressure Bandages 3″x3″
1pc Triangular Bandage 42″x42″x59″ nonwoven
1pc First Aid Tape Roll 1/2″x10yds.
1pc Emergency Blanket 38″x60″
1pc SJ Works Reflect strip

This one and their other products can also be found here to buy.

They also make this mini hard cased pack which is great for popping in any travel bag or glove compartment of your car.

Another nice little extra is that they have a 100% no questions asked money-back guarantee with a 30 days notice, so if it’s not right for you then just get in touch with them.

The larger SJ Works Classic Bicycle first aid kit has everything the saddle kit has and more! Even a little emergency bike light! They have thought of everything.

So after you have had a look at them, why not enter into my giveaway below and see if you can win one for yourself. Open to worldwide entrants.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I was given the first aid kits in order to carry out an honest review, in my own words which is what I have done. They are perfect for my family and I’m delighted to have them now. You can go to my contacts page to see giveaway general terms.

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Club Hub UK – App Review

There’s a great new app on the scene! Club Hub UK. This has really caught my attention! I heard recently from Tessa Robinson, the creator who quite rightly, had worked really hard around the launch date with getting the news of her app out there to let us all know that we could make use of it.

The app is designed to make finding activities easier…Ok that’s good enough for me already!:)

But let me tell you more….

The app is designed to locate children’s clubs and activities around the U.K. It caters for children from newborns up to 18 years old.

Tessas background is in acting and she started a children’s musical theatre group. She started teaching children after school, and enjoyed sharing her knowledge in everything she could in terms of acting, singing and dancing.

During this time her idea was forming which has now become ‘Club Hub UK’. Tessa thought that there should be a way that she could promote her after school club to all the parents in her local area. She then thought about creating an app where people could locate all the children’s clubs in their area too – a simple app where parents could input their child’s age and interests, and the search results would list local clubs and their details.

Tessa really pushed her idea forward and came second with Club Hub UK in the #InSport competition with Ideas Britain. An app where people are able to show their ideas to the world. That too is very much worth checking out if you need coaches to assist in your app ideas.

Ella Harding is the graphic designer and I really love the drawings she has created for the site.

The app and website is free and listings are free too! You couldn’t want more as a resource. If you are looking for a club to promote your activity, check out the club owner section.

I think this is an app that is well worth keeping an eye out for, it could be one of those that you start seeing everywhere and it comes to be a go-to app at the weekend! Well done Tessa!

Here are all the contact details below:

Website: www.clubhubuk.co.uk

Twitter: @clubhubuk

Facebook: Club Hub UK

What do you think, is this an app that you’d think of downloading? You can download on the App Store here or Google Play here

I am one of the supporters for this app because I really believe in the great idea and the hard work behind it.

I’d love you to subscribe to my blog so that you’ll be updated on each new post. You can do so here:

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A One Off Summer Linky #mainylovessummer

Here we are again with one of my special blog post linky parties! #mainylovessummer Thank you so much for joining me. How is your summer going so far? Hectic with plenty going on I suspect.

I loved holding the previous one off specials for Christmas and Easter so much that I couldn’t let summer go by without having a blog get together.

As usual there is no badge that you have to paste anywhere. What I do ask though is that where you have saved time (and space:) by not having that little task, is that you definitely do follow the guidance below.

The linky is open from 7am on Friday 11th August and closes at 7am Wednesday 16th. You then have until the Friday to complete your comments.

It’s all about sharing, reading and enjoying each others writing. Feel free to add up to 3 of any type of blogging post old or new.

Reviews, giveaways, recipes, parenting, lifestyle, poetry all manner of posts are welcome here.

Just let common sense prevail and refrain from anything outrageously offensive:)

My favourite forum is twitter so please also tweet as many posts as possible using the hash tag #mainylovessummer @myrealfairy and I will tweet away for days and days both your posts and all those you tweet from the link up.

Let’s make this a real summer sizzler and get everyone reading and talking about your posts.

Suggested guidance for participating:

I’d love it if you commented on the host post and at least one more for every post you link up.
Tweet using the hashtag #mainylovessummer @myrealfairy when you link up and you’re away!
Tweet, pin, stumble and share using all the wonderful ways you wish and let the blogger know when you comment how you have shared their post.
Use the hashtag #mainylovessummer when you comment please.
Enjoy and read something you wouldn’t normally click on.
Have fun!

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The Best Beginners Guide to Making Mum Friends

We’ve all felt like the odd one out when starting a new school right? Well starting school or nursery when you are the parent can be just as daunting, if not worse! Fears and self-doubt can creep in and old leftover experiences of when we were younger can all surface again.

