Well, Thanksgiving is over, I know that I and my family had a great time, and hopefully yours did as well. We spent a few days at a lake, just relaxing, swimming, having fun, "mountain climbing" (we took the kids to a local nature preserve full of trees, hills, caves, lakes, and despite the fact that we never strayed from the paved path, they're determined that they went mountain climbing), and enjoying each other's presence. We returned to town just in time for "Cyber Monday", so now it's back to work.
Here's what we have going on for the holidays:
Free standard shipping on all purchases being shipped to any US or Canadian address from now to Dec. 20th. International orders pay only 50% actual shipping costs.
25% off all EverDay Silk and EveryDay Indulgence slings-- coupon code is available on our page, www.babysosmart.com. Please use coupon code at check-out for discount.
We're also soliciting feedback on our newly remodeled website, and we'd love to hear from you! Drop us an email at info@babysosmart.com, and let us know what you like, what you'd like to see changed, and what would make it more user-friendly for you.
And remember, there are only 28 more days until Christmas! Get shopping!
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Dead Animals
I love Thanksgiving. (This will probably be the only post I ever do that has absolutely no mention of babywearing, BTW). Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday. I think it's because when I was growing up, Thanksgiving was the only holiday that almost all of our extended relatives came to visit, and I loved that. That and all the food. My Dad's female cousins were amazing cooks, great New England food, very hardy, delicious. I waited anxiously for Thanksgiving all year long.
Now that I have a husband and three children of my own, I long to have them experience and appreciate Thanksgiving the way that I did as a child. But since we don't have the family closeness aspect, I focus instead on the food, and try to include as many friends as possible. This year, just to mix it up a bit, we decided to go away for a little lakeside vacation, and celebrate Thanksgiving in a new environment. My plan is to make the turkey ahead of time and bring it with us, and then fix the side dishes when we arrive there.
I decided to start the whole turkey process yesterday. Let me say this, I love meat, and while I can appreciate the individual choice that a vegan makes to NOT eat meat products, I can't fathom why they would want to make that choice. Except when Thanksgiving rolls around again. Every year when I pull that big ol' turkey out of the freezer, my stomach starts to churn. (You should have been there the few years when I was pregnant and trying to cook the turkey. Not pretty.)
I'm well aware of all the "thawing rules" that one is supposed to follow when preparing a turkey, however, I've always been one to flout the rules, and turkey thawing holds no exceptions for me. So, I hauled the frozen carcass (what a gross word, carcass) of our unfortunate turkey out of the deep freeze yesterday morning, intending to throw it into the microwave for a marathon defrosting process, and then let it cook for days in the crock pot. Some of my best turkeys have come from this "special" technique.
I put the turkey in the sink, peeled off the plastic wrapper, only to find it had been hog-tied with a length of wire sturdy enough to put King Kong out of commission. And it was frozen as solid as a pond during a frigid New England winter. There was no way that wire was coming out. I began to wonder what the turkey had done that it's handler had needed to resort to such drastic measures. Perhaps as it's executioner raised the axe dramatically over it's head, the turkey looked back at him over it's shoulder, pleading with it's eyes for mercy. Perhaps the turkey went postal, and fought back, grabbing the axe from it's would-be executioner. Perhaps . . .Whoah, my imagination is way too vivid.
I thought for a bit on what was the best way to remove the offending wire. I tried kitchen shears. No luck. I turned to my husband's tool box. (Good thing he wasn't home). I tried leveraging a screwdriver under the wire and stabilizing it against the rock-solid body of the frozen turkey. Nothing. I tried pliers, several varieties-- needle nose, slip grip, you name it. Nothing was working, and now there was rust all over my turkey.
I looked at the clock. It was almost 11! Dang, I still hadn't started the meat for supper! I left the rusty, frozen, now partially mutilated turkey in the sink, and went back to the deep freeze. Ooh, I forgot we had goat. We're having goat for supper.
