Pay it Forward Competition

Tushi Tots are giving away 1 (one) Hendrik Hippo! Do you know someone who deserves a nice surprise? Comment on the competition link and we will pick 1 (one) lucky winner! Be sure to share the competition so your friends can also get their entries in!

Criteria

• Comment on the competition link why you would like to win a Hendrik Hippo.

Comment on the Pay it Forward Competition photo on the Tushi Tots Facebook page (www.facebook.com/tushitots) – include why you would like to win Hendrik Hippo.

There is 1 (one) prize to be won.

Winner: The winning entry will win 1 (one) Tushi Tots Hippo (including delivery).

Below in this blog are the full terms and conditions and further information:

Terms and Conditions

Who can enter the competition

Entry is open to Australian residents only.

You need to “Like” the Tushi Tots Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/tushitots.

You must not be an employee of Tushi Tots, or in the immediate family of such employees; “immediate family” means spouse, parent, child or sibling, whether or not they live in the same household as the employee.

You may enter as many times as you like, however please list each reason in its own comment ensuring the criteria is addressed.

By entering the competition, participants agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

Opening and closing date

The competition commences on Wednesday 20 March 2013 (upon being posted to Facebook http://www.facebook/tushitots and http://www.tushitotsblog.wordpress.com) and closes at 11:59pm on Wednesday 27 March 2013.

Selection of entries

The entries will be assessed by the owners of Tushi Tots. The best entry will be selected based on how well the entry addresses the selection criteria AND we will certainly consider the feedback and “Likes” from other users!

Should any entry be deemed not to fit with the values of Tushi Tots by the owners (i.e. rude or obscene) then this entry will be deleted from our Facebook page and will not eligible for the prize.

The winner will be notified via Facebook by Wednesday 3 April 2013 and will also be announced on the Tushi Tots Facebook page.

If the winner of the competition is under the age of 18 years at the date of the draw, the winner’s parent or guardian will be notified.

Prize details

There is 1 (one) prize to be won: the winner will win 1 (one) Tushi Tots Hippo (including free postage for delivery).

The prize cannot be taken as cash, store credit or discount. The prize must be redeemed before 30 April 2013. The prize is transferable – the Tushi Tots Hippo (RRP$16.50 inc GST) can be used by the winner OR given to a friend upon Tushi Tots receiving written, signed documentation with the relevant information of who the prize will be used by. The ‘free postage/delivery’ is to be used for posting Hendrik Hippo only to 1 (one) address within Australia and will be up to the value of $15.00 only. Should the delivery amount exceed this amount then the winner will be advised accordingly and given the option to pay the excess fees. Should the ‘free delivery’ prize be less than $15.00 the remainder will be forfeited and cannot be taken as cash, store credit or discount.

Exclusion of liability

The winner accepts the prize at his or her own risk. Tushi Tots will not be liable for any claim, cost, expense, loss or damage following acceptance of the prize.

Winning entry must comply with Terms and Conditions

If a winning entry does not comply with the conditions of entry, the entry will not be eligible for selection.

The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Privacy statement

The information you supply will be solely used in relation to the competition, to process orders, respond to questions or address your needs. We do not share customer information and ensure every detail is kept confidential and secure.

You may access your personal information by contacting us.

Should you choose to receive specials, promotions, marketing materials, newsletters or similar from Tushi Tots you are able to opt out at any time by contacting us.

Tushi Tots end of year message!

Hello!

What a wonderful year we have had here at Tushi Tots! From beginning with the idea through the design and manufacture stage and then the launch and now we are on to our new product range!

We have been very busy and although we have enjoyed it we are now winding down for the year and will not be taking any more orders for 2012. Michelle and her family are busy planning for the imminent arrival of her new tot and I am looking forward to enjoying some family time over the break.

For those of you who are interested in our Pallero Glider Chair – that is all full steam ahead and we are aiming for delivery in March 2013. When we open again Monday 14 January we will have some updates and advise soon after when we will be ready to take pre-orders! If you haven’t already registered it is not too late to register your interest.

Thank you for your support in 2012, we would like to wish you all a happy and safe holiday season and can’t wait to be back with more exciting products in the New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Gayle & Michelle x

Lunch Boxes with Love

Guest Blog – Lunch Boxes With Love

For those of you who have read my “Food, glorious food!” post you will not be surprised to find that this next Guest Post is from someone that I have now personally purchased products from as well as “follow” for wonderful ideas and now Cath has very kindly shared some fun and funky ideas with us!

