The Ergo Lady

Many people know one of my first huge babywearing loves was the Ergo. Most people probably don't realize that I created a whole website devoted to The Ergo Baby Carrier!

This website is chock full of information on how to use the Ergo but it was badly in need of a facelift. I had been hard at work on this for ages but my computer crashed badly and I lost a lot of data. Recovery has been a slow, ongoing process.

Today I unveiled the new look for The Ergo Lady. Stay tuned for more updates over the coming months.

I'm going to see Hathor at the LLL Conference!

I am so stoked! I am going to see Hathor speak at the LLL Conference on Friday! I've been looking forward to this for months and months! This is the coolest thing ever!

Donated a Baby Carrier

I was reading Stephanie's Adventures in Babywearing Blog, and she mentioned Jodie, an amazing mama who is adopting a premature baby. I offered them a gift certificate along with some suggestions on a baby carrier that might work for such a tiny baby and I am happy to say she has taken me up on it.

I love that more and more adoptive parents are using babywearing as a means to help the bonding process. This little baby will need all the loving he can get after this rough start and I know he couldn't be going to a more wonderful family. I wish them the best of luck!

Woman Owned Business: The Goddess Store

The Goddess Store is owned by a fascinating mama called Goddess Carmen. She's got two adult children and loves to dance. And her store has always intrigued me. I've found some very interesting treasures there.

I was totally thrilled when she agreed to host the monthly babywearing meetings in her dance studio. I had been looking for a new location for a few months and hadn't found anything that worked for people. The Goddess Store has generously hosted the meetings for over a year. Going forward, we will have a new location.

Carmen also hosts other events such as poetry readings. I went to one and found it, um, illuminating! The Goddess Store participates in the Art Walk, where people enjoy wine and cheese as they wander from store to store in Downtown Hollywood.

Woman Owned Business: Delicious Organics

When my first child was born, I had discovered how wonderful it was to have groceries delivered to get through the rough patch of recovering from birth and getting used to no longer having hands. And since my little one was so high needs and couldn't just happily sit in a shopping cart, I enjoyed grocery delivery for almost a year. But I grew tired of the lack of organic items and went back to shopping.

I've been shopping at Delicious Organics since I was pregnant with my second child. I felt silly at first but I was very exhausted and this service really helped out a lot. I told myself after a time that it was frivolous to continue to have groceries delivered when I could perfectly well shop myself, but the fact is, here I am three years later, still getting practically all my groceries delivered. I feel very lucky that I can have the highest quality organics brought right into my kitchen. Getting through a shopping trip with my kids in tow totally stresses me out. Getting everything in from the car is exhausting.

Annie and Jack started this business out of their house. Then they mortgaged their house in order to grow the business. I was so impressed watching them start with so few offerings. Every week, I'd ask about such and such a product and Annie would add in everything I wanted, keeping it if it did well. She still continues to answer emails within minutes, seven days a week, practically 24 hours a day. The website now is so robust and I know exciting changes are coming.

Through all this, Annie seemed to breeze through a pregnancy, birth, and raising a toddler. Annie and Jack work with their kids underfoot when necessary. They went from a tiny staff to a huge staff and from their kitchen to one small warehouse to what they have now - a few adjoining warehouses.

I wish them continued success with their business. I love that they intermingle their life and raising the kids with their values of bringing the highest quality organic food to this area.

Woman Owned Business: Yogarosa

I learned of the Yoga Rosa studio indirectly through a local mom who does prenatal yoga. I might blog about her at another time but right now, I want to talk about Rosa.

Rosa may look friendly and approachable, and the truth is she is all that and more. But I am also learning that she's a savvy business woman who helps other local business women to network. This really touched me deeply as I think it's so critical for women to help each other out. And most women who are also moms can get quite isolated so having support of other women is very, well, supportive!

My daughter has been taking kid's yoga with Rosa for a few months and I am so pleased with the quality of the classes. I've paid for a lot of classes over the years and have gotten quite picky so I know what I'm talking about when I say these classes are excellent.

My daughter is doing yoga. Real yoga. She is not being disciplined or entertained. And she is enjoying the process. That's really all you could ask for.

The classes I took at the studio were impressive. I showed up once with a very bad cold, and couldn't do much because of my coughing. The instructor had me do a few things for that and soon I was breathing freely. This was such a gift after days of struggling for air.

I love the light, open, airy studio with windows on two sides. I also am very intrigued by all the props. At first, I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of using so much "stuff" to do yoga, but I am really getting how helpful it all is. My daughter is loving hanging upside down on the wall. It's her absolute favorite part of the class.

We'll attend classes at YogaRosa as long as we are in the area!

Kid's Slings

What a great day! All three styles of kid's baby carriers arrived in the mail today and my girls couldn't be happier! I can't wait to get some photos of my girls with their dolls.


First of all, we got the Beco Toy. This fits both my girls very well. At first, I wasn't sure how to do a front carry and manage to keep the shoulder straps on. Then I crossed the straps and it was quite simple. We all love the gorgeous purple colors. There are actually a few different prints. I can't wait to get them listed. The back carry is very easy with straps not crossed.



Next, they tried the EllaRoo Children's Mei Tai. My older daughter knew exactly how to use it. I was very proud! Like a real mei tai, this is suitable for front and back carries, and I'll be teaching my girls a hip carry as well. It's so pretty!



The third kid's sling is an actual sling. My daughter found this the easiest to use and currently this is her favorite. She's got her dollie in there right now, sleeping peacefully!

Woman Owned Business: Synergize Weight Loss

I just heard about this place recently and was enjoying the helpful emails Shondelle, the owner sends. And then she sent one with a free offer for three semi-private trainings.

Now, I've worked out a lot in my life. I think I know a thing or two about fitness. But the fact of the matter is that since becoming a mom eight years ago, I have made a few aborted come backs, and slimmed way down after both kids, but I've really not been fit for all that long. I'm at my highest weight ever.

I wasn't sure what to make of trainings from a weight loss center.

I also wasn't sure to make of semi-private trainings. I had a personal trainer once and was considering body building at one point. I was training for the Whitewater Open Boat National Championships. I couldn't quite picture how you'd train four people at once.

As it turns out, this couldn't have been better. It was just the kick in the pants I needed.

I work a lot. I've turned out to be a bit of a workaholic. I value the seriousness in myself but the sedentary nature of what I do is taking its toll on my health.

The camaraderie of working out with a few other women really does help. It's not like we're standing around chit-chatting or anything. But just seeing them doing their best and being serious and focused was right on.

The workout is deceptively simple. I have done interval training in the past but the thing is, I was super fit when I did that. Self-motivation has become more difficult for me. I was a member of a local gym for two years and was just plain bored there. This was just better.

The trainer had us rotate through stations, spending around 45 seconds at each station. The maneuvers were ordinary enough but doing them for 45 seconds is challenging. By the end of each circuit, each of us has faced our own individual limitations. There was also some aerobic interval training. The entire workout is an hour.

After just one workout, I felt back in it! That hasn't happened for me for years and years! I felt like I was really doing it again. Tonight I just did my second workout and I am feeling so grateful. I really want to keep momentum this time. I think this is going to do the trick.

Local Woman Owned Businesses

There are so many absolutely wonderful businesses in my area. These are businesses with amazing women at the helm. Businesses I want to support because of what they have to offer and who I interact with. Businesses I am so grateful exist and that I want to support so they continue to exist.

So I am going to do a series highlighting some of these businesses so you can see what I am lucky enough to see.