I am counting down the days until school resumes. It feels like the longest 2 weeks ever. I have not been able to hear myself think with the constant talking, fighting and yelling. It’s like they feel they have to compete to be the loudest and thoroughly enjoy playing ‘How can push mum over the edge and send her bat shit crazy today?’. I’ll be honest; I love it when they go to school. I get to reclaim a portion of my sanity and take pleasure in a cup of coffee WHEN IT’S HOT!! Oh it really is the little things that bring me joy. Lol. It’s not all bad when they are on holidays because we do get to discover who the kids are again because they change so often but a few minutes of peace wouldn’t go astray. Counting down!

My boys teachers are constantly telling me how well they get along and that they are like best friends but I am calling bull shit on that. (Sorry teachers) Maybe they just use up all their tolerance for one another at school and their personalities clash at home when they have been around each other too much but from where I stand I only ever get a glimpse of this ‘best bud’ behaviour you speak of. It actually reminds me of me and my brother and how we used to get along like a house on fire and then suddenly we were constantly fight – SORRY MUM!! You can call karma off now, surely I’ve paid my dues. I understand completely how exhausted you felt, not only physically but mentally. I am completely and utterly mentally drained. Still counting down the days.

Tell me it’s not just me – tell me your kids fight too. Tell me you count down the days until school resumes as well.

The post Counting down the days appeared first on All Mum Said.

For most families school is now back into full swing and life is returning back to its normal routine. In our home the afternoons consist of homework, outside play, dinner, showers and the making of lunches in preparation for the next day. I try and mix their lunch options up to keep it exciting and interesting but the one thing that is always requested is something from the That! range. They don’t care if it’s a That! Dairy Snack or a That! Milkshake, they just want one of them which is quite alright by me because I know that they are a healthier option in comparison to many other products in terms of kids lunch snacks. I like the fact they are convenient, great portion sizes and the kids will always eat them meaning no transferring them from lunch box to fridge continually like many of their yoghurts do!

As I have mentioned previously on Mad Mummas blog That! Dairy Snack is lunch box friendly, it’s gluten free, contains no preservatives and is a great source of calcium (made with Aussie Milk!) and is 98% fat free. The fact it doesn’t require refrigeration and can be enjoyed straight from the cupboard makes it ideal for not only school but also car trips, camping and when on the go. If you haven’t already tried them make sure you enter the giveaway below for your chance to win some or if you can’t wait that long add them to your shopping list this week! *That! are also running a giveaway on their website so once you have entered the one below pop over and enter that one too!* and just to sweeten the deal a little more enter their facebook giveaway away as well.

*****************************************************

Giveaway ~ I have 5x That! Product Prize packs each containing: 24x Pouches of That! (4 of each flavour of That! Dairy Snack and That! Milkshake) plus an exclusive branded That! apron. RRP $70.00 to giveaway to 5x deserving Mad Mummas readers. Total Prize Pool $350!

*****************************************************

To enter all you have to do is follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below.

1.Winner is decided based on skill and chance plays no part.

2.Australian residents only! Sorry everyone else.

3.The mandatory instructions MUST be completed or your entry will be void!

**As the winners are chosen based on skill and not chance; you will be sharing for 0 extra entries. It’s good karma though and I’d love you to share the giveaway with friends and family**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post however all opinions are my own.

The post Back to School with That! + GIVEAWAY appeared first on All Mum Said.

With only a week of school holidays remaining we are now in preparation mode for the boys to return to school. These school holidays have absolutely wizzed by! This year we have both boys at school full time which is very exciting for the kids and of course my husband and I. They are very excited about choosing there new school items like backpacks, lunch boxes, shoes, pencil cases, etc. and as usual our school stock pile looks like we own shares in Smiggle. I completely understand their love for the brand though because I have a ‘slight’ Smiggle addiction myself.

