Diaper Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Terra Jones who was the randomly selected winner of my Diaper Giveaway hosted by Momma in Flip Flops 2! Terra won a Bare Bottoms Boutique custom AIO cloth diaper! She chose a large diaper with red PUL, skulls and guitars flannel, and snap closures. Here's her completed diaper:

Let me know what you think, Terra! :)

Dear Kids Sunday

Here it is Sunday again...I didn't do well preparing for this week's installment of Dear Kid Sunday. With all the hussle and bussle of the holiday, I didn't take the time to write down how our week went. So, here's just a few thoughts...

December 29th, 2008

Dear Ry Ry and Issey -

This past week we celebrated your 4th and 2nd Christmas'. The week was filled with holiday things like Ryleigh making Christmas cookies with Nanni, wrapping last minute gifts, and cleaning. And then the festivities began...Its amazing to think back to last year when Ryleigh was so much smaller and less excited about the holiday season and Isaac was just a newborn whom we propped up next to his stocking. And now this year I watched you, Ryleigh, become so much more curious about Santa, and so much more anxious and excited about Christmas. And Isaac, I watched you run around, undecorating the tree, and pulling bows of gifts that weren't yours. We had a very nice Christmas this year. Both of you were so good. Ryleigh, you were very patient in waiting until it was time to open presents, and you made sure you said thank you for each one - most of the time before you even opened it. This made me so proud of you. One of my favorite memories of you this Christmas is when you opened a hooded sweatshirt that I made for you. You were so gracious and telling me what a great job I did and that you loved it so much. It's as if you knew the time and love that I put into making it for you. I love you for that and appreciate that YOU appreciated it. Isaac, you really weren't that interested in opening presents this year. Mommy and Daddy opened most of them for you. You did enjoy playing with all the trucks you got, though. The thing I will remember the most about you this Christmas is just how adapting you are. With all the craziness that went on, and having your routine interrupted, you just kept on going with that adorable smile on your face the whole time. Never once did you get overwhelmed or cranky. You're such a happy little boy! You both got way too many gifts and we had to clean out your old toys to make room for the new ones. We'll be donating the old ones to a family who didn't have money to buy Christmas presents. Ryleigh - I know its hard for you to get rid of some of your old toys, but I hope you soon realize how lucky you are and that the season is about giving. We're trying very hard to instill that in both of you. I enjoyed you both tremendously this Christmas - you make the holidays so much more fun and meaningful then they were before you were born. I love you and hope you both had a great Christmas! I can't wait for next year!

Big Hugs and Kisses!!!

Love,

Mommy

Dear Kids Sunday

In an attempt to keep me blogging regularly and record some of the precious, fleeting moments that I have with my kids, I've stolen an idea from Kelly of Macaroni and Glue (who stole it from someone else). It's called 'Dear Kid(s) Day'. My day will be Sunday - each Sunday I will post a letter to my children highlighting the week's activities, milestones, etc. So, here goes!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Dear Ryleigh and Isaac -
Well, we survived another crazy week!

On Monday morning we headed out to dance class. On the way Ryleigh and I had a wonderful conversation that covered just about everything. First we talked about how Christmas is only 10 days away and how you don't think Santa be coming to our house because you're not sure you were a very good girl this year. I told you we'd have to wait and see, but I thought he'd be coming to our house. You went on to say how you loved Reindeer and thought it was pretty cool to feed them at Santa's Village last week. Then you randomly switched up the conversation to say that 'Maybe next year, when you're 4, you'll like swimming lessons and you won't be scared and cry'. We'll have to see - I know you'll be so much bigger when you're 4! We arrived at dance class to find out that they still didn't have power from Thursday's ice storm and class was cancelled. We decided to go to the library for story time instead. We hadn't been to the library in so long because it conflicts with dance class. Mrs. Cole was happy to see you guys there and she couldn't believe how big Isaac had gotten. The theme at story time was Haunakkah and we sang Haunakkah songs, learned about dreidels, and painted a Star of David. Ryleigh enjoyed that part! Isaac enjoyed the star-shaped cookies that Mrs. Cole made for everybody. The rest of the day was pretty 'usual'. Ryleigh - you had a terrible melt-down at bath and bed time. You really need to take your naps!

