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My Spreadsheet Brain

A South African parenting blog, complete with clever quips and a dash of humor

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    • Beauty
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  • Win!
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  • music player for kids
    Reviews

    Yoto Player – the screen-free audio and music player for kids

    October 25, 2025 /

    Kids today are especially advanced when it comes to all things digital. I mean, my 6-year old could pretty much show me how to recalibrate my phone, if I asked her to. (No, I don’t think that re-calibrating a phone is a thing. But I’ll check with my 6-year old, just to be sure.) I get it though: we would LOVE to have our kids playing outside, you know, just climbing trees and making mud pies and scraping knees etc (all the stuff that our childhood was made out of) but the truth is that kids today will always be drawn to technology. Whether we like it or not. And…

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  • Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Magic Color Mixing Bowl
    Reviews

    Cooking up some fun with the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Magic Color Mixing Bowl

    November 6, 2025 /

    When it comes to pretend play, my kids are expert chefs. I mean, I would know, since I’ve had to pretend sample all of their – errr – delicious foods, brought to me on tiny saucers and in tiny cups. My baby boy has since learnt the art of throwing together a bunch of invisible ingredients into a bowl and turning it into an invisible masterpiece. It’s wonderful to watch, no really. When we received the Fisher-Price® Laugh & Learn® Magic Color Mixing Bowl I knew it would be an instant hit! Your baby can mix up lots of yummy pretend food with this magical mixing bowl. This light-up musical mixing…

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  • Teaching togetherness with Paw Patrol
    Reviews,  Win!

    Teaching togetherness with Paw Patrol {Win!}

    April 1, 2025 /

    If you’re a parent I’m sure you’re well aware that ‘no job’s too big, no pup’s too small’ when it comes to the type of stuff that the puppy’s over at Paw Patrol are able get up to. As it has famously been said: “Round Adventure Bay, Ryder and his team of pups will come and save the day.” And we stan, right? I mean, I love a helpful, world saving dog. In fact, we need a bit of Paw Patrol magic ’round about now, as we face an uncertain future, due to the Covid-19 lockdown. So I was pretty chuffed with myself when I decided to use the Paw…

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    Prima Toys: 44 Cats brings the cool! {Giveaway!}

    March 23, 2025 /

    If your kids loves tv shows, as much as mine does, then you might be familiar with the hit kids show, on Nick Jr, called 44 Cats. It’s rad because these Italian cats spend their time singing in a garage band (I mean, sold already, right?!) and running interference against the neighborhood bullies (of both the human and feline varieties). We were excited to learn that Prima Toys has launched a toy range for the hit show, in South Africa a couple of days ago. My kids totally freaked out when they opened their gift from Prima Toys, and saw the cool collection of figurines, play sets and plushies! 44…

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    Curb your World Cup withdrawal with The Springbok Monopoly board game {Giveaway!}

    December 9, 2025 /

    As for me and my house, we WILL play the board games… ALL the board games! We love a good family game (because we’re all hella competitive, but don’t tell anyone I said that) and we get super excited when a new, interesting game hits our coffee table. So you can imagine the squeals of delight (no, seriously, there was actual squealing) when we received The Springbok game collection, including a limited edition Springbok Monopoly! Say it with me: Aaaaack! The Rugby World Cup excitement is still strong in our house, you guys. The boys (Springboks) brought the cup home and now we get to contend for the Springbok Monopoly…

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    Tech Deck makes finger boarding gnarly, dude! {Giveaway!}

    October 7, 2025 /

    I’m a “books – give them books!” kinda mom… which doesn’t always make me the most exciting gift-giver. I get it. Even though my intentions are good (I promise), kids want to play. Which is why I’m always on the look out for funky gifts, especially for my older boys, who are a tad bit more difficult to shop for. I mean, shopping for a pre-teen or a teenager is a lot more complicated than you think (no, Luchae, you can’t just buy them airtime). So I was really excited when I learnt about Tech Deck the other day. I mean, I don’t know if you know but finger boarding…

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    ‘The Little Generosity Shop’ is trading in your toys for chocolates!

    June 12, 2025 /

    Your kid’s have way to many toys. There, I said it. Whaaaat, mine do too. In fact, if you consider the vast number of children, in underprivileged areas, who probably don’t even own a decent pair of shoes on most days, I would say that our kids have a lot more going for them than a banging toy box. The other day I made encouraged my kids to purge their toy box, in a bid to get them to, well, mainly have less crap in my house. But also, I want them to get into the habit of letting go of things that they don’t need, with the intention of…

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  • Thomas & Friends Trackmaster
    Reviews

    What my kids are playing with: Thomas & Friends™ TrackMaster™ 2-in-1 Track Builder Set {GIVEAWAY!}

    July 9, 2025 /

    Last week Kari received the sweetest Thomas & Friends Trackmaster set from our friends at Mattel and for a fleeting sec I encouraged thoughts of “but she can’t play with that, she’s a girl!” Fortunately, I quickly pulled myself towards myself (and got over myself) because the truth is that my child can play with any toy she wants! After a chat with Ella, I realized that we the parents are to blame for the stigma attached to gendered toys. And the honest truth is that if I want my girl to grow up in a world with endless (non-discriminatory) possibilities, then I probably should stop discriminating against her toys…

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  • Baby Womb World's Tooky Toy
    Reviews

    What my kids are playing with: BabyWombWorld’s Tooky Toy

    June 8, 2025 /

    I’ve been a parent for quite a long time (give or take 17 years, yo) so believe me when I say that it takes alot for a toy to impress me. I mean, sure it’s cute, but can it make me coffee? Kidding! I get it, the toys are meant to be for the kids. Well, that’s what BabyWombWorld founder, Heinrich, realized in 2025 after the birth of his first child. Toys are a great way to help your little one adapt to the big world. Kari and Jo were sent some of the stunning BabyWombWorld’s Tooky Toy to try out and let me tell you, as far as toys go, I…

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    What my kids are playing with: Fisher Price

    May 15, 2025 /

    When it comes to keeping our smallest (and arguably, our cutest) child busy, we’re willing to pull out all the stops. I mean, the kid is inquisitive for days! He usually guns for TV remote controls or a cellphone when we’re not looking. Thankfully, Fisher Price has sent him two of their latest gadgets to try out (big brother Kyle says thank you for that… the remote is no longer being held hostage) and it was so cute to see baby Jo inspect each toy in true Sherlock Holmes style. Fisher-Price baby’s first activity book With big sister constantly pretend-reading her own story books, baby Jo was pretty pleased with…

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    Matric Dance celebrations: how big is too big?
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