Christmas Shopping!

It is just over 8 weeks till Christmas! How'd that happen? It all seemed to come around so fast, I remember just yesterday I was posting on Facebook that there was 19 weeks till Christmas and well here we are.

I love shopping and shopping for Christmas presents is no exception. Some people have a list a mile long of people to buy for and others only have a small family..either way how do you tackle it? I figure like all good things you need a plan.

I personally like to make a list of who I need to buy for and what I think might be good for them.
This then seems to give me some sort of direction when I hit the local shops and am easily distracted by the all the pretty things. By having a plan I figure you have a focus.

I generally plan to hit the shops and get all the presents I need in one go. I have been finding though that it is beneficial to be open to it all year round. Quite often something will pop up and it is perfect and you just know if you leave it and come back it will be gone. So I guess in this regard my plans tend to evolve with how productive the year has been.

If you are lucky sometimes things just fall into your lap. This has been the case with my mother in laws gift. My mother in law is obsessed with pelicans, I mean they are beautiful creatures but she is truly in love with them. My 5 year old daughter will even point one out if she sees one and tells me "there is a pelican for nan". In the beginning it was easy, I mean we bought ceramic pelicans, wood pelicans, material pelicans, steel pelicans, pelican magnets, pelican windchimes, pelican ornaments and even pelican bags but it is now becoming slim pickings, try it, trust me it is not easy!  Then I ran into a lady at a local market that handmakes sculptures - 1 pelican please and we are done.

I like to have all my shopping done by 1 December so I can feel all organised. I find my daughter the easiest to buy for and often pop things in the cupboard as I go through the year. I think it is kinda hard with kids though because there interest changes as often as their clothes.

So my method is a list of good ideas and the flexibility of abandoning it if something better comes along. Plus embracing the possibilty of buying things through the year and storing them away till the jolly man makes his entarance!

How do you organise your Christmas shopping? and is it done, in progress, not started?

Halloween Time

Well it's almost that time of year again! Halloween. I really think it doesn't matter whether you love it or you don't, whether you think it's an American thing or you imbrace it here, one thing is for sure kids love it!

We had the wonderful pleasure of seeing Halloween in full swing about 3 years ago. We went to Disneyland when my daughter was 2 (and twice more since then, including just this August) and we were totally immersed in it. I think this is where my love of Halloween began. Just seeing how much fun people were having, how they whole heartedly imbraced it and how magical it really was.

We don't do Halloween in the traditional sense, my daughter does not go trick - or- treating, but she does dress up, hand out lollies if people so happen to come by and we decorate somewhat. It's just fun.

I love to decorate for every holiday and Halloween is no exception! I tend to try and buy something new each season. It is generally just something small and only costing a few dollars but it's fun none the less.

These are my recent purchases to get you in the Halloween mood

Our Pumpkin Bucket

Halloween Plates

Halloween Ice Cube/Chocolate Moulds

Here is a pic of my daughter during her Halloween at Disneyland. The look on her face says it all really.

Happy Halloween!

That's What Friends Are For

I remember back to when I was at school and how it was so important just how many friends you had. It seemed that the more friends you had the better of a person you were. Now i'm all old and grown (I'm 32... just) with some life experience behind me I see friendships a little differently. I also know that you don't need to be surrounded by people to be happy. Sometimes you can feel alone in a crowded room, it's the people who are in the room that make it. Just like its the friends in your life that make those friendships so special.

Almost a year ago now I had a hard time in my personal life and it was this event that showed me who my real friends were. Prior to this I had some idea but this really confirmed it for me.

There were some people at that time who were very obviously just trying to get the latest gossip or information on the situation. These are the people who I no longer have time for. But there were some who were very wonderful, my 2 best friends in particular really showed support of me in that time and I thank them alot.

This experience has made me see that it is the quality of friends not the quantity that is important and that's a lesson i'll always keep for the rest of my life.

I just wanted to take this time to thank my real friends :)

Just How Prepared Are You?

For Christmas that is.

I know that all us people are different and prepare differently. I gotta say if I were not in charge of the gifts situation in our house my dear hubby would be running around on Christmas Eve. All this would be whilst complaining that there is nothing good left to buy and why are all these people around.

