Review: Spring Cleaning with Astonish

This weekend the sun streamed through the windows and I saw my house properly in the warm glow of daylight for the first time in months. I like many others felt the urge to give everywhere a good scrub. I suspect I was not alone, up and down my road husbands were cutting the grass whilst their wives were hanging out line after line of washing, taking rugs outside for a good shake and polishing windows. It’s that time of year where everyone feels the need to have a spring clean.

Years ago I was less cautious about the chemicals I used around the house, I didn’t really care as long as the house was clean, but these days I’m a little more careful, I have the small boy to worry about as well as an asthmatic husband, and I try not to use cleaning products which make me catch my breath.

Astonish has a full range of products, which are all Vegetarian Society Approved, to help you clean your home from top to bottom. Better still, many of the products in the range have an RRP of just £1, so you can clean your house and not break the bank too.

We were sent some Astonish cleaning products to try out, including the new All in 1 Dishwasher Tablets, Oven & Cookware Cleaner, Grease Off Spray & Wipe, Antibacterial Cleanser and Grout & Tile Cleaner.

Astonish

The antibacterial cleaner is brilliant, often these kind of cleaners have a strong smell so we don’t buy them again, but this had virtually no smell and cleaned the kitchen surfaces really well. I’d happily use this multipurpose product all over the house again.

The Grease Off Spray & Wipe was so good on the hob. I know I should wipe it down every day, but it probably gets a scrub once a week, sometimes I have to really give it some elbow grease, but this lifted the burnt on bits and left my hob clean and shiny with very little effort at all.

I loved the Grout & Tile Cleaner, my bathroom grout has started to get a bit grubby and difficult to clean. This is easy to use, just spray it on and leave for 10 minutes, then go back and give it a rub with a cloth and it comes up almost like new. More stubborn bits of grout might need a second application, but it couldn’t be easier to use. Although we didn’t review it, we’ve been using the Astonish Mould & Mildew Remover for years and it’s fantastic for sorting out mould on bathroom sealants and very grubby tiles.

Hubs who is in charge of the dishwasher tried out the new All in 1 Dishwasher Tablets, they are formulated to remove even the toughest dried on stains including tea, coffee, dried sauces and gravy. They have a built in salt and rinse aid and they don’t contain Phosphates, so the product is kinder to the environment. They are also really good value (I’ve found them online for £2.99 for 40 dishwasher tablets).

He’s tried a lot of different brands of dishwasher tablets and he was very happy with these, the glasses were sparkly and there were no dried on bits left on the cutlery or dishes. We would definitely buy these again. It’s nice to be using a brand name product for a budget price.

Astonish

I used to think cleaning products were all the same, but they’re not (years of cleaning have taught me something at least). These products from Astonish don’t smell so bad that you can taste them in the air, they’re pleasant to use and they do the job well. They’re not expensive, with an average RRP of £1, having a clean house won’t cost the earth. I’m glad I’ve got these Astonish products in my spring cleaning armoury, I’ll be looking out for them in the future.

You can find out more about Astonish on their website. Astonish cleaning products are available from a wide range of retailers.

Review: The Sensio Masha – not just for spuds!

As a northerner I enjoy a gravy dinner, preferably with a dollop of buttery mashed potato. When it comes to mashed potato it has to be smooth and lump free, but not bashed into a gluey inedible mess. I was intrigued when I was asked to try the Sensio Potato Masha from The A Range. I’ve been mashing my spuds for years with a traditional masher and wondered how they would compare.

I unpacked the Masha, it is a stick blender type of thing which comes with two plastic “blades” one for mashing and one for aerating. The blade is housed in a head which has lots of little holes which the mash is forced through, and as a result comes out smooth. It’s easy to hold and use and perfect for my 5 year old when he wants to help Mummy in the kitchen.

Sensio Potato Masha

The Sensio Potato Masha comes with an instruction book which includes some recipes, we decided to try making hummus as were having Greek mezze for tea. The small boy was as keen as mustard to get his hands on it, I explained that he wasn’t ever allowed to touch the green plastic blade whether it was moving or not – it’s not sharp so he couldn’t cut himself, but if he touched it while it was moving it would hurt.

Once I showed him the button to press, he got busy making hummus. As I gradually added a little more oil, the mashing process became easier, the smooth hummus coming out of the holes in the Masha head.

