Heading Back to School with 2Kool4Skool.com.au + Exciting Giveaway!!

To celebrate the launch of 2Kool4Skool's '26 Days of Kool Giveaways' I would like to introduce my readers to their great range of back to school products.  Please feel free to read my first ever review post below & be sure to enter my fantastic giveaway to win yourself some of these fantastic products!

I can hardly believe we are already over the half way mark in the kids school holidays and it's at about this time that the mind wanders to the dreaded impending 'back to school'. But unlike previous years I am more than happy with my back to school preparations thus far. 

Not only have I organised the kids uniforms and shoes, but I've also bought everything on their book lists and ordered some personalised labels from Stuck on You.  I thought this was pretty impressive in itself, BUT it's already all covered, labelled and ready to go!!! Super keen or what??

I must admit, I did have a little bit of motivation this year as I couldn't wait to try out the new products from 2kool4skool.com.au!  2Kool4Skool is an online business that specialises in reusable PVC Book Covers and cool coordinating stationery. I was first introduced to 2Kool4Skool late last year prior to the launch of their website and ever since I must say I have been very impressed. Impressed not only with their products, but also their friendly service, their dedication in getting a new business launched and their presence on social media. 

 

Some of the funky book covers and accessories for Mr 7's books.

 

So when it came to ordering supplies for back to school 2013 I didn't hesitate! I actually looked forward to jumping online and picking from their extensive range. The kids helped too, because I know they love stationery shopping (who doesn't!) and I loved the fact the website was so easy to use, stock was readily available,  postage was lightening fast, packaged perfectly and the order was spot on!

With 4 kids at school (3 Primary and 1 High school) back to school shopping is never a walk in the park for us but I found many of the back to school basics such as pencil cases, lead pencils, crayons, erasers, rulers and pens through 2Kool4Skool. The kids all chose their favourite designs which they were very excited about and we found there was something for everyone (which is usually pretty hard as I have fussy kids!)
 

Miss 11 loving her 2kool4skool stuff!

 

Each of the kids loved their pencil cases and were able to choose a design that reflected their personality well. They are using the Satchel style pencil case for their coloured pencils, pens and crayons and their Gym Boot pencil case for everyday items such as pencils, erasers and sharpeners etc. I found this way of organising pencil cases has worked perfectly in the past and helps the kids to be more organised and minimises loss!



Miss 11's Pencil Case - Cool Chick

   

Mr 12's Pencil Case - Danger!

 One of the kids favourite things was all the smelly stationery, they absolutely loved the Scratch n Sniff labels and went label crazy on all of their items! The labels were great not only for the books, but also for their folders, calculators and even their glue sticks!

The Scratch n Sniff labels are great for naming folders, glue sticks, calculators, etc.

 

The stickers look great even on large A3 Art Blocks.

 

Miss 11 went scented stationery crazy and found the scented markers, highlighters, Fun in the Sun Eraser and scented ruler right up her alley.. her pencil case smells divine!

 

Miss 11's array of pretty and smelly stationary

I road tested some of the stationery items myself and was impressed with the writing quality of the pens, the erasers rubbed out neatly and cleanly and the pencils and sharpener, sharpened easily and well. The crayons and markers were a big hit, were nice and colourful and would be great for smaller children as they are nice, chunky and easy to hold.

Testing out the rubber!

BUT The product I am most excited about is the 2Kool4Skool Book Covers!  WOW.. The amount of hours I have wasted over the past 7 years using contact, brown paper and gift wrap all flashed before my eyes and if I had $1 for every air bubble I got in the kids books  in the past I'd be a rich woman! Sooo I was a little more than excited over the prospect of never having to use contact ever again!!! We had 51 books to cover this year of various sizes, but predominantly A4 and Scrapbook and once again I was able to buy designs that would appeal to each of the kids, some of them even matched their pencil cases!

 

Miss 11's Book cover's.. Exercise, A4 and Scrapbook Size.

 

Mr 7's Scrapbooks from the Gobble & Google Eyes Sets.

 

 

Mr 9's Exercise Books with funky cover's.. His favourite was the Lego 'Lil Dude' pack.

