I'm hosting a giveaway! Come over to WIN!

Read all the way to the end to enter a giveaway, for UK residence only!

CLOSED!!!

One of the most popular questions for mums is: What do I do with my kid's artwork? How to keep/store it?

Well, thats how I do it. Earlier this year, I stumbled upon a Phatstak on eBay. It looked very appealing and like a good idea to try. So I bought one.I loved it so much that I went back to the seller and arranged a giveaway for my readers! Keep reading :)
 When you buy it, you have a big choice of designs, if you buy as 'Buy it now', you can personalise by adding the names, dates or a special message on the cover. Also, they offer 3 different inner pages combinations. Just check Shakebaby's eBay shop to see the big choice of covers, click here!

That was my choice :

Back

Front cover

The choice of  for inner pages combinations are: 

1. 5 greyboard  pages with coloured elastic (see images below)

2. 10 Plain white card 285gsm

3. 6 pages of white card 285gsm with 2 pages of greyboard with coloured elastic

My choice on this occasion was 6 white pages +2 greyboard with elastic. 

First white page

It has 2 greyboard pages, which means we have 4 sides with elastic to use

Nursery Storage

Memorabilia

Student Projects

Family Tree

Phatstak is a storage album with large capacity sleeves for a wide variety of uses from nursery keepsakes, student projects, albums or the travellers memorabilia folder. It uses elastic cord on every page to keep things in place, so you can add as much or as little as you like and the large plastic coil binder allows the pages to be opened fully.

It has 5 inner pages of 1250 micron grey card with coloured elastic so you can easily stack lots of items on one page. I have used one for an entire year of nursery painting and craft items. It's really good for things you want to take out & look at and to add to. 

Keeping your childrens drawings, collages and creative learning items together can be a bit of a chore, as there seems to be so much in the early years to keep in just one place. Phatstak can fit the entire year in one book for you to look at, at your leisure, it’s A3 size means you don't have to compromise any items, everything is safe and sound and it’s size fits easily on most book shelves.

Whatever you're studying phatstak can be the most practical way to present course work or projects, as the design relies on stacking up the information within, the reader has to interact with the information and therefore your work will be memorable.

Other uses for for phatstak include traveller, music fanatic, recipe collections, letters poems in fact phatstak is unique to its creator's particular interests. Phatstaks is the affordable keepsake storage solution.

We are still collecting the best and most precious bits and pieces of artwork and memos, so not arranged yet.  I have a few boxes of artwork to go through. The girls are very excited to get their hands on it, constantly changing their minds on how they are going to arrange the things inside, that is another reason why its still not done :)  I am going to order another one but with elastic only, it is very handy for these dozens of drawings.

 But One of you have a chance to get the Phatstak of your choice for free!Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter!

For those who does not want to enter and/or wait for the end, you can get 10% discount on 'BUY IT NOW' personalised option, just mention the code:''tigramum-randommama'' in Notes or message it at Phatstack

Use the rafflecopter widget to enter, but first get familiar with giveaway terms and conditions :)

1. Eligibility. Giveaways are open to readers with UK shipping addresses only.

2. Technical Problems. The giveaway may be canceled, suspended and/or modified, in whole or in part, if in the opinion of Random Mama Blog any fraud, technical failure or other factor beyond its control impairs the integrity of the giveaway.

3. Winner Notification. You will be notified within three (3) days after the Entry Deadline Date if you win the prize.

4. Claiming Your Prize. Winner must respond within three (3) days of notification or forfeit the prize, in which case an alternate winner will be selected.
5. Prize Substitution. Winner may not substitute the prize for any other prize or for cash, however, Random Mama or the sponsoring company may substitute the prize for any other prize of equal or greater value, in its reasonable discretion, in the event the prize is not available for any reason outside of sponsor’s reasonable control.
6. General Release. By entering the giveaway through this website, you release Random Mama from any liability whatsoever, and waive any and all causes of action, related to any claims, costs, injuries, losses or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the giveaway or delivery, misdelivery or acceptance of any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), warranty or other theory.

Good Luck! 

