To help celebrate the 3 March, 2010 release of Handy Manny: Tooling Around, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Colour Adventure, My Friends Tigger and Pooh: Everyone is Special and Little Einsteins: Go to America to DVD - Disney and Mattel are offering the following great prize pack.

Enter now for your chance to win a prize pack, containing the following great Playhouse Disney and Mattel prizes valued at $412:

MMCH Figurines
Handy Manny: Always on Time Book
Handy Manny Soundtrack
Little Einstiens: Go to America DVD
MMCH: Mickey’s Colour Adventure DVD
MFTAP: Everyone is Special DVD
Handy Manny: Tooling Around DVD
Let’s Get To Work Manny Doll
Talkin’ Tool Box
Talkin’ Tool Pack
14 x MMCH Raceway
MMCH Figurines

Question: Who is your kids’ favourite Disney Playhouse character and why?

3 March, 2010 release of Handy Manny: Tooling Around to DVD

Get creative with Handy Manny and friends, and give your favourite chair a Do-It-Yourself makeover! You’ll need the help of an adult – your handy helper - to hit the shops and for a few steps along the way, plus an old chair in need of some fixing up!

1. Make a list of things you’ll need:

-sandpaper to get rid of the old paint
-a paintbrush
-paint: choose two favourite colours
-spray paint (optional)
-a stencil from a craft shop of some of your favourite tool shapes

2. Head outdoors where you can spread newspaper to cover the ground under your chair. Get your handy helper (mum or dad) to fold the sandpaper into thick bundles, and then rub away as hard as you can on any old paint or varnish!

3. While you do this, ask your handy helper to help you keep sweeping up the bits of old paint and varnish that fall on the ground.

4. Wearing an apron or smock, paint the chair with the brush using small strokes. Leave overnight to make sure it’s nice and dry in the morning.

5. Select one of your tool-shaped stencils, and place on the seat of the chair. With the help of your handy helper, use a spray paint to fill in the shape, or simply paint with one of your favourite coloured paints. Add as many shapes as you like!
Leave to dry for a couple of hours.

Now you can show off your Handy Manny and friends-inspired masterpiece to all friends and family!

First time to DVD - Handy Manny: Tooling Around - available to own on Disney DVD from 3 March 2010!

Also new to the Playhouse Disney DVD range: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Colour Adventure, My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Everyone is Special and Little Einsteins Go To America!

Mum is the choice; not a stereotype

Regardless of whether a mother decides to stay at home or work, the real choice is about becoming a mum and finding a lifestyle, products and services that suit each individual mother.

Designed in Australia by Mrs Cornish, the Swan and Sparrow range includes a red, green or blue “Carry All” bag with optional shoulder strap, dirty nappy bag and change mat.

Question: Check out www.swanandsparrow.com and tell us how many pockets do the Swan and Sparrow Carry all bags have, and which pocket do you think you would find the most useful?

Mum is the choice; not a stereotype

Regardless of whether a mother decides to stay at home or work, the real choice is about becoming a mum and finding a lifestyle, products and services that suit each individual mother.

According to founder of Swan and Sparrow, Edwina Cornish, new mums today are on the lookout for products that are versatile, with patterns, styles and materials that don’t stereotype them into a career mum look or a stay at home mum feel.

“Feedback from our customers is they like Swan and Sparrow baby bags because they are stylish, versatile and functional.

“They don’t scream out baby bag, and they don’t stereotype mothers into a corporate mum look with oversized dimensions and black leather tones or stay at home mum style, with vibrant multi-coloured patterns,” she said.

Mrs Cornish said mothers were looking more for a parent bag that lasted from newborn and toddler through to child.

“Many of our customers have gone on to use the baby bags as everyday handbags or laptop bags after they no longer need a nappy bag, simply because the traditional style and quality of our products are too good to give up,” she said.

Designed in Australia by Mrs Cornish, the Swan and Sparrow range includes a red, green or blue “Carry All” bag with optional shoulder strap, dirty nappy bag and change mat.

All materials for the bag and optional extras are wipe clean materials, with the durable exterior of the bag made from 100% polyester.

