mmmm Jellybeans!

OK it's time for another blog about personalised products for Christmas. I can't believe it's November already! That means Christmas is next month and I don't even want to think about the fact I'll soon have to remember to write 2011 instead of 2010!

Todays blog is about a great store I found as the result of winning one of the Shopolat hunt prizes and let me add to Miss C's Christmas presents. The store is Jelly Bean Books which specialises in personalised children's books. There are a huge range of titles with a few great ones for Christmas time including Santa and Baby Jesus and a range of licensed characters which include the Sesame Street gang, Spiderman, Barbie and Superman and even a giant Where's Wally book!

The one I chose for Miss C was one of the Sesame Street range and as you can see in the picture below she enjoyed kicking back in her chair reading it before I packed it away to be wrapped for Christmas morning.

The details featured in the story can include the childs name, the suburb they live in, a few of their friends and also a special message.

Miss C has her sisters as part of her story and we put the message ' Love Mum & Dad Happy 1st Christmas 2010' in the front of it. I hope it's a book she can keep forever and one day read to her own children.

The colours are bright and keep the child's attention and has a hard cover so it's made to last. I've bought a few personalised books before but none of them have had a hard cover and 1-2 year olds seem to love ripping things!

Of the non licensed range I love the little Mermaid and Teddy Bear Land which I think Miss J would like with the pink marshmellow bunnies! There is also a My Baby Book for a new arrival which features baby's name, time of birth, hospital, doctors name and more.

Besides books there are cute letters available sent from Santa or the Easter Bunny!  Coming to your child direct from the North Pole your child will know Santa knows where to drop the presents off to!

All prices on the website include shipping so no hidden costs.

Become a liker on facebook as they often have giveaways and special sales.

The fabulous Jelly Bean Books has been extremely generous and offered Bub & Moo readers the chance to win one of the books from either of the deluxe ranges for someone special in their life this Christmas.

To win all you need to do is head to Jelly Bean Books, tell us which book you would choose and who for before the 11th of November. Winner will be chosen at random and announced on our Facebook page on the 12th.

Goodluck!

It's My Light!

I have been eyeing off My Lights for a longggggg time. They look so cool and would complete any child's room.

You start by choosing your box colour. The basic setup of a white, blue, red or green box is $129.95 including postage, then for the premium ones of Champagne pink, Blue sparkle, Golden yellow and Metallic grey it's an extra $10.

Next you put the name you want in. You can choose from 16 fonts and change the spacing and size, if you want it in script like the picture above it's an extra $2 a letter as it takes longer to manufacture but worth the price as it looks amazing! If you have troube deciding hand it over to their capable hands with what they think would look best.

Then finally you get to choose the light colour. They all come with white light or you can choose pink for an extra $10 but if you want to go all out you can get the RGB light. This light comes with a remote control, goes through 16 colours, you can dim it, strobe it or leave it on one colour you like, it's an extra $40 and I must say totally worth it!

We decided to get one for Charlize for her Christmas present (shhhhh don't tell her!) as she already has way to many clothes and there are toys all over the house so we wanted something just for her.

Her one is pictured below and I went with the Champagne Pink box, Corsiva font and spaced it a little and then the RGB light. Let's just say it is so much more awesome than I thought it would be and my bad photography doesn't do it justice! When I told hubby the price he nearly flipped, lol, but as soon as I turned it on he said 'we need to get all the girls one!!!', it felt like a disco in the room as we went through all the different light settings.

We will be using ours as a nightlight as they don't overheat with the LED light strip and only run on 12V that plugs in. I will have it set up on a set of drawers so none of the girls can get a hold of it!

I think this would be the ultimate baby shower gift if the person knew what they were having and had a name picked out as it's something that the child will keep forever and it will always be remembered who gave it to them. Would be lovely to put in as a group of friends or family once bub came along as well especially for those like us that have 3 girls and overflowing drawers lol.

Owned and run by Vanessa and Greg in Adelaide they handcraft each light here in Australia where it is made out of aluminium composite that is recycled from other sectors in the manufacturing industry, they are always trying to make the business as environmentally friendly as they can from around the office to the end product.

Check out the gallery for inspiration or follow mylight on Facebook to keep up to date with any new happenings and sometimes giveaways! They also do laybuy now so no excuses!

