The Baby So Smart "Inspiration Sling" Contest Winners!

"Inspiration Sling" Winners!

We had so many great entries to this contest, it was extremely difficult to narrow the entries down. While my intent was to narrow the choices down to just 5 winning entries, because there were so many inspiring entries, I decided to add-on some "Honorable Mention" entries. The individuals who have received Honorable Mention will receive a $50 gift certificate, good towards any Baby So Smart product.

And now the 5 grand prize winners of the Baby So Smart "Inspiration Sling" contest--

1. Jessica Hartenstine (TBW: LunamothMama), with the "Azor Forrest" sling, color combo of chocolate brown, leaf green, and turquoise.
2. Michelle Tonkinson, with the "Kyla Ilene" sling, color combo of pink and cream.
3. Carmela Smythe (TBW: carmelasmythe), with the "Hannah Lashley" sling, color combo of chocolate brown and pink.
4. Elizabeth Easter (TBW:EllieBellie), with the "Tiffany Sabrina" sling, color combo of "Tiffany blue" and lime green.
5. Dana Carries (TBW:Pyrodjm), with the "Natalie Monet" sing, color combo of deep orange and chocolate brown.

And now the Honorable Mentions--
1. Andee Roll, with the "Harper Delaney" sling
2. Jennifer Lytle (TBW:mamarocks), with the "Claire Margarite" sling
3. Heather Russel (TBW:bgexotics), with the "Aidan Carter" sling
4. Shanna Bartram (TBW:anneannahs), with the "River Anna" sling
5. Dawn Partlow, with the "Nova Marie" sling

Congratulations to all of our Grand Prize Winners, and to all of our Honorable Mention winners!

Stay tuned for photos coming soon!

Join Baby So Smart on Facebook!

Want to learn more about babywearing, love your Baby So Smart sling or Mei Tai, or just want to hang out with other babywearers? Then join us on Facebook! Simply click on the title of this blog to be taken to our Facebook page, and then add yourself as a "Fan" of Baby So Smart.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The End of All Small Businesses That Produce Childrens Items??

Some of you may not be aware of all that is taking place currently within our governmental system in regards to legislation in process that may very likely shut down those of us who own small businesses that sell or manufacture items used by children ages 12 and under.

In a nutshell: most of you remember the concerns that were raised when in 2007, many children's toys and other products were recalled due to high levels of lead, said items having been manufactured in mass quantities in China, and sold to us by large companies here in the US who had outsourced their production of these childrens items. Rightly so, Americans were outraged, and the US Congress stepped in to protect us.

This from www.change.org, "they [the US Congress] passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August 2008. Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in children's products, mandates third party testing and certification, and requires manufacturers of all goods for children under the age of 12, to permanently label each item with a date and batch number." (Italics mine).

While this appears to be a great step taken to protect American children from tainted products, there are myriad problems with the legislation and the way it currently is written.

Again, from www.change.org: "All of these changes will be fairly easy for large, multinational companies to comply with. Large manufacturers who make thousands of units of each item have very little incremental cost to pay for testing and updating their systems to include batch labels. Small businesses however, will likely be driven out of business by the costs of mandatory testing, to the tune of as much as $4,000 or more per item. And the few larger manufacturers who still employ workers in the United States face increased costs to comply with the CPSIA, even though American-made toys had nothing to do with the toy safety problems of 2007.

Anyone who produces or sells any of the following new or used items will be required to comply with the law: toys, books, clothing, art, educational supplies, materials for the learning disabled, bicycles, and more. Any uncertified item intended for children under the age of 12 will be considered contraband after February 10, 2009. It will be illegal to sell or give these items away to charities, and the government will require their destruction or permanent disposal, resulting in millions of tons of unnecessary waste, and placing an enormous strain on our landfills.

There is a clear disconnect between the sweeping nature of this law, and the narrow range of products that were problematic in 2007. The CPSIA applies standards that were put in place in reaction to the sale of toys contaminated with lead paint and toxic plastics. Rather than focus on these materials, this law places a guilty until proven innocent mentality on all children's product producers by imposing mandatory testing and certification, and in the process will kill an entire industry."

This law, if enacted as currently written, will close down thousands of small businesses, including mine. In these economically difficult times, this will only serve to increase the hardships families are suffering from and increase the jobless rate. I encourage you to contact your senators and congress-people to implore them to provide exemptions for those of us whose products in no way violate these laws or impose and danger to our children.

FYI-- the fabrics that I currently use to craft the beautiful baby carriers available on my website, www.babysosmart.com, are already safe-- the levels of possible contaminants are well-under what the government is deeming acceptable and safe with these laws. However, if I continued to function and manufacture and sell baby carriers after February 10th, the government would state that I am violating the law by producing and selling "hazardous materials", which is NOT true, and I could potentially be fined up to $5 million and face jail time.

Please, please take the time to read the full explanation of all that will happen to America on February 10, 2009 by going to www.change.org, and then also contact those indivual senators and congress people who can grant us exemptions.

Thank you so much for reading this.

Happy After-the-Holidays Greetings!

Just wanted to wish all of you a happy, healthy, prosperous 2009!

You Inspire Us

Most of my fabric choices and combinations that I use to create all of our beautiful Baby So Smart slings and Mei Tais are inspired by something in my life-- my children, a favorite book, a beautiful natural phenomenon, friends-- and my customers.

In honor of all the inspiration in my life, I have decided to introduce the Baby So Smart "Inspiration" Slings. These slings will be inspired by YOU and will be available in several gorgeous combinations and price ranges, providing something beautiful for everyone.

