iProtect my iPhone from my iToddler - Review & Giveaway

We've established previously that whilst I'm a bit of a Crunchy Mama that I'm not adverse to a bit of iParenting when the situation calls for it. Distracting Tricky from his crazy itchy eczema long enough for the creams to work stopped him gouging his skin off for the 3000th time and that alone makes me happy to say I'm OK with iStuff.

A few weeks ago I got myself a new baby... An iPhone 4S (the S stands for SUPER!) - the first top of the range phone I've ever bought. Tricky had his eye on it from the moment I whipped it out of the box. With Tricky (and every other toddler) it's a little bit like When Harry Met Sally because as soon as I start using something he comes along and says/grunts/cries "I'll have what she's having"... and there is Buckley's chance I'm giving him an $800 toy without any sort of protection. And no, a $5 jelly case just ain't gonna hack it, not with Mr Destructo.

Enter the Fisher Price Apptivity Case for iPhones (and iPod touch too!).

Oh my gawd. This little thing is unbelievably good.

Concentrating so hard. Also: cheeeeeeks!

Some of the things I love about it are the clear film that protects from drool and grubby, sticky fingers and the rubberized, shock absorbing inner lining which meant my two day old phone survived without a scratch when Tricky decided to throw it on to the pavement (my heart did miss a beat though).

But the thing that makes this little gadget completely awesome in my eyes is the way you can choose to block the home key to stop your clever munchkin navigating out of their game educational program and in to the app store to buy a $7.99 interactive guide to the best Himalayan eateries.

Because you have to lock the phone in, it does mean you've got almost zero chance of getting it out in time if you get a phone call... and if you have the home key blocked you won't be able to navigate back to the app without getting the whole thing out and starting again - but it's a small price to pay for the safety of your iBaby.

Playing with the apps that come with the case

Aaaand the bit you've been waiting for, I've got one of these to give away!

To get your baby or toddler's sticky hands on it all you have to do is tell me what was on the grubbiest, yuckiest, stickiest hands that were wiped all over you/your stuff by your charming spawn. For an extra entry, Tweet or Facebook about the giveaway then come back and tell me with a separate comment for each.


Entry is open to Australian residents only. Entries close at 10pm AEDST on Monday 12th December 2011 at which time three winners will be chosen using a random number generator. Make sure you sign in to the comment platform with a valid email address/twitter handle or leave your details as part of your comment so you can be contacted. Winners have one week to reply to notification, failing that, the prize will be redrawn. The prize is provided by Fisher Price and Thrive PR and is not transferable.

Letter to Tricky - 18 months old

Dear Tricky,

Hey little man, it's been six long months since I last wrote to you and so much has happened that I should have been keeping notes.

Your Perth Pop reminded me the other day that you've now been alive longer than your Aunty Jo-Anne. In the weeks leading up to this milestone he has spoken about her so much... he has spoken more about her in the last 18 months than he has in the last thirty years. It's sad but I think you have healed him more than anyone can measure - he's a different person now and it's all because of you. Unsurprisingly, he's your favourite person to be around.

Such a big boy

You haven't been for your 18 month assessment yet but I'm pretty sure you'll do fine. You've got about 35 words and nearly 20 signs but you're still not much of a talker - you like to sit and figure out how things work more so than talk. This is probably why you can already solve your Shape-O except for the octagon and hexagon which confuse you (unless you're tired or hungry in which case the whole thing becomes a projectile). And yep, Mama is showing off right now... because of your bumpy beginning it means I'm allowed to once in a while.

You know lots of colours, all your body parts and clothing items and point them out when we ask... and we ask you a lot because it's just so cute to watch. It also means you've become my little slave because I can just ask you to go get your shoes while I'm busy tweeting cooking.

Our first overseas holiday with you was amazing. You were fantastic on the plane and then spent the rest of our holiday being told how gorgeous you are by strangers who would come up and touch your cheeks cooing "Hello baby!". Every second one would ask for your photo and some would even pose for a photo with you - since you don't tend to smile at strangers a lot of people got your big, pouty lips but they didn't seem to mind.

But not too big to fall asleep in Mama's arms

Your hair turned in to ringlets in the humidity of Malaysia and as soon as we touched back down to the dry summer heat of Perth it went mostly straight again. Your Dad is trying to convince me to get your hair cut but I love your hair long. I've already had to de-mullet you and trim your fringe, but I love being able to twiddle my fingers in your hair when you're feeding, and by the way you grab my hand and put it back there when I stop, I think you like it too. Plus, well, you'll look like such a little boy with a hair cut, and I'm holding on to the last strands of babyhood for a while longer if I can.

Time is flying by and it's almost your second Christmas. I'm pretty sure you will scream if we take you to sit on Santa's knee because you're so wary of strangers. Even at Mothers' Group you still take the better part of two hours to warm up and you've seen those kids every week for over a year. You're just my little shy guy... and that's OK. I know you giggle, I know you smile. It makes it all the more precious when you do.

All my love, little man,

Mama xxx

FlogYoBlog Friday: The Holiday Hangover Edition

Welcome back to Where's My Glow? Floggerinos! Did you miss me? I missed you.

Well... if I'm entirely honest, I didn't really.

Now it's not because I don't love you, it's because I was being pampered in the tropics and had no real idea of which day was which. Something to do with all the massages and the frozen margaritas humidity. I'll get round to writing about it eventually but I can't resist throwing in one of the best photos of the trip:

See that? I have a Cool Blog!!!

