Toys - The story in pictures

Dairy Free Goodies (Food) in the UK

I love cows.
I'm not vegetarian but we don't eat a lot of meat in the house, I don't believe we should eat meat at every meal and when we do it should be a third of what is on our plate. I think people eat way too much meat and animals are not treated respectfully most of the time.

But anyway, that is beside the point and that would be a whole full post!

There are 4 people in our household and unfortunately 3 cannot have milk!

Gadget Dad started not having milk after we found out BooBoo was Dairy intolerant and his skin got 99.9% better and his migraines reduced from at least 3 times a week to once every so often.
BooBoo had really bad eczema once she started eating & drinking since about 6 months (she was a very good eater!) and lots of chest infections, a continuously bright green runny nose and asthma. One day we decided to try a week of dairy free diet and amazingly everything disappeared!!
Funny Bunny also had the runny nose, the asthma and hayfever. That week of a dairy free diet made everything better for him too!

So basically I am the only one that can have dairy without dire consequences, but as I am the only one and the kids are very young, now practically everything that enters the house is dairy free!
I am now even more psycho than I originally was about checking labels and it is really frustrating that most of the stuff the kids love has milk in it... even frankfurters!!! Who knew?!

So here it is, a list of foods that Dairy Intolerant people can eat. Please note that some people are just LACTOSE INTOLERANT and some cannot have anything with cows milk in it at all as they are intolerant to milk proteins in general, even the Lactose Free milk products like Lactofree, these people are DAIRY INTOLERANT like my BooBoo.

DAIRY FREE PRODUCT LIST:
Please note this will be added to over time and you can contribute too by leaving us a comment!

• Jammie Dodgers Biscuits
• Choccie Dodgers Biscuits
• Kellog's Coco Pops Choc'n'Roll Cereal
• Weetabix Chocolate Cereal
• Green & Black's Hot Chocolate Drink
• Fox's Party Rings Biscuits (original and chocolate)
• Tesco Everyday Value Jaffa Cakes 
• Soreen Banana Fruit Loaf
• Tesco Value Bourbon Biscuits
• Hellman's Original Mayonnaise
• Pom Bear Salted Potato Snacks (Red Packet)
• Kelloggs Coco Rocks Cereal
• Kellogs Moons & Stars
• Frosted Wheats
• Raisin Wheats
• Mini Max Originals
• Kellog's Cornflakes (normal/chocolate)
• Kellog's Rice Krispies (normal/multigrain)
• Kellog's Fruit Loops
• Nestle Cheerios (normal/honey/chocolate)
• Nestle Shreddies (normal/frosted/honey/chocolate/choco orange)
• Weetabix Original Cereal
• Jus Rol bake at home pastry, croissants, pain au chocolat and garlic bread
• Tesco's Oaties Biscuits
• Asda Smart Price Apple Pies
• Tesco Value Fruit Cake
• Hovis Granary Wholemeal Bread
• Hovis Best of Both Bread (1 slice provides almost the whole RDA of calcium for a child!)
• Mr Kipling Apple & Blackcurrant Pies

So see, you don't have to spend a lot more going to the 'Free From' aisle all the time! :)

Please do check the labels before you buy as we are not responsible for the information above causing harm as manufacturers can change things at any time, etc. This list is to help you save time and find new products you might have otherwise disregarded!

Some of the products say on the label "may contain milk" but don't have any milk products on the ingredients list, please read the label and use your own judgement as some people are severely allergic and in that case should not take a chance on those products.

Enjoy!
M x

PS. A lot of these were provided by the mummies over at CMPA Support Group on Facebook, an awesome group for parents of children with allergies!

Tinyme Free Printable Fun!! Masks, Bookmarks & More...

The good folks over at Tinyme are giving everyone access to their spantafulous printables!

Great for party fun as well as something to do on those rainy days.

All you have to do is Join Club Tiny!

Enjoy,

M x

RIP My Grandad, My Hero, My Bigodes

It's almost been 3 months since my hero passed away, it took a lot of courage, crying, composure, shouting to come to 'terms' that he is gone.... and a lot of time off to deal with all that.