Smiggle has almost everything you need for ‘Back to School’ and the range of options doesn’t disappoint. It is often hard to find backpacks that are made with quality and that won’t break within a few months of being use; the Smiggle school bags have a thick base, padded straps, divider inside, 3 external pockets in varying sizes and 2 drink bottle holders on the side. There is also matching water bottles, diaries, lunch boxes and the list goes on which gets the boys very excited when selecting their school products. Thanks to Smiggle being so bright and fun we got a huge chuck of our Back to School goodies organised without any drama or fuss and at affordable prices.

Are you ready for school to return? Where do you get your school products from? 

The post Back to School with Smiggle appeared first on All Mum Said.

Parents often ask themselves how can we prepare our children for school because I don’t want them to behind or struggle. How do we educate them to differentiate letters, how do we teach them the basics for reading, how do you make them want to learn? In all honesty some kids are just plain not interested and need to be encouraged. Kids want (and often need) to know that learning can be fun and thankfully many of the new tools available to parents today do exactly that.

My 4 year has been ‘playing’ with the new LeapReader for the past month and I say playing because that’s exactly what he thinks he is doing. He doesn’t realise that he is learning to take his time and listen to instructions before racing into the activity. Kye is also being more assertive with letters and is now excited to read and write. The LeapReader is designed to assist children in becoming confident, independent readers and writers. It does this by building their knowledge of reading fundamentals, sounding out letters and words, trace letters and eventually read sentences.

 I love that it takes an approach in education that is suitable for all ages and all levels of learning. With over 40 different books available for the LeapReader (and a wonderful selection at that) there is definitely something to suit every childs interests. We have been using the Learn to Write with Mr Pencil the most because it teaches children to write upper and lower case letters, shapes, direction, helps to understand letter sounds, correct stroke order and pencil control. Most importantly though – It is fun! The LeapReader is available from all major department stores and independent toy retailers for $99.99. For more information click over to the LeapFrog website.

As the title suggests I have a giveaway for Mad Mummas readers! I have 1x LeapReader with sampler book (RRP $99.99) that LeapFrog has generously given me to giveaway.

  To enter all you have to do is follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below.

Winner is decided based on skill and chance plays no part. Australian residents only! Sorry everyone else. **The mandatory instructions MUST be completed or your entry will be void!**As the winners are chosen based on skill and not chance; you will be sharing for 0 extra entries. It’s good karma though and I’d love you to share the giveaway with friends and family.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!

The post Learning with LeapFrog + GIVEAWAY appeared first on All Mum Said.

I know school hasn’t quite finished yet but with book-lists for next year being handed out in the next week the idea of having to organise ‘back to school’ gear is quite horrible. So many books to be wrapped, pencil cases, folders, writing things to be found and then there are the lunch boxes and school bags. The list NEVER ends!

There are some great alternatives now available to make organising school items so much more convenient. Spencil is one of them; a Brisbane based family business. They have a wide of products that would not only make your life easier but would also get your child excited about school if they aren’t already. You could even kill two birds with one stone and get them some of Spencils awesome products for Christmas. There are some fabulously bright and colour pieces that would make great stocking stuffers, give the kids something to do over the school holidays or get them ready for the new year. Check out the range of letter sets, gift sets and stationary and exciting erasers!!

There are 71 different pencil cases to choose from starting at only $3.95; the A4 Robots is pretty cute if you have a robot lover at home. A gorgeous selection of library bags for $12.95 that are made with PVC coated nylon and have a velcro fastening, name pocket and handle. With 125 different book covers means that there is something for absolutely everyone and every size book. Exercise – $2.25, A4 – $2.50 and Scrapbooks – $2.75. Not only are the Spencil products great quality but they are also affordable for families.

Besides the obvious requirements that are a must for me to purchase products (ie, good quality, safe & affordable), I love that Spencil donates money back to schools. For every book cover purchased between now and the end of February 2014 they will be giving back 10 cents to the school of customers’ choice; simply log onto the website and enter the unique code on the inside of your book cover. For more information check out the website or their facebook page.

