CPSIA Testing - If the economy doesn't kill you...

For everyone who owns a children's company (or knows someone who does), please read this link below. Happy Panda's owner graciously shared her experience searching for testing prices. I felt really lucky to have stumbled upon her blog.

http://www.happypandababy.com/blog/2008/12/16/cpsia-testing-research-for-happy-panda/

And those of you who do not know about the CPSIA new testing regulations starting Feb. 9th 2009 on all products made for children 12 years and under, please read about it (even if your company doesn't qualify) and contact your representative to STOP the INSANITY! Yes, we are all for safe products for children but there needs regulations and processes that will not break small businesses. Check out this Fashion Incubator link for a more comprehensive overview of the new law.
http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/cpsia-requirements/

Also daddytypes.com has a recent post that's good.

Happy snow fall for all those in the Pacific NW...oh, and Vegas had snow today too. What's up with that?

WooBee Holiday Sale!!

I know they are a lot of wonderful sales out there, but the perfect gift for the baby/family on the go are WooBee all weather blankets, bibs & burps. Enjoy 20% off until Dec. 21st by entering the coupon code 'holiday20' at check out. Great time to stock up on your favorite shower gift too.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

Thankful during tough times

Even though the US can't seem to say it out loud we can all feel it...we are in a recession. I have been in contact with numerous companies that are all feeling this crunch. The number one problems for manufacturers, retailers are not buying products. They are running their inventory down to the bare necessities before reordering and they are not willing to take a risk on new products. They are sticking with their tried and true brands. It is not just little companies that are feeling the pain. Below is a list of stores that are all closing. Some of them took me by surprise.
http://community.babycenter.com/talk/a2724225/stores_closing

I have heard horror stories of big box retailers that have worked with companies on large orders & even large custom orders only to back out after production has already began. That is the kind of move that can bury a small company. Be weary out their folks. Contracts are also a very good thing.

Check out www.rainorshinekids.com for a look at our new B Blankets! While your there you will probably notice our new look (which I love), kind of modern nature. The WooBee part of the site is currently under construction, but when it gets done (which will be a while) it will be amazing!

Thanksgiving is coming. Even though times are tough there are numerous things I can be grateful for...big fat number 1 is all the ridiculous sales! Now even though this is at some of our expense I can still appreciate the screaming deals that are going on out there. Perfect of the holidays. Number 2, I am grateful that my husband gets to start his 401K plan now. If you have money to invest in the stock market now is a great time. It may go down a little more, but just think about how much it can go up! Amazing! Number 3, I am always grateful for my healthy children and our life. From first hand experience I have witnessed that just when you think things are really bad, they can always be worse. Those days are long gone, but I will never forget how to be grateful for everyday. Last but certainly not least - number 4...I am grateful for witnessing the presidential election because no matter what side of the political coin you are on there is no doubt that the inspiration around Obama is contagious. The significance of his win goes way beyond political parties. It speaks to how far we have come as a country, and just how much further we may be willing to go toward true equality for all people.

I wish you all an amazing holiday season. Do not forget to shop at www.rainorshinekids.com this holiday season!

Oh, China

Well, I have mentioned the new 'b' blanket coming next month from China. Since I can drive 15 minutes to my WooBee manufacturer the whole experience of working with a factory in China has been very enlightening. There are many challenges including quality control, shipping (duties, harmonization codes, ect), cultural challenges, and minimums. Not to mention the timing. I will need to place another PO before the first order is even shipped out.

I have recently found out that there is a very large percentage of my new product that has flaws in the fabric. They are only 1 or 2 small dots, but it is just enough for me not to be able to sell that product to retailers and my distributors. What does that means for shoppers on my website? There will be cheap 'b' blanket "samples" for sale on the site. Stay tuned for a smokin' deal on these very cool blankets.

Recession? I Prefer Recess

Last year when I was looking into my crystal ball, projecting the enormous growth I could almost taste, this wasn't exactly the financial environment I saw the world in. Though I am grateful for having a great product line that people feel is worth their hard earned money (gotta love your Rain or Shine Kids all-weather WooBee). I am also grateful for my international distributors in Singapore where despite the warm climate, families love Rain or Shine Kids products, and Japan is getting into their testing right now which is a lengthy and expensive process, but the market is ripe for cool baby gear/items and Rain or Shine Kids is getting fantastic response. I guess gratitude is pouring out of me because I am over the top grateful that my new Urban black WooBee is available and the new 'b' blankets will be here at the end of next month (hopefully) and they look fantastic! Here are some pictures of all (missing is the Squares 'b' blanket).

