Can I hear an OOH for OO?

Me, along with 90% of women, don't mind a spot of shopping.

Window shopping, new clothes, toys & books for the kids, gift buying for others, grabbing a bargain in a sale, a fresh new range each season to choose from, investing in something new & special for the home - all of these can be very good for the soul. Don't you agree? C'mon ..... just take a moment to be a little superficial with me! We work hard for our money....and sometimes it feels good to spend that money on ourselves, our families, our friends or our homes.

However, with kids in tow {including a baby boy who is NOT a fan of shopping malls at the moment}, I find it hard and even a little stressful to get to the shops and take my time browsing. These days, we rush in, get what we need and escape before too much chaos is had!

That is where & why my love for online shopping has blossomed so much. You can take your time, browse in peace - with a wine in hand if desired and simply ENJOY the art of shopping. 

From groceries to gifts, clothes to baby goods - I love to shop online!!!!!

So, when I heard about oo.com.au and their fab toy variety, I had to jump in and check them out!

Have you seen oo.com.au?

You must!

They sell almost everything! Everything in one easy place - with a simple, quick-to-use checkout system. And FAST POSTAGE!

I ordered Ryder a Mega Blocks 3in1 Walker Toy Thingy one late night from the comfort of home....and within 4 days it was delivered by Australia Post. LOVE!

For around $40, I didn't have to leave home & battle crowds and chaos - and I had a very happy boy in result.

oo.com.au isn't just for toys though. As I said - they sell pretty much everything!

You're one stop Christmas Shopping Destination. Seriously. Check it out.

I'll be heading back there soon to get some more bits n bobs for upcoming birthdays :)

Happy Friday All x

Do you like to shop online?

Which online stores do you recommend I check out?

This was a sponsored post. I was not paid for this, however I was given a gift voucher to use at this store. All opinions in this post are my own.

Immune Re-Building

It's that time of year. The snuffly noses, chesty coughs, tummy bugs & flus are in full force.

The icky wintery months seem to always deliver a huge load of illnesses. And we have already had our fair share. A recent bout of throat infections / tonsilitis has had all of 4 of us on antibiotics :(

To be honest - I find it hard to maintain healthy, strong immune systems within our family. When kids are attending child cares and/or school it just comes with the territory that bugs get brought home too. And when I am teaching, I too am exposed to the same lovely bugs. And as soon as someone in the family comes down with something....it's very hard to avoid the rest of us getting it too. I'm a clean freak & a germaphobe, but with that said....we still get sick.

Lack of sleep & a busy lifestyle doesn't help my immune system, but I do what I can to try to build it up & keep it as strong as possible - we regularly eat fresh & healthy. We also {including the kids} take a daily multivitamin, and we keep active.

A Random Did you know fact - 70% of your immune system is found in the digestive tract! And things like antibiotics, bad {but yummy} foods & alcohol can unbalance your immune system by messing with the friendly bacteria count inside you {known as Probiotics}. There are a few products on the market to help balance & maintain this good immune boosting bacteria, but some of them are costly, or not appropriate for kids, or taste gross.

I have tried to get Ella to drink those little dairy probiotic bottles each day, and she can't stand the taste. So when I heard about Golden Circle's new Healthy Life Probiotic Fruit Juice, I was VERY keen to trial & review it.

AND......it's a winner!

It's available in the grocery store. It's affordable {under $5 for 1L}. It comes in 2 different flavours - Apple Mango and Breakfast. It's delicious. It's free from dairy, extra sugar, artificial colours & flavours.....and it's packed with probiotics to help your body's immune system.

We tried the Apple Mango flavour, and enjoyed a small glass of it each morning with a serve of fresh fruit for morning tea.

The 4 year old loves, so I'm happy :)

Check it out next time you're grocery shopping.

P.S. This was not a 'cash paid sponsored post'. It was a ”Product Talk by Nuffnang”. This review is my honest opinion on the product.

Johnson's & Aveeno Baby Review & Giveaway.

To say I was excited to receive the above package from Johnson's Baby & Aveeno Baby is an understatement. As a Mother of 2 little ones, we go through quite a lot of bath products. So receiving my favourite brands.... for free...to review...was kind of cool!

