Product Review - Brightstar Kids

Mother's Day is right around the corner here in Australia, and with it comes the perfect opportunity to let the women in your life know how much you appreciate them. Whether it be your own mother, your grandmother, the mother of your children, or anyone else in between who has had a great impact on your life. Recently I was contacted by Bright Star Kids and offered the chance to review one of the products from their Mother's Day range.

This was perfect timing for me, because my mum is one of the hardest women for me to buy for. I struggle every single year to find something that she will like, not because she is very picky, but because she never wants for anything, so gifts are always tricky.

Bright Star Kids sell a huge range of products, from personalised label stickers, wall art, and kids clothing, on top of their current range of gifts for Mother's Day, all of which are very beautiful, and I spent a good twenty minutes browsing their website before I went to the Mother's Day range, just drooling over all of their other products. When I got to the Mother's Day gifts I was overwhelmed by the range they had. There is something for every mum from a personalised family planner for the practical mum who likes to be organised to personalised drink bottles for the mum who likes to be hydrated. There's gifts that can be personalised multiple ways so you can get one for mum and one for Nan, and there's even gifts to celebrate a mum's very first Mother's Day. Choosing which product I was going to review was no easy task, but I finally settled on one of their tote bags, which I personalised with all of the grandchildren's names.

The purchasing of one of their personalised products is super easy. You pick the design you like, pick the colour you like and then add in the names. I loved this part, because none of my nieces or nephews call mum grandma, she's always been granny ever since my oldest niece Eliza was little, so finding somewhere that could make me a gift that said granny and not grandma was pretty exciting for me. I was also a little worried because I had 5 names to put in the banner, but they all fit easily, and it looks to me like there could even be room for more if necessary, so big families fear not.

When the product arrived at our door I was impressed yet again. The tote bag they supplied is super strong and sturdy, and made out of 100% cotton. The print job was perfect, absolutely no flaws anywhere, and the navy blue colour I picked was lovely and deep and really stood out against the creamy white cotton. The designs they have are simple and clean, but that is part of what makes them so striking. I cannot recommend them enough, and their prices are very reasonable too, so there is a gift there for every budget.

Elmo decided he needed to get a start on his modelling career.

If you would like to check out their range of Mother's Day gifts, you can find them here. As a gift for all of my lovely readers, you can save 10% off your store-wide purchase with the coupon code MUM10

Now I know it's not Mother's Day yet, but I let mum have a sneaky look at her gift, and she loves it. She's been bragging about it to anyone who will listen to her, so I promise you'll be able to find a winner for your mum if you check out Bright Star Kids.

**Disclosure**
I received free products from Bright Star Kids for the purpose of this review. All opinions given here are my own and have in no way been influenced by Bright Star Kids or anyone else. Searching for Sanity is not affiliated with Bright Star Kids in any way.

Helping Mums in Need

Hello my lovely audience and a Happy Mother's Day for all of you who are celebrating today. I know a lot of people are going to be talking today about what makes a mum, what it takes to be a mum, single mums, mums to angel babies, mums to fur babies, and mums in heaven. While all of these are wonderful things to talk about, I wanted to take a different approach and speak about someone who helps mums.

There are millions of organisations around the world who help mums in need. This is a good thing for women who are in situations of domestic violence, refugees, homeless, victims of natural disaster and any other terrible situation you can think of that would prevent a mother from being able to provide a safe environment for her children. The one organisation I am most familiar with, and the one I have been following closely since not long after Miss K was born is St Kilda Mums. They are a not for profit organisation which has provided baby goods for families in need since 2009. Of course despite their name they also help dads, because they believe all parents deserve a helping hand. I spoke about them recently on my Facebook page to highlight the donation drive they were currently partaking in to provide toiletries and personal supplies to mothers in need. At last count they had received over 130 gifts from very generous people, all complete with uplifting messages to be given to the mums. 

But this one donation drive doesn't even scratch the surface of what they do over at St Kilda Mums. They take donations of second hand baby goods, repair them, clean them, inspect them and make sure they are still safe to be used and then re-home them with parents who cannot afford to buy simple necessities like cots, prams, car seats, change tables, you name it. The volunteers who work for St Kilda Mums work tirelessly to provide as much as they can to parents in need, unfortunately there is always more demand for baby goods. There is always a waiting list of patient parents who desperately need supplies for their babies, and the volunteers work their hardest to get through their list as quickly as they can.

