BIG NEWS

I am on vacation so this will have to be quick, but I just had to share this news with you.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission granted a one-year stay on the CPSIA junk that I have been talking about! This means that everyone can keep doing business as before until Feb 10, 201o while the new rules and regulations are being defined.

Noodles & Milk gets to stay open for at least another year!

Hallelujah! What a huge answered prayer!

For those of you that are interested, you can read more about it here.

An overdue update

So sorry that I have been m.i.a. lately. Lots of stuff has been going on. This will be a quick and really random update on everything that I can think of for those who care.

Milk- We are in full swing in the sippy cup. No worries, I think she was just testing me a couple of times to make sure that we were really going to stick with it.

Health- Over the MLK holiday Steve got sick and a couple of days later passed it to Emerson. She got it really bad. We are talking 104.3 fever, coughing, lethargic, sleeping 6+ hours during the day, etc. It was so sad and really scary at times. Of course we went to the doctor and found out it was not bacterial so there was nothing that they could do. Love it when that happens. Luckily on day 4 her fever finally went away and things started to turn around. She is almost 100% with just a little cough that is lagging behind.

15 month stats- We had her 15 month check up today. She is FINALLY over 20 pounds! She is 20 lbs 6 oz (14%) and 31 inches tall (60%). Of course we talked about her not walking yet. The pedi did not seem at all concerned. He said she looked perfect developmentally and that she was just taking her time. Ok, we will see if she is walking by her 18 month well check.

Other happenings- Now that the spring semester is in full swing we are back into a somewhat more active schedule. We are taking a music class at our church that is much cheaper than the TCU class. It has been fun so far. Our playdate schedule is filling back up too. I wish that we could get Emy into a Little Gym class or something similar (I think it would help with the walking and independence), but they are so expensive. Maybe with some tax return money or something like that.

January Goal- I have this entire list that I made out of ways to increase Noodles & Milk business. I have people that will be hosting blog giveaways of my products, I want to open a site on 1000Markets and Artfire, plus various advertising opportunities. However, I started putting all the work into and then I realized that because of CPSIA I might be out of business in a couple weeks. SO, my January goal is on hold until February or March. If a miracle happens with CPSIA then I will move forward with my efforts and also a lot of new designs (Hello clothing!!!!). So, I guess what I am saying is that I am already failing at my goal-a-month thing. If I would have been thinking straight earlier this month I would have made this months goal something like organizing the closets. Oh well.

I think that is everthing for now. Sorry for being such a slacker. I will leave you with some pictures of Emerson having bathtime fun.

All smiles

Fun splashing

More splashing- Whoa, water in the face:)

All smiles again

Have a great week.

Um, I think I may have spoken too soon...

Yep, Emerson enjoyed her sippy milk for a couple of days and now we are off it again. Fantastic...

I win!!!!

It took 6 weeks and some creative tips, but I finally won. Emerson is FINALLY drinking milk out of a sippy cup. She is still getting a bottle at night, oh well. Sue me.

Amanda should win the award for the best idea. We finally gave in and tried her suggestion of chocolate syrup. Now before you get all concerned, it was literally a tiny bit- maybe a couple drops. It did not even turn the milk brown. Emy liked it though and after 3 days of that, we stopped the syrup and mommy wins!!! She even does her dramatic MMMMMMM after she takes a sip. It is hillarious.

Now, on to trying to get her to walk before she is two.

Guess what's in the cup?!?!?!?!

Hallelujah!

There are no words

This was Emerson when she woke up from her morning nap today. Think she was hot and sleeping soundly? I literally laughed out loud and ran for the camera. It was hillarious. When I brushed her hair it looked like she just got out of the bath, totally soaked. Nice.

***Update***

This is an article that Beth found regarding CPSIA and books. It is even more infuriating that this whole deal includes books. Read the article it is short. Such a tragedy.

http://bookshopblog.com/2009/01/04/book-burning-on-feb-10th-2009-due-to-cpsia/

Please, please vote this week at www.change.org

I need to vent

I am seriously frustrated, worried, annoyed and just flat out mad. Every time I think about this topic I just want to going off on somebody about it, but I don't. I have put off posting about it because as mad as I have been, I just keep thinking it will go away. My friend Beth posted about it today, so I am going to follow her lead. We can make change happen.