ENTER HERE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We love Pukka Teas

We love Pukka Teas!
   My 6 year old never fancied any teas. She would try but never drink any of them until she tried Pukka's Night Time tea. Now she asks for it every evening before bed. And I love it so much, it so lovely and cosy siting with my girl on a sofa watching bed time cartoon and drinking warm tea on this cold evenings :)  I don't know if it's valeriana in it or what, but she seems to sleep better too.

ingredients

Oat flower (30%), licorice root, chamomile flower, lavender flower (14%), lime flower (10%), valerian root, tulsi leaf.   Another reason I like these teas is, they are sweet enough that i don't even put honey to sweeten it.

So I thought to share the pages with you where you can get some free samples of Pukka Teas.
 You can order them via:

• this page (you will need 'Best before end' details', from my pack these are: P2012.06.07 11:09 L2158 EXP2015.06.07)

http://www.freesamples.pukkaherbs.com/freesample.asp

• or via this page : http://www.pukkaherbs.com/freesample-quick-form.php

Hugs and cosy snugly evenings, truly yours  :)

The miracle, well, kind of...

Some time ago I have posted on my FB wall that a miracle had happened. So to many of you who was wandering what the hell was that about because I was divorcing at the time. Some asked if the divorce is that miracle... Good question and a thought but no.

The miracle was concerning my older DD - K. As many of you know she has Selective Mutism which means that in some surroundings and situations and with some people she won't talk. and NOT because she does NOT WANT but because she can't due to the anxiety. There are still lots of unanswered questions about this condition: whys and whens and hows.

Any way, She loves to sing and dance and perform in front of the camera so I have been trying to find a drama or something like this for her. We went to a few but with no success, she did not like them or were not very comfortable to vocalize in the class. And Then I have signed her up for the Perform School trial class. We came in on the day and like always as soon as we are in she all get clingy and goes mute. She won't talk to anyone including Me. Then the teachers took the kids in the class. I have been keeping my eye on K through the window and she seemed to enjoy. After an hour, the teachers opened the door and were letting the kids out one by one. When it was K's turn she RAN out shouting: ''Mama Mama I want to come back tomorrow!!'' I was stunned! I lost my words and looked at her in disbelief :)) She was talking and very happy! The teacher said that she had joined with all the singing, talking, discussions and even their silly banana language. So I had to pay right then for the whole term which is not cheap. I think it's the most expensive classes I have come across but hearing and seeing my DD enjoying it so much it's SOOO worth it! When we left the building and went outside i started jumping and squealing with delight :DDDD

So now we are going there every Friday after school. Our branch is at Alexandra Palace. I Love this place! It is on top of the hillish mountain, you can see most of the London including the City from there. The view is gorgeous. While the kids are inside you have an hour. You can go on the playground with a youngest, or go see Deer( I just realized that single and plural for Deer are the same!) , or walk around this huge park or go to the Pub for a coffee or a drink ;)

If anyone interested I highly recommend this school. Of course it can be different at another brunch, it's all depends on the teachers. But you can try, they always have free trial classes for ALL ages from 3months old to 12 years of age. You can check their website here or call this number to book your free trial class 0845 400 4000. Their school has a'Recommend a friend' scheme  For every friend you introduce who goes on to book 10 classes with them, you will receive £30 credit on your account which can be used as payment for any Perform product (except for Perform Play purchases).  If you decide to go on please tell them that you found out about their school by personal recommendation and give them the details of us: Kristina Konstancia with post code N22. Then if you recommend to your friend and your friend will put your details then you will get the credit and so on.

I will end my post on that note as my little V has started reprogramming PC :)

Happy and enjoying drama classes to everyone!

WARNING: Your hair dye can kill you!

Studies show that at least 75% of American women color (lighten or darken) their hair. Way more than the 7% that colored their hair in the 1950's. And it's not just women, last year men's at-home hair color sales reached over 113.5 million dollars! But what isn't being shown on any commercials for hair color is the fact that one of the main ingredients in 2/3 of hair color is hospitalizing and even killing people. The FDA does not approve it to touch your scalp...but it does and not many people know about it. AND YOU CAN HAVE A REACTION ON YOUR 1ST  HAIR COLOR APPLICATION OR YOUR 37TH!
And no the patch test will not guarantee anything- they said you can have a reaction to the PPD even after you've used the same product safely for years.

