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November 9th, 2011
Just a very brief post from me as it’s quite busy here at Cheeky Wipes HQ. We’re getting ready for two shows over the next two weeks, firstly the Brighton Baby Show which is at the new Amex stadium this Sunday, November 13th from 10am – 4pm.
Then next Tuesday & Wednesday, 15th & 16th November, we’ll be at the Royal College of Midwives Annual Conference in Brighton.
While we’re not in the office all our orders are being processed as usual, but if you need to get hold of us, email is definitely the best option.
Tags: brighton baby show, royal college midwives conference
Posted in Baby Show News, Cheeky Wipes News | No Comments »
November 8th, 2011
It’s that time of year again. It’s only 8th November and I’ve already had to turn the kids heads away from fully bedecked christmas trees which seem to be popping up everywhere like prickly green warts.
I fully admit that I’m a christmas grump. Don’t get me wrong, I love the chance to break the winter up with a holiday and an excuse to get together with family and friends. That bit is great. I can even put up with a christmas tree and decorations (after 13th December though, before that is WAY too early).
The bit I dislike is the rampant, random present buying. It makes me sad to receive pointless gifts which end up being regifted or going straight to a charity shop. I’d much prefer some home-made goodies (which is what I invariably make for in-laws etc) which have had some time, energy and love poured into them.
I also really dislike buying just for the sake of it. Unfortunately, this leaves me with a bit of a problem when it comes to gifts for the kids, especially when it comes to presents for the younger girls. Our house has got plenty of toys suitable for 3 year olds and babies. We just don’t need any more lego / baby doll bits / cars / pens and paper. I don’t particularly want to buy more ’stuff’ just for the sake of it. But on the other hand, Santa needs to buy the girls something, or the boys will get very suspicious!
Thankfully the power of facebook has come up with some great gift suggestions for J who is now 3, but I have no idea whatsoever what to do about the baby (9 months old). Ideally we’d just get her a few small bits and pieces but the boys will notice that she isn’t getting as much as them – or will they?
Answers on a postcard please…
Tags: christmas grump, christmas present
Posted in Buying For Baby, Family Life, baby | 2 Comments »
November 4th, 2011
We’ve just taken delivery of fabulous new bamboo wipes. We’ve gone back to our original supplier for this production run (the same people who make towels for Christy’s) so the quality is superb, really lovely.
The price has gone up slightly, but we think they’re worth paying a little more for and we’re promoting them at £17.50 for 25 wipes.
Check them out….Bamboo Baby Wipes and don’t forget to take a look at our lovely new Rose Geranium & Rose essential oil blend.
Tags: bamboo baby wipes, bamboo cloth baby wipes, bamboo washable baby wipes
Posted in Buying For Baby, Cheeky Wipes News, cloth nappy | No Comments »
November 1st, 2011
 Just a quick one as we’ve just had our courier arrive with our gorgeous new Rose Geranium & Rose Fresh Wipes eessential oil blend.
I tested this out with Mummy friends and they LOVED it, most preferred it to our faithful Lavender & Chamomile.
If you’re a new customer, you can buy an All-in-one kit or Mini Kit during November and you can upgrade to the rose geranium oil blend for FREE, saving you £4.00.
Or if you just fancy a change, use the code ‘november11′ to save £4 – it’s not on the website ‘proper’ yet so you’ll need to use this link: Rose Geranium & Rose Essential Oil blend.
Tags: cloth baby wipe soaking solutions, fresh wipes oil, rose geranium & rose essential oil
Posted in Cheeky Wipes News | No Comments »
November 1st, 2011
As you know, I’ve just spent 3 days at the madness that is the Baby Show. On Friday morning, I received this text from Husband: ‘Get a couple of waterproof mattress covers if you can. F’s ones are knackered’.
Perfect timing! Obviously my first point of call was Amazon, but the reviews of most of the ones on there said that they were a bit crinkly and noisy. Given that no2 son is a light sleeper anyway, I thought it best to avoid them. We had used ones from Ikea but they seem to have lost their waterproof -ness, meaning a wet mattress which obviously isn’t good. (Bicarbonate of soda takes out the smell, FYI…)
I always love to have a bit of a nosey around to see what’s new, this time, I was right around the corner from the lovely people at Brolly Sheet. Brolley sheets fit on top of the fitted sheet, and just tuck in underneath the mattress around the sides if you understand? They’re really nicely padded, with a quilted cotton top and breathable waterproof layer. Even better they can apparently hold 2 litres of water, so no more wet mattress.