I am in full holiday hangover mode. I have piles of clean clothes everywhere (because after doing four loads of washing I couldn't be bothered putting it away), half emptied suitcases in the hallway and gifts for people strewn about on the kitchen bench.

You know, there is nothing that brings you crashing down to reality quite as much as hundreds of emails and a pail cloth nappies.

But, there is one thing that will always help with the doldrums... a bit of a Flog.

How to FlogYoBlog

1. Follow Where's My Glow?
2. Bow down at the alter of Mummy Time; Blog-goddess, all round groovy gal and creator of FYBF
3. Grab the FYBF button and post it on your sidebar or in the post you're linking up
4. Link in your favourite/best post from the week (don't just put your homepage URL)
5. Follow at least 1 linkyer/blogger then be nice and spread the comment love

<center><a href="http://www.wheresmyglow.com/search/label/FlogYoBlog"><img src="http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv316/mummy-time/FlogYoBlog/flogyoblog-1.jpg " border="0" alt="FYBF" /></a> </center>

get the InLinkz code

Louboutins, Lamborghinis and the Living Dead

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang

Map Guy gets a subscription to a car magazine every Christmas… well he usually does. Last year he decided, for some unknown reason, that he wanted to branch out and get something different. Which completely sucked because I had to think of a new present for him - I bought him a Hot Lap, forgot about it, bought him something else awesome, then remembered the Hot Lap and died a little inside realizing how much money I’d spent.

But I digress.

When I told Map Guy we were getting the chance to review Top Gear Australia Magazine he went a little crazy. The thought of having a car magazine back in hands after such a long period of automotive abstinence made him foam at the mouth in anticipation. He lost the ability to form sentences and just went around the house making vroom vroom noises and driving an imaginary Ferrari. I rolled my eyes but Tricky thought it was awesome fun and joined in.

After he stopped ran out of petrol, we tried to figure out which article we liked best. I like cars – I like the noise they make, I like some of the shapes, I like being driven fast around a track and I really like that new car smell... yet I still choose my car based on colour, how easily I can fit a massive bloody pram in the boot and whether or not it has a wine bottle holder (mine does!). Therefore if I had to call myself a car nut I’d be a peanut. Map Guy likes everything about them – things that I have no clue about like diffs, cam shafts, injectors, and I’m slightly embarrassed to say, manual gearboxes. He is a giant car nut… a brazil nut. Or a coconut if that’s actually a nut – I was too afraid to Google “big nuts” and check.

So I grabbed the mag and flicked through:

“What about this Range Rover Evogue article, Map Guy? It says the interior could match my Christian Louboutins!”

“What the hell are they? Is that one of those expensive handbags?”

“No, they’re shoes”

“Do you own a pair?”

“Nah, I’d have to sell a kidney to afford them… OK how about the James May Pub Guide to Technology?”

“I’m not sure that would be appropriate Glow, considering even after the cartoon explanation, you’ve still have no idea what it was about…”

“Yes I do! It’s about giant pints of beer… isn’t it?”

“Errr no. Hand over the Top Gear Magazine and no one gets hurt. Here, what about this one? We can talk about the Lamborghini.”

“Ewwww it looks like someone beat it with the ugly stick. Plus it’s white, I hate white cars. What about the article I saw with the man posing naked in front of his car in the middle of nowhere?”

“What’s it about?”

“I don’t know, I only looked at the naked man pictures.”

“Wow, you’d make an excellent TT reporter. WAIT! I’ve found it! Zombie cars!”

“Zombie cars? SHOW ME! OMG I WANT ONE!”

So having managed to avoid the Ford vs Holden carnage that usually ensues when we watch motorsport together, we have survived the tandem reading of Car Magazines and managed to zone in on the undead. I love that man, take that, seven year itch!

After seeing him so happy I’ll definitely be heading back to the tried and true present of a magazine subscription. Plus this year I might win a tropical escape to Hawaii with Magshop’s Christmas competition. Treat your family and friends to a magazine subscription today so they’re reminded how awesome you are every month! Gals, if you can manage to time its arrival every month with your PMS, even the throwing of knives and dinner plates will be forgiven. Maybe.

So Long, Farewell, Auf Weidersehen, Goodbye...

If you're here looking for FlogYoBlog Friday, it's on holiday at Tis The Life this week! Thanks to everyone who volunteered to host it!

Where's My Glow? is shutting down.

Wow, that was a bit melodramatic, wasn't it? But it is kinda true, and hey, it got your attention, didn't it?

I'm going on holiday to Kota Kinabalu and rather than posting four times a week I will be swimming, playing at the water park (inside the resort), drinking cocktails, having massages and manicures and basically being a dumb white tourist for eight glorious days at the Tajung Aru Resort and Spa. Yes, spa.

Cocktail at sunset? YES PLEASE!

On top of that I will NOT be washing, cooking, cleaning, folding or scrubbing (or procrastinating instead of doing them which is actually what happens most of the time) for eight days. EIGHT DAYS! What a fantastic 30th birthday present (not til next month, but hey, close enough)!

I can see you turning green with envy through your screen (check your webcam is off, maybe I'm stalking you).

The last time I went on a relaxing holiday was my honeymoon. Now, three years later we're taking a toddler to a resort with a kid's club he's too young to go to... we may just be mad. Seeya!

So give me your trips for traveling in Asia with a toddler!