The Oliver's Madhouse

Hedrin Protect & Go Review & Giveaway

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Jaime

Since Joshua started nursery there has been a sneaking fear … nits!

I have 2 children with 10 years between them and when Beth was younger she suffered terribly at her old school. It seemed that overtime she got them we would spend 5 solid days clearing and treating only for 10 days later for her to get them back again.

In order to try to avoid them altogether we have been trialling Hedrin Protect & Go which is a conditioning spray that has been clinically proven protection spray that stops those pesky nits in their tracks.

Now for me the mentioning nit protects conjures up the smelly sprays and alternatives that left hair greasy and looking unclean. Well I can assure you that Hedrin Protect & Go has been nothing like that.

This product is in a spray bottle that is easy to use and can be used on wet or dry hair. We have been using the spray after hair washing and a quick spray over in the morning twice a week and after it dried there was no trace.

I was really impressed with the fruity smell and with not having to use lots of product it’s not too heavy on the purse strings in my opinion either as a bottle currently priced at £4.29 on 120ml.

Joshua starts school full-time in September and I am hoping with this spray in hand we are going to keep the nits at bay long-term!

Competition
I have a Hedrin Protect & Go spray bundle to giveaway to 1 lucky winner, for their little person to try this themselves, with 3 bottles this is bound to keep the head lice at bay for a fair while!

So what you waiting for .. good luck!

Please note: Entrants must have a valid UK address – Full Terms and Conditions can be found on the Rafflecopter widget on the entry tabs.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: This product has been given for the purposes of trailing and running a competition. All thoughts and opinions are made independently by members of The Oliver’s Madhouse

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Posted in Baby/Children Review, Household & Health Reviews, Reviews | Tagged Hair Care, Head Lice, Hedrin, Nits, Review | 3 Comments

Has Spring Sprung … Well Its Time For The Deep Clean

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Jaime

It gets to this time of year and without a doubt I am one of those annoyingly frustrating folks that takes spring cleaning to the next level.

I am ready to throw out the crap and if it hasn’t been used, moved or worn for 6 months it gets an interrogation as to why it’s here and not paying its way.

I have the same issue in October too, that I feel the need to shed off the outer skin and renew the space we live in.

This year I have major plans for shedding the outer for our bedroom, hall, stairs and landing and even the teens room, I even have plans for the garden.

Although the rooms on my list are not going to get a full on plaster stripping, these rooms are beginning to show the years since they were last done and with our biggest issue comes, storage.

When I bought the bedroom furniture over 5 years ago … I was planning in my head to be single forever, hence having excellent wardrobes and storage for one, but for nearly 4 years we have struggled with 2 people using the space I planned to only use for one.

I suppose if I was being mean I could ship out hubster to check out Cambridge Estate Agents to find him somewhere miles away, however I actually couldn’t live without him .. Although his millions of T-shirts is another story and Cambridge would still not be far enough away to house those bad boys!

Planning our new storage for our bedroom was initially difficult as we were making sure that the storage works for us this time round. Eventually we got there now and all we have left to do is work out if we are doing a full refurbishment as in full paint and new carpet too, along with a little more saving.

So this week I have decided on an action plan, although we are going to have to wait for our bedroom a little while longer, I certainly can make a start on the unflattering in the spare room and the deep clean of the living room.

The spring may have poked its head above the parapet for a few minutes .. But I am jumping it on it wholeheartedly and claiming that Spring has Sprung and instead of moving we are tackling the deep clean.

Wish us luck!

Disclaimer: This is a collaborative post

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Posted in Sponsored | Tagged cleaning, Sponsored, Spring | 2 Comments

Why I Am Supporting Smoke Free Homes & Cars

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Jaime

Just over 17 months ago I made the challenging decision to give up smoking. It was a really hard journey for me and in the beginning giving up smoking was tough. For me I found going cold turkey with the free support of the NHS Smoke free service was what I needed.

This was not a decision I took lightly. It had to be my own decision and no amount of guilt-tripping would have made me quit.

I remember those early days after giving up smoking when folks commented about the fact I would soon become a preachy ‘Ex’ smoker and in turn would slam all smokers for their choice to smoke. That is not my style.

Smoking is your choice, as it was mine but when making a choice it is good to have information.

While I smoked for the 10 years of my daughter’s life I was an outside smoker, I smoked in the garden or next to the backdoor as I didn’t want my house to smell, which I guess is a contradiction in itself as the smell does stick to clothing. However I wanted to keep the smell out. It wasn’t till after I stopped that I watched the advert below and my stomach churned … I had no idea till I saw this advert on TV below

In fact I felt sick once I watched this as I had no idea that 80% of secondhand smoke is invisible and the harm this can cause children can be significant and felt I felt dreadful.

For 17 months I have been smoke free .. for the most part, I still crave to spark up a fag and take a drag … and on the odd occasion I have been out on a night out I have in fact sparked a fag and as much as I hate to say it I actually enjoyed it … till the morning with stinky clothes and a raging sore throat

One thing for sure is that I certainly won’t be smoking anywhere near my home, car or kids again. In fact I would really like to give up those very occasional smokes on nights out.