No one tells you how you are supposed to grieve, and now I know why...

Everyone has their own way of dealing with it and mine was having the time to think about him, get most of my crying out and nice long walks by the beach. It was setting up a facebook group so we could all honour him and share good memories between friends & family.

As you see I have been quiet since the end of June and now you know why.

My grandad never made it to my birthday, but he made it to see my son get to 6 and my daughter get to 3... and that makes me very happy.

I believe he is watching out for us and watching us from above... laughing at our silliness and smiling each time my kids do or learn something new. I think he is proud of me now that I am carrying on with my life and not sad any more.

I miss him terribly, and I always will, there is so much I would like to tell him and ask him but I am not sure I believe in mediums and the kind. Do you believe in that sort of stuff?

I think that even if there is such a thing it is very difficult to separate real from fake. I would love to have someone convince me that they are for real though, so I could speak to my grandad once again.

I love my granddad and I always will, he will always be my hero!

It always brings tears to my eyes when I think of him, but I know he is no longer suffering... the cancer was destroying him from the inside out. He was so peaceful when he was gone, I thought I would never do the sort but I told the kids he was having a long sleep and going to heaven and my kids gave him a kiss on the cheek and went back downstairs.

He looked so beautiful and peaceful, I sat on the bed next to him until they took him and that was the last time I ever saw him and I ever stroked his face.

Every day I go to our boutique it reminds me of him, I opened it on his birthday & I do it all for him.

I remember him crying when everything went through for me to get the boutique, he was so pleased and he really wanted everything to go well for us.

So here's a big cheers to my granddad! Our hero...

As I am writing this my 3 year old came over and saw the picture of her and him (the one on top) and said "Look mummy, it's me and Bizivo (great granddad in Portuguese), he's my best friend!", it makes me so happy that she understands that he is gone but always with us in our hearts.

My granddad always played with the kids and they both loved them dearly.

I love you granddad, always and forever, my Bigodes, my hero....

He still got to see my tattoo for him x

Monica xxx

Kids Food Fun!

Some ideas for making the kids lunch fun! M x

We are famous!!! In Basildon that is...

I am very excited to announce that a local newspaper did a story on us and we are in this week's edition which came out today!!

The Basildon Yellow Advertiser wrote about us on page 5, you can check out the digital copy of the newspaper here.

Hopefully lots more people will discover the wonderfulness that is our boutique!

Monica x

BEWARE National Lottery Scam Email!!!

I have just received this email and thought I should warn everyone that this is a scam!
Whatever you do don't reply with your personal information!!

This is what I got on my email from the scammers...

Thank You for Loving Me.... Grandad

I have been trying to keep it together for a while, for the kids, for the rest of the family and for my business but yesterday and today I just can't stop crying.

For those of you that don't already know my grandad, my hero has Cancer, its not the kind that goes away, we did the chemo and the radiotherapy and its here to stay.

I now don't have much notion of time, I opened the Boutique on the 28th of April 2012 as it was his birthday, I struggled to keep to that deadline but I did it for him.

He was supposed to visit that day and put his mind at rest that I was going to be OK, I know I am going to be fine, I am a fighter and have always been but my grandad is old fashioned, doesn't understand the internet, let alone business on the internet.

Unfortunately on that day he had very high temperature and was unwell, unfortunately since that day he still hasn't been well enough to go out of the house and things have turned to worse and he is now in hospital.

I don't think he is going to come back home, he is only awake for short periods of time as he is so weak and the blood transfusion yesterday hasn't exactly done wonders.

When I am not at the boutique, I am in the hospital and eventually go home to sleep and the cycle happens all over again. I have been trying to keep it together for everyone involved but lately too many things have happened, like some stupid idiot scamming us of £700 (police are investigating) me suddenly appearing with all these stupid health problems (I really don't have time to worry about me now) and on top of everything else to add to the mix a bit of bullying.

I am the pillar for my family, which most mums probably are, and I am one of the pillars for my wider family, (Grandparents, brothers, untie, mum & dad), we are a close family... but yesterday it was just too much and I broke down.

