My Double Life

Baby Dipper on Good Morning America

2012-01-10T19:33:00.010-06:00

That's right! In today's "Deals and Steals" segment of Good Morning America, hosted by Tory Johnson, the Baby Dipper bowl and utensils are included. The deal on the Baby Dipper products is as follows:

2 Baby Dipper Bowl Sets plus 2 Baby Dipper Utensil Sets (3 options):

Regularly $32.99 plus $4.99 shipping

For the GMA deal, only $13.99 plus $2.00 shipping

The deal is good until midnight PT on Wednesday, January 18, 2012, or while supplies last. Orders will ship by USPS Priority Mail.

Visit http://gma.babydipper.com for this deal.

Be sure to visit Mompact for free shipping on many more fabulous mom inventions.

The New Baby Dipper Blue Name

2012-01-10T19:18:00.002-06:00

After much deliberation and debate with my family, with my friends, on a mom entrepreneur message board, and on the Baby Dipper Facebook page, the elusive Baby Dipper blue name has been decided. The new blue name is Bubble Blue! So, now we have Bubble Blue and Tickled Pink. I guess I should start asking for names for other colors now, right?

Name the Blue!

2011-12-01T15:38:00.014-06:00

After the fabulous suggestions received through the Name the Pink contest I hosted on Facebook, I decided that the name Cobalt Blue probably isn't that great after all. My favorite name for the bright pink Baby Dipper bowl is Tickled Pink. A name for a children's product should be fun, right? So, if the pink is Tickled Pink, help me come up with a blue name that is equally as fun.
This time there will be five possible entries (first one is mandatory; one entry per person per entry type - ie. only one blue name suggestion). The giveaway is open to entrants from anywhere in the world!

--> Name the Blue: suggest a fun blue name that goes well with Tickled Pink.

--> Like Baby Dipper on Facebook

--> Follow Baby Dipper on Twitter

--> Subscribe to Baby Dipper's newsletter

--> Suggest a new retailer (online or brick & mortar) for the Baby Dipper bowl(NOT the big national stores - believe me, I'm doing what I can on those!)

Please leave a separate post for each entry (even if you already like or follow Baby Dipper) and be sure to leave contact information as well as your Facebook name or Twitter ID (for those two entries).

The winner of the contest will receive a Baby Dipper bowl set of her/his choice of color. The contest will end on Friday, December 9, at midnight CT.

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

Barbara

I Can Do it Myself! Messy Steps to Self Feeding

2011-11-08T14:43:00.011-06:00

Chapter Three from the book “Happy Mealtimes with Happy Kids: How to Teach You Child About the Joy of Food” by Melanie Potock

Isaac’s grandmother diligently swiped his chin with the tip of the spoon after every bite, ensuring that no puree remained on his face. She kept a wet washcloth nearby for swiftly wiping down soiled fingers and the high chair tray should any food drip off the spoon. “He likes to be neat and clean,” she stated proudly. Isaac was 18-months-old and had yet to touch a spoon or any food on his tray. Thankfully, this grandmother was open to my suggestions and, months later, Isaac, Grandma and I were elbow-deep in chocolate as we played pudding car wash on his back patio! That grandmother later told me: “If you haven’t played pudding car wash, you’re missing out on life!”

I always turn my radar up a bit when I see a one-year-old sitting in his high chair, being fed by his parent and spotless — not a mess under the high chair, not a stain on his bib, not a speck on his tray. Well-meaning parents try to spare their child (and themselves) the mess by continuing to spoon feed their little one. Not only is the mess part of the learning curve for self-feeding, it’s essential for children to encounter the sensory experience of each and every food. Many children need to first explore new foods with their eyes, ears, nose and hands before putting it in their mouths. Please refer to Chapter 4 for more information on sensory experiences with food.

Once your child is sitting on her own or with a bit of support and you have her properly positioned in her high chair (see Chapter 1), she is ready to begin more independent feeding. This stage of the game is all about you providing a variety of safe foods for her to try, engaging with her as she eats and letting her get messy as she explores all of the new foods.

Self-spoon feeding is an art. You can support your child by encouraging her to hold the handle of the spoon fairly close to the bowl. This varies depending on the shape of the handle, but, in general, the closer her little fist is to the bowl, the easier she will be able to guide the bowl into her mouth with less mess. Keep in mind that the closer her fist is to the bowl, the messier her hand will get when she scoops up that first spoonful of applesauce!

Try coloring a wide circle around the handle with a permanent marker so that she has a consistent spot to aim for when she grasps the handle. Pick a spot for her grasp about one inch from the bowl, or, if the handle is curved, have her grasp it at the top of the curve. A short, fat handle with a curve or “hill” built into the handle is often ideal. The deeper bowl will hold the puree or chopped food as it travels the long trek up to your child’s mouth, but the child may not be able to clean the spoon with his top lip as easily.

Some spoons come with holes in the bowl to allow liquid to drain and solids to stick to the bowl. Other spoons have textured bowls for those children who need the added tactile input to their mouths in order to tell where the spoon is about to dump the food. Some spoons come with bendable “necks” where the handle and the bowl meet, so that parents can adjust the angle of the neck to facilitate better hand to mouth coordination.

Provide extra traction beneath the slippery bowl with a sheet of shelf liner (see Chapter 1) or use a suction cup bowl. Suction cup bowls that are deep with high sides are ideal, especially if filled with non-slippery foods such as cottage cheese, oatmeal or chopped, room temperature macaroni and cheese.

I am not sure which is messier — independent spoon feeding or independent finger feeding! A washable mat under the high chair tray is a must. Finger feeding is the perfect opportunity for your little foodie to begin to develop his pincer grasp, where he engages his thumb and forefinger to pick up pea-sized foods, such as halved blueberries and cheerios.

At about six months, your child will begin to rake up objects by using his whole hand and curling all four fingers around the desired item. Letting go of the food can be tricky. You may see your child use his mouth to grab the food while he fists it in between his little fingers.
Slowly, between seven and nine months, the pincer grasp will begin to emerge. This is also the time that children have enough trunk stability to sit in a high chair and focus on this new skill. Typically, by the end of the first year, the pincer grasp is perfected! At that time, you will see your child begin to pick up small pieces of food and place them in her mouth with more precision and thankfully, less mess.

Support the natural progression of finger feeding by offering soft or meltable foods first, such as a buttery cracker. It’s relatively easy to grasp and mouth until a soft, mushy piece falls into his mouth. Over time, he will develop his ability to grade his jaw movement and truly bite into the cracker in a controlled, even manner. As his skills improve, offer pea-sized pieces of soft and/or meltable foods that expose your child to a variety of tastes, safe temperatures and textures. Small chilly blueberries cut in half, warm, buttery pieces of pasta or tofu or cheerios spritzed with apple juice are all good starters. See Chapter 15 for additional ideas.

To encourage pincer grasp development, try the following games with your favorite round cereal or pea-sized pieces of soft food:

1. Using a plastic “shot glass” or similar sized narrow container (about two inches tall and just wide enough for your child’s thumb and forefinger), put a few pieces of cereal in the bottom and encourage him to get them out by reaching in and picking up the pieces using a pincer grasp.
2. Take a round plastic coffee stirrer and thread three pieces of circular cereal on it. Hold it perpendicular to the high chair tray and let your child pull off the cereal one by one using his thumb and forefinger.
3. When giving your child a piece of the cereal, hold it in your pincer grasp (with half sticking out and available for his little fingers to grab onto) as you move it toward his hand. Wait. Let him take it from your grasp before putting it in his mouth on his own.

As your child learns to feed himself with fingers and/or spoon:
• Rejoice in the mess! It’s good for his sensory system and just part of the learning curve.
• Position little fists near the bowl of the spoon.
• Layer shelf liner under a small, deep plastic bowl or use a suction cup bowl.
• Offer pea-sized soft and/or meltable foods to encourage pincer grasp.

About Melanie Potock and My Munch Bug

As a speech language pathologist who specializes in feeding, I observe first hand the daily stress that encompasses a family when a child has difficulty eating orally. Although our role as therapists is to help the child develop oral motor skills and organize his sensory system in order to try new foods, the ultimate goal is to establish consistency across all environments – and that, simply put, means fun, social and relaxed mealtimes for the entire family.

My Munch Bug products were developed to reach more families and teach them to focus on the fun when gathered around the table. The new children’s music, Dancing in the Kitchen, was launched in November 2010 to wonderful reviews from parents and press, but most importantly, to little munch bugs ages 2 to 6 who love to celebrate the joy of food! The children’s CD offers multiple genres – Latin, pop, and even a silly opera! The CD packaging opens up to include professional tips on how to foster stress free mealtimes and the lyrics to the original songs are designed to build confidence in not only the kids, but in parents too. Moms and Dad appreciate the festive atmosphere that they can create as they sing and dance their way to what’s really important – being together over a family meal and loving it!

Happy Mealtimes with Happy Kids: How to Teach Your Child About the Joy of Food is the new parent guidebook that teaches the fundamentals of parenting in the kitchen. Babies don’t come with an instruction manual –especially when it comes to eating at the family table! Happy Mealtimes is designed to be a quick read and offers a touch of humor to help parents understand that they are not alone in their child’s new learning adventure called “eating”. An easy read for the busy parent, Happy Mealtimes is ideal for every parent who wants to foster joyful memories around the family table.

Melanie’s website – www.mymunchbug.com will link directly to resources for both products – Dancing in the Kitchen is available at www.cdbaby.com and Happy Mealtimes with Happy Kids is available at www.lulu.com and on Amazon.com. Be sure to visit My Munch Bug’s Facebook page for coupon codes and the latest news on the joy of food!

Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP has specialized in the treatment of feeding disorders for over 12 years. She can be reached at Melanie@mymunchbug.com.

Help Name the Pink!

2011-10-21T12:23:00.009-05:00

As we are fast approaching 4000 fans (likers) on our Facebook page, I decided it is time to offer another giveaway. This time, the only entry for a chance to win a Baby Dipper bowl set in the color of your choice (blue or pink) is to suggest a name for the new pink color we offer. I like Cobalt Blue for the blue, but am at a loss as to what to call the pink.

To enter the giveaway, like the Baby Dipper bowl on Facebook and comment on the Facebook post about naming the pink. Only one entry per fan. Only entries with suggestions for the pink name are eligible for the giveaway. Comments posted on the My Double Life blog do not count for the drawing. The drawing will be held on November 1, 2011. Hopefully a new pink name will be selected that day, too!

OK, everybody get pinking, uh, thinking.... :o)

Barbara

My 9/11 Memories

2011-09-11T07:37:00.006-05:00

We will never forget where we were on September 11, 2001, will we? For my husband Hans and me, that location was on a train in Europe. A couple of weeks after getting home, I documented our experience of September 11 and the days until we were able to return home on September 14, which was our scheduled return date, but did not occur as scheduled. We had started our trip on August 30, including stops in Zurich, Switzerland; Paris, France; Prague, Czech Republic; Bratislava, Slovak Republic; and Salzburg, Austria; before boarding the train to spend our last few days in Europe with my German friend Andrea and her family in a little town called Goldbach, which is near Frankfurt. Here is what I wrote on September 26, 2001:

===========================================

We left Salzburg midday and headed to Munich to change trains. We had wonderful ham & cheese and chocolate pastries at the Munich train station to tide us over in anticipation of the wonderful meal Andrea's mother would prepare for us that night in Goldbach (the small town where Andrea’s parents live, which is near Aschaffenburg, about 30 miles from Frankfurt).

We boarded the train at 1:42 p.m. local time and settled in for the four hour ride to Aschaffenburg. Again, we mostly watched scenery, but did get in a little reading and a few hands of Crazy Eights. Arriving Aschaffenburg at 5:09 p.m. [9:09 a.m. Eastern Time - the first plane hit the WTC at 8:46 ET], Andrea's mother picked us up and we made the 10-minute drive to their house in Goldbach. As we neared the house, she remembered to ask us if we had seen the news. We told her that we had bought an English-language newspaper in Salzburg the day before. She said that something had happened, “today, in New York.” She didn’t know the details, as the attacks had probably happened shortly before she left. She knew that the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane.

When we went in the house, Eva, Andrea’s younger sister, was there and broke the news to us in one sentence: “The World Trade Centers are gone.” Hans and I looked at each other in disbelief and immediately settled in front of the TV, which they kindly tuned to CNN (the only English channel they get) so that we could see what was happening to our country. We watched in horror as they showed the footage of the towers collapsing and people running for their lives or jumping from the towers. We never would have thought that something so catastrophic would happen while we were on vacation. After staying glued to the TV for over an hour, we finally came up for air and realized that we needed to try to get in touch with our parents to see if everyone at home was OK and let them know that we were OK.

We were not able to get through to the U.S. via telephone and her parents do not have internet access at home, so we had to wait until the next day when Julia, Andrea’s older sister, sent emails to my mom (who forwarded it to Hans’ mom) and our bosses. We were finally able to call home late in the day on Wednesday, 9/12. My mom had written Julia saying she would try to call at 7 p.m. our time, but the phone never rang, so we tried calling her and got through. We talked for a few minutes and promised her we would not travel unless it appeared safe to do so.

It was interesting to watch German TV along with CNN. I could understand enough to know basically what they were saying. They were truly upset by the events in the U.S. I remember seeing a segment about Berlin’s five minute pause for reflection. They showed traffic, including buses and streetcars, at a standstill in downtown Berlin for five minutes. We spent the day Wednesday with Andrea, then went to dinner with her and Giuliano (her boyfriend) and Julia and Marcus (her boyfriend) at the castle in Aschaffenburg.

Thursday we hung around the house part of the day and spent the afternoon running errands with Andrea's mom. She took us to the butcher shop where we bought Nürnberger bratwurst and fresh sauerkraut for dinner that night. We also went to their “supermarket” and looked around, buying a few items in case we got stuck there for a few days. (And we laugh at Andrea for thinking Kroger is interesting!) That night, we had dinner with her parents and shared a little of the whiskey Hans had gotten on the airplane. We tried to find out if our flight would be on for the next afternoon (1:50 departure), but could get no answers on TV [they have a channel that shows flight schedules] and could not get through by telephone to Delta.

We got up early on Friday, 9/14, and headed by train to the Frankfurt airport. We hugged Andrea's mom, thanked her for everything, and told her we would call if we had to come back to their house that night. Andrea even got us passes to the Frankfurt Auto Show just in case we got stuck there over the weekend. Once at the airport, we waited in line at the check-in counter for a while before being approached by an agent who told us to go stand in the ticket line, so we did. We waited in this line for about an hour before reaching the front. Having worked at Delta, of course I sympathized with the agents. Dealing with the occasional cancelled flight is bad enough, but when your entire schedule is cancelled except for 2 or 3 flights, every passenger presents a unique logistical problem.

We noticed while waiting in line that everyone was an American trying to get home and we were all sharing our situations with the others. One group had been in Greece for a photo shoot and flew to Frankfurt in hopes of getting home faster, since Frankfurt is a major airport and Athens is not. The other half of their group had gone to Munich and it appeared that they would not get home for days. The man in the next line over was going to Florida, the lady behind us was going to Rhode Island, and the entire line was abuzz with people sharing their stories.

Once we finally got up to the counter, we were told that the only flight left to the U.S. that day would be going to JFK in New York. We said that we would take it if we could, then find a way home from there. Once our tickets were corrected, we had to go back to the check-in counter to be asked the security questions and check our bags in. We had already made sure that any sharp metal object was in the checked bags, but they made us put all of our bottles of alcohol in the checked baggage as well. Then we went through airport security, which also checked boarding passes and IDs.

As we were walking down the deserted corridor to the gate area, the announcement was made requesting a moment of silence. It was already so quiet, you couldn’t tell a difference. When we got down to the final hallway to our gate, there were tables set up and German guards armed with automatic weapons standing by as airport employees hand-searched all of our carry-on luggage item by item. They looked at every crystal glass, inside every item of clothing and smaller bags, and even took my camera around the corner. I guess they were making sure it really worked. After repacking all of our previously perfectly-packed bags, it was on to the next table for the metal-detecting wand and a slight frisking. Finally, we were clear to go to the gate area.

At this point, we decided to call Andrea's mom and give her the flight information and have Julia email it to Mom so that they would all know if we got out or not. There was only one telephone in the gate area, which was a secluded room, so as people waited in line to try to figure out how to use the German telephone, we shared stories again about how long we’d been stuck and where we were trying to go. I did manage to get hold of Andrea's mom and give her the information.

As we were waiting in the gate area, the ground crew announced that the airports in New York were closed again and that the flight would now be going to Cincinnati, which was fine with us since we could get a direct flight to Huntsville, which we would not have been able to do from JFK. Shortly thereafter the flight attendants showed up en masse and the gate area erupted in applause for them. They were followed in short order by the pilots who also received a round of applause.

Finally, it was time to board at around 1:30. After they called first class, a girl a few rows away from us noticed that a black bag had been left unattended. Everyone scattered and an agent went running up to the counter. The girl yelled to the crowd to ask if anyone had left a bag and, to everyone’s relief, a man checking in realized that it was his. We all breathed a sigh of relief.

The flight was originally scheduled for 12:00, but the extra security measures and ticketing/check-in issues caused a lengthy delay. We actually didn’t end up taking off until about 3:30. They filled the plane slowly as they were able to change people’s tickets and get them through security to the gate area. As we waited after boarding, the main pilot wandered through the cabin speaking to anyone who was interested in saying hello. He assured us that he had every intention of getting us home safely. Once he spoke over the intercom, he told us a little about his family back in Texas and said he was ready to get home to see them.

There was a large group that boarded right at the end and a gate agent who accompanied them on-board to help out with last-minute logistics. As she left the plane, the entire group of about 20 applauded for her. She must have worked really hard to help them arrange their schedules.

The flight itself was uneventful. I found it hard not to look at everyone suspiciously, particularly those who looked Middle Eastern. The other language on the video and announcements on the plane was Turkish, which was rather odd. I kept reminding myself that Turkey is a safe country to visit and that I should not judge someone by the way they look. Once we got out over the ocean I felt better about being on a large plane with a full tank of fuel.

