Teenymunchkins’s Weblog

I read an interesting article in the Sun newspaper (we only bought it for the cheap £9.50 holidays!!) last night.  It was talking about mums who stay at home with their children and being on the computer a lot of the time.  Here is what it said:

“A quarter of stay-at-home mums spend longer online than giving their kids quality time, a poll revealed yesterday.

Almost 80 per cent of “mousewives” spend more time surfing the net than cooking and cleaning.

And nearly 20 per cent said they waste more than five hours a day on social networking websites such as facebook.

A quarter spent online time at gambling sites, according to the survey of 1,466 women for a competitions website.

Siobhan Freegard of parenting website www.netmums.com said “If mums are spending too long online, it is worth considering  whether they are becoming addicted to it.”

On average, mums spent more than two hours a day online.

Article taken from the Sun newspaper, January 12th 2010.

As somebody who works from home,  I have fallen into the trap of spending a lot of time on the computer, and far more easily because I work from a laptop.

The first thing I do in the morning is switch onto Facebook and catch up with everybody’s news  and have a game of Bejewelled before I make a start on the day.  I call this my calm before the storm as I can guarantee it is half an hour peace before the onslaught of my children.

I have also been guilty of having the computer on all day, not necessarily sat at it all the time, but it is there in background.

I have made a more conscious effort since the New Year to watch more television and read books in the evening and only allowing myself a small amount of time in the evenings and larger chunks of time on 2 days per week spending time sorting out my website after the Christmas and New Year rush and adding more products.

This has also meant that I have not spent so much time ‘chatting’ on MSN … which I think may have cost me some friendships.  This is hard as sometimes internet chat is the one thing that keeps me going when hubby is sat in front of the TV watching boring rubbish!!

At the end of the day though, I am feeling a lot more refreshed from not having spent so much time on the computer and I am a much better person.

www.teenymunchkins.co.uk

We are delighted to have had our first product review on The Great Toy Guide.  All products that are reviewed by this guide are tested by mums and give an honest reflection of what they really think.

We recently sent one of our Automoblox mini cars for review and are delighted with what was said.

You can read the full review here

We currently have 20% OFF all our Automoblox cars until Christmas so why not grab yours now before we sell out!

www.teenymunchkins.co.uk

My friend Rach who runs BitsNBobs is dying to spread the word about her recent new stock.  Here is what she has to say:

“After many months of waiting for the colder weather to appear, it was with great excitement that the time had finally come to order the fantastic range of Cozyosko Cosytoes.

Originating from Australia, and designed by a mum who wanted something a little different, the Cozyosko’s provide warmth, comfort as well as practicality.  Fully machine washable, there are 2 styles within the range.  The signature Cozyosko can be used as a pillow, a blanket, a playmat and a cosytoes!

The Reversible Buggy Bag, as the name suggests, can be turned inside out to reveal another pattern/colour!  Perfect for those of you who like to co-ordinate outfits and accessories!

The final item in the range is the gorgeous Cozyosko Cocoon Wrap.  This is designed to keep your baby snug as a bug with a zippered front, fold-back built in beanie and integral legs.  No need to wrap and unwrap your baby every time you have to strap them into a safety harness.  No more lost socks and beanies! Made of anti-pill polar fleece and stretch binding, the Cocoon wrap is a versatile winter product in and out of the buggy or car seat.

So the only question now is, which one of the gorgeous styles will you choose!”

Bits n Bobs

www.bitsnbobs.me.uk

0844 357 2747

Here at Teeny Munchkins we can’t wait for ours cosytoes and cocoon to arrive.  I look after a baby who will definitely benefit from this fabulous product and cannot wait to tell you about it!!

www.teenymunchkins.co.uk

Well, after having been together for 15 years and living together for almost 7 years we finally tied the knot on 12th September.

Myself and my chief bridesmaid spent Friday night at the reception venue, Holiday Inn, Impington, Cambridge after having a lovely Chinese in a local restaurant.

Saturday morning started very early after only getting a very small amount of sleep.  We started the day with a nice relaxing bath, then breakfast, trip to steam room and a jacuzzi before heading off to get our hair and make up done at 11.30am.  Lunch was at Kelly’s house after meeting up with my children who were bridesmaids and pageboy and then headed back to the Holiday Inn to get into our dresses.  This was a very emotional time and both myself and Kel were trying hard to not blub when I had my dress on …. the dress was beautiful and very flattering.

