Sorry it's been a while since the last post. Time to finally write about the secret mission that we had over Christmas.
When the email arrived shortly before Christmas saying that we needed to do a video of our own version of the Moodd dance my heart sank quite a way. Being 7.5 months pregnant with SPD bad enough I was walking around on crutches when going more than a few steps, standing in front of a camera trying to do a dance where the moves would cause a lot of pain was not how I fancied spending my Christmas. Sooo, it was time to get my thinking cap on.
Thankfully an idea came quite quickly. Ever since the first photo of the Moodd came out with this model in her heels pushing the Moodd it's made me think that to me that's not what the pushchair should be about as there aren't that many Mum's who are like the woman in the picture. Given that the dancers in the demo video are all in little black dresses and heels it really re-inforced that the image being presented wasn't me. Therefore why not do something that showed how it's possible to walk MY way. That's where the shoes came from as high heels and being a mum don't always easily go together.
The different shoes are the different types of Mum's and to me represent the different Mums that the pushchair is for and how they can all walk their own way (including Dad's as did manage to get a pair of hubby's shoes in there for good measure).
Thankfully just after Christmas I had one free day while my eldest was at nursery so I grabbed my standard digital camera (not a camcorder), cleared the table and grabbed various pairs of shoes from the cupboard. The positioning of the shoes is all taken from the dance moves (with a little artistic license) so I just kept moving them around to what would represent the dance. Having edited it up my main gripe with it was the heeled shoes could have done with a polish (couldn't find it). It didn't take too long to do and I was pleased with the results.
I was even more pleased when I heard from Quinny that I'd won a prize in the Quinnycasters competition for creating a dance video.
Here's the video - see whether you like it.
Now the competition has been launched for everyone to enter (as a caster I can't enter the main Quinny competion) and given some of the complaints and gripes that have been appearing on the Quinny page I really wanted to write up how I thought about mine to give a different perspective on the possibilities. The prizes are great with both individual and group categories (with prizes) available. Closing date for submitting videos is 15th March.
Give it a go - if I can do it then virtually anyone can do it. Link is below. I'm looking forward to trying to watch as many of the entries as I can. (facebook link below to the Quinny page)
https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/quinny.uk?sk=app_157331111041892
Saturday 25 February 2012
Sunday 5 February 2012
Snow day
Today we've had 2 - 3 inches of snow so it was a great opportunity to try out the Moodd in these difficult conditions.
Overall I was pretty impressed with the way the Moodd coped. Initially we just headed into the back garden with it while DS1 built a snowman with his Dad. Going over uneven grass with snow it did nearly tip over once so it's not ideal over rougher terrain in snow, but that isn't a surprise.
After the snowman was built it was a trip down to the shops to see how it faired on the pavements. I was quite surprised how well it did. It didn't try and tip over once and was easy to push once I had locked off the front wheel. The front wheel seemed to make light work of the snow while the back wheels crushed down the snow in their path.
As a comparison we did pass someone with a Mothercare Spin (or it was the silver cross one that looks very similar) and they were having to drag their pushchair backwards on the back wheels only, and the child was being carried as they didn't seem able to cope with pushing it with them in.
All in all rather a successful trial in the snow. :-)
Daddy with his big snowball over the pram - Ewan couldn't be left out as it had been held over the rest of us by then.
Going back to old ground, the baby nest which has been rather a thorn in our side since we got it has really started to annoy me again. I just can't get DS2 in a position where his face isn't covered by the front panel unless I undo the button and find a way of holding down an extra fold in the fabric (today we used his arm after the 'weight' kept falling off which isn't ideal in this cold weather). It's getting to the stage where I am thinking twice about whether I use the Moodd or grab out my P+T with caccoon as it's something that I really don't like about the Moodd and that rather defeats the object of giving the Moodd as thorough test drive as I possibly can.
I'm seriously contemplating whether it's going to be worth investing in a carrycot so I can use the Moodd in my preferred way and avoid the baby nest. It's either that or taking the button off and adjusting it once (if not twice as he grows bigger) so the nest is of more use. Such a shame to be saying it, but I really would be quite cross if having forked out £600 for the pushchair I didn't feel comfortable using with the babynest due to babes face being covered by it all the time.