We landed in Cincinnati later that evening to another round of applause and easily made it onto a direct flight to Huntsville. It felt amazingly good to be home, even while we waited at the Cincinnati airport. Of course, when we got to the Huntsville airport and met our friends who came to pick us up, we felt much more relieved. The kitties were ever so glad to have us home and tried to keep us from sleeping those first couple of nights home.

I wanted to record my own memories of this strange vacation that was so wonderful at the beginning and so clouded by tragedy at the end. I will certainly always remember where I was when I heard about the attack on America and the world.

===========================================

When I woke up this morning, September 11, 2011, I realized what today is. Hans and I now have four children and two companies of our own, things that those who perished on 9/11 lost the opportunity to do. We Americans have not forgotten and will never forget. We do not go on as though nothing happened. We go on as though something significant and life-changing happened ten years ago today.

Feel free to post here where you were on 9/11. It is always fascinating to me to hear what others were doing on that fateful day.

Barbara

PINK! PINK! PINK!

2011-08-10T14:32:00.006-05:00

Yes, the Baby Dipper bowl is now available in a vibrant PINK color! I have received many requests for pink since the Baby Dipper bowl debuted in 2008, so I am happy to be able to announce the arrival of pink bowl/spoon/fork sets.

Also new to Baby Dipper's line of products, we now have spoon & fork sets in either blue or pink. Again, there have been many requests for replacement or additional utensils, so here we go!

These products are currently available at Baby Dipper's web site or through the Baby Dipper Facebook page (fans get 10% off). Shipments are on their way to the retailers and to Amazon.com, so keep an eye out for pink Baby Dipper bowls everywhere.

Thanks to you all for your support of this mom-invented product!

Barbara

Time for a giveaway!

2011-06-26T11:12:00.008-05:00

Hi everyone!

I know it has been a VERY long time since I posted anything to the blog, so I thought I would reward a lucky fan with a giveaway of a Baby Dipper bowl set. This is in celebration of our recent passing of the 3000-fan mark on Facebook. Needless to say, life with two sets of twins is insanely busy. I had thought that once my girls were in school (they just finished first grade) that life would get easier. Uh, nope. I had to do a lot more shuttling around of the kids these past few months. Summer really hasn't been much calmer, what with having to keep them all entertained at home or run them around to various activities. Maybe (just maybe) it will be a bit calmer this fall when my girls can ride the school bus (no bus to their school last year) and the boys will be in three days of preschool....

Speaking of these past few months, don't think that Baby Dipper has been ignored. Quite the opposite! Big things are on the horizon, but they all take a lot more time than I ever imagined. Keep an eye out for announcements from Baby Dipper coming soon!

Here are the details of potential entries in this giveaway (be sure to leave a way to contact you):

Since this giveaway came about because of Facebook, the required entry for the giveaway is to be a fan/liker of the Baby Dipper bowl Facebook page. You must post here that you are a fan/liker before completing the additional entries:

1. Follow Baby Dipper on Twitter @BabyDipper (1 entry).
2. Blog about this giveaway, including a link to this giveaway. This is worth 5 extra entries. You must leave 5 separate comments and include the link to your blog entry.
3. Put our button on your blog (in the sidebar to the right). This is worth 1 extra entry and you must leave the link to your blog to verify.
4. Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect. Leave me your name on GFC in the comment (1 entry).
5. Tweet daily - Up to 3 times a day, at least 2 hours apart! Include the link to this giveaway and @BabyDipper in your tweet. Post your Twitter status here (1 entry per tweet). Here's a sample tweet: "#Win a @BabyDipper bowl at #Baby Dipper's blog, My Double Life (ends 7/10)! http://t.co/yiV2wNo #giveaway #contest #toddler"
6. Subscribe to the Baby Dipper newsletter (1 entry).
7. Follow Baby Dipper, LLC, on LinkedIn (1 entry).
7. Have a suggestion for a new retailer for the Baby Dipper bowl? Suggest a retailer, either brick-and-mortar or online that you think would be a good match for us (and that does NOT include the Big Box stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Buy Buy Baby, Babies 'R' Us, grocery stores, etc.). I'm looking for something that maybe I haven't heard of. :o) (1 entry per store, up to three stores).
8. Share with us what you think is coming from Baby Dipper. (1 entry - I will not verify if you're right until the official announcement)

This giveaway will end at midnight CST on Sunday, July 10. The winner will be notified by email (be sure to leave that for me!) and will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. Previous recipients of Baby Dipper bowls (in giveaways or for reviews) are not eligible to win.

Thanks to all of you for being loyal Baby Dipper fans!

Barbara

OK! The winner was selected by Random.org: 23 out of 54, which is katers2714. I will send an email and the winner has 48 hours to respond before I select a new winner. Congratulations, katers2714!

Behind the scenes at Baby Dipper

2010-12-04T19:56:00.009-06:00

I thought it might be interesting to share what happens "behind the scenes" here at Baby Dipper, LLC when an order is placed through the Baby Dipper web site or when other bowls need to be packed for shipment for reviews or giveaways. Here is a glimpse of my little helpers at work.

Actually, first of all, the order, review request, or giveaway winner must be finalized and that part is all me. Then the shipping information is entered into the U.S. Postal Service's online Click-n-Ship program to print the labels for the packages. It's still all me through those things, too, but next come the parts where my two-year-old twin boys, Franklin and Carlton, get a chance to help out. Though they try to "help" with the computer part, especially with the printer, their net effect during that part actually detracts from my overall efficiency.

BUT, once the labels are printed and the handwritten notes are completed (by me, not the boys), the packages are ready to be assembled. We start by applying the shipping label to the appropriate USPS Priority Mail envelope or box. Next comes the preparation of the envelope or box to receive the Baby Dipper bowl(s) it must hold, sometimes involving the insertion of packing material (oh, what fun!).

Then Carlton and Franklin take turns placing the Baby Dipper bowls in the packages and removing the wax paper from the adhesive strip on the envelopes. This is followed by a trip to the front door to stage the packages for their final placement on the front porch for pick-up by our postal carrier.

I hope you have enjoyed this look behind the scenes at Baby Dipper. By the way, that's Franklin in the yellow-orange shirt and Carlton in the dark orange shirt with bugs on it. I'll try to post a bit more about what goes on around here when something fun or cute happens again.

Barbara

New retailer in Australia for Baby Dipper bowls

2010-12-02T19:14:00.002-06:00

Baby Dipper is excited to announce that starting next week Baby Dipper bowls will be available for purchase from Think Twins, located in Australia. From the owner of Think Twins: "Think Twins started in 2007, and our aim is to make life easier for parents with twins. So not only do we seek out products which really help streamline life in those early months, but we provide a range of free services, including tips and articles for twin parents, a free pram buying guide, and links to all the twins clubs in Australia. We support the Australian Multiple Birth Association and are delighted to be able to help fellow twin parents enjoy the early years with their beautiful babies."

The link for the Baby Dipper bowl at Think Twins is here and their Facebook page is here. Please join us in welcoming Think Twins to the Baby Dipper family and help get the word out to all of your friends Down Under. Thanks!

A little baby bowl makes a big difference (guest post)

2010-11-29T13:42:00.009-06:00

This is the first guest post on the My Double Life blog. I'd like to introduce you all to my husband, Dr. Hans Schantz, father, scientist, engineer, entrepreneur, and author of the AetherCzar blog. AetherCzar's slogan is "All things antenna and electromagnetic (and more)…" but occasionally the Czar (I'm the Czarina!) strays onto only semi-scientific topics. This is one of those occasions. Hans and I decided to test the Baby Dipper bowl versus three of its competitors to see if the patented Baby Dipper bowl truly helps the children efficiently empty the contents of the bowl more quickly. The answer is that the Baby Dipper bowl does indeed facilitate more efficient scooping of the bowl's contents. Read below for the full post from AetherCzar's blog. Oh, and here's a photo of the Czar himself testing the bowls before the actual test with the kids started. :)

Guest post from the AetherCzar:

If you are new to ÆtherCzar, you may be wondering about the Amazon ad for the funky looking baby bowl in the right side bar. With the holiday season around the corner, it’s a good time to revisit the ideal gift for babies, toddlers, or new parents – the Baby Dipper bowl. Faced with feeding twin girls, the Czarina was appalled at how poorly conventional bowls worked. So she invented a bowl that would stay put without tricky suction cups, a bowl that would guide food to a collection point, a bowl that could be used one-handed – the perfect bowl for feeding babies or for young self-feeders trying to master feeding themselves. This two minute video shows how it works.

The Baby Dipper bowl is normally the number one result on Google for “baby bowl.” But how much better does the Baby Dipper bowl really work compared to conventional bowls? I helped set up an experiment to find out. The difference was really amazing.

To assess the ergonomics of baby bowls, we loaded each of four bowls with a quarter cup of navy beans and timed how long it took each of four girls to empty each bowl. Note how the sloped Baby Dipper bowl naturally collects beans in the spoon-shaped depression.

There doesn’t seem to be any standard experimental protocol for evaluating bowls, so the first step was to create one. We chose navy beans as a no-mess proxy for typical foods. Then we timed how long it took for our subjects to spoon out a quarter cup (about 125ml) of navy beans from a baby bowl to a standard bowl.

We used a 4 x 4 Latin Square experimental design to randomize any bias due to order. Four subjects tested each of four bowls – the 4 oz. Baby Dipper bowl and three leading competitive bowls in four successive trials. The subjects were six years old, one (Child #3) with a broken right arm using her (non-dominant) left hand. Both Child #2 and #3 had prior experience using the Baby Dipper bowl. We used the spoon that comes with the Baby Dipper feeding set for all four bowls to control for differences in spoon size.

Then we did four trials in which we timed the subjects emptying the bowls as quickly as they could without spilling.

The average time to empty the Baby Dipper bowl was just over one minute. None of the other bowls averaged less than two minutes. This factor of two improvement is really remarkable. Here’s the raw data (all times in seconds; smaller = faster = better):

Child #1 Child #2 Child #3 Child #4 Average
Bowl #1 152 76 144 183 138.8
Bowl #2 88 93 144 201 131.5
Bowl #3 107 79 179 126 122.8
Other Bowl Average 115.7 82.7 155.7 170.0 131.0
Baby Dipper Bowl 47 66 57 72 60.5

When I tried the experiment on myself, I found only a marginal improvement in time using the Baby Dipper bowl, probably because I’m able to compensate for deficiencies in the other bowls’ ergonomics with my better-developed adult motor skills. Less dexterous eaters need all the help they can get, and the Baby Dipper bowl makes meal time much easier for children and the parents who must either feed them or clean up after them. In fact, the last time I mentioned the Baby Dipper bowl, it was to pass on the story of a five-year-old girl with special needs whose mother had given up on her daughter spoon-feeding herself. When the girl used the Baby Dipper bowl, she was able to successfully spoon-feed herself for the very first time (here’s her story).

You can order Baby Dipper Feeding Sets (bowl, spoon, and fork) from Amazon – eligible for free “Super-Saver” shipping if your total order is over $25.

BLACK FRIDAY to CYBER MONDAY DEAL!

2010-11-25T20:53:00.003-06:00

Baby Dipper is pleased to announce that we are offering a special sale on Baby Dipper bowl/spoon/fork sets starting now and running through midnight on Monday. That's basically Black Friday to Cyber Monday including the weekend. So, what's the deal???

FREE SHIPPING on the purchase of 2(two) to 6(six) Baby Dipper sets for purchases made through the Buy Now page of Baby Dipper's web site. Take advantage of this limited-time offer to get a Baby Dipper set for yourself, for a friend, for a family member, and to stock up for future baby shower gifts. Please feel free to share this sale with your friends and family.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and find some super deals this weekend!

Barbara

FR*EE Shipping on BPA-Free Baby Dipper bowls!

2010-11-07T16:59:00.004-06:00

Yes, the title is correct! As of last week, the BPA-free Baby Dipper bowl is eligible for Free Super Saver Shipping at Amazon.com. That means, as usual, if you purchase $25 or more of eligible merchandise, your shipping is free. This means that your order can be three Baby Dipper bowls or a combination of a Baby Dipper bowl or two and some other items that qualify for Free Super Saver Shipping.

If you are trying to come up with a unique gift for a baby, a toddler, or expectant parents, take advantage of this opportunity to get free shipping on the Baby Dipper bowl, invented by a mom of two sets of twins.

Thank you in advance for helping get the word out about this news. :o)

Barbara
www.babydipper.com
www.facebook.com/BabyDipper
http://twitter.com/BabyDipper

Is New Orleans good for kids? - Part 5

2010-10-29T22:03:00.003-05:00

Day 5 – Train from New Orleans to Anniston

5:30 AM sure did come early the next morning. We got up, finished packing, and went downstairs to get a taxi to the train station, which was just a bit too far to walk with Cora and Greta. On the train, it was similar to the ride there and, in fact, seemed shorter, though it wasn’t actually. We arrived in Anniston at about 4:00 PM to find my father there filming our arrival. Our girls were excited to see him and then to see my mom and their little brothers when we arrived at my parents’ house.

So, what about the question of whether New Orleans is kid-appropriate? If you have read all of my meandering commentary about our trip, you probably have gathered that we had a fabulous time, seeing and doing many things we could not see at home. And did you notice that there were not any mentions of safety or security issues we encountered? That’s because there weren’t any. We knew enough about traveling safely, regardless of location, and took all of the necessary precautions to avoid putting ourselves in places we shouldn’t have been, like on Bourbon Street after dark. Hans and I discussed our trip afterwards and decided that Greta and Cora, at almost 6 years old, might actually be the perfect age to take a trip to New Orleans. They are old enough not to need a nap or a stroller, are able to walk pretty significant distances, yet are not old enough to really notice any of the risqué stuff in the French Quarter. Hans and I certainly saw some things that we wondered if they noticed, but when we asked them what they liked the most about our first walk through the French Quarter, they both immediately mentioned a window display of crystal animal figurines and vases. Ah, the eyes of innocent children! By the way, when we asked them what their favorite activity in New Orleans was (swamp tour, steamboat ride, children’s museum, aquarium, IMAX movie, zoo, Insectarium, beignets at Café du Monde), they both chose the Louisiana Children’s Museum. It certainly was the best children’s museum we’ve visited, though I’m not sure it’s better than the zoo or the swamp tour. I’d say that New Orleans certainly has enough activities to “Let the Good Times Roll” for people of any age and to keep the Crescent City in mind when you’re planning your next family vacation.

For planning purposes, I should point out that there is a VISITicket Power Pass you can purchase for admission into a myriad of activities in New Orleans and surrounding areas. I looked into the cost of the pass versus the cost of only paying for the places we wanted to visit with Greta and Cora. In our case, particularly since children age 5 and under are free on the steamboat ride and we have a reciprocal pass from the children’s museum in Huntsville, it was not worth it to purchase the pass for the city. There are various passes for the Audubon facilities, so we did purchase the one that included the zoo, aquarium, IMAX, and Insectarium. If you’re going to plan a trip to New Orleans (or any other city with a pass), do take the time to investigate which things you’d actually use the pass for and compare to actual prices of those things. Oh, and don’t forget to look online and/or in the lobby of your hotel for coupons. I found coupons for the swamp tour and the steamboat ride online before we left home.

Thanks to everyone who managed to read all of my notes about New Orleans. I hope that you find it helpful in some way and might consider taking a trip there, with or without kids, sometime in the future.

Is New Orleans good for kids? - Part 4

2010-10-28T20:47:00.010-05:00

Day 4 – Audubon Zoo and Audubon Insectarium

Again, we started with breakfast at the hotel and then made our way to the streetcar line since the Audubon Zoo is in the Garden District, so is way too far to walk from the downtown area. We were waiting at a yellow Car Stop sign for a few minutes before a nice couple informed us that the streetcar was not currently serving that area (construction or something), so advised us to go to the bus connection, which we did and then boarded a streetcar. The ride through the Garden District took us past numerous (hundreds?) of stately historic homes, many in the Victorian styles. I kept reminding the girls to LOOK at those houses since they were so beautiful, though they were continuously distracted by things like, oh, the Mardi Gras beads they had on. The man sitting behind us on the streetcar, who was a local, advised us to stay on the car until the end and that the zoo would be near that last stop. We continued riding along past Loyola College and approached Tulane before chatting with some others on the streetcar (our “advisor” had gotten off the streetcar a couple of stops back) and finding out that we had already passed the stop for the bus to the zoo. Oh, and Hans realized that he forgot to grab our Audubon tickets, so after getting off and back onto the streetcar and catching the bus to the zoo, we had no choice but to purchase zoo tickets again.

The morning frustrations over, we headed into the Audubon Zoo on what was a practically perfect weather day. The sun was shining, but it was just the perfect temperature, at least at first, and only a bit warm by the time we were done. We were immediately impressed by the lush flora at the zoo and attractive displays of fountains and statuary. Even better was the close proximity visitors are allowed to almost all of the animals. We managed to get some fabulous photos of the lion, elephants, white tigers, and many other animals.

One other thing that Cora and Greta enjoyed about the zoo was the presence of Spanish moss they could readily find on the ground beneath several large live oak trees that were bedecked with quite a lot of the moss. They even brought home a chunk of Spanish moss to take to show and tell at school.

We spent quite a while at the zoo, not leaving until about 1:00 or so, returning via the gorgeous St. Charles Avenue in the Garden District aboard a streetcar until we got closer to downtown and had to get on the bus again for a few blocks. Having recently visited the zoos in Nashville, TN, and Atlanta, GA, I would easily rank the Audubon Zoo above both of those.

After a quick lunch and a trip back to our hotel to get the Audubon pass, we went to the Audubon Insectarium. Having never been to anything like this before, none of us had any idea what to expect, though we had read and heard good things about it, so were prepared for a fun museum-going experience. Even better was that the front desk clerk was able to refund the extra zoo tickets we had purchased earlier that morning when Hans gave her our pass tickets.

