Infinite Bunny- God of War sword

Jesse turned 4 last week and I have to be honest we were really at a loss for a while about his birthday gift.

When we asked him what he wanted; he would say a Kratos sword and bow that was it over and over every time we asked, if you are not sure Kratos is a character from God of War a game based on greek mythology and the journey of one sparten warrior, there was just one teeny tiny problem, do you think you can get these things in SA or anywhere for that matter, ah nope, so we were at a loss because we knew how much he wanted those items.

Then I remembered that a friend of mine (who had made my wedding jewelry a few years ago) not only makes stunning one of a kind jewelry pieces but she has also extended her talents to prop and cosplay items, I reached out to her and asked her if there was anyway she could make the items Jesse had requested in an affordable manner that would also be safe; because every mom knows that a anything in the hands of the toddler/preschooler can constitute as a a dangerous weapon of mass destruction.

Thrive Launch- Natural Momma's Guide

So for those of you who frequent my blog you know that I am a pro natural/ cruelty free momma who has tried to live as ecologically friendly as possible for the sake of my family as well as our planet.

This means that I only buy eco friendly household products, I stopped buying any products that test on animals, I cloth diapered and so on,  and what I can say from this experience is that cruelty free and eco logically friendly products are often so difficult to find locally and in stores and I think this makes it so much more difficult for people to make the change, also as much as people are changing and evolving there isn’t always a host of pro natural information because let’s face it the larger manufacturers of the world don’t want you to stop buying their products they know their products are easier to get hold of and are often even cheaper and if more people started making the change they would lose out on a whole lot of money, unfortunately money is what drives the world, we need more people to start thinking about the future of our earth, our children’s futures to stop looking at profit and to make the change for the good of everyone not just themselves.

So that leads me to the new logo I now have displayed on my blog, for those eagle eyed readers yes I am talking about the Thrive Heart now displayed on the sidebar of my blog, this logo is linked to their website and I urge all you mommas out there to go on over and take a look.

Basically Thrive is in short a natural moms online guide it includes recipes, articles, online shopping links and a whole lot more

The Thrive Team consist of; Mia Blom, Jacqueline Baldwin, Janet Neilson and here is what these lovely ladies have to say about Thrive…

“Our journey began 9 years ago. We were mamas with new-borns, desperate for a bit of guidance.  Like all new mothers, we received a barrage of well-intentioned, but outdated information and opinions and had little access to fresh perspectives.  We knew that there were innovative and eco-friendly baby products out there, but were clueless where to find them.  It was not that long ago, but it was before social media, and we were based in the Garden Route – so we really were in the dark!

Necessity really is the mother of invention… we sourced products and articles that ‘felt good’ to us, inspired us and helped us survive and decided to share them!  So the Survival Guide for Families was born.  We printed A5 guides for 8 years – with distribution channels in the Garden Route, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

By the time the babies, who’d suckled while we burnt the midnight oil doing layouts, started ‘Big School’, we discovered that they weren’t the only things that had changed.  The world was a very different place!

It was time for us to change too!”

Why print?

Even eco paper did not feel light enough on the planet and totally unnecessary in a technologically changed world where sharing information, quickly and inexpensively is possible.

Why just survive?

We also realised that while there was a time (which most new parents will know well) when surviving was the best we could wish for on the average day, we had made good choices and our families had thrived. 

Why only help families with babies and young children?

Survival Guide for Families has evolved into www.2thrive.co.za.  We will always hold young families very close to our hearts and ensure our website, app and Facebook feeds address this market, but we are broadening our scope to inform and inspire families as they evolve through all ages and stages of life. 

I absolutely love the fact that more ladies are taking this initiative are taking the stand and trying to share all this information with their fellow moms, the website has just launched and I already feel that there is so much wonderful information on there to offer, I know I have already pegged so many of the articles and yummy recipes myself.

As I said the logo does link to the website but they also have a Facebook Page as well as an Iphone app and Android app as well, how awesome is that these ladies thought of everything!

You can also find their Green Family Guide here and if you would like to find out more information or would like to be listed on their website as a natural/ ecologically friendly family company you can contact Jacqueline here.

