Winter Sales

Bargain Hunting Anyone?

Frugal Thinking

Oh how I love a bargain.  I'm sure you do too?  I went on-line today in search of end-of-season SALES.  I'm feeling pretty pleased with my purchases because I've saved lots of money for next year and beyond.  That's always good isn't it?  I buy the best quality bargains now and save them for years in advance.

Oobi 

Today I went to oobi.com.au and found lots of genuine sale items.  It was hard to choose which ones to buy because they are all so attractive.  When I saw this gorgeous little duffle style coat I couldn't resist.  And, I reckon it is suitable for either a boy or a girl.
  

   Image from oobi.com.au

I saved $110.00 and ended up buying two, a navy blue and the lovely olive green you can see here.  One for my little girl and one for my little boy.  One is for next year (and hopefully the year after) for one child, and the other will be recycled after the older child and will last for the next couple of years.  This style has cute toggle buttons, an oversized hood and turn-up cuffs with a reprinted 1950s British check.  It has a retro look that will never go out of fashion.

And that is the secret to buying from this year's sales for next year and beyond.  Be careful to choose what will not look like last year.  A classic design is always the one that is most unlikely to look dated.

Gymboree

And don't forget to consider the colour and theme.  Most high quality clothing will have a collection with a theme for the season. For example: the theme for a collection on gymboree.com is called 'Center Stage' and features a beautiful orchid and pink coloured ballet theme.  They're having a sale too so you can save heaps of money by giving them a visit.  Some examples below:-
  

Images from gymboree.com

 I would imagine that these colours and the style would be highly desirable for any little girl to add to her wardrobe.

Girl or boy?

I saved $15 when I bought this super cute onesie from oobi.com.au for next winter.  It looks so warm and snuggly I couldn't resist it.  It just happens that my baby is a little girl who is one in April, but I'm just going to 'pretty' it up a bit by adding some pink or maybe some lace.  I'm not sure yet, I'll try some things and experiment a bit to see what looks good.

   Image from oobi.com.au

Now I just have to be patient and wait for my parcels to arrive, then have the fun of deciding what to put away for a year or two and what to give to whom for their birthday or Christmas.  Oh I love it!

Whoa it's almost November already.

Get organised you guys.

Get yourselves organised for Christmas.

Don't you realise it will be here before you know it?

Here's a website to check out -

+Personalised Letters from Santa

.http://www.lovesanta.com.au

Well it's coming up to that time of year again.

Be organised this year, get a letter from Santa ordered now.

This website specialises in Australian HOT Christmases so is culturally brilliant and relevant too.

Notice I've got my Christmas colours on?

What do you do every Christmas that has turned into your own tradition? I'd like to know, share with us in the comments box.

Bye for now,

Clever Aus Cookie

Be happy it's spring.

Hi everyone.  Are you enjoying this sunshine as much as me?  It's so nice to be warm enough to take your cardigan off and wear thongs.  Not into shorts just yet though.  I even feel motivated to spring clean.  In fact I've already cleaned out the fridge this morning.  It feels great to have a clean fridge!

Here's some very good advice for you.  Stop trying to be as good as someone else.  You know you are a unique person who has talent and ability and skills of your own.  Be happy on this wonderful spring day and be happy to be you.

Quote of the day 

Be yourself. 

Everyone else is taken.

Ooey, Gooey Mud Alphabet Game

Have lots of fun teaching your little tikes about the alphabet and recognising sounds as a great introduction to the skill of reading.

Collect and have on hand, lots of small toys and objects that your little tike will recognise and know the name of.  The game is one of your little tike recognising and saying the first sound in the name of the object.  You are going to try to have one object for each letter in the alphabet but don't go to the bother of having every letter.  By having one object per letter you should widen your tike's awareness and skill in recognising different letter sounds.

The guess where you're going to hide the objects - in the lovely mud pie of course! You could also use pictures or photos (realising they will be covered in mud).  For example a toy truck = t for truck, a duck = d for duck and so on.  Get your little tike to have great fun and excitement in reaching into the lovely, icky, gooey mud, finding the objects and putting them in a bucket for sorting.

