How cool are the Octonauts?

If your kids are anything like my kids then they probably love the octonauts, and now there is a cool new Octonauts magazine that is available in store from tomorrow. It will coast $5.95 and it comes with stickers and a blow up fun ball. We received our copy in the mail today and the kids are already "robustly discussing" who gets to read it first!

If you would like to win a copy leave a comment below and I will pick a winner on friday 9 November at 5:00pm.

Conditions of entry:
Must be able to be posted to an Australian Address.
My own copy and the copy being given away was gifted to me.

Abigail, a little girls best friend and a giveaway

Abigail and the Balance Beams Interactive Story and Bunny

I was given the opportunity to review a new product from Hallmark.

Abigail is an interactive bunny that responds to you when you read to her from the special book that she comes with (Abigail and the Balance Beams). 

The kids were all impressed with Abigail and though that she was most exciting. I found Abigail to be very suitable for us because Stella could read it to the other children and loved that Abigail would "respond" to her at certain places throughout the story. Being six she was quite quick to realise that if she repeated the "trigger" sentences then Abigail would talk to her a lot. We now have a roster of who gets to sleep with Abigail on what night, so I think that is what you would call a success in our household.
 Abigail also has other story books that you can purchase and there is also a free App for iphone/ipad with games and more interaction with the Abigail character.

Do you think your kids would enjoy Abigail too? 

Well you have the chance to win your very own Abigail by answering the question, "What is your child's favourite book?"
Competition is open to Australian residents and closes at 7pm this Sunday 22 July 2012.

I was not paid for this post but was gifted Abigail and the Balance Beams Interactive Bunny and Story, And offered one for a giveaway, my opinions are my own.

Product talk - Dove Nutri Oil Serum

Product talk by Nuffnang - this is not a paid sponsored post, I have simply received the item in exchange for a review.


Having had thick curly hair all my life, the amount of money I have spent on hair products over the years must run into the thousands and given that I now have 4 kids with the same thick hair I am sure it is only going to get worse! The current product of choice is a moroccan oil creme that sets me back nearly $45.00 a pop. So when the opportunity came up to try out this little baby which retails for less than $10!!! I thought what have I got to loose. 


So what are the facts on this one?
It claims to transform dry, rough, and frizzy hair into beautifully smooth hair thats easier to manage and style and to revitalise shine without weighing it down. These are both pretty impressive things for me and are features that I also look for in a product for my hair. 


And then when I read the following features I thought it must be too good to be true!

• Formulated with Coconut and Sweet Almond Oil 
• As effective as Moroccan Oil, but a fraction of the price
• Reduces roughness and frizz by 99%
• Weightless formula that does not leave an oily residue
• Dove Nutri Oil is part of a three step system, including Dove Nutritive Therapy Nourishing Oil Care Shampoo and Conditioner
• RRP $9.99

So, what did I think?? 


All in all, impressive. It was easy to use, not too sticky on the fingers when applying, it had a nice fragrance, and I only needed a very small amount so the bottle would last for a long time. But best of all my hair responded well to the serum and it did contain the frizzies and my hair did feel soft and smooth. For less then 10 bucks and available in the supermarket I think this product is well worth a try.


So, would you like to take me up on the offer? Because the nice folks at Dove have given me a few bottles to give to you, so all you have to do is leave a comment either here or on my facebook page and I will choose 2 winners on sunday night 13 May 2012 at 9pm.

All I want for Christmas...

I know it is really too late to be posting this, seen as though there is only a handful of days before Christmas but nevertheless here is my 

Ultimate Christmas Wish List.  

 

Some real lovelies there don't you think! I know at least one of those things will be under the tree because I already purchased it.
( ipad2, Elk, Elk, Witchery, Elk, Sancerre, Emily Green, Country Road, Garmin, Lorna Jane, Salvation Jane, Lush, Table Tonic, Table Tonic, Table Tonic, Table Tonic)
Also don't forget to enter my KIVA GIFT CARD giveaway, see my last post for details :)

My Christmas Gift to you - KIVA

Earlier this year I came across KIVA.ORG, and thought it was such an easy way for me to try and make a difference in someone else's life that was less fortunate. Basically KIVA allows you to lend a person of your choosing $25 to help fund a loan which they can use to grow their business, or pay for equipment, or use for personal expenses etc. You are given the estimated time that it will take for them to repay the loan and how often they will make the re-payments. You are then sent updates on how the loan is progressing and when you have received payments, and then when the loan is fully re-paid you have the option to either re-invest your money in another loan or withdraw your money. Here is a video from KIVA which explains it in a bit more detail.


How Kiva Works from Kiva on Vimeo.



How cool is that? The thing that I love about KIVA is that the profile of the loan recipients are so thorough and all have photos and personal details, so I can choose someone who may have similarities to me like have 4 children, or be my age or have similar hobbies. To think that my little $25 is having an impact on someone on the other side of the world is really wonderful and somewhat empowering.

These are my two current KIVA loans:

Souhad Samer is a 32 year old Tailor from Iraq and she has 3 children. Myself and 66 other lenders have funded her to purchase a generator and other inventory so she can continue to build her tailoring business where she makes and repairs women's clothing.

Janviere is a 36 year old General Store Owner from Rwanda. She has 4 children aged between 4 and 12 years. She has owned her shop for 1 year and sells Cassava Flour, Sugar and Salt etc and she is open every day from 7am till 6pm. Myself and 20 lenders have funded her to purchase more of her goods for re-saleand she intends to re-invest in her business and save for her family's future.

I am also going to make another loan this Christmas, to spread the love just a little bit further, and because I know how great it feels to do this, I am giving you, one of my lovely readers a KIVA GIFT CARD so that you too can bring some joy to someone less fortunate.

If you would like to be in the running to win this gift card, (and no this is not a sponsored post, I am buying the gift card out of my own money), simply leave a comment below, telling me what brings you joy at this time of the year. So it is not hard, I can think of a million things that brings a smile to my face at this time of the year, so really there is no excuse to not enter.  Also, I would love it if you were a follower of my blog as I would love you to come back another time and see what I am up to. And if you are lucky enough to be the winner I would love to know who you decide to give your loan to.

Competition is open to anyone in the world, and I will be drawing the winner on Christmas Eve at 9pm, (or sometime around then!)

Don't forget you can always just go and make your own loan too, there are currently 6138 loans that need to be funded, follow this link which is an invitation from me to make a loan :) http://kiva.org/invitedby/megan3844

Merry Christmas and Good Luck!

Retromummy Giveaway

Corrie from Retromummy is having a massive giveaway over on her blog. You can win one of 2 prize packs containing 20(!) fat quarters of Flower Sugar!! Such sweet fabricy goodness, you must pop over and enter.

Win this beautiful Doll!

Had to blog about this one, because she is just so beautiful! Head on over to Handmade Kids to find out how you can win her, although I am going to win her, so maybe you can just head over there and admire all the other creations!! hehe