Tuesday is preschool day for Ryleigh. You always have a good time at preschool even though I can never get information out of you about what you do. But, you did come home with a cute little paper horse that you made and a picture of an Easter basket with colored eggs that you cut out and glued on all by yourself. This was of course an exercise in cutting and pasting and learning about the oval shape. Afterall, it is Christmas time, not Easter. You also 'visited' Iran today - at least that's what I got from the paperwork that came home with you....you wouldn't talk about it. I really wish you'd talk to me more about school. While you were at school Isaac took a little nap. Poor baby...you haven't been feeling well. We took you to the doctors twice last week - you were running a fever and were diagnosed with double ear infections. I thought you were getting better, but you came down with a fever again Monday night. So, after Ryleigh got out of school we headed back to the doctors. Unfortunately there was nothing they could do for you...its a viral infection and just needs to run its course. I hope you're feeling better for Christmas!

Wednesday we stayed home for the day. It was snowing when we woke up and Ryleigh immediately wanted to go out and play in it. So we did. It took about 10 minutes to get everyone suited up in their winter gear. Ryleigh, you loved the snow. You made snow angels and 'belly angels'...which are apparently snow angels done on your belly. Isaac, you hated it. You could barely move in your snow pants and boots. You couldn't walk without falling over. You reminded me of Randy from 'A Christmas Story'. lol....you just kept falling on your butt and crying. Poor kid. So, unfortunately, we didn't stay out long. After we came in, we wrapped some gifts...Ryleigh was such a big helper with the tape. I decided not long into this project that wrapping is a project to be done after bed time. But, you had fun with it. You also helped me clean my room out a little bit today. We got some new bedroom furniture, so I had to clean out drawers, etc. You found some of my old jewelry which you thought was beautiful and we dressed you up in it. Isaac still wasn't feeling very good and after being up most of the night, he slept from 10:30-3:00!

Thursday is preschool day again and this Thursday was your Christmas party! Parents were invited to come back to school at 10:00 for 'lunch'. We brought a veggie platter and dip and there were lots of other goodies there as well. I was excited to see you in your school environment since I didn't get to go to your Autumn Party...Daddy went with you to that one. I watched you sit at the table and eat your lunch like you NEVER do at home. At home you're so restless at the table. Miss Elaine must really keep you in line! I think she should come live with us! Isaac got to go to the party as well. You were a handful, buddy. You kept climbing on the chairs to get into the food that was on the table and you were insistent on eating tomatoes which I don't like to give you because of your reflux. Miss Elaine gave each of you gift bags with a puzzle, a book, a coloring book, and some crayons in them. Ryleigh loved her gift and immediately opened the crayons and colored puppy pictures for everybody. The other bit of excitement for the day was that Isaac's 9th tooth popped through! YAY!

Friday...today we went to kindergym and guess who else came?!?! SANTA! Both of you were a little leary of Santa...you didn't want to sit in front of him with the other kids. Santa brought everybody gifts. Ryleigh got some little dollhouse type dolls and Isaac got a ball! You were both happy with your gifts. We came home and you both had naps. Ryleigh - this was your only nap this week! I basically had to lock you in your room, but you napped and it was soooo nice! I love you to pieces, but Mommy really looks forward to that break in the day. After nap we cuddled up on the couch and watched 'I Want a Dog for Christmas Charlie Brown'. Or at least we attempted to. Isaac - you didn't think sitting down for a whole hour was a good idea so you climbed and jumped all over me and annoyed your sister and laughed when she got mad at you. And to think you're only 14 months. lol...Daddy got home early today so you got to spend more time with him than you normally do at night and both of you really enjoyed that.


