Disney On Ice – Dare To Dream Magical Ice Festival

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Disney On Ice is a world class touring performance that needs no introduction, featuring internationally renowned ice skaters, it was a night of enchantment with many magical moments from across the Disney kingdom in the  Disney On Ice Magical Ice Festival where we the audience were  transported to a icy winter wonderland and whisked away into four Disney fairy tales to experience the adventure and magic.

Kids were happy to see their beautiful Disney princesses and sing along to all the familiar tunes, while the adults were mesmerised by beautiful scenes and stunning ice skating performance, its just a truly magical experience for the whole family.

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Nothing can stop kids from screaming and jumping up and down in glee when this gang of friends come onto the rink. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy kicked start the show with lots of cheering and excitement and they play the hosts for the show and appears a couple of times throughout the 2-hour performance.

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The one performance EVERYONE was waiting for Frozen, all the little girls around me sang at the top of the voice to all the tunes from Frozen, screamed and waved at Anna and Elsa when they appeared and clapped non-stop when it ended. Miss Piper knows all the words to Frozen and didn’t hesitate to belt them out in full theatrical form. (Not all the right words in the right places but hey close enough is good enough right!)  OMG, cutest thing EVER! I don’t know what I enjoyed more, seeing all the little Annas and Elsas in the audience singing along or seeing the performers, either way, this act was awesome.

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We absolutely LOVE all things Disney and this was no exception we would totally go back and see it again and again night after night if we could.

 

Love Kerry and Piper xoxo

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Tickets are on sale now for Disney On Ice – Visit disneyonice.com for more information.

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How to get more time in each and every day using – Daily Orders Boards

With our own business, three children aged 18, 9 and 2 our life is crazy, actually the word ‘crazy’ doesn’t even seem to cover it! So anything thing I find that makes life even a little easier is a god sent! I was so excited to receive my Daily Orders board last week, its perfect! With a quick glance I can get an overview of who needs to be where and doing what each day. Now once a week I only need to consulate everyone’s calendars and add all the events to the board, and if anything changes the person it involves is responsible to make any changes and by keeping it in a area of the house that everyone sees each day we have no excuses to not remember what we need to be responsible for each day, plus  it looks great too which is always a plus..

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Today we would like to introduce to Kelly Mum and operations Manager of Daily Orders who have been busy transforming lives all over Australia we are lucky to have her share her top tips on home to organise your home in less than 5 Min a day.

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Is your poor time management affecting your household? Your happiness? Your stress levels? I get it. I really do.

Being a parent is bloody hard work. Managing appointments, drop offs, sporting commitments, and music lessons

just to name a few things. That’s just you and the kids. Don’t even start on the household management.

What if I told you that you could get your house organised in just five minutes a day?

You wouldn’t believe me would you?

Well, it’s true.

Think of all those minutes you stand there staring into space thinking about what you need to do, all those minutes you mindlessly check your device to see what someone else is up to.

Do something for me one day. Add up all the time you spend on your devices. You won’t believe how much it is.

In a few months I’ll be releasing an e-book on how to organise your life in just five minutes a day, but I wanted to give you all a sneak peek into what you’ll get.

On the surface, it’s pretty simple stuff, but when you don’t have time to organise what’s already on your super busy plate, the last thing you want to think about is how to get organised, right?

But you know what? Therein lies the secret. The ONLY way you are going to get organised is to plan, prioritise

and set goals.

I’m not talking about having your shoes spit polished and your benches white glove ready, but about getting things in order, reducing clutter and being able to actually live your life without all that ‘stuff’ getting in the way.

You know the stuff…the snow globes from that overseas trip you took in your twenties **puts hand up**, the kids toys – oh the toys!

All that stuff that you put in that letter holder on the kitchen bench that you’re going to sort through on the weekend.

Yep, I hear you. I’ve been there. So, enough about why we’re here.

Let’s start sorting things out.

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So I mentioned that you need to plan, prioritise and set goals. The best way to get started with your plan is by creating a list of all the things that you need to accomplish in a week, and then narrowing your perspective to all the things you need to accomplish in a day.