I've been a fan of Johnson's Baby products since Ella was born & I was thrown into the {competitive} world of baby products. There's A LOT of options out there that all claim to be the best for your baby. And a lot of options to meet all kinds of budgets & family needs. However, Johnson's has always been my pick, because it's affordable, it's trusted & it works! It also does what it claims to do :)

I was pretty excited about the Baby Bedtime collection....because I have 2 cherubs who aren't huge fans of sleep, so anything that says "clinically proven to help your baby sleep better" and is 'safe & natural'.....I'm on board! I decided to use this 3 step routine trial with Ryder.

First we bathed :) I added a few drops of the Bedtime Bath to the running water to create a bubble effect {hey, thats the best part about bathtime isn't it?? The Bubbles!!}. I then used a little more of the wash to clean him all over including his hair {not that he has much yet}.

He loves bathtime...and I was enjoying the smell of the Lavender rich creamy wash.

We then followed up with a leg & arm massage with the Baby Bedtime Oil, which also smelt divine & felt nice & silky. He loved the massage but like all fidgety boys, he'd had enough of lying still. So, a quick rub of the Bedtime Lotion on his tummy, back & neck and dressed ready for bed.

I always say that Ryder is so delicious....but after that 3 step routine, he smelt soooo good :)

I will admit that we honestly saw a different side of him after that. Normally by then, after bath, he's tired & had enough & wants to be carried, cuddled & then put to bed. But this night, he happily chilled in the baby swing & allowed us to eat our dinner while he happily watched on. A definite sense of calm about him :)

I'll be honest in saying that he didn't sleep any better that night.....but {no offence to Johnson's} I think it'll take more than lavender to get my kids to sleep deeply.....I swear they have 'energizer batteries' hidden in them somewhere lol :) However, we did notice he was definitely a lot more calm after the bath routine, during that night & the next morning! Excited about what tonight will bring with the continuation of the Johnson's Baby Bedtime products!!!

As for the Aveeno products, I'll be honest in saying that I haven't used much of them before. But VERY glad that we now have some to trial. We'll definitely be getting more. Ella's skin is quite sensitive. Most bath products, lotions & washing powders can give her instant eczema on her arms. So I stick to very mild products with her {usually Johnson's milk bath or plain baby wash}. However, Aveeno were claiming to be good for sensitive skin & dermatologist recommended.

I took a risk & used 3 of the products on the first night. The wash, shampoo & lotion. And all 3 were FAB! No reactions.....no eczema. Just fresh, clean, dreamy skin & hair. Tangle free hair also, which was a bonus!

I'm so happy to now have another natural, affordable option for Ella's sensitive skin. And although the products are advertised for 'baby use'.....I'll be using the Aveeno products too! They're divine!!

If you think you'd like to use these products.....Johnson's & Aveeno have said they will giveaway one of the exact packs I received to one Scissors Paper Rock reader :) Simply comment on this blog post, telling me which Johnson's or Aveeno Products you use & love most! One random commenter will be drawn on Monday night at 8pm 26th March 2012. The winner will receive the same 7 products I received....as pictured above. GOOD LUCK!!!Winner announced here on the blog....and on my Facebook page.

And thank you Johnson's Baby & Aveeno Baby...for the giveaway, and for making FABULOUS products!!

Review: ChildUp Learning Cards & Giveaway

This review is my honest, unbiased opinion of my experience with ChildUp's Learning Cards. Thankfully, ChildUp & I share the same passion in raising Successful & Happy Children :)

Whether it's because I'm a teacher by trade, or if it's just in my nature; but I like to educate my kids.

And when I say educate, I don't want to instill a vision of me pacing our lounge room with a cane in one hand & a stick of chalk in the other, while my perfect children sit straight postured in their rowed desks reciting their reading, writing & arithmetic ;o) Haaa! I simply mean.....I love nothing more than surrounding my kids with books & puzzles & crafty materials. I enjoy counting with them, singing to them, story telling with them & drawing. I embrace creativity, and encourage my children to talk, question & wonder. I know that children are sponges.....and if given enough rich content, in an interesting manner & with the use of great resources.....learning & absorbing can happen....will happen.....and it can be fun {for both parent & kid}!