Like alot of mums I now I check out the mid year toy sales for some bargains for my daughter who is 5. Truth be told most of the time it is that the items are not so much a bargain in my book but they are usually either difficult to find or are only around for a limited time. This combined with the fact that my daughters birthday is 20 days before Christmas means that I have to be super organised.

Under some blankets in the top of our bedroom cupboard I have my daughters presents stashed. They seem to go unnoticed for the time being and honestly I am hoping it stays that way for a few more years at least.

December in our house is the time for a toy invasion. By the time you finish off the birthday presents from us, friends and family you are then into the Christmas presents. This means that it is well and truly time for a evaluation and cull of the toys. I tend to sell/donate anything that is no longer age appropriate, not played with, broken or missing parts. This makes some more room for newer things to come. I also pack away in tubs any toys which I think would be nice to keep to pass along to my daughter when she has kids of her own, this is generally wooden toys and books.

So far I have got my daughters birthday and Christmas presents (mainly Friends Lego). My inlaws request no gifts so I get them something small from my daughter, hubby and I dont buy for each other. My sister in law and I buy for our own kids and then just swap on the day and hand the presents to the kids. This works well as you know what you own kid would like and you are in control of the amount spent.

The only person I really have to buy for is my mum and then I typically buy a gift voucher as she is always fussy and this is much easier. So after many years of going through this I now let her buy for herself.

I set a budget for my daughter as when she was about 4 she had so many gifts she actually got bored of opening them and that's not really very Christmasssy now is it? Too many presents = overwhelmed child, we really just wanted to spoil her but it back fired. So this year I am getting one larger present and then a few dvds, crafty items and stocking stuffers. I would estimate $150 at most. I budget $200 for her birthday which I think I may have gone over just a little.

I must say that buying gifts through the year saves alot of stress come December, especially for us as there is so much going on at this time of year.

I will still be hitting the shops as I love to look at the Christmas stuff but the pressure is off.

We even decided what we are doing for Christmas lunch so all that has to be done is a little closer work out whos bringing what.

Christmas is coming whether we like it or not.

How organised are you?

Encouraging Our Kidlets

I think it's so important as parents that we support and encourage our kids as best we can.

Everyone is different and therefore everyones parenting style is so different. Being around so many parents you see such a different in the parenting as all kids are so different.

From as soon as she could show her emotions my little girl has been a shy and timid and does lack confidence at times. She is a complete sweetheart and a joy in my life but I do try and encourage her as much as possible, sometime this is to no avail. Despite my constant reassurance and positive feedback it is just sometimes too much for her. I recently saw her overcome this somewhat and it was very inspiring to see.

My daughter recentely had her first ballet exam. She has been doing ballet for 2 years now and just adores it, she dances whenever she can. The day before her ballet exam her teacher organised them to have a mock exam so that the girls knew what to expect. We had not made a big deal out of the exam so that there was little pressure. We just told her she would be dancing and would get a medal and certificate.

During the mock exam she ran out crying to the toilets and i went to check on her. She told me through the tears that she was scared and that she would fail. I reassured her that Mummy and Daddy just want you to have fun and that Miss Belinda (her wonderful teacher) didn't care she just wanted her to have fun too. Our motto is as long as she tries her best that's enough for us.

She eventually pulled herself together and went back in and carried on and I was proud of her for being brave.

The exam was on the next day and on the car in the way there she was so calm. She told me that she was just going to have fun and that Caitlyn (her best ballet buddy) would be next to her the whole time. I was so glad she had heard some of what I said.

When we got there all the kids looked great, despite this mum having to youtube how to use a ballet bun donut at 7.30am. They were all beaming and excited. They got their numbers pinned on and went in. The parents waited patiently and they finally came in all excited. Their teacher informed us that they had all done enough in her opinion to pass! The girls range from 4-6 years old so i think there is not too much expected of them at this age.

I was so extremely proud of my little munchkin and her bravery. I don't think I could have gotten up infront of a stranger and danced.

