RoomMates - Avtagbara klisterdekaler i bruk!

Det är alltid bra att prova på olika produkter, och se hur de fungerar i verkligheten. Vi har RoomMates hemma - flera olika för mina tre barn. Det är kul att barnen kan få välja själv - Christopher har djungel-tema, Benjamin har dinosaurier, och Annika har en blandat undervatten-häst tema. Och i källaren har vi sports-tema.

Funkar dem? Sitter dem fast? Ja - det kan jag säga. Annikas sitter på målad vägg - vi tog bort dem för att måla om hennes rum och satt dem på igen utan problem. I pojkarnas rum (djungel-dino) sitter dem på tapet... men här kommer lite varningstext. När jag satt dekalerna på var det enkelt att ta bort dem och flytta dem rund tills att de var hur vi ville ha dem. Men nu, efter flera månader, sitter dem riktigt fast på tapet och det går inte att ta av. I källaren har vi väv, och där sitter dem fast också. (Andra dekaler som vi har provat på konteret sitter inte fast på väv.)


Så ha det roligt med RoomMates - men akta på tapet. Det är alltid bäst att kolla först.


Se alla RoomMates här: RoomMates väggdekaler

Att skriva på svenska...

Nu ska jag försöka att skriva i min blogg på svenska... lite annorlunda för mig, och lite sämre gramatiken... men vi ska se hur det går!

We're Movin' Up in the World!

Yes, ABC Leksaker is slowly growing - now nearly 3 years old! In child-terms, I guess we are walking and talking, but still in relatively simple sentences. In company terms, it means that the days of stand-alone computers are nearing an end... and that I no longer have time to do it all. We will now have a part-time accountant to help with the bookkeeping, which means a new computer, a semi-networked office - and best of all - a networked printer. Up until now, Karin and I have been sharing the printer in a "tennis shoe network" - the kind where you unplug the cable from one computer, walk it over to the other computer, and plug it in. Until now, file sharing has meant handing USB memory sticks back and forth. But now, we feel really grown up!

Discount Code Immortality

Yes, it seems as though our discount codes can live forever on the internet. Way back when, in September of 2006, we had a discount code for a 10-day period for the faithful readers of our newsletter. I don't know how it happens, but now, nearly 3 years later, we still get the occasional customer who tries to order using that code... and can't understand why it doesn't work...

Hörselskydd - A Test Case

Seems as though Benjamin has a hard time concentrating at school... probably not so unusual for 7-year-old boys. These Peltor Kid hörselskydd are marketed for rock concerts (with pictures of Gwyneth's little Apple wearing them), fireworks and other loud activities. However, we thought they might come in useful in keeping outside distractions to a minimum during homework time and while doing school work. 

We started last night after dinner, when we sat down work on his math. He immediately put on the hörselskydd, but instead of doing any work, he set about trying how different things sounded with them on - banging on them, banging on the table, hitting a fork on a plate, yelling, and so on. So for a few minutes, we all wished we had hörselskydd as well! But then he finally focused on his work, and seemed to enjoy wearing them. 

This morning, he woke up before 5, and we rolled over with a muffled "go back to bed - it's too early". When we went in to wake him up for school, there he was, sound asleep, wearing the hörselskydd again! He had them on the whole way to school in the car, and proudly carried them in to his desk.

So the verdict? Clearly they are comfortable to wear (and sleep in!), and they fit a 7-year-old easily. I even tried them, and they just about worked for me. As for helping him concentrate in school... he gave them a glowing review this afternoon when I picked him up... but we will wait and see what the teacher says. 

Here's a link to the hörselskydd if you want to try them: Peltor Kid Hörselskydd - Lime

Let Kids be Kids

One more entry from one of my favorite blogs which encourages parents to let children be children -

MotherLode - Growing Up Too Fast?

Trying a New Browser

Being a web-based business keeps me on the edge, or so I like to think. I read an article recently (in a good old-fashioned paper newspaper) about the different browsers available - Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome, so I'm trying them out. It is hard to switch, so I decided to give each one a whole day so that I could really evaluate them well. Old habits die hard, so I figured I needed to break my old habits in order to really see what was possible. That was my plan, in any case. i'm afraid I only made it through 2 hours with Firefox before I decided it was time to try something else, and I was wondering if I would find some feature to tip the scales away from my old standby, IE. 

But surprisingly, I did find something. Google's Chrome is my new favorite, and I have now switched. Chrometakes away a lot of the unnecessary buttons, and gives a crisp, clean interface. It also has only one field for either internet addresses or google searches - which streamlines the process of getting to the page you want. 

I thought I would check on you all - the visitors to ABC Leksaker - to see where you fall. 74% of you use Internet Explorer, not surprising. 17% are using Firefox, 4% are using Safari, and less than 1% are using Chrome. And a few of you are using a host of other browsers that I've never even heard of - Opera, Mozilla, Netfront, Camino, SeaMonkey - maybe I wasn't as "on the edge of technology" as I thought. 

In any case, it is fun to try something new - you might find something you like!

New Article Preaches Value of Play

A new article in the New York Times promotes the value of play over academics, especially in the early school years - something Sweden seems to already know. So, while we Americans are tempted to cram knowledge and learning into our children, it seems as though good play will do the trick. (This is especially reassuring for me, since my nearly 8-year-old can't yeat read!) Anyway, it makes an interesting read, and promotes the values we believe in at ABC Leksaker - namely that children grow through playing, especially imaginative play. Read the actual article here:

Kindergarten Cram