I'm a full-time mummy

When I read in the pitch on how I can learn to stop screaming, overreacting and taking my child’s behavior personally, and at the same time remain calm even in the most stressful parenting situations, I told myself I have to review this products! And it is so awesome that the sponsor is willing to send the products to me all the way in Malaysia! Without further delay, here goes my review for the "The Calm Parent AM & PM":

Description from the product page:
"Do you try your best not to scream at your kids, but you boil over with frustration and anger anyway? Does their behavior have you constantly worried and upset? Staying calm with a child who’s disrespectful and who acts out doesn’t come naturally for parents. That’s why so many have sought help over the last 25 years with Debbie Pincus, MS LMHC, a renowned expert in the art and science of parenting calmly, not anxiously. In her new, at–home program, The Calm Parent AM & PM, Debbie shows you how to stop screaming, overreacting and taking your child’s behavior personally, and remain calm even in the most stressful parenting situations."

A little bit more info on the products, if you see the picture above, I received a set of 6 CDs and a book for my review. Product Includes: 3 Calm Parenting lessons on CD, 1 AM audio lesson, 1 PM audio lesson, 1 Bonus audio lesson: The Instant Calm Down & 113–page instruction manual.

It took me about 3 months to get through all the CDs and book before I can come up with the review post that you are reading now! Partly because I was swamped with other product reviews as well as caring our now 3.5 years old boy and also our hyperactive 1 year old girl.

Back to my review, the first thing I did is to take the introductory assessment. Then I put on the CD and read the book as well and find myself nodding a lot of times as I can't help but to agree with how similar the situation I am in as I handle the care of my 2 kids full time.

Yes, I am guilty of the frustrations (towards myself and my kids) and nagging and even yelling at my 3.5 years old boy whenever I caught him doing mischievous things, not listening to my instructions or hitting his baby sister. It really doesn't help when my next door neighbor is having a major house renovation and the constant drilling, hacking and hammering noises that starts from 8.30am on and off until 5-6pm every day, even on Saturdays just add on to the frustration and stress I have!

To summarise my feedback:

CD & Book wise:

* Volume too loud particularly on CD1

* There are few occasions when the speaker sometimes talks too fast making it hard for me to understand what was being said. I had to rewind a couple of times so that I did not miss anything.

* I was hoping that the book could be smaller in size so that it is easy to carry around, or perhaps a small booklet with important points on instant calm-down techniques.

Lessons learned / Points taken:

* We should parent thoughtfully, not reactively.

* The reason why we reacted is because we think we have no choice, and that we are fused to our kids

* Reactivity comes in other forms (not just yelling, screaming) it can also be in the forms of rejection, controlling, distancing, tuning child out, manipulating, threatening, giving in, nagging as well.

* We need to get our focus OFF our child and get it on ourselves! For example: if I want my child to be responsible, then I have to act responsibly with him!

The above are just some of the crucial notes that I wanted to share with you guys based on my review. Do consider getting this if you would like to improve your parenting skills and parent calmly in whatever situations!

You can find out more from http://www.empoweringparents.com/ , Facebook or Twitter.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the products in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

15th September 2012: the day I finally replaced my 5 years old Panasonic Lumix DMC-F2.

Now, don't get the impression I'm all for brand (which I don't think Panasonic is that branded anyway), techno-mechno (sorry for the invention of words here) gadgets like this which I also don't think it is...

I'm just a plain ol' SAHM and I love taking pictures of everything (especially my kids - blog materials you know! Hahahah...) so I really don't need all the fancy-smancy (arghhh... can't help inventing words!) camera. I just want an affordable, user-friendly and easy to point-and-shoot camera.

So here it is... Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7!

Ahhhh... what a beauty right? I love the brown color to be honest and quite happy that I made the decision to get it. Have been mulling for weeks ever since I found out a black smudge on every picture I took with my previous camera. Am not sure how the smudge got in there but no matter how I cleaned and wiped it, the smudge remains and it's annoying me so much that I think it's high time I get a new camera for myself.

So yeah, a treat for myself after 5 years.

Now, I'm not the type of person to simply spend money on myself (kids yes, I used the money I earned from my blogging to buy books and treats online for my kids and myself occasionally) but buying phone and camera for example, it will take at least 4 years for me to get moving or decide to buy a new one. And yes, I'm using my own blood and sweat money to buy this. And I also refused hubby's offer of 50% sponsorship on this as I believe I should pay for what I wanted.

I gotta credit my hubby because he's the one who did the research on which camera to get because if it is up to me, I will never buy one with this price (its RM699 or about USD230 after sales promotion with tons of freebies thrown in). In fact, I have so far been only eyeing those less than RM400 (about USD132) range of cameras.

