Mean People are Mean!

Yesterday, we were going to finally go to the local town pool with the big slide! We verified the hours, had plenty of time, got packed up and off we went. On the drive over, it started to thunder and pour. At the door, we were told that it was closed for 30 minutes due to lightning. We cheered up the girls and drove around in the rain, hoping it would clear but after 25 minutes, it went nuts. The skies opened. We drove by the pool just in time to see them closing the doors for the day.

The girls were so sad and to cheer them up, off we went to see what matinee we could catch. And that's how we found ourselves watching House Bunny, a sweet and perhaps predictable but nonetheless easy to watch movie.

The star, an ex-Playboy bunny, is a nice person. My favorite scene is a zoom to her bumper sticker, "Mean People are Mean". I love this line. It's so true!

I have always thought that there was merit to "The Customer is Always Right", but, well, not when the customer has a chip on his or her shoulder.

A local restaurant has a sign at the door that says, "Be Nice or Leave". A bit too direct, perhaps, but I totally take their point.

Our staff does strive to be nice but we also don't appreciate abuse. I had a bit of a shock when I first worked with customers as a support rep. Some people think it is okay to get on the phone and go directly into abuse mode. I can work with someone who is frustrated, stressed, who has been wronged. But when the customer is abusive, well there is just no call for that.

So yeah, Mean People are Mean! Be nice! Being frustrated is allowed. But be nice!

Be BOLD!

Are you going to see the BOLD play near you this Labor Day? I was so sorry to miss this last year so I am very excited about this opportunity this time around. BOLD is a play where about 7 women play out some different birth experiences.

I got to see a sneak preview this weekend and it blew me away. It is very emotional and raw. I wanted to cry almost from the first dialog, but my husband wanted to shout! It made him angry!

I know I still have anger about my first birth but oh, the anger that rose up in us about some of what was unfolding when we watched this play. Some of it was familiar; I'd definitely experienced women shouting "Push" in unison and acting as though I was not trying hard enough or was a burden. And that unspoken threat that if things didn't go quickly enough, my "natural" birth would be taken away.

I did learn from my experience and was much more lucky the second time, but so many women don't know there are any other options. I consider myself lucky for the resources I found, such as The Mother Magazine, where I read incredible birth stories of empowered women.

Go to this play. Tell young women about it. Catch them before they become entrenched in incorrect thinking about birth!

Oh, and I'm also a sponsor. I'll have a small table and will share a little about babywearing. No matter what your birth experience was, babywearing is a wonderful next step to maximize the joy in your parenting experience.

Baby Safety Month - Carseat safety

Never allow a child to travel in a moving vehicle unless properly strapped into an approved carseat. It is not safe to hold babies on your lap nor use baby carriers in moving vehicles.

JPMA Guidelines for proper selection and use of a child restraint system.

·Children should always ride in a back seat restrained in a car seat or safety belt.

·Infants should ride in rear-facing car seats until they weigh at least 20 lbs and are at least 1 year old. Do not put a rear-facing car seat in the front seat of a vehicle with an active passenger air bag.

·Children over 1 year old and weighing between 20 lbs and 40 lbs should ride in forward-facing car seats.

·Children ages 4 to 8 weighing between 40 lbs and 80 lbs should ride in booster seats restrained with lap and shoulder belts. A regular safety belt won't fully protect a child this size in a crash.

·Children and adults weighing over 80 lbs should use a safety belt for every ride.

This year, JPMA is proud to support Child Passenger Safety Week (September 21-27, 2008). Child Passenger Safety Week is sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as a reminder to all parents to use a child safety seat in the back of their vehicles, restrain their child properly and in accordance with their size and age. The National Seat Check Saturday takes place on September 20, 2008- A Great Day for Your Car Seat Clinic- to educate parents and ensure that all child seats are installed properly.

Visit http://www.jpma.org/bsm/2008/ for additional in-store promotion ideas and ways you can take advantage of this month long celebration and help JPMA spread the word about car seat safety.

For more information on Child Passenger Week, please visit http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/childps/planner/index.cfm and en espanol,

go to http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/childps/planner/Spanish/index.cfm

Fay heading towards Gainesville - Possible shipping and communication delays

There will be shipping and communication delays if Fay hits us or if we need to shut down due to lightning or flooding. We thought we were in the clear but Fay is meandering around at sea at the moment, perhaps picking up steam for another land attack. One thing we like about being so far inland is any hurricane or storm should lose a lot of power by the time it reaches us. But even so, wind and rain can require us to shut down or we can lose power.