I just want my grandad to last a few more months, be able to smile again and see the Summer, my grandad loves the Summer he has always been an outdoors person, very active, a body builder and now in his 70s he had a body that would make a 30 year old envious only a month ago.

He deserves one more Summer, a Summer to watch his great grandkids playing in the garden and eat some more strawberries grown in our garden since he can no longer tend to his land and eat the fruit from it like he has done for many years.

Please pray for my grandad to miraculously pull out of this one.

And although he doesn't understand the words and he is too poorly to listen to it and for me to explain I share with you this song that I heard today and made me brake down into tears:-

My grandad brought me up and I thank him for loving me and taking care of me while I was a kid.

You're Invited to our Grand Opening, it's a special date

And finally after all the hard work and anticipation I can finally say...

I hope to see you there!

I feel a bit like it's my wedding I am planning, I am that nervous, it's a massive day for me and my family. 

We will be supporting St Lukes Hospice Basildon as they have been supporting my grandad through his cancer ordeal. They will be selling tickets to their raffle, we have a few items which when sold 50% of the profits will be donated to them and we will also have a permanent collection box in the shop.

The 28th of April wasn't just picked out of a hat, in fact I have worked very hard to meet this deadline against all odds and hurdles, specially considering it's before pay day for us.

I hope I can share this special day with you too.

No the 28th is not just a random date, it's the date of my grandad's birthday, unfortunately he has terminal cancer. My grandad is like a father to me, he raised me until I was 10 and he is the most hard working man I have ever known, and the strongest up until this year when this monstrous disease decided to manifest itself.

I am opening the boutique on his birthday so that he knows he is special to me beyond what my words can ever describe and so that he can be proud of me and know that he doesn't need to worry about me.

Since a very young age my grandad has inspired me to run my own business and shown me that hard work can achieve anything, he himself is an entrepreneur and had his own business that he ran successfully ever since I can remember.

I hope I make him proud and I hope that he is with us for as long as possible, perhaps by some miracle I will be celebrating his birthday and the boutique's birthday next year with him beside me.

I love you Avo, my hero.

M x

WIN AN iPAD in The Great Create Egg Hunt! Episode 2

 Watch Bunny and Egg go head-to-egg in the videos, and play along at http://www.create.net/easter on April 11th 2012 to be in with a chance of WINNING THE NEW iPad!

Visit http://www.create.net/easter, follow http://www.twitter.com/create , http://www.twitter.com/myfunnybunny and keep an eye out for #egghunt to find out how to win the New iPad in The Great Create Egg Hunt 2012!

We will have an egg hidden on www.myfunnybunny.com on the 11th of April so make sure to bookmark our website and come back then!!

GOOD LUCK!!

Watch the Bunny and the Egg training on the video below and then make sure to keep your eyes open for the next episode!

Check out Episode 1 here!

Monica x

WIN the NEW iPAD in Create's Easter Egg Hunt!!

The Great Create Egg Hunt is back for 2012! 

Watch Bunny and Egg go head-to-egg in the videos, and play along at http://www.create.net/easter on April 11th 2012 to be in with a chance of WINNING THE NEW iPad!

Last year's competition may have brought them together, but 2012 sees our Easter friends Bunny Rabbit and Easter Egg go head-to-egg once more in The Great Create Egg Hunt!

Visit http://www.create.net/easter, follow http://www.twitter.com/create and keep an eye out for #egghunt to find out how to win the New iPad in The Great Create Egg Hunt 2012!

We will have an egg hidden on www.myfunnybunny.com on the 11th of April so make sure to bookmark our website and come back then!!

GOOD LUCK!!

Watch the Bunny and the Egg rediscovering their rivalry on the video below and then make sure to keep your eyes open for the next episode!

Monica x

Hungry Much?

I'm sure you will agree it's yummy...

In preparation for our new boutique, I finally got all my peas in a pod and am launching our very first dress!

Our  fabulous Facebook fans helped pick a name for this design, after all the suggestions we chose to call it our Kelly Dress and this one is in Sweet Pea.

As you know I love pastels and bright colours so this combination for me is absolutely stunning, it did take me aaaaages to choose it as there we so many choices, after all this is to be our best ever dress in our collection but I think I made the right choice!