Next up, I’d detached the head, took the blade out and gave it a quick turn in the dishwasher, it was time to whip some cream with it. Using the aerator blade the boy was super keen to help out again (top tip: gadget = helpful boys). Once I’d explained that he needed to move it around the bowl to whip all the cream it took less than a minute to get the right consistency I was after.

I was very impressed by the Masha. I have an old stick blender which has served me well but this is much more versatile. I’d never “blend” mash as I’ve always found blended mash to be gluey and having tried this out on a range of different things in the kitchen I really like it. I really like that its easy to hold and use and although kids in the kitchen should always be supervised, my heart is less in my mouth when my son uses this compared to my ancient stick blender with its sharp metal blade.

I like that the Sensio Potato Masha is chunky and easy to clean. You just take it all apart and put everything apart from the power unit into the dishwasher. It’s great for people who find fiddly things more difficult to use and it’s really simple to take apart and put back together.

I think it’s time I retired my ancient stick blender, this is quick to use and easy to clean and I know the plastic blades won’t get blunt in the dishwasher. The Sensio Potato Masha costs around £35 and is available from a range of retailers. I think that because it can tackle a range of smashing, mashing, whisking, whipping and blending tasks in the kitchen that it is really good value for money.

The Sensio Potato Masha gets a thumbs up from us.

We were sent the Sensio Potato Masha for review purposes, all images and opinions are our own.

Review: Trutex School Uniform

If I utter the words “school uniform” and “boys” in the company of the parents of boys a collective sign of despair goes around. The small boy (aged 5) came home on his last day before February half term with a hole in the knee of his trousers, the sole hanging comically off his new (bought at Christmas) school shoes, a white polo shirt that was now grey and covered in felt tip and a too-small school jumper. All of his uniform was beyond saving, so it all went in the bin.

We were sent a few new items from Trutex for him to put to the test. His school uniform is a smart and quite forgiving navy with black or grey trousers. Trutex sent us…

a navy crew neck sweatshirt
a pair of junior sturdy fit trousers
a navy polar fleece

Trutex School Uniform

As you can see he looks pretty happy with his new uniform. He certainly looked very smart and he loved his new school fleece.

The trousers we chose were sturdy fit with an elasticated back, he’s still at the age where he’s pulling trousers on like jogging bottoms, so these seemed the best option. He’s a tall boy for his age and has just had a growth spurt, so these should hopefully see him through to the summer and hopefully beyond. The fabric is thick and good quality, and the seams have been well stitched, they seem like they’d be able to withstand the rough and tumble of the playground.

The crew neck jumper is cosy with good stitching, and at size 5/6 long enough for my long boy to still have room to grow into. It fits well and is easy for him to pull on and off by himself.

Trutex School Uniform

The polar fleece jacket is his favourite new thing, ultra cosy and it fits him really well. He likes the zippy pockets where he can keep his treasures safe and sound. And it fits snugly under his waterproof jacket, so when it’s wet he can still be warm. As we move into spring and towards summer he will wear this jacket more and more, it’s very roomy without looking ginormous, so I’m confident that it’ll last him a good long while, and fleece washed beautifully too, so if he gets it mucky it’s no problem.

Our new Trutex School Uniform items appear to be very good quality, and importantly they operate an ethical trading policy, ensuring that their school uniform items are made ethically, so no child labour, no long working hours, no sweatshops are involved. I try not to think too hard sometimes about the realities of how some of our clothes are produced, but knowing that these are ethically traded does make me feel very positively about them.

Keeping a five year old boy looking reasonably smart and respectable in his school uniform can feel like an uphill battle, buying better quality, hard-wearing, easy care uniform makes a big difference. We’re very happy with this Trutex school uniform, it’s nice to see him looking both smart and adorable!

Visit the Trutex website to find your nearest stockist of Trutex school uniform.

Note: We were sent these items of Trutex school uniform for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Review: Valley Mill Wax Melts & Soap

Working from home I often like to light scented candles to fool my brain into thinking I’m left the building and gone to work, it sounds a bit silly, but it’s just something I do when I start work for the day along with switching on my laptop. One of the things I sometimes have on the go are scented wax melts, I was sent a box of these perfumed treats from Valley Mill to try out for myself.

Wax melts (sometimes known as tarts) are little disks of scented wax which you melt in a special burner using the heat from an unscented tealight. The wax sets again once the candle has gone out and it can be reused and reused over and over, all you need is a new unscented tealight to warm it through again.

As with all candles the wax melts should never be left to burn unattended and shouldn’t be used when children and animals are around. Better safe than sorry!