Introduction…

Hey, My name is Cath & I am a Mum to two gorgeous little people. Little Miss Crow Bird who is 7 & Mr Smiley who is 2.5 years.

I have created a business called ‘Lunch Boxes With Love’ as I am passionate about providing my kids with delicious and varied lunches which are fun and practical too. We offer a range of products including gorgeous lunchboxes, funky boiled egg molds, sandwich shapers and so much more.

We can help turn any boring old school lunch into a work of art with no extra effort required.

Fabulous Tips!

I have put together a few little tips, tricks & recipes that I use to help make my children’s lunches’ fun, healthy, eco-friendly & irresistible.

Idea #1: I know we all sometimes struggle to get our little ones to eat vegetables or just want to show our children how much fun food is…with these gorgeous food picks it is so easy & fun to do, even the little ones can help!

I just get whatever vegetables I have in the fridge, poke them with a food pick and that is it!….and as you can see they are adorable. Here I have also filled a little dip cup with some avocado dip & there we have a cute fun morning tea/snack.

Idea #2:  It is so easy to make any old sandwich hard to resist with the sandwich stamps. All you need to do is make your usual sandwich. Here I have used the old trusty vegemite. Just push down on the cutter to cut the shapes out, then take the cute little animal out of his spot and push down to stamp the bread…GORGEOUS!

Idea #3:  Boiled Eggs are such a fabulous and healthy snack for the lunchbox. I have had so many comments from people who have bought the egg molds whose children now eat eggs and never did before. To be nice and organized I boil a couple of eggs on Sunday night and mold them ready for the next few days lunches.

To mold a cute boiled egg like these all you need to do is boil the egg as usual, while it is still hot take the shell off under running water (so you don’t burn your fingers) pop the egg in the mold and put the mold in a bowl of cold water for 5 mins. You will have a gorgeous healthy snack that no child can resist!

Idea/Recipe #4: Toasted Sandwich Pops

Not many people like to eat the same thing every day for weeks on end. So to help make things fun for the kids I recently made these Toasted Sandwich Pops.

What you need:

Lolly pop sticks (available from spotlight)

Bread

Ham & Cheese

Animal Cutter Set

What to do:

All you need to do is turn on your café grill, butter one side of each piece of bread, put a slice of ham and lots of cheese (this acts like glue) on the bottom piece of bread. Pop the other piece of bread on top & let it cook. Once it is ready, take the sandwich out and cut it with the animal cutter set. Once the shapes are cut out stick the lollypop stick in between the bread and let it cool………A cute looking sandwich with a difference for the lunchbox.

Cath x – Lunch Boxes With Love

Please help us make Cath feel welcome by posting your feedback below and heading over and liking her page http://www.facebook.com/LunchBoxesWithLove  to find some fantastic products and more wonderful ideas for getting your little one to enjoy their meals!

{Announcement}

After a very successful trial of our extremely popular Bodem glider chair Tushi Tots will now supply this product offering long term and have a new Glider Chair – the Pallero.

Based on customer feedback we have moved to a more modern shape and colour/s. While the chairs have evolved we haven’t lost the romance and practicality of the Bodem Chair.  The Pallero will still come with an ottoman and removable, machine washable cover – in 2 modern, neutral colours.

As part of our new range we will also have cushions available to purchase that beautifully accent the chair in a choice of colours/patterns.

This new design was made in partnership with an Australian manufacturer. To better service our customers we wanted on trend colour options, design flexibility, affordability for families and wherever possible utilise Australian designed and made products.

Our new Pallero design will still be affordable and the most reasonable glider chair of its kind on the market at $699.  Being Australian owned and designed you can also feel good about your purchase!  We have also made buying even easier with our ‘Trimester Payment Plan’. You can pay the chair off in equal installments over 3-months.

Our glider chairs have received a lot of attention including that of LittleONE Baby – the gorgeous magazine ‘about inspiration. And real life. And beautiful things’. That is why you will get your first glimpse of The Pallero next week when LittleONE Baby hits news stands!We are excited by our new design and would like to thank everyone for their support and interest.  This has been a wonderful roller-coaster ride for us at Tushi Tots and we can’t wait for this next chapter!

The Pallero will soon be available for pre-order – be sure to get your order in to avoid disappointment!

Should you have any questions, require any further information or wish to register your interest please do not hesitate to email us at hello@tushitots.com.au or call us on (07) 3385 7359.