 

I actually covered the books last night and even the kids were able to help, they got a kick out of, because it's something they haven't been able to help with in the past.  It only took 1 and 1/2 hours to cover and label all of the kids books from start to finish and the part that took the longest was deciding on the designs that each of the kids wanted!  But because we had a few different packs we were able to mix and match the designs so they had a great variety. I even found some of the packs were unisex and would be great for people with 2 kids because you could share packs easily amongst the kids even if you had a boy and a girl. 

 

Overall my experience with the brand as a whole has been a positive one and I would thoroughly recommend them to all of my readers.. So much so that I have an awesome prize pack on offer to share;

 

 

 

To be in the draw to win, please follow the Rafflecopter below.. if something isn't working with it please leave a blog post comment with the answer to the following question; What 2Kool4Skool book cover design do you like the best?

The Prize Pack Contains

1 x Satchel Pencil Case/ID Holder

1 x Packet of Bubblegum & Chocolate Scratch N Sniff Labels

1 x Packet of Colour Appeal Crayons

1 x Pack of Exercise Book Covers

1 x Pack of A4 Book Covers

1 x Pack of Scrapbook Covers
1 x Fun in the Sun Eraser
1 x Valentines Pencils
 

All brought to you by the great people at 2Kool4Skool.com.au.  I am sure they will be able to make your back to school 2013 experience as fantastic as mine has been this year!

You can find the full range of 2Kool4Skool.com.au products here:
http://www.2kool4skool.com.au/index.php


* This has been a review post for 2Kool4Skool.com.au however, all opinions expressed above are that of my own & I was not paid to write this post
a Rafflecopter giveaway )




 

Kicking off the New Year in a Great Way!!!

 

I got very little sleep on New Years, sadly I wasn't out partying.. although we did have a fantastic night at home with the boys having a BBQ dinner, sparklers, Christmas crackers (that we forgot to bring out on Christmas) and lots of dancing (Mr 1 loves to boogie). 
 

 

 

We watched our local fireworks at a family friendly time and were later disappointed that they didn't do midnight fireworks this year (because it was the first night we'd stayed up to watch them..) so that was an interesting drive home with an upset Mr 7 (who was quite overtired by midnight but desperately wanted to see the new year in!)

 

After everyone else was tucked into bed.. I lay awake.. wrestless.. so I played too many apps on the Ipad until the early hours of the morning and fell asleep somewhere around 5am.. partied hard.

 

I woke up again at 8am.. to a new year.. 2013.. what do you have in store for me?  I think that is what I lay awake pondering so many hours before.. although one can never really predict what the year is going to bring/hold so I probably shouldn't have lost so many hours sleep..

 

But whatever the year was going to bring, we decided to start it off on the right foot and head to the beach!  Beautiful weather, the sun was shining and the boys were nice and happy, despite their late night antics so we headed up the coast to beautiful Mooloolaba on the QLD Sunshine Coast to go to Underwaterworld.

 

 

Iv been to Underwaterworld a handful of times, but I particularly love taking my boys when they are young.. Mr 7 first went when he was 11 months old and I loved seeing how in awe he was of everything (particularly the vending machine and the cane toads back then..) there is just so much for the little ones to see.. Mr 1 (17 months) had an absolute ball yesterday, checking out all the fish, calling the seal a 'goggy' (dog) and was absolutely mesmerized by all that he saw.. Mr 7 loved his return visit (having not been in about 3 years..) his favourite was of course the sharks and the otters. 
 

 

  

 

I personally love the turtles they are just so peaceful.. quite the opposite of my life I guess, hence the attraction.. :)

 

 

 

After Underwaterworld (and a quick stint in their gift shop where Mr 7 got a huge soft toy shark and Mr 1 got a soft toy stingray) we walked the dock and had a look at some gorgeous little shops that are there.  My favourite was Marine Dreams and after writing this I MUST go and see if they have a Facebook page because they had the absolute best beach homewares I have seen in a long while.. they were truly gorgeous! Im sure if they do have a Facebook page or a website Hubby will cringe because I believe I could spend a lot of $$ in a shop like that!  He was just thankful we live a fair way from it.. LOL.