Now why I finally settled on this Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7 camera:

1. It looks gorgeous... look at the rustic edgy yet chic brown one-of-a-kind color!

2. Full HD video!

3. While recording a full HD video, you can also take pictures at the same time! Multitasking at a new level! Woohoo!!

4. I'm very comfortable and happy with the user friendly interface and settings of the Panasonic camera, so it is only natural that I go for the same brand again.

5. Love the easy point-and-shoot feature!

6. There is this IA (intelligent auto) feature which automatically detects the face, distance and then determines whether your shoot is for macro close-up shots or distance shots. No more hassle to adjust the scenes and steadying your hand to focus on the face!

Of course I will still be using my previous Panasonic Lumix DMC-F2, but it will be kept as a spare camera on hand (I normally bring 2 cameras when we go for our family trips) and as much as I treasured the memories of all the wonderful pictures I took with the old camera, I look forward to capturing more awesome high quality pictures with the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7!

I received a peculiar box yesterday with a big labelling at the opening, telling me to sniff before I open. At the first whiff, I can smell a nice floral scent and when I opened up the box and looked at the contents, I was pleasantly surprised at what's inside.

So ladies and gentlemen, read on to find out why my bathroom will never be the same again, all thanks to "Kleenex® Ultra Soft Fresh":

Kleenex®, the No 1 facial tissue brand in the world, introduces the first-in-Malaysia, fresh new experience for your home: Kleenex® Ultra Soft Fresh, combining the best of comfort, softness and luxury for you and your family in one fragrant package!

Infused with a naturally fresh scent and embossed with subtle flower designs, Kleenex® Ultra Soft Fresh stays true to the promises of the Kleenex® brand, being ultra soft, strong and more absorbent. Its 3-ply formulation is strong even when wet, giving you and your family gentle yet effective care.

“Kleenex® is all about quality and innovation – as a thought leader in the tissue category, we take extra efforts to understand our customers. We found out in our research that a little extra freshness can make a big difference in someone’s day,” said Mr Sumeet Parab, Marketing Manager of Kimberly-Clark Malaysia. “Kleenex® Ultra Soft Fresh is the first and only scented bath tissue in the market, bringing you that special touch of softness and strength that only Kleenex® can offer. You have to try it to believe it!”

Have I mentioned how thrilled I am to be able to review the first ever natural fresh scented toilet paper in Malaysia made by Kleenex, a super well-known facial tissue brand in the world?!

Now back to my review, firstly the scent is so refreshing and relaxing, not at all overwhelming like some fragrant products we put in our bathroom.

FYI, the criteria we looked at when we buy toilet papers are: it must be thick (3 ply), compact, soft to the touch and the distance between the toilet roll in the centre to the first layer of the toilet paper must be thick (more quantity!). All are fulfilled by the "Kleenex® Ultra Soft Fresh"!

My 3 years old boy can't resist and started tearing the toilet paper (boys!) and before I could stopped him from destroying and wasting the toilet paper, I watched his face turned from mischief into frustration and finally wonder.

Mischief because yes, he planned to destroy the toilet paper,

Frustration because he couldn't tear it despite several attempts (these 3 plys are really strong!) and

Wonder when he realised how strong the toilet papers are!

I also asked him to smell the toilet paper and he went 'Hmm.. nice!' - words from innocent child! Better believe it!

So yes, I have proceeded to distribute the toilet rolls I received for my review, 1 given to my MIL, 1 to my hubby which he put in his office toilet and 1 which I put in our bathroom. Within an hour or so (sorry didn't monitor the exact time), my bathroom smells soooooooooooooooooooooo nice!

I keep finding excuses to use the bathroom now just to enjoy the nice aromatic scent... ahhhhhhhh.... and of course, they are very soft to the touch! What a pleasant experience to be able to review these awesome products!

Kleenex® Ultra Soft Fresh is available at all hypermarkets in 10-roll and 20-roll packs, at a recommended retail price of RM17.95 and RM33.10 respectively.

I am so excited to share this good news with you guys! Kleenex is taking that fresh bathroom experience one step further with the “Kleenex® Refresh Your Bathroom” contest this month!

To enter the giveaway, you need to join the “Kleenex® Refresh Your Bathroom” Contest on the Kleenex Malaysia Facebook page  and you can be in the running to win Grand Prizes worth more than RM40,000 in total, consisting of a professional bathroom makeover worth RM10,000, a full year’s supply of the brand new scented Kleenex® Ultra Soft Fresh bath tissues and a spread in Parenthood magazine! You can check out further details from the Kleenex Malaysia Facebook page during the month of September.

I personally wanted a bathroom makeover as being a SAHM with 2 kiddos, our bathroom is one of the places I can go to relax and be away from the busyness of my hectic life, aka my 2 kiddos.. so yeah, an awesome bathroom makeover is much appreciated!

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the products in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.