Until the end of October we have a special code that can get you $10 off your light! Enter MY10 at the checkout so get designing!!!

Thinking about Christmas? Lets get personal...

Well it's already October which means only 2 months until the Christmas madness! I am totally organised this year and have finished my Christmas shopping already! I wanted to get it out of the way as I can't imagine carting all 3 girls around the shops at that time of year and we have to start saving as we are heading to the Gold Coast on the 3rd January '11 for my brother's wedding.

So the next fortnight or so I'm focusing on personalised Christmas presents. With 3 girls close together I find it hard to think of a present that is just for them without one of the others claiming it for themselves.

I stumbled across ID Tee last year and found their fabulous personalised santa sacks. I had my same one every year that I can remember growing up so wanted the same fun memories for my kids. I'm loving this years new designs and wondering if I should get the cute little Christmas Fairy for Miss C's bag or get the Snowflake reindeer like the other 2 have (pictured below).

Whichever you decide they are all so cute!

The bag itself is made from 100% heavy cotton drill and handmade in Melbourne. The material will last for every Christmas until long after they don't believe in Santa Claus anymore! The size is 65cm x 50cm so big enough to fit most toys in and has a large cotton rope to hold it closed and a little handle so you can hang it up for Christmas morning on the door handle. You can check out the 16 different available designs here.

And shhhhhh a bit of a secret but you can get $10 off until the 20th October with the code SS10VIP. Only one code per customer.
But of course there is more than just the santa sacks! For those of you who have kids that LOVE cooking or are totally into the current Junior Masterchef why not try the personalised aprons?

You can choose any of their designs to put on your apron, I chose the Stars pictured below on Miss J.

Once again they are made of 100% cotton drill but not as heavy as the sacks so the kids can still move easily in them. Aprons are recommended for the ages 2-8.  At $24 rrp I think they are a great price.

Of the current designs I love the girls Dancing Queen in blue and so many great boys designs including the red owl and Cowboy.

ID Tee is owned by a SAHM who prides herself on providing high quality products at an affordable price with great customer service.

Head over and take advantage of the earlybird Christmas offer and make sure you follow them on Facebook for product updates and future special offers.

Now I'm off to choose which one for Miss C......

Miracle gift #3

Our latest addition is here! Well she arrived 2 months ago tomorrow but having 3 has kept me busy!

Charlize decided to go against the trend of turning up late like her sisters and arrived 16 days early. Though she has lots of hand-me-downs from her 2 big sisters I've still shopped up a storm for her. She's well and truly out of newborn nappies and 0000 now and the 000 are even getting tight! Probably because all she still does is eats and sleeps.

Here she is at 5 weeks old, my basket full of joy....

Have been constantly getting comments while out shopping of 'will you try for a boy' and 'you have your hands full', I just smile and think if you could see how full my heart is with love ♥ I would like #4 but still convincing my husband on that one lol.

I've been very neglectful of my blog since having Miss C and going to get back into it before the Christmas rush. Have some fab stores to tell you about.

Hope everyone is enjoying Spring and the gorgeous clothes you can bring out in warmer weather.

xx

Update on our household

Yesterday was week 35 so that means we are on the home straight now! Each pregnancy has gone quicker than the last so this ones been a bit of a blur with some hip pain lol.

Our little peanut was being good the whole time staying head down until deciding to somersault at 30 weeks to bottom down! Luckily 2 days later I felt peanut roll over again which was confirmed by my OB at our last appointment so hoping he/she stays that way until the end now!

This time around I've been taking Mummy's view photos as thats the way I remember my tummy looking, below is the most recent taken around 34 weeks. The bottom mustve been sticking out that day as it looks rounder now, not so pointy.

With Miss J and Miss M we got so many ultrasound pics but this one seems to be shy always hiding behind the placenta.

While I'm looking forward to meeting #3 I have not been as organised this time leaving packing of bags and the car seat until the last minute but my husband has definitely gotten the nesting instinct rearranging rooms and cleaning up.

Saving up for my ultimate pram (and hopefully the last as I seem to go through to many!) the Baby Jogger City Select, just trying to convince hubby this is the one!!!

The blog and facebook page will probably be very neglected in the next month or two but I look forward to getting back to shopping soon, so many new stores and products to try!!! xx

Czarque baby shoes

If you want your baby to start off on the right foot the way to go is with Czarque.

