Mamas and Papas Sleep Travel Cot

When we rented the villa in France we knew there wasn't a cot so we jumped at the chance to review Mamas and Papas Sleep Travel Cot. If you've not heard of Mamas & Papas they specialise in a range of stylish, but functional products for mothers and babies including pushchairs, maternity wear, car seats for babies and others that are suitable for up to age 12.


Blondie Boy had slept in a Pack and Play (what Americans call travel cots) when we were in the US last summer but not since he's when walking and climbing so I was a bit worried about if he'd actually stay in it. 


Well my fears were unfounded. If I'm honest I assumed the only reason Blondie Boy doesn't climb out of his cot now is because he wear a sleeping bag at night so he physically can't; well he slept in the Mamas and Papas Sleep Travel Cot without a sleeping bag and stayed put.  Not only did he stay put but he was PASSED OUT.


He's all crammed up in the corner but that's how he sleeps in his cot at home too, weirdo.  It took a wee bit of getting used to but the cot was easy to put up and down and obviously comfortable for a wriggly toddler, too.


My only complaint is the travel bag. The bag itself is quite flimsy, especially when you consider this is a product which is specifically designed for travel. The bag was ripped by the time we landed Barcelona. Perhaps if the bag was better quality or even if both the handles could be secured together (we speculate a baggage handler grabbed by one handle at that's how it ripped) it wouldn't have ripped.

All in all though I would highly recommend it as the cot itself is extremely sturdy and while the bag took quite the battering the cot itself survived intact.  The Mamas and Papas Sleep Travel Cot retails for £90 but is currently on sale for only £69.


Transatlantic Blonde was provided this product for review but the views expressed are my own.

Feminist Friday XII

So I was going to start an experiment; an armpit experiment. I realized that after binning my razor in France I hadn't shaved my armpits in Spain or once I got home to the UK and I figured it would be a nifty little experiment to see how long I could go and what people's reactions would be.  My experiment failed.


Let's stop a minute and look back at the whole idea of women shaving their armpits and why we do it. Do you know why we do it? I sure as hell didn't so I googled it (what did we do before Google? I don't think my Encyclopaedia Britannica would have helped me with this query). According to my research (aka Wikipedia) women's armpits began going bare after several magazines had ads with models sans armpit hair circa 1915. This coupled with the invention on the safety razor apparently sparked a trend throughout the English speaking world.

Somehow in less than 100 years we've all gone from fuzzy armpits to bald armpits with no real explanation. Everyone will remember how the press flipped when Julia Roberts showed up on a red carpet with fuzzy pits. Hairy armpits are dirty, disgusting, smelly and not fashionable---but why?


So I only lasted a week with my fuzzy pits and if I'm honest I'm blonde and not very hairy so it's not even like very much was there. So why did I shave? Well I was going for afternoon tea at a very fancy hotel to celebrate Blondie Boy's Great Grandma's 80th Birthday in a sleeveless dress and I didn't want to do anything that could irk BB's GG on her big day.


Personally I do normally shave my armpits but not so much because I'm worried other people will see my hairy pits, but just I don't like the feeling of hair there. If I want to get all analytical I could say if I never once shaved my armpits to begin with maybe I wouldn't feel that way and you'd probably be right. I think if you want to shave your pits or if you don't that should be your decision, but I do think women shaving their armpits is patriarchally influenced.


Why? Well do men shave their armpits? No. Do men get called dirty or gross for having hairy armpits? No. Do you see the inequality here? I could take this argument even further and say that society's current infatuation with hair removal is patriarchy's attempt to make us all powerless little girls, but I won't digress. I think there is a fine line between hair removal for hygienic purposes and hair removal to adhere to cultural "standards." Don't even get me started on vajazzling or I'll be here all week.


So to shave or not to shave?

Feminist Friday XII

Here's how it works. Write a blog about being a feminist mom, raising a feminist child, a rant or anything that falls under the realm of the theme for the week. Come back and link your post and post the button on your blog.


That's it.


You don't even have to be a blogger to take part - just send me your post and I will publish it on my blog for you. You don't even have to include your name if you prefer.


When you've published it, come back on Friday and via a widget thing you can add a link to your post and share it with everyone. The link remains open for 4 days.


Visit others, comment if you like them or feel inspired by them. Just go out and encourage and support other feminist Moms.


