Christmas Packs Giveaway

Sorry I have been so slack with my blog over the past couple of months - so much has been happening and there seems to be not enough hours in the day.

I still cannot believe Christmas is only 22 days away - where has the year gone!

To bring some Christmas cheer I have two gift packs to give away:

Girl's Christmas Pack - valued at $55.00



Boy's Christmas Pack - valued at $55.00


To go into the draw to win one of these packs all you have to do is spend over $40.00 (excluding postage) at The Toy Bug from the 1st December to the 17th December 2009. For every $40.00 you spend you receive 1 entry (so if you purchase $85.00 worth of products you receive 2 entries).

If you have purchased from us since Tuesday 1st December and have spent over $40.00 (excluding postage) you are already in the draw!

On Thursday 17th December we will be using www.random.org to generate our lucky winner numbers. We will notify the winners and their packs will be posted off security express on the Friday to get to them in time for Christmas.

Happy Shopping & Good Luck!

Cheers,

C2M AusMumprenuer Awards

The Toy Bug is so very proud to announce that we have WON the Judges Choice for "Most Likely To Be Big Award" Category in the Connect2Mums 2009 AusMumprenuer Awards.


We also received a Highly Recommended for the "Babies and Kids Award" Category.

We are very honoured to have participated in these awards and want to congratulate all the nominees and award category winners. I would of hated to be a judge as there were truly amazing business sites and blogs to choose from - I believe we are all winners and it is so nice to get recognition for what we all love doing!

For anyone wanting to meet some amazing people and wonderful businesses, I recommend you grab a coffee and go and take a look at this fantastic site - Connect2Mums - you will be pleasantly surprised.

Hope you all have a wonderful day! :o)

Winner for our Wooden Toy Pack Competition!

A big Thank You to all who entered our competition. Thanks to random.org the winner of our competition is ....JODIE MAHER.....

Congratulations Jodie and I hope whoever receives our great Wooden Toy Pack enjoy playing and learning with them at the same time.

Have a wonderful evening!

Competition Time!

Would you like to win this gorgeous wooden toy set? This great set includes Frog Bowling, Fish Jigsaw, Pull Along Turtle, Lacing Sheep and cute little Car & Trailer!




All you have to do is Subscribe to our Newsletter and post a comment below telling us what you LOVE about The Toy Bug!

How simple is that!! Competition closes at 5.00pm Sunday 23rd August and a winner will be randomly drawn using random.org.

Have Fun! :O)

Live Chat at Connect2Mums - Tonight 7th August 8.00pm

If your name is listed below this is your lucky number to win prizes! I will update the list as more people RSVP:

1. Jo Debnam
2. Paula
3. Jacki Falco
4. Kim Baker
5. Helen MacMillan
6. Louise - Scamps Boutique
7. Kylie - Boutique Creations
8. Nicole Grant
9. Tracey - My Baby Bump
10. Sandy - Pure Earth Noosa
11. Jodie Maher
12. Monique - YCM
13. Vicki Wallis
14. Jodie Quinlan
15. Alison Bird
16. Maree - Noteable Designs
17. Caddie Noakes
18. Nicole Leigh Bertles
19. Louise Newman
20. Kylie Handford
21. Peace
22. Claudette Betterridge
23. Catherine Oehlman
24. Susan Wallis
25. Amanda Guilfoyle
26. Jayne Day
27. Marieke Troncoso - TatYourTot
28. MJ Photography
29. Sue Healy
30. Sophie Feick
31. Rebecca
32. Andrea Melville
33. Rose-Leigh

Come and chat, win prizes and get to know me and other members.. I am also giving 20% off tonight to use in our store but you need to be at the live chat to receive the code..

See you there!!

What's New In Store!

I have been busy uploading many new products the past week and here is a peak of what are my favorites in our "What's New" Category:


Fido - Pyjama Bag! I love this dog - he is so cute and super soft. There are many ways he can be used - as a pyjama bag of course but my son uses him as his comforter when he goes to bed. We put a warm wheat bag inside of Fido and he is so warm and cuddly that I even would like to take him to bed (sorry hubby!). He is great just to cart around the house - my son loves sitting on the lounge just hugging Fido while watching TV. So as you can tell Fido is a big hit in household.