The Swan and Sparrow Carry All Baby Bag is 38cm (w) x 28cm (h) x 10cm (d) and has a black nylon lining for easy cleaning.

With seven pockets, including an external front pocket for easy access to car keys or wet ones, three internal nappy pockets, a mobile phone pocket, internal coins or keys pocket and zippered divider, finding items will be easier than most designer handbags.

The Swan and Sparrow Carry All Baby Bag is just $85 and with all optional extras is just $95, with free delivery when ordered through the website.

Visit www.swanandsparrow.com or call 0405 201 121

Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton, Melbourne 5 - 7 March 2010

The Baby Show, a major new event, will be coming to Melbourne for the first time in March. Bringing together unbeatable shopping, exciting entertainment and expert advice for pregnancy, baby and toddler, The Baby Show is the must attend event for all new and expecting parents.

The Baby Show is the essential event for parents who want the best for their baby or toddler. Parents can shop like VIP’s and discover top quality products from over 100 companies and big name brands such as Blackmores, Fisher-Price, Baby Love, Bio-Oil, Priceline, Volvo, Huggies, Tommee Tippee, Mothercare, Maclaren, Chicco, Happy Baby, Nestle and Pumpkin Patch. Enjoy star treatment as Porters help lighten your load. Whether it’s carrying heavy bags to the car or folding the pram, the Happy Baby Porters are on hand to help.

Babies and toddlers will be entertained at The Baby Show too! Your little ones can meet Dorothy the Dinosaur and dance with The Teletubbies live in an exciting new interactive dance show. In addition, the Fisher-Price® Play Lab, featuring a life-size Play Train, makes learning fun while demonstrating the science behind the toys, helping you to choose the right product for your child’s age, ability and development.

Overwhelmed with the choice of prams and strollers on the market? Don’t miss ‘Out & About’ with Volvo, where visitors can trial a variety of strollers over a purpose built obstacle course made up of sharp turns, slopes, gravel, grass and culminating in the boot of a car helping to make the stroller purchasing decision easier.

The Baby Show will also hold Mummy & Baby Seminars, providing answers to all those need to know questions. With expert advice on a variety of topics from sleeping routines to a real-life mum’s exercise plan. Naturopaths will also be on hand for a one-to-one chat at the Blackmores Wellness Centre, giving you tailored health advice. The Priceline Baby Care Classes offers practical advice to new parents from professional childcare experts and pharmacists on caring for your baby during the first few months. This is a unique opportunity to ask questions and interact with the experts on a personal level.

After all of the shopping and fun, hungry families can relax at the deliciously healthy Rafferty’s Garden Junior Café while the Tommee Tippee Baby Feeding Room and Baby Love Changing Room will ensure everyone will be kept comfortable and happy.

The Baby Show is the essential event for your pregnancy, baby and toddler!

Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased in advance for a limited half price offer via www.thebabyshow.com.au

Visitors who book in advance also go in the draw to win fantastic prizes from Fisher-Price and Volvo.

The Pouchmiss is the hottest accessory for new mums. Designed by an Australian mum for mums, this handbag organiser converts your favourite bigger bag into an organised and stylish nappy bag instantly! Simply pack it up with your mum & baby essentials then slip it into your bag of the day.
Finally your nappy bag can match your outfit without having to spend thousands of dollars on multiple nappy bags!

Comes with matching compact baby change mat that folds to fit neatly inside and features 2 insulated pockets for baby¹s bottles, a strap for hanging over your stroller handles and many pockets and compartments for your “stuff”. If that wasn’t enough, The Pouchmiss protects your bag from baby-related spills and accidents as it can easily be removed and wiped down or machine-washed clean as new. Genius!

Testimonials:

1.
I am expecting baby number 4 and saw the Pouchmiss online and decided that this had to be the best “nappy bag” on the market, trust me after 3 kids i have had a few. The Pouchmiss fits conveniently inside my leather handbag, which has saved me literally hundreds of dollars as that’s how much a leather nappy bag cost’s…not anymore, and the best part is i can swap it to any other bag i choose!! An extra bonus is that it is not too feminine or babyish so my husband can take the Pouchmiss out without any embarrassment.