The Insectarium starts and continues throughout with a visually stimulating environment floor-to-ceiling. In the entry hallway, there are ceiling fans missing the blades, but with large insects “flying” around the center posts. There are quite a few live insects on display, many that are familiar (roaches) and many that were unfamiliar, at least to us. There were some bugs that looked just like green leaves and others that looked just like brown leaves. A separate section was off to the side for insects that live underground and even had an animatronic spider that Hans and I first spotted and then guided Cora and Greta into looking near the spot where we knew the spider was about to appear. Cora cried. Bad parenting there, but thankfully she didn’t have a bad dream about spiders that night. There was a typical pantry with a glass front showing cockroaches helping themselves to all of the wonderful food that had been left unsecured by the humans. The employee working in the main hallway pointed out to us that, for a good reason, the dung beetle display was right outside the public restroom.

Next was the Tiny Termite Café where we were offered the chance to taste chocolate-covered crickets and/or chocolate chirp cookies (chirp!). We girls decided that Hans should try one first and that we would decide after his sample whether we would partake or not. The look on his face while eating one little chocolate-covered cricket told us that we definitely did NOT want to try one ourselves. Even Hans, who eats most anything, didn’t want to try one of the cookies. We moved on to other exhibits at the Insectarium. I wonder how many people who visit try a cricket and then how many who try a cricket ask for seconds. Not many, probably.

We got to see termites in action and wood that had been damaged by termites. We watched the 6-minute film that included vibrating seats, spritzes of water, and other surprises. Greta got scared by that one. Next came the butterfly room, which was quite nice. They had many butterflies we had not seen before and one large butterfly from South America landed on Hans’s upper arm and stayed long enough for us to get several great photos. The employee told us that if we stood very still the butterflies were more likely to land on us, so we all froze in place for a few minutes. Only Cora had a butterfly land on her, though Greta and I were both flirted with a bit.

After the Insectarium, we headed over towards the French Quarter to find the restaurant that Hans’s friend Greg had recommended as a place we could meet him for dinner. Well, as we walked up Iberville Street, we saw some ladies in very questionable clothing, so we opted to head back towards the river and Decatur Street where things were not so risqué. We ended up meeting Greg and having dinner at a place called Primo’s. Each of us enjoyed our meals and the conversation, then Greg suggested that we head across the street to Café du Monde. So, Greta, Cora and I had beignets one last time while Hans and Greg enjoyed some coffee. Afterwards we walked with Greg back to the parking lot where his car was (he drove down from Baton Rouge) and then continued on toward our hotel to get ready for our early departure the next morning (train leaves New Orleans at 7 am!).

Check back tomorrow for the last post in this series: Day 5 - Train from New Orleans to Anniston

Is New Orleans good for kids? - Part 3

2010-10-27T20:17:00.019-05:00

Day 3 – Louisiana Children’s Museum, Audubon Aquarium and IMAX movie

Again, we started the day with breakfast at the hotel and then walked to the Louisiana Children’s Museum. Actually, Hans diverted to go to the National World War II Museum and then joined us at the Children’s Museum. Hans was disappointed that the WWII Museum's oral history archives and additional more detailed information about specific units were not available to guests.

Since we are current members of the children’s museum in Huntsville, we were able to visit this museum for free. In a nutshell, it is an awesome museum, but it is HARD to locate! Both Hans and I missed it when we first walked by it and the girls and I ended up walking an extra block before we finally found it. The main problems are that there is not an exterior sign for the museum and the building looks just about like all of the other buildings in that area of town. Many of them have windows only on the upper floor(s), but have painted wooden doors on the street level. The museum has several blue wooden doors at street level. The only indication from the outside that it is indeed the children’s museum is some text on two of their windows that says “Museum Store.” The giveaway for us was following another parent pushing a stroller to see if they knew where they were going (they did).

We checked in at the museum and after making a call to Early Works in Huntsville to verify our reciprocal membership, the lady at the front desk admitted us into the Louisiana Children’s Museum. Having now been to several different children’s museums, I feel like I have a pretty good idea what the “average” museum is like. The Louisiana Children’s Museum is by far the best one that we have been to yet. It is two stories and has the most interesting and well-designed exhibits that I’ve seen. We started out by going upstairs and found an area about the eye, complete with different types of eyes to look through (a fly’s eyes, a fish’s eyes, etc.) and optical illusions to boggle your mind and make you (me!) dizzy. Next we came to an area that was set up with drafting tables, including attached t-squares and triangles the kids could use to draw. I set up each girl with a sheet of paper taped to a drafting table and they each produced a work of drafted art.

Also in that area were some small magnetic buildings that you could decorate with magnets to make them into different types of buildings (schoolhouse, house, fire station, etc.). They even could be rotated for easy manipulation and application of the magnets. Nearby was a little neighborhood of kid-sized playhouses. They were similar to the plastic outdoor playhouses we’ve seen on playgrounds or in people’s yards, but were much more detailed and decorated, especially on the inside. Behind that area was a spot for playing with PVC pipes to make connections and turn corners.

Time for a new paragraph since the next exhibit was just spectacular. The children’s museum in Huntsville, Early Works, has a small grocery store area with a couple of plastic cash registers that the kids can easily pick up and the drawer on one of them is broken. The food available for pretend purchase at Early Works consists of a few bins of wooden vegetables and other groceries. WELL, the grocery store at the Louisiana Children’s Museum, which is sponsored by Winn-Dixie, is about the size of the entire toddler play area at Early Works. It has real cash registers that can actually print out receipts and make true cash register sounds. It has four aisles of pretend food products to select from, including loaves of bread, “live” lobsters or crabs, and a whole section of Cajun products. I think Cora and Greta could have spent all day in just this section of the museum. We probably stayed there about 30 minutes before moving on, but even I hated to leave that wonderful pretend grocery store. Check this out:

We moved over to the next area, which was a small-scale replica of Jackson Square in downtown New Orleans. It has a rug that looks sort of like the park in the square and has a horse statue that the kids can climb on to pretend to be Andrew Jackson. Along two sides are models of the St. Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo, and the Presbytere. A museum employee went through an exercise with the girls, telling them about each building and its use. She then asked them to draw pictures of St. Louis Cathedral to put on the wall there, which they gladly did.

That was about it for the upstairs, other than the large toddler area and the restrooms. We were amused by the mural on the wall of the hall leading to the restroom. It had many different animals eating with the words “All animals eat, so…” followed by many animals defecating and “all animals poop!”

Downstairs was a Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood exhibit, which amused Hans and me much more than Greta and Cora, though they did enjoy King Friday XIII’s castle with its dress-up clothes and X the Owl’s treehouse. This area even had Mr. Rogers’ front porch, foyer, and den, including a pair of Mr. Rogers’ shoes! Also downstairs was a bubble room which offered the opportunity to get inside a bubble. Yes, inside a bubble. You stood inside a circular area that had a rope hanging in the center and then pulled on the rope to raise it out of the bubble solution in the ring surrounding the base, which made a huge bubble around you. At first we had trouble getting it to go any higher than about waist-high on Hans or me, but Greta kept trying and figured out that pulling the rope faster meant taller bubbles, eventually getting a few that were about 10 feet tall!

From there we walked to the Audubon Aquarium and IMAX theater by way of the Riverwalk and ended up having beignets at Café du Monde for lunch again at the one in the Riverwalk. We also bought my dad a bottle of muscadine wine at a place where Hans and I got to sample some of their fruity wines. We bought a pass to all of the Audubon museums we planned to visit and started out at the aquarium, though our IMAX movie about the Grand Canyon started about an hour after we got there, so we had to break the aquarium visit into two parts, but we did get to see it all before it closed for the day.

The aquarium was not anything particularly special, but did have its share of interesting animals to watch. We happened to get there in time to see them feed the sea lions, which was cute. They had an area where you could try to pet some sting-rays that were circling in a small, flat tank. We each got the chance to touch them a couple of times and feel how slimy they were. The IMAX movie provided Greta and Cora spectacular views of the Grand Canyon, which they’ll be visiting in January when Hans takes them with him to Phoenix for a conference for him and to see his mother, who lives there.

Dinner Tuesday night was in the courtyard in back of the Crescent City Brewhouse, another restaurant that Hans and I had visited previously, so we knew that the food (and the beer) was good there. I had a PoBoy, which was quite tasty, and everyone else also enjoyed their meals and drinks. We had a nice dinner and then left the French Quarter before dark again.

Check back tomorrow for Day 4 – Audubon Zoo and Audubon Insectarium

Is New Orleans good for kids? - Part 2

2010-10-26T20:22:00.017-05:00

Day 2 – Swamp Tour and Steamboat Cruise

This was a day full of boats. After breakfast at our hotel, we boarded the van to Dr. Wagner’s Honey Island Swamp Tours on the Pearl River, which is the border between Mississippi and Louisiana down by the Gulf Coast. The Pearl River is freshwater, so is not affected by the tides. We were on the van for about an hour and got to see and hear lots about what happened to East New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. The van driver was a man in his 70s who has lived in that area his entire life. He pointed out many abandoned buildings, including houses, apartment buildings, churches, and hospitals, even some houses that were covered with vines since they were abandoned after Hurricane Betsy in 1965. He told us a bit about how he had to live in his car for three weeks after being allowed to return post-Katrina before he received his FEMA trailer. The people who stayed in New Orleans certainly have a strength about them that is evident to visitors.

The swamp tour itself lasted about 2 hours and was fascinating. Our fellow tourists were two ladies from Sweden and two couples from Australia. The small covered boat was navigated by our very skilled and informative tour guide into spots that I didn’t expect the boat would fit, but he obviously knows his stuff. We were taught that a swamp is a flooded forest and that a marsh is flooded land without trees. Swamp equals flooded forest, he kept repeating.

He pointed out, and we all were very well aware, that it was quite cool that morning, about 40 degrees cooler than just a couple of days before. He told us that this meant that the alligator viewing would be better for the afternoon tour (not ours) since they wait for the warmth before emerging from the water. For the first part of the tour, then, we did not see any alligators, but we did see plenty of blue herons, egrets, and ibises, plus simply viewing the swamp habitat itself was intriguing. The water marks on the trees clearly showed how high the water had been, which was several feet higher than it was the day we were there. So that the alligators would have the maximum amount of time to emerge during our tour, he took us south on the Pearl River, under the I-10 bridge, to see some of the camps (fishing shacks, though some were far nicer than others) and houses along that stretch of the river. We came within 6 miles of the Gulf of Mexico before taking a detour to the side and managed to see a couple of small alligators and several turtles (sliders) basking in the sunlight.

Oh, and the bald eagles!!! He told us early in the tour that early October was usually when the bald eagles would show up for the winter, but that he hadn’t seen one yet this fall. Not too far south of the I-10 bridge, he spotted a bald eagle carrying a bundle of twigs across the river. When the eagle noticed we were there, it dropped the bundle and resorted to soaring above the treeline before landing atop one of the tallest trees. The tour guide pointed out that this particular bald eagle did not have the well-known white head since he was a youth, probably only about 2 years old, and that it wouldn’t get the white head until about 4 years of age. On the way back north through that same section of river, we were all on the lookout for that same bald eagle or any other bald eagle that happened to be around. Well, guess who spotted the only other bald eagle we saw??? That would be me! This one was an adult, complete with the white head, and was sitting in a tree in the same cluster of trees where the other eagle had been earlier. When this adult eagle noticed our boat, it took off and flew a ways upriver before settling into some trees and out of sight. How cool it was to see a bald eagle in the wild!

We then headed back into the part of the swamp we had visited earlier and managed to see two alligators that were out and about. One was quite large and was just sitting on the river bank with his tail still in the water. He didn’t move at all, so all of us tourists snapped plenty of photos of him. The other was much smaller and was interested when the tour guide got his attention. By interested, I mean hoping for a treat. The tour guide had a stick that he would use to slap the water while calling out to the alligator with a “buh buh buh” sound. The gator started swimming toward the boat and the guide stuck half of a hot dog on the end of the stick, which the alligator promptly nabbed and enjoyed, even returning for a second treat before swimming away.

After the van ride back to New Orleans from the swamp, we decided to have lunch before the 2:00 boarding for the Steamboat Natchez tour of the Mississippi River around New Orleans. Since Greta and Cora had never been to Café du Monde and Hans and I (of course) love their beignets, we decided to make a lunch out of beignets since we were still pretty full from our good breakfast at the hotel that morning. We had quite a bit of fun laughing at each other as we all got powdered sugar all over ourselves, the table, and the floor.

The Natchez steamboat has existed since the 1800s, though this particular boat was built in 1975. It is the only steamboat that operates daily tours on the Mississippi River. Before boarding the boat, there was a person playing the calliope atop the boat, which we passengers all enjoyed while waiting in line to board. Aboard the steamboat, our girls enjoyed multiple trips down to the engine room to watch the steam engine and its huge pistons generate the energy to rotate the huge red paddle wheel at the back of the boat. The tour itself was very informative about the things on each side of the river, including the National Park where Andrew Jackson won the battle for New Orleans, an oil refinery, a sugar plant, and plenty of other boats and barges. We passengers waved at plenty of folks on land during the boat ride, but there was one man on the top porch of a two–story house beside the river who waved enthusiastically, which seemed to prompt the boat captain to honk the boat’s horn at him. Surprisingly, the man at the house then honked back at us with an equally loud horn! Maybe this is something that happens on every steamboat cruise....

After the steamboat ride, we wandered around the French Quarter a bit since it was still daylight and were amazed that Cora and Greta seemed oblivious to the things you only see on Bourbon Street and surrounding streets. When we asked them later what they remembered about walking in the French Quarter, they both eagerly remembered the crystal figurines (birds, cats, and other animals) and vases that were displayed in a shop window. Just as well, we figured. We had dinner at Deanie’s that night, a place that Hans and I had been to on our last trip to New Orleans, before kids. Deanie’s is known for its gigantic serving sizes of delicious Cajun seafood. Knowing this beforehand, we decided to order a half-seafood platter and one appetizer, and it was all the four of us could do to eat it all. Just imagine a full-size seafood platter!!!

Check back tomorrow for Day 3 - Louisiana Children’s Museum, Audubon Aquarium and IMAX movie

Is New Orleans good for kids? - Part 1

2010-10-25T19:49:00.010-05:00

After considering a few cities that are 5-10 hour drives from Huntsville, Alabama (more than day-trips), my husband and I settled on a trip to New Orleans by train. Amtrak’s Crescent line runs daily each direction from New York City to New Orleans, including a stop in Anniston, AL, which is about 30 minutes from my parents’ house (A.K.A. the babysitters for our 2-year-old twin boys). We wanted to take advantage of our almost 6-year-old twin girls’ fall break from school to take a trip with them alone, so thankfully my parents were willing and able to watch the boys for us.

New Orleans has a reputation of not being a great place to take kids, so we did quite a bit of research before making this decision. We searched online and also consulted with three of our friends who have lived in New Orleans. Two of the friends offered many fabulous ideas for things to do with kids in New Orleans and the other friend was cautious about the potential safety issues and adult content we might encounter there. Taking all of their advice into account, we made plans to take the train from Anniston to New Orleans on Sunday, October 3, spend Monday through Wednesday sightseeing, and take the return train on Thursday, October 7. I thought I would post my comments about each piece of our trip so that others who might be considering a trip to New Orleans might find some helpful tidbits here.

Day 1 – Train from Anniston, AL, to New Orleans, LA

It worked out well for us that the train stopped in Anniston at 10 am, so we had a nice breakfast with my parents and our whole family before my father drove the four of us to the train station. The station in Anniston is quite small, but is perfectly functional for the two passenger trains that pass through each day, as the Crescent line makes its 30-hour journey between New York and New Orleans.

The 10-hour train ride itself went pretty well overall. The coach seats were as wide as first class seats on an airplane, reclined much further, and had a leg rest, a foot rest, and AC power outlets. Cell phone coverage for our T-Mobile phones was surprisingly good, certainly near any of the cities where the train stopped (Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, AL; Meridian, Hattiesburg, and Laurel, MS; and Slidell and New Orleans, LA). I learned on the way home that the pillows you can get from the attendant fill the gap between your lower back and the train seat, so my back was a bit sore upon arrival, but felt fine when we returned home.

What about keeping the kids entertained on the train? We brought books to read, coloring books, card games, and our computers (mostly for games), plus there was the excitement of watching the scenery go by and trips to the bathroom, the snack car, and the dining car, so Greta and Cora were actually pretty well occupied most of the time. We arrived in New Orleans at about 8 pm, went to our hotel, and settled in for the night.

Check back tomorrow for Day 2 - Swamp Tour and Steamboat Ride.

Tablevogue brings style to folding tables

2010-10-15T13:40:00.007-05:00

At the Atlanta Fall Gift Market in September, my booth for Baby Dipper happened to be across the aisle from the ladies of Tablevogue. At first it wasn't obvious to me what their product was, but I was quickly able to glance over their banners and other signage to figure out what was going on. Their booth was set up with three very nicely decorated tables complete with runners, candles, wine bottles and glasses, and even a burlap bow tied around one of the card tables. Each table had a beautiful table cover hiding underneath the glamorous stuff that was on top. Ah, the table cover! THAT is what Tablevogue is all about!

Made out of patented stain-release fabric from Milliken & Co., the patented design of Tablevogue table covers truly makes any folding table ready to serve at even the most high-style events. Tablevogue has pleated corners that enable the floor-length tablecloth to hang neatly and snugly on any standard size folding table. Tablevogue has covers for card tables, 6-foot, and 8-foot folding tables

In addition to looking fabulous while in use, Tablevogue can be washed and reused over and over again with very little effort needed to be ready to use. After drying, simply shake out Tablevogue while it is still warm and voila, a wrinkle-free table cover. No more cheap (cost-wise and looks-wise) paper or plastic tablecloths at parties, game nights, or other events where you might need a folding table for its convenience, but dread using it for its lack of style.

I took advantage of the opportunity to acquire a white Tablevogue for my card table that I use at various events to display the Baby Dipper bowl. As of now I have used it twice. First, I used it at a consignment sale that was going on here in Huntsville/Madison, AL, while I was at the show in Atlanta, so I immediately replaced my ugly green non-floor-length tablecloth with my lovely new Tablevogue table cover. Next, I used it at a fundraising event for my daughters' school that Baby Dipper co-sponsored. Each time, Tablevogue truly enhanced the presentation and was super easy to use. See how nice my display at the consignment sale looked?