Little Hands Chunky Markers and Little Hands Rainbow Chalk - I love these as they are big and chunky. My son has problems with his pencil grip and these are just great because it has encouraged him to want to draw and be creative where with normal felt pens or chalk he is not interested as it is too hard for him. So these get a big Thumbs up from us!!


ABC Blocks Cart - this is an old fashioned toy that has never really gone out of fashion. My son is addicted to numbers and letters and this block cart keeps him amused for hours. It is also great for his fine motor and hand/eye coordination. We love the ABC Blocks Cart..


Who does not enjoy umbrellas - I loved them when I was a little one and I just love the new Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy umbrellas from In The Night Garden. They are easy to hold and a perfect gift for any In The Night Garden Fan.

So grab a tea or coffee and go take a look at our "What's New" section to see all the cool stuff we have in store just for you.

Happy Shopping!

Come Join Me on Friday Night!!

Come and join me this Friday Night - 7th August at 8.00pm to talk about Toddler and Toys at my 'Live Chat'!! Where you ask - the best interactive magazine on the web 'Connect2Mums'. This the place where all Amazing Mums come to meet when they are not busy on domestic duties, looking after their kids or working.

There will be great prizes to win and you have to be there to get the code for my special - 20% off storewide!

So please grab a coffee or tea and take the time to go and check this wonderful site out and if you are not already a member - join up - it's free and come and spend a wonderful hour with me and many other spectacular mums - I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised at the support and connections you will make.

Hope to see you Friday at 8.00pm (Qld time)!

Cheers

Look at what I have won!

Just wanted to share some of the fantastic products I have won over the past month from wonderful businesses I have meet through Connect2Mums.


Look at this gorgeous cat I won from "Your Cheeky Monkey" - how cute is it!

Monique from Your Cheeky Monkey loves creating beautiful hand made products and she is dedicated to supplying products on her site that are either Hand Made, Organic, Fair Trade or Australian Made. Most of the items you purchase from Your Cheeky Monkey will not be seen in shops. Go and have a look around Your Cheeky Monkey to find some gorgeous handmade gifts.

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I won this fabulous Cheeki BPA Free stainless steel bottle from Pure Earth Noosa.

Pure Earth Noosa have a great range of Eco friendly products for your home and family. Sandy from Pure Earth Noosa shares a passion for natural health products and a strong desire to share her knowledge within the community. Pure Earth care about the environment and care about you that's why you will not find any harmful and synthetic chemicals in their products. Go check out Pure Earth Noosa and see what other great products they have to offer - you will be pleasantly surprises.

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I was very fortunate to win a gift voucher from Swish Lily and I purchased the following products for my hubby's cousin who is having a baby girl in November so she will be the lucky recipient of these gorgeous products.



Jayne from Swish Lilly created her online shop to combine motherhood with a career and to supply reliable and quality online shopping for mums; where you can discover gorgeous items for your precious little one at an affordable price. Go and take a look around Swish Lily for some gorgeous items.

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I have been very lucky and blessed to be part of the C2M family. If you want to meet great people that talk about everyday issues and meet other WAHM's then go and sign up to Connect2Mums - you won't be disappointed.

Pure Earth Noosa!

Are you looking for Eco friendly products for your home and family? Well go no further than Pure Earth Noosa!

The lovely lady that runs Pure Earth Noosa, Sandy, shares a passion for natural health products and a strong desire to share her knowledge within the community. Pure Earth care about the environment and care about you that's why you will not find any harmful and synthetic chemicals in their products.

I live on acreage and have septic/grey water system - to be kind to the system as well as the environment we needed to change all the cleaning products we used in our home and have found Pure Earth products to be exactly what we needed.

To start out I purchased their fantastic Gift Packs - you save money and get the best of the products to try out!