Disclosure: I was not paid but I did receive product in exchange for review. As always my opinions are my own.

The post Spencil has you covered! appeared first on All Mum Said.

Do you remember back in the day when toys were made to last? When so many of the awesome playthings were made from wood? I LOVE WOODEN TOYS and always wanted to get some for my boys when they little but just couldn’t find any and if I did they were ridiculously expensive or poor quality. So unfortunately they missed out. That is of course until a wonderful blog buddy of mine opened her very own store that is full of – you guessed it – WOODEN TOYS!! That’s not the best bit though – they are extremely affordable. Woohoo!! There is a stigma for kids that learning is boring, dull and takes them away from actually playing which we all know isn’t always the case. The range at School of Mum is absolutely brilliant and combines fun with learning. The toys are educational yet exciting!! Catered to suit children of all ages these magnificent products are great quality and will provide hours, weeks and more than likely years of fun, learning and entertainment.

The variety of products don’t stop at classic wooden toys though; there really is something for every child. You will find items suited to babies, toddlers, school age with a wide range of clothing, personalised items, puzzles, teddies, clocks, memory and my all time favourite – wooden blocks – IT’S ALL THERE!! We have recently had an order arrive from the wonderful School of Mum and my kids couldn’t get into the bag fast enough. As you will see below some of the products can be fun so much fun for children that they don’t even realise they are learning. The memory game is made from wooden tiles with a letter of the alphabet and an Australian animal that begins with the same letter. Not only are they strengthening the memory part of the brain but they are also learning letters and animals.  

The clock puzzle is great for both my boys as we use it to help learn the time for my 6 year old and my 4 year old uses it to identify the numbers along with the concentration of working out the correct order of the numbers. There is a boy and girl version of this particular product.

For the babies in way of toys there are the Rattle and Roll Doves which are gorgeous, simple and easy to use. As bub moves or pulls it along the dove effortlessly rolls and rattles causing a great deal of excitement. This also comes in pink or blue.

With the Bird Smackeroo there are hours of fun to had and most importantly it is great for building on hand /eye co-ordination. As you can see from the short video below it is very easy to use and great enjoyment for the kids.

My all time favourite product is the Educational Wooden Blocks, this might be because they take me back to my own childhood but at the bargain price of  $15 how can I say no? There is no much that can be done with these little babies; building, stacking, learning, the possibilities are endless.

Now I’m sure by now you have worked out that I am very fond of this little shop and as a way of sharing some wonderful educational (and fun) products the extremely generous School of Mum has decided to offer a $50 voucher to one very lucky lucky Mad Mummas reader!! Just in time to get some great items for Christmas.

To enter all you have to do is follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below. Winner is decided based on skill and chance plays no part. Australian residents only! Sorry everyone else. **The mandatory instructions MUST be completed or your entry will be void!**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

The post Learning Can Be Fun! + GIVEAWAY appeared first on All Mum Said.

For the past couple of weeks my boys have been using a daily control head lice spray from Hit Nitz 4 6. For some reason they seem to attract these itchy little critters so when I was emailed to give the Hit Nitz 4 6 products a try I jumped at the chance especially after learning that a recent study comparing a range of different head lice products has resulted in Hit Nitz 4 6 coming out on top as the leader of infestation prevention. I was also blissfully unaware that 20-40% of Australian Primary School children are infected with head lice at any one time! With this in mind I have been holding off writing this review until they got nits again so they could use the ‘Once Off’ head lice lotion and I could give a true assessment on it but they haven’t gotten them again. This could be pure luck or it could be because they have been getting their hair sprayed with the ‘Daily Control’ head lice spray as mentioned above.

 So here is what I do know – since using the spray my kids have not come home with nits. The daily control spray should be used every day (as the name suggests) and consists of 100% natural products which is great as it gets used so close to faces. You get a lot of use out of the 250ml spray bottle and it’s very easy and convenient to use. Simply spray the hair and go about your day as normal.