Having this information in a snapshot view makes it possible to make alterations where necessary.

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Planning

Having served nearly fifteen years in the Navy, I’ve definitely been exposed to some serious planning. As you would expect, in the Navy we have a very rigid planning process in order to achieve everything that needs to happen on a ship.

Consider the conduct of daily events at sea; with three or sometimes four meals a day for around 200 sailors and Officers, refuelling the ship, conducting weapons firings and helicopter operations, ammunition and stores loading, maintenance, engineering trials and the list goes on. To ensure a smooth flow of operations, the immediate planning cycle is broken down into four documents, namely Daily Orders, the Shortcast, Midcast and Longcast.

Daily Orders as the name suggests, promulgates what is happening that day, the Shortcast is the detailed plan for the coming two weeks, the Midcast is the plan for two weeks to three months, and the Longcast is three months plus.

Without this detailed level of planning, there would be a serious amount of incompatible operations, leaving us unable to achieve the mission.

The same goes for a family home. There are always countless things to do, whether it is the grocery shopping, doctor’s appointments, sporting commitments, travel, dinner dates (I wish, right?) and more. With high dependency on mobile technology, you may be tempted to simply download an application that will help you create a plan. While it cannot be disputed that mobile applications have a host of advantages, they do have one glaring disadvantage. They are entirely too private, particularly when you consider that a plan may need to be shared with family members or colleagues within the workplace.

Yes, I know you can synchronise your devices, but how impersonal is it? “Hey honey, did you check my calendar? I put it in there.” No thanks. In these situations, it is better to have a clear reference point, where you’re able to see all the plans, and establish how they fit into the grand scope of things.

My business, Daily Orders, gives you the ability to share your plans with the rest of the family in one central place. How do we do that? Our gloss surfaceblack acrylic weekly planning boards are mounted on your wall, and there youcan put everything you need to achieve in bright liquid chalk markers.

Whatare the benefits? Here are just a few.

Daily Orders planning boards:

Reduce wastage – no need to spend $30 on a calendar each year that you forget about in February.

Reduce clutter – no scrap pieces of paper lying around the kitchen and home to write your notes on. All of your notes and plans are on the wall, out of the way.

Reduce screen time – we spend enough of our day on our devices, it’s about time we put our handwriting skills to work and used them to communicate with our families in a meaningful and valuable way.

Increase productivity – set clearly visible goals that the whole family can get involved in. Using Daily Orders to plan your week will help you feel calm and in control, and most importantly it will give you back the one thing you desperately want – time. Time gained by being organised.

With Daily Orders it is possible to create a simple and clear list of all things that are to be done and by whom.

Setting goals will also help you easily accomplish your tasks in a given time frame when done correctly.

Remember the old saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Goals need to be realistic, manageable and achievable in a timely fashion. If they are large goals, like making the house sparkling from top to tail, break the goals into smaller chunks.

Not planning means that you are reactive and responding to the events of the day as they occur rather than being proactive and clearly defining what needs to be achieved.

Prioritising –  Once you have set your goals and defined your list of tasks that need to be achieved, you need to prioritise.

It is no good saying that you need to wash the cars this afternoon when in fact, you really need to do the grocery shopping. No food equals cranky family, and that is no good for anybody!

Prioritising is part of effective planning and it involves de-conflicting your goals to accomplish tasks in order of importance. When you learn to focus on the priorities, it becomes far easier to achieve your goals. Without prioritising, it means that small but very important tasks may be overshadowed by large, time consuming tasks. Put it this way, what do you absolutely positively have to achieve today?

The mistake many people make when they put all the things they want to do in a day on a list is to check off what they can do quickly, leaving the hard and time consuming tasks to deal with later on. What happens when something comes up and you are not able to continue doing what you had planned to achieve? Sometimes, life just gets in the way and at the end of the day, you realise that you have not done anything worthwhile. Not only have you not achieved what you needed to, but along with that can come the associatedemotions; perhaps guilt or frustration. These feelings aren’t good for anybody, so let’s try to combat that with planning, goal setting and prioritisation. Once you’ve done all of that, it’s time to start checking things off your list.