Before you get too freaked out, most people the world over eat goat on a very regular basis. Goat is amazing when prepared well. My kids love goat; my husband, not so much, he gets stuck on the mental image his brain has created. Anyway, I took the goat out of the wrapper and put it in the microwave to thaw before popping it into the crock pot. Let me say this about goat-- as much I love love goat, uncooked goat has this very distinct odor that just turns my stomach. I looked over at the sink, with my poor turkey lying there helplessly, smelled the raw goat as it traveled in my hands over to the crock pot, and began to get sick. Why were all these dead animals in my kitchen? What kind of freaks were we that there were dead animals just laying around? PETA would would have a hey-day if they ever just stopped by my house on a day like this! What was wrong with us?!
I somehow managed to get the goat seasoned and into the crock pot; the turkey was not so fortunate. It ended up waiting forlornly in the sink until my strong, handsome husband came home from work. Surely he would be able to wrestle off the wires that held it in it's death. (And he did, effortlessly, that's why I married him, so strong, so sexy . . . he's going to read this, you see! ;)
The turkey was now free of the bonds that had held it, but it was far too late for me to do anything culinary with it now. I'd wait until morning. But what was that noise? Someone pounding on my roof? Oh, I'd forgotten that my husband had gone up there to clean out the gutters before the predicted weekend snow got here. He always needed me to guide him back off the roof. I went outside, expecting to direct him off the roof and onto the ladder that was several feet too short. Instead he was making strange gestures and whispering something, I had no idea what he was trying to communicate to me. He kept pointing at the side of the house, to the strip of yard between our house and our neighbors. I pointed over there and he nodded vigorously, but put a finger to his lips to shush me. I tip-toed to the side yard, feeling foolish, trying to look inconspicuous. What?, I gestured silently to him. I don't see anything. He kept pointing, more specific now. I crept closer, squinting to try to see something in the twilight. "A dead animal," he whispered VERY loudly. A dead animal? Was it that half-dead mangy rodent that they called a dog? (I'm not that lucky). Maybe one of the hundreds of squirrels that were rampant in our neighborhood, my kids have named them all, I swear. I kept looking, trying to see something. And then I stopped. Something had caught my eye.
What the . . .?! Is that what I think it is? Oh, my gosh, I live in the city for crying out loud! What was wrong with these people? Did they have something against "field dressing"? Dead animals.
Happy Thanksgiving!
www.babysosmart.com
Now that I have a husband and three children of my own, I long to have them experience and appreciate Thanksgiving the way that I did as a child. But since we don't have the family closeness aspect, I focus instead on the food, and try to include as many friends as possible. This year, just to mix it up a bit, we decided to go away for a little lakeside vacation, and celebrate Thanksgiving in a new environment. My plan is to make the turkey ahead of time and bring it with us, and then fix the side dishes when we arrive there.
I decided to start the whole turkey process yesterday. Let me say this, I love meat, and while I can appreciate the individual choice that a vegan makes to NOT eat meat products, I can't fathom why they would want to make that choice. Except when Thanksgiving rolls around again. Every year when I pull that big ol' turkey out of the freezer, my stomach starts to churn. (You should have been there the few years when I was pregnant and trying to cook the turkey. Not pretty.)
I'm well aware of all the "thawing rules" that one is supposed to follow when preparing a turkey, however, I've always been one to flout the rules, and turkey thawing holds no exceptions for me. So, I hauled the frozen carcass (what a gross word, carcass) of our unfortunate turkey out of the deep freeze yesterday morning, intending to throw it into the microwave for a marathon defrosting process, and then let it cook for days in the crock pot. Some of my best turkeys have come from this "special" technique.
I put the turkey in the sink, peeled off the plastic wrapper, only to find it had been hog-tied with a length of wire sturdy enough to put King Kong out of commission. And it was frozen as solid as a pond during a frigid New England winter. There was no way that wire was coming out. I began to wonder what the turkey had done that it's handler had needed to resort to such drastic measures. Perhaps as it's executioner raised the axe dramatically over it's head, the turkey looked back at him over it's shoulder, pleading with it's eyes for mercy. Perhaps the turkey went postal, and fought back, grabbing the axe from it's would-be executioner. Perhaps . . .Whoah, my imagination is way too vivid.