They’ll be quick to change in the middle of the night because they don’t go under the fitted sheet and they come in a range of pretty colours – plus white of course. I was so impressed I bought 3 of them (two red and one pink for J) as they had a really good deal on at the Baby Show.
If you’ve got a little one who still isn’t quite dry at night, I’d really recommend these – and I’ll try to get in touch with Brolley sheets to see if they fancy doing some sort of a competition for us…
Tags: brolly sheet review, brolly sheet waterproof mattress protector
Posted in Buying For Baby | No Comments »
October 27th, 2011
Just a quick one from me before I head off to The Baby Show at Earls Court. We’ll be on stand AA50 and would love to see you there! Make sure you say Hello if you do pop by….
Whilst I’m out of the office all orders are being processed as usual, but if you have any questions, email is definitely the best way to contact me….
Tags: earls court baby show
Posted in Baby Show News | No Comments »
October 17th, 2011
I’m currently exhibiting at my second trade show in 6 weeks at Olympia (thankfully close enough to home for me to get back to give my littl’est one her bedtime bottle tonight).
Attending trade fairs is always a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand it’s a great showcase for Cheeky Wipes, and a fantastic way to network and get new ideas / gossip. On the other hand it’s time-consuming and can be a bit boring, but you have to put up with it!
One of the things I like best about these shows are the ability to have a good nosey around and see what’s new from old competitors / friends or new to market. Of course, I always like to let you, my faithful readers share in what’s hot or what’s not – from my perspective anyway!
This time a couple of products have caught my eye. Firstly the lovely people from Naturally Cool Kids were nearby with their funky range of Hair & Body Wash / sunscreen, lip and cheek protector and my personal favourite, the Vapour Stick.
All their products are completely free from nasties, so brilliant for my sensitive, eczema prone skin. They also use my favourite lavender & mandarin essential oils (sound familiar?) in the hair and body wash, which comes in a handy pump bottle so you can operate it one-handed.
As I said though, it’s the Vapour Stick which is my personal favourite. Less messy than Vicks, less eye-watering than Olbas oil and just chock full of goodies, like sunflower seed oil, cocoa butter and beeswax which moisturise the skin, whilst helping you breathe more easily. Love it.
Naturally Cool kids products are available from major retailers including John Lewis, or online at www.naturallycoolkids.com, priced from £3.95 for the DEET free bugbands…
Tags: naturally cool kids, naturally cool kids review, product review, vapour stick review
Posted in Buying For Baby, Green Living, Product Reviews | No Comments »
October 13th, 2011
It’s been a busy few weeks here at Cheeky Wipes HQ, we’ve been dashing from Cologne to Olympia with various trade shows but they’re just rehearsals for the big one, the Baby Show at Earls Court which runs from 28th – 30th October.
Pop along and visit us on stand number AA50, we’ll have some great show promotions available as usual and you can touch, smell and see the wipes in action!
We’ve got 4 pairs of tickets to give away. To win a pair it’s easy:
– Just visit our facebook page: www.facebook.com/CheekyWipes
– ‘Like’ us if you haven’t done already!
– Leave us a comment including the words ‘Baby Show Comp’ by next Thursday (20th) at 5pm
– We’ll pick the winners on Friday and they have until 5pm Monday 24th to claim their free tickets – winners will also be published on the Baby Show Facebook page
Look forward to all your entries and seeing you there!
Helen
Tags: discounted tickets earls court baby show, free tickets earls court baby show
Posted in Baby Show News | 3 Comments »
October 13th, 2011
The arrival of Chicken Pox in our house for no1 daughter meant that we were effectively confined to barracks for the weekend. I took the opportunity to do an audit of my chest freezer after receiving a delivery of yummy mince from Donald Russell and realising that I hadn’t seen the bottom of it for many months and had forgotten what was in there.
Amongst other things there were several cakes, which I reckon will make fantastic trifle bases over the next month or two. There was also some ice-cream and frozen fruit and we’ve already used some of that in a gorgeous filo apple pie yesterday.