Australian owned and made each pair is handcrafted in Sydney of high quality leather, these are shoes you can hand down to your children's kids and will probably still look in new condition!

Miss M has had her Czarque for nearly 6 months now but her foot obviously hasn't grown as quickly as her older sisters did and only started fitting her at 12 months! We have the gorgeous Pink Suede Ballet Slippers (pictured below on Miss M) and they are the softest shoes I've ever felt and were perfect for when she started walking as the bottom moulds into her foot so is almost like walking barefooted. They look so cute with a dress and pair of tights and she receives lots of comments on them when out and about.

There's a whole range for both boys and girls. My favourite pick of the boys range would have to be the Cow Print Loafers, so cool and different they are sure to stand out. For the girls, besides the ballet shoes we have, I LOVE the Red Marble Patent Ballet Slippers, they totally remind my of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and are on my wishlist.

Check out the sizing guide before purchasing to make sure that it's going to be the perfect fit as we all know how much little ones love to pull off shoes!

Also, if you have a wedding or christening coming up and want the perfect outfit for the day their Christening shoes will be the way to make an outfit complete.

Czarque are also up for an award in the Kids Fashion Review Style Awards so if you love them as much as I do you can vote for them there and put yourself in the running for over $10,000 in prizes (including 3 pairs of Czarque shoes!). You can also find Czarque on Facebook where you can keep up to date with new releases, plus once they reach 500 'likers' they are giving away a pair and that looks like it could be soon!

Until next time, happy shopping xx

Happy Birthday Agoo!

Do you have an active child? Do you like dressing your children in comfortable clothing? Do your children spend any time in the sun? If you answered yes to any of these you should be shopping at Agoo especially during their first birthday celebrations!

I don't know if I should admit how much of Miss J's current wardrobe has Agoo in case my husband comes and looks. So far she has the glamour pants which she calls her dancing pants, 3 short sleeve tops and 3 tank tops from the summer range. I prepared ahead for next summer with size 3's and even a size 4 as I couldn't resist the bargains.

Miss M also has her share of Agoo with 3 pairs of the gorgeous bamboo legwarmers and 2 pairs of the socks. You won't find anything softer than these, they just feel silky soft and perfect to protect and warm little legs.

Miss J is pictured below in the glamour pants and one of the short sleeves. I think she looks ready for tennis in this outfit! Move over Venus and Serena!

And onto the birthday celebrations! The sales have started already with such great bargains as buy 2 pairs of legwarmers get the third pair free, buy 2 packs of socks get the 3rd free and buy a jacket or pants and get a tee free!

Even with all those freebies already Agoo wants to give you more!!! Starting the 7th June and going on until the 4th July it will be time to go hunting! A candle icon will be hidden on the sites of 12 stockists/sponsors. 3 icons will be hidden each week and all you need to do is find them, email through and you'll be placed in the random draw. This is for everyone as you don't need to make a purchase to enter.

So, do you want to know the prizes? I think there are to many to list! Some are magazine subscriptions to My Child and LittleONE Baby, Cheeky Little Soles shoes, BabyJo Bamboo outfits and many vouchers including ones for Agoo and A Little Bit of Cheek. Grand total of nearly $1500!

If you do decide to buy you can win there also, email happybirthday@agoo.com.au with your name, item purchased and store purchased from and go into the draw to win prizes from the $1000 prize pool!

So you get freebies while buying, freebies for buying and freebies for just browsing!

Keep up to date with all the latest for the hunt and sales by signing up to the newsletter and checking out for facebook updates.

Phew, this is going to be a long blog but I have to say why you should buy Agoo. Not only do they have the softest products around but the fabrics are UPF50+ sun smart which is needed with our harsh Australian sun, stain resistant which is definitely needed with my 2 messy ones which HAVE to christen each outfit with the foods that are hardest to get out in the wash, made from bamboo so eco-friendly and the feature I love the most is the fact the fabrics don't get all creased and crinkly which means NO IRONING!!!! Woohooo.

Well what are you waiting for? Get shopping and take advantage of all the freebies on offer. Would love to hear about what you buy and if you win the hunt one of the weeks.

Until next time happy shopping xx