I chose the Welsh Cake Soy Melts which are currently £6.25 for a box of 5 melts. The melts are set in a distinctive cog shape, which obviously melts into a puddle of scented wax when in use.

The Welsh Cake melts really do smell of Welsh Cakes, they have a really good throw too, meaning my whole house was filled with the fragrance of baking, These would be great to burn in the kitchen to give the impression of domestic goddessness without ever switching the oven on!

valley mill

Valley Mill also sent us a chunky bar of their Rosemary & Lime Natural Soap to try. With two mucky boys in the house I wanted a soap which was natural and nourishing, but which also had antiseptic properties.

Apparently rosemary and lime have been used in skin care for hundreds of years for their cleansing and revitalising properties. This natural soap contains shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil, palm oil and castor oil to make it even more nourishing for hardworking hands.

The Rosemary & Lime Natural Soap is colourful and chunky, when you rub it between your hands it foams a little, but throws up a delicious scent (rosemary is one of my all time favourite fragrances). My hands were squeaky clean and sweet smelling after I’d used the soap. I think this would look eye catching in any soap dish and is good value at £4.

Valley Mill stock a selection of lovely products and gifts, all handmade in Wales, and almost all on my Christmas list!

For more information on these Valley Mill wax melts and natural soaps visit their website.

Note: We were sent these Valley Mill products for review purposes, all images and opinions are our own.

Review: TioTina Oven Gloves

I am a keen cook, and like most keen cooks I have the scars to prove it. My usual method for removing hot stuff from the oven and grill is a bunched up tea towel, which is fine until you burn yourself, which I manage to do at least once a week. I was given the chance to try out some TioTina oven gloves to see for myself how effective they are.

TioTina oven gloves, or rather gauntlets are heat resistant to 350 degrees C 662 Fahrenheit with Aramid/Paramid. Bullet proof vests and racing driver fire protection suits are made from similar material, so they’re pretty tough. They’re super-thick and have long cuffs which help protect your arms, which for me is great because my arms and wrists are the bits of me most often burnt.

TioTina Oven Gloves

The gloves have silicone on the palm and fingers which stops hot trays and pans from slipping out of your grip. The gloves are flexible, so if you need to fiddle about with something hot, you can easily do that.

TioTina Oven Gloves

You get two gloves and each glove can go on either hand. I tend to casually whip things out of the oven with one hand, so for me a pair of these TioTina oven gloves will probably last me forever (I’m a bit more cautious with roasting tins full of hot fat though).

We put the TioTina oven gloves to the test. Although we were sent a large pair of gloves and I have the dainty hands of an elegant lady, they still fit me loosely, but I felt confident using them thanks to the silicone grips. Hubs who has hands like shovels tried them out too, and the gloves fit him perfectly . Because I have a cruel streak I made him hold a blisteringly hot oven tray for a good five minutes and he was fine. The gloves passed the test!

TioTina oven gloves

I think it’s important to use proper oven gloves when you’re taking things out of the oven. I’ve lost count of the burns I’ve had over the years and I don’t think it sets a very good example to my son to be so laissez faire about this aspect of kitchen safety, especially when I can’t give him his lunch without issuing at least three warnings about blowing on hot food etc.

The TioTina Oven gloves are robust and make getting things out of the oven very safe. They work fantastically well and will be a key part of my kitchen for some time to come.

Review: The New EasiYo Yoghurt Maker

This month EasiYo are launching their newly designed yoghurt maker. It’s a stylish update on the original EasiYo yoghurt maker, a fashionable red pod which makes 1kg of yoghurt each time. I was sent one of the newly launched EasiYo yoghurt makers to try out. But what did my yoghurt loving boys think and just how easy is it to use?

easiyo yoghurt maker

The new design is quite lovely to look at, it’s all sleek and shiny and doesn’t look out of place in a modern kitchen. I unpacked it and my box contained the red pod, the 1kg yoghurt jar and some instructions. I was given the Strawberries and Cream and the Greek yoghurt with coconut flavours to try.