Bottom line, times are hard but when a company can experience growth during times like these you just know that the future is very bright, and Rain or Shine Kids future is gleaming. I wish the best of luck to all those companies, employees, and small businesses that are struggling. What goes down must come up so hang on!

Trade Show Post-Partum

Rain or Shine Kids had a good show at ABC in Vegas. I had enough room to actually display product in the BabyLegs booth, and I put as much marketing material with incentives for buyers together as I could justify. But every time I come home from a show I think about all these things that I could have done differently and what I wasted time on. What I need to remember is that it is really all about getting the leads. That is how you will increase your ROI (return on investment), following up with buyers interested in your products. Beat your companies name into their heads. They may not pick up your line the first or even second time they see it, but the more they are exposed to your brand the better chance you have.

I still haven't taken my suitcase upstairs with my extra clothes in it and I got room last Friday. I gotta do that tomorrow. I'll put it on my list.

Signed a distribution with a Japanese company that I am really excited to work with. Now for the testing process to start. Everything that is sold in Japan needs to go through quality control testing. It is expensive and over the top, but with our financial markets being a bit iffy I will focus my company on international sales and distribution. Go Japan! I think a WooBee blankets sells there for $130. Seriously.

Signed up with a New England rep group while at ABC. If you are in New England and want WooBee email John Giacobbe and Associates jsgtoy@aol.com. If they prove to as good as think they will it would make the entire Vegas trip.

Gotta go to bed...tomorrow is our 11th wedding anniversary. Unbelievable! It honestly seems like just yesterday we were just snowboarding on Mt. Hood without a care in the world - nope that was 13 years ago. Holy crap.

ABC Kids Show

What a crazy trip! Well, not "crazy" like a week in Vegas may have been 15 years ago, but crazy meaning super productive, long, tiring, and exciting (work wise). Traveling to Vegas for seven days as a member of the BabyLegs team and for Rain or Shine Kids was a fantastic experience. The show was completely overwhelming with over 800 exhibitors, but my number one regret is not having the time to visit more booths (so sorry Stella) and talk with more vendors.

What is the show like for me as BL's business dev manager? I meet with companies interested in partnering with BL and since bumGenius launched its custom co-branded bG BabyLegs there was many interested in our program. I go to evening meetings and press events. I also meet with companies we are currently working on projects with and companies BL have befriended over the last 3 years. Since I am the only person at BL that has been to all the ABC style shows (JPMA & 2 ABC's now) I remember many of the people who have been consistently ordering with us. It is always wonderful to have a buyer walk into the busy BL booth and be able to say you remember them from the past years.

What is the show like for me as Rain or Shine Kids owner? Much different (I need to preface this by saying that I am extremely grateful that Nicole offers me a spot in the BL booth and feel very lucky to be given this trade show opportunity). Sharing a booth with BabyLegs is great for many reasons but also has its challenges for Rain or Shine Kids products. When people come into the BabyLegs booth they are there to buy BabyLegs...totally focused on that product and the over 100 styles to choose from. To get them to be interested in looking at anything else is very challenging. Having a booth of my own would allow me to showcase my images and product in a way that brings people in to see what Rain or Shine Kids is all about, and not as a side note to another popular brand. Next year BabyLegs will have its own booth since it is a growing company and really needs all the room. Will Rain or Shine Kids make it to the show? I'm not sure yet. We'll have to see how this fall goes. We are getting so busy with big projects spending our money in another direction to support the company may make more sense. We'll just have to wait and see.

The coolest thing that happened to me at the show? I met Peggy O'Mara, the editor from Mothering Magazine who is even more lovely in person than I had imagined.

Busy Bee

So, I am swamped (what's new) and have numerous cool things happening. The biggest thing...Target.com is picking up the WooBee line for their new Baby Boutique. What does this mean? This means I have been spending hours trying to get my infrastructure set-up so I can become a Target.com vendor. I have had to become EDI (electronic data interface) compliant, got my insurance up to par, I have had to choose a distribution center, and get back into production. At the same time I am working on the new line due out this fall which is being manufactured overseas, working with my new distributor in Singapore (covering Malaysia/Indonesia & Korea), getting ready for the ABC trade show and here's the biggie...I am changing my company name!