My car arrived to take myself and my dad to the registry office at 4.40pm.  Unfortunately, the previous wedding was a bit delayed so we had to wait in the car round the corner so we could not be seen and waited for the thumbs up from one of my brother’s to drive back round the front again.  Thankfully, Dennis was there although there was a tense moment as he seemed to be sat in the pub with his best man waiting for me to arrive!!

Nevertheless the whole day was the cliche of perfect.   I was so pleased there were no huge glitches and the whole service, wedding breakfast and evening entertainment went very smoothly (as far as I am aware anyway!!)

Over the coming weeks, I will be writing a piece about all the companies involved in helping my dream day be perfect.  Some of the companies used were work at home mums, like myself, and was delighted to be able to ask them to help me with everything from wedding invites, to thank you gifts.

www.teenymunchkins.co.uk

Teeny Munchkins is proud to support our friend Jo and her website in her quest to raise funds for CLICSargent.  Jo has chosen CLICSargent as her charity to support this year and is aiming to raise £1000 by January 2010.

On 1st September, Jo launched a raffle (which has a winning prize of a Nappy Bag filled with lovely goodies from other companies) for all those donating at least a minimum of £2 via her Justgiving page.  The first person to donate won a Groovy Bead Tube and the next 9 won a Jade Jagger friendship bracelet.  (There is still a chance to win one of these)

Jo is also running a spot prize competition via her Twitter page on September 10th and 20th.

Teeny Munchkins has provided prizes for the Nappy Bag: a pink Chiggs Wheel and a Skwinkle. There are lots of other lovely prizes from other companies too.

Please help Jo get to her £1000 by donating via her Justgiving page.

All donations received from September 1st until September 30th will be entered into the draw.

Many thanks

Alison

www.teenymunchkins.co.uk

Many of my readers will already know that I am about to get married.  Some of you are probably sick of me going on about it in the various places where I network!!

Anyway, we are now down to 11 days to go!  It’s very exciting but also very scary.  The idea that I am going to be a Mrs instead of a Miss is somewhat frightening but I can’t really explain why.  Marriage is something I have wanted for a long time now but, now that reality is kicking in, so are the last minute nerves.

It has been smooth sailing up until now, unless you count a disaster with the wrong bridesmaid dresses being sent from the supplier, but that is now all sorted and something we have put behind us.

My biggest panic so far is that nobody is going to turn up!!  Lots of invites have gone out,  some guests are not able to make it so we have been able to invite others we would love to share the day with us.  But, although we have had lots of acceptances, I still struggle with the idea that people are going to want to turn up.

Well, I guess that I have to accept that what will be, will be and there is nothing I can do to change it.

Over the coming weeks, I will be blogging about the various businesses that have helped me along the way in providing items such as invites right through to the favours.

I also have a very special friend and her husband who is taking care of the photography for me as a wedding gift and I cannot wait to blog about the memories they will have depicted for us.

Will write again soon

Alison

www.teenymunchkins.co.uk

We recently wrote about an anti-bullying campaign that had been brought to our attention … Percy The Pigeon’s Campaign.

Well, I am delighted to announce that we are now stockists of their book Matty-Boy and the Secret Pigeon Racket.

Each copy of our book is signed by the Author, Anita Hunt

What is Matty-boy and the Secret Pigeon Racket about?

It’s a fun story for 8-12 year olds that deals with various issues such as friendship, bullying, family and loss with a little adventure along the way, with some dodgy pigeons called the Secret Pigeon Racket.

Ever wished you could be a rock star?
Ever day dreamed about your team winning the cup or the league?
Ever wished that something magical would happen to you?
Matt is a lonely young boy, who uses his imagination to cope with the challenges in his life on a daily – if not hourly – basis.

Matt has been fostered into an eccentric new family the Joys, and has to change his home, school and friends once again. At the Joy’s he discovers and befriends Percy a scruffy, injured talking pigeon who has run away from his own family – the pigeon mafia – also known as the Secret Pigeon Racket.

Together they deal with issues of friendship, bullying, family and loss – and solve a royal kidnapping plot too!