I thought I’d try the boys with the strawberries and cream yoghurt, this is the flavour we buy from the supermarket the most, so I thought it’s make for a useful taste test.

easiyo yoghurt maker

Making EasiYo yoghurt is incredibly easy and much quicker than I thought it would be. The instructions are on the back of each packet anyway, but you simply mix the sachet with water, give it a good shake and then put it in the pod which is half filled with boiling water. Leave it overnight and you’ve got 1kg of yoghurt to enjoy!

easiyo yoghurt maker

In the morning I had a quick look at it, put the yoghurt jar in the fridge and left it until teatime. So what did the boys think? Well… they loved it! The small boy, originally sceptical that it didn’t come in a pot has been demanding seconds and even thirds of it. It’s thick, creamy and delicious and contains no artificial ingredients, is gluten-free, vegetarian and full of nutrients. I’m sold on EasiYo, and I think he is too!

easiyo yoghurt maker

It’s incredibly easy to make, and it makes 1kg of yoghurt at a time, which makes it really economical. Plus it’s pretty fun to make with the kids, especially ones who like mixing things up in the kitchen. There are a huge range of flavours and styles of yoghurt to choose from, from very low fat yoghurt to indulgent creamy yoghurt. We’re looking forward to trying them all out!

You can find more information about EasiYo yoghurt on their website.

Review: Serenata Flowers Summer Bouquet

This summer hasn’t been much to write home about. I think we’ve had a handful of nice sunny days and the rest in Manchester at least has been cloudy, windy drizzly. We all need a bit of summery sunshine in our lives, even if we have to magic that up ourselves. Today was one of those miserable, grey June days. I trudged home from work in the rain, opened the door and waiting for me was a huge box emblazoned with the words “Serenata Flowers”. I knew I’d had a little bit of summer sent to me.

Opening up the box I was blown away by the flowers I’d been sent. The Deluxe Sunshine Splendour bouquet (current price £39.98) was a huge bouquet of 4 glorious sunflowers; with 6 delicate white roses, 5 lovely chrysanthemums and a mixture of white alstromeria and stunning blue limonium. This really was sunshine in a vase.

Serenata Flowers

The bouquet from Serenata Flowers arrived in tip-top condition. It was well packaged and came with the stems in a little pot which kept them fresh and watered. My Sunshine Splendour bouquet came with a sachet of liquid plant food, it was prettily wrapped in cellophane and tissue paper, and came with a little gift card from the sender. It is something which would delight any lucky recipient.

Serenata Flowers offer free standard delivery and have a huge and seasonal range of bouquets and gifts such as balloons, cakes and chocolate. The bouquets start at just £19.99, with free standard delivery, which I think is really good value. The flowers I received were excellent quality, as fresh as a daisy and just stunning.

It really was a cheery bunch of summer in a vase. Flowers always make my heart glad, and these did not disappoint.

Serenata Flowers

Disclosure: We were sent this bouquet by Serenata Flowers for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Review: Taste of Nature Snack Bars

I was recently sent a selection of Taste of Nature snack bars to try, I’m a bit of a snack bar addict, they’re really handy for me as I tend to be out and about a lot and it’s not always easy to find something reasonably healthy to eat when you’re out. Taste of Nature snack bars are made with 100% organic ingredients and come in flavours such as Apple, Persian Pomegranate Garden, Cranberry,Goji, Coconut, Almond, Brazil Nut, Blueberry and Peanut.

Taste of Nature snack bars are a good source of energy, fibre, protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and trace elements and are great for throwing in your bag when you’re out and about or for during those mid-afternoon belly rumbles we all get.

Over a few days we all tried the Taste of Nature snack bars we were sent, my stand out favourite was the peanut which was so delicious, yummy peanuts set in something a bit like a hard but not brittle caramel, it was a real treat. The small boy liked the fruity ones best, with the apple being his favourite and Hubs liked the coconut one. They were all tasty, really filling and felt healthy and nutritious to eat.

The bars are contain blends of nuts, seeds and dried fruit and are a nice firm texture. Taste of Nature snack bars are certified organic and are gluten free, suitable for vegetarians and vegans, free from GMOs and each bar costs just £1.39. You can find out more about the Taste of Nature snack bars on their website.

These hunger busting, energy packed bars are brilliant for busy, active people and they’re quite delicious too!

Note: We were sent the Taste of Nature snack bars free of charge for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Toot the Tiny Tugboat app review

Since we discovered Toot the Tiny Tugboat on Channel 5, the small boy has embraced life on the ocean wave and now wants to forge a career as a harbour master, or similar. It was with some joy that I was given the chance to try out the Toot the Tiny Tugboat app. I’m always on the look out for apps and games which my four year old will enjoy playing, especially ones with a hint of learning about them, so I was keen to see if the Toot the Tiny Tugboat app would fit the bill.