It's moments like this when you see something that you say to your child make an impact that you feel like you are doing something right in your parenting. I gotta say for all the times we second guess ourselves as parents it is nice to feel that sense of "I'm doing good".

A picture of the little ballerina

A Legacy In The Making

When I first started dating my husband 14 years ago I quickly got to know his extended family and I have to say that they are a wonderful bunch of people. I consider myself extremely lucky as I know there are so many people who do not have a great realtionship with their "adopted" family but I love them. My mother in law is one of my best friends and is such an inspiration to me, I am proud to have her as my daughters grandmother.

My husbands grandmother who I affectionately call Nan is such an integral part of this family. She is 84 and up until about a year ago she was still tending to the garden each and every day and looking after her chickens. I swear she has two rules, you eat... alot and you never go home empty handed! Just so I can paint you a good picture here is a pic of Nan with my daughter.

She is a little Ukranian woman and she is absoutley amazing, she cooks like I have never seen before. She once told me the story that she had to leave her home in the Ukraine at 15 during the war and went to Germany. There she worked in a restuarant and finally immigrated over to Australia. Her recipes are a mixture of Ukranian, German and Polish food. Some she learned from the restaurant and some she learned from her mother. Though when I say her recipe there is no actual recipe and this is where the problem lies.

In the last year Nan has begun to develop mild dementia and I can see this is so frustrating for her. Because I know that her cooking is such an integral part of this family I have recently taken the opportunity to spend time cooking with her. She has been teaching me her dishes, this has been wonderful but hard at times as she does everything by feel and gets very annoyed with me when I insist on measuring!

Learning the family dishes has been fantastic, I am now learning to make the things I love and the things my husband ate growing up. I can see when we cook that she is often easily confused and I know that we need to do this more often. It is sad to say but no one has her recipes and these will be gone with her. I want my daughter to grow up with this cooking in her life and in her childrens life.

These dishes are not just food but they are memories. Today I was with her and we made her familys traditional biscuits which she calls Crushde, they are similar to Cristolis. It took us a few hours and we made over 100 biscuits and this was a small batch in her mind. She is not able to do it now but she would make at least 1000. These biscuits are made every Christmas and just the smell and taste of them takes my back to Nans traditional Christmas dinner every Christmas Eve. We all get together eat, open presents, the kids play....it really is one of my favourite parts of Christmas.

It wouldn't be Christmas without these biscuits and this Christmas all the women in our family are going to get together to make them to take the pressure off Nan.

I am sure that Nan has a good amount of time left with us but I know that she would want us to have these recipes and pass them along to our grandkids, infact she told me so today. It was so lovely today cooking with her. Just recently we were cooking with her and it was so nice as there was my daughter, myself, my mother in law and Nan and we all cooked together. It just gave me the best feeling of family.

The food is great but the family is the most important. I want to make sure her legacy lives on in our family.

Are there any dishes you should be getting the recipe for or perhaps sadly missed out on?

On Wednesdays we wear pink

Some of you might know this quote from Mean Girls. I gotta say that it was on Austar the other week and as much as I tried to get motivated to get off the couch I just had to watch it.

I am a self proclaimed couch potato, I watch so many shows that I cannot keep up. My Austar recorder is full of shows and movies we all know ill probably never get to but I just cant miss out. The obvious answer would be to watch less but its really hard. I am out an about alot and I am constantly hearing from others just how good certain shows or movies are. The ladies at the school canteen talk alot about Revenge so I now have that on my list, another one of my friends watches Vampire Diaries and I have heard that's good, then theres The Five Year Engagement DVD I have sitting waiting, also my sister in law recentley told me how good Once Upon A Time is....so now you know how I got into this predicament. I am far too impressionable!

Then there are all these shows that are due to start airing again after their summer hiatius in the US, so my nights are soon going to be taken up with Gossip Girl, Mike & Molly, Big Bang Theory and the list continues....

I guess I am not really looking for a solution here.....anyone got any show/movie recommendations?

So you see my problem is just a never ending cycle, but at least it teaches me something - On Wednesdays we wear pink :)

Hope your Wednesday has a touch of pink!