(please share this, post it email this- with anyone and everyone to help warn everyone you know about this hidden danger that no one knows about)

 Just last week, Tabatha McCourt, 17, began pulling at her shoulder-length locks, screaming and vomiting before collapsing in agony at a friend’s house. A short 20 minutes after applying hair color to her hair, Tabatha, who had died her hair many colors, died. The doctor reported is was a chemical called p-Phenylenediamine that had reportedly been suggested as a cause for the sudden reaction.

 Please meet Miriade Kelly, a 29 year mom, who just wanted to cover her grey hair like normal. She suffered an immediate reaction from her, Garnier hair dye:

'There was yellow pus oozing from my scalp and it had the most horrific smell of burning flesh. 

'I knew straightaway that was from the dye but at that point I didn't panic, I just took some anti-histamines and put some Sudocrem on my hairline, where it was starting to blister, before I went to sleep.'

'Both my eyes swelled up and the skin at the side of my earlobes was really swollen and itchy.

'The worst part was the awful pus that was still oozing from my head all the time. 

'We went to A&E and I was seen pretty quickly, but at that point, because the reaction was still relatively slight, I was sent home with some anti-histamines and told to keep an eye on it.' 

3 hours later she had to return, this time being hospitalized for 3 days.

One of the doctors asked her if she had ever heard of the chemical PPD. 

An ingredient in many hair dyes, para-phenylenediamine (PPD) is a common allergen banned in many European countries. 

People can become allergic to it at any time, even if they have been exposed to it before without problems. 

For this reason, it was voted Allergen Of The Year in 2006 by the American Contact Dermatitis Society.

WHAT TO  LOOK OUT FOR:

The bad ingredient responsible for many people who are suffering near death experiences from hair dye is: Phenylenediamine (PPD) its present in over 2/3 of chemical hair dyes, and is known to be toxic to the immune system, skin, nervous system, respiratory system, liver and kidneys. It is the most toxic chemical in hair dyes. It is a substance used in rubber chemicals, photo
developer, oil, gasoline, ink, textile dyes, dark cosmetics and hair dye. The European Union classifies it as a toxin and irritant that is dangerous in the environment. In Canada, its use in cosmetics is restricted and it was banned in France, Germany and Sweden. 
PPD is a neurotoxin and is even used in anti-freeze.
PPD might also be called any of these names:

Paraphenylenediamine	Para-aminoaniline (p-aminoaniline)
PPD	PPDA
1,4-Benzenediamine	Orsin™
1,4-Penylenediamine	Ursol™ D
Rodol™ D	Paradiaminobenzene

****this is not just for store bought boxed color, this is in certain salon brand hair color as well! (see info below about Hair Stylists and Cancer levels)

And it causes Cancer: Laboratory experiments have shown that PPD damages the DNA of human cells. Accumulated DNA damage leads to cancer.

DANGERS FOR HAIR STYLISTS: 
Hair stylists who color hair at work do have higher cancer levels. Studies have shown that hair stylists have higher rates of skin allergies, asthma and breast cancer, so the risks for stylists are real.
• Hairstylists and barbers with just one year or more occupational exposure to permanent hair dyes were 50% more likely to have bladder cancer than those who did not. This increased to five times — 500% — more with 10 years of professional exposure. 

HAIR COLOR AND CANCER: 
The Scientific Committee for Cosmetic and Non-Food Products is fully aware of the dangers of PPD.

The National Cancer Institute also warned that PPD can increase various forms of cancer such as:

• non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Multiple myeloma
• Breast Cancer
• Leukemia
• Bladder Cancer

The University of Southern California just completed a study linking hair dye to bladder cancer:

• Women who used permanent self-administered hair dye at least once a month for a year or longer were twice as likely as women who did not use permanent hair dye to develop bladder cancer.

• Those women who used permanent dye monthly for 15 years or more were more than three times as likely to develop bladder cancer as non-dye users.

IT MAY NOT KILL YOU BUT IT WILL MAKE YOUR HAIR THIN:
But did you know that certain ingredients are causing women and men to get thinner and thinner hair, and in some cases hair dye has even taken lives.