Use lower case magnetic or wooden alphabet letters.  Place them across the lawn or wherever is suitable in alphabetic order to help your little tike with alphabetic order. Tell Little Tike it is his/her job to reach into the lovely mud to find a surprise and sort them by their beginning sounds.  As Tike pulls an object from the bucket, have him/her say the first sound (eg wheel = w) and then they place the object under the appropriate letter.  They may name the object differently to how you have, for example tractor wheel = t, but that's okay.  Go with whatever they name the object for maximum enjoyment.  You say, "What is it?"  Tike responds, "A coin!"  You say, "What does coin start with?"  Tike replies, "Coin, c, c, c."

Once you've finished saying the beginning sound for each object pack them up and put them back into the bucket.  Then you could scramble the letters up and have your little tike put them into alphabetic order.

I was devastated this morning!!  Well you all know how tikes love water don't you?  I'd taken a shower and placed my necklace on the vanity to put on when I had finished BUT it wasn't there when I went to put it on.  Following enquiries from Mr Tike I found out that the little tikes were playing with it and it dropped down the plug hole.  I'll have to not use water with the basin taps now until Mr Fixit comes home tonight and hopefully rescues it for me by undoing the pipes or whatever it takes.  I have to hand it to him, he can fix pretty much everything.

Speaking of water, I was sitting on my lounge yesterday with Miss Tike snuggled on my knee, reading her current favourite book Dippy Duck.  Dippy's favourite fun thing to do is squelching and squashing in lovely sticky, squugie, ucky mud. She LOVES that part because she loves mud too.  She and I'd need some nice rubber boots for that, like +Muck Boots.

Here's a FREEBIE for you.  There is a giveaway:   

Enter to win the Muck Boot Giveaway. The giveaway has already started athttp://www.jylasthreeofusgiveaway.org/2013/10/muck-boot-giveaway.html

Mud, mud, glorious mud!

ALL kids love to splash in mud.  What a great thing to do if you're lucky enough to have some lovely gooey mud outside.  Dare I say, bribe them by saying something like 'Let's pack up then we can put our boots on and go outside and jump up and down in the mud!'  I can pretty much guarantee you that you could get your little tike to do any little jobs you want done for that reward.

What little tike wouldn't LOVE to make a mud pie?

Bubbles

Again speaking of water, another little reward that I had on hand with my little tike was a bubble wand.  I bought mine from +Target for only $1.00 and I'll probably get 3 goes with the bubble liquid.  Then I might be  frugal and make my own bubble liquid and just fill up the bubble wand when it's low.  Then again I might just be lazy, after all I only need to spend $1 and just buy another one from +Target to have on hand when my young tike needs a fill-in activity.

Day of organised fun for a tike

I've come to the conclusion that little tikes (below school age) can't just be left to amuse themselves.  I felt so worn out the other day (I'm sure you've had MANY days like that!) that I left little Miss 3 to her own devices.  I could hear her little feet running up and down the decking outside and I could also hear her talking to her little dog playmate so I knew she was safe.  What I didn't hear was her opening the door of our wood heater.  Thank goodness it was not going.  I shudder to think if had been.  I also didn't hear her as she busily emptied my hubbies pot plants out onto the ground.  She was soooo busy opening and shutting and rearranging.  It was only later that I found the evidence.

Then she came inside.  I could hear her as she ran up and down the hall and opened and shut doors, so I knew she was safe.  Then I heard a strange squishing.  I went straight away to find out what she'd gotten up to. She was in the bathroom looking guilty.  When I asked what that sound was, she pointed to the bath.  There was a squidge of something.  It turned out she'd squished some sun tan lotion into the bathtub 'to clean it'.  How cute!  It was only later that I found out she'd also squished shampoo and conditioner down the shower outlet and she'd turned on all the bedside lamps and she'd been soooo busy opening and shutting and rearranging things.

It was then that I decided - I am going to make up a daily program of activities and tasks.  She'll be helping me and she'll be learning without even knowing it because she'll be having so much fun.  And I will be organised and not tearing my hair out trying to think up what to do next to keep her occupied and out of mischief.

Join me tomorrow because I'll be posting my first 'day of organised fun for a tike'.