I would love to know what you think.

The Kelly Dress in Sweet Pea is available in 6-12 months, 12-18 months, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 years.

M x

Our new Shop's sign...Dull & Boring?

When you think of My Funny Bunny... do you think dull & boring? I certainly hope not!

We are in the middle of designing our shop sign.

I really want to make the sign fun and inviting and that ties in with the fun decor inside the shop which we have already planned. I am not too fond of boring shop signs that just have the name of the business across the sign, it does suit some businesses but not all and it certainly would not fit mine!

My Funny Bunny is all about fun... childhood is all about fun, so we certainly don't want to be boring.

At first I gave my designer the initial brief and idea and this is what she came up with...

Click on image to zoom in

The initial idea was ok but it needed a lot of tweaking, I wasn't too fond of flowers but loved the pink tulips and the tree was a bit too heavy and dark, and me and the hubby thought it would be a good idea to add some carrots growing off the ground and a little bird on the tree.

We also weren't too fond of the website address being integrated into the logo as we really wanted the emphasise the brand and the boutique not the website address.

So after an email and a little patience we got this...

Click on image to zoom in

I have already replied back with a wide version of our logo like on our website as I think this will look much better, on this one because of adding the website address the logo became much smaller and it does not emphasise the My Funny Bunny so much, so the wider one may fix this problem and also all the emptiness on the sides.
I also think the carrots need to be tweaked a bit to look more like our own carrot so a little more round instead of squarish and a bit more into the ground.

Now a little bit more waiting to see what it comes back like....

I'm not very patient though when it comes to these things!

What do you think so far, any suggestions?

M x

Kids can fly!

We are getting some new stuff in preparing to our new boutique opening and we would like to give all our customers a chance to get their hands on the good stuff before it actually arrives!

Kids imagination is huge and we as parents should encourage it, with role play, dressing up and helping them create stories and all those fun things.

Kids love dressing up and very often get so glued to a costume or piece of 'fairytale' clothing that they don't want to take it off when you want to go out! If it hasn't happened to you don't worry, it will!!

I regularly get this with my 2 and a half year old girl, she has one of these and very often doesn't want to take it off, she calls it her princess skirt and she does look like a princess twirling around in it everywhere bless her.

With this in mind, when I saw this set I just couldn't resist!!! I can imagine my kids wanting to 'fly' everywhere and they will look so cute in matching outfits, don't you think?

I am taking pre orders for these now, make sure you don't miss out as they are going fast, you can see what sizes we have left on our facebook page here and order straight on there!

M x

OTONE Aporto USB Powered 2.0 Speakers Review

OTONE is a UK founded company that are rapidly becoming a leading name in audio world with products designed to please gamers and hi-fi fanatics. 

OTONE have just released a new portable speaker that was distinctively designed for travelling and is also cleverly disguised as a micro system. The unit can be easily connected via USB and 3.5mm connection cables that are supplied. Aporto will be available online from www.otoneaudio.co.uk for £34.99.

Gadget Dad Verdict:

A lot of speaker systems claim that they are versatile and meet the needs of their users but don't always meet those needs. These speakers look stylish and I have had a couple of friends ask where I got them from.

Setup was easy and it is only a simple matter of plugging the sleek cylinder type shape speakers into the USB port of your laptop or computer for power and the 3.5mm jack for the sound to find their way through the good quality speakers. You can alternatively power the unit with batteries if you would like to use these on your iPhone or iTouch while in the park or on the move, wherever you need music to lighten up a cloudy day.

The clever design team of OTONE made sure this speaker unit will surely not go unnoticed. With a light pull the two speakers separate from the unit and presto you now have a micro system! I really like this clever design feature and i am sure other users of this product will love this feature too. It surely sets it apart from the rest.

The speakers do what they are supposed to do for the size and play good quality sound when you need to go portable!

Pros:

• Very clean and unique tube shape speaker unit.
• Truly portable where some other manufacturer units fail, you can also use batteries.
• Cleverly hidden "Micro System" setup.
• Clever little pull out stand.