I thought for a bit on what was the best way to remove the offending wire. I tried kitchen shears. No luck. I turned to my husband's tool box. (Good thing he wasn't home). I tried leveraging a screwdriver under the wire and stabilizing it against the rock-solid body of the frozen turkey. Nothing. I tried pliers, several varieties-- needle nose, slip grip, you name it. Nothing was working, and now there was rust all over my turkey.
I looked at the clock. It was almost 11! Dang, I still hadn't started the meat for supper! I left the rusty, frozen, now partially mutilated turkey in the sink, and went back to the deep freeze. Ooh, I forgot we had goat. We're having goat for supper.
Before you get too freaked out, most people the world over eat goat on a very regular basis. Goat is amazing when prepared well. My kids love goat; my husband, not so much, he gets stuck on the mental image his brain has created. Anyway, I took the goat out of the wrapper and put it in the microwave to thaw before popping it into the crock pot. Let me say this about goat-- as much I love love goat, uncooked goat has this very distinct odor that just turns my stomach. I looked over at the sink, with my poor turkey lying there helplessly, smelled the raw goat as it traveled in my hands over to the crock pot, and began to get sick. Why were all these dead animals in my kitchen? What kind of freaks were we that there were dead animals just laying around? PETA would would have a hey-day if they ever just stopped by my house on a day like this! What was wrong with us?!
I somehow managed to get the goat seasoned and into the crock pot; the turkey was not so fortunate. It ended up waiting forlornly in the sink until my strong, handsome husband came home from work. Surely he would be able to wrestle off the wires that held it in it's death. (And he did, effortlessly, that's why I married him, so strong, so sexy . . . he's going to read this, you see! ;)
The turkey was now free of the bonds that had held it, but it was far too late for me to do anything culinary with it now. I'd wait until morning. But what was that noise? Someone pounding on my roof? Oh, I'd forgotten that my husband had gone up there to clean out the gutters before the predicted weekend snow got here. He always needed me to guide him back off the roof. I went outside, expecting to direct him off the roof and onto the ladder that was several feet too short. Instead he was making strange gestures and whispering something, I had no idea what he was trying to communicate to me. He kept pointing at the side of the house, to the strip of yard between our house and our neighbors. I pointed over there and he nodded vigorously, but put a finger to his lips to shush me. I tip-toed to the side yard, feeling foolish, trying to look inconspicuous. What?, I gestured silently to him. I don't see anything. He kept pointing, more specific now. I crept closer, squinting to try to see something in the twilight. "A dead animal," he whispered VERY loudly. A dead animal? Was it that half-dead mangy rodent that they called a dog? (I'm not that lucky). Maybe one of the hundreds of squirrels that were rampant in our neighborhood, my kids have named them all, I swear. I kept looking, trying to see something. And then I stopped. Something had caught my eye.
What the . . .?! Is that what I think it is? Oh, my gosh, I live in the city for crying out loud! What was wrong with these people? Did they have something against "field dressing"? Dead animals.
Happy Thanksgiving!
www.babysosmart.com
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
New Product Tags
Our new product tags arrived about a month ago, and I've finally taken the time to take some photos to share them you! Hope you like them as much as we do!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Pockets and Toy Loops
Today's my birthday, and in honor of my birthday, I've decided to have a "Birthday Sale" at Baby So Smart.
In honor of my birthday, all ring slings, EveryDay Indulgence and EveryDay Silk, are 40% off, and all Mei Tais are 35% off (excluding custom orders). Use coupon code: hpybdrs at check-out for all ring sling purchases, and coupon code: hpybdmt at check-out for all Mei Tai purchases. Coupons are valid from now until November 30th at midnight.
I had decided a month or so ago, that starting Jan. 1, 2008, all of our ring slings will come standard with a zippered pocket (versus our previous Velcro pockets) and all of our Mei Tais will come standard with a toy loop. Orders may be filled with either our "old style" ring slings and Mei Tais until our current stock is used up or our "new styles."
Happy birthday shopping!
http://babysosmart.statesmanblogs.com
In honor of my birthday, all ring slings, EveryDay Indulgence and EveryDay Silk, are 40% off, and all Mei Tais are 35% off (excluding custom orders). Use coupon code: hpybdrs at check-out for all ring sling purchases, and coupon code: hpybdmt at check-out for all Mei Tai purchases. Coupons are valid from now until November 30th at midnight.