This is something that many big companies are not talking about, because this would put a major dent in their millions of dollars in sales.


And dark hair colours seem to be the most dangerous.

So what's a girl or guy who wants to dye their hair or cover their gray to do?

No worries, we just have to make sure what we're using or where we're going uses hair color without PPD.

Do a little research before you head to the store to buy hair color or before you head to the salon to get your hair colored- and remember to look for the other names PPD is labeled as above.

There are natural alternatives too!

Here's a list of some of the safe, PPD free hair color or hair dye:

*Goldwell professional brand hair color is supposed to be free of PPD

*as well as Clairol Loving Care. 

MANIC PANIC- your fun, rainbow colored hair dye is free of PPD! YAY! Fun colors AND safe! Thanks Tish and Snooky (not of Jersey Shore fame)...for making this!

1. La Vita Nuova hair color - PPD, Ammonia and Paraben free

2. Tints of Nature - certified organic hair color

3. Palette by Nature - free of paraphenylene diamine (PPD), resorcinol, m-aminophenol, p-aminophenol, toluene- 2,5-diamine, azo-dyes, diazo-dyes, disperse dyes, ammonia, and parabens

4. Advanced Cosmetic Technologies - formulated with natural plant dyes and easily removed with vinegar or lemon juice.

5. Herbatint - all natural hair color free of all chemicals

you can also ask your local Whole Foods about their natural hair color or ask your hair colorist about the line that they work with... or you can also use Henna if you like too:

Henna is another alternative. Henna reacts on the outside of the hair shaft, where "normal" hair dye works by penetrating the inner part of the hair shaft. Henna Options- please check, Henna can cause different allergic reactions too. And do NOT use anything labeled "black henna", that is PPD as well. Especially the tattoos on the beach. 

1. Light Mountain- natural henna hair color

2. Sabba Botanical- henna hair dye


Please sign this petition & help us try & Ban the sale of products containing the chemical PPD(para-phenylenediamine) sold in the UK!!
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/18664


Also Shampoo and conditioners

'Almost all mainstream shower gels, shampoos and conditioners contain detergents and foaming agents - SLS or SLES - which disrupt the cell membranes,

'A solution of just 2pc SLS can cause irritation and increase immune activity in the skin, but some shampoos can contain up to 50pc SLS.'

While some people are not affected, those with sensitive skin can experience dryness and flaking.

Recommendations are using shampoo that washes hair with mild, vegetable-based detergents and using as little as possible.

Greenpeople shampoos and conditioners cost £4.99/200ml; Avalon Natural Products Shampoo and Conditioner £4.95/200ml; Aveda's Shampure £8.50./200ml.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-165538/Is-hair-colour-die-for.html#ixzz1bUqI9gVG

No one is talking about this enough, some doctors, Cancer Research Centers and universities and even Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG site have been trying to spread the word too.  (I am pleading no comment on how the FDA approves things. ha ha ha) Please feel free to email this, post this, tweet this to help get the word out to help your friends and family be aware of this.

Not to freak everyone out, or make everyone think they can never color their hair...I just don't want to hear of another girl dying or having their flesh burned, or coming down with cancer from their hair color. Just do a little research before you go out to get a fresh dose of hair color!

Huge love and feeling horrible about not knowing about this and just slapping on all kinds of hair color on my hair for years now...I will be carefully reading labels or buying the healthy hair color if I feel the need to color my hair! See, another reason why the Ombre hair style is/was great- it doesn't touch your scalp!

SOURCES and REFERENCES:
The FDA
The Cancer Research Center
The Scientific Committee for Cosmetic and Non-Food Products

• Surviving-Hairloss.com: How Much Do You Know About Hair Coloring?
• USC News: Study Points to Bladder Cancer Risk From Long-term Hair Dye Use
• American Cancer Society: Hair Dyes

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/211736-the-health-effects-of-hair-coloring/#ixzz1bUJTl7n9

Original post taken from: http://www.kandeej.com

My Acne is gone!! Temporarily ;)

Gosh it has been a long time since my last post, sorry :)