While it is great that they help parents in need, I feel it is important to highlight the impact the work they do has on the environment as well. A lot of times these good would end up in the hard rubbish because second hand stores usually do not have the resources available to ensure second hand baby goods are safe enough to resell. By repairing and then re-housing these items, organisations like St Kilda Mums are reducing the amount of rubbish we already have polluting our earth. This fact alone makes them heroes in my eyes, but what they do with them once they pass muster again just makes them super heroes.

So if you have some pre-loved baby or children's items that you aren't going to use any more, before you chuck them to the tip, see if you can't donate them to a family in need. If you would like to help but find yourself completely out of baby goods, they also accept cash donations which help purchase brand new items, and also pay for the repairs on pre-loved furniture. There is also currently a huge need for warm coats for children, just in time for another of our horrible Australian winters.  For more information, and to see some of the stories of the families St Kilda Mums have helped, check out their website here. If you would like to see if there is an organisation closer to you for donations, they also have a page which lists sister organisations both around Australia and the world. You check that out here.

Well while I could go on and on all day about St Kilda Mums and all the awesome things they do, I now have to search for my Mother's Day gift with my eyes closed. (Seriously those are the instructions I have been given.) so if you'll excuse me I'm off to bump into every wall in my house for an hour or so. Have a wonderful day to all the mums out there, whether your kids live at home and drive you up the wall on a daily basis, or are all grown up and only call you when they need something, or even if it isn't Mother's Day where you are, you are all awesome and deserve a great day today.

May is for Moms; an Interview with my Mother

Hello again and welcome back to the second part of the May is for Moms link up parties, as hosted by Not Your Average Crazy.

Today is all about my mum, and although I talk about her a lot around here, as she has been kind enough to let Miss K and I live with her for almost 4 years now, she has never come and talked to you guys herself. It's probably just because she is such a shy and retiring person, just like me really.

So the deal is the same as last week, Amy has asked a series of questions, and I've asked mum to come along and answer these for me, and then you guys come along and read it and marvel at how awesome my mum is. So please be upstanding and give a big round of applause for mum.

1. How did you feel the moment you found out you were pregnant with me?
I was very excited because I had been trying for you.

2. Was I a wonderful surprise or carefully planned?
Not carefully planned. We wanted another child, but we got you instead. Thanks mum, I feel the love.

3. What was the most challenging time in my childhood? Why?
When we discovered that you had Epilepsy, getting you tested for that and treated was nerve wracking because we'd never come across any of that before. You were also a very introverted and introspective teen who had a lot of trouble at school, and you made a lot of silly mistakes, so it's a toss up between those things.

4. Did you worry more about me as a child or now that I am an adult?
I worried more about you when you were a teenager. Now you have settled down and you don't do silly things. You were a VERY silly teenager

5. What is one thing that you thought was deeply important when I was a baby that you now realise did not matter at all?
The one thing I worried about when you were young that I didn't worry about so much with the other kids was not letting you get hurt, and protecting you too much. You made your mistakes, you had your accidents but you're still alive today so it's all good. 

I certainly am. Well thank you to Amy for another awesome set of questions. To check out Amy's post, plus the link up to the rest of the party goers, visit Not Your Average Crazy here. And be sure to tune in again next week for my last interview with Miss K. You won't want to miss this one, trust me.

Well until next time, stay awesome.

Mother's Day again

Well we're here at yet another pseudo holiday designed to get people to buy chocolates and flowers. But because I get gifts this time, I say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY BITCHES!!!

This morning I had a wonderful sleep in until 9:30, and then mum and I exchanged gifts through Miss K. She got the new My Kitchen Rules cook book, and I got a brand new pair of winter pyjamas and a box of Malteasers. You may not think that a person could get excited about pyjamas, but given that the last time I was given a new set was when I was getting ready to go to hospital to give birth 2 years ago, they were well overdue, and I was super glad to get them. So much so I even took a photo of them.

They're so warm and fleecy.

