Category: products

Why Saltz bath products are on my want list

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The first in my Christmas gift guide 🙂 Saltz Bath Salt

sean

Aidan calls it bath sand, and it is certainly a thing in our house!
A “I won’t bath without it” necessity really, and I’m okay with it because it is earth and skin friendly and my kid is three so anything that gets him into the bath is a win.
The bath sand is actually magnesium sulphate based bath salts by Saltz and I LOVE it’s back story.

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My favourite five baby products

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what this little person used



Aidan is two and a half years old he will actually be exactly that on Monday.

This means he is not a baby anymore, no matter how hard it is for me to accept this!
Recently I’ve had a few people ask me about products that worked for him in the baby stage and I swear I’m like uhmmmmmmmmmmmm didn’t he just come here this age? I forget everything…
I decided to sit down and remember the products I really loved from the baby stage, so I could have an answer for the “what worked for you questions” 🙂 so here goes: 
Disclaimer, every child is different and every parent has different views, these are just my opinions 🙂 what I put in italics is from the manufacturers but this is not  a sponsored post.

Telament drops 

 The mommy group I belong to swear by this stuff and so do I. When my nephew was born and struggled with painful winds I was very eager to suggest this stuff. My doctor recommended it for my “crying all hours of the night because of winds” baby and I remember after the first dose I was like *ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*. As with everything do not go over the recommended allowance, I have been told that can cause tummy problems, cant remember if it’s diarrhea or constipation, either way, READ THE LEAFLET

Tommie Tippie Stage One Teether 

 ” The Stage 1 Easy Reach Teether is the first of 3 stages of teethers designed to soothe your baby through every teething stage. The triple-action design includes massaging surfaces, surfaces to bite on and a special channel for teething gel.”
This was a real lifesaver!!! put teething gel on and he chews away merrily, it saved us a lot of heartache. Funny thing is (Aidan who started teething early and practically had ALL his teeth by his first birthday, refused to go back to a dummy/pacifier after we introduced this at around 3 months – granted he was never biggest fan of the dummy, but after this it was a no go). Also it made him look like a tiny rugby player.

  Sudocrem bum cream

 I’ve mentioned my love for this stuff before in my baby bag to beauty bag post but it would be wrong to not list it here. This cream is great, honestly clears up rashes in a jiffy and is great for the whole family to use

 Pure Squish Baby Food 

Although I made most of Aidan’s baby food using my 6 steps to fool proof baby food I loved these for on the go times, No artificial additives and no mess. I bought the spoon attachment and it worked great. Aidan loved these and I regularly packed it into his lunch (well the toddler version) until recently but went off them when he decided “he was not a baby anymore”.

 Karvol Cradle Cap Cream

 Aidan had a case of cradle cap as a baby and this really helped, a skin condition sometimes seen in babies caused by excessive production of sebum, characterized by areas of yellowish or brownish scales on the top of the head. His was pretty bad so what I actually ended up doing as “his treatment” was to mix coconut oil and baby oil, and slather his head in it, leaving it on for over 30 minutes, I then just used a baby comb to comb his hair and the gross scales came off (don’t freak out if some hair comes out, it’s normal). After that I just kept using the karvol cradle cap cream and we never had problems again

Let your daughter be her own designer with PrettiYou

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So I found out about this AWESOME website!!!
You know those dress up dolls most of us had as kids? the paper ones? and these days on apps? well imagine if you could design an outfit, dress a doll, and then order the clothes!!!
Well now you can, a PE based company (I’m a proud NMB girl) is doing just!
 
Recently my niece Taylor (almost 6) and I got to order an item from their site, it was so user friendly and felt way more like a game than an online shopping website. The clothes look amazing too, and you know what, it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg like you would expect customised things to.
 

screen shot of the site


 
I interviewed Mandy Berning, the brains behind this concept, and here is what she had to say
 
Tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Mandy Berning.  I am a wife and mom of 2 daughters (Jamie 10 and Ella 6).  My ‘other’ field of work is Industrial Psychology.  I have owned and run a business called Equinox for 14 years – we do psychological testing and Training for corporate clients.   My husband also owns his own business.  So I guess you could say we are Entrepreneurial J.  PrettiYou is a nice blend of being a creative mom and an entrepreneur J
 
The PrettiYou family
 
 
Where does this super cool idea come from?
Last December a friend and I were chatting about how limited the clothing choices were for tween girls and how it seemed the clothes were too grown up for girls over 10.  We were also moaning at how often you finally found something you liked but then they were out of stock in the size you needed!  I joked about starting a little clothing business ……….. and that was the seed planted right there.  9 Months later, PrettiYou was born.
         