I did manage to make space for my delivery and now have lots of pork, lamb and beef mince ready for cosy dinners this autumn. Now I just need some new recipes! I’m not that fussed on bog-standard mince, carrots and onion, the kids aren’t keen on chilli and there’s only so much spag bol and burgers that you can eat!
H and I love Keema, it makes a great Friday or Saturday night supper along with some home-made Naan bread, or rice if you’re feeling lazy / virtuous!
Luckily, Donald Russell included a great brochure with10 Delicious Mince Recipes which includes a few twists on old favourites – the meatballs with walnuts and cognac sauce are on the menu for next Wednesday. Aside from that I’ve been scouring my cookery books for some different ideas and so far I’ve scored two really cracking ones from Ken Hom’s hot wok. This book is an old classic, one of my 1p, second hand purchases from Amazon but so far every recipe I’ve cooked has been delicious, simple and really tasty.
The recipe I’m going to share here is like a Chinese version of spag bol, it can be served with rice, noodles or pasta but uses pork instead of beef mince. Yummy!
Savoury Pork Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
1 1/2 tbs groundnut oil
1 tbs chopped garlic
1 tbs finely chopped root ginger (I grated mine!)
2 small onions, thinly sliced
2 red or green chillies*, seeded and finely chopped
450 g minced pork
2 tsps salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbs sugar
450g fresh tomatoes, cored and quartered
300ml chicken stock
2 1/2 tbs thai fish sauce
2 tbs light soy sauce
Method
Heat a wok or frying pan on a high heat until hot.
Add the oil and when it’s smoking slightly add the garlic, ginger, spring onions, onions and chillies, then stir-fry for 2 mins
Add the pork, then fry for 5 mins, stirring frequently, until pork loses pink colour
Add the salt, pepper, sugar and tomatoes
Add the stock, fish sauce and soy sauce
Bring mixture to the boil and simmer for at least 15 minutes
Serve at once with rice, noodles or pasta
*I only used 1/2 a chilli as my kids aren’t too keen on spicy food, then added some chilli sauce to my own portion afterwards!
If you’ve got any interesting mince recipes of your own, please share a link, we’d love to see them!
Tags: chinese pork bolognaise, Feed your family for a fiver, savoury tomato pork recipe
Posted in Feed your family for a fiver, Frugal Living | 3 Comments »
October 6th, 2011
Bless me Father for I have sinned…it has been 6 months and 2 weeks since I last used cloth nappies, I have been using dirty disposables.
I feel that I can admit it, now that I’m back on the wagon again. My Itti Bitti nappies have been languishing in the hall cupboard since Aerin was born in March. Every time I opened the cupboard to get some Cheeky Wipes they’ve winked at me and waved ‘Hello’ before I slammed the door shut on the nappies and my guilty conscience.
You can imagine what it’s like when you’ve got a newborn and 3 other children. If you’re not feeding the baby, you’re getting the others ready for school / lunch / swimming practice / bathtime /bedtime. Staying on top of the washing was already a mission with my washing machine being on at least once daily never mind adding nappies into the mix.
So I ignored my nappies and used eco-disposables instead . And my Cheeky Wipes of course. But then I saw the lovely Norma from Itti Bitti at the recent baby trade show in Cologne and I had to admit that I hadn’t used my lovely Itti Bitti for a while, but couldn’t quite explain why not!
Now Aerin is 6 months old and at nursery a few mornings a week, I have a bit more time and things aren’t quite as hectic, so that definitely helps. And she’s gone past the pooing 10 times a day stage too, which also helps.
So I dug the Itti Bitti out and introduced Aerin to them and she just loves them of course and looks super cute with her little fluffy bum. But I thought it was worth doing a quick blog post to all the Mums who have their cloth nappies lurking in the cupboard rather than on your baby’s bum (I know you’re out there!) Remember the good thing about cloth nappies is that once you’ve got them, any use you make of them is going to save you money and help minimise your environmental impact through landfill.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, you can mix and match if you need to and it suits your lifestyle and circumstances. Dip in and out as you need to and don’t feel bad. Your nappies will welcome you back with open arms when you’re ready…
Tags: cloth nappy, eco disposable nappy, itti bitti nappy, using cloth nappy
Posted in Green Living, cloth nappy | No Comments »
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