 

Monkey & Bear

Welcome to our October guest blog! At Tushi Tots we believe that business should be about the greater good – we agree that at the heart of our organisation we need to contribute to the community. We encourage interaction and hope to foster an environment where there is an exchange of goodwill and valuable information – this is why we will be inviting guest bloggers to feature once a month to offer some advice, ideas, hints, tips and entertainment!

Monkey & Bear helped the Tushi Tots mascot come to life! He is hand made in our gorgeous colours – watermelon, grey and white. They also hand make our gorgeous change table organisers! Both are available for sale at http://www.tushitots.com.au!

Introducing Beth –

Beth is one half of the Monkey & Bear team, where she works alongside her sister, Lauren. She has one terribly terrific toddler, and one horribly handsome husband (that’s enough!).

What does she have to say?

Lauren and I started up our little business when we had both just had our sons, the monkey and the bear.

As our boys grew with each passing month, so did our dreams, ambitions, and customer list!

Over the past two years we have really learnt what it is that we want to be providing for our customers: good quality, handmade soft toys that are fresh, adorable AND functional. We love things that rattle and squeak, jingle and crunch. We want little ones to be engaged when holding and looking at our toys, and we want Mum to love the look of it, and be confident in how it’s made.

Of course, it’s not always easy to accomplish all of this with the monkey and the bear running around (and now the monkey’s little sister – the chicken!). We’ve certainly had our highs and lows on those days where we get together to dream, design and create.

In the early days we had two little boys who cooed and ahh’d at each other, and slept for the majority of our days. Then we had 18 month olds who went through the “mine!” stage, and it was nearly not worth getting together as we constantly had to be watching them to see who took what off who!

And now? We have two ridiculously wonderful little boys, who chase each other around the house and have their own conversations. Who slide down the stairs counting together, and have random hugs when they think no one is looking. Not to mention the little chicken girl, who giggles and squirms around the floor, trying not to be run over by her big brother and cousin.

We are so thankful that Monkey & Bear has allowed us to live this way, spending time together as we continue to dream, design and create.

Come by our site for to see some of our fabulous creations by Monkey & Bear.

Beth – one half of Monkey & Bear

Please help us make Beth feel welcome by posting your feedback below and heading over and liking her page http://www.facebook.com/monkeyandbearcreations to see their hand made toys for the young and young at heart.

 

The Nanna Dilemma

Is it just me? Or does anyone else have the Nanna Dilemma…? In our family we have three sets of grandparents… conveniently all 3 go by the names Nanna and Poppa, that’s right, there are no Nan, Pop, Grandma, Grandpas, Granny, Granddad, Grammy, Grampy, Oma, Opa or any of the other plethora of names available for the picking! Nope all 3 are the same. Due to my kids being the last lot of grandkids to come into the family meaning all the other kids in the family use these names for the grandparents this means we will continue to have all these Nannas and Poppas.

I know as my children grow up distinguishing which is which becomes easier, however with both of my boys being so young at this point (and two with last names as long as the alphabet) it is a topic of some confusion.

To add to this confusion it has been flagged by my son that when we are out and about other people are calling out Nanna too. As I attempt to explain that yes, that is THEIR Nanna, not OUR Nanna… But alas, how can this be he wonders?

So began his realisation (and my dilemma) apparently any older person must be called Nanna! This could have been ok… except when we are walking through a shopping centre or similar and at the top of his voice he would start bellowing “Nanna, Nanna, Nanna” or the “look Mumma – Nanna!” This was always accompanied by an outstretched arm and finger pointed at the said ‘Nanna’. Most ‘Nanna age’ people – let’s say people who are 70 plus – seem to smile and think this is cute/funny. However, when this is done to some people who wouldn’t be more then 40ish (and very unlikely to in fact be a Nanna) they apparently do not find this as cute or amusing… hmmm!

So as I hid my head in shame and tried to distract attention elsewhere and quieten him down I wondered… surely I am not the only one out there with the Nanna dilemma?

Did/do your kids think all older people are named Nanna? Do you have more than one set of grandparents called the same thing? What names do the grandparents in your family go by? When I spoke about this with Michelle it caused a whole side discussion on whether Nanna is spelled as Nanna with two N’s or Nana with one N (what do you think?).

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A duck…

R U OK?Day is a national day of action which aims to reduce suicide by encouraging people to connect with each other & ask: “R U OK?”. R U OK?Day does not provide crisis intervention or counselling.