The Problem With Presents

So yesterday was my birthday and I am 32, gosh that makes me feel old. I swear I only blinked at 18 and here I am today. I have to say though if I am going to have to be 32 and lets face it I have little say in the matter, I am happy. I am a 32 year old who has a great husband and a lovely little girl, I cannot complain at all, in fact that's the greatest gift of all.

Today was such a cute day at my daughters school. I came to pick her up as I normally do and discovered that she must have performed a news bulletin to the class to announce my birthday. I had 16 little cuties which immediately told me "it's your birthday Ellas mum, happy birthday" so lovely. It is amazing how kids can make you feel so special with the simplest things.

Speaking of kids and birthdays (didn't I tie that in well?), my daughter is in Kindergarten this year and I have dubbed this year, the year of the parties. It seems that almost every month we have multiple parties whether it be for school friends or for friends outside of school. I think it is absolutely lovely that my daughter has so many parties to attend and she just gets so excited about each and every one.

I love accompanying her along to these parties as I have gotten to know the parents well and it is a nice opportunity to have a catch up while the kids play. It is the buying of the gift for the birthday child which often stumps me. Obviously I know what my child likes but I do find it challenging to buy for others.

I would often be out and about and spot an item and would think "that would be good for a present" but would always think "well we don't have any invitations at the moment". Now we just know that is the cue for an invitation to arrive promptly. I would then seek out the aforementioned item only to find it sold or find that I simply could not remember what that fantastic gift was or where I saw it.

I kept thinking to myself there had to be a better way. Something that meant I was not scrambling around trying to find something suitable or shopping for the present on the way to the party.

I recently heard of an idea which grabbed my interest which I have now implemented in our house and that is to have a present box. Whenever we are out and about at the shops and I see something on special/on clearance/generally budget friendly or simply just too cute to miss out on, I will buy it and pop it in the box. I keep the box in the cupboard in our spare room and when it is party time we simply check the box and see what we can use. It is usually the case that we use something/s from the box than add to it (usually a book or some craft items - these things are always great!) but this is working out to be alot less stressful and easier for mummy.

Here is a pic of our present box contents at the moment

My local Kmart recently closed down and they were clearing out all their Crayola stuff at incredibly cheap prices so I stocked up as craft stuff is always a winner.

When we have birthday invitations I still take my daughter to the shops and let her pick out the card and paper for her friend and also any additional items we are adding to the present so she feels included but this helps me alot.

Lets face it, having a present box is also more budget friendly and who doesn't like to save money when they can?

I thought id come up with a list of suitable gifts for boys and girls for a present box for my blog readers, if you'd like to start one.

BOYS

* Matchbox cars

* Lego Mini figs

* Yo Yo

* Temporary Tattoos

* Colouring books

* Pencils/Crayons

* Chalk

* Books

* Stickers

* Balls

* Water Pistols

* Puzzles

* Card Games


GIRLS

* Hair clips

* Barbie doll

* Stickers

* Colouring books

* Pencils/Crayons

* Skipping Rope

* Music CD (think ABC, Disney etc)

* Costume Jewellery

* Books

* Littlest Pet Shop Individual Toys

* Puzzles


Then theres shopping for your own kids birthday presents, but that's a blog post for another day :)

Why Couldn't The Chicken Just Stay Home?

If he did it would of saved me alot of heartache, you see, I am cursed...well chicken cursed that is. I know that it sounds really weird but it's true.

I am someone who likes to cook, I don't think i'm all that good at it but I generally enjoy it, and that's all that counts right? A month or so back I decided that I would try cooking a BBQ chicken at home in the oven. My mum is always saying that these type of baked dinners are so easy and that you just chuck everything in the oven and sit back. Gourmet meal....sitting doing nothing? my kind of deal!

So I bit the bullet on the weekly shopping trip to Aldi and decided to buy one of their fresh marinated chickens. I was so excited! I read the packaging carefully and got the trays all ready, put it in the oven and sat back. That was until about an hour later when i suddenly panicked. I had remembered seeing that absorption bag underneath the chicken...surely I took it out?. I went to the kitchen and searched the packaging..nope, it was then i realised i'd left it attached to the underside of the chicken. Yep, the quick search of the oven confirmed it, it was still sitting nicely under the chicken, rather well cooked but still there.