As a parent, waving the little ones off …well peeling them off you as was sometimes the case when mine were little is one milestone to get over. The next is standing there having waved them off and then walking home or back to the car-park alone.That feeling is the pits and I think, totally unnecessary! Now is the time to get in with or make your own Mum Tribe, it will make the next few years so much easier!

Here is the best beginners guide to making mum friends:

• Smile Smile Smile, it can take the place of a thousand words and can be a huge pick me up for whoever is on the receiving end.

• Make something happen! Arrange a coffee morning as a way to get to know people. Odds on you aren’t the only one feeling the same way. Arranging a time and place to meet takes the headache out of it for other people. We are all so busy that having to hang around and umm and ahhh over where to go often leads to absolutely nothing, nada. If you take the initiative and arrange something, even if only one person can make it then that’s fine, it’s one person you will always have to laugh with about that first get together.

• As with the point above, you have to make things happen. So, if someone asks you to go along to an event that they have planned then try your hardest to go. You might feel tired, not of washed your hair or don’t fancy meeting over the other side of town. The thing is making the effort and then feeling the benefit afterwards. You can even have a look at my post 5 tips to help the school run go smoother which should help in getting there on time and without being too stressed!

• If you have to go past other mums who are all gaggled together like they’ve known each other for years, take a deep breath, walk over and say hi. You’ll get a feel for them pretty quickly and you have the most legit get out of jail card by saying that you can’t stop as you have to dash off to work – doctors-friends etc. But what you would have done is broken the ice, said your name and made the first move.

I mean, what’s the worst that can happen!!

• Volunteer to help out at the school or nursery and before you go all shivery and think ‘No Friggin Way’… do it, even if it’s just the once. Think about it, you probably always have to talk to the teacher right? – So that’s one person who you know and can chat to. It’s your way in. If you volunteer for just one cake, book, uniform or whatever the heck sale it is then you will have people coming to you to talk and it’s ready-made intros.

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It might seem a little daunting or hard work at first. Over time, just like when we were at school or starting out at work or uni, it falls into place and we settle with friends that we click with. Being in your new mum tribe is just one more path of being a fully fledged grown up. Enjoy the riches that these women can bring to your life.

What tips have you got? What were your first experiences of making your new mum friends.

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Paleo Date and Chocolate Bites

Here is a lovely treat for you from Rachel who blogs over at austinpaleogrrl Rachel has guest posted here before when she brought us the tasty Cassava Banana Pancakes Rachel is a Paleo lifestyle blogger, foodie, and Primal Health Coach in training from Austin, Texas USA. Thanks for joining us again and I’ll hand over to her to tempt you with these scrummy Paleo Date and Chocolate Bites

Hello, everyone! Who doesn’t love a delicious snack/dessert recipe, especially when it includes chocolate! Yummy! Being strict Paleo, I don’t consume grains, dairy, or soy. I still love to indulge once in a while though, so I came up with this awesome recipe for y’all (that’s what we say in Texas) 🙂 to try for yourselves! It calls for dairy/soy/gluten-free chocolate chips, which are easy to find in the U.S., but if you are in another country and can’t find them (usually available in health food stores), feel free to use regular chocolate chips. These are fairly simple and quick to prepare, and I think you’ll absolutely love them! When I make these, they are usually gone within a few days. Yes, they’re delicious! I’m so happy to be sharing this recipe with everyone through myrealfairy.

Now, let’s get started!

Ingredients

16-18 dates (Deglet or Medjool varieties works best) with pits removed

Approx. 1 – 1 1/3 cups raw, unsalted almonds

1 cup of dairy/soy/gluten-free chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life brand semi-sweet mini chips, sold in U.S. health food stores and on Amazon)

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons plain water

1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut flakes

Tools

Food processor or high-powered food chopper

Mixing bowl

Spatula

Large plate

Smaller bowl for coconut shavings

Directions

Combine dates, almonds, chocolate chips, cinnamon and water and add to a food processor or high-powered food chopper (I use a small Ninja food chopper, as I find it crushes the almonds and dates more effectively).

Blend/chop until ingredients are crushed into a chunky mixture

Use a spatula, and scoop everything out of the food processor or chopper and place in a medium mixing bowl.

Now this is where it gets a little messy! Use your hands to grab some of the mixture and roll it into medium sized balls (1.5 inches approx). Depending on how large you make each ball, you should end up with about 10-12 date bites. Place each ball on a large plate and grab the shredded coconut and place in a smaller bowl.

Roll each ball in the coconut flakes until it’s coated to your liking.

Place the finished balls/bites in a large glass or ceramic container and store in the refrigerator to firm. They tend to hold together better when chilled.

That’s it!

I hope you’ll enjoy making these as much as I do! Feel free to add cacao powder to the mixture too if you want a little extra chocolate flavor.

