Category: Reviews

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The Kids Brain Blasterz Review of Sours

Littlest received his Brain Blasterz for review and the box had his name on it.  He was intrigued, in awe and it put a right smile on his face to get something in the post that was actually for him.

The sours craze seems to be going through lots of kids at the moment.  I’ve no idea if girls are so into pulling faces as they eat sweets, but having boys who have boy friends, they seem to outdo each other with who can actually eat a sour without pulling a sour face.

With the spray candy, the kids had a competition for who could keep a straight face while having a scoosh sprayed into their mouths.  I tried one and I couldn’t stop myself making a face, so I have no idea how they managed 2 and three sprays and to stand there unmoving.  Brave children that they are.

BB Candy Spray

These didn’t last long I have to say.  I could just about manage the Brain Bitz mini bonbons which weren’t overly sour and were more like regular candy, although I didn’t try the apple ones.  I suspect they were more sour than the rest.

BB Candy Brain Bits

The mega sour lolly dippers were much like I remember sherbet dippers from when I was little, but the kids wouldn’t spare one for me to try.

BB Mega Sour Lolly Dipper

Over on the website, there are games and downloads for fans and they are giving away free sweets online on their Facebook account in weekly competitions.  On Fridays, one member will be picked for prizes like sour sweets, travel mugs and t-shirts.

BB Mega Sour Lolly Dipper 2

The kids review of Brain Blasterz bubbled down to one word “awesome.”

Disclaimer:  We were sent a selection of Brain Blasterz sweets to review.

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Lots of Little Sweeties from the New Nanobytes

My kids had the pleasure of testing out all three new flavours of Nanobytes recently.  They’re out in the shops this month and my kids will be eagerly keeping an eye out for them arriving.

Nanobytes says:

Some time ago, far far away in space… The sky was filled with edible planets drifting dangerously close to the stars. Planet Nano was made up of 3 earth-shattering flavours. Strawberry, Bubblegum & Cola. When Planet Nano collided with a star it exploded; Filling the sky with lots and lots of little sweets.

Project-Nano Astronauts were sent out to collect these rare and delicious chewy sweets, and now they’ve brought them back home to Earth, for you to enjoy the delicious flavours too.

It was nice for youngest who tends to find himself last in the queue for things as he rarely ever is lucky enough to be picked, or win, or be singled out for anything.

Nanobytes 1

Nanobytes are new, they are gluten free and have a fab closure detail that means they won’t spill all over the floor, or car, or even their beds if they sneak some sweeties upstairs.

Nanobytes2

Some people have compared them to Millions, but they are different.  The candy is softer and in different flavours.

They’ll come in Strawberry, Cola and Bubblegum.  My favourite was the Strawberry, but the kids liked Cola the best.

Nanobytes3

The packs are 65g and there is also a smaller 25g pocket size.

I suspect there’ll be a few pennies spent from pocket money on these in the near future and littlest will be able to proudly say “see, I told you I was one of the first in the UK to try these.”

The Nanobytes website has games and downloads for kids to experiment with and a Nanonauts area where completed applications will be entered to win some free sweeties.

Disclaimer:  We were sent Nanobytes to try out before they reach shop shelves.

 

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Help For Holiday Hair Horrors

collaborative post

I have thick and wavy hair, even though I straighten it to within an inch of its life daily, and sometimes several times daily.

I’ve often been tempted to have a try at the hair extensions the young kids use nowadays, and my boys elder sister does a great job of creating fabulous hairstyles from her clip in extensions.

They look so real that I had no idea that it wasn’t her own hair until I saw her one afternoon without them and asked if she’d had her hair cut.

holiday hair

Going on holiday is always the time when my hair just goes all to pot.  It starts to frizz in the heat and if its humid, it slowly starts to wave and cul outwards which I hate with a passion.

That’s even before I even start with the chlorine in the pool or the hot sun.

I was thinking about how I was going to control my hair this year abroad when I was contacted by Hair accessories from Pauls Hair World with a sponsored opportunity for a blog post which suited me just fine.