For more information about Tablevogue, check them out at the following links:
Web site
Facebook
Twitter

Parenting Seminar sponsored by Baby Dipper

2010-10-10T20:30:00.001-05:00

Do you have a child who sometimes needs some behavioral adjustments? Well, do we have the thing for you! Baby Dipper is sponsoring a FREE webinar from Amy McCready, founder of Positive Parenting Solutions, and you are welcome to attend and to invite your friends who might also have children with similar attitude problems.

What: The Art of Consequences webinar

When: Wednesday, October 13, 9:00-10:00 PM ET/6:00-7:00 PM PT

Who Should Attend: Frustrated parents of kids ages 2-16

What You’ll Learn: Amy McCready, Founder of Positive Parenting Solutions, will present a strategy-packed, interactive, LIVE online webinar designed to teach you…

* Why kids really misbehave and what you may be doing to make it worse!
* Punishment vs. consequences and why it matters to your kids
* 5 R’s of Fair & Effective Consequences for toddlers to teens
* No-fail consequences to put an end to mealtime battles, backtalk, tantrums, whining and so much more

You can ask questions via text chat and Amy will make them part of the webinar.

Access: All you need is a computer with a speaker to hear the presentation. We’ll send you the log in instructions.

How It Works: Visit the link for the FREE webinar and click on the button with the date and time. You’ll receive an email confirmation with the link to access the webinar. When you “enter” the webinar, you’ll see the session slides and a live video box of Amy – but she won’t be able to see you! Use the chat box to type questions or make comments.

Cost: No charge for participants at the live event!

I know I'll be tuning in to learn how to handle some things that happen at our house! I look forward to connecting with many of you that evening as we learn together.

PLEASE vote for me to win a trip to Jade Mountain!

2010-10-01T22:07:00.002-05:00

I have entered a giveaway to win a trip to Jade Mountain in St. Lucia that is sponsored by Baby to Be TV. Since January 1 will mark ten years of marriage for my husband and me and we could REALLY use a break from the two sets of twins and our two start-up companies, I entered in hopes of possibly winning the trip as a 10-year anniversary trip for us.

So, the link you need to place your vote for me is HERE. You can vote DAILY until October 15 and they will announce the winners on October 18.

Thank you so much for your help! Please pass this along to anyone who might be sympathetic for a mom of two sets of twins who really needs a break. :o)

Positive Parenting Solutions webinar sponsored by Baby Dipper

2010-10-01T21:46:00.004-05:00

Great customer service from University Kia

2010-09-27T20:26:00.005-05:00

While the fact that I took my minivan in for service last week is completely unrelated to the children's product industry, customer service is oh-so-relevant in all industries. University Kia, the Huntsville, Alabama, retailer and service facility for Kia vehicles, took an incident that could have made a disgruntled customer and instead left me a very satisfied customer. Pay close attention to learn how good customer service can happen.

I dropped my van off last Wednesday and picked up a rental van (with 4 kids, there's no temporary sports car fix). After test-driving and inspecting my van, they told me they would order the necessary parts, which would be in on Friday morning, and that my van would be ready Friday afternoon.

WRONG! The Kia warehouse accidentally shipped one incorrect part, thus delaying the repair until Monday and necessitating three extra days of van rental. Since the Kia warehouse was at fault for the incorrect part being shipped, there was no question in my mind that Kia should pay for the extra three days on the rental contract. I mean KIA, as in the Kia retailer and the Kia warehouse needed to work out the details of which division actually paid for it, but it was NOT to come out of my pocket.

When I turned in the rental van today, I made sure to find out exactly how much the extra three days cost. The manager at Enterprise car rental told me that he could charge that half of the rental to University Kia, but only with manager approval. He gave me his business card and told me to give it to the service manager at the retailer. I did so and feared what sort of on-the-spot finagling I might have to do to cajole the service manager into picking up this almost $200 rental car tab.

What a welcome surprise it was when he readily agreed to call Enterprise and accept the charges for the three extra days! It turned out that all of my stressing over how things would go today was all for naught. THIS is how customer service should be handled. It is almost 100% true that the customer is always right. Poor word of mouth hurts much more than positive word of mouth helps. I was poised to grumble and complain if University Kia had treated me poorly, so I feel obliged to publicly laud their customer service.

Having worked in the auto industry (for Volvo Cars of North America) before having kids, I know what a tough world it is, so I have much respect for those retailers who know how to keep customers happy. Kudos to University Kia and their service department!

Breyers Sundae Scoop-Off Contest

2010-09-07T14:17:00.000-05:00

Breyers® is in search of the next great sundae with the Sundae Scoop-Off Contest and you have a chance to win! From now through September 13, 2010, the Sundae Scoop-Off Contest is challenging America to create original, family-friendly ice cream sundae recipes including 10 or fewer ingredients. View complete contest requirements and enter the recipes at www.breyers.com for a chance to win $10,000, a trip to Chicago featuring a private cooking lesson with renowned pasty Chef Gale Gand and one year of FREE Breyers® ice cream. The sundae recipe entries will be judged on taste, creativity, use of Breyers® ice cream and presentation.

Please note that I am posting in the blogger promotion on behalf of Breyers and may receive product as a result of my post (hopefully!) :oP

Another Baby Dipper bowl giveaway!

2010-08-16T13:24:00.009-05:00

Wow! Baby Dipper has now made it to 500 fans (likers) on Facebook! As promised, here is the giveaway of a Baby Dipper bowl/spoon/fork set for one lucky Facebook fan. OH, and don't forget that Facebook fans get 10% off of purchases made through the Shop Now tab on the Baby Dipper Facebook page.

And, to add to the cuteness factor, I thought I'd share a video of my two-year-old twin boys using Baby Dipper bowls to feed themselves. They turned 2 in June and have gotten quite proficient at feeding themselves with Baby Dipper bowls. Almost so much so, I must say, that "normal" bowls tend to frustrate them when they have to use them. That being the case, I have chosen to occasionally withhold Baby Dipper bowls from them so that they can build the skills necessary to eat out of regular bowls, too. So, without further ado, here are Franklin and Carlton enjoying some blueberry applesauce:

And, most importantly, here are the details of potential entries in this giveaway (be sure to leave a way to contact you):

Since this giveaway came about because of Facebook, the required entry for the giveaway is to be a fan/liker of the Baby Dipper bowl Facebook page. You must post here that you are a fan/liker before completing the additional entries:

1. Follow Baby Dipper on Twitter @BabyDipper (1 entry).
2. Blog about this giveaway, including a link to this giveaway. This is worth 5 extra entries. You must leave 5 separate comments and include the link to your blog entry.
3. Put our button on your blog (in the sidebar to the right). This is worth 1 extra entry and you must leave the link to your blog to verify.
4. Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect. Leave me your name on GFC in the comment (1 entry).
5. Tweet daily - Up to 3 times a day, at least 2 hours apart! Include the link to this giveaway and @BabyDipper in your tweet. Post your Twitter status here (1 entry per tweet). Here's a sample tweet: "#Win a @BabyDipper bowl at #Baby Dipper's blog, My Double Life (ends 8/29)! http://bit.ly/9yHklf #giveaway #contest #toddler"
6. Subscribe to the Baby Dipper newsletter (1 entry).
7. Have a suggestion for a new retailer for the Baby Dipper bowl? Suggest a retailer, either brick-and-mortar or online that you think would be a good match for us (and that does NOT include the Big Box stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Buy Buy Baby, Babies 'R' Us, etc.). I'm looking for something that maybe I haven't heard of. :o) (1 entry per store, up to three stores).
8. Do you have a baby or a toddler you need to feed using a Baby Dipper bowl? Which food would you like to put in the Baby Dipper bowl first if you win? (1 entry)

This giveaway will end at midnight CST on Sunday, August 29. The winner will be notified by email (be sure to leave that for me!) and will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. Previous winners of Baby Dipper bowls are not eligible to win.

Thanks to all of you for being fans (likers) of the Baby Dipper Facebook page!

Barbara

CONGRATULATIONS TO ADALIA, COMMENT #70, FOR WINNING THE BABY DIPPER BOWL!

Price Reduction on Baby Dipper Bowl!!!

2010-08-01T14:12:00.004-05:00

Yes, you read it correctly! As of today, Sunday, August 1, 2010, the retail price of the Baby Dipper bowl has been reduced from $12.95 to $9.95! The price has been adjusted at BabyDipper.com, Amazon.com, and on Facebook. I'd like to point out again that fans/likers of the Baby Dipper bowl on Facebook get an extra 10% off for purchases made on the Shop Now tab of that page, so that's a Baby Dipper set for only $8.96!

And, as is the case with most web sites, the shipping per item decreases dramatically for orders of higher quantity. For example, shipping for one Baby Dipper bowl is $4.99, two bowls ship for $5.99, and three through six ship for $7.99. Anything above six is $10.99. Retailers, of course, should contact me directly for wholesale pricing and shipping.

So, if you have been waiting on the sidelines to purchase your Baby Dipper bowl(s) or one (or more!) for a friend or family member, maybe now is the time. Please help me get the word out by email, blog, Twitter, Facebook, word of mouth, or any other way you can think of. Thank you so much for supporting this mom of two sets of twins in her endeavor to bring one-handed feeding to parents and children everywhere.

My family's first lost tooth!

2010-07-31T22:05:00.008-05:00

Our 5-year-old twin daughter, Cora, lost her first baby tooth tonight! It had been loose for quite some time, since June 12, according to my Facebook post from the morning she first told us it was loose. We had just assumed that she was sort of afraid to lose it or especially to pull it, but this evening she said to us (while standing in the corner for having been too wild and noisy after dinner) that she thought her tooth might come out tonight. Hans and I both took a look and saw that the tooth could go completely horizontal, yet was still attached. We agreed that if she wanted to try to get it out tonight, she should be the one to do so. That way if there was any pain she'd be the one in control. In my family the story always was, but I don't think we ever really did it, that someone would tie a string around the tooth and around a doorknob to an open door and then would slam the door. Ouch! I definitely didn't want to force anything painful on her, especially for this first tooth.

She was such a brave girl and just sat on the sofa with some tissues to soak up the blood that it produced as she worked on it. I will admit that even though I was sitting right next to her, I didn't really want to watch that carefully. I'm OK with my own blood, but seeing other people's blood has made me queasy in the past. Side note: in college when I was an architecture (architorture) student at Georgia Tech, one of the many nights that most of us spent in the studio, as it approached morning (probably about 5 a.m.), a fellow student got off track when slicing some paper with an Exacto knife and almost sliced off the ends of three of his fingers. There was a TON of blood and only one other student there besides the wounded one and myself. Thankfully she had a car, so she and I helped him get cleaned up as best we could and she drove him to a local clinic. I, however, sat down at my drafting table and put my head down on the table. I guess that shows that I can be strong in the moment of need, but might need to recover afterward.

Anyway, back to Cora's tooth. So, there we sat on the sofa as she tugged and twisted on her tooth, the lower right incisor. She was making repetitive motions, so I wasn't 100% sure that she'd pulled it when she actually got it out. She was so excited and proud of what she'd done! Hans cleaned up the tooth and put it in a tiny plastic bag so she could put it in the pocket on her Tooth Fairy pillow. She was also delighted to call all of her grandparents and let them know the good news.

As I write this, the Tooth Fairy has already come to exchange the tooth for a bit of money. While we're on the topic, how much money did you get from the Tooth Fairy and how much money did/will your children get? I got one dollar per tooth except for the four molars I had to have surgically pulled to make space in my tiny mouth (some would disagree with that!), when I got ten dollars for the four teeth. Hans and I talked about how much to give her and finally settled on five dollars, at least for the first tooth. Someone suggested for future teeth giving each kid a random amount of bills and change so that they have to add up how much money the Tooth Fairy brought. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this, so please share. Cora already has a second loose tooth and it won't be long before Greta has some, too, that then there's Franklin and Carlton, so we're going to have plenty of visits from the Tooth Fairy over the next decade or so.

IKEA trip = Shelf for Sale

2010-07-30T13:10:00.009-05:00

THE SHELF HAS SOLD, but the story is still interesting:

Short version:
For sale: IKEA Expedit Shelf, new and assembled and in Huntsville, Alabama. After getting home I realized this is not the shelf I intended to purchase. It has 4 x 4 cubes and I wanted the one with 5 x 5 cubes. I'd like the $129 I paid for it. Assembly and shipping from Atlanta to Huntsville are free to the purchaser.

Width: 58 5/8 "
Depth: 15 3/8 "
Height: 58 5/8 "
Max load/shelf: 29 lb

Long version:
For sale: IKEA Expedit Shelf, new and assembled and in Huntsville. After getting home I realized this is not the shelf I intended to purchase. It has 4 x 4 cubes and I wanted the one with 5 x 5 cubes. I'd like the $129 I paid for it. Assembly and shipping from Atlanta are free to the purchaser.

This trip to IKEA was a fiasco all the way around. Our original plan was to go to my parents' house near Gadsden, AL, (about 2 hours from Atlanta) on Wednesday of last week and then Greta, Cora & I would go to IKEA on Thursday in my dad's truck and return to Huntsville with our new shelves (the 5 x 5 Expedit and another one). Well, the girls got sick Wednesday night, so we had to wait until Saturday to go to Atlanta. This past weekend at IKEA was "kids eat free" weekend, plus it was a Saturday. There were SO MANY people there you could hardly move!!! We had a snack downstairs at the snack counter, but their frozen yogurt machine was down, so it wasn't the one we had planned on. I checked the girls into the play area and went to do the shopping. It took me forever to get through the crowd of people and it was so HOT in the store! I had help from two different IKEA employees in the warehouse area to get the two shelves loaded onto my flatbed cart (which was horribly heavy!). I had created and printed my shopping list on IKEA's web site and taken it with me, so I just showed it to the guys and they helped load the boxes. The second guy told me that the Expedit shelf I wanted was actually on the main aisle (instead of the side aisle that was listed on my shopping list) since it was so popular, so I followed him there. It was only two boxes, but I *thought* I remembered my mom saying it was 3 boxes since my parents bought the same shelf recently. I questioned him on it and he assured me that I had the correct shelf. OK, so off we went to check-out after I parked the cart and retrieved the girls. We were (I was) so worn out that we just wanted to get on the road back to Huntsville (about 3 hours), so we skipped the meatball dinner at the restaurant upstairs. After checking out I couldn't find anyone to help me unload the shelves onto the truck. Our cashier called twice, but the one guy who showed up said, "I'll be back in a minute" and never came back. I asked another employee who was corralling the carts and was told to go ahead down the elevator to the parking deck and that there would be IKEA employees there to help me. NOT!!!! I ended up asking a stranger to help me and it turned out that he was from Florence, AL!

So, we were rolling on I-75/85 north and I noticed the looming dark clouds. I called Dad to ask if he by chance had a tarp in his truck. He didn't, which surprised me - this is the man who WAXED the top of our clothes dryer when he had it to repair! So, we located the nearest Wal-Mart, dashed inside asking where tarps were the entire way back to the hardware department, grabbed a tarp, paid for it and I started putting it over the shelves in the truck bed. Well, suffice it to say that the bottom fell out in short order. I was soaked through to my underwear and since I didn't want to drive home soaking wet on a cloth seat, I locked the girls in the truck (telling them not to let anyone else in except me, but mind you there was nobody else around since it was pouring rain) and went back inside to get some new clothes to wear home. The Wal-Mart employees in the ladies' clothing section were quite helpful and were putting up the warning signs for a wet floor where I had dripped into their department. I bought new undies, a new dress, and a towel, dried off, checked out, and made it back to the truck (in light rain). My sandals that were already on their last legs were completely soaked, so I wore them across the parking lot and took them off to ride home.

Since we hadn't eaten dinner yet and were near a Varsity location (YUM!), we went through the drive-thru and got dinner, including a milkshake to share. We got stuck in three traffic jams on I-75 north. Once we exited I-75 headed west to Alabama, I figured we were in the clear, right??? Well, along US-411 nearing Rome, GA, we had a milkshake explosion onto the floor of Dad's truck, so I had to pull off (thankfully it wasn't raining) and clean it up as best I could. Dad didn't have any napkins in his truck(!), but did have a towel under the front seat and I had some melted ice water from a drink earlier, so it cleaned up pretty well. In the clear, right? Uh, no. The tarp was flapping pretty badly by the time we got to the state line, so I pulled off at the last gas station in Georgia and a nice Harley rider helped me resecure the tarp. Clear now? Well, we had to stop to get gas in Ft. Payne, AL, but otherwise the rest of the ride was uneventful, thankfully. We arrived in Huntsville at about 8:30 p.m., let the girls show Daddy what we'd gotten after we unloaded the truck bed checking for possible water damage (thankfully there was none!), and sent them to bed. I was not far behind them after the day I'd had.

Sunday morning while I was cleaning up the kitchen after a nice breakfast (my parents kept Franklin & Carlton overnight, so that helped) and Hans started putting the Expedit shelf together. I glanced in a time or two, but didn't notice anything was amiss until I set up the FIVE cloth drawers I had purchased and found that there were only FOUR cubbies per row! OH, was I upset with this last thing that went wrong with our IKEA trip. I emailed IKEA with the basics of what happened, noting that their employee led me astray, and this is what I heard back: "Unfortunately, as our IKEA Atlanta would be unable to offer a pick up delivery service to your area, we can only recommend bringing the item back into the IKEA Atlanta location and speaking with a Manager." Um, NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

SO, the bottom line is that this is indeed a wonderful shelf and we would keep it if we had room in the house to keep both it and a 5 x 5 Expedit shelf, but we do not have enough space. It is fully assembled and obviously has already been "shipped" from Atlanta to Huntsville (shipping cost if purchased online from IKEA for this $199 shelf is $348!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). I'd like to find someone who needs such a shelf for their kids' toys or books and stuff. The 4 x 4 was only $129, so that's what I'd like to ask for it. Please email me at barbara (at) babydipper (dot) com if you or anyone you know is interested in this shelf. Thanks!!

My Review of Avalon 40" W Desk with Hutch and Chair in Honey

2010-07-28T07:38:00.002-05:00

Originally submitted at CSN Stores

This child size desk, hutch and chair set is the perfect place for your kids to release their creativity. It features a generous work top area, a front drawer for storage and a hutch with many small compartments to keep pencils and other utensils close at hand. With solid w...