Nicole Addo

2.
I love my Pouchmiss.
Without it my bag was a constant mess of nappies, wipes, change mats and my own bit and pieces. Now with the Pouchmiss my bag is semi organised (it would be completely organised if I didn’t have two sets of hands constantly trying to take stuff out of it). I can now keep all of my stuff together in one side, know where to find my lipgloss and also keep all the nappy change stuff together. It’s been fabulous.
So glad I stumbled across you in Shop for Kids.

Cheers,
Michaela Macaulay

3.
Thank you so much for the Pouchmiss! Before Pouchmiss my big, gorgeous but chaotic bag was an absolute disaster, containing everything required to feed, change, and entertain my toddler, as well as all the bits and pieces that you will find in any high maintenance woman’s handbag. It was impossible to find anything when I needed it, I would often be scrambling around trying to find my ringing mobile, with my daughter hanging off one arm, trying to get into the bag to retrieve her snacks! Now I know where everything is, I can get to things with ease, nappy changes are fast and efficient, and my husband is no longer tearing his hair out when I need to answer my phone! I’m also thrilled to be able to use my nice bags instead of the cumbersome and unattractive nappy bag.

Good luck with everything,

Rikki Ambrosius

4.
I bought 3 Pouchmiss’ from you just prior to Christmas.

I am not currently a mum, but planning to be one in the future (hopefully).
In the meantime, I prefer your pouchmiss to other handbag caddies because the size of the pouches are much more user friendly and the good handle means I can transfer it easily without tipping it over or anything falling out.

I also bought a Pouchmiss for my mum, who is hoping to be a grandmother in the future, but is also a nurse on a childrens ward and often works with her patients and their families outside of the hospital. She loves that she can have her ‘babysitting’ things and nursing equipment kept separately and ready to go, but still use her normal handbag.

My third Pouchmiss was for a friend who has a little boy, now 18 months old.

She was getting completely frustrated with a cumbersome (and unattractive) nappy bag and thanks me every time I see her now! She loves it, says it is the perfect size for what she needs now, and she is confident that she will always have what she needs and that ‘it isn’t lost in the bag I used yesterday’.

Kind Regards,
Jessica Jenkins

The Pouchmiss is the hottest accessory for new mums. Designed by an Australian mum for mums, this handbag organiser converts your favourite bigger bag into an organised and stylish nappy bag instantly! Simply pack it up with your mum & baby essentials then slip it into your bag of the day.
Finally your nappy bag can match your outfit without having to spend thousands of dollars on multiple nappy bags!

Comes with matching compact baby change mat that folds to fit neatly inside and features 2 insulated pockets for baby¹s bottles, a strap for hanging over your stroller handles and many pockets and compartments for your “stuff”. If that wasn’t enough, The Pouchmiss protects your bag from baby-related spills and accidents as it can easily be removed and wiped down or machine-washed clean as new. Genius!

Testimonial:

I am expecting baby number 4 and saw the Pouchmiss online and decided that this had to be the best “nappy bag” on the market, trust me after 3 kids i have had a few. The Pouchmiss fits conveniently inside my leather handbag, which has saved me literally hundreds of dollars as that’s how much a leather nappy bag cost’s…not anymore, and the best part is i can swap it to any other bag i choose!! An extra bonus is that it is not too feminine or babyish so my husband can take the Pouchmiss out without any embarrassment.

Question: Check out www.thepouchmiss.com.au and let us know why you think Pouchmiss is a great product?

For Mums craving a treat and an indulgence that will make them feel fantastic, Cake Lingerie is a must have. A true Australian success story, the Cake brand was launched in August 2008 and is now available in 16 countries and over 250 stores, and in some of the most prestigious boutique and specialty retailers like Harrods in the ‘United Kingdom’ and ‘Destination Maternity’ in the United States.

Cake Lingerie is exquisite, feminine, fashionable and tasteful. Cake’s beautiful styles are cleverly engineered to look light and flatter the body, whilst delivering exceptional comfort and support. Cake products are produced to exceptionally high quality standards, using chemically certified fabrics and all materials subject to stringent fabric, dye and product testing.