                                            

Win with CrazyMommaofThree and #KidsBookClub

Our family LOVES to read and be read to; every night my kids will beg for another story and another until I cant anymore, but I love the fact that my kids enjoy reading as much as I do, honestly some of my fondest memories and times of childhood involved stories and reading, so it will come as no surprise to anyone that knows us that we have come to love the KidsBookClub subscription service so much.

Books are expensive lets face it and not everyone can afford to buy books for their little ones all the time, the library is great but every home should have a few if not many cherished books to call their own.

Night time Antics with #KidsBookClub- Review

If you have been following my blog for a while you will know that last month I had a KidsBookClub giveaway, well I am personally into my second month of my KidsBookClub subscription and I am super impressed.

For anyone new to the idea KidsBookClub is a month subscription service that will send your child 2 books every month for only R149... you heard me R149... its absolute peanuts if you are familiar with the prices of kids books today and yhus far the boys have loved every book.

So like I said every month you receive two age appropriate books as well as 2-4 magazines (for mum and dad) and a themed book bag.

Thus far my favorite theme bag!!!

Our first month we recieved a book on Polar bears which was not only educational but also included some awesome crafts at the end as well as a 5 in 1 magoical stories book which so far has been my personal favorite and this month we recieved a 3 billy goats gruff book and cd as well as a crafts book that is full of awesome activities to do on the weekends and holidays.

The boys love recieving their very own package

Snacks and books too perfect

This months selection

I really am very happy with this subscription so far it really has just added something special to our month and the kids bedtime instead of reading the same things over and over, if you are interested in a subscription or want to know more go on over to their website, and enjoy!

My Top 10 local bloggers

Hi Everyone

As I said in previous post I am not really up to blogging at the moment however that doesn’t mean that I am not still enjoying the many other blogs I have come to know and love so I decided to put together a list of my top 10 blogs that I follow, please bare in mind that there are so many amazing bloggers out there I wish I could put them all on my list but I have found that these are the 10 that I follow and enjoy most frequently and I highly recommend that you go on over and give them a read.

So without further a due in no particular order my top 10 ‘local’ (one is no longer local) blogs are:

Friday Feature- Happy Fluff, Modern Cloth Nappies

Hi everyone and welcome back to another Feature Friday.

I really have enjoyed doing this every week and have gotten to know so many amazing ladies it has been wonderful and I just want to take this time to thank each and every one of them for sharing their wonderful business stories with me and helping me to keep this initiative going.

Without further ado let’s get started on today’s feature which is Happy Fluff a Pretoria based cloth diapering business run by the lovely San- Mari Louw.

To anyone who is not aware I am a cloth momma, I have been cloth diapering Jess for over a year now and have thoroughly enjoyed it not only because it put a stop to constant  rashes and chemical burns for Jesse but also because they are environmentally friendly and save you a bundle compared to disposables.

However I did find that when I first start researching cloth there was just an overload of information and not many local store besides wellness warehouse sold cloth so it I had to go on reviews from other moms in place of actually being able to touch and see the products before buying them and that is why I think San Mari’s idea is so great, she provides that service and information that would have made my life so much easier when starting out….

First off why did you start Happy Fluff?

 “My baby girl was diagnosed with an Immune deficiency (PID) beginning 2015 and I had to resign from my day job to take care of her, as she gets sick quickly and cannot come into contact with sick babies. “

“We as a family had to cut back on some expenses and I decided to look into Modern cloth Nappies to save us some money. I convinced my husband to give me R700 to by our first 5 Modern cloth nappies. It’s been 10 months now and I have 20+ modern cloth nappies (never again buying Pampers), some new, some pre-loved and some gifted.”

What is the aim of your business?

 “I started this project to show Moms how to use Modern cloth and to tell them about all the pro's when using modern cloth on your little ones bum. The modern cloth 'lingo' was something to get used to when I started my initial research to save us some money, and that's when I realized all modern cloth in South Africa are sold online, and there is 1 shop that I know of that stocks modern cloth.”

What makes your business unique to the many other cloth businesses out there?

“What makes me unique is that I go to Moms in Pretoria, East Rand and Johannesburg, so that they can touch and look at Modern cloth nappies before they buy them. Since I started 4 brands have joined and now I also sell Mini-Matters, Bam+boo Baby, Mini-Mee and Cherub tree.”

