Wednesday, June 8, 2011

When Good Ovens Go Bad


I had a strange feeling come over me at the weekend and suddenly had the urge to clean the oven.

I had a fantastic sense of pride when I'd finished, the result not quite sparkling, but a far cry from the housework horror reality shows that it had been.

Skip forward a couple of days to the eve of my daughters 6th birthday and requirement to bring cupcakes to school for the class.  Firstly, who started that tradition?  And secondly, I believe next year I shall probably be the one to break it.

"Ewwwwww, what's that smell?" say the kids.  My (almost) sparkling oven was not quite as well wiped down as it could have been and when heating the oven, the oven cleaner aroma was overpowering.

Egads, the dilemma!   Option 1) cook the cupcakes and poison an entire class of 5-6 year olds or Option 2) explain rationally and calmly to Miss almost 6 that cupcakes were a silly idea and no one in her class probably liked them anyway.

Instead I took Option 3).  I Googled "remove oven cleaner smell from oven" and went straight to a tip on cutting an orange into quarters, removing the flesh, and baking it for a while in the oven to make the oven cleaner smell completely disappear.  Worked a treat and said cupcakes are now well on their way to Betty Crocker perfection.

The moral of the story?  Nothing good ever comes from cleaning the oven and Mr Google does indeed have the answer for everything.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Inside the Belly Beyond Showroom

Here are some of the interior shots of the Belly Beyond showroom - lookin' good!









 We are open:

Monday - Friday, 9.30am - 3.30pm
Saturday - 10am - 1pm


Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Best Music To Play During Labour

Every birth, and indeed every labour, is different  - so it's no surprise that every womans playlist during labour is just as diverse.

Here's a list of songs suggested for labour by our lovely Facebook Page members:
  • Salt N Pepa - Push it  (of course!!)
  • Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby
  • My Chemical Romance - Famous Last Words
  • Dixie Chicks - Lullaby
  • Emimen - Lose Yourself
  • Wilco - Sky Blue Sky album
  • Coldplay - Amersterdam
  • Band of Horses - Infinite Arms album
  • Kenny Rogers - The Gambler (just happened to be playing!)
  • Mozart Violin Concerto
  • Rhombus - Spread Love
  • Guns N Roses - Sweet Child of Mine 
  • Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
  • REM - Everybody Hurts
What songs were on your must play list?

Sunday, May 29, 2011

SKIP*HOP Nappy Bags - Price Roll Back


How often do you see a price change notice these days and think "here we go, another price rise".  Well not this time!

In New Zealand, Skip Hop Nappy Bags and many of the accessories have had their prices dialed BACK, effective right now.  Check out these new Belly Beyond prices:


Style Was Now
Skip Hop Dash Deluxe Nappy Bag $179 $139
Skip Hop Duo Deluxe Nappy Bag $149 $139

Skip Hop Versa Nappy Bag $199 $139
Skip Hop Via Messenger Nappy Bag $249 $199
Skip Hop Studio Tote Nappy Bag $239 $209
Skip Hop Duo Double Nappy Bag $225 $195
Skip Hop Toolbox Caddy $115 $69
Skip Hop Pronto Change Wallet $99 $79
Day to night Baby Log Book $159 $89
Skip Hop Splash Bottle Drying Rack $89 $59
Skip Hop Zoo Book Ends $99 $84
Skip Hop Zoo Packs $49.95              $44.95
Skip Hop Lunchies $34.95 $29.95



PLUS:  for a limited time on selected styles you also receive a Skip Hop Insulated Bottle Bag, valued at $39, absolutely free!    See our FREE section for all the options.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Belly Beyond Showroom


The Belly Beyond Showroom is now open!

Very exciting times, although there is a teeny bit of faffing to be done this weekend, we have already had our first few customers through and to me, that means the showroom is officially open.

Come on in and be professionally fitted for your nursing bra or try out our extensive Baby Carrier range (we are NZ's number 1 ERGObaby retailer and also stock BABYBJORN plus a fantastic range of baby slings and wraps of course too).

You can rifle around in our nappy bags, open zips to your hearts content and weigh up the pros and cons of a change wallet versus a bag big enough for the kitchen sink.