I had decided a month or so ago, that starting Jan. 1, 2008, all of our ring slings will come standard with a zippered pocket (versus our previous Velcro pockets) and all of our Mei Tais will come standard with a toy loop. Orders may be filled with either our "old style" ring slings and Mei Tais until our current stock is used up or our "new styles."
Happy birthday shopping!
http://babysosmart.statesmanblogs.com
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Baby Girl
http://www.babysosmart.com/
I was lying in bed the other morning, in that state of not really awake, but not fully asleep, either, just relaxing and enjoying the stillness. My husband had just left for work, so it was probably a little after 6 am, it was still dark outside, and I had been dreaming something nice, I can't remember what it was, but I remember smiling a little bit in my half-sleep and feeling good inside.
Suddenly I heard a little voice whispering, "Mama, Mama" from next to me in the bed. I hadn't realized our 3 1/2 year old daughter was in bed with me. I scooted over next to her, and pulled her in tight, snuggling her, remembering back to her baby days, and how sweet she had smelled then, how much she loved to be carried around in her sling, such a sweet, sweet baby.
She whispered again, "Mama, Mama," "What, Sweetheart?" I whispered back, so enjoying the closeness and semi-darkness that hung over our little home. "Mama, I think you should wipe my bum," my daughter whispered sleepily. I was more awake now, suddenly. "Why?" "Because I just peed in your bed," she replied.
I was instantly awake, jumping out of the bed, reverie shattered. Such is life in a co-sleeping family. Oh, well. Now it was a normal day.
As I brought my daughter to the bathroom to clean her up and stripped off the sheets, I let my mind wander back to that sweet place I had been just prior to my daughter's announcement. She had been such a sweet, easy baby, and really, she hadn't changed much from that. I remembered snuggling her on my breast moments after she was born on the floor in our local birthing center, in awe of her perfect little wet body and beautiful face. Such a miracle she had been. Our midwife and even the OB had told us during my pregnancy with her that she most likely had Down's Syndrome. I can remember the sinking feeling I had at that moment, and then looking over at my husband, steeling myself for the worst from him, instead hearing him say what my heart was already saying, "It's okay, we'll take her anyway we can get her, she's a blessing, and we will love her no matter what."
And then a few months later giving birth to her at the birthing center, another difficult choice. They had tried to steer us towards one of our local hospitals for the birth, but we knew that there was little risk for our daughter, regardless of where she was born. And if she did indeed have Down's, we wanted her with us, not whisked away to a NICU for hours of painful poking and prodding. So we went with our hearts and planned the birth for the birthing center. What an experience that was. The longest labor I've had yet (almost 48 full hours), and yet the easiest, I could do her labor again in a heartbeat. And then seeing that beautiful little girl slide out of me into my husband's hands, absolutely perfect. No Down's, just a beautiful baby girl.
I carried her everywhere with me, "my pouch girl" I called her. She (and I) was in Heaven everytime I put her in our sling. We would go everywhere, my oldest, only 15 months when his sister was born, clinging to my hand, and she in the sling. People would stare at us as if we were something strange that needed to be watched after. Sometimes people would make nice comments, about how comfortable she looked in the sling, or how nice it must be to be snuggled close to one's mama. But more often than not, we got those stares, those sullen looks, somewhat curious, somewhat angry. As if somehow they are offended that I have chosen to carry my children.
Even now she still loves to be in a sling-- she likes the brown cashmere one now, or the brown and pink silk one-- her tastes have "grown up" as it is. "I like the brown one, Mama, I look good in brown!" She's right, she looks amazing in brown. But then again, she is amazing. Even if she did just pee in my bed.
Gift certificates now available for any Baby So Smart sling or carrier! Available in increments of $25, log on now to purchase your favorite!
www.babysosmart.com
http://babysosmart.statesmanblogs.com
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
There's a Reason Why
I've just spent the last hour--wait, let me rephrase that-- wasted the last hour trying to "customize" my little blog spot. Oh, I know, they all tell me the same thing, them, the notorious "they" and "them" who are supposed to be my "Customer Support" at all of these non-tech tech sites that I'm getting used to using. (I know, I'm way behind the times, blame my kids). I was supposed to quickly and easily upload some lovely photo of myself to use on my profile, change the look of my blog by customizing the colors, layout, etc, etc, etc. Right, here I am, not having been able to figure any of this out, still where I left it last night . . . .
