What with Digital Parents Conference, Easter and my Blogoversary (have you entered my final giveaway yet?) I’ve been neglecting a couple of posts I had committed to write. So I thought I’d share a few of the products I’ve been sent to review lately (plus there’s a giveaway to enter too)
The fun Jelly Bean sandals of our (well my) youth are back and just as popular with the little people as ever. Miss K was rather excited when I picked these up from the Post Office and wanted to wear right away. They are one of her ‘go to’ pairs of shoes at the moment and has even been known to put them on before heading to bed!They are available in sizes for little people in blue, pink or clear AND big people in black, blue, red, pink and clear.
We’ve also be using the Boxy Design lunch set. It’s a backpack, compartment lunchbox, drink bottle and freezer gel pack. The set is $78 but I think it’s work the cost. The gel pack and lunchbox fit in a insulated compartment in the bottom of the backpack keeping kids lunch separate from everything else. There’s a smaller compartment on top for frequently accessed things and a long pocket at the back for paper and books. The lunchbox comes with two smaller spill proof containers for snacks or things like yoghurt (the lunchbox even comes with a spoon) and the two larger containers so sandwiches and fruit are kept separate and don’t need extra wrapping. It’s also dishwasher safe & BPA Free (as is the drink bottle). We’ve used it a couple of times when out and about and it’s been pretty good. Haven’t tried sandwiches yet. It should last Miss K till she starts school and hopefully through primary school.
Swimming in winter? In Tasmania? Only in an indoor or heated pool right? Well if your child is suited up in a Heatseeker wetsuit they could. Miss K loves to swim and has been a real water baby since she was really small. Last year she was disappointed to not be able to go swimming during winter, this year she can. Mind you I don’t think I’ll be joining her unless the pool is heated. This great set has kept her warmer than her other rashie type swimmers and the separate pieces mean the suit will hopefully last her a bit longer. Love the fact that Heatseeker is an Australian company too!
Now, onto a giveaway…. I have a pair of Jelly Bean sandals to give away. Enter with the Rafflecopter below (there may also be a pair in my blogoversary final giveaway too, just saying) Open to Australian residents only. Closes 8/5/12
I asked hubby to do a post today cause what I’m sharing is about his family. He declined, cause he’s like that 😉 His Grandfather served in WWII in the Pacific after narrowly missing out on serving in Africa (which was considered lucky as the company he would have been with ended up as POWs)
(that’s Frank on the left – the short one… hubby’s family are mainly a short lot)
The following poem is written about hubby’s Grandad Frank by one of the men who served with him. We have no idea who wrote it (it would be awesome if we could find this out one day… any suggestions of how we could possibly go about this?)
Frankie
Now Frankie is a quiet chap, Not the kind that chatter. He dos’nt care for Ingleburn, But what the hell’s that matter. There’s one thing about Frankie, At which I’ve often laughed, He’s half his mind on Home Leave, The other half on Draft. He loves his wife, As I do mine, And I bet she thinks he’s swell, It’s cruel that he’s away from home But perhaps it’s just as well. And when the war is ended As end all wars must All we will see of Frankie Will be a cloud of dust. He will have to go to beat me, To catch a Southern Train, But if he does we’ll meet I hope, In Launceston again.
Author: Unknown
and now some tunes for your viewing pleasure (the second always brings me to tears)
To finish off my little bloggy party I’m going to go out with one last giveaway. Since a blogoversary is a bit like a birthday, my last giveaway is a total surprise!!
Yup you read that right. You have no idea what will be in the box that I’ll be sending to one lucky person but it’s full of some great goodies.
But on to the winners so far!!
Thanks for all the yummy chicken ideas. I’m sure we’ll be trying out a few. Giveaway #1 – 2 x $20 Lenards vouchers go to…… Sammi & Sasha.
Some great beauty tips and the Giveaway #2 – Beauty pack goes to…… Mary
Thanks again go to those who took part in my bloggy question & answer. Giveaway #3 – Urban Lily Life Journal goes to…… Kylie
and the final winner Giveaway #4 – Ella’s Kitchen pack goes to…… Narelle
All winners have 48 hours to contact me with their postal details. If I have no contact my Tuesday I will be doing a redraw.