I have finally got the Cover FX Acne Treat & Conceal Set. I LOVE it.  I have tried all sorts of concealers to even out my red-santa-claus-nose, chin, brown patches and redness,scars from acne and acne itself. From store labels to stage make up like Ben Nye. I like BN to cover under eye blue bags but it was not good to cover my Acne on my extremely oily skin. I got my extremely oily skin due to the hormonal change in my puberty years and now in my 30-s it's still ON :( 
So the make up melts on my face in half an hour after applying it. Oh how many tricks I have tried and the things I did... 
 But finally an answer to my make up worries - Cover FX.  You can read about Cover FX on www.coverfx.com, in short it is a professional camouflage make up used for skin disorders. 
          My Cover FX Acne Treat & Conceal Set. The 1st travel friendly 4 piece Acne and blemish set includes Clearprep FX Matte Foundation Primer and Anti-Acne Treatment 15 ml, Conceal FX Camouflage Concealer 15 ml, Matte FX Oil Absorbing Powder 12g, Clean FX MakeUp Cleansing Solution 55ml. This set is availible in three shades. I have bought it on line at House of Fraser (I think its the only place in UK that sells it), they also have a stand at the shop in Oxford Street in London. 
        I have tested it same day by going to 2 hour extreme power fitness class. Usually my face would be like somebody poured a bottle of oil on my face and no way I could wear any make up. But with this stuff the make up I had was still almost perfect! My skin did get oily but nothing that one clean&clear tissue wouldn't fix :D 
One thing, the concealer is very light so I do need to use or foundation or a pigmented powder to put some colour on my face and even it out. I use Clinique oil absorbing powder(quite useless for oil on its own) on top and it is good, but currently saving some money to buy a mineral foundation from Cover FX. 
    So if you have any of these skin conditions
ACNE, BLEMISHES,OILY SKIN, BIRTHMARKS,BRUISING,BURNS,ECZEMA,MELASMA,PSORIASIS,ROSACEA, REDNESS, BROKEN CAPILLARIES,SCARS,SKIN CANCER,SUN DAMAGE,TATTOOS,UNDEREYE CIRCLES,VARICOSE VEINS,VITILIGO and want to be able to cover them I am certainly recommend you to try The Cover FX.    
   

Selling on ebay?!

It's been a long time since I wrote anything.... Had a bad week, actually two. My youngest missed 6 weeks at nursery, then finally she was fit to go. Thursday, Friday in. Everyone is happy! I was off to the gym and the girls were having fun with friends. Here comes Sunday and I find chicken pox on V! OMG! That's another 2 weeks at home :(  Am I a bad mum saying that 8 weeks at home( couldn't go out) with your kids makes you go

???????

Anyways, I thought to share a tip for selling stuff on e-bay. Probably many of us sell unwanted stuff, things your children grew out of, things you don't need any more and etc.  The most annoying thing I find when listing things are the charges for photos. Sometimes they don't charge you at all, and some times they do. Did you know that you can use a free independent photo hosting site? You upload your photos on that site and on your e-bay listing you can either do HTML to incorporate your photos, or just put links to your photos. I used to use http://www.auctiva.com/ , but now I am trying out a http://www.fileave.com.
Fileave seems easy to use. And what I like about it is that the links to the photos are straight forward and they show each photo in a full screen. Love it! Check as an example 'Clarks shoes'
Isn't it cool?  And by using this site you avoid extra charges for your photos on e-bay :)
  Happy e-baying  haha

Perfect morning

   Ahh, it was such a good morning-it was perfect! Our Daddy, even though he came from work at 2 am, had planned a surprise for us. Usually  I take my girls to the cinema every Saturday morning. We go to Cineworld, they have a  choice of three movies/cartoons for kids for £1 per person on Saturdays. But last night we were told that daddy will take us to another cinema, he had already bought the tickets and the whatever we were watching starts at 9.45 am! 

