We came, we shopped, we conquered!

This is a “Compensated (C1) Post”

for full details see my disclosure statement.

I’m quite partial to four letter words, my favourite of which is SALE. I’m sorry, were you expecting profanities? When in the John Hurt Way, throw another four letter word in the mix and you’ll have me frothing at the mouth. BABY SALE. Sadly, not a place where you can just pick up a bargain baby Angelina Jolie style, but where you can grab some specials and, in my case, show your second born that they are worthy enough to have at least one or two new things.

Now it’s not unusual for a company to offer vouchers to spend at a sale, but what is unusual is when they ask you to invite along some friends so that you can all become ooh-la-la-ladies who lunch and then give you all vouchers so you can shop til you drop! Which is exactly what Big W offered us… it was a tough assignment, but somebody had to do it and I’m quite obviously not above buying the affections of my friends.

We could have gone out to a fancy restaurant for lunch but the idea of four adults (one of which *coughmecough* is constantly vomiting) and seven children aged two and under going to a restaurant put the fear of the Google Gods in to me. Instead we had an awesome catered lunch at home where the kids could run riot (under the watchful eyes of my parents and Aunty Penny) and the mamas could whip out the iPads and start our bargain hunting using the Big W app. Plus it meant we could have chips without other people going “you came to a restaurant and you ordered CHIPS?!”.

Chips go really well with research

Our shopping exhibition was broken up in to manageable chunks thanks to the afore mentioned seven children and queasy woman, too. So we didn’t really stick to the plan (you try sticking to a plan with four toddlers and three babies), but we did all go out to our local store in the next few days and nab our goodies from the overflowing shelves. That stuck out to all of us more than anything, that there was actually stock! I’m so tired of giant fortnight long sales where a store seems to have only three items left on day one. There was stock galore that was, shock horror, actually being refilled as items were taken. Praise grilled cheesus, someone gets it!!

We make some totally cute kids

Being ever practical, Louise grabbed nappies, formula, wipes and a portacot; Trish snapped up a new pram, nappies and a toilet step; Kath grabbed some clothes, nappies, wipes and sippy cups; and I got my hands on a toilet step, some jumpsuits and toys for 2.0, a Belly Belt for me - which I'm totally claiming is actually for 2.0 now and therefore still counts as "for baby" - and Tricky’s entire winter wardrobe. When you’re not buying nappies it means a hell of a lot more cute clothes – The Trickster is gonna be lookin’ super funky. Between us we had enough goodies to melt our plastic gift cards, lemme tell you!

In store shenanigans

The only real complaint about the experience was from Trish… who needed two trolleys and an extra pair of hands to grab everything. It’s a bit of a first world problem, so I think we’ll let that one slide.

We had a great meal, no children were lost or injured (though Tricky did bolt out the front door at one stage – of course it was my child, of COURSE!), no one threw up in public, we got our hands on some fabulous bargains and my friends now think the life of a Blogger is very glam (she types at 1:00am).

If you want to get your hands on some discounted goodies, head to the Big W Baby and Toddler event which runs from January 31 – February 13.

Do you want some moolah to the tune of $100 to spend while you’re there? There are two ways to enter, by filling out the entry form below and/or head over to the 'book.

Alternatively head on over to www.bigw.com.au and use the promo code BABY10 to receive a $10 eVoucher for your online purchases (valid to 31st of March 2013, no minimum spend, but doesn't count towards postage).

EDIT 11th Feb 1:00pm AWST:  The eVoucher has been suspended due to improper use by a third party website. Big W extends it apologies to you all and thanks you for your understanding.

He Did What!? Wednesday - By The Duchess of Cambridge(Street)

Thspeech Impediment - By The Duchess of Cambridge(Sreet)

(as told to Glowless over coffee)

There is one thing that annoys me about babies. I can get over the spew and the crying, and I can genuinely say that a dirty nappy doesn't bother me at all. The thing that drives me mental is the ability for a small child to make everyone around it speak improperly.

Sing song words and speech impediments along the lines of Elmer Fudd are apparently de rigour for talking to infants.

One such baby talker is my Father-in-Law. He will put on a cutesy voice, mix up his letters and even lisp when he talks to my daughter. Not just sometimes either. Every. Single. Time.

"Naww wook at your cute widdle dwess! You're so pwetty!"

I physically tense when he speaks to her that way. It grates my nerves. I'm sure when she's older my daughter will think her grandfather actually has a lisp.