I was devastated, there was no way we could eat it now, who knows what they put in those packages and it had been heated...I wouldn't risk any of us getting sick, so bin it went. I swear I cried a little...but anyway.

I decided i would try and cook another chicken tonight, my mother in law laughed when i told her what had happened with my first chicken, well who can blame her really? But she gave me great advice, she said "you'll never make that mistake again" which is true. I prepared the chicken (remembering to take out the absorption packet) and the vegetables and it was looking fabulous. I finally decided it was ready and I got everything prepared and served it up. I out did myself, chicken, potatoes, pumpkin, onion...just drool worthy. I took my hubby and daughter their plates and then I heard it, in the kitchen...an almighty crash.

There was no point even looking, I knew what had happened. My plate packed with that yummy roast dinner had somehow fallen off the bench....so sad.

So I tell you that am chicken cursed and I believe I know why.

The day I bought the first chicken we were going to my mums. We often drop my daughter off with my mum (nan) to stay while we do the groceries, this is because my daughter has deemed grocery shopping boring. Anyways, we were driving there and we drove past this chicken on the side of the road. The poor chicken had obviously escaped its yard and I told my husband to stop. He laughed at me, there was no way he was stopping for me to help this chicken. I'm an animal lover and I felt bad for this little chicken who was obviously distressed from being stuck on the other side of the fence.

On the way to the shops after dropping my daughter off it was still there and my husband promised if the chicken was still there after shopping we would stop (I think that this was just to shut me up). Alas the chicken was gone on our return, I personally hope its owners noticed it was missing or it figured out how to get back into its home.

But since that day I have a bad feeling about this whole chicken thing. I'm obviously being punished for not helping that poor chicken. I really think that it should be him (my husband) who is punished and not me because I was willing to be the chicken good samaritan, but I digress.....

So I had to have the left over crappy chicken bits and the veggies. All the nice meat on my plate was covered in broken ceramic so that was a no go, not that i would have eaten it off the floor right?

I am sure I will attempt to cook it again sometime in the future but for now i'm just too chicken!!



 

Jingle, Jingle, Jinglemen!

Let me start this post by saying that I love Christmas! I really love Christmas! I am that person who squeals in delight when the Christmas decorations come out in stores in late September. This is in stark contrast to most people I know who state that it is far too soon or simply choose to ignore it. I am not saying this is at all wrong of them, hey I have been known to complain when the easter eggs come out in January....before I eat a few then decide it's a great idea!

I love seeing the sparkly decorations, the gift tags, the wrapping paper and everything else that they can throw at me. I am the dream consumer for these Christmas marketing people, as I think nothing of buying anything I deem cute!

We have lots of christmas family traditions in our home which include baking and decorating christmas cookies, driving around to look at the Christmas lights in our area and the leaving out of milk and cookies. But the one tradition I want to start this year is The Elf On The Shelf. The Elf On The Shelf is really open to personal preference on how you want to carry it out in your household, but it is basically an elf sent from Santa to your home who keeps an eye on the going ons and reports back to the big man.

Typically the elf arrives from Santa on December 1st to your home with a letter detailing why he is there and that he will be reporting back to Santa every night. Some people choose to have the elf on the doorstep whilst others get him to prepare breakfast and be waiting at the kitchen table, in this situation, your elf, your choice. The elf then gets up to mischief at night, just how much mischeif is your choice, and then is found by children in the morning (usually in some incriminating position)

Some examples of elf mischief are as follows but it's really only as limited as your imagination.

A tea party with one of the ornaments

Getting stuck in the lolly jar



 

 

Such a great, fun idea right? 

I looked into buying an Elf On The Shelf (which comes with a book and a shelf I believe) but to be honest with prices ranging between $25-$50 I was really not so keen. I'm not saying the official little guy is not worth it but I just personally couldnt justify it. I know my daughter and she is going to want to take him everywhere.... including school for news. I can just see by Cristmas Eve when he returns to Santas workshop he is going to be alot worse for wear (and totally deserving of his paycheck!) So I decided I would shop around and see what was available in my area.