Amazingly sturdy desk for kids!

By Ms Nouveau from Huntsville, AL on 7/28/2010

Pros: Drawer Slides Smoothly, Easy To Clean, Smooth Writing Surface, Easy To Move, Attractive Design, Space Saver, Easy To Assemble, Sturdy Construction

Cons: Lacks Drawer Security

Best Uses: Kid's room, Bedroom

Describe Yourself: Budget Shopper

Primary use: Personal

We recently purchased two of these desks for our twin girls who are in first grade. These desks are the perfect size and are super-sturdy. Our girls enjoyed helping assemble the desks. They love the hutch with its little cubbies and the built-in drawer for stashing all of their things. I think we will have this desk for many years to come.

Dad and girls putting a desk together.

Tags: Picture of Product, Made with Product

Two desks in place for two girls

Tags: Using Product, Made with Product, Picture of Product

(legalese)

CSN Giveaway on A Few Short Cuts

2010-07-08T09:52:00.004-05:00

Here is another fabulous giveaway, this time for a $60 gift certificate to CSN Stores, a network of 200 + stores. This giveaway is hosted by A Few Short Cuts, which is also host to many other wonderful giveaways. Stop by the A Few Short Cuts blog and check it out!

Shop Market Mommies to Help Moms Out

2010-07-05T21:42:00.003-05:00

I would like to give a shout out to Market Mommies to help get the word out about their listing of mom-owned businesses and blogs. And, yes, of course Baby Dipper is listed on there, too.

Market Mommies is just about to unveil a complete redesign of their web site, so are really trying to get the word out and I'm more than happy to help out. Please visit Market Mommies to shop at some fabulous mom-owned businesses and read some spectacular mom-owned blogs.

Oh, and if you are a mom who owns a business and/or a blog, be sure to add your link to their list(s). It is FREE and helps support you and other moms, too!

Congratulations to the winners of the Business Baby Shower!

2010-06-23T09:08:00.007-05:00

The winners have been announced for the Business Baby Shower, a competition for mom entrepreneurs that has been ongoing since the beginning of the year. I'd like to take a moment to highlight the businesses of the three winners: Robyn Pellei of ViveVita, LLC; Lori Sawyer of LS-Fitness, LLC; and Carolyn Carter of CaitiMac Creations, LLC. The concept of the Business Baby Shower was developed by Lucinda Cross of Corporate Mom DropOuts and Traci Bisson of The Mom Entrepreneur both of whom have spent many years supporting and educating women entrepreneurs about how to start and grow a business. The winners of the contest each receive a wealth of fabulous prizes to help them move their businesses forward.

Robyn Pellei is a mom of 9 (yes, nine) children and founder of Vive Vita. She has invented and brought to market some wonderful products to make life with children easier. The Bandette is a reusable label for sippy cups and bottles. Gripsterz is a fun new way for parents to keep up with kids and gives friends a new friend to hold onto while walking.

Lori Sawyer is a mom of two boys and is a fitness expert who started Mommy Moves to help moms get into shape after having kids. Mommy Moves now offers various classes ranging from stroller walks to beach boot camp to mommy runs.

Carolyn Carter is a mom of three kids, owner of CaitiMac Creations, and is the inventor of the Clingy Cord. The Clingy Cord can be attached to any bottle, sippy cup, toy, or blanket so that kids can't throw them onto the ground or floor. CaitiMac Creations also offers all sorts of textile products including ruffled diaper covers, burp cloths, and even Boo-boo Bags.

Please take a moment to check out each of these three mom-owned businesses and follow them on Twitter, like them on Facebook, sign up for their newsletters, so you can keep up with the latest from each of them. And, if you're also a mom entrepreneur, be sure to sign up for The Mom Entrepreneur and The Corporate Mom DropOut and watch for announcements of the next Business Baby Shower.

"Rayovac Powers Your Summer" Promotion

2010-06-22T08:46:00.002-05:00

Rayovac, the battery company is hosting a promotion from June 21 to July 20. They will have summertime tips and lots of wonderful prizes. All you need to do is visit http://www.rayovac.com/PowersYourSummer/ to enter to win prizes each day. You can also "like" Rayovac on Facebook to get reminders to answer the daily questions on their web site.

Oh, and by the way, the first 99 bloggers to promote the Rayovac Powers Your Summer Twitter Event won a prize package from Rayovac! Rayovac will also be hosting a Twitter event on June 30, 2010, so be sure to check in for that one.

Perfect Kids' Lunch Box for Back to School

2010-06-17T21:19:00.014-05:00

I'd like to introduce you to the Easy Lunchbox, another mom-invented product and quite possibly the perfect lunch box for kids to take to school or on picnics or in the car, or, well, most anywhere. I came to know Kelly Lester, the inventor of the Easy Lunchbox, when she wrote to me to ask advice as a fellow mom entrepreneur. We have not yet met in person, alas, since she's in California and I'm in Alabama. Maybe someday...

So, the Easy Lunchbox. What's up with it? Well, it is a bento-style plastic container that has three separate compartments. This means you can take at least three separate foods with you and keep them apart without carrying around three or more little containers or plastic bags. One compartment is, of course, just the right size for a sandwich, but it can be used for so many other things, too. The Easy Lunchboxes web site has a fabulous page called Yummy Lunch Ideas with photos of Easy Lunchboxes filled with the most amazing variety of food combinations. There is even a page with links to tons of other web sites that have great lunch recipe ideas.

The Easy Lunchboxes come in sets of four compartmentalized containers with lids of four different colors. You can purchase a lunch bag cooler that is big enough to hold three Easy Lunchboxes or one Easy Lunchbox along with a freezer pack, a drink, and maybe even more special treats for lunch. The lunch bag coolers are available in five colors, though I must express my daughters' disappointment in the lack of pink lunch bags. It doesn't bother me, but I'd say it might be wise to offer the lunch bag in pink.

We received our sample Easy Lunchboxes and two lunch bag coolers, one blue and one purple, so my daughters, Cora and Greta, each quickly tried to claim the purple one. Such is life with 5-1/2-year-old twin girls. As the package did not arrive until just as school was ending for my girls, our first opportunity to use the Easy Lunchboxes was on a trip to the local children's science museum, Sci-Quest, though I'm realizing as I type this how cool it would've been if we'd gone to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, home of Space Camp, and taken photos of my kids eating out of their Easy Lunchboxes in the shadow of the Saturn V that adorns the Huntsville sky.

OK, back at Sci-Quest, we ate our mid-morning snack in the break room after a morning of fun, at least on the part of the kids. In these photos you can see that we were able to fit in two freezer packs, four juice boxes, a soda for Mommy, and an Easy Lunchbox with tasty snacks. We didn't have any fresh fruit on hand that morning, so it ended up being veggie sticks, fruit chews, and one large marshmallow for each of us.

As expected, everything was still in place and the drinks were still cold even after a couple of hours of play. Carlton enjoyed handing out the drinks while Franklin kept an eye on everything. Greta and Cora are excited to take the Easy Lunchboxes to school when it starts back, so I know I'll be referring to the lunch suggestions available on the Easy Lunchboxes web site when that time arrives.

The Easy Lunchboxes are made of non-toxic, food-safe, polypropylene (PP or plastic #5) and are thicker and stronger than common plastic containers. The Easy Lunchboxes are BPA-free and phthalate-free and also meet strict FDA requirements. They are safe for refrigerator, freezer, microwave, & dishwasher!

I would definitely recommend the Easy Lunchbox system to just about anyone, whether it be for use at home, school, picnics, on the road, or at work. In fact, my husband has already inquired if he may use the girls' lunchboxes this summer before they go back to school! We just might need to get him a set of his own!

And now for ways to find Easy Lunchboxes online:
Web Site
Facebook
Twitter

Woo hoo! Giveaway for Facebook fans!

2010-06-13T21:52:00.008-05:00

The Baby Dipper bowl now has 400 fans (likers?) on Facebook, so I thought I'd celebrate by having a giveaway of a BPA-Free Baby Dipper Feeding Set! How about that?

OH! And I just figured out how to add a Shop Now tab to the Baby Dipper bowl Facebook page. The best part is that it is set up so that fans of the page get a 10% discount on purchases made through the FB page!

Here are the details of potential entries in this giveaway (be sure to leave me a way to contact you):

Since this giveaway came about because of Facebook, the required entry for the giveaway is to be a fan/liker of the Baby Dipper bowl Facebook page. You must post here that you are a fan/liker before completing the additional entries:

1. Follow Baby Dipper on Twitter @BabyDipper (1 entry).
2. Blog about this giveaway, including a link to this giveaway. This is worth 5 extra entries. You must leave 5 separate comments and include the link to your blog entry.
3. Put our button on your blog (in the sidebar to the right). This is worth 1 extra entry and you must leave the link to your blog to verify.
4. Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect. Leave me your name on GFC in the comment (1 entry).
5. Tweet daily - Up to 3 times a day, at least 2 hours apart! Include the link to this giveaway and @BabyDipper in your tweet. Post your Twitter status here (1 entry per tweet).
6. Subscribe to the Baby Dipper newsletter (1 entry).
7. Have a suggestion for a new retailer for the Baby Dipper bowl? Suggest a retailer, either brick-and-mortar or online that you think would be a good match for us (and that does NOT include the Big Box stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Buy Buy Baby, Babies 'R' Us, etc.). I'm looking for something that maybe I haven't heard of. :o) (1 entry per store, up to three stores).

This giveaway will end at midnight CST on Monday, June 28. The winner will be notified by email (be sure to leave that for me!) and will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. Previous winners of Baby Dipper bowls are not eligible to win.

Thanks to all of you for being fans (likers) of the Baby Dipper Facebook page! Keep an eye out for another promotion when we reach 500!

This giveaway has now ended. The winner was #55, as selected by Random.org. #55 is Ashley Reynolds! I have emailed you, Ashley, and you have 48 hours to claim your prize. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Credit Card Fraud from a Merchant's Point of View

2010-06-02T20:34:00.014-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from a woman in Australia regarding making a wholesale purchase of Baby Dipper bowls. Well, at least I think it was a woman and I think she(?) was in Australia. Over the last two weeks, this person, whom we shall call Nancy (named changed to protect the unlikely-to-be-innocent), proceeded to bombard me with demanding emails, leading me to figure out that she probably isn't a legitimate buyer, but rather a scammer trying to trick small businesses.

The first email, entitled simply "Order." (period included) was sent directly to my personal email account at Baby Dipper. Odd, but not so difficult to guess, considering that it, like so many others is firstname@company.com. Normally new inquiries either come in through the form on the Baby Dipper web site or to info@babydipper.com. In the first email, I was given a company name and a shipping address in Australia. She inquired where she could view my products. Even this first email made me wonder. Clearly Nancy did not know that I only have one product, not productS to offer (as of now) and had not seen the web site view the product.

So, in short order, I responded by answering her questions and sent along information about wholesale pricing for international orders. I also made a point of asking Nancy for more information about her company, including a link to their web site.

Well, the next email I received from Nancy had a title of "GET BCAK TO ME NOW" (her typo). Again, odd, but in the email was a polite order for a good size quantity of Baby Dipper bowls. She advised me that she's had "difficulties when it comes to getting orders to my address here in Australia," so she requested that I contact the shipping company in the United Kingdom that she's used in the past and gave me her customer ID number. I, in turn, emailed the address she gave me and asked for a shipping estimate for the shipment of Baby Dipper bowls from China (where I have some inventory stored) to Australia. I responded to Nancy's email letting her know that I had sent an email to the shipping company and asked her again for a link to her company's web site.

The next day I received an email back from a man(?) at the shipping company with an estimate of the shipping fee. He informed me that his company had made a shipment to a man in Australia in the past and that this shipment would not be a problem. He went on to tell me that pick up would be made by their agent in the states (UM, our inventory for this shipment is in China!). He continued on that the shipping company only accepts payment via WESTER UNION MONEY TRANSFER (his typo). I sent the quote back to Nancy and waited for a response.

"PROCESS IT NOW" screamed the title of the email that followed from Nancy. Alrighty then. In this email she gave me a credit card number (a Visa card) with the expiration date and CVV number as well as the billing address, which was in California. She asked me to charge "her" credit card for the total product and shipping cost plus the $100 Western Union fee. Oh, and she was "waiting online" to read back from me concerning the payment.

OK. Stop there. Yes, I would like to have a retailer in Australia, especially one who will start with an order of this size, but I'm no dummy. I had been updating my husband on all of these emails and we were already suspicious of this "buyer." I emailed her back to let her know I was working on determining the proper way to process the payment. This was at 1:43 pm.

My next step was to do some sleuthing to see if I could figure out if Nancy was a legitimate buyer or not. The first thing I did was call Visa's World Customer Service Center to inquire about the credit card number she gave me. At that number I was able to verify that the street number and zip code she had given me in California were indeed the correct ones for that credit card number. I was also able to get a phone number for the issuing bank, so I jotted that down and promptly made a call to Chase to investigate further.

In the mean time, my diligent husband was also researching and sent me this link about merchant liability and credit card fraud. The phrase he highlighted for me was "the liability for fraud lies on the merchant, not the credit card company." Enough said. I am not going to accept a credit card that is even remotely suspicious, especially for a bill of this size.

We also researched the shipping company and couldn't find anything about it online. Plus, the email address for it is at a generic email address, like a Hotmail account. Oh, and the company whose Australian shipping address Nancy gave me turned out to be a manufacturer of products for the concrete industry. Hmmmmm.....

The first agent I spoke with at Chase informed me that Nancy's name did not match the name on file for the credit card. Ding ding ding! I also asked about the man's name the shipping company had mentioned they had shipped to in Australia. No luck there either. He did verify that the complete street address was correct, but agreed with me that if the name doesn't match, it's a no-go and then transferred me to the fraud department at Chase. The agent in the fraud department was very nice and very well-spoken. He took notes on everything I've detailed in this post and thanked me profusely for taking my time to report this suspected fraud, telling me that he was placing a hold on the account and would contact the true cardholder.

A hold on the account. That's what I told Nancy after she emailed me at 4:04 pm, 12:44 am, 7:01 am, 7:07 am, and 7:08 am. I told her that "my accountant has placed a hold on this transaction for security reasons." I noted that I would let her know if or when anything changed, which hasn't happened. That has not, however, stopped Nancy from emailing me seven more times demanding ("GET BACK TO ME NOW") that I let her know if the shipper has been paid via Western Union.

I haven't responded to those last seven emails and I will not respond no matter how many times she sends me emails with titles in ALL CAPS. The whole experience has been very interesting. I am still relatively new to being someone who accepts credit card payments, rather than just using credit cards to make payments. That does not mean that I'm a fool who can be easily persuaded to process illegitimate charges. I did spend a fair amount of time on this issue, but I feel good about the whole thing knowing that I most likely saved the true credit card holder from more headaches than these scammers (Nancy and the purported "shipping agent," who are likely working together) have already caused. I would hope that if my credit card account were hacked that some other honest person would do the same for me. Consumers need to remember that in the case of credit card fraud, it is not the credit card company, but the merchant who is left holding the bag. If a retailer asks you for ID or other identifying information when making a purchase by credit card, please know that they are being wise and are protecting credit card holders at large by doing so.

Flip Video Camcorder

2010-05-16T13:26:00.009-05:00

Not long ago my sister gave me a surprise gift. It was not my birthday or anniversary or even a holiday of any sort. She gave me a Flip Ultra HD Camcorder. Wow! She thought it would be useful for our family and for Baby Dipper, and it has already been used for both. I am really, really enjoying my Flip!

Before our twin girls were born in 2004, we made sure we had a video camera so that we could capture all of those darling moments that bombard you continuously as a new parent. After much research, we ended up buying a camcorder that used Mini-DV tapes.
So now after 5 years of filming the girls and later our twin boys using these Mini DV tapes, I have a drawer FULL of little tapes that are just sitting there. We don't have time to watch them or even figure out how to copy them over to an electronic file so that if something were to happen to the tapes themselves we would still have all of the videos from them. What to do about all of those tiny tapes?

I try to be responsible about the things that cannot be replaced. My mom and I swap jump drives with all of our digital family photos at the end of each month, thus ensuring that there are copies at two different locations, so that if one of our computers dies or one of our houses burns down, we still have a copy at the other house. In addition to having an external drive to back up my computer, my parents and I also keep a backup of our important computer files at the other's house for the same reason. On that same vein, for photos made before the digital age, Mom and I swapped negatives for all of the 35mm photos we each have. I have a huge box of her negatives in one of our closets that is all of the photos she and Dad took of my siblings and me while growing up. She keeps the prints at her house and I keep the negatives here. Opposite for my prints and negatives - photo albums here, negatives at my parents' house. Pretty smart, huh?

But these little tapes... You can probably tell that this problem has bothered me for quite some time, but that no effort has been put into solving it. One day I will get my act together and record all of those tapes in digital files that we can easily keep copies of in multiple locations. Dad actually just recently got busy digitizing his VHS tapes from long ago, so maybe his software can be used to digitize the Mini DV tapes.

The good news is, though, that as of last month I can very easily download every video I make right to my computer! The Flip camcorder is completely self-sufficient. When you first plug it into your computer, it leads you through the set-up for the FlipShare software, which is amazingly easy to use. You can even edit your films and put them together to make movies with titles and music. When it is plugged into your computer's USB port it also charges the Flip's battery!

AND, it is SO very easy to share videos with friends, family, and business associates as needed. The videos can be uploaded to Facebook, web sites, blogs, etc. I'll even upload one here so you can see how easy it is to do. That's Carlton (in light blue) and Franklin (dark blue) running and shrieking in the light rain and a puddle.

My point in all of this is that I'm quite pleased with the Flip and really don't have any complaints about it so far. It has been mostly for personal use so far, but I did use it to film myself (don't you hate doing that?!?!) for a contest I entered for Baby Dipper.

Flip offers several different versions of their camcorders. Some are smaller, some are HD, and some have longer recording times than others. There is a new one called Slide HD that, yes, slides open so that you can replay your films on a 3-inch screen. Flip Video camcorders come in a variety of colors and there are quite a few accessories that go with them. I would say that if you are looking for a small, easy-to-use camcorder, the Flip should at least be on your list of cameras to consider. They range in price from $149 to $279 and are eligible for Free Super-Saver Shipping on Amazon.com. You can also find them in stores and on the Flip Video web site.