The more support you give, the more you will get back! I can't wait to meet and interact with other feminist moms around the world!

And the Oreo Goodie Box Winner is...

Congratulations! Please contact me within 48 hours to claim your Oreo Goodie Box! If you didn't win check out SusanKMann and Mummytips for two more chances to win a Flip HD Video Camera!

Wordless Wednesday

Feminist Friday XII Theme

This week will have an open theme to ease y'all back into the swing of things. There has been a lot of things going on in the news so hopefully you'll have plenty to say!

The Friday Feminist Mom Round up

Here's how it works. Write a blog about being a feminist mom, raising a feminist child, a rant or anything that falls under the realm of the theme for the week. You don't have to be a mom or parent to participate. Come back and link your post and post the button on your blog.


That's it.
You don't even have to be a blogger to take part - just send me your post and I will publish it on my blog for you. You don't even have to include your name if you prefer.


When you've published it, come back on Friday and via a widget thing you can add a link to your post and share it with everyone. The link remains open for 4 days.


Visit others, comment if you like them or feel inspired by them. Just go out and encourage and support other feminist Moms.


The more support you give, the more you will get back! I can't wait to meet and interact with other feminist moms around the world!

Silent Sunday

Double Stuff Oreo Lick Race: WIN a Flip 4GB HD Video Recorder!

As an American I grew up with Oreos and it's hard to believe they've only been in the UK for 3 years! Well not that hard to believe for me because I remember being crazy excited when I was able to find them in UK stores and I may or may have not squealed like a tweenage fan girl when I found Double Stuff Oreos at my grocery store and immediately tweeted a picture and then bought 4 packages just in case they weren't there next time. So I guess it's fair to say I freaking love Oreos. I regularly had Oreos and Oreo milkshakes throughout my pregnancy with Blondie Boy and while he hasn't tried them yet (they are egg free so he can eventually!) my Mom craved Oreos when pregnant with me so there must be a genetic link!

So when Oreo got in touch about their Double Stuff Oreo Lick Race I was really excited. Oreo is challenging families to upload their attempts to www.oreolickrace.co.uk and be in with a chance of winning a VIP family trip to Florida. As an added incentive, for every video race uploaded to the website the brand will be donating £1 to the children’s charity, KidsOut who work with children affected by domestic violence. I'm on the Board of Glasgow Women's Aide so I know how much these children need this kind of service.


Entering is easy:

Using a glass of milk and an Oreo cookie, the Lick Race gets two family members competing to finish their Oreo first by following these six, simple steps:

Twist. Lick. Show. Dunk. Eat. Drink. 

First you twist, then you lick the creme filling, then once you have shown the “clean” cookie to your opponent, you dunk it in cold milk. Next you eat the cookie and finally, you drink your milk.


Upload your video before July 31st for a chance to win or if you'd rather be a spectator you can take your chance and enter for daily prizes like a Nintendo Wii just by watching!


I'm going out with some of my friends tomorrow and I'm going to have her 6 year old challenge me since Blondie Boy is still a bit too small. No offense to Aedan but I'm pretty sure I have this race all locked up! Who will you race against?

To help you make a video of your race to prove your are the UK's "Most Entertaining Lick Racers" I have an Oreo goodie box with everything you'll need including: Oreos, two rainbow glasses, badges and (wait for it) A FLIP 4GB HD VIDEO CAMERA (with tripod)!

To enter:
Follow my Blog publicly (link on right sidebar) and comment how you eat your Oreos! Do you eat it whole, cream first, dunk or something else? (mandatory)


Extra Entries:
-Follow me on Twitter and tweet "I entered to win an @Oreo #TwistLickDunk Goodie Box with @Melaina25 and TransatlanticBlonde.com! You can too!: http://tinyurl.com/TBOreo" and comment to let me know (1 extra entry)
-Check out Oreos on Facebook and comment to let me know which recipe you'd most like to try (1 extra entry)


Make sure to leave each entry in a separate comment.
All entries will be verified and deleted if not valid so make sure to leave the usernames you subscribe or tweet with.


Open to UK residents over 18 only. A winner will be drawn at random on July 28th at 12:00 GMT. Winners must contact me within 48 hours or another winner will be drawn. GOOD LUCK!  CLOSED
Transatlantic Blonde was provided an Oreo Goodie Box but view and opinions are my own.