Fostering the love of books

Disclaimer – I received some Me Books books to try for free and I am part of the Me Books review team in Australia. All opinions and wording (unless noted) are my own.

I can’t remember the first book I read but I can remember always having hundreds of books around. One room of our house growing up had a wall of books – that room ended up being my bedroom, sadly minus the wall of bookshelves. Mum & Dad read to both my brother & I from a young age. Tilly and Tessa was apparently a favourite as was the Miffy books and the Mog books. My brother’s favourite was Grug. I remember reading Shakespeare when I was young – Midsummer Nights Dream is still a favourite of mine.

We’ve tried to install this love of books in Miss K. We’ve read to her since she was really little. Birthdays and Christmas are always a time to give new books. She’s inherited some of my books – big surprise Tilly & Tessa is one of those books (she loves it as much as I did) and we’ve downloaded some books for her on the iPad, mainly interactive ones but we’ve found she’s not as interested in them after the first or second read. When offered to take a look at the Me Books app, I jumped at the chance. Mainly because their library include favourites from my childhood – Ladybird books! I had a heap of these books when I was young, some which had been handed down from cousins and other family. Well read and well worn. And the Beatrix Potter collection. There’s also more modern reads based on favourite TV shows like Peppa Pig and Charlie & Lola.

Me Books offers children a great range of books that are interactive. Kids can read along; have the story read to them by well known personalities (like Sir David Jason, Rik Mayall and Richard E Grant); touch the pages for interactive sound effects; record the story themselves (or by a parent/grandparent/carer etc)

When you download the app from the App Store you’ll be given the following screen with your free book, Little Red Riding Hood.

To create a Me Books account, to access other books, click on the Shop button then click Account. Click Create Account, enter your email and a password and your done. When you create an account, you will also get the following three Me Books – Shopping with Mother, Talk about School and Sleeping Beauty.

So far Miss K has devoured them. Peppa Meets the Queen has been read and played numerous times, as has Talkabout starting school.

Me Books have also dropped the price of their The Land of Me book apps. They are now 99c each. “In this BAFTA nominated early learning adventure for 2 – 6 year olds, children encounter an enchanting cast of loveable characters. Join Eric the raccoon, Buddy Boo the bear and Willow the owl on an epic journey through your child’s imagination.”
I’d never heard of The Land of Me but after checking out their website I’ve decided they are very cute (and I think they should have plushies of the main characters – I would buy them all.)

The apps included in the super sale are:
The Land of Me – Shape, Size and Colour
The Land of Me – Making Things
The Land of Me – Songs and Rhymes

These have quickly become favourites too with The Land of Me – Songs & Rhymes on high rotation. And the good thing is, they aren’t annoying like some other apps aimed at kids.

The Me Books app is free to download, you get Little Red Riding Hood for free AND when you join the Me Books store you get another 3 books (Shopping with Mother, Talk about School and Sleeping Beauty) free as well. Books in the Me Books store range from 99c to $2.99 (most are $2.99). Books in the Modern section include Charlie & Lola and Peppa Pig. Classics include Beatrix Potter and lots of Ladybird Books.

Happy 7th Birthday

to my little blog. Yup Nightwolf’s Den is 7 this weekend! It really doesn’t seem like all that long ago I decided to move my Blogger blog to WordPress and slowly roll most of my blogs into one. I’ve been blogging for longer than 7 years but this is my longest continuous blog.

It’s interesting going back over old posts and seeing how my blog has changed.

So here’s to the first 7 years & here’s to many more

And so it begins…

Miss K started day care at the local Early Learning Centre a month ago and we’re getting quite a pile of artwork.

I’ve been putting some of her art pre day care into a binder because it has all been A4 or smaller. Now she’s at day care we’re getting larger pieces and stuff that clearly won’t fit in a binder.

Now the question for you, dear readers, is what can I use to store all these bits of art?

I’ve been taking photos and archiving them using a great app called Artkive.

Artkive allows you to take a photo of your children’s artwork and tag it with the child’s name, grade and date.
You can create a Share Circle so you can share, via email, your Artkive with family and friends – a great way to share artwork with Grandparents (or anyone else you like)!
If you live in the US or Canada you can get books printed of your children’s artwork too. Hopefully that will be available worldwide soon. But if you would like to get a book you can email them.