Disclaimer: I’m working with BritMums and Public Health English alongside the #brakesonsmoking campaign. I have been compensated for my time. All editorial and opinions are my own. Visit www.nhs.uk/smokefree for free support and advice.

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Posted in Health, Sponsored | Tagged Britmums, Smoke Free, Smoking, Sponsored, Stop Smoking | 19 Comments

Win A Girls Night In Bundle!

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Jaime

My first thoughts these last few days where that spring is on the way … It seems with some areas in the UK under snow cover again I am preparing to batten down the hatches again and I in fact was wrong!

So I am super pleased to be able to offer one lucky UK reader a fantastic night in bundle to ward off the negativity of the weather and throw in some girly fun and laughs and even a chocolate!

In fact I am now somewhat jealous as this sounds like a fab night in and I’m not invited!

Competition Prizes

Brand new copies of Blended and the Other Woman on DVD from Cash Gen
A 7” gourmet chocolate pizza from Qwerkity who sell unusual gifts yes you read that right, a CHOCOLATE pizza!
A bingo board game, 4 x face masks and a £15 supermarket voucher for a shop of your choice (so you can buy a bottle and some snacks) from http://bingo.paddypower.com

So what are you waiting for, get entering for your chance to win a girlie night in bundle!

Good Luck!

Please note: Entrants must have a valid UK address – Full Terms and Conditions can be found on the Rafflecopter widget on the entry tabs.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: This prize has been given for the purposes of running a competition. All thoughts and opinions are made independently by members of The Oliver’s Madhouse

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Posted in Competition | Tagged Competition, Girls Night In, Giveaway | 14 Comments

Magic Moments 2/3/15

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Jaime

I have a lovely magic moment to share with you this week and I can’t wait to immerse myself in reading yours, although it maybe later in the week for me as I have been a little unwell.

So let’s get the magic moments rolling .. If you are tweeting me this week please dont forget my twitter account is … @JaimeOliverUK so if your new here just to let you know you are welcome to tweet me your link throughout the week and I will happily retweet you, but please only tweet me with your #MagicMoments post link, as much as I would love to share all you posts written in the week there are only so many hours in a day.

Don’t forget there is a Magic Moments page on Google+ to, so if you are on G+ feel free to pop over and add your link and visit too.

If you are new to Magic Moments you can find more information over HERE.

Don’t forget that linkys only work when people take the time to visit and share with others. With such a large crowd linking in please don’t think you have to comment on every one. I know many of you don’t have time for this and it’s unrealistic, however please visit as many as you can manage to share some love and build community spirit.

If you would like to join in I would love it if you would pop on the Magic Moments badge or a link back to me as it also helps others to see where you are linking up and they may decided to pop over and link up too! Remember the more people who take part and link up, the more people who are likely to visit, but this is only a polite request not a prerequisite.

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Posted in Linky, Magic Moments Post | Tagged Linky, Magic Moments Post | 3 Comments

Nottingham Blogger Meet Up

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Jaime

For those of you that are not familiar with bloggers who work from home, it can be a totally isolating profession at times and often it can be weeks if not months or even years before you get the opportunity to meet other Bloggers.

I have been really fortunate in that I have visited lots of events and workshops and with a large amount of bloggers in Nottingham we do tend to meet up at local functions.

Over this last 2.5 years I have met lots of really lovely bloggers in passing that are spread across the country at other events that I had not yet got to know and so on hearing some of them were going to be in Nottingham this weekend gone .. I was first one to say I was gate crashing the meet up!

Last Friday I met the lovely Debs from Super Busy Mum who was first into Nottingham after flying over from Ireland. Joshua and I failed to win her over with Hash Browns however we had a really fab morning catching up which soon included the lovely Amy from In My Bubble when she arrived too.

Early afternoon Joshua and I returned home to have some time together and then it was time for me to get ready and head back out for an evening of food and great company!

After meeting back up with Debs and Amy I finally got to meet the really lovely Lucy from Mrs Bishops Bakes & Banter followed swiftly by Emma from Handbags to Chang bags who is also a Nottingham blogger and is so blooming lovely yet it was the first time I have met her too!

We headed to ASK Italian and the conversation flowed.

After food Lucy headed back with an SOS food parcel to the hotel for the blogger down, Jade from Late For Reality unfortunately had got all the way to Nottingham but during her shopping trip in the day was struck down with a migraine so had taken to bed in the hotel instead to recover, which was such a shame that I didn’t get to see her as each time we have met up in the past we haven’t had time to chat properly. (Next time Jade!)

After being the last 4 to leave the bar in the early hours of Saturday morning I can quite honestly say there was not many topics off the agenda and there was an awful lot of laughter …

It’s so lovely to make new friends … thanks ladies

Photo credits and thanks for the use of the images - http://superbusymum.net & http://www.inmybubble.co.uk