Review - Hedrin Protect & Go

I have to say that I dread head lice coming into our house. It is such a major pain in the bum to have to try and comb them all out of the girls hair, this is when I would not mind them being a bit more tomboyish and having short hair. Then you have the added problem that because we are a cuddly family I sometimes end up with them too!

In his first few years at school JJ managed to avoid catching head lice at all, that was the joy of having a boy who was not into close up games and had very short hair but within a short time of the girls starting they were both home with heads fully infected and then I found JJ and I had it too and all whilst we were away on holiday, just what we needed.

I have come to accept that the girls will probably come home with head lice at these once an academic year, in the past I have found that whatever I do they tend to still catch them as someone in the class will have them and you can bet your life my girls will have been cosying up with them!

My hope is that this year will be different, we have been sent a bottle of Hedrin Protect and Go to trial. Basically I need to use this spray at least twice a week or after every wash if I fancy) on the kids hair and it is clinically proven to break the life cycle and kill off the head lice before an infection can be established. Sounds good doesn't it and as Hedrin is a brand I trust and have used before I'll happily give this a go.

The spray is particularly good for times when infection might be a problem such as the beginning of school term (yes we have been using it for 2 or 3 weeks now in readiness!), sleepover parties and following an 'outbreak' letter being sent home from school.

I have to say I like the scent of the spray, it is mango and orange and has conditioning properties, the girls just think it is their new detangler. The bottle is large and looks as if it will last quite some time, it is easy to spray and has a lock on the spray too. After use (on wet or dry hair) the girls hair looks nice and shiny but not greasy, which is another plus point,

Priced from £4.29 for 120ml, Hedrin Protect & Go is available from Boots, pharmacies and leading retailers nationwide.  It is skin friendly and contains no known asthma triggers.  You can find more information at www.hedrin.co.uk  or like 'Once a Week, Take a Peek on facebook.

Disclosure: We received a bottle of Hedrin Protect and Go for the purposes of this review. I have not been instrcted what to write and I remain honest.

Review: The Ladies Book of Baking (Parragon)

I've had this cook book a couple of months now and I wanted to try out a few recipes before I posted about it. I now feel I'm at a point where I can say to you, yes it is a good book, go out and buy it. When I came home with it in June my twin girls took one look and decided it was a perfect book for them - they are little ladies after all!

The book has a number of sections - afternoon tea, family bakes, beautiful biscuits, perfect pastries and pies and special moments. There are lots of little extras like tips about how to display your bakes, labels you can photocopy and use for gifts and how to make the perfect cup of tea. In total there are 51 recipes including classics like carrot cake, coffee cake and madelines but there are also some really interesting new bakes like Christmas macaroons.

I found the recipe for brownies to be fabulous, these were a massive hit with my family.

The first recipe we tried out was the classic vanilla frosted cupcakes, I can say that the recipe is sound, the cakes come out well. It is clear and easy to follow with a comprehensive ingredients list and numbered method. I like the fact it tells you how many the recipe will serve and both preparation and cook time. This was you can make an educated decision if you have the time to tackle that recipe. Here are my little ladies making a batch each.

They had fun cooking but to be honest this is the best bit for them with any baking -

The Ladies Book of Baking is published by Parragon books and you can find it on Amazon for just £7.69 including postage, that is a great deal.

Review: Lego Lunchboxes

JJ has been Lego mad since as early as I can remember, first it was Duplo and then it quickly developed to little Lego as he calls it, so as soon as he saw that Lego were producing storage products he wanted some, at first he got some large Lego brick storage boxes for sorting all his Lego pieces into and more recently he has been hassling me that he needs (not wants but needs you understand) a Lego lunchbox.

He will be super pleased when he finds out that Store have sent him one, but he won't find that out for a while as I have squirrelled it away for Christmas, yes I'm a mean Mummy! Before storing it away I had to give it a good run and see how good it is, so I enjoyed my pink Lego brick pack lunch when I was out and about last week.

The Lego lunchboxes come in a range of colours and I received one for each of my children, so I have a yellow, red and light pink, they are all good strong colours. The plastic feels sturdy and is dishwasher safe, which is really important to me. The lid lifts straight off from the bottom and you have to hold onto the bottom quite tight to do this, I think my kids will all be OK with this but it might be a bit tough for a younger child as there hands are not as big. I did find it loosened a little after the first use and run through the dishwasher though, which was good, I hasten to add that it was still a good fit and wont be falling off any time soon though.

The dimensions for the Lego lunchbox are 7.5cm x 10cm x 20cm. They fit nicely inside the kids lunchbags that we use and they are big enough to fit a sandwich and snacks inside. Or if you are one of these super mums and you do the fashionable Bento lunches then they would make fabulous boxes for those as you can buy additional small Lego bricks for storing snacks like nuts, veg sticks and raisins. These will definitely have to be my next purchase, they are too cute!

At Store the Lego lunch box retails for £9.00, the larger mini-box for £3.00 and the smallest mini-box for £2.00. There is also a fabulous matching Lego head drinking bottle which is £9.00 as well.

I do like my Lego lunchboxes as I know the kids will be thrilled and I suspect their friends will be a little envious but at the end of the day it has to be said they are just a plastic box and you are paying for the Lego design.

