:: Trek Morocco ::

Thank you to Victoria Johns from www.counsellingathome.com for her kind donation this week to Trek Morocco. All the monies donated by our business colleagues go direct to Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity, a wonderful charity who we are trying to raise as much money as possible for via our own business Tish Tash Toys.

Online counselling provides the opportunity to talk to someone outside the situation who is unbiased and non judgemental. Sometimes talking to somoeone through email is easier than talking to family or friends. People often find putting their situation into writing alot easier than expressing it in words.

Vicky has been a counsellor for 3 years and qualified in a variety of areas including Basic counselling, Advanced counselling, Introduction to psychology, Grief and bereavement counselling and drug and alcohol counselling. Vicky is also CCC registered.

She offers a discreet and confidential counselling service by email or post explaning that this way of counselling can work well “Because sometimes it is easier to put it into writing.” There is no extra cost for counselling by post and postal replies will be in plain, hand addressed envelopes and sent first class.

Vicky offers email and postal counselling at a 10% discount for those in receipt of income support, income based pension credit, income based jobseekers allowance and incapacity benefit. Proof of entitlement is required before counselling begins.

Thank you to Rachel from Born In Water for her kind donation which has helped to further increase the sponsorship fund, all of which will go to help those families supported by Rainbow Trust.

Rachel is the owner of Born In Water, a Bath based company that hires out birthing pools to parents, mostly in the Bath and Bristol area, but also nationwide. When Rachel had her first child in a birthing pool rented from Born In Water in 2005, she says it was a truly amazing experience. So when the company came up for sale shortly afterwards Rachel jumped at the chance to buy it, and give other parents the opportunity that she had.

The birthing pools are supplied for four week hire and come with everything that you need. The four week hire period means that the pool can also be used in the time before birth, often an uncomfortable time. Imagine how getting into a large heated pool in your own home could help to ease those nagging back pains and tiredness in those last days before labour. As well as the luxury heated pools you can also hire an unheated pool which is just for use on the day of labour.

During labour Rachel says that the birthing pool can offer fantastic pain relief. The warmth and support of the water helps with relaxation, whilst the buoyancy gained by being in the water helps you to move more freely whilst in labour, an invaluable benefit as getting into a comfortable position is often very difficult, if not impossible whilst in labour out of water.

The Born In Water website is full of useful information on labour and water births, as well as recommendations from parents who have hired a pool. For more information see www.borninwater.co.uk

I thought it was about time we did a bit of research on the articles we’ve been writing and adding to this blog!

If you run a business and would like to know what’s in it for you if you are thinking about donating to www.justgiving.com/tishtashtoys - well here are the successful results of other articles we’ve done.

Lagulhas baby - our article is No. 1 on Google UK

Mumsclick - No. 2

Covenstead - No. 3

Treadwarm - No. 3

Party Sprite - No. 3

Brighton Baby Show - No. 3

Stallfinder - No. 4

Shortbred - No. 4

Catch Design Management - No. 5

Twigs 4 Kids - No. 5

Alphalearners - No. 6

Treeflights No. 8

Sheabutter - No. 10

The www.tishtashtoys.com website is ranked well on google (4/10) and we get around 9,000 hits a month (June 2008 and going up steadily every month).

Donate to our Trek Morocco appeal at www.justgiving.com/tishtashtoys and your donation goes directly to Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity. We’ll then add your article onto this blog. Email me at sharon@tishtashtoys.com to let me know the website details so we can get the article done quickly.

….and thank you.

Thank you to Claire from Covenstead who has raised the total further by kindly donating to our sponsorship fund.

Claire runs the Covenstead website, which started life as an ebay store in 2002, but has been so successful that Claire moved to a dedicated website and increased the range of products that she was able to offer her customers.

Claire says that as a solitary witch for over 20 years she has not had the support and resources of a coven to rely on. This meant that she had to source all the materials that she needed in order to follow the wiccan/pagan path herself. This proved time consuming and Claire felt that items were often overpriced. As a result Claire decided to set up Covenstead bringing together a whole range of items.