5 from 1 vote

Paleo date and chocolate chip bites copy

Paleo Dates and Chocolate Chip Bites

Who doesn't love a delicious snack/dessert recipe, especially when it includes chocolate!

Course: Snack

Servings: 10 servings

Author: Austin Paleo Grrl for myrealfairy.com

Ingredients

16-18 Dates Deglet or Medjool varieties works best with pits removed
1 - 1 1/3 cups Raw unsalted almonds unsalted almonds
1 cup Dairy/soy/gluten-free chocolate chips
1 tablespoon Cinnamon
2 tablespoons Plain water
1 cup Shredded unsweetened coconut flakes unsweetened coconut flakes

Instructions

Combine dates, almonds, chocolate chips, cinnamon and water and add to a food processor or high-powered food chopper (I use a small Ninja food chopper, as I find it crushes the almonds and dates more effectively).
Blend/chop until ingredients are crushed into a chunky mixture
Use a spatula, and scoop everything out of the food processor or chopper and place in a medium mixing bowl
Now this is where it gets a little messy! Use your hands to grab some of the mixture and roll it into medium sized balls (1.5 inches approx). Depending on how large you make each ball, you should end up with about 10-12 date bites. Place each ball on a large plate and grab the shredded coconut and place in a smaller bowl.
Roll each ball in the coconut flakes until it's coated to your liking.
Place the finished balls/bites in a large glass or ceramic container and store in the refrigerator to firm. They tend to hold together better when chilled.

Recipe Notes

Feel free to add cacao powder to the mixture too if you want a little extra chocolate flavor.

Let everyone know how yummy these bites are...click here to tweetClick To Tweet

You can find Rachel on Facebook at: Austin Paleo Grrl

Twitter: @austinpaleogrrl

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Getting Choppy with Red Candy

I am very pleased with my new chopping boards and am delighted to be able to show them to you today. Finally I’ve got something very classy that makes me look like a pro cook. I don’t know about you but I love to be in my kitchen trying out new recipes and more and more I like to have good quality but also funky accessories around me. I was nearly jumping for joy when my Joseph Joseph Chopping Board set arrived. At last I could finally throw away my old wooden one that was warped and leaving little bits of wood on the knife every time I cut anything up, surely not a good sign! My other old plastic one that I had hanging around had managed to get bent out of shape and had seen better days.

This set is great because they are easily identifiable in what they are to be used for. The set comes from Red Candy which sells wonderfully stylish bright homewear.

Red Candy was launched in 2009, as the world’s first red-only website. Back then every product they stocked, from clocks & colanders, to mugs & magazine racks, was red! I spent so long having a look on the site I’m sure that I could have redesigned my house about 5 times over – I loved it.

‘Shut up, beige!’ is their battle cry against everything bland. You will definitely see that is true if you visit their website. At the moment there is a really good sale of up to 70% off so you can get loads of pressies and gifts for yourself.

I’m going to take every opportunity to show off my lovely boards. Below you can even see them with one of my home-grown cucumbers. You’ll see more of my gardening escapades in future posts. Remember the runner beans vlog from last year? It still makes me smile to see Little G doing his presenting.

These boards all have a little extra to them depending on what their function is; the veg one has a little lip all the way round to collect juices for either putting into your dish or it stops it running over onto your work surface. the fish one had a little gripper which stops a slippery fish moving around and helping to cut safer.

Have a little look and see, I’m going to stock up and get a bit of early christmas shopping done, ever the thrifty mum!

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Disclaimer: I was given a set of chopping boards to review for this post. All thoughts are my own and I must say once again that they are great:)

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Cucumber, Gogi Berry and Quinoa Super Salad

Today I’ve got a packed post filled with a vegetarian recipe, pictures from the garden and stories of what we grew. It’s an eclectic mix that I’d love you all to enjoy.

Like most of us I am usually busy and on the go, either to work, dropping the kids off of having to run some errand or other. I love it like that, it keeps me busy and happy. What I do have to remember is to eat well and I like to make sure that all of us at home have good food to keep us fueled up and healthy.

We grew cucumbers on our patio garden this year and have been amazed at how well they grew and how huge a cucumber plant actually gets, it’s massive. They took ages to germinate but once they got going they grew so fast. I have been using them fresh off the plant and really enjoyed creating new dishes for them to go in.

The additional ingredients today have been supplied by Indigo Herbs who sell organic and quality assured products. They have a huge range of foods with which they wish to inspire and motivate you on a journey to a healthier lifestyle. I spent ages on the site looking at all they have on offer including; natural health guides, superfoods, wholefoods, herbal teas, aromatherapy and lots lots more.