I can highly recommend their cleaning products especially the Toilet Cleaner - it smells divine and works wonders - my hubby keeps saying that he has never seen me clean the toilet so often...LOL


My son has very delicate skin and suffers from cradle cap when we use harsh shampoo's - since using Pure Earth's baby shampoo and conditioner his cradle cap has disappeared and I love the baby lotion that much I use it on myself.


If your like me and suffer from dry hands, especially in the winter months, well you have to try Pure Earth's Hand Creme - your hands will never feel the same again!


They also stock the Australian brand 'Cheeki'- BPA free stainless steel water bottles. The kids range is so cute and they are dishwasher safe and freezable. What a great idea for the kids school drinks - fill them up the night before school and pop them in the fridge or freezer and they have a nice cool drink for school. You can even do this with the bigger bottles for work and it is a great way to reduce the consumption of disposable plastic bottles.


So go and check out Pure Earth Noosa's website and see the great range of products they have to offer - you will be pleasantly surprised!

For any Sunshine Coasters - you can find Sandy at the Pomona Markets every 2nd & 4th Saturday of the Month.

If you have any questions about the products or are not sure what products to use - please send Sandy an email or join Pure Earth Noosa's facebook page - Sandy is always happy to help!

Happy Shopping!

Grocery Shopping with the Kids!

Do you have problems with little ones when grocery shopping? Well I have a great product to keep little ones engaged whilst doing the weekly shop.

Introducing the DooWell Shopping List Game!



Make shopping fun with this magnetic board shopping game!

A visit to the shops will become a whole new experience with this portable folding magnetic game board that challenges a child to fill their magnetic ‘basket’ before they reach the check out.

Before the shopping begins, the child and parent make a list of items they need to buy using magnetic tiles placed on the game board’s own ‘shopping list ‘ The child’s objective is to find the items on the shelves. Children have great fun spotting the items and sliding the tile down from the list into the trolley until the basket is full. The game can be made even more engaging as they can also help collect the actual items from the shelves and place them into the real trolley.




My Shopping List Game is a simple concept, but one that every child will love, as well as providing pleasant relief for their long suffering parents.

Size: 18 x 18cm

Age: 3+

You can purchase the DooWell Shopping List Game for $24.00 from The Toy Bug.

Happy Grocery Shopping!

Cheers,

Connect2Mums - Check this site out!

If you have purchased from us in the past month you would of received a Goodie Bag from some great WAHMS (Work At Home Mums) at 'Connect2Mums'. Well I wanted to tell you a little about this wonderful site and invite you to go and join up.

I came across this wonderful website called 'Connect2Mums' a couple of months ago. It is an online interactive magazine that connects not only mums and some dads but grandparents too.

There are all different discussion forms and many groups to join and participate in - we talk about our every day issues - children, cooking, movies, pampering, business info, actually - anything really. I have meet some of the most wonderful people from all over the globe on this site. You will find a lot of people on 'Connect2Mums' who are very talented at sewing, photography, jewellery, making beauty products and much more - it has given me the creative bug and wanting to make something from scratch - just have to think of what..

We have "Live Chat" evenings where a 'Connect2Mums' member's business is showcased and it is so much fun to learn about them personally and professionally and you might even be lucky enough to win a prize (have won 2 so far) and most of all I have not laughed so much in a long time - they are a great bunch of people! It is a real pleasure to be a part of this great & supportive family!

Who made this all possible - The lovely PAULA KUHNEMANN! She founded 'Connect2Mums' in April this year to help Australian and New Zealand mums to connect and network their fabulous business. I especially love her purpose in life: 'To empower women to reach their full potential and support them in their quest to the seemingly unattainable Family/Work Balance. Can you have it all? Paula's belief - 'Not without support and connections'. And I can vouch that this is exactly what 'Connect2Mums' is all about.

Over the coming weeks I will showcase the wonderful WHAMS that are in our 'Connect2Mums' Goodie Bags and tell you a little about their fabulous business.