I’d wondered a few times where the boys sister had got her hair extensions from and these look very similar.

It was too late for me to get any for my holiday, but I’d certainly give gorgeous hair pieces a go for the next wedding or big event that I’m invited to (and can attend).

There are some things that I do on holiday to keep my hair from frizzing up too much, and I’ve learned these over time.

1 – Coconut Oil

On one of my earliest holidays, I remember using a certain spray stuff that bleached our hair while we sat in the sun.  That was fine until the 4th or 5th day when my hair started to feel like chewing gum when it was wet and an old greek woman told me to use coconut oil on my hair every night and sleep with it on.  It worked to keep my hair reasonable until the damaged lengths were cut off and I still use coconut oil regularly on my hair when the sun has been on it.

2 – Heat Protection Spray

I use straighteners – a LOT.  Sometimes twice a day if I am going out in the evening or my hair has been frizzed by humidity or sea haar / mist up our way in Scotland.   Pauls Hair World recommends letting our hair dry naturally and then using curling tongs or straighteners afterwards.  I know that would be the ideal thing to do, but it just takes sooo long for thick hair to dry that I usually give up trying and blast away with the dryer.  I do often use a heat protection spray to help stop the split ends from over processing and I seem to have hit a good balance with that now.

3 – Conditioner

If I’m going swimming regularly abroad, I often just smear some conditioner or cream that can be left in to give it that little bit of protection while the sun is on it.

4 – Go Natural

When it’s just too hot to process, I have no option but to go au naturel.  My hair is very thick so it takes a fairly long time to blow dry and straighten.   When I am somewhere really humid, I just take some mousse with me so that I can leave it to dry on it’s own.  Naturally, my hair dries quite wavy and a little fly away frizzy, so the mouse allows it to have some weight and stop the fly away frizz.  I do prefer my hair straight when it’s blonde but find it easier to live with wavy when it’s darker.   I have no idea why.

5 – A Good Brush

Good brushes are great for smoother hair.  When you look for a hair styling brush, try and find one that suits you and your lifestyle.  Brushes are not only good for detangling but can also help with the condition, shape, style and shine for crowning glory.  With the right brush, you can create curls, smooth and straighten, and also end up with romantic waves.

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This post was sponsored.   I will not benefit if you click the links contained within, but they will take you to a sponsors website.

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Swimming Lesson Torture

child swimming

If there’s one thing that has driven me mad over the last few years, it’s been the constant competition for places on the council run swimming lessons.  You sign up, are allocated a pool which might be a fair distance away at inconvenient times, and then take little cherubs there for years on end while they learn to swim the prescribed way.  My neighbours experience filled me with dread.  After 2 years of lessons her boys still couldn’t swim and she hired a private tutor.

Standard step by step lessons doesn’t take into account the differences in children and how they learn.

I saved myself the weekly race to the allocated swimming pool and booked us into a private club for swimming lessons at a time that suited us.  We got disability living allowance for middler and reasoned that it was worth trying to get them to swim properly so that if they fell in a river, they’d at least have a fighting chance of getting back out again.

I sat regularly fuming while the parents from previous lessons took up 5 – 10 minutes of our lesson chatting about their little precious darlings, completely oblivious to the rest of us whose minutes they were nicking.   At £30 for 5 lessons at the time and only lasting 30 minutes, those 10 minutes was taking up £2 each and I had 3 kids in the lessons, so about £6 a day.  I did complain but got nowhere, so eventually gave up with it.  In total, my kids had a small fortune worth of lessons and not one of them could keep their heads up above water.

I resigned myself to trying to get them to swim myself and persuaded my water averse mother to come into the water with me and take one child while I tried to work with the other two.  I did have to splash out on some swimming caps from Zoggs for her as she wouldn’t go in the water and risk getting her hair wet.  That’s another thing – You see so many alpha women who parade the poolside and daintily coast up and down the lanes, yet never get their hair wet.  Those women are a mystery to me.

“I nearly died,” the 7-year-old dramatically exclaimed when a little water went up his nose.

“My eyes sting.” chimed in another.