Now for the big Mystery box. You’ll have to do a little work for this one. Comment on this post sharing your favourite birthday memory (Optional – leave me a message here if you do any/all of these) Like me on Facebook Follow me on Twitter Tweet about the giveaway
Entry is open from 22 April 2012 until 6th May 2012 and is open to Australian residents only. Enter using the Rafflecopter form below.
While in Melbourne we attended the Kids Business Bloggers BBQ where I met and networked with some great brands. One of these brands was Ella’s Kitchen.
Ella’s Kitchen was set up in the UK by Ella’s Dad, Paul as he thought his daughter and other children ‘should have the opportunity to eat better food and also to discover that healthy food can be fun, tasty and cool.’ They have a variety of products including 100% fruit Smoothie Fruits, Stage 1 Baby Foods, Stage 2 Baby Foods and Baby Brekkie.
Miss K is at the stage where she prefers whole foods but we decided to try her out on the smoothies. She loves them, especially the Red One (100% strawberries, raspberries, apples + bananas with a dash of lemon juice). I’ve tried them and they aren’t bad. I can imagine adding them to milk to make a yummo milk smoothie or to some yoghurt. Hmmmm.
We haven’t tried the food pouch yet but I know we’ll be buying more of the Red One Smoothie Fruits.
Ella’s Kitchen 100% organic pouches are popping on shelves across Australia in Coles from 26th March 2012.
Today I’ve got together a few bloggers to answer a few questions about themselves & their blogs
Who are you and where do you blog? Tina Gray, http://tinagray.me And how long have you been blogging? about 6 years, but with this blog, 2 years. Tell us a little about you, your blog & your blogging journey. I’m a mum of 5 children and wife to 1 husband. My blog is my space to share what goes on in my head while trying to raise my family, trying to find my skinny self and sharing what I think about stuff. What is the one thing you wish you had been told when you started blogging? and what one piece of advice would you give other bloggers? Make your blog your own. Find YOUR voice. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing.
Tina can be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Who are you and where do you blog? Liz, www.lizosaurus.com And how long have you been blogging? 1 and a bit years at Lizosaurus, about 5 years all up. Tell us a little about you, your blog & your blogging journey. I’m Liz, I live in inner west Sydney with my husband Jarod and my cat Train. Blogging is just a creative outlet for me – somewhere to put my thoughts and chat with likeminded others. My blog has also offered some amazing opportunities – from free passes to the Easter show to a flight to Malaysia for an awards ceremony! What is the one thing you wish you had been told when you started blogging? and what one piece of advice would you give other bloggers? Blogging is not the be all and end all. There is still a life outside of the internet! Anything else? Also – make sure you’re enjoying it. If you’re not it’ll come through in your writing.
Liz can be found on Twitter
Who are you and where do you blog? Tork, http://torkona.blogspot.com And how long have you been blogging? 1 year, 4 months Tell us a little about you, your blog & your blogging journey. I just turned thirty. I’m a Pisces. I enjoy crisps and long walks on the beach.
But seriously, I am a dad blogger. Why? Because I love being a dad. I love talking about being a father. Not only that, but I am hilarious and I love making people laugh. Hehehe.
I also love to inspire, with a splash of music here and there and the odd hand “written” poetry. Wussy stuff, but I enjoy it, so I make it up talking about stuff dad’s might like as well as the odd gaming info. Overall, I blog about my boy and for my boy. It’s all about keeping memories for the future when I have trouble remembering stuff! What is the one thing you wish you had been told when you started blogging? and what one piece of advice would you give other bloggers? I wish I was told.. don’t worry about it. Just have fun.
Don’t worry about traffic. Don’t worry about how to blog. Simply keep your blog place neat and just write epic as you can whilst enjoying what you do. Anything else? Once I had this dream where I was a transforming plant that could transform into anything. There was a mob chasing after me for hours in this dream and I couldn’t get away from them, no matter what I did. I would turn down strange corners, run super fast, chuck rocks at this mob, nothing would work. Then I realised I was a transforming plant, so I turned into an old granny and grandpa and simply walked past them, whinging something about ‘kids these days’ as the granny whilst as the grandpa I was stroking a cat.
Just thought I’d share that.
Tork can be found on Twitter and on Facebook
Who are you and where do you blog? Ames, http://tutuames.com And how long have you been blogging? In total since Oct 2009, on this blog since March 2011 Tell us a little about you, your blog & your blogging journey. I’m a SAHM to two little ones, a toddler boy, lufflump and a newborn girl, sesame, and not married to but in love with the mister. I’m just getting into fitness and joining Roller Derby so will be also blogging that journey.