Some of you may remember last year I made a card for mum for her Mother's Day. Well this year I did exactly the same, but given how much things have changed over the past 12 months it only took me an hour to complete this one, instead of the 3 days I spent last year, and I'm just as pleased with the results.

The colours aren't that purple in real life, my camera just hates taking photos indoors with energy saving light bulbs on.

Miss K and I also spent an hour at the park with her dad and his new girlfriend, and I got a second gift there too, a dolphin statue like the ones I used to collect while Miss K's dad and I were still together. 

Again, not that purple. Stupid camera

Firstly I was surprised I even got a gift today, given that yesterday we had an argument at the end of his visit with Miss K, so to have a civil conversation with him today was going to be good enough for me, but I got more. Secondly thanks to my darling daughter, the statue you see there isn't exactly what I received, as I let her play with it when we got home, and it got dropped, so one of the dolphins is now missing a head. 

Well that's all from me, I'm now celebrating the best present I could have asked for today, and that is complete silence. Miss K is in bed, mum is at my big sister's house babysitting, and my baby sister is staying close to work tonight, so I have a whole house to myself and a big box of Malteasers begging to be eaten.

So Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there, you know who you are, and an especially big Happy Mother's day to my own mum, plus a big hug and kiss for putting up with both Miss K and I for as long as she has, anyone who has lived with me can tell you that can be difficult at times, but she does it with love and patience, and it is because of this that I still maintain that she is the best mum in the world. 

Be sure to tune in tomorrow, because as a special treat, my awesome mum has agreed to answer some questions for the May is for Mom's series linky party, so that will be posted up some time soon.

Stay awesome everyone, and I'll be back again with reinforcements soon.

May is for Moms: an interview with myself

Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to my blog yet again. Tonight I am partaking in a three part linky party series in honor of Mother's Day next weekend. For full details of the party, as well as how you can join, please visit Not Your Average Crazy now and get writing.

So tonight's episode is an interview with myself. I have to answer a series of questions as asked by Amy from Not Your Average Crazy.

1. Before you ever even had children, how did you feel about being a mother?

Well for the longest time I didn't want children. Babies scared the absolute bejeezus out of me, and I hated the thought of being tied to a little person for the better part of my adult life. But then when I was 19, my niece was born and everything changed. Holding this perfect baby in my arms for the first time, I could see myself doing this for real one day. And while I wasn't in a hurry to become a parent, I knew that I had been put on this earth for one reason only, and that was to be someone's mum.

2. Since becoming a mother, what is something that has happened that you never thought would?

I think the biggest thing that has happened since I became a mum was how much I have calmed down as a person. Before Miss K was born I would jump from one drama to the next, making stupid decision after stupid decision. I would wear my poor family down with my constant meltdowns and various crises. But since becoming a mum, I've realised what is truly important in life, and that my actions don't just affect me. So in order to be a mother that I can be proud of, I've started acting like a real grown up. (Most of the time anyway. There are some supermarket aisles that just beg to be danced down.)

3. Is being a mother less difficult, more difficult or exactly how difficult you imagined?

In some ways it is exactly as difficult as I imagined, and in other ways it is more difficult. When people say that parenting is a full time job, they mean a 24/7 job. As in you never get a quiet toilet break, a hot cup of coffee, or privacy when you are getting dressed ever again. The parenting books also never tell you how to cope the first time your darling offspring tries to eat their own poo. (Yeah that has happened, and the appropriate action is to scream like you are on fire. It scares the hell out of them and gets them to drop everything.) But the best thing is that parenting is infinitely more rewarding than you can ever imagine, and that makes it all worthwhile.

4. What is your fondest memory of being a mother (so far)?

I think all the free hugs and kisses I get as Miss K's mum are the absolute best part of this job. Especially when I haven't begged for them. There are the hugs you get when the whole world has crashed down around your child (otherwise known as they fell down and scraped their knee), the hugs you get when they are tired and want you to take them to bed, the hugs you get because they are super happy, and the just because you're there hugs. I think my absolute favourite hugs are the ones when Miss K is trying to comfort me. I guess because these are the rarest hugs of all, they seem to be the sweetest.

5. If your children only learn one life lesson from you, what do you hope it is?

I think the most important thing I can teach Miss K is know what you want, and believe that you are worth it.