On the website there are the items that are immediately associated with the wiccan/pagan path such as spell kits, magical incense and crystals. However, Claire also stocks a wide range of other products such as self-help CD’s, unusual jewellery, meditative music and a range of books, so there is something for everyone.

Please see www.the-covenstead.com

Many thanks to Awla and our friends at Holiday With Baby for their generous donation to the sponsorship fund, another step in helping us to get ever closer to the target total for the Trek Morocco appeal.

Before having children holidays were probably very relaxed, with packing and organisation not too much of a problem. However, for those of us with children, we all know that they add a whole new dimension to the holiday experience. In many ways this is a positive thing and holidays can be enjoyed in a whole new way.

There is also the other side of things, with the agonising decision about where exactly to go that caters for their (many!) needs best, for example how you go about including a pushchair/car seat in your air luggage and many other questions.

Holiday with baby was founded by a team of parents who are passionate about travel. Having travelled the globe before they had their children, they set about finding out how they could continue to travel with children in tow. Their aim is to continue travelling the world, enjoy new experiences and cultures, but this time with their babies and children, and their website enables you to do the same.

On the site, you will find useful information to help you plan your trip, different types of holiday and many tips and suggestions to help you plan for your perfect trip. The packing lists are invaluable; there will always be something on there that you would otherwise have forgotten.

Whatever your budget, and whether you plan to stay in the UK or travel to the other side of the world, there is information on this fantastic site for you. As well as the suberb advice and help put together by the Holiday with Baby team, there are also many experiences added by the public to help you in your search for the perfect holiday.

The website also includes regular competitions including ones from our two companies Tish Tash Toys and Great Green Toys. We are planning another Tish Tash Toys competition in July to celebrate our third birthday, so keep a look out for that!

You’d be barmy not to visit this wonderful website - www.holidaywithbaby.co.uk

Thanks to April (another Mumsclick friend) who runs L’Agulhas Baby and donated to our Trek Morocco appeal this week.

L’Agulhas Baby was founded on the basis of a firmly held conviction that our children deserve something better than the modern disposable culture. April decided to to source and provide selected, high-quality products for babies and children, tried and tested by herself and her family, that offer parents an alternative to the mass-market option. In conjunction with this, April aims to provide an outstanding level of personal customer service.

The products L’Agulhas Baby supplies have been chosen specifically because the suppliers’ company ethics and beliefs harmonise with the beliefs of L’Agulhas Baby. The product line is small but growing all the time.

See http://www.lagulhasbaby.co.uk

Please see www.justgiving.com/tishtashtoys if you would like to know more about making a donation TODAY !!

Thank you to Tracie from Treadwarm for their donation this week to the Trek Morocco/Rainbow Trust sponsorship total. Tracie and I met on the Mumsclick website so big shout out for Mumsclick - a great place for business Mum’s to network. Treadwarm is run by Tracie’s hubby - is that ‘he’ pictured above? Looks like the kids are helping with the family business !

Treadwarm are an underfloor heating specialists. If you have seen any of the property programmes recently you will know that underfloor heating is increasingly popular. If you are thinking about an extension or even a self build project for yourself then underfloor heating is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to heat your home. It has been proven to reduce heating costs by approximately 15% and emissions when compared to conventional radiators. It also comes with a 50 year guarantee. Underfloor heating provides even heat throughout the room where it is installed and it reduces the demands made on your boiler. It is also easier to maintain.

The underfloor heating system can be installed in both old and new buildings and under a wide range of floor coverings. Just imagine no more radiators to paint around and reducing your carbon footprint as well.

All the info you need is on www.treadwarm.co.uk

Want to follow Tracie and chip in to our charity appeal - go on, you know you want to.

I’m walking up a mountain in Morocco for 4 days in September for the children’s charity Rainbow Trust. Find out more here www.justgiving.com/tishtashtoys

The sponsorship total has now passed the £1000 mark, which we’re absolutely thrilled about. So thank you to Nikki Povey from the Kids Cooking Co whose donation helped to boost the total even further.