Since I haven’t been able to use the head lice lotion I can tell you some information about it. It smells pleasant and as it contains natural ingredients doesn’t have that toxic aroma. No combing is required – simply put it on dry hair and wash off after 4 hours or put it in before bed and rinse off in the morning. These come in 250ml bottles as well but you only get a couple of uses out of the bottle. If you have short hair like my boys (just long enough to spike it up) you will get 2 treatments but if you have long hair you will need a new bottle each time.

Out of the 2 products the daily spray is my favourite for the simple fact it lasts a lot longer, it’s quick and the nits have not come back since using it. You can buy these online or in stores. They retail for: ‘Once Off’ Head Lice Lotion – $19.95 and the ‘Daily Control’ Head Lice Spray – $22.95. The more you buy the cheaper they are. Overall I am I very happy with the Hit Nitz 4 6 Head Lice Solutions and would recommend anyone with school kids to give this a try!

Now onto the giveaway! I have 2x sets of Hit Nitz 4 6 products to giveaway to 2 lucky readers. (1 set each)

To enter all you have to do is follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below.

Winner is decided based on skill and chance plays no part.

Australian residents only! Sorry everyone else.

**The mandatory instructions MUST be completed or your entry will be void!**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Hit Nitz 4 6 Review + GIVEAWAY appeared first on All Mum Said.

The only fault I can find is that the kids find them a little bit difficult to initially crack the seal but once they have been opened they can open and close them as they please. I however love the resealable lids as it means there is no wastage if they cannot finish it all at once.

That! Dairy Snack has a great competition running at the moment. Make sure you enter their giveaway for your chance to be pampered – it’s quick and easy to enter!! Pop over now and ‘like’ their facebook page here.

 

The post Back To School With That! Dairy Snack + Giveaway appeared first on All Mum Said.

Image Credit

 

Throughout the year I have heard other parents talk about her for one reason or another and basically how little they think of her. A few of them were even boasting to one another how they made her cry by yelling at her in front of the kids. Yes, that’s right some of these parents yelled at their childs teacher in front of a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds. Now that’s great parenting right there! I just couldn’t believe these women and how proud of themselves they were. This woman, this bright intelligent woman is so kind hearted and does everything in her power to challenge her students, encourage her students and in my opinion has done nothing but go above and beyond her role as a teacher. I am devastated he will not have her as a teacher next year as we are moving in the New Year to a different area.

Image Credit

 

Teachers need to be acknowledged for the hard work they put in, they need to be shown appreciation for everything they do for your children. Whether you see it or not they are a huge support and put in many additional hours out of the kindness of their heart. We bought Mrs G a box of chocolates for Christmas as a way to thank her but I also attached a card with a little note. While I cannot remember exactly what I wrote it was along these lines ‘Thank you for everything you have done for Declan this year we really appreciate it. You have truly gone above and beyond and I cannot thank you enough. We couldn’t have possibly asked for a better teacher. Thank you.’

Image Credit

 

Now I didn’t think too much more of this besides it showing her that we appreciate the hard work she has put into teaching our son this year however it is amazing how much a few kind words can mean to someone. Declan gave his present to Mrs G during the day and when I went to pick my son up in the afternoon his teacher came up and hugged me and thanked me for my kind words. She told me she had had a rough afternoon yesterday as another parent had abused her and quite nastily I might add. It was so obvious how much these few kind words that I wrote in her card meant to her, those simple words that obviously are not said enough.

Image Credit

Please remember that it only takes a few words to crush a persons self esteem and ruin their day and a simple thank you so much or I appreciate you to make their day great.

Use and choose your words wisely!              

The post It Only Takes A Few Words appeared first on All Mum Said.

Image Credit

Image Credit



Image Credit

The post Stranger Danger Encounter – Reminder! appeared first on All Mum Said.