So please grab a coffee or tea and take the time to go and check this wonderful site out and I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised at the support and connections you will make.

Have a great Week!

Cheers

Bilibo

The Bilibo is a big favourite in our house! It is mostly used for spinning but there are unlimited ways to play with Bilibo's - from rocking, spinning, sitting in, to hiding under, carrying with and peeking through. Not only it great at home, you can use it at the park, in the sand or water.

The Bilibo was designed by Swiss designer, Alex Hochstrasser, in consultation with childhood development experts from the University Children’s Hospital in Zurich. The shell shape and bright colours invite a wide range of interpretations and encourage children to use their imagination and invent their own games, providing hours of open-ended play.

The Bilibo is made of high-density Polyethylene, that’s shock resistant, non-toxic and 100% recyclable.

Bilibo's unique form arouses curiosity, stimulates the senses, engages the imagination, and encourages creativity.

Bilibo comes in 6 great bright colours and can be purchased from our shop for $38.00.

Big Hugs - Laa Laa Teletubbie

The Teletubbies are back in fashion after popping on our screens 10 years ago. These four unlikely looking characters captured the hearts of little ones everywhere and remain much loved to this day! My son still has the 4 Teletubbies from when he was a baby and last year he was given the Big Hugs Laa Laa to test drive for us.

Our son having problems sleeping (not wanting to sleep by himself and thinks 5 hours a night is enough sleep for everyone in the house) I thought the Big Hugs La La would be perfect to help sooth him to sleep.

Laa Laa Big Hugs is made from super soft yellow material that is patterned with stars and moons. Laa Laa has two night modes 1. Lullaby mode plays the Teletubby theme tune to comfort baby and shuts off automatically after 5 minutes and 2. In night mode the tummy glows and gently changes colour to soothe and comfort baby.

Big Hug's Laa Laa also has interactive features for daytime fun - Laa Laa gives a yawn when tummy is pressed, giggles when kissed and says 'ahh' when hugged.

Laa Laa has worked wonders for our son - he uses Laa Laa's lullaby and night light every night and you can even hear the lullaby at 2am when he wakes. Laa Laa's night light tummy is just bright enough to see around the room.

Laa Laa is now part of our family and I think will be for a long time to come.

You can purchase Laa Laa Bug Hugs from our website for $68.00.

I am Back!

Hi Everyone,

This is a long time coming but am back on track and ready to get stuck back into work. Once again I would like to thank everyone for their understanding with my time away after the death of my brother.

To get started I have revamped my website a little so I would love to hear what you think of it - I welcome any suggestions (good or bad).

I have also done a Links Directory on the website but am very excited about the Autism Resources Links I am in the process of updating. I am listing all the sites I have found invaluable with my son. I found a lovely song written for Autism by Mark Leland. Mark's song is called "Missing Pieces", a song he wrote for Autism. The proceeds of this song benefit Autism Awareness, research programs and those who have Autism.

It is a beautiful song and made me cry - go have a listen at:
http://www.markleland.net/markleland.net/HOME1.html

I am looking forward to bringing you some blogs on new stock and am going to do some blogs on the toys that have helped my son with his therapy on our Autism journey.

So please make sure you come back and check out my blog regularly.

Have a Great Day!

Cheers Jo :-)

The Toy Bug Open Again & Heartfelt Thanks!

I hope you all had a good Christmas break and a Happy New Year!

Some of you may have notice that I had closed The Toy Bug down for 3 weeks - this was due to my only sibling (brother) being killed in a car accident just prior to Christmas. It has been hard for me and my Dad as my Mum was also killed in a car accident 9 years ago. I have decided to open The Toy Bug up again so I can keep busy and to try and get back into every day life - Life goes on as they say!

I wish to thank all of my customers who have sent messages of sympathy - your support has been overwhelming and greatly appreciated.



We have some new products that will be added to the website in the coming weeks and we look forward to bringing you new, exciting and fun toys during the year.

Cheers Jo :)