Have you ever noticed a pigeon spying on you? No? Well take a closer look, you may be surprised!’

Our book is on sale for £9.67 with free delivery and 50p from the sale of each book will be donated to Bullying UK

www.teenymunchkins.co.uk

When I was a child at school I was very badly bullied and although my parents were great,  I never felt I had enough support to get through it.  I wasn’t strong enough to ‘fight back’ and spent much of my school life on the edge of friendships and my confidence was hugely knocked.

I was delighted to come across an anti-bully campaign whilst surfing Facebook and am proud that Anita Hunt has sent me a piece for my blog detailing the work she does.

Anita Hunt wanted to support the work of Bullying UK – www.bullying.co.uk , by raising funds and promoting their work.  Bullying UK supports over 500,000 people a year for a cost of just £50,000 a cost of just 10p per person supported, Founded 10 years ago Bullying UK is the leading Anti-bullying charity and a safety net for UK children when all else fails.

As a part of Anita’s fundraising efforts, they have a Just Giving page for this purpose – www.justgiving.com/areyoubeingbullied.

Due to her experience of bullying through personal experience, research, and working with young people, one of the most difficult aspects surrounding this sensitive issue,  is that many people whether children or adults, find it very hard to talk about.

Anita wanted to find a way to encourage families, schools and communities to talk about this subject.  She decided to write a children’s novel aimed at 8-12 year olds which is a fun story, but has the underlying theme of encouraging those affected by bullying to tell someone / a safe adult.

The book – ‘Matty-boy & The Secret Pigeon Racket’ was published in April 2009 and very quickly a website was developed to not only provide a platform to talk about the book, but to be a place where a discussion could take place; to offer suggestions of how to cope and where to go for help. 50p from every book sale will be donated to the work of Bullying UK. The book is available through their website for £8.99 plus p&p as well as other gifts such as cards, a key-ring and tote-bag. The book can be ordered through other shops such as Amazon and Waterstone’s.

The book gave an ideal opportunity to begin a campaign to spread Percy’s message; a pigeon that helps his friend Matt to tell a safe adult that he is being bullied, so that he may be able to receive the help that he needs.

Percy’s campaign has been receiving great support through twitter, if you would like to follow their work on Twitter please follow @percythepigeon .

Recently the campaign has spread to Facebook, you can find his page here – http://companies.to/percythepigeonscampaign

As a part of the campaign, they are working on spreading his message into as many schools as possible, by inviting knitters to knit a mini Percy from their specially designed Percy pattern by Alan Dart, which can be found through their website. Kristina from Flutterby creations, has very kindly set up a Ravelry group for knitters to join the campaign, as well as putting a Percy Kit together, with all that you need to make a Percy for £2.50, (50p will be donated to Bullying UK from each sale.)

If you would like to help with this campaign, more information can be found on Anita’s website www.areyoubeingbullied.com, they have many suggestions of ways you can help.

If you are affected by bullying please contact Bullying UK, or one of the other organisations listed on their website, you do not have to deal with it alone.

………………..

Teeny Munchkins had an article in Chopsy Bag back in April about our Funky dummies which contain no Bisphenol A content.

I am pleased to say that we have had another of our products mentioned in the online magazine’s  article about new baby and toddler products.

Take a read of it here and with 10% off all our products this weekend, why not get it at a cheaper price.

www.teenymunchkins.co.uk

Recording your baby’s ‘firsts’ seems very much the thing to do but how many of you wish you could get your hands on a book which allowed you to record the moments from before your child was born right up until they go to university and beyond?

Well, now you can.  We are delighted to be able to sell the Baby and Beyond – Childhood Record Book.  Priced at £19.99 it is a bargain and comes in a beautiful box which is sure to keep the book clean and safe.

The book is spiral bound thus allowing for photos and keepsakes to be stored.  There is also a special little pocket for baby’s hospital band to be stored.

At each stage, you and your child can record all of their special memories, such as what school they attended, who their teacher was, friends, achievements, special events and ambitions.

There is also a space for a photo each year, and room to record personal details such as height and weight.

Baby and Beyond is a perfect way to capture the many memories of childhood that so easily are forgotten.

In the years to come the contents of the book will be looked back on with very fond memories.

www.teenymunchkins.co.uk