Recently when getting her dressed to go see her grandparents I thought I would throw a spanner in the works and not put her in a "cute widdle dwess", just to avoid hearing him say it.

I dressed her in some gorgeous yellow pants and a knitted jacket then made my way to the in-laws' house, feeling a little bit clever that I was about to outsmart him.

And then he did it.

"Naww wook at your widdle stwipey twousers! You're so pwetty!"

Damn. Foiled again.

___ . . . ___ . . . ___

The final He Did What!? Wednesday was provided for use by The Duchess of Cambridge(Street), a good friend of mine. She grew up in the same town as Map Guy then married a bloke he went to uni with. We are the WAGS.

She is on maternity leave from her job as a hospital pharmacist to care for her very gorgeous one year old Princess with the most adorable giggle you've ever heard. The Duchess is so uber smart that you'll want her on your team at a quiz night to answer all the science-y questions.

She is a cat person but I have forgiven her for that.

Sick of Chocolate Fundraisers? - Agoo Review & Giveaway

I know what you're thinking... how could anyone be sick of chocolate?

There are a lot of kids in my suburb and at least once a fortnight there is a knock on my door about 3:45pm by a weary parent prodding forth their reluctant child to “ask the nice lady if she wants to buy some chocolate”. Ahh the joys of trying to raise the moolah for the next school project. Library books, computers, slushy machines for the teachers lounge; the list is endless.

I'm avoiding chocolate (except in cases of emergency, when cooking chocolate is inhaled for a fix) and am dreading the day Tricky brings home a carton of choccy frogs to sell. Because I will. eat. them. all. I should add that I'll eat them all while telling him chocolate is bad and he shouldn't eat it. Hypocrite much? Ya-huh!

Enter Agoo (bless you) Australia.

They create super funky, stain resistant, UPF 50+, moisture wicking, grow-out-before-they-wear-out clothes and your school/kindy/daycare can sell them as a healthy alternative to a chocolate fundraiser!

I'll give you a minute to re-read that if you like... yep, stain resistant, sun resistant, icky sweat resistant and fall apart resistant. And you can make money off them. That's a lotta ticks in a lotta boxes.

Tricky gave a Twozie Hoodie and some 100% bamboo baby Leg Warmers a test run this weekend:

Hangin' out in ma hood

I love that the hoodie is actually a double layered onesie! Keeping a shirt tucked in is nigh on impossible, but with this design it stays down and keeps the sun off Tricky's back since it's UPF 50+ and keeps the chill away as the weather is getting colder (My mum says she used to have a top like this and it was called a shirteenie - I'm shuddering at the thought). Plus because it has the over shirt layer, he doesn't look like a Harry Highpants - very important for fashion conscious toddlers.

It's a generous size 1 so I imagine it will fit him for a good six months if not longer, especially since it's a four way stretch fabric. Since Tricky has only just gone in to size 1 clothing, a quick roll up of the sleeves was all that was needed for it to be perfect.

Rockin' the Leg Warmer look

I've never used baby Leg Warmers before but have always admired them from afar. I'd always thought they would either be too tight and cut off circulation, leaving lovely indents in Michelin Man baby thighs or be too loose and fall down. But they stayed up and didn't make Tricky's toes turn blue through lack of blood. The downside of this is that now I want to buy all the funky designs because they made nappy changing so much easier.

So let's get to the good stuff:

To celebrate the launch of their chocolate-free fundraisers, Agoo Australia have given me a $50 voucher to give away to one lucky Where's My Glow? reader! To enter, all you have to do is be a follower of the blog and leave a comment below telling me your favourite Agoo product from their online shop. If you choose to tweet about this giveaway you can come back and let me know, linking to your tweet and you'll grab yourself another entry.

Then once you've done that head on over to Tina Gray {dot} Me, Just Us Kids and Seven Cherubs for three more chances to win!

Find Agoo Australia online, on Facebook and on Twitter

P.S. You can thank me later for resisting the urge to use the cliche "putting the fun back in fundraiser"... it was hard, I hope you appreciate the effort.

Entry is open to Australian and New Zealand residents. Entries close at 10pm AEST on Monday 20th June 2011 at which time a winner will be chosen using a random number generator. Make sure you sign in to the comment platform with a valid email address or leave your address as part of your comment so you can be contacted. Winner has one week to reply to notification, failing that, the prize will be redrawn. The prize is provided by Agoo Australia and is not transferable.