There's a reason why I leave some of the business details to my husband. Like all of this "easy" computer stuff. Like talking to all the tech geeks at our hosting site. He understands this stuff, he speaks it, it truly is another language, I don't care what anyone says, and he speaks "the language." I, clearly, do not, and will probably never be anywhere near fluent. Maybe someday I'll be able to limp through with a weak understanding of what HTML really is, or how to assign a URL to all the photos I'm trying to use in my many business hosting sites, but I'll never be fluent. There's a reason why.
There's a reason why I'm the chief breast feeder in the family. (This one should be easy for all of you trying to figure out the reasons why before I get to the explanation part). There's a reason why I'm the one who always seems to have to give birth to our children. (Again, idiot easy).
And there's a reason why I choose to be the designer and creator of all of our beautiful babywearing products. I love, love, love, love, love fabric. Especially expensive, rich beautiful fabrics like silks and brocades and cashmeres and camel hairs (oh, they're all here, or going to be, at some point). I mean, come on, look at the link: http://www.babysosmart.com/collections/2/, tell me you wouldn't feel gorgeous swathed in these beautiful creations? How could you not, the fabrics in their most basic state are awe-inspiring, breath-taking, exquisite, and that's how I see moms. So that's how I want to see moms "dressed," carrying their babies in fabrics that make these beautiful, sexy, gorgeous moms glow.
There's a reason why you should carry your baby in one of our slings--not only are they great for your baby, easy on your back, comfortable to wear, but they're gorgeous, too!
We have a slogan around here at Baby So Smart, and it goes like this. "Smart Parents, Smart Slings . . . Smart Babies." So, are YOU smart?
http://babysosmart.statesmanblogs.com
There's a reason why I leave some of the business details to my husband. Like all of this "easy" computer stuff. Like talking to all the tech geeks at our hosting site. He understands this stuff, he speaks it, it truly is another language, I don't care what anyone says, and he speaks "the language." I, clearly, do not, and will probably never be anywhere near fluent. Maybe someday I'll be able to limp through with a weak understanding of what HTML really is, or how to assign a URL to all the photos I'm trying to use in my many business hosting sites, but I'll never be fluent. There's a reason why.
There's a reason why I'm the chief breast feeder in the family. (This one should be easy for all of you trying to figure out the reasons why before I get to the explanation part). There's a reason why I'm the one who always seems to have to give birth to our children. (Again, idiot easy).
And there's a reason why I choose to be the designer and creator of all of our beautiful babywearing products. I love, love, love, love, love fabric. Especially expensive, rich beautiful fabrics like silks and brocades and cashmeres and camel hairs (oh, they're all here, or going to be, at some point). I mean, come on, look at the link: http://www.babysosmart.com/collections/2/, tell me you wouldn't feel gorgeous swathed in these beautiful creations? How could you not, the fabrics in their most basic state are awe-inspiring, breath-taking, exquisite, and that's how I see moms. So that's how I want to see moms "dressed," carrying their babies in fabrics that make these beautiful, sexy, gorgeous moms glow.
There's a reason why you should carry your baby in one of our slings--not only are they great for your baby, easy on your back, comfortable to wear, but they're gorgeous, too!
We have a slogan around here at Baby So Smart, and it goes like this. "Smart Parents, Smart Slings . . . Smart Babies." So, are YOU smart?
http://babysosmart.statesmanblogs.com
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
So What's the Big Deal with Babywearing?
Many of my friends have been encouraging me to start "blogging," and I've been putting it all off, as I'm not the most computer-savvy and it's not like I'm loaded with extra time. But, I've thought about it and I've finally decided to give it a try.
I think I'll be blogging about all kinds of things that are important to me-- my kids, family, life, babywearing, breastfeeding, pregnancy, and all the other little lovelies that go along with these topics.
I'm going to start it all out today with my passion, babywearing.