Saturday was the Goodheart Family Christmas Party at Grammie and Grampie's house. You both had a ball running around playing with your cousins, eating tons of food and waaaaay too much sugar! You also got gifts, of course. Ryleigh - you got a Doodle Pony, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, a new backpack, a sock monkey, and a little wooden basket that your cousin Chloe painted for you. Isaac - you got a set of 3 construction trucks, a Pooh bear stuffed animal, and a new really cool bath toy that I'm sure your sister give you a chance play with. After all the festivities, Ryleigh ended up sleeping at Grammies. You love it at Grammies - you practically live there. In fact, you told Grammie last time you stayed that you thought you should just live at Grammie's and just come stay at Mommy and Daddy's house once in a while to visit. It's funny and hurts my feelings at the same time. But, I understand...you sure do love Grammie!


Today has been a lazy day...we're getting a big snowstorm today. We're expecting over a foot of snow! So, we've just been hanging out inside all day. We've been in our pj's all day...we played Ryleigh's new Candy Land game. Mommy won and I was proud of you when you weren't sad that you lost. You can't wait to go out and play in the snow tomorrow!


Sorry...no pics to post this week...the monitor died on the desktop computer which is where all my pics are stored. But, its been a fun week and I love you guys to pieces! Looking forward to Christmas next week!


Love,
Mommy

Diaper Review and Giveaway

I learned about this fabulous review blog through Twitter when Andrea - blog author of Momma In Flip Flops 2 - was hosting an event for Cloth Diaper Month in November. She had all kinds of reviews of cloth diapers and cloth diapering accessories, articles on cloth diapering, etc. I wanted to take part in the event, but learned about it a little too late. I contacted Andrea anyway and sent her one of my AIO diapers to review. The review was posted on her blog today along with a GIVEAWAY! You can win a CUSTOM AIO diaper! Please check it out and enter to win!

Thank you, Andrea, for reviewing my diaper and hosting this giveaway for me!

Click HERE to be directed to the review and giveaway.

New Consumer Product Safety Law - The End of Bare Bottoms Boutique?

For those who don't already know there is a new law going into effect on February 10, 2009. The law is known as the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and it requires all products intended for children under the age of 12 to be tested for lead and phthalates by an approved third party lab. Not only must the raw materials used to make the products be tested, but also all components of a finished product must be tested as well. And all variations of that product must also be tested. From what I understand the testing can run anywhere from $100-$500 per test and there aren't anywhere near enough approved labs to handle the volume of testing that this law requires. So, what does all this mean? Well....it means a lot of small businesses like mine will be shutting down. There is no exclusion for small manufacturers or people who work out of their homes. For those people who make small batches of a certain product or who make one-of-a-kind items, it just is not financially feasible to comply with these testing standards. For instance, basically each one of my diapers would need to be tested unless I were to make every single one of them exactly the same. If I use a different color fabric, a different color snap, or anything of the sort, it would need to be retested. Spending hundreds of dollars to test a diaper that retails for $15 is just not feasible. So, small manufacturers like myself have other choice than to go out of business...well, unless you choose not to comply with the law. But, penalties are $100,000 per violation so I don't know many small manufacturers who would risk it for that much. Even big companies are in a panic about this law. This law WILL have grave consequences. Thousands of small mom-and-pop shops will be put out of business. And for those who do survive...lets face it - someone is going to have to pick up the expense of all this testing and more than likely it will be the consumer. So, children's products will be more expensive and harder to find. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm all about safety when it comes to children's products. I don't want my children's products to contain unsafe levels of lead and/or phthalates. But, fabric and clothing (unless painted on or embellished) pose very little risk of containing dangerous lead levels. The law needs to be targeted at items that actually pose a threat of containing lead and phthalates. And the testing needs to be less expensive and more accessible so that so that so many people aren't put out of business by this law. And is it really necessary to have the raw materials AND the finished products tested? Think about it...no more WAHM cloth diapers, OOAK clothing, wooden toys, furniture...it makes me sad. I have written my Senators and Congressmen and would urge everyone else to do the same. There is also a petition that you can sign. We need to flood Congress with communication and get them to realize the ramifications of this law for small business people. I applaud their attempts to make products safer for our children, but this law is too vague and not targeted where it should be. Here are some links:
Senate:
http://www.senate.gov/
House of Representatives:
http://www.house.gov/
Petition - PLEASE at least sign this petition!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA?e

What I've been up to....