This Cucumber, Gogi Berry and Quinoa Super Salad that I am going to be showing you today is just the ticket to give a boost to your body that will help set you up for the rest of the day.

The Protein packed Tricolour Quinoa Grains are a great wheat free alternative to rice or pasta and I’m sure you’ll agree they give it a wonderful burst of colour.

I love the sprinkle of pine nuts at the end. These nuts have a beautiful sweet flavour and are soft to bite into. If you have any left over from the packet then you can use them in my carrot tops pesto sauce which can be set aside for later in the week. Pine nuts are actually the seeds from the pine tree and they contain a wealth of antioxidants, including vitamins A, B, C, D, and E.

The recipe is vegetarian, vegan and super healthy!

5 from 1 vote

cucumber, gogi berries and quinoa super salad

Cucumber, Gogi Berry and Quinoa Super Salad

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

25 mins

A Vegetarian and Vegan Recipe

Course: Main Course

Servings: 4

Author: mainy - myrealfairy

Ingredients

1 Medium cucumber
50 g Gogi Berries
150 g Tricolour Quinoa Grains
1 Tablespoon Organic Pine Nuts
Half Teaspoon Coarse Pink Himalayan Salt
1 juice Lemon
50 ml Rapeseed Oil
1 Clove of Garlic - minced

Instructions

Rinse the quinoa grains, place in a saucepan with double the amount of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
While the quinoa is cooking, chop your cucumber into big chunks
Mix in the gogi berries
Add the salt
Mix together the lemon juice, Rapeseed oil and minced garlic.
When the quinoa is ready, place in a large bowl and pour over the lemon, oil and garlic dressing while it is still warm.
Mix in the cucumber and gogi berries.
Sprinkle with pine nuts

Goji Berries 150g. Organic Royal Quinoa Grains 1kg. Organic Shelled Hemp seeds 250g

Disclaimer: I was supplied the ingredients by Indigo free of charge to use in my recipe. Everything you see is an honest view and use of the products and I was delighted by the products as you can see!

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Sensor Night Light Review

My youngest still likes to have a light on somewhere upstairs which is fine as it helps him settle and he’s happy. Over the years I’ve tried different ways to make this happen; I’ve tried the plug-in night lights, leaving the landing light on and various themed lights.

I’ve had the chance to review this sensor light for Hamswan which has a variety of uses. As you can see from the picture above it’s a really contemporary design and for me it can fit into any room without the need to be hidden away. It’s also something that if you’re using it for the kids, they won’t grow out of the design which is a problem I’ve had over the years with something suddenly being too babyish for my boys and they wont go near it!

This one is stylish and handy, it even has a hanging ring that you can use to pop it up on any wall if needed.

One of the best ways to see this light in action is to watch my youngest who loves to ‘vlog for his mummy’s blog’ under the name of little G. He’s one to watch out for the future I think *surprise surprise* Have a look here and you can see the light in action.

It’s really easy to set up and it comes with a USB charger cable. If you are like me then the last thing you need is to be trying to work out how to work something, normally while the kids are running around and one eye on the other 5 things you’re doing. You can get this out of the box, push the on button and you are good to go. When you do charge it usually takes 3-4 hours, and it will last for 4-100 hours after a complete charging (depending on the brightness used).

The unit is sealed so it’s great for keeping little curious fingers out of it. Great for peace of mind and leaving in the kids room. The light is soft and the big bonus which we liked is that you just have to wave your hand over it and it comes on. Then leave your hand above it and it will dim or get brighter. For me this was a first, I hadn’t seen this before on a night-light.

I think that this has lots of uses – for example – it would be great for when you have to get up to do the night feeds for the baby. I remember those days well, even though they are 8 years ago – there are some things we never forget! I remember being so tired I would bump into things in the dark or be dazzled by the bright lights in our hall. The dimmed light of this one would be perfect and we have already earmarked another one that we will buy when the boys step sister has her baby. Another present sorted that is actually useful and beautiful looking.

I think that you can see above that I have sneaked it into our room as I think that these look really nice on our bedside tables. I often wake in the night so this soft light shouldn’t disturb my other half and I can have a little read without waking him!

Don’t worry, I did put it straight back into little ones room afterwards, he would not have been impressed to wake and find it gone bless him.

I’m happy to be able to offer you a great discount of 15% when you buy one. Here is the link that will take you to the Sensor Light and enter the code: 770001OF when you check out. I’d love to know what you think about this one and night lights in general. Have you had to use them for your children or do you like them for yourself.

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Disclaimer: I was gifted one of these night lights for the purpose of this review. All comments are mine oh and my sons own words and I think it’s pretty clear that we love it! Thanks for reading. There are no affiliated links in this post.