Remembering What Is Important

During the wildfires here in San Diego, our little City of Poway lost 80 homes and our neighboring community of Rancho Bernardo lost twice as many homes. From all the stories and heartaches there is one that stays in my mind at all times and I try to reflect on each day so I thought I would share.

One of the members of our church who lost his home was standing and staring at the burnt remains of what was once his proud home. He pointed to a piece of his property and told a story that was relayed later to my husband and I. He said right there was a section of his front yard that he was so proud of. He spent numerous hours every weekend carefully pruning that area and taking care of the flowers and plants. He recalled a specific time when his daughter asked him to help her ride her bike but he explained he was too busy working as he probably had told her on numerous other weekends. He stared at the burnt rubble where that beautiful garden was and realized he had passed on a special moment and memory with his daughter over a piece of yard that was no longer there and that never had really mattered as much spending time with his family.

Whether you are a working parent or a stay home parent, I think we can all try to apply this lesson into our lives. It is so hard to balance being mothers, teachers, wives, housekeepers, counselors, friends, organizers and the numerous other titles we wear each day. There are times when I catch myself getting frustrated with my kids for interrupting me when I am trying to write an email and then I have to stop and take a reality check and remind myself I run this business, write my blog, sew like a mad woman and what seems like so much more so I can be home to ENJOY my children, not just be in the same house with them. Some days I am successful, some days I feel like a failure but I know the next day I will work even harder to find the right balance!

Wordless Wednesday-Baby You Can Drive My Car

Thank Goodness For The Little Things In Life

I try to take the time to savor the small pleasures in life. After all, life is meant to be enjoyed!

Today I have a beautiful pile of new fabric that I am just going to take time to stare at and enjoy! If you are a fabric lover too, feel free to do the same! Happy Tuesday

I came across this campaign on a blogging friend's site and I thought I would pass it on:

Thankful for Freedom is a campaign to show support for our troops and for our country. Too often our freedom is taken for granted and too often people forget the reasons why we are free. Their goal is to raise $5 million for our troops by physically touching one million U.S. Citizens with their campaign awareness t-shirts. They look to achieve this goal in one year by December 31st 2008. Those who have been touched will be known as “The Thankful for Freedom Army.”

Chase's New Fear, Move Over Boogy Man

Okay, this one HAS to go in the book for strangest childhood fear. My 4-year-old Chase is scared of no other than......(drum roll please)................ Lindsay Lohan!

Why? He says she is evil and he is scared she is hiding in his room.

Now of course Lindsay Lohan isn't "evil" and Chase actually has no idea who she is. His older brother and cousin were quoting a joke from a ventriloquest show that had her name in it and it took off from there!

The Boogey Man is SO out, being scared of the "evil" Lindsay Lohan is in!

C Berry Baby Contest

Get a jump start on Spring and Easter by checking out the Critters and Bugs Line by Hand Knit Hats by Angie!

CLICK HERE to view the designs and then post a comment on this blog letting us know your favorite. On March 15th, one lucky winner will be randomly chosen and will receive FREE their choice of one of Angie's custom made hats. If you do not have a blogger profile,you can also email me at debye@cberrybaby.com with your vote!

Have fun browsing and I am sure you can tell by the photo above which is my absolute favorite!

Wordless Wednesday-Happy Birthday Jonas!

Happy Birthday to my eldest son, Jonas, who turns 12 today!

Blogging MIA

Okay, okay...I know I have been a little MIA from the Blog-a-Sphere. Besides dealing with ear infections and boogery noses my family and I have been preparing and going through training to become an Angels Foster Family.

Angels Foster Family Network is a 501C(3) non-profit, licensed foster family agency, specializing in placing infants and toddlers with exceptional families in San Diego and Riverside Counties. The Angels mission is to rescue abused, abandoned, and neglected young children, match them with a select group of foster parents, and ensure the maximum emotional, social, and intellectual development of each child.

All over San Diego and Riverside Counties, babies and toddlers are often traumatized while living in emergency shelters or in a series of short-term foster homes after being abused, neglected, or abandoned by their parents.

Without loving foster families, these children will never learn to bond and trust, often facing a terrible life filled with crime and perpetuating the cycle of abuse in their own unwanted children.

We are really excited to help care for a precious little baby that may otherwise be shuffled around while their mother is getting help! We can not say enough how helpful, informative, and supportive this agency has been and continues to be! They are honest about the difficulties, they have a great parenting program, and they really care about and get to know each child AND each foster family!

If you want any additional information on this agency or to make a donation, please feel free to visit their site at http://www.angelsfoster.com/

Wordless Wednesday

Cooper's first time pulling himself up to standing, he is growing too fast!

Happy Heiny's Go Hollywood!

New One Size Pocket Diaper From Happy Heiny's Goes Hollywood......Celebrities LOVE the New One Size from Happy Heiny's

San Diego, Calif.- January 11, 2008 Happy Heinys, one of the largest manufacturers of modern reusable cloth diaper, has been invited to be the exclusive diaper to be presented at the 2008 Boom Boom Room Pre-Golden Globes Hollywood Gifting Suite, along with some other products noted as the Hottest Must Haves for Celebrity Babies. Unfortunately the Golden Globes did not go on but the Boom Boom Room was a 2 day success.

"It was a great honor to be invited to such a fabulous event," Linda Byerline CEO of MLB Industries Inc., Happy Heinys stated. "Through the years many celebrities have received Happy Heinys for their new babies. It was great to hear from those who had used our products and loved them, as well as those who were looking for a great alternative to disposables for their babies," said Byerline.

Comments from celebrities such as Denise Richards:

"Happy Heinys are the BEST cloth diaper. My girls loved them and said how soft they are. And they are easy to use", stated Denise Richards.