We appreciate your understanding. We will still have customer support when possible and we usually have limited access via the Edge network (iPhone is great!!!)

La Leche League again

It's coming around to that time again; last year I went to the Florida La Leche League conference mostly to see Hathor speak. But I was so pleasantly surprised by the quality of the speakers and what a great family vacation it was that we're going again this year, even without Hathor there! Just spending time around families that parent in the way most there do makes for a relaxing time.

Regular attendees don't have to do anything but show up, but us vendor types have to get our butts in gear well in advance of events.

I am donating a new Scootababy baby carrier for the fundraising auction and will also have a nice little surprise in the gift bags.

Ergo Baby Carrier in Cranberry is Discontinued!

Very soon, you won't be able to get a cranberry Ergo Baby Carrier! We only have a few left in stock.

When they're gone, they're gone!

This has been a very popular color so grab yours now while you can!

"That should keep you busy!"

I have sponsored The Natural Child Project for over a year and will continue to do so because I love Jan's work and what she stands for. And I've been meaning for some time to make it a priority to get a counseling session from her.

Last week, I hit a parenting snag (okay, crisis) that sent me straight to my computer to send the money over. My four year old daughter (Jan says it seems like a very high percentage of her clients have four year old children) was pushing all my buttons with her issues around food and control. I really needed some help getting out of the trees and finding the forest.

Obviously, not all our issues are going to get solved in an hour and I've done phone counseling before so I just let Jan do what she does best. She ran quite a few ideas past me but what she made clear at the start was that I would not have to take notes; she'd send a follow up email with information on all the resources and techniques we discussed. I just got the email (that was fast!) and the last line is:

"That should keep you busy!"

Yes indeed! I can't wait to get started on all this! I now have what I need most: Hope!

Beco Butterfly Madness!!!!

All Beco Butterfly baby carriers are on sale! Nearly 25% off! You won't see another sale like this any time soon! Enjoy!

The Beco Butterfly is suitable from birth and right up through toddlerhood. It can be worn front or back.

Huggalugs Baby Leg Warmers!

Gorgeous new product for us!

Like everything we sell, we test it first.

Boy, was it a hard choice to figure out which one to try. Well, hard for my four year old! She immediately narowed it down to two flower prints, pink and purple, but then it was touch and go while she deliberated, finally deciding upon pink (as I knew she would!)

My older daughter likes them as arm warmers!

New Improved Scootababy - Best Hip Carrier!

It didn't need to be made better! But Scootababy did it anyway! They managed to take the ideal hip carrier and make it even better!

First, and most important to me, it's prettier! This is just one of five gorgeous new prints, most of which are even guy friendly.

Second, it's taller, so it will accomodate even taller toddlers.

Third, baby's seat is contoured for improved fit and ease of use.

For more improvements, surf on over to the Scootababy product listing.

Beco Butterfly Sale!!! Still plenty left!

Beco Butterfly Sale Still Going on!

At these amazing first ever Beco Butterfly sale prices, many prints are already sold out and gone forever, but there are still amazing choices left, including:


Allison


Aubrey


Avery



Carnival


Chloe



Espresso



Joshua



Martini



Morgan

SoBeBabies is a Featured Store at The Mama Log!

Check us out under:

mamaShops

BABY & TODDLER GEAR


Plus a lovely writeup in the latest newsletter with an exclusive coupon for Mama Log subscribers!

Beco Butterfly Sale!

All Beco Butterfly baby carriers are now on sale! This is the first sale ever! We have loads of inventory right now but limited numbers of many prints so hurry and get your first choice!

Join our mailing list to get news on upcoming sales plus special discounts!

Shipping speed

Wow. Sometimes customers get angry about how long things take to get to them. Items generally ship out the next business day, but for certain items, shipping can take longer. I just had an order with Amazon take 5 days to ship out. It wasn't shipping from an Amazon store, but from Amazon directly. That was why I chose that item; I assumed they'd send it right out! Five days! Wow. I thought I'd have these by now. Still waiting. Just saying!