So yes, I am basically committing PR suicide by changing my company name. Why am I doing this to myself? Because I had no idea what I was doing when I chose the name Woobee for my company or how to do an adequate search to see who else was using it. Let me be clear - no one is threatening legal action on my company. The truth is my current business goal is to build this company to amazing potential and then sell it to a company who understands that potential. In doing this I need a name I can trademark and a name that speaks to my growing product line in it's entirety. So keep your eye's out for Rain or Shine Kids which will feature the WooBee luxury line and every future product I manufacture that is water resistant. Why am I still using the WooBee name? Because I have spent time and money on branding the WooBee name and even though the name will not be front and center it is still the same wonderful products and Rain or Shine Kids needs different product line names for the different levels of products. Consider Fleurville diaper bags...they have the Mothership, Re-Run, Escape Pod, etc. all different products based on the same materials and style sensibility. It is all very exciting and I feel like the timing is perfect - new product line coming out, ABC Kids show to launch the new Rain or Shine Kids name to thousands of buyers, and we are still a small company. Not to mention the timing is perfect for my distributors and reps who just picked up the line to introduce the new "umbrella" company name.

Pictures of camping over hubbies b-day and the girls being summertime girls (and sporting Super Woobee's the perfect blanket/towel for the beach - shameless I know).

Atlanta Gift Show

Well summer is upon us and I have been completely MIA from my blog. Adjusting to life with the girls out of their normal schedules has been interesting to say the least. But I promise to make a better effort now that I am over the shock of having to parent my children for so many more hours in the day.

I just arrived in Atlanta a few hours ago. I am traveling with Nora, the sales manager from BabyLegs (who I love) and we will be meeting with the BL Atlanta reps in the morning. It will be great to tour the Atlanta Gift Mart during this show and scout for WooBee reps, check out what's new on the gift scene, and see how they do things here in the South. We are staying until Monday morning when we will fly to Chicago to meet with the BL reps there (and go out from some good steak) and check out the Chicago Gift Mart. Flying home on Tuesday morning in time to pick my girls up from summer camp.

A lot of Woobee stuff going on these days. I now have a distributor in Singapore who also wants to cover Malaysia, Indonesia and Korea. That has been very exciting and much work. There is also the big ABC Kids show coming up in early September which I will be at with Woobee and BabyLegs for 7 days. I plan on making WooBee really stand out at this show which is taking a lot of work. And BabyLegs has had so much to do in my department - which is great. So this trip is like a little vacation.

Enjoy the weekend!

HARO Rocks!

So, there is this guy named Peter Shankman who started a popular facebook page which turned into a website, yada, yada, yada (you know the success story) all about connecting reporters/journalists/editors who are writing articles and literature pieces with the people to write about, base information on , quote, etc. You need to go there and get on the email list - http://www.helpareporter.com/. Heather from Mom4Life was spreading the word about this PR source...anyway to get your name and your companies name in print is a GOOD THING and it is FREE. Maybe 5% of his inquiries relate to me or These Two Girls/Woobee (and he sends out inquiries 3 time a day) but I answered one about kids at the beach, pitched my Super Woobee and got a response to send two blankets to an editor for a photo shoot that was taking place 5 days later. Since my Super Woobee's retail for $115 I wanted to know what publication this was for before I flew out $230 worth of product...turns out it was the beauty editor for PARENTING magazine and they now have two Super Woobee's no doubt enjoying how lovely they are, and oh so soft. The shoot was Tuesday so we will see if they actually make the magazine, but that's not the point. The point is Shankman's HARO (help a reporter out) emails have the attention of editors you want to reach. Now sign up!

All Work and No Play...

I know I haven't blogged in awhile, but I have been thinking about it (does that count?) I have also been working hard on something special for fall from These Two Girls. I will tell you all more about it as it gets closer, but I can say that I am working with a wonderful designer named Laurie Brown that has made developing this product a dream.