So off I popped to get some eye goggles and lastly some swimming ear plugs and a nose clip each for them.

Happy that we could all safely go in the water, we spent the next year unsuccessfully trying to get them to swim.  Two of the boys managed to learn to swim pretty well underwater without taking a breath, but neither of them could master the knack of getting their heads up to take in some air.

On a wee holiday to the campsite in Huntly, Scotland, I decided to book them into the local swimming pool for summer lessons.  It was the best thing I could have done.  Rather than make the kids do it all one way, they looked at the individual children and took on board that I don’t care if they can swim properly.  I have no ambition for them to be little Tom Daly’s or Hannah Mileys, all I want is for them to be able to tread water and lift their heads for a breath.

After a few lessons at Huntly, we had the beginnings of breathing.  I also breathed with relief.

Going swimming isn’t such a chore now as I’m not trying to keep my eye on three kids who can swim underwater and think they’re invincible.

2 down, 1 to go….

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This post was sponsored by Zoggs.   It is a story from my life and has not been influenced in any way by Zoggs.   I will not benefit if you click the links, but they will take you to a sponsors website.

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Gifts For Teachers – Do or Don’t?

I’ve missed the Scottish school holiday time, but there’s always those of you in England who will be looking for some gift ideas for your teachers.  I think there are probably a lot of things that we can and can’t give to teachers to just say a little thanks for all they’ve done all year for our kiddies.

I’m not the best one at remembering to buy a gift for a teacher, but there seems to be a huge competition in some places over who can give the biggest, best, or most expensive gift.  We’ve even had requests on occasion for a £5 per child to go to a gift and in principle I don’t have a problem with that, but I do have a problem with the kids who’s parents can’t or won’t add to the kitty being left off the card and the gifts being sent.

When I have contributed to these things in the past, I believed it was for the teacher, not as some kind of mythical brownie point for parents who do contribute, so I pulled out of them a few years ago.  I asked a couple of times for the card to be from all the children, and not just those of us who’d contributed and met a deafeningly silent stony wall.  From that point I just gave up with it.

I think collections do have their place, but only if all the children are treated equally.  I have the kind of children who really struggle to get on with their teachers, so buying them a gift seems terribly uncool to them, but I have bought little trinkets in the past for them to hand over.  Whether they are appreciated or not I have no idea, but it means more to my kids to choose something little.

I got to thinking about teachers gifts due to a couple of things in the post which although weren’t really intended as gifts, they’ve ended up being little gems I can squirrel away for Christmas time.

Sally from mrsmuggs.com asked if I’d like to receive a personalised mug.  I didn’t know what I was getting, and she sent out a lovely one from her teachers gifts range.  I actually would probably not buy a teachers mug, but I am very tempted to buy some of the ones from the other ranges.

Personalised ones stand out for me, and getting one with my twitter name sounds like something I would like a fair bit (xmas pressies if anyone from my family is reading today.)

teachersmug

I wasn’t expecting a box from Border Biscuits, but as I’ve done some review work for them before, they must have decided to send me a box of their new shortbreads to try.   We got strawberry, glace cherry and cranberry & orange.  I’ve only tried the glace cherry so far but I’m sure the kids will devour some quickly enough.

If I’d had these biscuits a few weeks ago, I suspect I’d have wrapped up a packet or two to give to teachers from middler as he seems to get on with his teachers better than my other two.

Fruit Shortcake Border Biscuits

It’s quite a hard call to make.  What on earth do we give to teachers really though?  They can’t take money, and we’re not allowed to take in home baking up here, so there really is only little trinkets or things that the kids have made themselves.

I know that few parents would agree to crediting all children when only some of their parents contributed to a communal gift, so if we’re not money or kudos driven, what else can we give?

I’m not into expensive gifts so it has to be little things that just show some appreciation and nothing more.  I’ve heard of parents spending £20 on a present which I think is ridiculous, so for me, it’s all about the thought and not the price.