An Afternoon of Teal and good fun

Sunday Mum & I held our second Afternoon Teal fundraising event. This year our event was called Crop Teal You Drop as we’d planned a day with a scrapbooking theme. Due to a few unforseen circumstances we ended having to shorten the day to just the Afternoon Tea part of the event.

We started the afternoon off with a quick group shot and while we printed out our image had a quick game of Scattergories, that was a great laugh and a good way to start the afternoon off.

Most of the ladies who attended are not scrapbookers and I think weren’t sure what to expect when we announced we had a scrapbook challenge. The pages all turned out different and I think everyone had a good time. This is a small selection of the pages created.

and then there was all the food!

We had a raffle and a silent auction with some amazing prizes from amazing sponsors Kim Foale, Inner B, Rabbit Hole Tea and Vitality Brands.

Prizes clockwise from top left: cups by Kim Foale; Beauty & the Bees gift pack; Rabbit Hole Tea teapot & selection of teas; Cancer Council pack from Vitality Brands; Mum Organiser and Wellbeing pad from Inner B. A HUGE thank you to all who donated prizes.

I’m amazed at how much there is for Ovarian Cancer Awareness month this year. Two of the ladies from Ovarian Cancer Australia will be on The Morning Show tomorrow (Feb 27th,) around 10.15. Tomorrow is also Teal Ribbon day. Buy your Teal Ribbon today from Chemmart Pharmacies, Harvey Norman, My Size, Brazilian Butterfly and Contours.

I’ll be wearing my teal ribbon tomorrow along with this gorgeous necklace from the amazing Art in the Round on Etsy.

She makes some gorgeous awareness ribbon pendants as well as other gorgeous pendants (and now she sells matching earrings!)

From the Den

Disclosure: I was given product or vouchers to trial the following products. All opinions are my own.

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a From the Den post. We’ve been trying a few new things lately so I thought I’d share 🙂 cause I’m nice like that hehe

PONG mobile cases. I’m usually a bit sceptical when it comes to mobile phones and the whole radiation thing so when I was offered the chance to try a mobile case that claims to cut radiation as well as improve signal & battery life I thought well it can’t hurt to try it out. Pong cases claim to reduces exposure to cellular radiation by up to 94% below international safety limits, by redirecting mobile phone radiation away from your head and body as well as improve signal strength by up to 30%. Efficient antenna performance is meant to increase talk-time battery life.
After having a case with a flip over cover for so long, it was a little strange at first to go to the slip on design. The rubber side grips are comfy and it comes in a range of colours. Can’t say anything about the radiation but I did notice an improvement in battery life and signal strength.
If radiation from mobiles is a worry for you this would be a great case – the extended battery life is a bonus! PONG make cases for the iPhone 3 up to the iPhone 5, iPad (1 through 4 and the mini), some Android phones & some Blackberry phones. You can buy PONG phones online. Prices range from $49.99 for the Motorola Droid X/X2 case to $129.99 for an iPad case

Coles GRILL products. Thanks to VIBE Village I had the opportunity to try out the new Coles GRILL range. We tried the Pepper & Chilli Beef, Honey Soy Chicken Skewers, Tasmanian Salmon Teriyaki and Southern Style Chicken Shanks. We had 2 friends round for a BBQ and we were surprised to have leftovers. The beef was moist and full of flavour and not too spicy like we thought it would be. The salmon was delish. The chicken skewers were quite yum (I only got half of one, Miss K scarfed the rest – she loves her chicken) but probably could have done with more marinade. Didn’t try the chicken shanks but hubby assured me they were yum. Love the fact these are just open and cook. Would be great if you had to take something to a BBQ and wanted to grab something on the way or to stash in the freezer for a quick meal option.

Fing’rs nail makeup. I love wearing nail polish but it really doesn’t like me. I put it on and within an hour it’s all chipped. Doesn’t matter if I get my nails done professionally either – still chipped within a couple of hours. Makes me sad. And I’m not coordinated enough to do all the fancy nail art I keep pinning on Pinterest. So when I got the chance to try the new range of Fing’rs Nail Makeup I thought awesome! There are 8 designs in the new L.A. range. I tried Hollywood first, it’s pink with silver dots. Application is really easy – just choose your nail size, peel from the backing, stick to your nail then fold the end and file to your nail shape. The packaging says they will last for up to 7 days. Mine lasted through a kids party & all the prep for that, a swim, general housework. We’re on day 6 and they are only starting to look a little shabby at the ends. I’m debating about trying a layer of clear nail polish over the top next time to give them a bit more protection. Fing’rs nail make up is available at selected Coles & Kmart stores for $9.99

And now the exciting part. I’ve got a full set of the new Fing’rs LA range to give to one reader. That’s 8 different designs for you to try.