So after shopping we then headed to Maroochy Beach for a picnic lunch and some beach play.  We didn't go into the water due to the 'marine stingers' warning (and we saw a few blue bottles here and there on the beach) so instead we built sandcastles (that Mr 1 destroyed), hunted for shells and rocks (to add to our 'beach bottles' keepsake) and went for a long walk admiring the beautiful sea and got our feet wet.. 

A beautiful day and a great way to start the year.. There should be more days like this one in 2013.. I hope 2013 brings you great health and happiness and that your new year kicked off to a great start xxx Dani xxx

New Years Eve & My New Years Resolutions (Realistic Version)

Well it's not quite yet New Years Eve, but it's fairly close.. Less than one hour till the last day of 2012. Wow, where has the year gone?? I can see what they mean now that time goes by so quickly when your older.. Because it just feels like yesterday that it was Easter (it also looks like it with hot cross buns & Easter chocolate in the shops ~ but let's leave that convo to another day!) so as I was saying, it just felt like Easter yesterday & now I'm packing up my Christmas tree & ornaments for another year.

2012 has been a good year, I'm sure there is room for improvement (take note 2013) but on the whole I really have little to complain about in comparison to the year others have had & I am thankful & grateful for what I do have in life.

So going forth into 2013 what are my New Years Resolutions.. Do I keep track of them? not all that often.. Do I stick to them? Rarely.. So why make them? Because it plants those ideas in my mind & I mightn't have much success but at least I tried :) that counts for something right?

Danielle's New Year Resolutions for 2013
1. Be happy & thankful for what I have in life.
2. Aim to be healthier through exercise & healthy eating choices.
3. Stop drinking Coke!!
4. Give-away any chocolate remaining from Christmas.
5. Budget better & tighten the reins on the finances..
6. In turn, pay off debts.
7. Go back to work 1 day per week
8. Help the boys get better sleep routines
9. Spend more time disconnected from social media & more time connected with family.
10. Watch a movie with my Husband once a week.

I think I have covered everyone & I'm fairly certain the goals I have set are achievable so it's really just about striving towards them at a steady, realistic pace (after Iv eaten all the Lindt balls because I really couldn't see myself willingly giving them away)

So tomorrow I will spend the day with those I love (eating Lindt balls) & generally bringing the new year in with the Christmas crackers I forgot to put out on Christmas Day! Maybe I should pencil in an 11. Improve my memory!

How are you spending New Years Eve? Enjoy xx

What was under our tree this year?

Each year I swear buying Christmas presents is getting harder & harder.. So here's a little peek of some of what was under our tree this year!

Each of the 5 kids got approx $250 spent on them & I found online lay-by a god send this year & would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who isn't that great at remembering to pay off their lay-by's in store.

Can't wait to start my Christmas shopping for 2013!

Christmas Fun.. The December wrap up in our home!

I can't believe that Christmas has been & gone already! I have yet to take any of the decorations down (I just can't bring myself too) but its been a fantastic festive filled month & Iv enjoyed every second of it! I had every intention of writing more blog posts about the various things I'd been up to, but time just got away, so here is a little Christmas wrap up!

My Favourite Things Christmas 2012!!

1. Having a Christmas dinner set, it made every meal from Dec 1st so festive!
2. I loved wrapping up a Dec 1st present for the kids containing their Christmas shirt, advent calendar, Christmas book etc.. It was a great way to kick off the festive season.
3. Looking at lights! This is a favourite every year for me..
4. Shopping early! Loved the 'organised' feeling.. It's a first, but I'm going to continue getting organised during the toy sales & September/October every year..
5. Christmas cooking ~ loved making chocolate balls, white Christmas & chocolates with the kids.
6. Decorating! I don't think I can bring myself to take it down!
7. Family! Time spent with family is the best & I was fortunate to catch up with the majority of mine over Christmas.
8. Santa photos ~ even if the 16 month old didn't like him all that much lol.
9. Egg nog & other Christmas food greats :) YUM
10. Togetherness.. Reading, crafting, playing, drawing, colouring in, spending family time, brotherly love & giving... That to me is what Christmas 2012 was all about..