"I have heard so many good things about Happy Heinys. All of my good friends use them and I look forward to putting my new babies Heiny in them. Thanks Again", Tobe Morrow wife of soap star Joshua Morrow.

"Happy Heinys is one step towards making our world a better place for the next generation", Ming Na

On a page with "Thank You" written on the top, Neil McDonough writes: " No.Thank you!!! Life Savers", Neil McDonough

"Thanks for helping me with Poop", Scott Baio

"Linda, You Rock, thank you so much, LOVE THE HAPPY HEINYS," Shar Jackson

"We LOVE happy Heinys, great colors and patterns," Tori Spelling

"Thank you for keeping my baby dry and the world a better place for her," Zorianna Kit

"Happy Heinys rock!!! We LOVE them so.. Much" Alimi Ballard and family.

"To Happy Heinys thank you for helping us feel better about changing diapers", David Kushner from Velvet Revolver

Finally to sum up what we have always tried to convey at Happy Heinys, Jon Fortson and his wife Christie Lynn Smith-Fortson recently sent an email to us, and I would like to share a small excerpt of that email:

"I want to do it. I want to be that person, because I believe and am passionate about not just the environment but our planet and the message we send to our kids and others through the choices we make. 500 years - Although I have contributed in other ways through various charities, environmental causes, cleaning up beaches, etc. - there will never be a better opportunity to do one simple thing that will help make such a difference for our planet as using cloth diapers. When you think of all the plastic diapers, sitting all over the world, buried in our dirt, seeping into our waters.waters we all enjoy.you have to. When our children have babies and they face the same choice what will we tell them we did?"

'I want to do it. I want to be that person, because I believe and am passionate about not just the environment but our planet and the message we send to our kids and others through the choices we make. 500 years - Although I have contributed in other ways through various charities, environmental causes, cleaning up beaches, etc... - there will never be a better opportunity to do one simple thing that will help make such a difference for our planet as using cloth diapers. When you think of all the plastic diapers, sitting all over the world, buried in our dirt, seeping into our waters...waters we all enjoy...you have to. When our children have babies and they face the same choice what will we tell them we did?'

About the Boom Boom Room: The Boom Boom Room is an exclusive event put on by Jayneoni Moore. Jayneoni, a regular on MTV, VH1's The Fabulous Life of Celebrity Kids, Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, MSNBC Hot List and CNN, is well known as a bonafide Kiddie-swag specialist for Hollywood celebrities. Jayneoni's signature Boom Boom Rooms are held at hush-hush Hollywood locations and showcase the must-have baby and children's products of the season. Jayneoni Moore has become known as the "Fairy Godmother" to many of the famous tots in Tinseltown.

You can also check out our past blog on Happy Heiny's when Cooper was one of the models during a tv interview

The Baby Mop

Don't even try to tell me you didn't think about it for a minute :o)

Teething Tips- Your own Teething Survival Kit

Cooper's 5th tooth in just one week broke through this morning and the poor fella has been pathetic. 5 teeth in 7 days sounds almost like a movie title, so I thought I would pass on a few teething tips........

• Give your child a firm rubber teething ring, versus hard plastic. My son loves chewing on the bangle from our teething jewelry.

• Cut a piece of banana and put it in a mesh fresh food baby feeder (example shown). These can be found at most grocery stores and at Target. Put it in the freezer long enough to chill well and give to baby. Grapes also work well.
  
  
• Soak a baby washcloth in juice or water, wring it a little and put it in the freezer. Your little one will love to suck and chew on it.

• Massage babies gums with your finger. This helps eliviate the pain!

• Chill Teething biscuits for extra comfort
  
  

Wordless Wednesday

Rub-a-Dub Dub, Two Boys in the Tub!

Make Learning Fun

As a former preschool teacher I have created and tested my fair share of learning games yet for some reason I found myself resorting to boring flashcards with my 4 year-old that he quickly grew tired of.

So I brushed the cobwebs off my preschool brain and began creating new fun, fashionable and quality versions of tried and true games I used to play and my son is in heaven. I am getting ready to release some of these handmade games on my Etsy Store but here is a sneak peak of one of the games that I will be offering, along with a quick tutorial:

ABC Magnet Fishing

MATERIALS NEEDED:

chipboard letters ( I get mine from YMBD, she is a great inspiration)

Quality Card Stock

Googly eyes

Paper Clips

Wooden Dowel (cut in half)

Twine

Ribbon

Cork

Magnet

Decorative Wrap (optional)

hot glue sticks

TOOLS NEEDED:

Scissors

craft glue

hot glue gun

drill

INSTRUCTIONS: Cut out 26 fish from cardstock. Glue one letter from the alphabet on each fish, apply googly eye and attach paperclip. Cut wooden dowel in half. Drill hole through one end of dowel (for twine to go through) then drill a hole through the cork. Thread one end of twine through the dowel and one through the cork and knot. Hot glue magnet to the cork. Wrap ribbon around seam of cork and magnet and affix with hot glue. Cut decorative wrap about .5" shorter then length of dowel (width about 3") and glue around dowel. Wrap ribbon around each seam end and affix with hot glue. Now go fish!

HOW TO PLAY:

More Fun than flashcards, ABC Magnet Fishing is designed to encourage learning through play and family interaction. Can be played by one player, or a classroom full of children!

Ideas: While child is still learning the alphabet, they can fish for letters. Each letter they guess correctly, they can keep. The others go back into the lake! As the child progresses, the game can evolve to what sound the letter makes or name a word that starts with the letter!

Helpful Tips: For younger children you can add more paperclips to each fish so they are easier to catch. It is helpful to have a “fishing pail” close by for your little one(s) to put their fish in. Also, for early learning, you can limit the amount of ABC fish you introduce (say 5 at a time) to help with their self esteem and confidence.