Opening hours and address details here 

Brands you'll see:


Aden+Anais 
Albetta 
Amber Teething Necklaces
Ameda Breast Pumps 
Baby Caterpillar 
Baby First
Baby Trenz Moses Baskets
Baby Zoo
Babybaby
BabyBjorn
Babylegs 
Babymel 
Bbox
BearView 
Belly Art
Belly Bandit
Boon 
Borsone
Breeze Baby 
Brolly Sheets
Bubba Blue 
Cake Lingerie
Cariboo 
Cariboo 
Chocovenyl 
Cocoon Couture
Cosy Grips
Cuddledry 
Diinglisar
Dreamswaddle 
dulce&zoet 
Earth Mama Angel Baby 
Ecotanka
ERGObaby 
Fertile Mind
Flexibath 
Giimmo 
gr8x 
HOTmilk 
Inspired Living
Isoki 
Kid Basix
La Leche League 
Lamington
Lily Pad Designs
Lou & Olly 
made4baby
Medela 
Mum2Mum
Mumcho
mumi&bubi
Mumi&Bubi 
Natures Child 
Natures Sway 
NOO
OiOi 
Peanut Shell
Popit 
Ramalama
SafeTSleep
Skip*Hop 
Smart Mum 
Solvej
Stickytiki 
Storksak 
Suvana 
Sweetcheeks Merino 
Unido
Vespa Belly Wraps
Womama

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Beyond Awesome $10,000 Giveaway






To celebrate our 3rd birthday, Belly Beyond is running the Beyond Awesome Giveaway, featuring a massive prize pool worth over $10,000!

Prizes include a Cariboo Bassinet, Flexibaths, HOTmilk Lingerie, Smart Mum Teething Bling as well ERGObaby, Ameda and b.box  and whole stack of other goodies from the amazing Belly Beyond range, here is the full list - WOW!


The Total Prize Pool = $10,596

RRP = Recommended Retail Price for each item
3 x gr8x Deluxe Hobo Nappy Bags, RRP$129
2 x b.box Change Boxes, RRP$39
3 x Tummy Ties, RRP $24.95
1 x Natures Sway Hammock, RRP$179
1 x Natures Sway Wrap, RRP$89
1 x Natures Sway Sling, RRP$75
3 x Amber Necklace Sets (mum, baby and baby bracelet), RRP$101
3 x Baby Amber Teething Necklaces, RRP$36
4 x Amber Baby Bracelets, RRP$16
10 Sets x Smart Mum Teething Necklaces and Smart Mum Teething Bangles, RRP$48
4 x Giimmo Nightlights, RRP$54.95
6 x Bubba Blue Muslin Wrap Packs, RRP$31.50
6 x Flexibaths, RRP$79.95
2 x HOTmilk Lingerie Essentials bra and underwear sets, RRP$81.80
2 x HOTMilk Lingerie Lost in a Moment Camisole and PJ Pant sets RRP$99.80
1 x ERGObaby Classic Carrier, RRP$199
6 x Babylegs, RRP$19
1 x Peanut Shell Adjustible Sling, RRP$99
2 x Babymel Leopard Totes, RRP$195
2 x Medela Harmony Breast Pumps, RRP$99
2 x Medela Cooler Sets, RRP$65
2 x Medela Disposable breast pads, RRP$14.90
2 x Baby Caterpillar Merino sleeping bags - 1 x Standard weight RRP$159 and 1 x Winter weight RRP$169
1 x Ameda Purely Yours Double Breast Pump, RRP$319
1 x Babybjorn Babysitter Balance, RRP$299
1 x Cariboo Folding Bassinet, RRP$280
1 x Cocoon Couture Elephant Bean Bag, RRP$129
1 x Cocoon Couture Dreamy Owl Bean Bean RRP$129
3 x Lilypad Liners, RRP$74.95
1 x OiOi Grey Dot Lime Messenger Nappy Bag, RRP$215
1 x Womama Birthing wrap, RRP$124.95
1 x Womama bra and underwear set, RRP$103
2 x dulce&zoet slings, RRP$74
2 x dulce@zoet slings for dolly, RRP$24.95
1 x StickyTiki Nikau Height Chart - removeable wall decals, RRP$110
1 x StickyTiki Alphabetic - removeable wall decals, RRP$88
2 x Cake Lingerie bra and underwear sets, RRP$95.90
5 x Birth to Earth placenta packs, RRP$39.95
1 x SafeTSleep wrap, RRP$120
1 x SafeTSleep wedge, RRP$20
3 x Brolly Sheets king singles, RRP$49.95
1 x Merino Mumcho Maternity and Breastfeeding wrap, RRP$149
1 x Skip*Hop Pink Links Deluxe Duo Nappy Bag, RRP$149
1 x Solvej Kea Swing, RRP$139
10 x Suvana - Organic, petrochemical free PawPaw balm, RRP$12
3 x Mumi&Bubi Solid Starter Kits, RRP$34.95
7 x Lamington Sockings, RRP$13.95
2 x Made4Baby Gift Packs, RRP$49.95
2 x Made4Baby Belly Oil, RRP$19.95
2 x Made4Baby Bubbles, RRP$17.95
2 x Bearviews Mirrors, RRP$49.95
2 x BabyZoo Sleep Trainer Clocks, RRP$49.95
1 x Borsone Nappy Bag, RRP$129
2 x Preggi Bellies DVDs, RRP$49.95
2 x Mum2Mum Gift Packs - dreamswaddle and Wonder bib, RRP$59
1 x Aden+Anais Dream Blanket, RRP$64.95
1 x Aden+Anais Washcloth set, RRP$24.95
1 x BabyBaby Decor Breastfeeding Pillow, RRP$89
1 x Vespa Belly Wrap - Plush, RRP$89
1 x Unido Sling - Vanilla Bean, RRP$89
1 x Lou & Olly, 3-6 months Meino Sleepgown -  ToiToi, RRP$79
2 x Zoras Rainbows, RRP$29.95
2 x Maternity Tights, RRP$29.95
3 x Cosy Grips, RRP $19.95
1 x OHbaby! Subscription $35.90
last but by no means least, 20 fabulous Magic Beans cards, valued at $35 each.
RRP is current at time of publishing and may differ to the current price on our site. E & OE.