Well that's all the questions for now. If you tune in again the same time next week, hopefully there will be an interview with my mum here (I still have to ask her yet, wish me luck.) And I'll be back again tomorrow with another recipe Monday, so if you are lacking inspiration for what to cook for your family for dinner, tune in tomorrow for a delicious idea. 

Well until then, stay awesome, and don't forget to check out the rest of the wonderful mum posts over at Not Your Average Crazy now.

Happy Mother's Day

So today is the day where we get to say thanks to our mums for being so wonderful. I remember celebrating Mother's Day with my family, all six of us kids piled onto mum's bed watching her unwrap whatever we had bought at the last minute at the mother's day stall the Thursday before, or made in school the Friday before with such pride. I remember being so excited about this day, and I couldn't wait to celebrate it with my own kids, but being on the other side of this day is so not what you think it will be when you're a kid. The attention of course is lovely, and for a few minutes it does feel like a second birthday, but since I didn't become a mother for the gratitude, (especially since there is so little received when you're dealing with a baby) then today really is just like every other day.

As that is my attitude of the day, I'd like to spend this blog talking about someone other than myself for a change. As I'm sure you're all aware, I also have a mother, and for me, this day is still about her as without her I wouldn't be who I am today. (The totally insane, poorly organized filthy humoured person I have grown to love). I am still amazed that she managed to single handedly raise a family of six children without any of them ending up as criminals, drug addicts or worse, liberal supporters. And she's still helping us today. I've never hidden the fact that if it wasn't for my mum, Miss K and I would be homeless as with the cost of housing as it is, if I was to move out of here, we wouldn't be able to eat. She is also for all intents and purposes Miss K's second parent (but she gets away with spoiling her like a grandparent), and she has supported and helped me through all the terrible decisions I have made thus far, when lesser people would have long given up on me as a lost cause. This is on top of all the rehearsals she drove me to for my school plays, the doctors appointments she took me to in Melbourne when I had epilepsy, and the conferences she had with my teachers all through primary school and high school. (I had a giant invisible target on my back only ever seen by the meanest of bullies through most of my school life.)

I've asked my mum in the past what her secret was, and how she managed to cope with having six kids at home all at once, but she always says the same thing. You just get up and do it. She fails to see how her work is anything incredible, but all I can hope is that I am half the mother that she is to all of us, and our friends, and our partners and anyone else who comes into our lives.

Sadly my mother hates getting her photograph taken, and she would hate any photos of her to show up on this blog, so I've had to settle with an artist's rendition of my mother for now.

Did I forget to mention I am terrible at drawing?? But you get the idea. If my mum was a stick person then this is probably what she'd look like. Just think of it as my homage to mum.

So to my mum and all the other mums out there, happy Mother's Day and thank you all for being so wonderful.

Getting ready for Mother's Day

So tomorrow is a special day (in Australia it is anyway), it's the day where we give thanks to our mothers for everything they have done and will do for us in the future. This will be my second Mother's Day, but given that Miss K is still too young to understand what all the hooplah is all about, I still get to throw all of my energy into my mum.

As I have previously mentioned, I love to scrapbook, and as a side hobby I make cards for special occasions. I used to try to sell these at markets, but never got very far with it, but I still love to make cards for my nearest and dearest. My Mother's Day card for my mum took me 3 days this year. That may sound like a long time to spend on a card, but keep in mind I still have to organise all my craft time into tiny windows of time when Miss K is asleep. I'm so happy with the end result of my handiwork I've decided to share it with all of you, my wonderful readers so that you too can enjoy it.

I know it doesn't look like much when it's closed and you're probably still thinking I'm really slow if that took me three days to complete, but just you wait till I open it up for you guys and then maybe you'll see what it is that makes this card so labour intensive.

Yes it's an accordion card!! and quite a complex looking one at that. Now I can't take any of the credit for this card's design as I found it here with lots of easy to read and understand instructions. The only thing I can truly take credit for is the papers I used and the rose picture in the centre panel. (And even that was stamped first and then coloured in with pens.)

So I'm ready for Mother's Day tomorrow (having done the last minute rush for a present yesterday) now all I have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the day.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mum's out there, have a wonderful day and make sure your children (and their fathers) spoil you rotten. You all deserve it.