My guest post on Preemie Twins

2010-05-13T12:12:00.004-05:00

OK, so I'm not the best blogger in the world. It is very hard for me to find uninterrupted time to put together a single coherent thought, much less an entire post full of them. Four of the reasons for that are in the photo above (Cora & Franklin on the left; Greta and Carlton on the right). Well, I was invited to write a guest post for the Preemie Twins blog, so I gave it a try. This was posted on Preemie Twins on May 10. I figured, though, since it's something I actually wrote myself, I might as well share it here, too. Does anyone else out there have twins? Any thoughts you want to share??? Here's the post from Preemie Twins:

Hi everyone! First, let me introduce myself. My name is Barbara Schantz. I am a mom of two sets of twins and also the inventor of the patented Baby Dipper bowl. The Baby Dipper bowl facilitates one-handed feeding of infants by parents and also helps toddlers learn to feed themselves. My twin girls, Greta and Cora, born in 2004, were the inspiration for the Baby Dipper bowl. My twin boys, Franklin and Carlton, were born in 2008, just before the Baby Dipper bowl went on the market. Needless to say, the past 6 years have been incredibly busy and the most insane years of my life (so far).

I get lots of comments from people I know and people I don’t know (usually in stores when I have all four with me and am in a hurry) about how I have my hands full or one of the other usual remarks people make about having twins. The thing is that they just don’t get it. They don’t get to experience, to observe, to participate in the daily activities of two little ones of the same age. I must say that one of my favorite ages is 18-24 months, which is precisely where Carlton and Franklin are right now at 22 months. That is the age when they truly start trying to communicate and play with each other and start using their own “twinspeak” words. For instance, my boys call drinks “neh neh” and they both understood that long before I finally figured it out.

I get the impression that people are in awe of MOMs (with twins or more) and are happy that they are not in that position. I would say that I was one of those people before I had twins of my own. Now that I have twins, especially two sets, I really would not want it any other way. My husband, Hans, and I have talked about this many times since our girls were born, even as recently as this week. In our situation with the kids 3 1/2 years apart and the girls the older of the two sets, things flow very naturally in that we are able to assign one girl to watch each boy or hold a boy’s hand. When interaction between the two sets is not needed, each twin plays with her/his co-twin almost exclusively. Yes, we do have four (FOUR!) children, but we only have two ages to deal with. I honestly think that it would be much more difficult to have kids of four different ages than having two sets of twins.

OK, let me back up a bit here. YES, it was extremely difficult at first, especially our first time around. Taking care of two newborns is pretty much double the work of taking care of one newborn. It means double diapers, double feedings, double baths, double the chance of being awakened in the middle of the night, double everything. However, lets clarify that comment about feedings. Generally twin parents are able to feed two babies at once, so that’s not exactly double the amount of work required. MOMs can breastfeed or bottle feed two babies at once (I even know of MOMs who surfed the internet while breastfeeding their twins!). Once the babies are being spoon-fed (with a Baby Dipper bowl, of course), parents can prepare one bowl of food and alternate bites between babies, so while one baby is swallowing, the parent is scooping up a bite and feeding the other baby. The babies can be bathed together once they’re able to sit up, so around 5-8 months or so, thus saving some time there. A big time-saver is when both twins are thoroughly potty-trained. There is no way around it when they are both in diapers. Each baby’s diaper change is a separate event, some more involved than others, naturally.

Once the twins start playing together and sharing interactively, mom will suddenly find that she can actually slip away for a few minutes, though she still must listen in and check on them every few minutes as twins can sometimes get into more trouble than a single child. My understanding is that singleton babies require more parental attention since there is not a built-in playmate. This is not to say that parents of multiples should leave the teaching of things such as colors, shapes, letters, numbers, etc. to the kids themselves, but that this is another aspect of twin life that turns out to be easier than having only one child. Now that our girls are five years old, they play together just about all the time that they are not at school. There is very little arguing, surprisingly. They are really starting to realize how special it is to be twins and like to announce to people (even those who haven’t inquired about if they or their brothers are twins) that we have two sets of twins. I certainly hope that they continue to be close and get along well through their entire lives.

So, when others insinuate that having twins (especially two sets) must be incredibly difficult, I sometimes tell them that it is actually not that difficult, that my girls help with the boys, that each kid has a playmate all the time, that I only had to go through two pregnancies, that we only need to have two types of food/books/toys/clothes around at any given time. But sometimes I just humbly nod and move along, letting them remain in awe of us Mothers of Multiples and ignorant of the benefits that aren’t obvious to outsiders. Let’s not forget that from the time the babies are able to react, MOMs get double smiles, double giggles, double hugs, and double kisses.

Piggy Paint for cute toes and fingers

2010-05-10T10:44:00.001-05:00

I would like to take a moment to let you know about a fabulous new product for children that has nothing to do with feeding them. Piggy Paint is the invention of Melanie Hurley, another mom who was looking for a product for her kids. As with the Baby Dipper bowl, when she wasn't able to find a satisfactory product, she created her own. Piggy Paint is water-based, so it is non-toxic, virtually odorless, hypoallergenic, and doesn't contain any of the things that could be bad for your children like formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, Bisphenol-A, ethyl acetate and acetone. All of the details are available at the Product Information page.

So, that's the basics, but the fun stuff comes with first picking out a color and then with the painting of little toenails and fingernails. We tried out Forever Fancy (below), which is a bright pink color, much to the delight of Greta and Cora, my 5 1/2-year-old twin girls. We did learn the hard way that Piggy Paint isn't kidding when they say to apply 2-3 thin coats of polish. Our first try, I only put on one coat and after making sure it was dry (which doesn't take long at all!), they took their bath. Well, let's just say that Mommy needed to redo their nails after the bath. I also learned that Piggy Paint dries better using a hairdryer set on low for about one minute.

Lesson learned and the next painting was in the morning with 2 coats, which worked out much better. Let me clarify that my daughters are rough on their fingers and fingernails. They really enjoy playing with rocks, sticks, dirt, and digging in the sandbox. These activities are not friendly to any type of nail polish, so their Forever Fancy pink fingernails were not forever fancy after all. I do think that if they hadn't played so hard the polish would've lasted much longer. Their toenails fared much better than the fingernails.

As a "control" for our experiment, I painted my own toenails with the Piggy Paint. As I type this post three weeks later, they still look marvelous. And that was with only one coat of Forever Fancy! Clearly, I'm much gentler on my toenails than Cora and Greta are on their fingernails. :o)

You can purchase your Piggy Paint directly on their web site. Through June 30, you can use the code "Piggy15" for 15% off on the Piggy Paint website. You can also find retailers for Piggy Paint by entering your zip code on the Retailers page.

Be sure to follow Piggy Paint on Twitter and on Facebook for news and special offers!

Spring Fling for tons of prizes!!!

2010-04-12T12:24:00.002-05:00

Baby Dipper is taking part in the Spring Fling that will happen on Tuesday, April 13 and is hosted by The SITSgirls, Today’s Creative Blog, Skip to My Lou, and Tip Junkie. Four, yes FOUR Baby Dipper bowls will go to one winner in the 10:00 p.m. hour on Tuesday, so be sure to follow the Spring Fling party for that and many other great prizes. They also have four Grand Prizes at Tip Junkie, so stop by there to sign up for chances to win one of those fabulous prizes. I know I'm signing up for the Grand Prize giveaway and I hope to check in throughout the day to try to win some of the other exciting prizes.

2010-02-16T09:29:00.004-06:00

My 5-year-old twin daughters Greta and Cora are in a video with Cathy Puett Miller, an expert on early reading who travels to speak about literacy and who happens to live here in Huntsville, Alabama. Cathy is known as The Literacy Ambassador. In the video, they are playing Rhymin' Simon, which is featured in Cathy's new book, Anytime Reading Readiness (book can be purchased at that link). There is, by the way, a book for parents and a separate book on the topic for teachers, plus Cathy has many other books available. Check it out!

Here's the video:

Baby Dipper bowls now available in Canada!!!

2010-02-04T12:39:00.003-06:00

Yes, you read the title correctly: the new BPA-free Baby Dipper bowl/spoon/fork set is now available for purchase in Canada. Our first Canadian retailer is My Lil' Package in Halifax, Nova Scotia. My Lil' Package offers a wide variety of baby items, toddler items, and even maternity and postpartum items.

I know there are some Canadians out there who have been waiting for a while for the BPA-free version of the Baby Dipper bowl so that it could be sold in Canada, so I'm very happy to let you all know about our new retailer, My Lil' Package. Please pass the news along to all of your friends and family members in Canada who have young children or know folks with young children. Thanks!

Business Baby Shower Contest

2010-01-22T08:44:00.003-06:00

Here is a fabulous new contest for mom entrepreneurs. Baby Dipper is a sponsor for the contest and I am also going to enter the contest, too. This is a great way to help all mom entrepreneurs gain attention for our accomplishments. Please pass the word along via your blog, Facebook, and/or Twitter. You can follow the Business Baby Shower on Twitter at @BusinessBShower or on Facebook. Here is the first part of the press release from January 1 announcing the contest:

Business Baby Shower Launches: Contest celebrates entrepreneurial moms and all they do to birth and grow a business

January 1, 2010 – Barrington, NH: The Business Baby Shower, a new contest celebrating entrepreneurial moms and all they do to birth and grow a successful company while balancing family life, was recently launched as a partnership between The Mom Entrepreneur and Corporate Mom DropOuts.

The contest, which runs from January 1 – April 30, 2010, will create awareness of mom entrepreneur companies and their products and services. Participants will complete an application process as well as submit a two minute video of their business for consideration by a panel of judges.

“As a mom entrepreneur myself, I’ve found that starting and growing my own business was very similar to the process of birthing and raising my children. There’s a lot of love, dedication, commitment, hard work – and occasional frustrations – that go into both,” said Lucinda Cross, of Corporate Mom DropOuts, co-founder of the Contest. “We’ve created a forum that recognizes and honors the unique challenges that go into simultaneously raising children and ‘birthing’ a business.”

BPA-Free Baby Dipper bowls are here!!!!

2010-01-15T12:57:00.008-06:00

Yes, you read it right. BPA-free Baby Dipper bowls are officially available as of today! The new bowls come in a set with a spoon and a fork, too! As with the classic Baby Dipper bowl, the new bowls are CPSIA compliant, meaning that they are also lab-certified lead-free and phthalate-free. Another nice change is that the orders can be placed through the Buy Now page of the Baby Dipper web site using either a credit card or your PayPal account.

I would very much appreciate it if you would help me out by passing the word along to your friends and family. Also, if you know and love the Baby Dipper bowl, please take a moment to write a review of it on either (or both!) Amazon.com or One Step Ahead. Thank you so much to all of you for your support of Baby Dipper!

Video of boys eating, sort of....

2010-01-12T17:56:00.004-06:00

Well, since a video of Carlton and Franklin eating out of Baby Dipper bowls has been requested, I tried to film a video using a camera we bought for Cora for Christmas. Suffice it to say that the film quality is poor and there is no sound. So, I'll narrate in advance: That's Franklin on the left and he is first very interested in the camera itself, then concerned about a dot of yogurt that got on the high chair tray, and finally gets down to the business of feeding himself. Moving on to Carlton, you can see that his grasp of the spoon is, uh, not the best, holding it with his fingertips at the end of the spoon handle. This is probably their fourth time using the bowls and he hasn't made much progress, but I know it will happen eventually. Last, but not least, I pan over to where Cora (in the crown) and Greta are eating yogurt themselves. Don't you just love the *rolling eyes* look Greta gave me right at the end? So, there's a glimpse of mealtime at our house. Does that look familiar or is it just scary?

Boys and Bowls!

2010-01-03T19:55:00.009-06:00

Well, I'm sort of embarrassed to admit it, but today was the first time in several months that we have given Franklin and Carlton (now 18 months old) a chance to feed themselves using a Baby Dipper bowl. The delay was mostly due to our crazy busy schedules and wanting to have two adults here so we could take photos, film it, and help the boys out as needed. Honestly, I also didn't really relish the thought of having to deal with the guaranteed mess created by two toddlers feeding themselves at once. Remember, I've been there, done that with Greta and Cora. They actually got to use prototype Baby Dipper bowls to feed themselves, but it is still a "growing pain" of sorts even with a bowl that actually helps the child feed him- or herself.

So, this evening after taking the edge off their appetites with a few nibbles of snacks, I suggested to Hans that tonight might be THE night. He agreed, so we gave Carlton and Franklin Baby Dipper bowls filled with chocolate pudding and handed each a Baby Dipper spoon. As with the last time we'd given them a bowl full of food, they just looked at us, expecting us to spoon the food for them. We decided to do the first bite for them so they would know what the brown stuff in the bowls was. They were happy with that first taste, so it didn't take much encouragement after that for them to try to get more into their mouths.

We were able to witness here in our very own home two different eating styles for first-time self-feeders. Franklin immediately grabbed the spoon with his fist and proceeded to dip it into the pudding and then put it in his mouth right side up. By the end of his first meal self-feeding, he was sort of even scooping the pudding rather than just dipping. He pretty much got it this first time out. Carlton, on the other hand, was simply enjoying holding just the very tip of the spoon handle and tapping the spoon in the bowl. He would occasionally try to get a bite into his mouth, but the spoon always ended up upside down, often assisted by his other hand. You can see in the photos the two different early feeder styles. I know that we have a long road ahead of us, but I also know that it would be much longer without the use of Baby Dipper bowls. I sure am glad that somebody invented it! ;-)

Blog * Bid * Hope

2009-12-09T12:29:00.004-06:00

A Baby Dipper bowl is being auctioned off this week for Blog*Bid*Hope along with two CDs from My Baby Loves on Adventures in Babywearing .

The auction will benefit The Liz Logelin Foundation, founded by Matt Logelin, a new dad who lost his wife the day after their daughter was born, and started a foundation to help others in similar situations, and Anissa Mayhew, a 35-year-old mom of three who had a stroke two days before Thanksgiving. There are incredible stories behind both beneficiaries.

Also, there tons of other auctions being hosted by 7 bloggers for Blog*Bid*Hope: Buried with Children, Mayhem & Moxie, 7 Clown Circus, Scary Mommy, Adventures in Babywearing, The Extraordinary Ordinary, & Mama’s Losin’ It.

Look here for a complete list of the auctions and please pass the word along. Thanks!!!

Review: Hold It Baby Really Does Hold Everything!

2009-12-09T11:49:00.002-06:00

The Hold It Baby on-the-go toy organizer proves to be much more than just that. It helps keep toys, pacifiers, sippy cups, books, blankies, and just about anything else a baby or toddler might need from ending up on the floor, whether at home or out and about.

A collection of "holders" of various types and sizes, the Hold It Baby has worked very well for me with Franklin and Carlton, who are now 17 months old. Carlton, in particular, is very much into the "everything must go" phase and takes great delight in tossing items off of his high chair, out of his crib, away from the stroller, or over the baby gates in our house.

I have primarily used the Hold It Baby with the stroller, but as I write this, I'm realizing I really should use one on each of their high chairs as well. I especially appreciate the silicone bands that work well with sippy cups. This can keep the straw of his sippy cup from touching the floor at home or at a restaurant. The Hold It Baby even has a clip that can be used for things that don't already have a built-in loop.

OK, so I brought in from the van a Hold It Baby for each boy and tried them on their high chairs. Here are two photos of what happened. You can see that they don't even hardly notice the straps attached to their bottles, yet when Franklin drops his bottle, it stops halfway to the floor! Hooray!!!

There is good news for you! Each Hold It Baby purchase will receive FREE SHIPPING between November 25 and December 25. In addition, for each Hold It Baby purchased, they will donate $5 to their account with Charity:Water.

Important links:
Hold It Baby web site
Hold It Baby on Twitter
Hold It Baby on Facebook
Hold It Baby blog

A new bra with potential!

2009-11-20T16:46:00.002-06:00

I just found this giveaway on Blogger Mommies and have high hopes for the Coobie Bra. As Anna described in her review, I, too, hate shopping for bras. I'm not even much of a clothing shopper, but bras are the worst. The most frustrating part is that my breasts have not gone "back down" all the way since having kids and I'm not sure if they ever will. I now have a relatively small chest measurement, but a large cup size. Sounds great, right? Uh, no. I wish I could go back to my old size, but it seems that I'm stuck with what I have now, so have to find bras that help as much as possible. I think if I don't win the giveaway here, I just might have to purchase one of these Coobie Bras to try out. Thanks to Coobies for offering 6 bras as giveaways on Blogger Mommies!

Buy Mom Made!

2009-11-05T10:10:00.003-06:00

Baby Dipper is now part of the Buy Mom Made movement that is a new Mom-preneur alliance between Laurie of Tip Junkie, Quinn of Created by Mom, and Amy of Mom Made That. As Laurie says on her blog post about Buy Mom Made, "this is the perfect example of 3 direct competitors (as we each have Mom-preneur listings) uniting together for a greater purpose – to promote mom shops." What a fabulous idea! So, post, tweet, and otherwise pass along the word about Buy Mom Made this season. You can very easily register as a Mom-preneur or a Shopper and get busy with your holiday shopping and supporting mom-preneurs.

Article on Mom Technology

2009-08-12T09:15:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Laura Heuer of Mom Technology for featuring my co-winner in the HP Dara Torres Moms for Simplicity contest Kim Friedman a couple of weeks ago and also for featuring me on August 6. Laura's blog is all about how moms use technology to simplify our lives, so the HP contest was a perfect fit for her blog. Our third co-winner, Stacey Fulk, has now been safely deployed to Afghanistan, though we did enjoy her company on our trip to Rome to see Dara Torres swim. In the photo above, Kim is next to Dara, Stacey is in the foreground, and I am on the right. For more about our trip to Rome, check out the Moms for Simplicity web site that has been updated to include some of the videos we three moms made in Rome. Hans and I had a fabulous time despite the heat and humidity. We do live in Alabama, so we were somewhat accustomed to it, though we are not usually on foot sightseeing all day in the Alabama heat. Here is a picture of Hans and me in front of St. Peter's Basilica. Many thanks to Hewlett Packard for sponsoring the Moms for Simplicity contest!