These slings will be available as single layer slings in two separate but coordinating color combinations, or as one gorgeous reversible sling.

Here's a look at the "Avelyn Eithne" reversible silk sling, inspired by my oldest daughter-- Elegant and beautiful, but subtle. Two gorgeous layers of silk, one a silvery green, the other sugared plum, accented by an elegant coordinating cotton print. Two zippered pockets, to make the sling practical regardless of which way you choose to wear it. Available for $249.


And then the single layered versions:

The "Avelyn" sling (my daughter's first name) . . . a single layer of silvery green silk, accented with sugared plum silk and the coordinating cotton print . . . and the "Eithne" sling (my daughter's middle name) . . . a single layer of sugared plum silk, accented with silvery green silk and the coordinating cotton print.

Each of the single layer slings has one zippered pocket and is not reversible, and will be available for $125.

Here's where you, our customers, come in. I want your input to help inspire me with this astounding line of silk slings.

I invite you to send me your baby's name, along with your favorite color combination, a photo of you with your baby, and tell me a little bit about yourself and what inspires you. If I choose your color combination, that sling will be named after your baby, and you will receive a free reversible, double layer silk sling named for your baby in the color combination that you have suggested.

All entries must be received by midnight, Jan. 15, 2009. Winners will be notified by Jan. 31, 2009, and will receive their sling within 4 weeks. All entries must be submitted to tiffany@babysosmart.com. You may only enter once. Entrants may choose to honor one or more children by combining their children's names in an attractive manner. No more than two names and two color choices submitted per entry. Winning combinations will be chosen based upon: my appreciation of your child's name and my appreciation of the color combination you have chosen. Five winning combinations will be chosen from among entrant's suggestions, hence forming the base for 15 new slings.

Good luck, I look forward to hearing from you-- start submitting!

What's New at Baby So Smart!

Gosh, I've taken so much time off from keeping up this blog, that I'm afraid I have quite a bit to catch up on, at least in regards to what has been going on at Baby So Smart.

Let's see, I guess we'll start with January: We've turned over the last of the "old stock" of the EveryDay Silk slings, so now all the new slings have zippered pockets. We've been pleased to have much positive feedback regarding this change. And our new tags are a big hit, not just with us, but with everyone who sees them! Thanks to my sweet husband, Adam, for designing our gorgeous peacock!

February: Two birthdays this month, our youngest son, Malachai, turned two, and he's experiencing the "terrible two's" to the fullest! I think my older two skipped this stage! And our "Boggle" (beagle/Boston terrier mix), Ruby, turned one this month!



March: Now it's Adam's turn for a birthday, he wasn't too thrilled to keep creeping past the "Big 3-0". Seems we always want to be younger, or at least not get any older! We're getting ready around here to take part in our first fashion show, to be held in Fort Madison, IA, and we're pretty excited about that. And we're gearing up to our first big Baby Expo to be held in early April. Much work to be done around here!

April: Yet another birthday! Avelyn turns 4 this month, and she has agreed to wean. My baby
girl is growing up! And check out what she chose as her "weaning present"! I must say I'm proud! The fashion show went well, I think we'll do it again some time. And the Baby Expo was a great experience--more displays to make, new signage, revamped business cards, several new sling designs, and lots and lots of people! We also finally had our sling and Mei Tai wearing instruction photo shoot this month. Can't wait to finally get everything edited, prettied up, and onto the website! Oh, and let's not forget, the end of tax season! Whew, what a busy month!

May: New Mei Tai fabrics! Lots of them! Our Spring and Summer line of Mei Tai fabrics is up on the site and very beautiful, I might add. Supplies are limited, so order early if you like these prints. Each new print is clearly marked on the site. Here are just a few "fabric photo swatches" for you to enjoy. And two new sling styles-- "The Skinny Sling", a more narrow, single layer silk sling in great summery colors for warmer weather babywearing; and "The Geisha Sling", a unique line of high-end slings designed using vintage obis. We also had a photo shoot, some of our new photos are up on the site, some are still yet to be loaded, and we still have the second half of the photo shoot to complete--this next one will include photos of our Geisha Sling line!

June: We have an article about the "Benefits of Babywearing" coming out this month in the Kansas City Baby magazine, as well as a column highlighting the products we produce here at Baby So Smart! Very excited, I'll post the article and column as soon as it's on the stands! So much to look forward to this summer! And a couple of photos from our photo shoot--

Where Have We Been???

It seems the Chief Blogger at Baby So Smart has been shirking her duties for quite some time; alright, that would be me. I'm here to explain briefly where I've been for the last several months.

My husband and I found out we were expecting another baby back in November, we were both very excited, as this little one was actually planned, unlike several of our others. Not that we weren't excited about them, too, it's just different when you are surprised (to say the least) by three kids in three years. This new little one was due to be born in July, but it wasn't to be. I had a miscarriage just a few weeks later, and honestly, it knocked me off my feet emotionally. I never thought I would be the one having a miscarriage, losing a longed-for baby, and I very unwillingly joined the ranks of those women who've gone before me in experiencing the death of a baby or child. And to make it even more difficult, only a few weeks after losing that little baby, I found out I was pregnant again, and nearly lost this one as well.

It's taken me the last 25 weeks to finally relax and be able to enjoy this new baby, a girl, due now in early September. I'm finally done worrying, I think, that something will go wrong with her as well. And I think I'm finally ready to start blogging again. And to all of you other women who have lost a child at any stage of their development, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Holiday Sales

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!

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

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!