Blog : Little Lilypad Co

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The Little Lilypad is a lifestyle blog mostly written by a mum to two beautiful, cheeky and entertaining daughters. It is sometimes written by the Man on the Pad or by one of our baby bloggers. Occasionally we accept guest posts too. There is frequently talk of sustainable living, saving money, lifestyle and travel. It is hopefully helpful, sometimes funny and always honest.
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Category: Views & Ramblings

  1. Back to School Shop #cbias

    Posted on

    I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

    I think it is fairly common knowledge that I do most of my shopping online for convenience and for finding the very best deals but when Collective Bias set me the challenge of shopping at my local supermarket for back to school products, I thought I would pick up a physical basket (not the virtual one) and go shopping! I made the decision to go to Asda alone, mainly because I knew that if I took along my two adorable little shopping companions, the shopping bill may exceed my budget. They are both little consumers and with lots to tempt children, at their height, I decided to go it alone!

    Asda1

    I know  that I can shop online at any time of day or night but it still amazes me that you can shop in store 24 hours a day. I went mid afternoon, rather than the middle of the night and the store was busy but not crazy, so I could meander round at my leisure. The back to school shop was straight in front of me as I walked into the store but as I was taking a picture the store security guard apprehended me and told me that I couldn't take pictures in store. Whilst I was a little shaken at first, I have to salute both Asda and the security guard for protecting both their store and their customers. I could have been anyone, potentially taking pictures of vulnerable people or children, so once we had chatted about the review I was doing, I was okay to proceed. (she says, wiping her brow)

    Back to School clothes

    Asda have an AMAZING range of Back to School clothes, stationary, lunch boxes, shoes .... you name it, they have it. I almost feel sorry for the children (you notice I said "almost"), in that as soon as they break up for the summer holidays, the "back to school" stuff is in the stores for September, reminding them that it is only a few weeks till they are returning to class.

    Back to School Shop

    My youngest daughter will be starting nursery this September, only for a couple of mornings and that is heart wrenching enough for me but I know what it is like for a mother with a child starting school for the very first time and whilst you need to deal with the practicalities of getting all the right things, you have to deal with the emotional side too. Thankfully Asda are making the practical side the easy part.

    Back to School Stationary

    Having already sorted the uniform out at the early part of the school holidays, stationary and bags were top of my "Back to School" shopping list and as we are big Hello Kitty fans in our house (who isn't), I was delighted to find a good range of stationary products in the Hello Kitty brand. I knew my eldest daughter would be thrilled with them, unfortunately her little sister got hold of them before she did and she stands testament to them being good quality (there are not many note books that can stand the force of her scribbling)

    Back to School testing

    Fashions come and go with children and getting value for money is important to parents but getting the "right" bag / design / logo is important to the children too. My eldest daughter does enjoy school but no one likes the summer holidays to end do they? I am just thankful that we have the "right" things to go back to school with this September.

     

  2. Top Tips for Children in the Summer Sun

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    Lilypad Summer Swimming Infographic

  3. Things I have realised ....

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    It was my birthday yesterday and another year has passed. Each year is made up of 365 days, 52 weeks and 8765.81277 hours, so there is alot of time to reflect on the things that I have learnt in the past 12 months and I have realised the following things.
     
    1. You cant please everyone all of the time. This is obviously not a new revelation and whether this is buying the wrong present for my god child or inadvertantly upsetting a relative over a party invite, it is not intentional and certainly not the end of the world. This is just the way it is.
     
    2. Starting an online gift business is both fun and hard work. Enough said.
     
    3, People let you down. Both personally and professionally, people  let you down. This maybe because of personal circumstance, lack of care or simply because its the way they are. I have to accept that everyone is different and it is not personal.
     
    4. When you are a grown up, you dont have to grow up. The oldest of people can still be young at heart.
     
    5. Children dont want quality time, they just want your time. My laptop is and will always be in 2nd place. (despite twitter tempting me with humorous tweets)
     
    6. New friends maybe around for the short or long term - dont analyse - just enjoy. Old friends are not always the best for you, no matter how long you hold onto the memories of the past.
     
    My thirties (ahem) are the best years of my life so far, I have two daughters who bring so  much happiness every day, we are surrounded by fantastic family and friends, the Little Lilypad Co is steadily growing and we are finding lots more beautiful, unique and unusual gifts for our loyal customers.
     
    If you follow us on Twitter, you will know our love of inspirational quotes,  so will leave you with this one.
     
    "Yesterday is History, Tomorrow a Mystery, Today is a Gift, Thats why it's called the Present"
     
     

  4. What is a bully?

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    The Lilypad is usually a warm, fuzzy, fluffy and non controversial place to find yourself but this week I found someone close to me was a victim of the cowardly behaviour that is encouraged by Ask.fm, the same online company that is reported to be at the centre of the tragic suicide of Hannah Smith. Ask.fm gives you the opportunity to ask your friends anything but with the choice of doing this anonymously. This is the perfect playground for cyber bullies.

    The cyber bully has seen a rise in notoriety over the past few years but whether it is online or in the playground, what is the definition of a bully?

    Bullying can be physical, bullying can be from the mind,

    Bullying is taunting, oppressive and unkind,

    Bullying can be agression from those without strength,

    Bullies usually lack confidence and will go to any length,

    To humilate and ridicule those who they fear,

    They will rallly around people but lets make one thing quite clear,

    Bullies are rarely people who are confident and proud, 

    Bullies are usually those with confidence under a cloud,

    People resort to teasing, threats or name calling,

    While the victim can stand firm or may find themselves falling,

    Falling into a spiral of despair and upset,

    The bully's will certainly not have finished yet,

    Their strength is the weakness is someone else,

    Because they have no esteem to hold for themself,

    Whether it is a child or adult the result is still the same,

    A bully is always looking for someone else to blame,

    A bully feeds on fear, a bully feeds on reaction,

    A bully gets their kicks and some perverse satisfaction,

    from the suffering of others,  in whatever form,

    from online, in the workplace or the old fashioned school dorm,

    In the end a bully will always be found,

    Even anonymous messages, leave a cyber trail or a sound,

    Victims should try and remember all they have been taught,

    And regardless what the bully says, you will always have support.

     

    Ask.fm have over 50 million users. Lets hope they change the rules before they affect and change more lives.

    On a lighter note, if you want a different take on mean girls, take a look at this light hearted post from Actually Mummy.