To enter, use the Rafflecopter form below, help me choose which Nail Makeup I should try next.
Entry is for Australian residents only.

And the winner is Jody. Congratulations. Thanks to all who commented and the winning choice will be revealed on Twitter & Instagram later today 😉 It was very close

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kiss & Make up

Happy Valentine’s Day!

1 in 79 Australian women will develop Ovarian Cancer by the age of 85. Although the average age of diagnosis is 64, women of all ages have been diagnosed. The youngest I know of is 3!

So after sharing that with you I thought today is the perfect day to share with you a great new app. K.I.S.S and Makeup, available for free in the iTunes store.

Know the Important Signs and Symptoms: this Valentine’s Day Ovarian Cancer Australia is asking everyone in Australia to K.I.S.S. their loved ones to make sure they know the important signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer. With the click of a button you can share a K.I.S.S. and help your friends know the important signs and symptoms. Developed thanks to generous funding from the Victorian Department of Health, the app informs women about the symptoms and risks of ovarian cancer and enables them to share this information with family and friends. The symptom diary allows users to easily track the type and severity of their symptoms each day for four weeks. This information can be converted into a report for women to present to their doctor should they have any concerns.

What are the important signs & symptoms?

Abdominal or pelvic pain
Increased abdominal size or persistent bloating
Needing to urinate often or urgently
Feeling full after eating a small amount

If you have these symptoms (& they are new or unusual) and experience them most days over 2-4 week period, please see your doctor. Ovarian cancer is relatively uncommon and most women with these symptoms won’t have Ovarian Cancer but it is better to be safe and get it checked. Pap smears don’t detect Ovarian Cancer and there is no early detection test.

This great little app also has some great make up tips from Miranda Kerr’s Australian makeup artist, Allyson Boyle.

Grab it now in the App Store and KISS all your female friends and relatives this Valentine’s Day

Ovarian Cancer Awareness

This month (February) is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. I’m turning my blog, Twitter and Facebook teal for the month to show my support for those currently battling Ovarian Cancer and for the families who have lost a loved one.

Ovarian Cancer is a disease where some of the cells in one or both ovaries start to grow abnormally and develop into cancer. There currently is no screening test for Ovarian Cancer. If your doctor suspects ovarian cancer, there are a number of tests they can perform to help decide whether your symptoms are due to ovarian cancer or other causes. Of these tests, it is strongly recommended that both the CA125 blood test and the transvaginal ultrasound are performed. If these tests strongly suggest ovarian cancer, then your doctor will recommend an operation, which is the only definite way to diagnose ovarian cancer.

Every woman needs to know what the symptoms of Ovarian Cancer. Make sure you do.
Women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer report four types of symptoms most frequently:

Abdominal or pelvic pain.
Increased abdominal size or persistent abdominal bloating.
Needing to urinate often or urgently.
Feeling full after eating a small amount.

Most women who experience these symptoms don’t have Ovarian Cancer but if you experience these symptoms regularly over a four week period, please discuss your symptoms with a doctor and if other reasons don’t rule out your symptoms ask to be tested for Ovarian Cancer

Events during February to raise awareness of Ovarian Cancer include

WNBL Teal Ribbon Round (Feb 1st to Feb 3rd)
Brazilian Butterfly Queen of the Lake – Melbourne, Vic (see starttofinish.com.au for more details)
Contours 6 Week Challenge – see Contours website for more info
K.I.S.S. on Valentine’s Day (I’ll be sharing more about this on Feb 14)
GO Festival
Afternoon Teal – Mum & I will be hosting ours later this month
Teal Ribbon Day. Wednesday 29th Feb. Teal Ribbon Day is a way to show your support for Ovarian
Cancer awareness, support and research and recognise those affected.

The majority of the information in this post comes from Ovarian Cancer Australia. Support this organisation – they do an amazing job! Follow them on Twitter or like them on Facebook. I am in no way associated with this organisation. I am blogging about this cause because it is close to my heart.

Work wear for under $100? Challenge accepted

Disclaimer: I was given a Target gift card to purchase work wear and accessories. All opinions and wording is my own, unless otherwise noted.