For crisis support call 1800 RUOKDAY (1800 7865 329)

Although this blog entry is not on the same scale as the aim of this program – I wanted to share an example of how one kind word can change someone’s day…

A duck…

I had been having a particularly bad couple of weeks… You know the ones where nothing really bad has happened and you know you should be grateful for all that you have (we all know that there is always someone worse off than you are) but you just seem to be stuck in a rut. Life is just weighing you down.

It’s all the little things that are really small and don’t mean a lot but just leaving the little rain cloud over you and then when you really think about it you just feel selfish but can’t snap out of it. It’s one of those times where you doubt yourself in many ways including as a mother. Every time something is not “right” with your child for example your 2 year old waking up 10 times the previous night – it must be due to all the millions of failings you have as a mother. Just feeling like the whole world is falling apart and in chaos/anarchy.

I had been talking to Michelle (my wonderful business partner) about how I had been struggling to even write anything as I have just been feeling that disillusioned with everything. Of course her response was, so write that! And of course, she was right…

Funnily right off the back of all of this I get a message from a friend of mine who is a first time mother with a baby similar age to mine and had no idea how I had been feeling – she was writing to thank me for a catch up we had had and she writes “You are a super mum, so organised and kind! Thank you for everything”.

Literally made me laugh out loud! All I could think was the old analogy:

Like a duck swimming – calm on the surface, chaos beneath!

I guess this message made me think about two things. Firstly, how the kind words of another person can really lift you up and make you smile, something so simple can really turn things around especially when the person is unaware of what has been happening.

Secondly, it made me realise how sometimes the way we see ourselves versus the way that other people view us can be quite different.

I had been viewing myself like Eeyore with a rain cloud over my head and it appears to her I was Rainbow Brite!

I think we all need to look around ourselves and take the time to say something nice to our friends, family – even our partners, that we just don’t often take the time to do as it can really make someone’s day. Also, perhaps sometimes we should stop being so hard on ourselves as mothers and try and see how others view us!

So now that the storm cloud has lifted I wonder who out there will take that moment from their busy schedule to say something kind to someone and actually verbalise it rather than just thinking it as we so often do! Who knows what their day/week/month has been like – you might just make their day!

Pancakes + Muffins = Puffins!

I have been seeing around the net the idea of pancakes with a twist. Instead of cooking them the conventional way they are cooked in muffin trays – so, I thought why not experiment and give it a try… I have not seen any detailed instructions on what to do (or NOT to do) just the concept so, this really was an experiment… And of course as with everything now days the joining of these two must result in an amalgamation of the names also… therefore I declare them to be hereafter known as puffins.

I decided for my first attempt to keep it as simple as possible and see what the outcome was – we would just use one of those shake pancake mixes where you just add the water and shake away… The “we” in this story is myself and my toddler – always the handy sous-chef.

So we got out various muffin trays to experiment what worked best. We used 3 different types of trays – regular muffin trays which make 6 muffins per tray, mini muffin tray which makes 12 muffins per tray and 2 ginger bread men shaped muffin trays. To add an extra twist we decided to throw some strawberries into 3 of the “regular” sized puffins.

We pre-heated the oven to 180degrees (fan forced) and greased the muffin trays then my sous-chef helped add the water and we danced whilst shake, shake, shaking that pancake mix…  He then helped to pour the mixture into each of the trays. As I had no idea what would happen (if anything) and how long it might take to happen we sat in the kitchen and watched the oven which my assistant found very entertaining and exciting anyway!

We were very excited when the pancakes started to actually rise a bit and brown etc. The mini puffins were in about 15-20 mins but the regular sized puffins and the ginger bread ones took a bit longer due to their bigger size. I would say we left them in 25 mins.

The outcome? Well the mini puffins were great they cooked well and tasted great. The regular sized puffins even after the extra time were still “doughy” in the middle, the ginger bread men were in between the two! I would say the mini puffins were a success, the ginger bread puffins my son happily ate and the regular puffins well they unfortunately ended up in the bin.

I will definitely attempt these again… perhaps I should let the regular puffins cook a little longer or not put quite as much mixture into each of the holes? The mini puffins and the ginger bread puffins seemed to be the best option for us anyway – the ginger bread puffins was of course the novelty factor and the mini puffins well they were the perfect “bite size” little snack. Next time I think I will make the pancake mix from scratch as well!

We had ours with some maple syrup and cream and strawberry jam and cream. All in all it was a fun and easy snack to make with my toddler – we both had a lovely time and we all enjoyed eating them too!

Has anyone else tried this? What was the outcome / do you have any hints or tips? If you haven’t, give it a go and let us know the results!