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Our mug and shortcake biscuits were given free of charge.  I was not obliged to write about them, and all opinions are my own. Mclaggan Smith Mugs is a Scottish based, family run company established in 1974. All mugs are manufactured to a high quality and are screen printed and fired in Scotland.  Contact Sally Simmers at Mclaggan Smith Mugs on sally@msmugs.com or T: 01389 755 655

Teacher Mug 2

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The Great Family Road Trip – My Scottish Favourites

Tesco Magazine asked bloggers for our favourite recommendations for the best places to visit, eat and stay around the UK.  As we’re mobile with our own home from home, we tour around Scotland regularly and there are always lots of things to see and do in our local area.  We don’t have much in the way of the big commercial campsites that England has, but we do have fabulous scenery and great things to do.

There are lots of well located campsites that anyone can visit, and with great facilities.  It always pays to check out the reviews before we visit anywhere to make sure we’re happy with where we plan to sleep, so helping out with this campaign to build a road trip interactive map is a welcome new initiative for me.

Here are my tips for some great places up in Scotland to visit.  It’s lovely to see my tips published on the Tesco Magazine website and I’m delighted to have been asked to contribute some of our favourites from our neck of the woods.

Deer 1

A road trip brings memories from us all of great holidays, the open road and taking things easy, but it isn’t always easy to know where to go and visit.  Tesco Magazine is pulling together the best of places to eat, stay, visit, woodland trusts, events and local producers to help us all decide.

To find great places to go around the UK, visit the tescomagazine.com/The Great Family Road Trip pages to find out about locations around the UK as it grows.  You can even add your own favourites on the map as well as download maps and facts.  Recommendations from people we trust are a good way to help us plan where we go and what we do.

There is even a kids corner which has games and pictures to download and keep the kids entertained in the car while you travel.

Why don’t you get involved?  We did.

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Review: Who needs a phone for little ones? or for disability? We do….

If I listened to all the hype I’ve heard over the years, I could be forgiven for thinking that mobile phones were the root of all evil and parents giving a mobile phone to a child under the age of 13 should be shot as bad parents of the year.

I have never understood how children aged 4 + often go to friends, parks at the end of the road, walk to shops or more, all alone, and all phone free.  Fast forward to age 13, when teens get a mobile to mix with the real world – these same kids suddenly have to make themselves available at every beck and call on the end of a dring dring.

I really don’t understand how people can cope with their under 13’s ruling the roads and having no idea where they are, with no way of getting help if things go wrong, yet when they magically turn the age of their parental consent, they have to check in at every available opportunity.  Perhaps it’s having special needs children that makes me more worried about how they will cope if they get lost.  I’m not entirely sure, but I do know I’m all in favour of phones from early ages.

The opportunity came along to trial a new phone for little ones and while two of my children are well above the age for basic phones, I have one special needs child who can’t cope with a regular phone and who really really wanted one.

1stfone

I was a little worried as he can’t read at all yet and I wasn’t sure quite how well he’d cope with it.  We’ve had our phone for a couple of weeks now and he’s mastered which buttons to use for what so if he gets himself into a pickle, we can phone him and he can just work through his 8 numbers until he gets to someone who can help him.

We usually struggle with Vodafone in our area as the signal isn’t great and often non existent on smartphones, but this is managing to pick up a signal no problem around here.

1stfone

It’s a dinky wee thing and just the size of his hand and very easy to use.  I think it’s the perfect phone for little ones, and it comes with a lanyard so they can hang it around their necks and tuck it into t-shirts, blouses or jumpers to keep it out of the way.

I do think it’s a great solution for the many special needs and disabled children who can’t manage a regular phone, and 1stFone are coming out with picture buttons soon where we can simply have pictures of the people they can phone instead of the texts.  The important thing for it is that they can only dial the numbers of the people who have been programmed on the phone and it can’t text or get onto the Internet.  I feel happier knowing that he can’t dial random strangers with it and it really is a peace of mind thing.

Kids can tailor the phone to suit themselves with colours, and designs on the website, so they can have theirs personalised and with their own names on it.  I’ve had to blot out the names of my lads carers as they can’t go online, but you can see how ours was designed in the photo.