"So, what are you so mad about, Sabrina?" Well, let me tell you- I am mad about the new C-P-S-I-A law. In August 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was signed stating that all items for children under the age of 12 would need to have extensive testing for lead. These tests can cost up to $200 per component.

Okay, so what does this mean? Well, the premise behind the lead testing is great. I mean, who does not want their children to be safe? The problem comes in how the law was written and who the law is directed at. The law was written and directed at people creating finished goods. Not, those who manufacture the components in masses. It calls for every unique item to be tested. Meaning if you have the same exact dress in 3 different fabric options, each one has to be tested. Have I lost you?

Okay let me break this down a little more. Think about a childrens garmet of clothing- The law calls that whatever designer puts that garment together and sells it to the public should pay for the testing. This is the part that makes no sense to me. The designer is not manufacturing anything. They did not make the thread, elastic, snaps, fabric, buttons, etc. All the did was put it together.

Here is another way to think about it. In the entire world there are only so many button manufacturers, but there are a ton of designers who use buttons. There are only so many snap manufacturers, but a ton of companies who use snaps. There are only so many fabric manufacturers, but a ton of companies who use the same fabrics.

And even further...Let's take a piece of Michael Miller Carnival Bloom fabric. Instead of the law calling Michael Miller to have to test the fabric once and call it "all clear" for everyone who uses it, the law calls for every designer who puts that fabric into one of their goods to have it tested seperately. That could be hundreds of thousands of tests on the same fabric. That is insane, wasteful and time consuming.

Anways, the law goes into effect on February 10th. This day is being called the National Bankrupty Day because of the effects it is going to have on all small design companies- Think everyone making anything for children or babies on Etsy and Ebay (me), think all the small boutiques that carry unique labels (FTW people- think Zoe & Jack), think thrift stores and children's consignment stores it also means any of the up and coming brands that have made it to national retailers.

You know what else it means? It means higher prices and less options. Large companies won't have as much competition and therefore will be able to charge higher prices because they can and to help make up the cost of testing. It also means no longer getting to see fresh new designs every season.

In a horrific economic time when the government should be doing everything it can to help the economy, it is infuriating that the booming children's industry- probably one of the only few industries that remains solid in this turmoil- is going to be all but extinct next month.

I have certainly not given you all the details, my friend Beth writes about it in a little more detail here. No matter how frustrating, there is still time to make something change. There are still things we can do.

Here are some ways you can make your voice be heard:

-Vote for this issue on Change.org. Present Elect Obama will be given the top three issues from this site to address the day of his Inaguration. You will need to register in order to vote, but it is free and takes very little time. *******By the way, this idea finished in 1st Place in the Economy category and has therefore qualified for the final round of public voting. Final round voting will run from January 5th - 15th, and voting totals will be reset at zero for all qualifying ideas to ensure an equal playing field. ---So, please mark your calendars and vote on this between 1/5 and 1/15.*********
-Send Etsy's open letter to the CPSC ombudsman and your state representatives.
-Sign the petition from The Handmade Toy Alliance that will be sent to the CPSC

More information:

-Endangered Whimsy-a great compilation of many of the handmade products that will be effected.
-The Smart Mama-great article with a lot of information
-Challenge and Fun-another blog with good info.
-Impact on resale and thrift shops from the LA Times
-In case you want to try and figure out this confusing law, here's the CPSIA link

There is a ton of information on this topic out there. Just search it on google to find even more.

GAM '09

Happy New Year!

My friend Beth has a great idea as a substitute to the traditional goal setting. Instead of setting a few goals in January and then by March 1st hey are totally abandoned, Beth recommended setting an attainable goal once a month.

These can be anything from organizing a closet to coming up with creative dinner once a week to losing 2 pounds to reading a book to finally writing thank you notes from some past event, etc. Some of the goals will be do-it-once and it is over (organizing closets) and others will be with the hope that you will start a habit (losing weight). Either way, isn't that a great idea? I think it is so much more realistic to say this month I am going to do this one thing...and you have an entire month to do it.

So, I am going to join in with Beth. Part of the process is to announce the goal at the beginning of the month and give the occasional update and then tell how it went at the end of the month.

So, for January my goal is to try to increase Noodles & Milk business. I have not done all the research yet, but part of this effort will be to open up shops on Artfire and 1000Markets (both similar venues to etsy- check them out). I will also try to research various ways to get free advertising and participate in giveaways. (I am on one this week here).

So, what do you think? Want to participate too?

Happy 2009!