Where does your business name come from?
Every little girl is Special and Pretty and needs to be reminded of that – that they are beautiful being themselves.  PrettiYou says you are pretty everytime you say it – its a good reminder!
How did you involve the designer and what is her responsibility?
 
Ane is our Fashion Designer, she is young and full of fantastic ideas.  Her responsibility is to provide us with an ‘inspiration’, a theme for a range and once that is approved to design not only the clothing but also the prints and appliques that will be offered.  These are veto’d by hubby and myself and ofcourse Jamie and Ella (and their friends) J  as we go along, until we have a fabulous range.  The spring range is designed from the inspiration of a girls tea party – A teaparty where the sun shines warm on faces. Where the air is full of the scent of Jasmine and the the sounds of laughter and friendship. Where whimsical birds, bunnies, deer and  owls are invited guests; macaroons and chocolate cake is a given and all is right with the world!.  Our winter range (sneak peak) will be inspired by ‘Then Enchanted Forest’ J

 
Any plans of expanding?
 
We have actually already expanded into offering smaller sizes.  So we now have size options for 2 – 14 years. 
Lots of moms have approached me and asked if we would consider offering woman’s clothing with the same concept of designing your own.  Think its something we’ll look into next year (I know I love the clothing so much I have had them make a few things to my size!  Seems only fair to spread the joy J )
 
What are your dreams for your business?
I dream of it being something that brings a bit of joy to whoever comes into contact with us.  Anyone who goes online, who buys from us, receives a specially wrapped package or voucher from us, wears that special something from us that they designed themselves.  That it reminds lots of little girls of how special, unique and pretty they are.  One day when we ‘grow up’ it might even be a business our daughters (who are both very creative) might learn to run and enjoy. 
Where can people get hold of you?
 
Find us online at www.prettiyou.co.za.  On facebook at prettiyou and instagram #prettiyou.
 
 
MANDY BERNING
PrettiYou: Its about designing your own girls clothing online.
We’ll make them and send them with love.

 
 
 

Cool things for Christmas: For the littlest ones @ Love My Home

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I’ve put the interviews with blogging moms on the back burner for now (while I discover new exciting blogs to tell you guys about)  Instead I’m starting a “Cool things for Christmas” list where I will chat about cool local products and services and interview the women behind these products, because I love entrepreneurship that’s why 🙂

My first products are these one of a kind onsies by Love My Home….
 Lauren, the owner, does lots of other things too, but the onsies REALLY got my attention, probably because of all the babies being added to our family tree…


TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF:
I am a 30 something woman, I work from home and I love it! I resigned from my job at the end of February this year and haven’t looked back since. I wanted to be doing something more creative and following my bliss, while still giving me a chance to be a housewife and future mom.I have always been creative and this was the correct career move for me.
WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS CALLED:
My business is called “Love my Home” I got the name from my initials (Lauren Marlene Hewitt) I also joked that if one day I need help my husband Mark could help me too.
WHY KIDS CLOTHES:
I was initially going to do more home items (table runners, place mats etc) but the kids and baby items have been more in demand and those items have started to take off. I also wanted to things that you don’t find in the mainline shops.
DO YOU DESIGN IT YOURSELF:
Some of the designs I do myself, others are existing pattern pieces I change to make it more my own.

WHERE DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM:
I use Pinterest, Google images I also try to find items that are currently trending, I like to do designs that I would wear myself, baby items aren’t all about bunnies and duckies any more.

WHAT TO YOU IS A JOB WELL DONE:
To me a job well done is seeing people using/ wearing items I have made and having happy customers and repeat customers.

WHAT ARE YOUR DREAMS FOR YOUR BUSINESS:
My dream is to continue running my business from home, and when I have kids to slow down a bit, but still be able to work from home while raising them. We’ll see how that goes.

CHRISTMAS GIFT ITEMS I SELL:
I make felt toy items for toddlers and babies, I am working on a Christmas onesie range – “my first Christmas 2014” for moms  and there are home items that can be custom made.

If you want to contact Lauren, and you know you wanna . . . go here:

https://www.facebook.com/lovemyhomeshop or
lovemyhomeshop@gmail.com

*Let me know if you know of a local product I could feature 🙂