A few people who have seen his phone have been fascinated and shown a lot of interest.  We’ve already decided that ours will stay hooked up in the Scottish Mum household after out trial period is up.  There is no way he is going to let us do away with his own phone now.

His carers are getting used to phone calls coming through to them.  They don’t mind at all and he’s delighted that he can phone me, his dad and his grandma just like his brothers can.  If his carers change, all I need to do is phone 1stfone and they’ll reprogramme those slots for me and send out new cover labels.  It’s fab.

I have to say a huge thank you to 1stFone for letting us trial this, as it’s absolutely brilliant.  I couldn’t imagine how I was ever going to be able to get him a phone as he can’t read, but this does it beautifully.  I’d have no hesitation in giving this to a young child or special needs youngsters out and about as a just in case.

 

 

 

 

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Review: Tea, Powercuts and 1940’s Musicals

I was brought up on cups of tea from my grandmother while the snow trickled down outside and power cuts ruled, or on other days we watched 1940 movies on the TV. I can imagine that those occasions happened very much less often than I remember them, but as in the way of memories, we cherry pick the ones that mean the most to us for whatever reason.

I’ve never really understood putting in milk before the hot water in either tea or coffee and I can’t see the fascination for the American version of Iced Tea.

To me, tea should be hot and with plenty of flavour. Fond memories of dunking digestives and adding the milk in breakfast tea AFTER the tea is masked in a giant teapot was the preference in our house.

Tea India offered some lovely teas to try and although I’ve not been much of a tea Jeannie recently, I did used to really enjoy a cuppa. I thought it would be a good idea to get some in for summer as tea always sounds and feels much lighter than coffee on hot days.

Tea India 3

Although Tea India is a new tea, they have three authentic Chais and a black tea blend, created with more than 70 years of blending experience to get to this point.

Tea connoisseurs will certainly enjoy these and Chai blends tend to be exotic and aromatic for an unusual alternative to the teas we usually have in our cupboards.

There is a Facebook promotion, You & I and a Cup of Chai, which gives you the chance to try a selection of the Tea India blends for free. You will receive the award-winning Black Tea, Masala Chai, Cardamom Chai and Vanilla Chai. If you want to try it for yourself, go to Facebook to enter your details.

Tea India 1
My big box is black tea which goes down well on all occasions.

Tea India 6

The one I really wanted to try was the Masala Chai, which describes itself as spicy, warming and reviving. Containing black tea, ginger root, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, cloves and star anise, it seems a great tea for a cold dreich day up here in Aberdeen.

I could really taste the cinnamon and as a cinnamon fan, that went down a treat. I could actually imagine the Masala Chai getting a little addictive around here.

There are also:

Vanilla Chai

Comforting, light blend of the finest teas with sweet spices of cinnamon, cardamom and natural vanilla flavouring offers the perfect balance of sweetness and spice, ideal as a delicious evening treat or afternoon pick-me-up.

Cardamom Chai

For a truly distinctive tea experience, Tea India’s Cardamom Chai blends premium tea leaves with exotic, aromatic cardamom. An authentic Indian ingredient, used in many traditional sweet and savoury dishes and to flavour hot drinks, cardamom seeds are often seen as a symbol of hospitality. In true Indian tradition, this invigorating blend is a real treat for the senses and will put a spring in any tea lover’s step!

Black Tea

This 100 per cent black tea has a high Assam content for a robust, golden flavour. Tea India’s signature blend, it has been sourced by the master blender, who grew up in Assam, north-east India. His innate knowledge of creating the perfect blend, using only the top two leaves and the bud of the Assam tea bush when the tea is at its freshest, ensures a superior cup of reviving tea every time.

All Tea India blends are ethically sourced based on the Ethical Trade Initiative.

Tea India 4

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Review: The Nutribox

Nutribox offered to send a wee box of delicious nutritious snacks to try.  The snacks come boxed and straight to our doors.   They have a healthy eating approach to living and they only want to have snacks that are both nutritious and tasty to send out to their customers.

Nutri Box3

All the snacks are gluten free and suitable for vegetarians which means they are suitable for most of us.   There are two options when ordering, ie to have a full box or a mini box to try some of the snacks, or to give as a gift.