The Toot the Tiny Tugboat app is aimed at pre-school age children, so it perfect for my four year old. It is designed to help little ones improve their sea-faring skills as they help guide Toot around the harbour to meet his friends, play some fun games and collect some rewards along the way.

Toot the Tiny Tugboat app

The app is lovely and colourful, with simple but striking graphics. Players can explore Toot’s Harbour using the easy controls. There is music (with options to mute if it all gets too much for you) from the series as well as seaside sound effects such as the sound of seagulls and waves crashing and lapping against the harbour walls.

The app has a few games to play with, you can explore the harbour, play I Spy (our favourite) where you use some special binoculars to spot characters from the show who are dotted all over the harbour and there’s a towing game where you can help tow the boats in and around the harbour using the control buttons. This game is a bit more difficult than the I Spy game but enjoyable once you get the hang of it.

Toot the Tiny Tugboat app

I really liked the I Spy game the best, which is just as well because we played it over and over. It changes every time and it’s a good way to explore the harbour and learn more about the characters. The towing game took a little more to get the hang of, testing our understanding of left a bit, right a bit and following the green line an and out of the harbour.

It’s a lovely, simple app. Currently priced at £2.99 it has no in-app purchases, which is something I always look for because we’ve all heard those horror stories. It’s available from the Apple store. It’s a sweet app which he had played with each day and is great for keeping little ones entertained for a few minutes when you need them to sit still for a short while. Our love affair with Toot the Tiny Tugboat continues!

For more information about Toot the Tiny Tugboat, visit the Toot website.

Note: We were given the app free of charge fore review purposes, all opinions and app screenshots are my own.

Review: Chad Valley PlaySmart Alphabet & Numbers Learning Games

The small boy loves puzzles. They play them a lot at nursery in school and he had a few favourites which we’ve bought him for home. He loves matching pairs and anything with letters, numbers or counting. We were sent the Chad Valley PlaySmart Alphabet and Numbers Learning Game to review, which I thought would be right up his street.

The Chad Valley PlaySmart Alphabet and Numbers Learning Games is suitable for ages 3-6 years. The small boy is four and this was perfectly pitched for him. He’s just getting into numbers and letters and really gets excited when he recognises them correctly, we do a lot of play around this at home at the moment since he likes it so much.

The Chad Valley PlaySmart Alphabet and Numbers Learning Game comes in two parts, there is an Alphabet Lotto Game which comprises bingo style boards with images and letters on (H for Hat for example) and a number dominoes game, which is like traditional dominoes but with colourful cards depicting frogs and horses etc. The game also comes with a set of reward stickers, something which sets every four year old child’s heart a flutter!

We began by playing the alphabet lotto game. You can play it two ways, the match the image to the board way, which we did, or the slightly harder match the letter to the corresponding letter on the board. I think this is something which we’ll be doing with confidence in a few months, but for now we embraced the simple joy of just matching the letters to the right image on the lotto board, we also talked about what letters and pictures there were. It’s all good learning.

Growing up, I’d play dominoes for hours with my Grandma and I still love a game. The Chad Valley PlaySmart Alphabet and Numbers Learning Game includes a lovely set of board dominoes, with each piece having animals instead of dots, for example, four dogs and five owls. The small boy really loved this and enjoyed counting the numbers of animals and finding a matching half to put his domino against.

It was a really fun game and we enjoyed playing together. I’m less fussy about sticking to the actual rules of the game and prefer to just try and guide him in the right direction if possible, but as long as he’s learning and most importantly having fun then it’s all good.

You can play with up to four players, so it’s a lovely game for our little family. It’s really versatile too, you can stick to the rules, or make up your own as we tend to do. I know it’s a game that he will enjoy playing when his Grandad comes round for the afternoon, they like to sit together and do puzzles, just like I did with my Grandma.

We like to have puzzles like this around because he does really enjoy playing them, he’s a really active boy so it’s nice to sit down and do a focussed activity with him, even just for a few minutes. The Chad Valley PlaySmart Alphabet and Numbers Learning Game is great for:

Stimulating the brain
Increasing vocabulary
Encouraging creative story-making
Having fun with words and rhymes
Building confidence and concentration
Improving numeracy skills

The Chad Valley PlaySmart Alphabet and Numbers Learning Game costs £9.99 from Argos and we think it’s a versatile game that will last many years, being played with differently as he grows and develops.

Note: We were sent the Chad Valley PlaySmart Alphabet and Numbers Learning Game for review purposes, all images and opinions are our own.