Featured in The Huntsville Times!

2009-07-14T08:48:00.003-05:00

Today there is an article in The Huntsville Times, the local paper here in Huntsville, Alabama, about my being one of the three winners of the HP Dara Torres Moms for Simplicity essay contest! I'm happy to be able to share my experience with the fabulous Moms for Simplicity program. My husband and I now have our passports ready to go and a travel book about Rome on order! Now to make the arrangements for child care and pack our bags in our spare time. :)

I'm a winner of the HP Dara Torres Moms for Simplicity essay contest!!!

2009-07-11T12:02:00.006-05:00

Yes, it's true. Two other moms and I were selected by HP and Olympic swimmer Dara Torres as the winners of the Moms for Simplicity essay contest. We each submitted a 250-word essay about how we use technology to simplify our lives. Our essays can be viewed at the link in the previous sentence. There is now a web site that is documenting our trip to Indianapolis and will also document our trip to Rome at the end of July. My understanding is that Dara Torres swims the 50M Freestyle on Saturday, August 1 in Rome. You can also follow us on Twitter: @hpmoms. Here is the press release from HP.

You can see the official video of Dara Torres in the finals in Indianapolis here on Swim Network. She is one amazing lady! We HP Moms got to have lunch with her on Wednesday, watched her swim the 50M Freestyle in the preliminary Thursday morning, and then the final on Thursday evening. Incredible! We also got to see Michael Phelps set a new world record in the 100M Butterfly, which was a wonderful added bonus for us!

Fun rugs!!!

2009-07-06T22:18:00.003-05:00

OK, I love fun rugs! I just wish we had lots of places in our house to put them and lots of money to get lots of the fun rugs available at CSN Rugs. Oh My Baby is offering a giveaway of a Fun Time Driving Time rug, so be sure to hop over to their blog to sign up for the giveaway. There are so many fun ones that I know my 4-year-old girls would love!

Baby Dipper in The Mom Entrepreneur Co-op Shop

2009-07-06T10:54:00.002-05:00

The Mom Entrepreneur Co-op Shop is celebrating summer with a new line up of products and services for the season. If you are looking for variety and great bargains then you need to visit their newly redesigned shop. There will be a Twitter party July 7th from 9:30 - 10:30 p.m. EST. Follow @TMECoopShop or visit TweetChat and enter #TMEcoop for a chance to win many prizes, including a Baby Dipper set. "See" you there!

Baby Dipper review on Mommy Works blog

2009-06-17T20:38:00.004-05:00

My thanks to Jess, the mom behind the Mommy Works blog. In the review, she really details the use of the Baby Dipper bowl and spoon set by her daughter. There's even a cute picture of her daughter with the Baby Dipper set in the foreground. The thing that amazes me is that Jess is a full-time special education teacher and manages to keep up such a wonderful blog. Mommy Works is also hosting a giveaway of a Baby Dipper set, so be sure to comment, tweet, blog, etc. if you'd like to enter the giveaway.

The Shopping Mama's "All About Eating" week

2009-06-16T17:34:00.004-05:00

Baby Dipper is participating in The Shopping Mama's "All About Eating" week. I'm excited to post the link to Kate's fabulous review of the Baby Dipper bowl and spoon set here for you to check out. Kate gives us a peek into her life as she truly describes her experience using the Baby Dipper set with her son. Baby Dipper is also part of the "All About Eating" week giveaway, so be sure to stop by The Shopping Mama and sign up for all of the fantastic giveaways that are going on there this week. Please pass the word along to anyone you know who is feeding a baby or has a toddler trying to self-feed. Thanks!

My review of Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten

2009-06-04T10:39:00.008-05:00

Yes, it's my turn to actually write a review this time. Stacey Kannenberg of Cedar Valley Publishing and I decided to swap products to enjoy and review, so I sent her a Baby Dipper bowl and spoon set and she sent me copies of Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten and Let's Get Ready for First Grade. Since my twin girls, Greta and Cora, are 4 1/2 years old and will be going to Kindergarten in the fall, this is the perfect time for us to check out the Kindergarten book and use the First Grade book as something to aspire to. I have also looked through the First Grade book and found that it is indeed almost all new topics from Kindergarten, so that will give us something to work from over the next year or two.

So, Let's Get Ready for Kingergarten! Since Stacey sent a copy of each book for each of my girls (thanks, Stacey!), we sat down on the floor with a copy of the Kindergarten book in front of each girl and went through it page-by-page as long as their interest lasted (not quite through the entire book). The inside cover of the book lists skills to practice, so it makes for a handy checklist as Cora and Greta learn to do each of the tasks. I like the "mix up the alphabet page," especially that it shows both uppercase and lowercase letters. We've been working on uppercase letters for a long time, but lowercase is something pretty new that they definitely need to learn. Another favorite page of ours is the skip count page, showing the kids how to count by 10s, 5s, and 2s. Greta and Cora have been more interested in skip counting since seeing that page in the book. The two things that I think will be the most difficult to learn will be money and telling time on a clock with hands. We've already started on these, but this book reminds me that it is a skill that Kindergarteners need to know.

I wish we'd had this book a couple of years ago since we have already covered many of the skills here, but not all of them. I think about age 3 would be a wonderful time to get Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten or to give it as a gift. That way the child might already be on his or her way to learning some of the skills, but the book would help guide parents towards other important things that can be learned slowly over time as the child approaches Kindergarten age. I should mention also that I love that the pages of the book have a fabulous laminated finish so that you can write on them with a write-on/wipe-off marker. Kids love actually being allowed to write in a book!!!

Review by the cobalt blue expert

2009-05-28T11:35:00.004-05:00

I'd like to thank Laurie Stroupe for the wonderful review of the Baby Dipper bowl and spoon set on her blog, Laurie's Cobalt World Blog. She runs an online store for items made of cobalt blue glass. I love cobalt blue myself, so that drew me to her site and now I want to share it with you. Laurie's Cobalt World is definitely the go-to place for anything and everything that is cobalt blue. The Baby Dipper bowl fits in color-wise, though it is not, of course, made of glass, as that would not be terribly wise for a dish toddlers learn to feed themselves with. So, check out Laurie's site if you're looking for a brilliant blue gift idea!

Storytime Felt Giveaway on Lisa Reviews

2009-05-16T16:42:00.003-05:00

Yes, we did go to Disney World not long ago and, yes, I will get around to posting pictures, but we took (gasp) 892 digital photos, so it will take me a while to get through them....

In the meantime, there are tons of fun giveaways going on out there. The one I'm writing about here is for a $25 gift certificate for Story Time Felts that is being given away on Lisa Reviews. I remember my grandparents having a set of felt scenes we could put together called Fuzzy Felt, I think. I miss Fuzzy Felt, so I hope that if I win the giveaway here it will bring back some fond memories.

Oooh! A new laptop!

2009-05-08T14:58:00.003-05:00

No, I did not get a new laptop. Yet. I would dearly love to have one, but I do have access to one that works. Sort of works, that is. Anyway, the reason I'm posting is that I'm excited about the giveaway that 5 Minutes for Mom is hosting for a Toshiba Portege laptop. It looks like this is the latest and greatest with all the bells and whistles. The kind of laptop that would take me forever to learn all the features of, but one that would make my life a lot easier. I do have a great desktop, but that's the problem. It's only a desktop, alas. So, I've entered to win this wonderfully dreamy new laptop and am hoping for the best! Check it out!

I love poached eggs!

2009-04-27T13:24:00.004-05:00

Yes, I do love poached eggs. My parents had (and still have) a pan that has a metal insert with six holes to hold metal egg poaching "bowls." Since I moved out of their house I have tried a couple of other egg poaching pans and have been disappointed. When I saw the review and giveaway of the poachpods from Fusion Brands on The Mommy-Files, I had to at least enter the contest and spread the word about this new way to poach eggs that looks to be a solution to my problem. It sounds like they work very well and they also look very cool, plus they're my favorite color of green!!! If I don't win the giveaway, I will probably have to buy a set to try out. :)

My Review of Stainless Steel Panda Babies 3 Piece Childs Set

2009-04-18T09:08:00.001-05:00

CSN Baby

Designed to meet the needs of a child, the Stainless Steel Panda Babies 3 Piece Childs Set makes feeding comfortable and easy . The beautiful silverware pieces have a hammered handle pattern and are sized just right for little hands. This set would make the perfect gift for a...

Just what we needed!

2times2 Huntsville, AL 4/18/2009

Pros: Easy To Use, Portable, Durable, Easy To Clean

Best Uses: Meals, Snacks

Describe Yourself: Parent of Multiples (Twins etc)

I was looking for a set of real flatware that included a knife for my 4-year-old twins to use. I was happy to find this set and my twins absolutely love having their own flatware. The pieces are just the right size for their hands and the knife works very well for beginning learners.

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My Review of Kirby Inflatable Baby Bath Tub

2009-04-18T09:05:00.001-05:00

CSN Baby

This soft inflatable tub is perfect for the transition from infant tub to adult tub! The Kirby Inflatable Tub is made of soft material to comfort your baby during bathtime. After bathtime, just undo the recessed drain plug and hang up for a...

Excellent tub for in-between age

2times2 Huntsville, AL 4/18/2009

Pros: Strong Construction, Useful, Lightweight

Best Uses: Toddlers, Infants

Describe Yourself: Parent of Multiples (Twins etc)

This is the perfect tub for the time between the infant tub and the big bathtub. It is inflatable, so is soft for baby to sit on and in, plus makes it easy to take with you when it's deflated. I have noticed that it doesn't stay 100% inflated, but it still works wonderfully.

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I need this purse organizer SOOOOO badly!

2009-03-28T17:49:00.004-05:00

I can NEVER (EVER, EVER) find my keys the first (or second or third....) time I reach into my purse to grab them. This organizer from Sweetbriar Studio sounds like exactly what I need to keep everything in its place inside that giant center pocket of my jumbo purse. There is currently a giveaway on Mommy Works Blog. Check it out and try to win one!

Things I'd like from UBP 2009

2009-03-27T20:55:00.004-05:00

OK, well, I'd better get my act together and post some things that I'd like to win from the Ultimate Blog Party! So, here are my top three:

INTL56 - Free sponsorship of Mom Audience
INTL20 - $100 Premier Advertising Spot on Tip Junkie Mom-preneur
INTL 49 — Books $40 value: Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten & First Grade! from Cedar Valley Publishing

And if those are all taken, here's my list of further items I'd love to win:
89, 58, 1, USC12, 21, 19, 91, USC47, 84, 44, USC10, 22, 5, 106, INTL1, INTL56, 16

Thanks so much for this great opportunity, 5 Minutes for Mom!

The Ultimate Blog Party!!!

2009-03-23T12:31:00.005-05:00

It's time for the 2009 Ultimate Blog Party hosted by the fun ladies at 5 Minutes for Mom! I'm trying to find my way through all of the many fun things that are going on as part of the Ultimate Blog Party. It started a couple of days ago and runs through the end of the day on March 27. Baby Dipper is listed as #23 in the list of businesses and blogs offering prizes.

Well, I'll publish this for now, but I'll need to come back to add my list of things I'd like to win. There are so many great things!!!

Test Results Are In: Baby Dipper is free of lead and free of phthalates!

2009-02-25T13:38:00.006-06:00

Yes, I just got the test results back and found out that the Baby Dipper bowl and spoon are both free of lead and free of phthalates! This good news means that we are in compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which has been such a bear to small businesses, Baby Dipper included. Please pass the word along to your friends and family when you get a chance. Thanks in advance!

Britax Sale at Amazon

2009-02-03T21:19:00.003-06:00

Yep, you read it right: Britax car seats are on sale right now on Amazon.com through February 15. And up to 20% off!!! Click here to link directly to the sale. Of the 10 car seats we own, 4 of them are Britax and we love them. Oh, and they all came from Amazon during previous sales. :)

And the winner is.......

2009-02-01T12:29:00.006-06:00

Stacy! She wins the Baby Dipper bowl and spoon set I gave away as part of the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. Stacy commented, "Love the non-slip base" at 2:54 p.m. on January 26. I have emailed her to let her know she won. My daughters, Cora and Greta, helped me with the drawing. I printed out all 95 entries, cut them apart, and put them in a plastic tub. Cora mixed them up (over and over and over and over again!) and then Greta selected the winner. Thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway!

Baby Dipper Bowl Giveaway!

2009-01-26T07:06:00.012-06:00

OK, it's time for a giveaway of a Baby Dipper bowl and spoon set! This bowl is patent-pending, so it is indeed a unique bowl. It definitely solved the problem I was having with chasing the bowl around the table and the food around the bowl while trying to feed a baby.

And, I'll be participating in my first carnival through the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival. Check it out for TONS of other giveaways!

So, first, check out the Baby Dipper web site and post here what your favorite feature of the Baby Dipper bowl is. That's your required first entry. Once that is done, subsequent entries can be had if you post here again after you:

* Tweet about this giveaway and link back to it on Twitter
* Blog about this giveaway and link back to Baby Dipper and this giveaway
* Email 5 friends about this & copy me: info{at}babydipper{dot}com

AND, I've seen this done elsewhere and thought it was a great idea:

* Purchase a Baby Dipper bowl and spoon set on Amazon.com [or two, and get free shipping!] and send me a copy of your receipt (info{at}babydipper{dot}com). This will get you FIVE bonus entries!!!!! You will get to post 5 more times for that! :)

Thanks for helping me get the word out! I do very much appreciate it! It will be fun to watch this giveaway in progress.

Entries for this giveaway will be accepted until midnight CST, Saturday, January 31. The drawing will be held and the winner will be posted and notified on Sunday, February 1. Please be sure to leave your contact information somehow in your post! Please note that this contest is for U.S. residents only.

Milestones everywhere!

2009-01-24T20:46:00.014-06:00

With 4 kids, there are certainly lots of opportunities for milestone moments, though some are more monumental than others. Carlton and Franklin are now almost 7 months old and are getting more and more interested in rolling over and sitting up, so we're not far off from those true milestones and then it won't be long before they'll be MOBILE!!!!! Just a few days ago I put Franklin and Carlton in the outdoor baby swings for the first time. It was one of those cool, but sunny days we have here in the south that makes for a wonderful respite from the usual dreariness of the cold and/or rainy winter days. They truly enjoyed swinging the sun and watching their big sisters run around and swing on the big kid swings. That's Franklin on the left and Carlton on the right.

Greta and Cora are 4 years, 3 months old and are so verbose and creative these days. They are constantly wanting to work on art projects and their preschool workbooks, particularly enjoying the mazes and the "what doesn't belong" games. Just this week at my parents' house, as they pulled into the garage, Cora said to my mom, "Oma, does that say 'off?'" Indeed it did! It was the control box for the sprinkler system. Later that same evening, she read/remembered aloud a book about a horse named Blaze that she loves to have read to her. After Mom got the girls to bed that night, she was at her computer and Greta came up behind her and told her that she wants to read 'off' and Blaze like Cora can. Oh, and then there are the things the girls have said recently. Greta told me, after spending all day with me at the children's museum, playing and eating at the mall, and shopping for a new washing machine, that I'm cool! I paused and asked if she meant cool as in cold (it was cold that day) or cool as in fun. She responded, "amazing." I'll have to remind her of this when she is 16. Mommy is cool. :) And, the latest from Cora was as they were driving through a town called Rainbow City on the way to my parents' house. There is a giant rainbow ribbon sculpture on the side of the road and they discussed the colors of it as they drove past: red, blue, lellow, green, etc. My mom took that opportunity to work on saying Yellow rather than Lellow and asked them to "yeah - low." Cora was getting frustrated and told Mom, "it's a work in progress!" In these photos, that Cora, Franklin, Carlton, & Greta on the swing set and then Greta & Cora watching the new washing machine.

So, as I've said before, I'll try to post some more here, but things are always super busy as I try to take care of Baby Dipper and the 4 kids, so my "spare time" is virtually nonexistent. I should mention also that I will be giving away a Baby Dipper bowl and spoon set here on my blog next week in the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival hosted by Don't Try This At Home. So, keep an eye on the blog and tell your friends to come post a response for a chance to win a Baby Dipper bowl and spoon set!

Baby Dipper Bowls on Amazon!!!

2009-01-04T15:17:00.002-06:00

I made the official announcement today that Baby Dipper bowl and spoon sets are now available on Amazon.com. This has been a long time coming, so it is quite satisfying just to be able to search on Amazon and find my product. Here is the link, so you don't even have to bother with the search: http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Dipper-Bowl-Spoon-Set/dp/B001NGFSMK/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1231102202&sr=1-6

And, if you would please pass along the word to anyone you know who is the parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, or friend a young child, that would be fabulous! I also need some positive reviews to be written, so if you already own one, please take a couple of minutes to tell potential buyers what you think about it and how it has helped you and/or your child or what a great baby shower gift a Baby Dipper bowl makes. Thanks in advance!!!

6 months at lightning speed!

2008-12-30T21:14:00.015-06:00

Whoa! Where did the last 6 months go? I know that time definitely seems to go faster when you have kids, but now that I have two 4-year-olds, two babies, and a start-up company to keep up with, time has never moved so quickly. Yes, Franklin and Carlton are six months old today! I keep remembering a phrase that someone told me when I was overwhelmed by taking care of Cora & Greta. It goes something like this: "for mothers the days are long, but the years are short." How true that is. The four years of Greta & Cora's lives seem to have also flown by, but I know that there were days that I thought would never end.

As I did with Cora & Greta, I took Carlton & Franklin to have six month portraits made. They are not able to sit up on their own yet, so it made things quite interesting. Carlton was asleep when we (Mom went with us) got there, so he wasn't as happy as Franklin, who was Mr. Smiley the whole time, but neither boy cried at all the entire time, so that was nice. I've been working on giving them tummy time and encouraging them to roll over and try sitting up, all the time wondering what I'm doing to myself! In fact, today Carlton rolled over more times than he has total to date so far. He kept rolling from his back onto his tummy and then getting frustrated. Franklin is quite content to lie on his back wiggling and kicking. I try to remind myself to ENJOY these days before they become mobile since they won't stop moving once they're able to. That's Franklin in the light blue and Carlton in the red.

