Giveaway Time

Ok I promised a giveaway so here it is....

Stylish Little Threads is an online children's boutique and is giving away a $50 voucher to spend in their online store to one lucky Tutus & Trikes reader!  You could buy a gift for someone, something for your child, anything you wish and trust me you will find lots of stylish products at Stylish Little Threads.  Some top brands in stock and some very useful products for babies and children.  

Here is how you can enter:

1. You must like Stylish Little Threads Facebook page (you can find it here)

2. You must sign up for email to the blog Tutus & Trikes

3. Like Tutus & Trikes Facebook page (you can find it here)

4. Leave your email in the comments section below and the winner will be randomly chosen

5. Start thinking about what you will buy with your voucher!

Head on over to their website and start browsing their lovely products.  Many are on sale so you will get a lot with this voucher thats for sure.  Good luck!

Kate xxx

Olympics At Home

Finally its here.....the London Olympics have begun!  I am a lover of the Olympics, I love watching the Australian athletes compete actually all the athletes compete!  It gets me motivated to exercise for possibly 2 weeks, actually probably the first few days then the only exercise I do is the usual chasing after 2 children type!  Hang on that's an event at the Olympics- the marathon!  So there you have it, I am in some way a competitor!  Ok back to the REAL Olympics, Miss P watched most of the Opening Ceremony and was fascinated by it all!  Asked so many questions, it was great to see and hear her enthusiasm to learn about it all.  Master X liked the "show" of it all but obviously being 19 months he wasn't glued to the TV.  So this afternoon, the 2 kids have their couches out, blankets on, popcorn at the ready and watching the Olympics!  I must say I am loving it- this is the first Olympics (Miss P was only newborn when Beijing was on) that the kids can watch and enjoy the Olympics with us!

Awaiting the popcorn

I am not quite sure what my favourite even is, I guess it is the Swimming and Athletics but I also enjoy a lot of the other events too!  Thinking about doing our own Olympics at home with the kids complete with medals and make up some fun events for the kids to do.  It's a bit of fun but it also explains the Olympics to them in their own way- PLAY!  So I will keep you posted and updated on our medal tally, I will put up printables I use to create the medals in case you would like to have your own Olympics at home.  I am thinking of incorporating household chores into the fun and games too as events!  

Yummy popcorn

So as Ray Warren would say... Let The Games Begin!!!!

Kate xxx

Parties & Allergies

Party planning is in full swing here and all is going really well.  Miss P is getting very excited and now that the majority of our decorations and invites are ordered and here, its now onto the food side of things.  This is where we slow up a little! You see Master X has a severe allergy to egg, anaphylactic to be precise, so everything we will be consuming on the day needs to be safe for him too.  Do you know how many things have egg in them?  EVERYTHING!  Well it seems like it anyway. So the party planning turned from decoration sites to sites that help with allergies.  I needed items that made people aware that the food was egg free.  A lot had some great products but they were a little boring plain! Then I found Allergy Riders, even the name shouts style to me!  And they had exactly what I needed for the party- so stylish!

When I pulled these products out of the box I was amazed!  They are more stylish than non allergy products!  And the colours really attract peoples attention to what is written on them- a huge plus for me!  With so many children having allergies today it is really something to consider when hosting a children's event.  They have a wide range of products, obviously we only need the egg free items, but they have gluten free, dairy free, vegan and more!  I can't wait to put cupcakes in them and know that my little man is safe to eat them and people can clearly see what is safe for him to eat. Stay tuned for a post after the party to see how they looked and how they go on the day!

Kate xxx

Method Cleaning Products

It's funny how all things seem to tie in together!  As mentioned in my post about Healthy Eating we are trying to be as natural as possible in our house!  Well this yesterday I was excited to receive a box full of goodies from Method cleaning and bath products. Never have I been more excited to clean my house, I know sad isn't it!  And not only was I going to clean one area of the house, I intended to clean the bathroom, kitchen, and anywhere else in between!

How cool are the colours!!!

From their website:

"we think bottles can be role models. lotions don't have to be scary potions. you should be able to inhale while you clean and exhale knowing that a guinea pig out there somewhere thanks you. we're people against dirty and we think you might be too"

The amount of times I would be cleaning the shower and almost fainting from the smell, yeah it may clean but what damage was it doing to my health!  The Bathroom Cleaner I tried smelt absolutely fabulous and yes at first I thought it smelt too "nice" to be able to do the job- WRONG it cleaned beautifully and with ease!  No passing out from toxic smell and such a nice aroma in the bathroom too.  Next I tried the All Purpose Cleaner, I am one who likes to wipe the benches and tables oh say a few hundred times a day, so I felt very at ease using this product due to the fact no harsh chemicals would be destroying my benches etc.  Again the smell oh my gosh!  Now for the real test- the Kitchen Cleaner.  Could it get rid of grime whilst smelling this great!  You bet.  I am a shocker for spilling things on the stove, well one spray of this kitchen cleaner, let it sit for few mins and wiped it off and I kid you not gone and smelling oh so yummy! 

