KidStyleFile

That old adage “Time flies when you’re having fun” really resonates with me now I have children. The days certainly do fly past!

To help you preserve your precious memories comes Milestone Press’ - www.milestonepress.com.au - fabulous modern take on the baby book, A Book About Me: for memories of pregnancy and birth to age five ($44.95).

Half the battle for me is getting organised. A Book About Me takes the guesswork out of the process, providing clear direction while still being flexible to individual needs.

The book is A4 in size and is robust hardback. The unique design features screws allowing you to easily remove the pages that don’t suit your family, or add additional pages where you need them - no more blank space or empty pages. A zip-lock plastic pocket is included in the back to store items that are too special to glue.

Just a few of the special features of A Book About Me are extra pages to include as many families as possible (simply remove those you don’t need), free pages are available from the Milestone Press website to personalise the book for same sex families or for ‘mom’ instead of ‘mum’, it focuses on the father’s experience as well as the mother’s and it’s very tasteful.

A Book About Me is a winning combination which lets the uniqueness and richness of your family life shine.

If you have moved beyond the early years, and have been looking for a way to keep prized school mementos together, or a simple journal to record childhood experiences and dreams, then My School Days: a Record Book ($34.95) is for you.

It is designed for the Australian school systems from the first year of school (prep, kindergarten or reception) to Year 12, provides an easy way to record and remember the tastes and thoughts of the time (favourite subjects, TV Shows and friends), and the pages form pockets for each year level to store artwork, stories, photos and report cards.

What a good idea!

Keep your eye out also for Milestone Press’ Master Plan Diary, a revolutionary long range diary and planner, available at the end of July.

To celebrate the launch of their online store, Fiona and Annabel at Milestone Press are generously offering KidStyleFile readers free postage until the end of July 2008.

Enter KSF07 at the coupon code section at checkout to redeem this offer.

Looking for backpacks, bags, tags, drink bottles, sleeping gear, lunch bags and snack keepers, smocks and aprons, sun-hats, rain gear, hair accessories, dress-ups, creative play solutions, funky toys and gifts, and the coolest accessories??

Search no longer: it’s all here at Kinder Kaboodle - www.kinderkaboodle.com.au!

A concept store especially for the pre-schooler, school age and creche-going child, whether you need backpacks and bags, drink bottles, sun-wear, rain-wear, art-ware or sleepover supplies, Kinder Kaboodle is the place for you.

With an incredible range across brands including Alex & Charli, Bazoongi Kids, Bestever, Bobble Art, Boys Don’t Wear Bows, Charlie and Lola, Chelona, Chick Pea, Cocoon Couture, Crocodile Creek, Cupcakes Jewellery, Feef , Fruity Faces, Goldfish Gifts, Happy Guru, Hotbods, Jam Industries, Kiddysac, Kids Cold Packs, Little Chipipi, Little Swish, Milestone Press, Mini Rhubarb, Mini Whisk, 4 My Earth, Oscar Blue, Penny Scallan, Rolly Poly Kids, Rush, Smelly Welly, Tatiri, The Bag Tag Studio, Vintage Kid, Western Chief, and Zebra Crossing Club there is something for every taste and need.

No more rushing around different places looking, Kinder Kaboodle is *the* source!

The question here is not what to buy, but what *not* to buy!! Last week I purchased some new Feef smocks, Alex & Charli drink bottles, and extra Starfish Bump Buddy (can’t have too many of these!!), and I just noticed these socks, which I think we maybe can’t live without!!

I must say that Bernice at Kinder K really goes all out with her gift wrapping; it’s gorgeous! Also, she included a very sweet little gift with the order. Make a purchase and you’ll get one too

To get 15% off the purchase price store-wide pick up a copy of My Child or Australian Parents magazine and access the special discount code.

(Not near a newsagent? Leave a comment on this post, or email me, and I’ll send you the code.)

As the rain pitter-pats outside my window, my first pick of the day is the Penny Scallan rainwear, just landed at Kinder Kaboodle.

The new Penny Scallan raincoats ($49.95) are so soft to touch (not stiff like as per usual ‘plastic’ raincoats situation) and look so groovy! Match them with the new Penny Scallan Boy Stripe and and Penny Scallan Girl Stripe Gumboots ($29.95 per pair) for wet-weather readiness.

Also, I’m loving the new Penny Scallan Pop-up Umbrellas ($19.95), which fold down to a compact 23cm - ideal for popping in school bags.

Other things on the shopping list today:

(Beautiful, huh? Colours make me feel good!!)

I can’t let today’s post go by without mentioning the Feef smocks ($34.95) which I deem to be the best smocks in existence. I know this from experience; we have literally 10 different kinds, and the Feef smocks are the only ones that don’t soak through. They are a made from a thick, but soft, coated fabric that really protects clothes; no more Napisan-ing after playgroup!

If you’re in the market for a super-cool lunch bag for your little one, consider the Bestever Lunch Bags ($29.95 $23.95) How cool is this Croc? also available in Puppy Dog and Zebra.

For drink bottles, you can’t go past Alex & Charli’s Drink Bottles ($14.95) - goodness knows I didn’t

A beautiful new addition to Kinder Kaboodle’s super range of bags are the Chickpea range of products. How gorgeous are these Chickpea Library Bags ($25.95) with their divine vintage-retro prints?

If you are looking for solid colour bags, I highly commend the Kiddysac bags. We have been using our bags for 4 months now and they still look new!!

To ensure your child’s bag doesn’t get lost, consider attaching a Personalised Bag Tag (only $9.95 including postage!) from The Bag Tag Studio. Bernice at Kinder Kaboodle will take your order, and send it to The Bag Tag Studio, who will create your tags and sends it direct to you on Bernice’s behalf to speed up the delivery process. These tags are great quality and come in a wide range of gorgeous styles.

Other things I’m eyeing off are the new cooking products from Mini Whisk (starting from $15.95), the super-cute Bestever bag accessories, $8.95, (pictured above in Bird and Dog, and also available in Sheep and Lion) and the My School Days Record Book ($34.95) from Milestone Press.

Kinder Kaboodle charge $6.00 for parcels up to 500gms and $9.00 for parcels 501gms-3kg, Australia wide. Orders over 3kg will display the charge at checkout. Orders over $120 are shipped free!

International shipping is available. Contact Bernice at Kinder Kaboodle for a fast and friendly quote.