I drove past a Christmas Warehouse store recently and decided to stop in and begin elf watch. To my surprise I found a super cute little elf for $6.95. Thats more my price! Now he doesn't come with a book, shelf or anything fancy but I think he will suit us just fine. I have also found plenty of letters online for your own elfs to introduce themselves to the children in your home if you decide to go down the same path as me (I will post links to the letters once it is closer to elf season) This way it will still make sense to the kids. But if your kids are anything like my daughter once she hears..an elf...living with us...till christmas -  thats all that will be required.

Here is a link to the Christmas Warehouse site where I bought our elf so you can see if there is a store near you! (they only seem to be in NSW at the moment)

http://www.christmaswarehouse.com.au/

If you cannot get to a Christmas Warehouse I am sure there would be something similar in another Christmas themed shop or even your local $2 shop when more Christmas stock hits the shelves.

I have christened our Elf  Buddy Jinglemen (cause I think its just a rule that your elf must have a christmassy type name) and he is super cute! He has lots of mischief planned and I just know my daughter is going to love him! I think its going to be a very fun December in our house. Plus you know I will have to do a blog post up every day to show you all what he has been up to. Something to look forward to in December. Ill also do a post in November of ideas for elf mischief.

Here is a pic of Buddy who is in hiding, at the North Pole of course, till December 1st!

 

 

 

I am in no way affiliated with the christmas warehouse & paid for Buddy Jinglemen myself :) 

Melanie :)

 

Is Your Child Tech-o?

My beautiful mother in law is for ever saying that kids these days are so tech-o! For those who aren't familiar with my mother in laws language (everyone?) she is amazed by how well children of today can handle and utilise all this technology that is available to them.

I mean, lets face it, our kids live in a growing technological world and my almost 6 year old can use my Iphone, Ipod and Remote Control better than I can at times. By no means does this mean I think that kids should be using this kind of technology 24/7 but it does have its place..well in my world at least.

International flights, doctors offices and long car trips have been made much more bearable when you are able to whip out the Ipod for entertainment rather than them being bored.

I don't know about other parents but I feel a little better about my daughter playing on the Ipod if she is at least doing something educational. By all means I do enjoy watching a Charlie & Lola episode once in awhile..well who wouldnt! But i do tend to feel better if she is entertaining herself and learning at the same time.

I found it so hard to find good apps for my child. I would search in search engines and most recommendations and lists were the same - Angry Birds, Cut The Rope, Doodle Jump, Fruit Ninja etc.

To me these are fine but I really wanted to find some apps that were a little more my daughters style. So for this, I had to do alot of research of my own, there were some absolutley fantastic apps and some that I cannot believe are even allowed to be sold for money they were so incredibly bad.

Since I had done all this research and found some great gems I thought I would compile a list of applications from the Apple Itunes Store (these apps may be able to be found in an android store, I do not know. I am an Apple user hence these are Apple apps)

I am in no way affiliated with any of these apps, I paid for all of them, where applicable (some were free on Itunes) All opinions are my own and my daughters, she loves them too!

So here is a list of our top apps all available from the Apple ITunes Store

Paper Town

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/paper-town-friends/id375261895?mt=8

$1.99

Paper Town is a virtual dress up application. It consists of animal themed paper dolls which you can dress up. It enables you to change their headwear, shirt, pants/skirt, shoes and accessories. Once you have completed your doll you have the option of saving it to your camera roll. It is a very cute little app and I am a sucker for cute things.


Toca Kitchen Monsters

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/toca-kitchen-monsters/id510301841?mt=8

Free

This is a fun and addictive app, even for the grown ups. Toca Kitchen Monsters gives you the wonderful job of feeding one of two monsters. There is a variety of food in the fridge and many ways to prepare the food including boiling, frying, microwaving and blending. These monsters are cute but there can be a few surprises if they do not like what you have served them.


Giraffes Matching Zoo

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/giraffes-matching-zoo/id320105340?mt=8

Free

This app is a memory themed app which is designed in the zoo/animal theme. The animals are cute and the graphics are very nice. It is a fun game for the kids and it helps with matching skills and for free you could not ask for more.