If this sounds like valuable information to you, and you want to be first on the list to discover when our e-book is released, jump on over to https://beadwindow.leadpages.co/howtogetorganisedin5minutesaday/ The best part is, you’ll get the e-book at a super discounted rate of just $1.95 for signing up. Getting organised for way less than the cost of a cup of coffee?

Yes, please.

After you’ve signed up, jump over to http://www.dailyorders.com.auto buy your weekly planning board today.

Piper Sienna readers will also get free shipping when you enter code PIPERSIENNA at checkout.

See you there soon I can’t wait to help you get more time in your life.

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Thanks Kelly, make sure you check these out we just live our board and I’m getting so much more achieved by using it.

Got a product you would like reviewed then just drop us a line,

Love Kerry and Piper xx



MiniMeis – Down Under / Baby Back Carrier

 
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We were very excited this week to receive our MINIMEIS carrier, it is perfect for hikes, theme parks, museums or even at the airport. It even makes a short walk easier and simply perfect when you want to give your child that bird’s-eye view whilst knowing your child is safe & secure in the MiniMeis Baby Back Carrier.

The MiniMeis has revolutionized the way babies are carried, it not only provides your child with a view of the world as you see it, it also leaves your hands free to point and interact with your child. MiniMeisis is simple to put on and has clip buckles with self locking straps for maximum convenience and comfort.

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The MiniMeis Baby / Child Shoulder Carrier is ideal for an active family making hiking, family day trips, holidays, walks to Pre-school or even walking the dog easy and fun.

When not in use, your MiniMeis Baby Back Carrier quickly folds in half so it’s easy to store away.

We are lucky to be able to introduce you to the lovely Cassandra, Mummy of 3 boys and distributor for MiniMeis Australia to tell us more of the story behind this great idea and how she got involved……

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 Welcome Cassandra,

I stumbled across the crazy world of baby wearing while I was pregnant with No.2 boy. I was sucked right in! Within months I had an awesome ‘stash’ that included soft structured carriers, wraps, ring slings, wrap conversions…you name it, I had it! So when my darling boy entered the world I was busting to use them all! Reality check….he HATED being worn! I tried everything! Front carries, back carries, hip carries, outside, inside, sitting, standing, dancing, hopping on one leg even! I had maybe a handful of successful carries in the first year of his life. By this stage I was pregnant again and had pretty much given up, with the hope that No.3 (boy again) would be a lot more cooperative and so far, so good.

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One day I was browsing the world of Instagram and stumbled across the MiniMeis carrier! Genius! What kid doesn’t like shoulder rides? We managed to get one down here after pulling a few strings with Scandinavian family. It’s been AMAZING! Dad happily wears it as well and my toddler has never been happier! We hadn’t had it very long and I just knew this was a product I wanted to get behind!
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What we love about the MiniMeis:
Compact / light/ great for travelling
Dad friendly
Best view for your child
Free hands for child and wearer
Can be used from 6mths to 5years approx
Easy to use
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Available in Australia now

The MiniMeis Baby Back Carrier Toddler Package includes the following.

MiniMeis shoulder harness.

Upper section seat for a child of 2 – 5 years of age (or a maximum child weight of 20kg). This upper section has no harness, so the child remains stable via the Velcro leg loops.

Extra padding which can be useful in the summer months, when you want to use your MiniMeis with less padded clothing such as T-Shirts.

Small & Light – Collapsible
Ergonomically made for perfect body balance
Norwegian design

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Insta: @minimeisaustralia 
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Product of the Month ‘Fred’ Dinner Winner – Children’s Dinner Tray

Making Meal Times Fun with ‘Fred’ Dinner Winner Plate, Fun plates for kids means no more fusses at mealtime!

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The Dinner Winner Plate will add a little bit of spark and fun back to meal times. It’s simple and provides your child with healthy options that are in smaller portions which makes eating meals a lot more achievable. Once finished, there will be a wonderful treat for your little ones, making even the fussiest eaters want to get to the finish line.