The inspiration for the Kids Cooking Co came about in 2006, and was the brainchild of Nikki Povey, after a fruitless search for good quality children’s cookware. The search began because her daughters (pictured above with Nikki) would always bicker at the start of baking sessions about who was going to use the special yellow spoon with a face – painted on by Nikki’s grandmother. When Nikki realised that there was not much available, she decided to develop and market her own range.

Nikki with the help of her two daughters –Alisha and Mi Mi – then set about designing a range of children’s cookware. Alisha designed the logo and Mi Mi helped to choose the name. In March 2008 the range was launched to retailers and has seen a very positive response, with retailers already placing re-orders.

It is now possible to buy a range of children’s cookware from the website including Betty the Bowl, Archie the Apron or Sally the Spoon for your own budding masterchef. The website also has some delicious recipes for them to try out. Please see www.kidscookingco.co.uk

If you are reading this and would like to find out more about Tish Tash Toys and Rainbow Trust - please see our website www.tishtashtoys.com

If you would like to know more about donating to our appeal - we’d love to write an article about your company !! See www.justgiving.com/tishtashtoys

Many thanks to Akua from Sheabutter Cottage whose kind donation to the Trek Morocco sponsorship fund, has helped to increase the total raised - now almost to the £1000 mark.

Sheabutter Cottage is based in Sonning, Berkshire and was set up by Akua Wood in 2004. A native of Ghana, Akua had used natural products such as shea butter whilst in Ghana, and noticed how they helped her dry skin. Unable to find anything available in the UK that was as effective, Akua started to import small amounts for her own use. Soon realising the potential market Akua started to import larger quantities to sell.

Akua has also developed a range of her own handmade toiletry products from baby products, through to hair care and a men’s range. The products are made from not only unrefined shea butter, but also unrefined coconut oil, cocoa butter, palm kernel as well as other oils and butters. They are naturally scented using essential oils and herbs.

Not only are the products fantastic for your skin but they are also ethical. Akua sources her ingredients from farmer co-operatives in Ghana. All the ingredients are natural and produced using sustainable farming methods. There are no chemical additives or artificial scents in the products, and none of the products are tested on animals. So why not pamper yourself whilst supporting ethical trading, the environment and farmers.

For more information please see www.sheabuttercottage.co.uk

You can also go to http://www.akuawood.co.uk

Things are all going well at the moment with both training and fundraising for my four day walk in the Atlas Mountains this autumn. We are so incredibly close to one thousand pounds which is totally amazing I think! But….we need much more to get to the target of £5000 by September 11th, so if you are reading this now and can spare £1, honestly just one little pound….we won’t laugh if you donate a pound, we’ll think you are wonderful for taking the two minutes to do this. Go to www.justgiving.com/tishtashtoys

All the money you kindly give goes DIRECT to Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity.

As far as getting fitter goes, I was unable to do a big training walk last weekend as was working at The Brighton Baby Expo. But I shunned the taxi to and from my hotel in favour of a long long walk into town and along the sea front with two very heavy bags! Then two days constantly on my feet, lots of stretching putting up and taking down a stand must have been good exercise.

Really chuffed this week as I’ve been on the running machine twice and actually really enjoyed it. Used my ipod and found I totally got into the ‘zone’ listening to the new Sugababes album, a bit of Coldplay and Duffy.

It takes TWO minutes to donate www.justgiving.com/tishtashtoys

….and if you are wondering why you should bother, here’s a few reasons?

10‚000 families in England have a child with a terminal or life threatening illness at any one time.

Rainbow Trust provides practical and emotional support to families who face the unimaginable prospect of losing their child.

Rainbow Trust supports families helping them to maintain a sense of normality through very traumatic times.

The charity relies 100% on voluntary donations to raise £3m each year.

They support 1000 families which is just 10% of those who really need their help.

Now it’s up to you to make a difference.