Guest Blog – The Neat Freaks

Spring has sprung and what better way to welcome it then with a guest blog from the experts in organisation and spring cleaning!

Welcome to our very first guest blog! At Tushi Tots we believe that business should be about the greater good – we agree that at the heart of our organisation we need to contribute to the community. We encourage interaction and hope to foster an environment where there is an exchange of goodwill and valuable information – this is why we will be inviting guest bloggers to feature once a month to offer some advice, ideas, hints, tips and entertainment!

Introducing Olivia –                                            

Olivia is a mum of 3 who “Loves life with my beautiful family ♥” and is a partner in a company called “The Neat Freaks”.

Life as we know it….

Life as a mum is great – but let’s face it, there is never enough hours in the day, we are mostly chasing our tails.

They fight and scream, then kiss and play nice, they get sick and get better then rinse and repeat haha.

I was only recently saying to my Mr. how boring and quiet our house was before our little mini’s were born. The bedrooms plain, boring and lifeless. No excited laughs and no “I love you”. Now life with our little minis is exciting and loud and I am oh so grateful for the beautiful little blessings we have, they are so hard to come by for so many of us.

We currently have 3 mini’s and we are hoping to add another to our ever growing family, life is far too fabulous not to add another little heart.

In the meantime my sister and I recently started our own small business, we have always been super organised and hate clutter, so we thought why not help other busy families get their homes and business in order so they feel less stressed and feel like a weight has been lifted, in turn they have more time with their family. It’s a win – win really.

Would love for you to visit and like our page www.facebook.com/twoneatfreaks where you can find more information about our business as well as easy home organising ideas, tips and solutions from the “sisterhood of the travelling organisers”.

Here are a couple of tips to get you started!

Sheets

To store sheet sets together, after folding them put them inside a pillow case for easy access. This keeps your linen cupboard “neat” and you can have all the sets ready to go for each room without having to sort through any linen……

Fancy Feet

Shoes need to be kept either on a mat or on a movable supporting rack so that the floor underneath can be cleaned regularly. In a formal foyer, you can use mats placed inside the closet under the coats. In a less formal entryway or where there’s no closet, use attractive wooden or metal shoe racks to hold shoes and boots, or use a decorative wicker basket as an entryway accent and shoe organiser. Stackable shoe shelves are inexpensive and provide plenty of air circulation that will help wet shoes and boots to dry. An outside box seat with under storage is ideal for shoes to be removed prior to entering the house.

Spring

Spring is in the air, get a spring back into your step, dust of your home and refresh and re-organise to lead into a fabulous Summer!

Come by our site for more hot tips from “The Neat Freaks”.

Olivia – One of The Neat Freaks

Please help us make our very first guest blogger feel welcome by posting your feedback below and heading over and liking her page www.facebook.com/twoneatfreaks to find some more handy hints, ask questions or get a quote!

Food, glorious food!

Another dinner, another battle, more wasted food… All I seem to hear lately is yoghurt, yoghurt and more yoghurt. It gets exhausting and frustrating (not to mention you start to feel a bit insulted!) when you have a child who would once happily eat anything and everything to suddenly decide that they don’t want this or that, they don’t like this or that and suddenly meal time becomes a battle ground.

After trying various ways of trying to get my toddler to eat I have started to ask around. Turns out I am not an orphan after all. One friend advised that I should be thinking myself lucky that my toddler was obsessed with yoghurt as hers was obsessed with and only wanted mandarins!

Apparently food fads are quiet common around the age of 2 – where if given the choice, the toddler would only eat a certain food for every single meal of the day.

At the same time that all of this is going on I have a baby with a particularly strong gag reflex… Heaven help us both if there is the tiniest little lump, bump, crumb, dot etc in his puree! He starts choking and gagging – which is just wonderful for us both! This is usually followed by him giving me the stink eye, clamping his mouth firmly shut and acting like I tried to kill him!

One dinner resulted in the toddler advising me that he is “running away”. Feeling extremely disillusioned on this particular occasion I responded with “good – I am having a party”. He says “ok mamma, we’ll have cake”. Oh dear! I think the point of my celebration was (thankfully) missed. LOL.

The trials and tribulations of food wars… I guess the good news is I can now add cake to the list of foods the toddler is willing to eat. Cake, yoghurt, cake, yoghurt, cake, yoghurt. Banging my fingers (or should that be head) against the keyboard!

What foods are your child/ren obsessed with? What would they eat for EVERY meal if you would let them and how do you approach it?

 

I am sure everyone feels like this from time to time 😉