"I will preach with my brush."

A few weeks back Gifts from the Pirates became one of the bloggers for mypure.co.uk. There was always going to be an appeal to work with them due to them having an ethically sound business and a great selection of organic beauty and lifestyle products. Being someone that takes the Ingredients that go into products seriously, a family that does their best to buy everything they can organically and the respectable writer I have become over the years you would think that my first choice of product to review would be a well thought out, researched product...

Nope! My childish side came out and I based my decision on the first thought that came into my head when I saw the product 'woah that looks like some sort of toothbrush for a comic book character, it's huge!'. Well my strong sense of Intrigue got the better of me that day so it was a Radius Original toothbrush for me and Mrs M and I couldn't wait to give it a try.

On arrival Mrs M tore it straight out of the packaging and marched to the bathroom, I was a little more reserved and read the packaging first and waited until my evening brushing routine. It was a thumbs up as soon as she returned but said initially it does feel a little odd having that much brush in your mouth.

My dentist informed me last year that I have an exceptionally small mouth and he finds working on my teeth a challenge at times so I was interested to see how I was going to manoeuvre the brush around my mouth. Turns out it isn't that small and the brush found its way round with the greatest of ease. Mrs M was right it does feel odd to start but as I got into my 3 minute routine I was impressed at how nice it felt almost massaging my gums (part of the design size is to stop your gums receding with gentle massaging above the teeth). We've never been the sort of people to buy cheap brushes unless were caught short and I've forgotten to pack them on a weekend away but £10 did seem a little steep. I took that thought back straight away though as it glided along my front teeth, this is a great brush, when you look into the materials used for the brush you can see why it is slightly more expensive. The handle is made from wood cellulose and the bristles a planet friendly castor bean oil. Radius do boast that the quality of the brush is so superior that it lasts around 3x longer than most brushes on sale, up to 9 months, i think that's pretty amazing and suddenly the cost doesn't seem an issue at all.

beacause of the size of the handle a lot of thought has gone into the shape and its really comfortable to hold, yes i know most people would say 'its just a toothbrush' but i can guarantee most people will be drawn in on the first use. As the large handle is shaped perfectly for your hand it is also available for left handed brushers too. A great comfortable brush and worth every penny, I'd be interested in trying one from the Scuba  range. One of the things i loved most about this toothbrush aside from it being better for the environment was there was no build up at the base of the bristles it stays completely clean once run under the tap.

A great bit of kit and the quality and style you would expect from a product stocked by Mypure.



 

"The trick is growing up without growing old."

I have a lot to thank Nintendo for, they unknowingly helped to shape my childhood and my development from an early age. I remember how excited I was when we got our NES console and how great it felt holding that Duck hunt gun and shooting at the screen, it was the cutting edge in video games and I couldn't get enough of it. When I was at school you were either in the Nintendo gang or you were Sega and while some of my friends spent their free time at home with that jumped up hedgehog Sonic, I was a Mario boy through and through. Because of this, over the years I have owned every console they have released, apart from the 3ds, I'm hoping one of those will find its way to me at some point soon.

Nintendo will always be special to me and Seth, a few years back when we found out Opeie was on his way Mrs M fell very ill and was in and out of hospital through the pregnancy, I feared the worst and because of this me and Seth would spend a lot of our days hanging around the hospital waiting to see Mrs M. I decided to buy Seth a DS to keep him entertained, i did think at the time maybe he was a little to young for it but he was instantly hooked and within a week I had brought myself one and we would sit in the hospital cafe or under the huge weeping willow on the grounds playing together. I guess it kept our minds off what was going on inbetween visiting times. Our gaming sessions is something that has continued ever since, It kept us fully entertained during our recent long haul flight and we have all been happily playing Mario together earlier.

Our gaming party of two has now increased to three and Opeie seems to be even more interested in handheld gaming than us. Ever since being sent the 2ds by Nintendo for our holiday, Opeie has become an addict and considering he hasnt even turned 3 yet he is pretty good. I know that gaming gets some bad press especially when it comes to younger children but I really think that it is good for Opeie's development. It's challenging, helps to finely tune his fine motor skills and his hand eye coordination has been amazing because of it, it's also great for strategic planning. We do so much with Opeie and he has such variety in his day to day activities that a little bit of gaming is nothing to worry about.

As I said at the start of the post I have a lot to thank Nintendo for and most recently something very unexpected, Nintendo's  participation in the cleaning of my boys teeth, we've always had a problem with Opeie when it came to cleaning his teeth but it seems that since having the 2ds to play with his dental hygiene has taken a pleasant turn and toothbrushing has now become effortless. Another win for Nintendo and a continuing dedicated following at Gifts from the Pirates.

"When you see me outside With my wind-swept hair Riding by with my wheel in the air You'll never see me happier "

Opeie's tooth brushing routine has been a battle. In comparison to the potty training that will inevitably come soon it's probably nothing but we have finally made it to brushing twice a day with no tears. He will only brush his teeth with one song playing now and were so thankful for that song. So to the Aquabats thank you for all your help in the cleanliness of our boys teeth, as super heroes you really are the real deal...

"I like to see life with its teeth out."

Over the last few months Opeie has become a nightmare with both bathing and brushing his teeth. The bath thing i can kind of understand, he was fine until he moved one day when Mrs M was washing his hair and he got most of a cup of water in his eyes so i think when he gets in the bath now he is quite anxious about that happening again. Luckily were both very patient parents so we will get him back on track soon.

The tooth brushing saga seems to be coming to an end now with the help of some special toothpaste that Opeie seems to like and the Aquabats super show. It has become Opeie's and Seth's favourite show. Weve had a few off days but that's mainly down to teething issues but overall he is getting a lot better. It does also make things easier when Seth is next to him brushing his pegs too.

As random as it is when you watch the video as it wont make much sense to you without watching the show (saying that the the whole show is quite random, a cross between power rangers and Garth Marenghi's darkplace) this is the video we have to have on while Opeie is brushing his teeth

enjoy...