Merry Christmas & here's hoping your family also had a magical one xx

Reindeer Food with Reindeer Topper Printable.

 

Aside from the usual making of the Christmas cards, we kicked off our Christmas creativity this year by making some Reindeer Food.  I first stumbled across the idea of Reindeer food about 3 years ago when a friend of mine made some for the kids to sprinkle on the lawn.. Last year I bought some from a shop, but this year I decided to give it a go and make some myself..

I still had the poem tucked away in the draw so I simply created my own bag topper to go with it. 

 

Download your copy of Reindeer Food Topper for free: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7pe3wq93TPRcHNfSzV1Q0NERnc

 

What you will need;

 

* Bag of rolled oats.

* 2 ramekins or small bowls 1/2 filled with raw sugar

* Food colouring of your choice (we used red and green)

* Glitter in assorted colours of choice

* Some festive sequins (optional)

 

How to make:

 

Start by placing your rolled oats into a mixing bowl.  You can add as many as you like, depending upon how many packets/jars you plan on making of the Reindeer food.

 

Next add a few drops of the food colouring to the ramekins of raw sugar, mix it in until the sugar turns the desired colour.  Set them aside to dry.  (Instead of this you could also use jelly crystals also)

 

Once the sugar is dried out, add the sugar, glitter and festive sequins to the mixing bowl and give them a good mix through.

 

Once all mixed and your happy with the amount of goodies you have through your rolled oats, you can start placing it into your ziplock bags...

 

Once you have closed them all, print out the provided topper and staple it over the top :)

On Christmas Eve, take the kids outside and sprinkle it all over the lawn, leaving a beautiful sparkly trail for the reindeers to find your home :)  We even recite the poem while we are doing so..

 

Because it makes quite a lot of mixture, why not give some to friends, family or neighbours to spread the magic around.

 

Enjoy & Merry Christmas.

xoxox

 

Christmas Comes but Once a Year..

December 13th! Already?! Where does the time go?  We are well & truly into the swing of Christmas around here (I think I have been since late October..lol) but now with the tree/s up, lights on & house decorated there is something magical about this time of the year that I just adore!

I am a bit of a stickler to traditions and it's our family tradition that we put up the Christmas tree on December 1st, unfortunately this year I had to bend my tradition ever so slightly and put the tree up on the 2nd as we were at the in-laws celebrating a rather early Christmas on the 1st.  It was still our intention to put up the tree that night but after a big lunch & rather exhausting day we ended up heading out to look at Christmas lights instead. Although all of the kids were asleep in the car very very quickly! 

 

So our tree went up December 2nd and we had a big roast dinner to mark the occasion like we do every year, roast pork with all the trimmings.. The kids got a kick out of the Christmas dinner set this year and loved getting out their Christmas cups/mugs and placemats.. After dinner we popped on a Christmas movie 'Beethoven's Christmas' and started to decorate the tree...

 

I love our tree, I bought it at a Target Christmas sale on Nov 30, 2010 ~ just in time to put it up the next day.. The only down side of my beautiful tree, it is impossible to decorate! I really think they should have put a disclaimer on the box saying so, its branches are so thick it makes hanging ornaments impossible unless you have metal hooks and even then you have to bend them out of shape and clamp them back down over the branch to secure them!

 

Nevertheless I love my tree and it really is a representation of our family.. we each have personalised baubles and baubles that mean something to us on it and I love how it 'grows' each year and accumulates more and more character! 

 

So after about 4 hours the tree was up and decorated.. It is only decorated from part way up this year so little hands can't get to it and we also have a baby play pen surrounding it.

Despite all of this baby proofing im still really happy with the way it has turned out and could stare at it endlessly.

 

So aside from the house decorating we have been driving around looking at others Christmas lights, this has been quite a regular event as our youngest has taken to ONLY falling asleep in the car at nights.. which will be rather boring after everyones lights have come down.. at least we have something to look at, at the moment on our nightly trips.

 

With just a little under 2 weeks left til Christmas this next week is going to be jam packed with lots of Christmas activities to really make the most of this season.. after all Christmas comes but once a year!  Enjoy xx