So, what is the big deal with babywearing? It's all over Hollywood these days. Open any current celebrity magazine and you're bound to see photos of some young starlet toting her precious little one around, not in her arms, not in some high-priced glitzy stroller, but in a sling, a Mei Tai, a soft-bodied baby carrier of some sort. There's Julia Roberts, Madonna, Angelina Jolie (of course), Marcia Cross, Gwen Stefani (rumored to be carrying another one!), Kate Hudson, Brooke Shields, and lest we forget the dads, there's Brad Pitt, Gavin Rossdale, Liev Shrieber . . . .the list goes on.
I do it myself, have done it with all three of my kids, and love it! So I'll tell you what the big deal is, in my opinion. There's nothing better than snuggling a warm, sweet smelling little one (baby or toddler) in your arms, gazing into their adoring eyes, talking softly into their little ears, taking them everywhere that you go, making them an integral part of every part of your daily life. And the best part of it is-- I'm not breaking my back doing it! My little one is well-supported in my favorite silk sling, yes, silk-- hey, I want to look good, too-- my hands are free to do whatever it is I want to do, I can breastfeed on-demand hands-free anywhere that I need to (and I have a convenient breastfeeding cover-up at my disposal--the tail of my sling), need I say more?!
Forget about all the real health benefits that go along with babywearing. And there are PLENTY of those. (I'll talk about some of those down the road). I just really like the convenience of being able to do whatever I want whenever I want, have my hands free, and have my sweet little ones up close to my face, not somewhere dangling down by my knees in a heavy carseat "carrier" (you do know they're not really carriers, right?) or, again, down at my knees, facing away from me in a stroller so we can't ever really communicate well. I just can't see the benefit of those devices, bummer for those babies and kids who are strapped into them for every excursion their parents go on.
Anyway, that's the big deal with babywearing. It's convenient, it's great for babies and their parents, it can be very stylish, too, and it keeps me hands-free!
Check out all of MY babywearing goodies at www.babysosmart.com!
I think I'll be blogging about all kinds of things that are important to me-- my kids, family, life, babywearing, breastfeeding, pregnancy, and all the other little lovelies that go along with these topics.
I'm going to start it all out today with my passion, babywearing.
So, what is the big deal with babywearing? It's all over Hollywood these days. Open any current celebrity magazine and you're bound to see photos of some young starlet toting her precious little one around, not in her arms, not in some high-priced glitzy stroller, but in a sling, a Mei Tai, a soft-bodied baby carrier of some sort. There's Julia Roberts, Madonna, Angelina Jolie (of course), Marcia Cross, Gwen Stefani (rumored to be carrying another one!), Kate Hudson, Brooke Shields, and lest we forget the dads, there's Brad Pitt, Gavin Rossdale, Liev Shrieber . . . .the list goes on.
I do it myself, have done it with all three of my kids, and love it! So I'll tell you what the big deal is, in my opinion. There's nothing better than snuggling a warm, sweet smelling little one (baby or toddler) in your arms, gazing into their adoring eyes, talking softly into their little ears, taking them everywhere that you go, making them an integral part of every part of your daily life. And the best part of it is-- I'm not breaking my back doing it! My little one is well-supported in my favorite silk sling, yes, silk-- hey, I want to look good, too-- my hands are free to do whatever it is I want to do, I can breastfeed on-demand hands-free anywhere that I need to (and I have a convenient breastfeeding cover-up at my disposal--the tail of my sling), need I say more?!
Forget about all the real health benefits that go along with babywearing. And there are PLENTY of those. (I'll talk about some of those down the road). I just really like the convenience of being able to do whatever I want whenever I want, have my hands free, and have my sweet little ones up close to my face, not somewhere dangling down by my knees in a heavy carseat "carrier" (you do know they're not really carriers, right?) or, again, down at my knees, facing away from me in a stroller so we can't ever really communicate well. I just can't see the benefit of those devices, bummer for those babies and kids who are strapped into them for every excursion their parents go on.
Anyway, that's the big deal with babywearing. It's convenient, it's great for babies and their parents, it can be very stylish, too, and it keeps me hands-free!
Check out all of MY babywearing goodies at www.babysosmart.com!
http://babysosmart.statesmanblogs.com
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