How can someone find you?

“I'm in the process of designing a website, but for now I have a facebook page"

Any upcoming events we should know about?

“I will be hosting the first of its kind a Modern Cloth Nappy Demo in Gauteng. I hope to do this every second month. Super excited to do this as there are alot of pregnant mommies that don't know where to start with cloth diapering.”

How can someone place an order from you?

“Orders can be placed via email, I send out our catalogue and orders can be placed using the codes on the catalogue, but the website should be up and running end September and then it would make the order process easier.”

“I use Fastway as courier, but I try to minimise courier cost so that it will never be more than R50. Mommies will be able to order form 4 different brand through Happy Fluff and only pay courier fees once instead of paying(R80 x 4) when buying from each brand.”

I think that this is an absolutely wonderful opportunity for new cloth moms or any cloth mom who is unsure of a brand she is interested in my only regret is that San- Mari is not Cape Town based because I would love to attend one of her demos my cherub tree nappies are among my top favorites in my rather large stash so the brands she is stocking are of great quality and value.

I would like to thank San- Mari for taking the time to send through all of her information, please go on over to her site and show her some much deserved love.

Have a lovely Friday everyone!

Let us end with this cuteness!!!!

Feature Friday- Party Playdough

Good Friday everyone it’s that time of the week again, time to feature another wonderful local run business.

This week I’m going to be highlighting Party Playdough which is a Cape Town based business run by Kelly- Ann Gibbon.

I found this business through a local mom site where she was recommended by several other moms, I was looking for party pack alternatives for Jesse’s birthday because let’s face it party packs are usually so expensive and packed with sweets that make the other moms want to cry and are technically money wasted once they are eaten, so when I came across Party Playdough I just thought it was the bee knees of ideas.

So let’s see what she has to say:

Competition Time with KidsBookClub!

So anyone who knows me knows how much I love to read so it should come as no surprise that I would love to foster the same love for books in my children that my parents did in me whilst growing up.

Unfortunately I have found that at the end of the month there usually isn’t much as far as extra cash is concerned to purchase any  books and although we have quite a substantial collection of kid’s books at home, they have either fallen to pieces from over use and grubby toddler hands or the kids have read them a million times, this means that we end up having to make weekly library trips in order to get new books for the kids to read and although I absolutely love the library and taking the kids, there is often times when the kids develop a strong attachment to a certain book and then unfortunately we have to return them.

So you can only imagine my glee and excitement when I found KidsBookClub…

Feature Friday- B's Tasty Table

Happy Friday everyone and welcome back to another Feature Friday.

This week I will be highlighting a Cape Town based business and one I have personally used myself and am going to be using again come month end; B’s Tasty Table

B’s is run by Bianca Morelli a 22 year old who hails from George but thankfully decided to grace Cape Town with her absolutely amazing cakes.

Let’s jump in and see what she has to say:

Feature Friday- Love Bug

Hi Everyone and welcome back to another Feature Friday, once again I will be highlighting another local (Jo’burg/PTA) run business but this week the mum is someone I know personally, who is also a new mum to be, her name is Nicky Quinn and she is the owner and brainchild of Love Bug, Exclusive Decor.

So let’s take a look at what she has to offer.

PrintWild Face blocks- I won a competition

So a few weeks back I entered a competition on Caffeine and Fairydust which is one of the many awesome mom bloggers I follow and one of my favorites, I look so forward to reading her posts, where was I oh right so I entered a competition on her page and I won!!!!

The Treat Boutique- COMPETITION!!!!

Hi Everyone

So I have partnered with The Treat Boutique to bring you my first ever blog Competition (YAY).

For anyone who hasn’t read my previous post The Treat Boutique is a local family run business that operates in the Table View, Cape Town area.

They aim to provide healthy snacks and other treats to your door (area dependent) or for collection, I started ordering from them in an attempt to provide my kids with a variety of healthy alternatives in their lunchboxes, I also needed something that saved me time but was also affordable and I have found that the portioned packets are just perfect for lunch box snacks and portioned (50g/110g) snacking in general.