ENTER the BEYOND AWESOME GIVEAWAY HERE


Simply sign up and be in to win, plus you can vote on our Facebook page for the way in which the $10,000 prize pool will be given away and score extra entries by playing the Bonus Boost.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

A Year in the Life - ERGObaby

Would never have imagined living through 2 big earthquakes... 

1st one being woken to the wildest roaring and shaking I've experienced, 2nd hanging on to my husband and baby for dear life while trying to dodge 100kg rolls of falling lino in a flooring shop. I still haven't decided if I preferred being asleep or awake when they happened.

Life has definitely changed since Feb 22nd - not just the fact that 7 weeks later we are still shoveling liquefaction from our yard out to the kerb... ( oh the places it managed to find it's way into!!) and constantly discovering new cracks in the walls, but life has changed for our kids. Today my 4.5yr old son was quite happily playing with a block puzzle, when all of a sudden

I heard him yell "EARTHQUAKE!!!!" - his new game you see is to build up towers and 'shake it down'... just like the broken buildings we see all around us. My poor wee
son experienced far too much for your average 4 year old on Feb 22nd. After hiding under the table at his kindy to dodge the falling ceiling heaters, they sought safety outside, only to watch the outside area flood and fill with volcanoes of liquefaction. They had to then all move & sit outside by the gate on a narrow concrete path. The carpark and road was torn apart ( seriously.. some major damage) and the worse part was all the other kindy parents rushed to get their kiddies within 30 mins... and My hubby and I didnt make it to school and kindy till about 4.45pm. So my poor son was the last one to be collected, cold hungry and frightened when we got there. My hubby dropped me off at the cnr near the school & I had to run thru raw sewerage to get to my daughter - those are memories and moments I'll never forget.

But we got off easy, we still have a house to live in. Sure we lost an enormous amount of personal belongings, because unlike our house ( being built on piles) our double garage has a concrete floor and is/was a huge storage area... and yes so that got filled and flooded with liquefaction... 2 FULL heaped caged trailer loads so far of our special things are now residing at the dump. We are thankful our house was spared, even tho currently it still has a mass of icky wet liquefaction underneath it, the flooding under the house has subsided but the silt remains. Worried about the winter and a crawling baby with all that muck under the floor. We still have to use a chemical toilet, but at least its not an outside longdrop

So after about 2.5 weeks of trying to do the bare necessity to repair damage, clear pathways thru the house to get to rooms and clean up as much broken glass as we could find we decided... no we made 'sure' we went away. It was far too stressful to remain at home. We actually couldn't live there for quite a few days until we made it safe for the kids. Thank goodness my eldest 2 fully understood what was safe and what wasnt.. and more importantly, I couldn't be happier that my 7month old ( at the time) was no where near crawling!!! At least I could control the situation when we spent hours cleaning and sorting. I set up a rug in the middle of the lounge with toys, books and games and told the kids they weren't allowed off the rug!!

A family member generously gave us some money to help, so we used that for petrol and food while we were away and some other wonderfully kind and generous other friends offered us their house in Queenstown. It was wonderful to go to Queenstown again and more importantly, the kids have been there before and so going to this house was very familiar for them and they settled in within minutes. The old familiar board games and beds... it was normal!

We had a fantastic time away, so relaxing and strangely surreal to be out of the 'war zone' We managed to get a few 'deals' while we were away too and had a great time on a boat cruise - Perfect Ergo moment if ever there was one! It was the 1st time the kids had been on a boat and we also spent hours at the local pools zooming down the hydroslide - another 1st for them too!

William is getting bigger by the day - he still comfortably snuggles in the Ergo. I'm sure at some stage I can start rear carrying him... but I dont want to! I LOVE him in the front or in the side carry position, and he does too. He is 9 months old today.... nine months!! Yikes soon he'll be a one year old.

xx Gill



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