I began blogging in 2009. Only the mister knew I blogged. I stopped because I lost my blog mojo and I hated my blog, it still makes me cringe. I didn’t blog again for almost six months. I kept reading my favourite blogs but didn’t write anything.
I started my new blog, Tutu Ames now Accidental Wonderland, as I felt my blog mojo come back mostly thanks to Twitter. I’d spent the six months learning about writing posts, design and topics. I expanded my knowledge, not through e-classes but through blogs I admired.
My current blog is my third baby. She’s gone through many changes but I feel like she’s finding her happy place. The problem is that happy place keeps changing! It’s my place to vent and connect with a wonderful community. What is the one thing you wish you had been told when you started blogging? and what one piece of advice would you give other bloggers? Take snippets of your favourite blogs but don’t copy, individuality is the key! Also please turn word verification off it makes commenting suck. Anything else? Happy blogiversary!!
Ames can be found on Twitter and Facebook
Thanks to all who took part in my little bloggy interview. Pop over to their blogs & leave them some love 😀
Today’s giveaway is an Urban Lily Life Book Journal (I’m not sure if you can buy these anymore but last check RRP was about $30). Colour may vary from that shown below
The Urban Lily Life Book Journal is a refillable 6 ring binder journal with a soft PVC cover with chrome metal closure.
Each Journal Includes
– 50 printed journaling pages
– 25 ruled pages
– 10 blank pages
– 5 polka dot page dividers
Journal Size – 18cm x 23.5cm
Enter using the Rafflecopter below. Easy one today. Again Australian residents only please
So today I was hoping to have a guest post for you all but I left my emailing way too late. You know, the usual thing 😉 Instead I thought I’d share with you some of my favourites from the blogosphere.
I’m sharing this post by Tork cause a) it’s funny and b) it’s got cute pandas. I thought I might take part in Clairey’s handwriting challenge. Tina’s blogging posts are always informative. I *heart* Joy the Baker and her post Ten (Super Rad) Blog Post Ideas is great when facing a bit of bloggy block. Can’t share a list of bloggy goodness without sharing Two Lumps (cat owners can relate) and then there’s some bloggers who I struggle to pick just one post from recently – Eden, Lori, Kelley & Sass. I just want to give them huge hugs for a variety of reasons. Amazing women.
So there’s my favourites, all be it short. Hey it’s been a long day (OMG did I mention Miss K is finally sleeping in a single “big girl’ bed. We went and bought her new sheets, a pillow and a few other bits and pieces – she was super excited) and I’m a little tired. Tomorrow I’ll be back with some exciting stuff.
Today’s giveaway is a bit of a beauty pack (thanks to the Bloggers BBQ) with some Dove hair serum thrown in as a bonus 😀 Enter using the Rafflecopter below. Open to Australian residents only
This time six years ago I started a blog – From the Wolf’s Den (I did have another blog that started in 2005 so really I’ve been blogging for 7 years in May but meh, whatever). My first post was pretty simple. I’d started moving all my blogs from Blogger to Word Press. I don’t think I even kept my blogger blog though I still have my very first blog and my wedding blog.
I was a scrapbooker and a personal blogger. I shared scrapbooking stuff I’d created and just posted about my general life. Then in 2009 I fell pregnant with Miss K (& started a pregnancy blog) but it all got too much so this blog became my pregnancy blog as well. Which reminds me – I need to import all those posts from my pregnancy blog to here – keep it all in one place. In 2010 I became a ‘mummy blogger’. Over the last two years I’ve blogged a bit about crafting, a bit about parenting and bit of general blogging. Blogging has given me the chance to document, rant, share and so much more.
I still can’t believe I’ve been blogging so long. I’ve made some great friendships because of this blog (& Twitter). I’ve also had some great opportunities to work with some awesome brands. AND I got to go to a blogging conference.
So here’s to six years. May the next six bring more friendships, more opportunities and more blog events!!
For the next seven days I’ll be turning the Den into a bit of a party den with some great things lined up. Starting today with the first of my Blogoversary Giveaways.
Today’s giveaway is brought to you by Lenard’s. I have 2 $20 vouchers for Lenard’s to give away. I tried Lenard’s at the recent Bloggers BBQ and it is yummy. Shame there isn’t one in Tasmania 🙁
Enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Open to Australian residents only. Please check if you have a Lenard’s near you before entering.