So, when I received my Math & Logic Early Learning Cards from ChildUp, I was a little excited about where these cards would take us :)

They are designed for 1-5 year olds. Each set comes with 16 Parent's Cards plus 48 Child's Cards. They are appealing to both boys & girls, and not only do they teach number skills....but they venture into animal facts too! You can buy them online here.

Set 1 & 2. Math & Logic. ChildUp.

Ella was super excited when I told her I had some new number cards for her to play with......

At first, we started with Set 1 {Learning to count 1-10}.

Ella has just turned 4, and can easily count to 10 {and beyond}, but I wanted to experience the activities with her....because memory counting to 10 is one thing, but truly understanding each digit & each number as an amount & figure, is another.

We counted, we sorted, we talked, we played. I found the parent cards really interesting & helpful. There was also random fact cards that I found really interesting about baby's brains & learning experiences. The way ChildUp had explained the importance of 'teaching' your children the basic maths skills at a young age, excited me. However, I was left wanting a little more from the suggested activities. I think it would be really great if ChildUp had these cards in an inclusive package with a few more hands-on resources, such as counters and/or objects to represent each number. Ella was getting a little confused with the concept that 6 can be made up of 6 individual objects, or 3 plus another 3, or 4 plus another 2 etc etc. So, I got out our small wooden blocks & we used these as counters to represent different ways to show each value.

And once we started rolling with the concept of having a hands-on object to represent each number, we got more creative with how we showed each number. We even went into taking some away & adding some on. I asked Ella a lot of questions & I really enjoyed the way that these cards 'force' interactive fun. We then got out Set 2 {Counting to 20} and talked about the 'make up' of these numbers.

Ella was starting to loose concentration, which was my cue to stop, but I left the cards out....and to my surprise she kept playing with them on her own. I sat back & watched her with my coffee in hand :) She started lining cards up & attempting different sorting strategies. It made me realise that the learning from these cards, isn't just about numbers & animals....but problem solving & strategy using too!

I then got some paper out & wrote down some digits for Ella to copy. I then asked her to 'draw' each number and she did this by doing dots.

As I said before.....I think ChildUp could really benefit from making these cards as part of a whole educational package, with some follow up/extension activities that do involve drawing & creating & hands-on representations. But, having the sets of cards was a great starter activity to stimulate conversation & base learning. Ella said she likes the cards & the way they look :) I think they're perfect for young children, especially visual learners.

Yay! I'm Ella & I'm FOUR :)

I continued to watch Ella as she independently played, arranged, sorted, counted & interacted with the cards. She then started tracing them & writing her own numbers {photo above}. I asked her what she was doing...."making a board game Mummy, you have to match the same numbers to win!".

I then realised that these are definietely not just your traditional 'flash cards'.....as flash cards ideally are about recognition & memory. These cards stimulate a lot more education & learning! Very cool.

ChildUp also has a fab app for iPhones & iPads....and it's FREE!!!! It's also a great interactive learning tool which I recommend you download for young children. You can find it here. I will blog about that soon.

GIVEAWAY - But guess what?? ChildUp has given me another card pack....Set 1 & 2....for one lucky Scissors Paper Rock reader. They are happy to ship internationally....so this giveaway is open to anyone & everyone worldwide :) To go in the draw to win these FAB cards....all you have to do is; Head to their Facebook page & click LIKE. Write on their wall that Claire from Scissors Paper Rock sent you, then head back here & leave a comment on THIS BLOG POST telling me you've done so. I will randomly draw a winner next Tuesday 21st Feb {quick.....only 6 days to enter!}

Alternatively.....if you don't 'use' Facebook..... simply go to ChildUp's website, have a look around, and then come back HERE & tell me what you like most about ChildUp's resources, philosophies or website.

EASY! ENJOY!!!! And have fun 'learning' with your kids!!

You can find ChildUp's website HERE! Their Facebook HERE! Their Twitter HERE! And their blog HERE!

They also offer wonderful Online Parenting Classes :)