     We got up, got ready, then Daddy joined us and off we went. It was 3D A Turtle's Tale.A sea turtle who was hatched in 1959 spends the next 50 years travelling the world while it is being changed by global warming. I saw a few 3D movies and animations and this one is by far the best one I have seen! K kept trying to catch the fishes and I couldn't stop from trying myself to catch or touch something lol The story was quite interesting too. Made us laugh quite a few times :)  I would definitely  recommend it to go to see with your kids, just to note that if your child is very impressionable or easily scared, there are a few scenes with sharks snapping in your face and because of 3D effect it is in YOUR face, even I jumped.   
      Girls were so happy to have Daddy with us because it does not happen often. And when it does it's because mummy bugged him for ours or even days ;) So the morning was perfect for me because he was the one who took us, his initiative <3   
      After the cinema Daddy went home to sleep before he has to go back to work and I took the girls to the library. We love our library and spend ours in there. We read books, sometimes other kids join, seat next to us and listen :)  When they have enough of reading they go to play with other kids or pretend that they can read themselves :)  
      If you noticed I have used a lot of smiley faces in the post today... I wish to every one of you to smile as much as possible. It changes the world around you and better for your, tired mommas nervs :) Many happy smiles , peace out! 
     

Day with random fun :)

OMG! I am sooo tired.... My little one was waking me up at 6 am every morning for the last 5 days. I am getting like 4-5 hours sleep right now and every evening I would say to myself:'' after kids are asleep I am gonna post this and that on my blog!'' But I kept falling asleep in the kids bedroom...

  I had an invitation to check out LA Fitness at Muswell Hill for free(they do a promotion 3 days free pass, and then £54 a month- uhh), so I took my girls and off we were. We tried their swimming pool. I liked the changing rooms, they were clean and tidy, had a play pan for the smaller child while mummy's getting changed, lots of stations with hair dryers, but only one changing cabin if you want some privacy. Nice hot showers with soap/shampoo dispenser in case you don't have your own. Clean toilets. Ah! and they have plastic bags if you want to put your wet stuff into.
 The pool room was quite small but I liked it because it was very warm!  We had fun, lots of laugh and a work out for the girls :) Now I have to report back to V's physiotherapist about few things I have observed.

 When we left the pool, it was very warm outside and me being random and spontaneous...  We popped into M&S and went into Alexandra Palace forest/park. Spent about 4 hours walking around the park, playing at the play ground, scaring ducks and geese at the pond and watching deer.
 The girls fell asleep so quick once we got home and had dinner, I wish I could go to sleep too... But have lots of things to do.
 Best wishes to all of you xoxo May you have lots of fun days :)

Green People

Last month I have finally found children's toothpaste which does not taste like peppermint or has a kilo of sugar in it. I have discovered Green People!  Their ORGANIC MANDARIN children toothpaste is a hit with both of my girls. But it wasn't in the beginning.  Why they were not impressed? The colour! It looks like a wall filler from DIY shop, grey mass. It took me about 5 min of ''lecture'' on how bad the pink stuff is(K's old one), that it gives her a stomach ache if she swallows etc and how good and healthy the grey one is. If she swallows it it is Ok, she does not even have to rinse her mouth after brushing.Please just try?!
And finally she did and the whole tube was gone in 2 weeks time! It is too tasty lol
With my 2 year old it took 2 weeks to get near her mouth with the new paste... But again, once she tried she loved it. A friend of mine who lives in US bought one as well for her daughter, she couldn't find it on sale in US so she bought it on e-bay. 
Today,Tuesday, I have received our second tube, it was ordered on Friday. And while writing the post I went to their site and they have an offer on it Buy 4 children's mandarin toothpastes get 2 free!  Damn! Why they didn't have it last Friday?!  oh well, i hope they will have this offer on coming Friday then I will be able to take it.

Happy and healthy smiles for everyone! 

ORGANIC MANDARIN, ORANGE & MYRRH

Really fruity taste, great for encouraging kids to brush! An excellent choice for children who dislike mint.

• Gentle on delicate teeth and gums
• 100% natural and safe - free from SLS and Fluoride
• Removes plaque and reduces bacterial regrowth
• Protective antioxidant action on gums
• No hydrocarbon or aluminium contamination

This natural toothpaste is made without Fluoride, SLS, Triclosan, Sorbitol, Parabens, phthalates, artificial sweeteners, petrochemicals and colourants to bring you the purest children's toothpaste that nature can offer.

Suitable for vegans and vegetarianseally fruity taste, great for encouraging kids to brush! An excellent choice for children who dislike mint.