Store the strap
The other little niggle that has cropped up over the past few uses is the strap that holds the frame together. I love the addition of the strap as it does stop the frame from opening BUT I don't like the way it hangs when not in use. It got really wet today and it's a pain having to bend down to the ground to do it up so it doesn't drag on the floor. One thing that for me would make life better would be to put a clip on the round end of post that the strap is attached to. The strap could then be pulled up and tucked behind the clip out of the way. Stops it hanging, getting dirty or wet and needn't necessarily be done up to stop it from dragging a lot of the time.
Overall I was pretty impressed with the way the Moodd coped. Initially we just headed into the back garden with it while DS1 built a snowman with his Dad. Going over uneven grass with snow it did nearly tip over once so it's not ideal over rougher terrain in snow, but that isn't a surprise.
After the snowman was built it was a trip down to the shops to see how it faired on the pavements. I was quite surprised how well it did. It didn't try and tip over once and was easy to push once I had locked off the front wheel. The front wheel seemed to make light work of the snow while the back wheels crushed down the snow in their path.
As a comparison we did pass someone with a Mothercare Spin (or it was the silver cross one that looks very similar) and they were having to drag their pushchair backwards on the back wheels only, and the child was being carried as they didn't seem able to cope with pushing it with them in.
All in all rather a successful trial in the snow. :-)
Going back to old ground, the baby nest which has been rather a thorn in our side since we got it has really started to annoy me again. I just can't get DS2 in a position where his face isn't covered by the front panel unless I undo the button and find a way of holding down an extra fold in the fabric (today we used his arm after the 'weight' kept falling off which isn't ideal in this cold weather). It's getting to the stage where I am thinking twice about whether I use the Moodd or grab out my P+T with caccoon as it's something that I really don't like about the Moodd and that rather defeats the object of giving the Moodd as thorough test drive as I possibly can.
I'm seriously contemplating whether it's going to be worth investing in a carrycot so I can use the Moodd in my preferred way and avoid the baby nest. It's either that or taking the button off and adjusting it once (if not twice as he grows bigger) so the nest is of more use. Such a shame to be saying it, but I really would be quite cross if having forked out £600 for the pushchair I didn't feel comfortable using with the babynest due to babes face being covered by it all the time.
Store the strap
The other little niggle that has cropped up over the past few uses is the strap that holds the frame together. I love the addition of the strap as it does stop the frame from opening BUT I don't like the way it hangs when not in use. It got really wet today and it's a pain having to bend down to the ground to do it up so it doesn't drag on the floor. One thing that for me would make life better would be to put a clip on the round end of post that the strap is attached to. The strap could then be pulled up and tucked behind the clip out of the way. Stops it hanging, getting dirty or wet and needn't necessarily be done up to stop it from dragging a lot of the time.
Wednesday 1 February 2012
Cabriofix-tastic
I'd forgotten how useful the Cabriofix and isofix base were since we used them for DS1.
We've done several trips in the last couple of days where it's been invaluable and reminded me just how easy it is to use. I don't think I could do without a car seat like the Cabriofix as it's such a good car seat and when adding in the option of being able to use it with both the Moodd and many other pushchairs it's a real winner.
It's a godsend for nursery runs. Taking the car seat out takes one pull on the lever and the car seat is released. When I'm only taking it out for 5 mins in order to walk DS1 up the drive and into nursery it means there isn't any faffing around having to fiddle with straps or taking DS2 out of the seat.
Putting it on the Moodd frame is as easy as anything. The 2 adapters slot into their correct sides then the car seat slots onto the adapters. For short shopping trips when DS2 is already sound asleep it's great to be able to use the car seat. With the car seat on the frame the Moodd remains as light and as easy to push as with the main seat. The car seat is in a good position with baby facing parent and at a nice height so you don't have to bend over too far to reach them.
We've done several trips in the last couple of days where it's been invaluable and reminded me just how easy it is to use. I don't think I could do without a car seat like the Cabriofix as it's such a good car seat and when adding in the option of being able to use it with both the Moodd and many other pushchairs it's a real winner.
It's a godsend for nursery runs. Taking the car seat out takes one pull on the lever and the car seat is released. When I'm only taking it out for 5 mins in order to walk DS1 up the drive and into nursery it means there isn't any faffing around having to fiddle with straps or taking DS2 out of the seat.
Putting it on the Moodd frame is as easy as anything. The 2 adapters slot into their correct sides then the car seat slots onto the adapters. For short shopping trips when DS2 is already sound asleep it's great to be able to use the car seat. With the car seat on the frame the Moodd remains as light and as easy to push as with the main seat. The car seat is in a good position with baby facing parent and at a nice height so you don't have to bend over too far to reach them.
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