Cons:

• Could improve a bit on the quality of the plastic grey bit that is exposed when the speakers are pulled apart.

Gadget Dad Rating: 7/10

Till next time
Gadget Dad

Our New Boutique - A 'mood board'

Yes, you read it right.... our very own boutique!

Not an online shop... we have had one of those for a while now, our very own actual bricks and mortar shop. I am absolutely delighted but absolutely terrified at the same time, our budget is small but with family and friends helping (hint, hint) we will do a great job!!

So here is my 'mood board' for the look I want to achieve with the shop, Inspired by The White Approach, I must admit that I secretly wish that Karen lived near me and was my absolute best friend as I would so steal her to help me with setting up the shop ( I could also hire her if I had the budget of course!)...

 I love these flowers, I couldn't buy them now even if I find them (which I haven't) as I imagine they would be expensive... but I would love to have these in the shop, either to sell or as decor!

 I am aware this is a kitchen... but this is the colour palette I have in mind, perhaps add a baby yellow in the mix too but it would be just for accents as the main background of the boutique is going to be white :)

 I just liked this picture... I would love to have my house so.... light, I am determined for our boutique to be light and airy!

 Too pretty, Imagine all those bright children's items against the white background!!

Everything will gorgeously stand out.... I'm in dreamland...

 Forget about the accessories on it, forget about the colour of the wall...

The unit is fabulous and I would love to find something similar in a second hand shop or car boot sale for a few quid that I could jazz up.

I will then look fabulous with kids jewellery & accessories on it!

 Another inspiring photo :)

 Again another light and airy room with white, white, white & lots of splashes of colour!















So what do you think?

I haven't seen anything like it in our area, that is for sure!

M x

1000+ Facebook Likes Celebration Give Away!

Yes we reached 1000 likes on facebook yesterday!! Woohoo!!

So to celebrate we are having a GIVE AWAY, a £30 (2 months free) voucher for Lovefilm.com

It's simple, all you have to do is joins us over to our facebook page 

http://www.facebook.com/myfunnybunny.co.uk

and look on the wall for the give away post and answer the question on there!

(http://www.facebook.com/myfunnybunny.co.uk/posts/10150692203136038?ref=notif&notif_t=feed_comment)

Hurry, hurry!!

***GIVE AWAY NOW CLOSED***

Monica x

If you haven't already noticed, the fantastic artwork above is by the one and only Mako Fufu!

I sooooo want to commission her to do a version of me in her amazing drawing style & of My Funny Bunny..... I soooo need to have a fat purse though I suspect!! Go visit her amazing website http://www.makofufu.com.ar

Competition Closes 25th Jan 2012, we reserve the right to extend it, either code by email or actual voucher will be sent by email to winner. Competition open for UK residents over 18.

A text for Action for the Wild

 In recent years, Action for the Wild has donated over £650,000 to conservation projects around the world. Some of these projects include an elephant orphanage, Free the Bears Foundation, Orangutan Foundation and Wildlife Vets International. Funds have also helped with the set up and continued running of the charity’s UmPhafa Nature Reserve in South Africa.

 Now donating to Colchester Zoo’s charity Action for the Wild couldn’t be easier thanks to a new fund raising campaign which has just been launched and now a new text campaign will help to make a difference to endangered species!

Released Orangutan

Anyone with a mobile can help by sending a text stating “AFTW01” and then the amount you wish to donate such as £1 / £2 / £5 or any other amount to 70070.  There is no charge to send the text and proceeds go directly to the Action for the Wild charity.

£10 could pay for Pepper Spray which is a non-lethal enforcement tool for field rangers protecting rhinos in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park. 

£25 will help cover the wages of a game guard on the UmPhafa reserve for half a week, helping to protect the wildlife. 

£50 will buy daily food (coconuts, sweet potato, melons) for released orangutans in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve

£100 will pay for a one day training course on artificial incubation for the Gyps Vulture Project

Action for the Wild cannot raise the funds for projects such as these alone. Text your donation to Action for the Wild today, and you can help support the future for animals in the wild.
Charity No 1105621

Hope you can help :)

M x