So the house was smelling and looking great, what else could I clean! Oh thats right the kids were due for a bath, I could try out the Squeaky Green Kids Body Wash (fuzzy peach flavour). The first thing Miss P said was "mum this smells really good".  That was a good sign, another good thing is both my kidlets have sensitive skin so being able to bath them in something that left them smelling great but no reaction afterwards was GREAT!

Method hide nothing from you, the whole list of their ingredients in all of their products can be found on their website and if there is any ingredient you aren't sure of they are more than happy to answer any questions!  In my honest opinion of Method products I highly recommend them, they are safe, they work and they smell great.  The other important factor with cleaning products is the price and in this time of everything rising I believe the prices are very reasonable in fact I was quite surprised when I went onto their online shop to see the prices.  So if you are ready to clean in a more healthy way check out the Method cleaning products, I know I will be ordering a lot more especially now I am trying to keep our household as natural as possible!

Kate xxx

Soak It Up

I have just put Master X back to sleep, he wakes few times through the night, likes to feed back to sleep. There are nights where I think in my head- come on baby boy just sleep, but tonight I don't think I will ever need those words again.

For weeks now a very tragic event that happened in the town I live in has constantly been playing on my mind (I won't go into it as its not my story or even someone I know story) I drive past the scene frequently and as much as you try not to think about it you just cant stop. I stumbled across the blog owned by this person and read a little, cried, read a little more, cried until I couldn't read anymore. There were precious pictures of this mother holding her deceased son and I began to sob. I have no words for the sheer pain I felt for her having to do this and the thoughts of my own children naturally enter my mind.

I know we all say it after we read or hear something tragic, but it really hit me. I am no longer going to wish Master X would sleep, as it gives me precious cuddle time with him (and luckily for me I run off not a lot of sleep quite well), I am not going to worry that others think its 'too long' to be breastfeeding still at 19 months or he "shouldn't" be waking through the night, no not anymore because I want to hold him for as long as I can, I want to treasure what I am lucky enough to have and that is my little boy. My life and world centers around our children already but from his day forward it will even more so, if Miss P wants me to sit and watch tv, the dinner prep can wait, if she wants me to play with her My Little Pony's I will, the blog or work can wait. I want to soak her up too, all her crazy ideas from that wonderful imagination she has.

Like i said we all say things after events like this then drift back to the ways we know, but I will not, for I have images in my head now that I never want to experience and images that show me how precious life is, once gone we can never get it back. I apologize for the depressive nature of this post but after reading and seeing this other post it has left me with a heavy heart but also a very blessed one. Things around here may be a little slower paced than usual and may be a little messier but I haven't lost the plot people, I'm just soaking up the little lives that live here (along with the other big life too :-))

Kate xxx

Rainbow Party

Today Miss P and I decided she would have a Rainbow Party for her up coming birthday in August!  I am a little bit excited! I have it all laid out in my head and I just want the party to be sooner so I can put it all together!

Tonight I went on the search for decorations, tableware, party bags and more!  I found exactly what I was after at The Party Parlour.  They had so much to choose from and good prices too!  I got some colourful paper lanterns, a rainbow invitation/party bag tag set, party bags and table runner.  I still have more to buy but very happy I got the big items sorted!  The best part (so far) has been this beautiful skirt I found for Miss P to wear on the day, its from Petal Blossom, its going to be kept a secret (if I can) and I know she is going to be so excited!

Oh makes me happy just looking at it!

There is still more planning to be done, more things to buy but for now I am so excited for my little girls 4th birthday party!  I will have more updates as we draw closer and I am sure to share more of my purchases with you once I find them!

Kate xxx

I Dream of Crown Towers

As other mums and parents in general would know, after kids you just don't get out that often!  We don't thats for sure and we like it this way, but when I saw this chance by Nuffnang to possibly have a getaway at Crown Towers West End I started dreaming!  To wear that black dress hanging in my wardrobe, to see my husband all spruced up in a suit, feeling all glamourous for one night!!!!  I am not much of a drinker, but one every now and then is nice, and when I looked at the list of Lumia Shrub cocktails there was one that stood out that I thought would definitely need to be tried.  

Apple Daisy

Russian Standard Vodka, shaken with cloudy apple juice, lemon juice, dandelion and apple shrub and floated in dry cider.

How good does that sound!  I am a sucker for anything apple- apple cider, apple juice and hey throw in a little vodka and hey presto this would be my cocktail. Refreshing to say the least but hey anything with fruit in it is good for you, right?  An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

You can see me doing this right???

And apart of this awesome giveaway would be a limo ride (oh how glamourous), wifi in the room (I still need to connect people) and a late check out!!!  So as I dream of a getaway to Crown Plaza take a look at the gorgeous place for yourself here.

Kate xxx