Little Things Forever

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/little-things-forever/id520762327?mt=8

$2.99

This is a great app. It is a little on the pricey side but in my opinion well worth it. It is timed find it game, you are given a list of things to find and you need to find them as quickly as possible. It is basically a Wheres Wally for a myriad of items. This is great for adults and kids alike. The only thing you would need to take into account is that kids would need to be able to read to know what items are on the list if they were playing without adult assistance.


Mini Piano

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/minipiano/id289333900?mt=8

Free

What could be more fun for kids than having their own portable piano. That's what this, it plays 14 notes and has good sound. My daughter loves playing it and making up her own songs.



Little Bella's I Close My Eyes

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/little-bellas-i-close-my-eyes/id489509208?mt=8

$0.99

This app is a virtual book, all about little Bella and her adventure of going to sleep. It is such a wonderful little story with great graphics and music. I would recommend this one for any little girl.


Make A Martian

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/make-a-martian/id301753989?mt=8

$0.99

This app is alot of fun for both boys and girls. You are able to make your own martian and customize them. You can change their colour, type, eyes etc. Its alot of fun and all kids who my daughter have shown this app to just love it.


123 Colour

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/123-color-hd-talking-coloring/id364892854?mt=8

$0.99

123 Colour is fun for any budding little artist. It enables children to colour by number, letter or simply do their own design. It comes with virtual colouring books but there is the option to buy others so if you do not want your kids doing this make sure to turn off in app purchases :) My daughter loves this one and I have to say its one that i enjoy playing with her.


Princess Fairy Tale Maker

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/princess-fairy-tale-maker/id527336678?mt=8

$1.99

Princess Fairy Tale Maker has been created by Duck Duck Moose which I have found to have great apps for kids. This app allows your child to create their own fairytale with princesses, mermaids and animals. It alot of fun and definatley one to keep them occupied and amused.


Amazing Coloring Studio

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/amazing-coloring-studio/id507378571?mt=8

Free

This app is the No 1 educational app in over 10 countries! It is a great app for kids to express their artistic side. It has additional colouring books and tools which you can purchase for an additional cost but the basic ones are great too.


Tic Tac Toe

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tic-tac-toe/id289278457?mt=8

Free

This one is an oldy but a goody! Classic Tic Tac Toe, kids can play against their device or against another player. Its simple and fun, there are some ads in this app but for free i'm not complaining.


Little Writer

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/little-writer-tracing-app/id515890480?mt=8

Free

Little Writer is a tracing application which is great in helping small children with their writing skills. It offers lower case, upper case, numbers and shapes. Its a wonderful aid to help children learning to write.


Faces I Make

The above pic was actually made by my 5 year old to show you how creative you can be!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/faces-imake-right-brain-creativity/id439641851?mt=8

$1.99

My daughter loves this app! It is simple and fun to use. It enables the user to make faces/people out of regular every day shapes. This app fosters creativeness and imagination. It has a catchy song which i now have memorised due to it being one of the more popular apps which my daughter loves.

Well I hope you all enjoy my list and check back soon, I'd love to hear your feedback on how you liked any of these apps or any that you might be able to suggest to me!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog! A Touch Of Pink.

I'm a 32 year old Australian stay a home mum of a almost 6 year old daughter with a passion for all things pink, hence the creative title of my blog! I also find some time to run a small jewellery business on the side which keeps me busy.

I am happily married to my high school sweetheart and am loving life in my little family of 3.

I have been an avid blog reader for sometime now and have always found myself to be drawn to the blogs of other mums. I find reading about their families and their lives so interesting, inspiring and motivating.

I cannot count the number of times i have taken an idea that i have read online and applied it to our family life. Whether it be a kids craft idea, a recipie, a home organisation tip or a cute printable -I love it all!

When reading these blogs i often found myself thinking "I could do something like this", which would then be followed with ideas for blog posts. All this inspiration has now lead to me actually doing that!

I am super excited to start blogging for you all and sharing all the things i enjoy. I especially wanted to start this blog now as it is coming to my favourite time of year...Christmas!

Thanks for looking and keep posted for a post tomorrow :)

Melanie :)