We tried the mini nutri box but not the vegan one.

There were mixed reactions from the kids as to the taste of some of the snacks, but the red chilli cashews and the brownie were very popular indeed.

Nutri Box Chilli Cashews

Nutri Box Brownie

I like a piece of chocolate, but I’d have to say I’d give the chocolate bar a miss as it just wasn’t to my taste.

Nutri Box2

All boxes come with a mix of energy boosting dried fruit and nut mixes, energy bars and raw ingredients.  At first when I looked at the price of the boxes, my thoughts went to how expensive they seemed to be, but when I priced some similar items in supermarkets and online stores, the price seemed to make much much more sense as the retail price of raw ingredients and snacks like these seems to be very high.

We all enjoyed some of the snacks, but I’d have to seriously think twice about signing up for an online monthly box.  The easy cancellation option makes it a good option for a gift and I may send one to a friend later in the year as I think this would be perfect as a present.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a Nutribox Mini for Review

 

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Review: How Cool Are Your Trainers

Trainers 3

I don’t know about everyone else, but when my boys get their feet in a pair of trainers, they really don’t last for terribly long.   The hardwearing ground they pound daily – along with endless hard leather ball kicking takes its toll on cheap trainers, and they tend to last less than a fortnight.

Along with tree climbing, scooter ground trailing and plain old kick your heels off the chair trauma, it’s no wonder that we tend to through loads of pairs of the things.

I was the typical bad mum at the start of winter.  After buying a fresh pair of supermarket trainers for one of my boys, I put his foot clothing out of my mind, only to be faced with a tough nut of a friends mother phoning me a few days later and giving me a hard time over the state of his trainers that had come apart from the sole to the heel and flapped as he walked.

Mortified, I went to pick him up and found him with trainers so badly used that they looked like they were more than 6 years old, let alone the 6 days old that they actually were.  I don’t know who those trainers were made for, but it wasn’t for active kids.

I try, whenever I can to get a pair that I know are going to last the test of time.  Our local Clarks store in the Mothercare branch stop at size 2, so I’d got out of the habit of looking for Clarks shoes, although I think my kids lived in them until they outgrew the sizes in our local shop.

Being offered a pair of Clarks to try for my eldest was a lovely chance to try the old kind of shoes we used to buy for the kids.   He chose the In-Play Blue Combi Sports Shoes and he seemed tickled pink to get trainers like he used to wear as a wee tootie.

They arrived really quickly, and somehow I have managed to lose the PR’s e-mail address so I am sorry for not being able to thank her in person.

Clarks Trainers2

Eldest is chuffed to bits as they have strong toes which are perfect for playing footie with.

Clarks Trainers

He’s tickled pink as the shoes are really very trendy and the bright colours sit well with him.

Clarks Trainers 4

Now I know it’s easy enough to order from their website, I can see there will be some more Clarks coming back into our house.

I’ve actually missed them this last couple of years as they lasted so well when my kids were little, so I really would like to hug the PR, but unfortunately, I can’t get back in touch.  If you know her, could you point her in my direction so I can say thanks.

Disclaimer:  We were sent Clarks In Play Blue Combi Leather Sports Shoes to Review

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Featured: House Renovations on a Budget

It’s the easiest thing in the world to ignore things in our homes when they begin to start looking a little tired and drab. Our homes should be places that we can relax, unwind and simply get ourselves back into the right frame of mind to move on with the next days, weeks and months of our lives.

It would be fantastic if we could sit in the middle of luxurious surroundings and gorgeously sumptuous carpets to sink our toes into, but we can’t all have those privileges. As lucky as we are to have a nice house and a family to fill it, there are things that I would like to change about it. I can’t see it happening until the kids leave home, and that’s not likely to happen any time soon.