If anybody actually reads my blog, they've probably been wondering why my posts have been so few and far between lately. So, I thought I'd post a little bit about what I've been up to lately. In between the normal everyday child rearing and keeping up with the house, here's what's been going on. We had a great, quiet Thanksgiving at home this year. Just Josh and I, the kids, and my mother-in-law. We watched the parade, had the traditional Thanksgiving feast, and then fell asleep on the couch watching Christmas Vacation. It was nice! My mom and I got up early on Black Friday and got to Jo-Ann's at 6 when they opened. It was craziness, but we got some fabulous deals! Then we headed home just to have my house torn apart. The floors in almost the entire downstairs of my house were replaced. It looks fabulous, but what a pain! Trying to keep the kids out of all the mess was quite a task! The floors were finished by Saturday night and then Sunday morning we were out getting our Christmas tree. Ever since then I've spent a good part of my day trying to keep Isaac from un-decorating the tree. I believe the ornament casualty count is up to 7 now. But, here are a few pics of the tree.

My Christmas Card Photo:

I've also been sewing like a mad-lady trying to get Christmas gifts made. I've tried to make as many gifts as I can this year, so I feel like an elf in Santa's workshop. Here are a few of the gifts that will be under my tree this year.

The kids have both had a cold for over two weeks. Isaac has a double ear infection, and I've been diagnosed with costochondritis. So, hopefully we're all better by Christmas! And finally...we took the kids to Santa's Village for the first time on Sunday. It was freezing, but they had a blast! Here are a few pics:

Sorry this post is so long! I'm almost done with Christmas gifts and then I plan to be back in full-force - blogging, marketing, making new products...stay tuned!

FAM-Made Holiday Gift Guide 2008

My fabulous fellow Fammies have come up with yet another great promo! The FAM-Made Holiday Gift Guide kicked off today and will run until December 12th. Check out the Fam Blog every day for themed gift guides and special sales, offers, and promos from participating FAM shops! Here's a schedule of the next 12 days' gift guides and specials. Be sure to check the FAM Blog daily for the beautiful gift guides and for lists of shops that are participating in that day's special!

December 1 - Gift Guide: Ornaments and Holiday Decor
Special: Link the FAM Gift Guide to your blog and receive an entry for the FAM
Bucks drawing.

December 2 - Gift Guide: Invitations and Greeting Cards
Special: Free Gift Tag with purchase

December 3 - Gift Guide: Boy
Special: Free Gift Wrapped item

December 4 - Gift Guide: Girl
Special: 1st customer of the day will get ...(what the shop picks)

December 5 - Gift Guide: Baby/Toddler
Special: 10% off purchase

December 6 - Gift Guide: Teen
Special: Discounted shipping

December 7 - Gift Guide: For Her
Special: Purchase from a participating FAM shop, and be entered in a drawing to
have your Etsy Shop featured on the FAM Blog. **BONUS Special** The
first 12 customers (that are sellers) to purchase from a shop listed below
and post a transaction link in this thread will be featured in a FAM
Customer Appreciation Treasury.

December 8 - Gift Guide: For Him
Special: Coupon for future purchase in shop (at discretion of each shop)

December 9 - Gift Guide: Jewelry
Special: Look for the item with a hidden "Secret" in each participating shop
for a super special discount on that item! Hurry, secrets go fast!

December 10 - Gift Guide: Sweet Treats
Special: Link FAM-made Gift Guide to your blog and get 10% off every purchase
that day from participating shops.

December 11 - Gift Guide: Housewares
Special: Mystery freebie in package

December 12 - Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffers
Special: BOGO 1/2 off

Now get shopping! :)