Piper just loves this plate and has been using it every night since we got it, its been perfect in helping her to try new foods. She is very good at not peeking to see what her surprise is! Its such a great way to present food and a simple but effective way to encourage children to eat small, manageable portions of food and perfect for even the pickiest of eaters.

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Plus perfect for younger children with the addition of a seal to stick it down to the table for the plate throwers out there.

Kids and parents alike love the fun element that this plate brings to the table and how easily it makes mealtimes fun and fuss-free!

 

Healthy Eating Options

Also note that you don’t have to use chocolate for the treat at the end of the finish line, other items you could use are: raisins, muffin, apple slices with peanut butter, yogurt, stickers it comes down to what will motivate and work for your family. It’s’ also important to remember that each square on the plate doesn’t need to be filled with a 8 different food options, again keep it simple and bring happiness back to your family meal times.

For stockists check out our Instagram Page @pipersienna and the DinnerWinner post for all the contact details.

Have a Product you want reviewed? Just drop us a line on [email protected] we would live to hear from you.

Additional Details:

  • Dinner Winner is molded from 100% virgin melamine, food-safe and dishwasher-safe.
  • Packaged in a full-color giftbox

 

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Thoughts on the certified organic baby range, Divine Baby by The Divine Company

Like all mum’s and mum’s to be I only want the best possible health for my baby.

So I often find myself standing in the middle of a shop reading the back of baby shampoo, bath wash, food labels and more… Then find myself even more confused reading numbers to only find out that it’s filled with chemicals and other nasties, so when the offer came to try Divine Baby the amazing certified organic baby collection by The Divine Company, I was extremely excited and jumped at the chance.

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 The Divine baby pamper collection is a beautiful set of Certified Organic personal care items including:

– Calming Baby Bath Wash 250ml

– Calming Baby Shampoo  250ml

– Soothing Baby Moisturiser 200ml

– Soothing Baby Balm 50ml

– Baby Bliss Massage Oil 100ml

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So here’s what the marketing says:

The Divine Baby collection is 100% Australian made and owned, contains only premium quality certified organic, nutrient and antioxidant rich ingredients and is Vegan, gluten free and does not test on animals! Their collection is completely free from any nasties such as synthetic chemicals, endocrine disrupting, neuro and immune toxic ingredients.

All fantastic points!

But what I didn’t know was that unlike a lot of baby cosmetic companies on the market The Divine Baby collection is “Certified Organic” which means it uses the highest quality certified organic and natural ingredients to provide us with a beautiful, safe range of products we can use in our home every day and this makes a BIG difference!

There exists a common misconception in relation to the use of the word ‘Organic’ currently in Australia and mostly across the world there is little regulation surrounding the use of the word ‘Organic’ yet the mere use of the word implies “natural” “safe” “pure” and “pesticide and chemical-free.” Companies can, and do mislead customers, the everyday Organic products commonly found on the supermarket shelves are far from organic, natural, safe pure and pesticide and chemical-free.

Did you know that you can absorb MORE toxins from personal, skin and hair care products than from Food?

I don’t want to scare you too much but its defiantly worth reading and educating ourselves more about what we are using and feeding our bodies and families.

My personal opinion is that we have thoroughly enjoyed using each and every product, I have loved learning more about the ingredients used in the products and I’m very glad I found them, as I am no health expert but I am now more aware how important it is to know what effect something you are using can have on your body. I’m so happy to be able to use a product on Miss Piper that I don’t need to worry about, its one less thing us mum’s need to worry about.

If you would love the chance to try these gorgeous products for yourself make sure you are following us on our Instagram @pipersienna as we will be giving one lucky follower the chance to own a Divine Baby Pamper Pack of their very own.

This wonderful pack already comes gift wrapped and packaged so it is perfect for a baby shower,  present or just a little something for bub.

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If you have any questions about what we liked about the baby range or any questions regarding anything then please don’t hesitate to ask!