If you fancy ordering a Lego lunchbox or anything else for that matter from Store then why not use the code CUST-2364 for free delivery.

Disclosure: I received 3 lunchboxes for the purpose of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

Review 3M Command Damage-Free Hanging

We have just moved house and this means a whole ton of rehanging things and that is not my idea of heaven if I’m honest. We arrived at the new house on 30^th July and within a week all the boxes were gone and the house was looking shipshape. But here I am now 6 weeks in and my walls are still practically bare. I detest trying to hang pictures, especially large ones.

I get all worried that the nail will go into a pipe or electric cable and then I’ll have trouble. I don’t have one of these gadgets to check and I don’t want to go out and buy one. I also don’t like using a drill for the bigger mirrors and pictures. Luckily my brother will be up in a week or so and I’ll get him to do all the heavy jobs for me.

3M have come to my rescue for the small jobs, and the best bit is there is no hammer nor nails involved. They have a range of hooks and picture hanging strips that can be stuck to the wall and they do not fall off! It sounds too good to be true doesn’t it? And I have to say if I just saw them in the shops I’d be dubious but let me assure you they really do work.

We first used command strips about three years ago when JJ had a hot wheels track on his wall. This wall mounted car track stayed firm even when played with by my rough 3 year olds and when we decided to remove it about two years later, true to their promise there was not even a tiny amount of damage to the walls, they still looked as good as the day they had been plastered and painted two years before.

After my move 3M sent me some new products to try out and I am so pleased they did. They have sorted out a number of problems for me. I have the keys hung up so I know where they are and they are out of reach of the children. I bought myself a notice board earlier this week and literally the minute I walked in the door I was able to put up one of my small clear mini hooks and hang it without it looking unsightly. I know that if I had to go to the shed for the hammer and a nail this would have taken me days.

Easy to use hooks

Nothing could be simpler than using these hooks. You literally take one out the packet and tear off a strip. The instructions tell you which side to remove the cover first and you stick the strip to the hook. You then remove the other side and stick your hook to the wall. Wait an hour for the adhesive to really adhere and there you go, start to use your hook and it looks great. I really like the fact that these hooks come with clear sticky strips, I have only seen white previously.

What I really like

*  It is really clear on the front of each packet what weight the product can hold safely

*  You can place the strips on most wall surfaces as long as they are clean

*  You can buy water resistant hooks and strips too, so even on tiles in a humid bathroom the strips hold fast

*  With the hooks you get at least 2 extra strips in each pack, so if you make a mistake or want to take something down and move it you have the option to do so

*  You can buy further packs of strips, without having to replace the hooks

*  There is a wide selection of hooks, you do not have to be satisfied with white or clear plastic there are metal finishes too

*  and of course they are super easy to apply and even to take off too, leaving a damage-free wall!

Picture hanging

I was sent picture hanging strips, which are like two pieces of sticky backed Velcro that you attach one directly to the picture frame and the other one to the wall. There are also products available to hang pictures with a sawtooth fitting and those hung with a wire.

I like the fact that you can use more than 1 pair of large strips to hold bigger/ heaver pictures or mirrors:
1 Set = 1.8Kg (4lbs)
2 Sets = 3.6Kg (8lbs)
4 Sets = 7.2Kg (16lbs)

Take a look at this quick demo video, it shows you how you can hang a picture and remove the strips easily. They show you far better than I ever could -

There is a really wide selection of Command damage-free hanging products available, go and take a peek on their website and you can purchase direct there as well or I have seen them in many major retailers and supermarkets.

Disclosure: I received a selection of hooks and wall hangers for the purpose of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

Review – All Stars kids DVD

Last week my kids were sent the All Stars DVD to review and I can honestly tell you it has been on numerous times in our house. It has also been watched by quite a few kids, we have had some friends over and they have all sat down to watch this whilst Miss M showed them her street dance moves!

All Stars is a sweet story about a group of unlikely kids coming together to try and save their local youth club. They all join up for a street dance crew for various reasons – from trying to impress a girl, to dancing because they love it to being part of a gang. There is nothing particularly complex about this storyline and that makes it really good for my 6 year old girls but we had kids from ages 5 through to 10 watch this and they all seemed to enjoy it.

What I liked about All Stars is that it does not appear to just be marketed at girls, there are both male and female lead characters and they are all strong and learn something along their journey to come together as a slick dance act. The music and dancing in the film was enough to get me toe tapping and wishing I could do some of their moves, it sort of reminded me of a kids version of one of the ‘Step Up’ films.

I felt it was well acted and the characters are likable and go on a journey. There is a good message in it for the kids watching and that makes it a hit with me. Take a peek at the trailer -

Starring: Theo Stevenson, Akai Osei-Mansfield, Ashey Jensen, Fleur Houdijk and many more

Certificate:  U

Run time: 106 minutes 

DVD Extras: loads available such as funny on the set scenes, dancing with Akai, BMXing with Keelan, Dancing with Sapney etc

All Stars is out on DVD and Blu-Ray now and you can purchase it from Amazon for just £10 for the DVD

Disclosure: we were sent this DVD free of charge for the purposes of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.