I love my kitchen, which I did on a budget by buying all the pieces separately on the Internet and getting them sent to me. It already needs a freshen up and a repaint and I regret not getting my granite backsplash higher up the wall, but I’m stuck with it now. I have two of these blinds in my kitchen and they were £28 each from B&Q. They look much more expensive.

kitchen

I know I am lucky to have a decent kitchen to make food for my family with, and shopping around was the only way we could afford to do it. As usual, labour costs tend to make things very expensive, but it’s also worth shopping around for those too.

Our homes are the biggest expense that we are ever likely to make, and doing the maintenance is important to get them to increase in value, or even just maintain its value, depending on where we live.

In reality, there is always something to change, fix, repair or replace as our tastes change and develop and home improvements can cost a bomb. To keep home maintenance to a premium, so many of us forget to keep things like our gutters cleaned out or drains clear and they are always worth doing to stop future problems further down the line.

There are ways we can look for savings to help us with our renovation needs, whether we need to call in professionals or not. I did my front lounge on a budget last year and was so pleased how it came out. I just have to move onto some more rooms one by one.

Competitions

There are lots of them. Some brands carry them and entering is usually quite easy.

Home and Garden Exhibitions

If one comes to your area, it’s worth going. Some brands might carry giveaways or have some good tips to help change your home on a budget.

Internet Searches

When I got my granite worktops, I had mine priced by kitchen and DIY companies locally, then went on and got them for less than half that price from a company in England who came up and fitted them bespoke. It was well worth it.

New Year Sales

If I plan to buy any furniture, I always plan to buy just after New Year. It’s amazing the savings and offers that come up on the 1st of January. When we bought the suite in our family room, it fluctuated between £1600 – £1800 the four times we went to look at it, but on the 1st January, we got the same thing which was a corner suite with two reclining chairs, an extra TV unit and an extra chair for £1200. The wait was well worth it.

DIY

There are things you can do on a budget. I rarely have anyone come in to do any painting for us. Maybe that’s why the whole house is now in need of a refresh from top to bottom, but I will get there in the end. I’m a bit of an all thumbs person when it comes to making things for soft furnishings like curtains, blinds and cushions, but some people find they have the equivalent of green fingers once they start. If you don’t try, you’ll never know.

This is a featured post.

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Review: Walkers New Baked Hoops and Crosses

According to my kids, there are no crisps like a Walkers crisp.  I suspect it has something to do with the Gary Lineker ads that they think are really funny.   The person who designed those should have a gold badge for innovation, long-lasting interest and public approval.

With our family history of crisps, who could ignore an e-mail asking us to review a new Walkers product?

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With the arrival of  “Monkey George,” along came Walkers Roast Beef Hoops and Crosses in a  lovely box with a book to tell us all about them.   If I’m honest, I’d have to say the Roast Beef are better than the Prawn Cocktail that we’ve had before.

We’ve called the monkey that came with our review Hoops and Crosses George, which is a family tradition due to a besotted nephew who has carried a fluffy monkey since he was a nipper.  All soft toys that look like a monkey have been named George from that time to this.

Hoops and Crosses come in three flavours – all suitable for vegetarians (prawn cocktail, roast beef, salt and vinegar)

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The Nutritional Content

  • Each bag has 85 calories.
  • Each bag consists of 56% wholegrain corn meal.
  • Hoops and Crosses are made from wholegrains, have no artificial colours or preservatives.

Any Walkers Prawn Cocktail fans wouldn’t be disappointed though as they taste exactly like the Prawn Cocktail crisps, which my kids say is a great selling point.

What I do like about the new Hoops and Crosses is the wholegrain content that kids can’t taste at all when they eat the crisps.

Eating a diet that includes wholegrain can help our health along nicely by providing a rich source of fibre.  Getting fibre into my children so easily has to be a good way to go.

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I know friends of my kids who eat no wholegrain at all, so as a wholegrain snack, it is perfect for lunchboxes and trips out.  We didn’t get a chance to try out playing x and o’s on a piece of paper as the bag was dived upon by children desperate to eat them.  We’ll just have to wait until the next time we have them in the house.

I can see these being a staple in our house for snacks and lunchboxes, although my kids would like to see them in Tomato and Cheese & Onion flavours too.

This is a sponsored review.  I was not obliged to review positively.