Oh, and I finally started feeding them some baby cereal a couple of weeks ago. Our whole family has been sick off and on for the past three to four weeks, the holidays were busy, and our internet service has been sporadic lately, so my online time has been rather limited. Anyway, I have to say (while trying hard not to toot my own horn too much) that I am SOOOOO happy that someone (not naming any names) invented the Baby Dipper bowl and got it to market before I had to spoon-feed another baby. I haven't gotten the high chairs set up yet since they're only eating a tiny amount of cereal once a day, so I use the Bumbo seats and a little stool as a table, placing a Baby Dipper bowl on the stool and using my hand that's not holding the spoon to wipe their faces or hands or to hold their arms down while I try to get the spoon of food to their mouths. I'll post a couple of pictures from one of our first experiences with the Baby Dipper bowl. By the way, Carlton is much more interested in eating than Franklin is, but Franklin seems to slowly be getting more interested in actually eating than just pushing the food out of his mouth. I know it's early yet, but I'm ready for them to be eager to eat. That's Carlton on the left and Franklin on the right.

Jumping in the Leaves on Thanksgiving

2008-12-07T17:52:00.010-06:00

So, I tend to post things out of order, but at least they get posted eventually. Though we had cold, rainy weather the day after Thanksgiving, we were treated to a beautiful, sunny afternoon on Thanksgiving day. We were at my parents' house in Glencoe, Alabama, where my dad had already raked up a big pile of leaves for Greta and Cora to jump in after lunch. We had beautiful leaf-jumping weather two years ago, but last year the bad weather came ON Thanksgiving and the leaves weren't as plentiful either. This year we had 13 adults and 4 kids there, so it was lots of fun just hanging out, but by far the highlight of the day was watching Cora and Greta run and jump in the leaves. Here are some of the best photos:

And our shadows started to get really long, so that was about the end of it:

Here's hoping that Thanksgiving 2009 brings another warm, sunny afternoon with lots of colorful leaves for all four kids to jump in! Carlton and Franklin will be 17 months old then!

A monumental day in a little girl's life

2008-12-02T21:52:00.008-06:00

This was Cora's first real haircut ever. She turned 4 in October, so it was quite a decision for us and for her to make to finally cut it. She wanted to have 10 inches cut off so she could donate it to a little girl (Locks of Love) instead of 8 inches to donate to a woman (Beautiful Lengths). When the lady first started cutting she had a very solemn look on her face, but when all was said and done she was/is delighted with her short, free-moving hair. While Greta got a little trim (since she wants to donate hers next time), Cora flitted and twisted around the salon enjoying her new hairdo.So, here are some pictures from today.

Mom-preneur Shop-A-Thon on Tip Junkie

2008-11-25T08:31:00.004-06:00

This is going to be a quick post since I've got to get the girls ready for gym class here soon. I just listed the Baby Dipper bowl on the Mom-preneur Shop-A-Thon on the Tip Junkie web site! There are tons of cool items from moms all over the place, so check it out to support moms like me who are trying to run a business and take care of kids at the same time! Thanks!!!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'.....

2008-11-20T21:17:00.005-06:00

Yep, we had some rolling going on here today! That's Carlton and Franklin in the photo above. Both Carlton and Franklin rolled over for the first time. First it was Carlton rolling from his tummy to his back. It was less than 2 hours later and then it was Franklin rolling from his back to his tummy and did it two times! They've been in that "lay-on-my-side-try-to-roll-over-but-that-arm-is-in-the-way" stage for a few weeks now, so they have both finally made it to the point of actually rolling. Isn't it uncanny how twins do things together like that? Now I know that there will be some rolling in bed and likely some unhappiness due to ending up on a tummy (Franklin), so here's hoping that doesn't happen tonight.

Tonight I also have to start back on my injectable medicine for my Multiple Sclerosis, Betaseron. I went off of it in April 2007 when we decided to try to have another baby (not babies, but what can you do?). It's been rather nice not to have to give myself injections every other night for a year and a half, but it's time to get back on the meds since that's all the doctors can do for now. So, tonight starts the every other night ritual of self-administered injections until the pending oral medication is approved. I can't wait for that day!!!!

To end on a happy note, here is another recent picture of Franklin and Carlton. Yes, it wasn't long ago that we had weather warm enough to wear shorts and short sleeves!

Thinking like a four-year-old girl

2008-11-19T07:51:00.019-06:00

It is absolutely fascinating to see the world through the eyes of two four-year-old girls. Hans, Mom, Dad, and I continue to be amazed at the ways they express things that they want to describe, but don't know the correct word for. They usually hone in on some words they know that are similar, but not quite the final word. The latest was when I was going to draw a picture of Thomas O'Malley and Duchess from "The Aristocats" for Cora. She asked me if I was going to draw the "handsome thing" on Thomas O'Malley. At first I didn't understand what she was talking about, but then she pointed to the collar and bowtie that he has on and I knew what the handsome thing was and, yes, I did draw it.

Greta's most memorable phrase of late was when Mom was riding with the kids and me up to Greeneville, TN, for my grandmother's funeral. That day happened to be one of the super-foggy days we get here sometimes in "the valley" (that would be the Tennessee River valley). We were talking about fog, so it wasn't that Greta didn't know the word for the white stuff all around us, but she expressed it in her own astonishingly artistic way: "the fog is a blanket of white." Mom and I just sat there looking at each other for a moment in awe of what just came out of the mouth of a just barely four-year-old girl. Greta loves to look at art and notices details that we adults don't usually see. She loves the Maxfield Parrish prints we have on the wall in our guest room. We have several of the ones in the collage below, specifically, the ones on the four corners and the one on the right-hand side in the middle.

Both Greta and Cora enjoyed watching and dancing to "Singing In the Rain," especially the very artistic scene with Cyd Charisse and the famous "Singing In the Rain" scene where Gene Kelly sings and dances in the street. They have tried to duplicate the flowing dresses and streaming scarves like the "green lady" (Cyd Charisse).

It's fun to watch the girls dance since they've not been taught any real dance moves. Sometimes we have "The Cora Show" and "The Greta Show" where we put on a CD and let them dance however they desire. Greta's style is smoother, more like real dance moves. Cora's is a bit wild with her long arms & legs flapping maniacally. That's Greta at the top and Cora at the bottom. Fun times!

And, yes, I'll write something about Franklin and Carlton in the next post....

2008-11-06T19:56:00.011-06:00

OK, so step back in time a bit now. Greta and Cora turned four years old on Wednesday, October 29th, though their birthday party was at The Little Gym on Saturday, the 18th. In all (other than the adults), there were 8 sets of twins there! One set was 5 years old, 5 sets were 4 years old, 1 set was 2 1/2 years old, and Franklin & Carlton were 4 months old. The kids all had a ton of fun running around playing on the gym equipment and playing some "organized" games with the instructors on hand. This was the first birthday party we'd gone away from home for and we will never again have one at our house! It was SO much easier to go somewhere else and let them worry about coordinating everything including the clean-up! I did have to bring the cakes (we got one for Cora and one for Greta) and the goody bags for the guests, but that was it!

Um, Greta....

2008-11-01T09:34:00.005-05:00

OK, so now I'm going to post a picture of Greta from July 4th eating a cupcake to celebrate the birthday of the USA. The reason for posting it is actually to enter in a contest to win a $500 gift card from Prego on the 5 Minutes for Mom blog. So, here is Greta (with all of us in the background saying, "Um, Greta, do you realize that you have a TINY bit of red icing on your face?"):

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T20:36:00.016-05:00

Yes, we made it through Greta and Cora's birthday on the 29th and I'm now worn out after a day of Halloween activities, though we did not go trick-or-treating in neighborhood after all. I helped get the girls ready to wear their costumes to school and then worked a bit on Baby Dipper stuff in the morning between feedings for Carlton and Franklin. Then I got the boys in their cute little velvet pumpkin costumes and picked the girls up from school to take them trick-or-treating in Hans's office building where all of the companies had their doors decorated and were offering candy to kids whose parents work in the building. Cora dressed up as Cinderella and Greta dressed up as Snow White. They got tons of candy this afternoon and were so tired that we didn't bother going out in the neighborhood tonight. We also think that they were way overdosed on sugar after the day full of treats. We don't know exactly what they had at school, but at the office they had a few cookies & brownies. After we got home I let them each eat one piece of candy and then they shared another one, so I didn't think it was that much. Boy, was I wrong! They were completely frazzled by 6:30, much earlier than usual, and then had trouble getting settled in for sleep. Note to self: continue monitoring the sugar intake! It's amazing how just a small amount of sugar affects them! I could eat an entire bag of candy without any adverse effects except maybe an upset stomach. If they eat anything sweet, they're almost guaranteed to have an energy spurt about 30 minutes later. Here is a picture of all four of them. That's Greta holding Carlton and Cora holding Franklin:

Carlton and Greta, Cora and Franklin

Cora as Cinderella, Greta as Snow White

One generation gone

2008-10-24T20:43:00.004-05:00

Yes, my father's mother, my Nana, or my kids' Grand Nana died on Sunday evening. She basically fell asleep in her recliner and did not wake up. The nurses at the nursing home in Gadsden, AL, found her nonresponsive with no pulse and not breathing. At the hospital they were able to get her heart beating again, but she did not breathe any more on her own. Dad made it there in time to hold her hand and tell her that it was OK to go on. She was 90 1/2 years old, so this was not at all a shock to our family. For the funeral, our whole family loaded up and drove about 5 hours to Greeneville, Tennessee, almost to North Carolina or Virginia. Yes, Huntsville is only about 25 miles from Tennessee, but Greeneville is at the far eastern end of the state. The weather was absolutely perfect - sunny and about 65 for a high and the fall leaves in the Appalachians were beautiful. Nana would have loved to have seen her old homeplace with us, but it is good for her that she doesn't have to live the way she's been living for several years now. She has been telling us for some time that she was ready to go on. I'm happy that she got to know Cora and Greta well enough to be able to tell them apart and at least got to meet Franklin and Carlton one time. Greta and Cora handled the whole thing very well, but I'm not sure they really understand that we won't go visit her any more. They enjoyed dancing and singing for her as she squealed with delight about her "little fairies." So, if you're wondering where I've been for a few days, that is at least part of it. Things continue to be as hectic as ever with our normal lives and then add to it that Cora and Greta's birthday party was last Saturday (I'll write a post about that soon) and they turn four years old on Wednesday the 29th. The good news is that they are starting to behave a little better. The threes have been the more terrible age than the twos were for them!

ARGH!

2008-10-13T22:17:00.002-05:00

OK, so I messed up the formatting on the previous post. I wanted to post a lot of photos and keep it relatively short, but it is not as easy to do as I thought it might have been. Oh well. I'm sorry for the truncated words down the middle of part of it. Next time I'll do a better job, but I'm too tired to mess with it any more tonight.

Tate Farms

2008-10-13T21:34:00.023-05:00

We (my dad, Hans, and I) took Greta and Cora to Tate Farms Cotton Pickin' Pumpkin Patch today. Mom stayed home with Franklin and Carlton so we didn't have to drag them along with us. It was actually quite warm here today, about 83 degrees, but was a beautiful, sunny, and breezy fall day. I couldn't believe how much Cora and Greta remembered from last year's visit - the hay maze, the corn bins, and the bunnies. This time we went with their preschool, which turns out to be a much better deal than paying to go on our own. For a school group admission, you get a free ride on the big tractor-pulled hay-filled wagon out to the pumpkin patch and you get to keep any pumpkin you pick out as long as you can carry it yourself. So, we came home with 3 pretty large pumpkins and 2 girl-sized pumpkins. Dad took his home, but our four are in the picture in the bathtub after their bath in bleach water. Now we need to get a pumpkin carving kit! It has been ages since I carved a pumpkin, but I know that Cora and Greta will have a blast! The other pictures show each girl jumping out of the hayloft in a barn, Hans & the girls in the hay maze, each girl buried in the corn bin, a view of the Appalachian foothills behind the vast cotton fields at Tate Farms, and the girls posing with some of the various fall displays set up just for photo ops. What a fun, but tiring day! And that was just with one set of twins that are able to run around! It will be fun again next year when Franklin and Carlton are 16 months old, but oh, how crazy will it be?!??!

Worn out from a day with all 4

2008-10-09T21:29:00.000-05:00

Yep, I stayed home (basically) all day with all four kids. We did leave the house to take a walk, which ended up being more frustrating than anything. Hans advised me to let Greta & Cora take the wagon with them and said that they would take turns pulling each other in the wagon. Well, that lasted about the first 1/4 of the walk. After that one would pull the wagon and the other walked. Then about halfway through guess who ended up pulling the wagon? That would be Mommy, the one who was also pushing the twin stroller! That was NOT easy, particularly on my wrists since I could just barely steer the stroller with one hand. Otherwise the walk was OK and at least got us out of the house on a nice day.

Cora and Greta are counting down the days until they are four years old (10/29) and when their birthday party is (10/18). I made them a paper chain with a link for each day (with the day of the week and the date written on each link) so that they can remove a link each day. The link for their birthday party is specially decorated so they can easily pick it out of the chain. Since they had been gone for a long weekend with my parents, we had several links to remove today, so that was exciting. I also gave them some coins to put in their piggy banks and then we went through all of the coins in our coin jar to look for the state quarters that are missing from our two U.S. state quarters maps (I only bought two a couple of years ago!). I also gave them each a pad of small sticky notes, so our house is now decorated with little purple and pink sticky notes scattered around on the walls, some with words and some with scribbles or drawings. It was a really exciting day around here! I should mention that neither Franklin nor Carlton were particularly fussy today, thankfully. :)

Fussy boys

2008-10-08T21:12:00.000-05:00

Well, only one boy right now, but Franklin and Carlton do seem to tag-team me so that only one is fussy at a time, so there is not too much time when there is NO ONE fussing. Hans and I are making the mad dash to try to get to sleep while the sleeping is possible. Greta, Cora, and Carlton are asleep, but Franklin is still quite fussy. He had an extra bottle beyond Carlton (believe me, we tried to get Carlton to take that last bottle so he'd sleep longer!) and had three extra burps, but no luck. He's now sitting in a swing and I'm listening to the incessant lullaby song the swing plays. By the way, the boys had obviously arranged that yesterday was Carlton's fussy day and today was Franklin's. I suppose I shouldn't complain too much, though. They are only waking up once during the night now at just 14 weeks. They tend to get fussy around 5 p.m. and the "witching hours" continue until bedtime around 8 p.m. These days they usually sleep until about 3 or 4 a.m., which is pretty good! Of course, the doctors tell you that babies are STTN (sleeping through the night) if they sleep 6 hours. Not by MY definition! And, if they are up at 3, they usually wake up again around 6 or 6:30, which I consider still to be the middle of the night. Cora and Greta get up around 6:45 or 7, though, so there's no more sleeping once that happens. Oh, I miss the days when I could sleep in as late as my body would let me. 8, 9, 10.... Aaaahhhh! I thought I should post some pictures of happy boys (Carlton, left, and Franklin, right). And I should go move Mr. F. from the swing to the bed since he's been quiet for a little while now. Wish me luck!

Nicknames for kids and pets

2008-10-07T20:54:00.000-05:00

I've always been one to give things nicknames and it has translated now even to my kids, sometimes without much of a real explanation. For instance, I had a cat named Rocky as a kid. I called Rocky "My Wabulwy." Who knows?!?!? I call our curent cat Brady "Squidge." Growing up, my brother, sister, and I had lots of nicknames (all meant fondly) for our parents. Mom was things like "Bonkabalaba" and "Blob." Dad started out as "Dadlet," which then morphed into "Didlet," "Piglet," and "Pig" or "Piggy." So, what do I call Greta, Cora, Franklin, and Carlton? That would be "Greta Padetta," "Cora Fedora," "Frankalino," and "Carltone." Of course, now if we ask Greta and Cora if they are Greta Padetta (or as my husband says, Greta Rosetta) and Cora Fedora we are answered with a resounding "NO! I'm just Greta/Cora!" Oh, and the nickname for each set of twins: Greta and Cora are "The Weebies" and Franklin and Carlton are "The Weeboys."

This crazy online world!

2008-10-06T21:27:00.000-05:00

So, now I'm on Facebook and Twitter and have a blog and a web site, too. Plus I'm on a couple of moms' message boards. So many things to do and so little time. I apologize if I don't get to post blog entries every day. For those who don't know me, you'll learn (if you keep reading my posts as I go) that I like to think things through very thoroughly before proceeding. I do get a lot done considering what I have to do for the four kids, Baby Dipper, and everything else around the house. My sister asked me if I get up every morning with a very optimistic view of how much I will get done that day. My answer was "yes!" Reality generally proves me wrong, but I still start each day on a positive note.

My parents took Greta and Cora with them to Georgia this past weekend to visit with my brother, Shawn, and my sister, Melissa, and her husband, Adam. Uncle Shawn gave the girls fishing poles and they had a blast fishing, swimming, and boating at the lake. So much so that they don't want to come home! They're actually now at my parents' house in Alabama, but it is so much more fun than our house since they have more fun stuff to do than we do here at home. That's Shawn showing Cora & Greta how to hold a fishing pole and Greta with her big catch.

OK. First entry...here goes...

2008-10-04T13:22:00.000-05:00

Well, I have been realizing for quite some time that I need to blog. I need to blog for my friends and family who live far away. I need to blog for Baby Dipper to get the word out about the Baby Dipper bowl to those who would enjoy and/or benefit from using one. I need to blog to get things off my mind and off my shoulders. I started posting some things directly on the Baby Dipper web site, but I think this new blog will be much more functional and fun. I thought the title My Double Life would be appropriate for the TWO sets of TWINS I have and the double roles I have as a mother and an entrepreneur. I'll post more as I have time, but with 1 husband, 2 sets of twins under the age of 4, 3 start-up companies (1 of which is mine), 2 cats, and 1 household to run, the numbers add up to me not having much spare time. Please bear with me as I get going on this. In the meantime, here's a photo of Greta holding Carlton and Cora holding Franklin to tide you over until I figure things out.