*Disclaimer: I was given a complimentary Twozie Hoodie and Dino Stan Leg Warmers by Agoo Australia.

No payment was offered or accepted for this post. All opinions are my own.

An open letter to Lindsay Lohan

Despite her recent legal issues — and recent reports that while driving she allegedly clipped a stroller with a toddler in it — Lindsay Lohan wants to be a mom! The star has confided to a pal that she’s determined to stay sober and thinks the best way for her to achieve that goal is to get pregnant. According to the pal, Lindsay, 24, hates being alone and thinks a baby would make the perfect companion. She’s seen what motherhood has done for former party girl Nicole Richie and thinks it can do the same for her. “She needs to be around someone nearly 24 hours a day,” the pal says. “She thinks having a baby could straighten out her life."

In Touch Weekly, 9 September 2010

Dear Lindsay,

This week I read that you want to become a mum (sorry, a mom). Now I'm not sure sure how accurate the reporting at In Touch Weekly is since they claim their source is unnamed "pal" of yours, but if they're right I'd like to know one thing: WTF are you thinking?

A baby is not a "companion". They aren't very good company at all really. Definitely not at the beginning. All they do is sleep, feed and poo. Over and over again. They don't even smile at you for six weeks. And then when they do start smiling and giggling guess what they do the other 23 hours of the day? Yep, you guessed it - sleep, feed and poo.

They're not a toy that you can take around with you to show off - that is what handbag sized dogs are for. Perhaps a Shih Tzu would be more appropriate? Nor are they a doll that you can play dress ups with. Whilst I am guilty of dressing Tricky up in funky little outfits and super cute Dunlop Volleys (thanks NM), I'm sure the novelty would wear off pretty quickly when your little bundle of joy pukes all over your $1200 Manolo Blahniks and down his $400 Gucci romper.

I understand that you think having a baby will help you stay sober. I can assure you that there hasn't been a single day of motherhood where I haven't felt like having a glass (or two, or three, or a bottle) of wine - you know, just to take the edge off and help me relax after countless hours of feeding, changing, rocking and singing lullabies.

Your pal, whom I'm sure got a nice fat cheque for saying it, reckons you need someone around you 24 hours a day. Having a baby isn't like having an assistant or an adoring groupie hanging around - you're the one who has to be devoted to them. Plus having someone around 24 hours a day gets old really quick when you realize you can't even go to the toilet in peace. At least with a groupie you can call security and have them removed and then fire your assistant.

So my advice to you is simple: get a bonsai tree. Once you - and i mean YOU, not your housekeeper, not your mum (sorry, mom) or your assistant - have kept it healthy for a whole year, get a dog (the afore mentioned Shih Tzu would be a good choice). When you - and just YOU - have kept it healthy for a whole year you can perhaps start to think about possibly maybe considering having a baby some time in the future. What gives me the right to say all this? I'm a mother and unsolicited advice is what we do best. I wish you the best of luck.

Regards,

Glowless

Baby Teresa

Want to change the world? How 'bout changing a baby? Well not in the dirty nappy sense, more of a change the baby's world kinda way. Sammie Appleyard and Kirsty Dunphey figured they could do just that sort of thing by creating Baby Teresa. A company that rates right up there on the 'Where's My Glow list of super cute logos'.

The company was launched in late 2009 and sold gorgeous little baby onesies. Nothing special there you say? Well each time you purchase a little outfit for someone you know, a second outfit is given to someone you don't – a baby in need. Originally the second outfits were given to benevolent organisations in Tasmania that assisted women with newborns in need. As the company expanded more and more people got on board and volunteered to take the gifted outfits overseas to babies in need in Egypt, Uganda, Tanzania, the Philippines and Vietnam, with the goal to clothe a needy baby in every country in the world.

Whilst the name might suggest a religious affiliation, there isn't one. The company founders were inspired by the Mother Teresa quote “If you can't feed 1000 people, then feed one”. Their website is full with inspiring quotes from people who managed to change the world for the better.

The adorable striped suits come in both long and short versions and are available in two styles; a funky orange/pink/brown/white stripe combo called 'Lan' and a cool aqua blue/yellow/white stripe delight called 'Hieu'. Lan and Hieu are two Vietnamese orphans helped by the work of organisations such as Foundation Lotus Child and Baby Teresa.

If you know someone having a baby and would like to buy them a gift that gives twice, visit Baby Teresa , it's sure to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.