Sunday we got up and headed to the Zoo. I love Melbourne Zoo. I have fond memories of watching the ring tailed lemurs for hours and hanging out in the butterfly house. It’s changed a little bit since my last visit – more ‘open’ enclosures and more animals. Miss K loved the seals and the ‘big kitties’ and loved going on the vintage carousel. I had not one, but two! butterflies land on me, the first time ever.
Sunday evening we caught up with some of my relatives before heading back to the hotel.
Monday saw us catch the train and bus out to Hawthorns training ground at Waverly Park then out to Chadstone Shopping Centre. OMG this place is HUGE. When we last visited it was still being renovated so there was a heap of new shops to visit including the Build-A-Bear Workshop. Miss K got to build a bear (well cat) from scratch sort of. You pick your ‘skin’ then you can add a sound or record your voice, stuff it, ‘shower’ it (with air), pick clothes for it and finally name it. We built a orange tabby & called her Tabitha.
Tuesday was our final day in Melbourne 🙁 we just got up and ready then headed to the airport. Miss K was excited to be heading home and actually sat in her seat on the plane the entire trip.
I’m glad to be home but looking forward to our next trip!!
Saturday morning saw us wake to overcast weather but it was still pretty warm. After checking out Google Maps we decided to walk down to Albert Park to the Powerhouse Convention Centre for the Kids Business Bloggers BBQ.
I’ve never been to any of the Kids Business Blogger Brunches so was wasn’t sure what to expect. We arrived at the site to be greeted by a Britz Campervan. Those things are amazing and I think hubby would love to hire one for a bit of a family trip around Tassie.
If you’ve never been to a Kids Business Blogger’s brunch/bbq before it’s a great chance to network with other bloggers and brands. We spent the morning networking with some awesome brands including Target, Britz Campervans, Cottees, Crayola, Ella’s Kitchen, Fressure Foods, Lenard’s Chicken (I am so bummed they aren’t in Tassie), McCormick, Nads and Microsoft Hotmail & Skydrive. We left a little early as Miss K was getting restless and we had a date with the Melbourne Aquarium.
Hubby & I had never been to the aquarium and were looking forward to it. Miss K was just excited to go on a ‘funny bus’ – her name for the trains and see the fishies.
The first thing we saw were the King penguins & Gentoo penguins. OMG they are so cute. Miss K loved them especially the one that kept following her.
Won’t bore you with chatter but will share some pictures. The only thing that wasn’t a huge hit was the walk through tunnel. Which is of course where the sharks & rays were 🙁
Back tomorrow with our Zoo trip and our last 2 days in Melbourne.
The fun Jelly Bean sandals of our (well my) youth are back and just as popular with the little people as ever. Miss K was rather excited when I picked these up from the Post Office and wanted to wear right away. They are one of her ‘go to’ pairs of shoes at the moment and has even been known to put them on before heading to bed!
They are available in sizes for little people in blue, pink or clear AND big people in black, blue, red, pink and clear. 
We’ve also be using the Boxy Design lunch set. It’s a backpack, compartment lunchbox, drink bottle and freezer gel pack. The set is $78 but I think it’s work the cost. The gel pack and lunchbox fit in a insulated compartment in the bottom of the backpack keeping kids lunch separate from everything else. There’s a smaller compartment on top for frequently accessed things and a long pocket at the back for paper and books. The lunchbox comes with two smaller spill proof containers for snacks or things like yoghurt (the lunchbox even comes with a spoon) and the two larger containers so sandwiches and fruit are kept separate and don’t need extra wrapping. It’s also dishwasher safe & BPA Free (as is the drink bottle). We’ve used it a couple of times when out and about and it’s been pretty good. Haven’t tried sandwiches yet. It should last Miss K till she starts school and hopefully through primary school. 
Swimming in winter? In Tasmania? Only in an indoor or heated pool right? Well if your child is suited up in a Heatseeker wetsuit they could. Miss K loves to swim and has been a real water baby since she was really small. Last year she was disappointed to not be able to go swimming during winter, this year she can. Mind you I don’t think I’ll be joining her unless the pool is heated. This great set has kept her warmer than her other rashie type swimmers and the separate pieces mean the suit will hopefully last her a bit longer. Love the fact that Heatseeker is an Australian company too!