‘LET THEM EAT CAKE’ is the gorgeous new collection from Cake and the styles become progressively more delicious as the recipe evolves. The collection is made up of spectacular styles in Plum Pudding, French Vanilla, Meringue and Blueberry. Inspired from vintage wallpapers, china tea sets to old school Hollywood glamour, results in the selection of rich navy blue prints, deep reds, crisp whites and angelic blue for timeless appeal.

Constructed from a delightful mix of soft lace, stretch fabrics and luxurious satin. All bras are cotton lined and feature cleverly disguised drop cups for easy feeding. Inbuilt support ensures shape and comfort are delivered, in a garment that looks amazing and is a joy to wear.

With no detail spared, Cake is prepared to exceptionally high quality standards, using chemically certified Eco fabrics and accessories and with all materials being subject to independent stringent fabric, dye and product testing in accordance with EU prescribed standards.

Cake Lingerie takes pride in offering lingerie indulgences to new Mums that are designed to make them feel special, products that celebrate being a women and becoming a Mother. For all pregnant and breastfeeding Mums, it’s definitely time to treat yourself to some Cake.

Mickey Mouse Club House: Mickey’s Colour Adventure, available on Disney DVD from 3 March, 2010. RRP: $19.95.

Exclusive to MumZone.com.au view the following sneak peak videos for the upcoming DVD release Mickey’s Colour Adventures:

Mickey’s Colour Adventures - Goofy’s Drawing

Mickey’s Colour Adventures - Follow the Rainbow

As a clinical aromatherapist, I often hear from my clients that as much as they love using essential oils, they are unsure which ones are safe to use for their babies & children and in what doses. I have also found that most children benefit from aromatherapy as they will be quite willing to tell you which aromas they like and don’t like! They will also respond far quicker than adults to the benefits of the oils as their bodies have a lot less toxins that most have us have been exposed to for years.

However, since they are more susceptible to the oils, more cautions need to be applied particularly to babies & young children. Aromatherapy should never be used with babies under 3 months of age due to the sensitivity of their nasal passages and skin.

Our little ones need a diluted dose of essential oils for the reasons above, remember less is more! A good rule is use half the amount you would use on yourself for children aged 7 and over, a third for children aged 3 to 7 and a quarter or less for babies and children up to the age of 3. Always mix neat essential oils in a carrier oil such as jojoba or sweet almond oil, both are safe for babies & children.

As oil burners can be dangerous in a children’s room with candles and whatnot, a great solution is to use a spray bottle. Add about 20 drops of your chosen oil for children over 3 and 10 drops for the under 3’s into 100ml of spring or distilled water and spray as a room mist or onto their linen.

Lavender and roman chamomile are the best oils you can use in a spray to calm a crying baby. A blend of mandarin and neroli oils is a favourite blend for mums to keep the baby in a happy mood as both oils have a reputation of being a great mood elevator for children. Niaouli & Calendula are perfect for any skin problems such as nappy rash, cradle cap or just the usual cut or scrape. Tea tree is also good for this but for older children only.

You can also add a few drops of chamomile or lavender oil (diluted in a carrier oil) to a baby’s bath to help prepare for bedtime. The safest aromatherapy oils to use as disinfectants that also purify the air are geranium, lavender and eucalyptus. By spraying onto your babies linen and allowing to dry before baby goes to bed also helps get rid of allergens and dust mites. Eucalyptus is best used for babies and children who have a cold.

But we can’t forget the mums! During pregnancy with a new baby on the way and a new mummy in the making spearmint will help with the morning sickness that lasts all day, a blend of Geranium, Chamomile and Lavender will help sooth those aches & pains and for labour a great blend that is both relaxing yet stimulating enough to focus is neroli, lemon, lavender & bergamot.

Used in a cautious and safe manner, essential oils can not only help you calm and cheer your infant or relieve that early evening madness in your children, but they can also be useful for a new on edge mum or a seasoned patience tested one with the added bonus of masking any unpleasant odours that are always a part of a mother’s life.

Further information:

Little Scents Aromatherapy for children

email: info@littlescents.com.au
web: www.littlescents.com.au