Divine Baby Available here http://www.thedivinecompany.com/shop/gift/divine-baby-pamper-collection/

Love Kerry and Miss Piper xoxo

 



Introducing – the Inspirational Meemini

Hello Again! 

Today Piper and I wanted share a unique brand with you. Meemini is very special to us because of the beautiful message it spreads. Not only is the fabric the best quality and super soft for our little babes very delicate skin, but they spread the most important thing that our little people need when growing up! A positive and inspirational influence, and these little designs are perfect for spreading that oh so important message!! We won’t say anymore and hand over to the founder Kylie to let you see for yourself how very unique and special this brand is.

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We are sure you will love it just as much as we do. 

Welcome Kylie,

My name is Kylie, I’m the designer & creator of Meemini.   I am also one very blessed mummy, to my little angel my 5 year old girl, named Jasmin – Indeed my Inspiration for Meemini.  

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We often refer to our little treasures as ‘My little mini me” hence the creation of the brand name “Meemini“.  They reflect and mirror us in so many ways, so why not teach them from the start Inspirational messages. 

 

We are passionate to send ‘Positive Affirmations’ and ‘Inspirational Messages’  Via our range of t-shirts, accessories & decor. Our beautiful designs are made with attention to detail and of high quality, all with the purpose of sending little reminders & messages for our little ones to wear and share.  

 

Meemini prides itself as a quality up market brand, with a choice of stylish & adorably cute gifts presented beautifully in our white gift boxes tied with an aqua bow.  

 

Meemini – Delivering Little messages via the little people.    

 

Lots of love & Inspiration Kylie xx

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If you would love to own a piece of your very own Meemini make sure you enter our upcoming giveaway starting this Friday night the 28th Aug over on our Instagram page @pipersienna

 

 

Love Kerry and Miss Piper xoxo

 



Melbourne: Crowne Plaza – Easy, Family Friendly Accommodation

 We recently spent a very enjoyable 3 days during our recent trip to Melbourne at the lovely Crowne Plaza. We were lucky enough to experience the Family Getaway package which included breakfast and tickets to the Melbourne SeaLife Aquarium.

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Crowne Plaza is great value in terms of quality of the room and location, it offers 4-star accommodation that is close to everything including the CBD, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, dining options and shops.

It’s such a convenient location for families with children as everything we wanted to see was just a quick trip by tram or foot, such a close walk to the CBD and located in the perfect part of the city to spend time discovering Melbourne’s Southbank. The free city circle trams made it so easy to get around and conveniently stopped opposite the Crown Plaza Melbourne.

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We received a very warm greeting and all staff were very kind and attentive, the hotel rooms were well designed and comfortable they had nice décor and were functional with all the basic requirements well catered for.  The room was clean and spacious, plus the service both professional and friendly. The beds were very comfortable and we had a great view of the city.

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We started our day with a sumptuous full buffet breakfast which was include in the family getaway package in the Clarendon Street Grill that over looks the iconic Yarra River. The kids loved the selection of hot dishes, pastries and even eggs made to order by the dedicated egg chef. We were very full and impressed with the high standard of food and service.

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Then we were off to the Sealife Melbourne Aquarium. Situated right in the middle of the city, it is the perfect way to spend a pleasant few hours and we enjoyed the huge tank with massive stingrays, sharks and colourful tropical fish. The penguins are very entertaining and we enjoyed watching them as they were slipping, sliding and waddling. All of the staff we came across were well informed, very interesting and friendly and we learnt a lot during our visit and found heaps to keep us entertained for hours.

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Overall, the Crowne Plaza gave us  great service and accommodation that is worth passing on to fellow travellers.  The friendly staff make sure you have a truly memorable stay, so if you are heading to Melbourne for business, shopping trip, or a family getaway I highly recommend staying at the Crown Plaza, which is family friendly and relaxing. This hotel has everything you need when visiting a new city with a family.

If you have any questions on the hotel or traveling please feel free to drop us a line as we would love to chat.

 

Love Kerry and Miss Piper xoxo