When you work from home there is often the tendency to wear what ever you lay your hands on first thing of a morning. Be a work-from-home mum and the tendency to wear something comfy & that hides a multitude of stains is more so. I’ve had quiet a few days when I can still be found in my pjs at midday.

When I was offered the chance to shop at Target and see if I could get something stylish yet practical for under $100 I thought challenge accepted!

Now our nearest Target is about 40 minutes away BUT thanks to the wonders of the internet & online shopping I was able to browse the City Dressing range of women’s wear in the comfort of my own home. I selected a few pieces, wrote down the names & then a couple of days later headed into Launceston to go check out my wish list

First on the list was some new underwear, cause your underwear is the foundation of any outfit looking great! I really love how the underwear at Target is so affordable and in a great range of styles and sizes. I mean you can get a new bra for as little as $7.50 and new undies from as little as $5 a pair! So undergarments sorted. No I’m not sharing what I bought but you can check out the styles of bras and undies online. Next stop tops & trousers.

I decided to go with trousers just cause I’m not really a skirt person. I wear jean a lot, and even though the IT industry can be pretty laid back as far as work wear goes, I decided to get something a little more professional. I have quite a few pairs of long length trousers so checked out the 3/4 lengths and capris. I also wanted something not black as 90% of the trousers I already own are black. Ended up picking the City Dressing Linen Crop Pants
OMG these pants are super comfy. Great for work, chasing that super active toddler AND even heading out to a spring/summer bbq/party/drinks with mates/blogger event. AND they only set me back $24.88
If you prefer longer work pants, the City Dressing range has lots of great options and prices start from a cheap $20

The selection of tops in the City Dressing range varies from shirts to tops that will take you from work to after work. I could have spent hours trying on tops. In the end I selected 3 – the City Dressing Striped Short Sleeve Shirt; the City Dressing Ruffle Top With Necklace; and a black & white spotted sleeveless
I ended up picking the City Dressing Ruffle Top With Necklace. Casual yet dressy enough to meet with clients.

Now accessories, since the top came with a necklace I didn’t worry about getting another. I looked at a few things but what I was looking for wasn’t available in my local Target so I decided to accessory shop online. I picked up a new phone wallet and a new belt. And cause I really like it I added a new ring.

So my outfit for under $100

City Dressing Linen Crop Pants – $24.88

City Dressing Ruffle Top With Necklace – $39

Phone wallet – $15

Belt – $15

(underwear & ring purchased separately)

Shoes are my own

So there you go. Can you get a work outfit – that will work if your a mum of an active toddler and/or take you out after work – for under $100? At Target, the answer is yes you can!

20 Days: Days 6-10

I actually managed to keep up this time so here are days 6-10

Day 6 was the bathroom. Love that our bathroom is fairly small so stays pretty tidy so it was just a quick once over.

Before

and after

Day 7 and we cleaned out the fridge. And I managed to declutter my cookbooks. I’ve scanned the recipes I use often and the ones I want to try so now I can get rid of some cookbooks.

Before and after

Day 8 was cleaning the sunroom which is Miss K’s playroom. This room is such a pigsty with paper everywhere & stuff gets dumped there before getting taken to the office.

Before and after

Day 9 was cleaning out the junk drawer and organising my calendar & diary

and after

and finally day 10 was cleaning the oven. I hate cleaning the oven with a passion but I have actually been keeping up with cleaning it so it was a pretty easy job this time round.

The Winter Blogathon 2013–Update

Still very wrong typing that 😉 but with the weather we’ve had in the last couple of days it could be winter.

So the blogathon is over and I’ve managed to do heaps and added a few more things to my original list:

~~Write up some blog posts and schedule them.~~
~~Catch up on reviews or other posts.~~
~~Brainstorm ideas for blog~~.
~~Clean up your labels/tags~~
~~Backup your blog (& FB & Twitter)~~
~~Start Project Life series (& scheduled to post at the end of January)~~
~~start work on series I want to do in 2nd half of 2013~~
~~Set up blog planner in diary~~
~~clean up and sort emails~~
~~clean up evernote~~
~~set up blogging app on ipad~~
~~start to create my own blog planner printable~~
make sure my blog & sm branding is consistent – it’s my birthday today so I’ll be working on this one tomorrow
add a pinterest mouseover button to my blog (see above)

Loved getting so much done over the weekend and look forward to the next Blogathon in June. Learnt lots to with the mini challenges and found a heap of new blogs to check out.