So now everyday instead of scratching my head and looking for new and interesting things to pack in the lunchboxes I can just go to the cupboard and pair some of the snacks with yoghurt fruit and a sandwich etc…. VOILA, my life has been so much easier and the kids love it.

The snack list ranges from dried fruits (included un-sugared) and nuts to popcorn, chips, sweeties and biscuits (Cape Cookies) everything you may be craving or looking for.

So Lynette from The treat Boutique has graciously provided me with a R150 voucher towards any of their snacks of your choosing (YUM) all you have to do to win is....

1) Like, The Treat Boutique on Facebook

2) Like, and share this post, every share is one entry so let me know where you shared it

3) Comment on this post with your your favorite snack or child's favorite snack

4) For an extra entry subscribe to my blog and follow me on Twitter.

Remember to let me know where you have shared and if you have followed....

T & C's

This competition is only open to those in the Cape Town Area. 

The competition closes next week Friday the 14^th August and one lucky winner will be drawn and notified.

If you would like more info on The Treat Boutique and what they have to offer you are also welcome to email me on morisonchastin@gmail.com or Lynette on lynn.treatboutique@gmail.com.

Honey Bee Bath Bomb- LUSH Review

So for anyone who watched my vlog a few days ago I picked up a few things from LUSH and did a not so little haul, well afterwards I was finally able to let loose and try some of the products and the Honey Bee bath bomb was one I was really excited for.

I was going to vlog the bath bomb experience and how it takes to the water but to be quite honest after trying half of the bomb as I cut it into two it wasn’t a very exciting one so I decided it would be best to just do a written review.

Cotton Candi Online Review

“Cotton Candi aims to inspire creativity by sourcing and selling beautiful and useful products”

I mentioned in the BoysComic Book Room Overhaul that I had ordered my chalk paint from Cotton Candi Online and that I was very impressed with them so I wanted to write up a review to encourage all you arty crafty and even not so arty crafty mommies (it's that easy) to get creative and maybe even pop onto their store and show them some love.

Sprout Prize and Food Review.

So last week I received an email to let me know that we had won a giveaway from Sprout Food SA!

Sprout is a local company that was started by a fellow mama Liesel and is a company that provides freshly made free range, preservative and hormone free toddler/ finger foods available online to order strait to your door.

In short after having her son she realized how many nasties go into the finger/ toddler foods that retail stores provide for children and through this she decided to work with a local nutritionist to create healthy, nutritious and well balanced meals that provide all the nutrients, colours and textures that growing toddlers thrive off of and need.

Essence Soft Touch Mousse and Cream to Powder Highlighter- Product Review

This past Friday I went past the Red Square store in Canal Walk to pick up a new foundation and I ended up walking out with the Essence Soft Touch Mousse in the shade Matte Sand or no 1 as well as their Cream to Powder Highlighter in the cream/ white shade (they also have a light pink shade).

First off I have no idea why I considered a highlighter quite frankly I think I am just too pale for contouring as every highlighter I find just blends into my skin and doesn’t make a difference and every countering shade I find is just too dark but I went against my better judgement and purchased this product anyway, hope still lingers on I guess.

Enchantrix- I clean it all- Product Review

Previously I have posted about the transition that has taken place in my household coverting from chemical/ non cruelty free houshold and body products to organic/ natural cruelty free products, and I am very happy to say that we have pretty much switched over everything in the household I think my hubby is the only one left who uses normal shampoo and body wash but we are getting there.

In any case I am always on the search for new organic/ cruelty free products to try and it was 2 months ago when I found the Enchantrix I clean everything concentrated liqued.... oh my stars where has this product been all my adult life, I am completely head over heels sold for this product.

Eco Friendly- Cruelty Free Brands

I have been asked by a few people I know to create a go to list of the eco/ cruelty free brands that we have used or use in our home and where you can get them…. So here it goes.

The Treat Boutique- Local Business Review

I just wanted to do a small post on a local company which is top of my list in recommendations this month.

As I have mentioned before it is always a struggle to find nice quick and and reasonably priced healthy lunch box altrernatives and ideas, quite frankly as much as I love my kids I just dont have the time to make mermaid sanwhiches and tofu wraps etc so I was very impressed when I ordered from the Treat Boutique a small family run business in the Parklands/ Table View area.