What else have I been working on? Getting Woobee Kids into the international market. This is no small task. Getting your products into the right distributors hands and making your price point attractive to them is all very tricky. I now have connections with Japan, Israel, Australia, Sweden, Germany, & Switzerland. Most of these relationships still need to grow and solidify, but just having the interest and contacts is a good first step. I anticipate some of the markets doing better than others. Where the US dollar is the weakest lends to better price points and more money for the distributors. A $70 blanket here in the US is around $45 in the EU. Crazy.

It is a little ironic that the product I am currently committed to having manufactured in the US I am looking to export. I find it very interesting that other countries value US made products more the US consumers. It has been my experience that many countries are willing to pay more for quality products and have less things, while the US consumer would rather have lots of "great deals". This is why selling to Target, Babies-R-Us, or Walmart are essential if you want a multi million dollar children's company. That my dears, is a whole other bag of worms.

Check out this picture of Ava and her Super Woobee, the perfect luxury beach towel.

More Celeb Baby Stuff

The Ellen Show choose other baskets for today's show. Oddly, I am not disappointed. It was actually stressing me out to think about life post Ellen. I know it is one of those opportunites every company dreams of, but I have some other goals I am working towards with Woobee and that could have put me so deep in the weeds I would need a snorkel and weed wacker just to see the light of day. So I push on without an Ellen show under my belt.

I know I have talked about celebrity gifting suites in the past, how I have done them but don't always believe they are worth the money and time you spend. Well...Woobee Kids is currently at a gifting suite this weekend in Beverly Hills called the Silver Spoon Baby & Doggie Buffet. Bizarre. Anyway, Victoria from a LA based e-retailer called The Traveling Tot contacted me to ask if I would like Woobee to participate in her boutique booth at the event. She was asking for a small fee and would display/market the blankets as a travel must-have, as well as order the minimum wholesale order. I only sent a handful of blankets to hand out to a select few celebs. So, yes I did do another random celeb suite BUT I have wanted to market to the travel market which she is doing, I have opened a new retail account, and she hired her own photographer so I may also get some good pictures as a bonus. This is my kind of event!

Happy Mother's Day to all you that are mothers! Try to stay away from big brunch's...it is never the restaurants best food and your kidding yourself if you think your children will behave, and no - your husband will not be the one who reins them in because they will only want you.

The excruciating pain of waiting

I am in a holding pattern so ridiculous it's scary. The Ellen DeGeneres Show had told us that we would hear back yes or no by the end of the week if our fabulous gift basket (SaraBear Basket, Woobee's & BabyLegs - awesome!) was going to be the audience give away for the Mothers Day Show (which btw airs this thursday). We haven't heard back yet and Friday has come and gone, but a handful of PR people tell me not to write it off yet. Apparently they could contact you as late as the day before the deadline so you spend enormous amounts of money on overnight shipping. What a nightmare!

We were forced to ship all the product to the BabyLegs fulfillment center, which is in California, just to be prepared in case we get the call. That's preparing and shipping product for 300 people just in frickin' case. It's crazy. The real issue for me is that I am unable to pursue any other large sales opportunities until this one exhausts itself. I need to have the inventory in stock to support the possible windfall of attention that Ellen could cause. Aaarrgghhh! My husband is getting a little tired of my neurotic behavior but not as tired of it as I am.

I gotta give a shout out to my PR girl Liz from 32FlavorsPR for getting Woobee into the May issue of Pregnancy & Newborn - yeah Liz!

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

We have had some potentially great news this week (I think it's great news). The Ellen Show called BabyLegs and asked for one of the gift baskets BL's sells on their site to be considered for the giveaway on the Mother's Day Show which airs May 6th. What is in these baskets? It is an adorable SaraBear Diaper Basket, 7 pairs of BabyLegs, and a Woobee blanket, bib & burp. What does this mean for Woobee? Well, a few things.

Let's start by saying they want 300 free baskets for their audience (at least half are moms-to-be). So that's 900 pieces of free Woobee product, and did I mention that it would all have to ship sometime next week? Does that stress me out? Hell yes! Why? Because I am a company that manufactures in smaller batches 15 miles from my Seattle home and I do not hold on to a ton of stock. Letting go of this much inventory for free is a little hard to swallow, especially if the show is a success. Why would a successful show be a potential problem? Having "enough" (and there is no way to tell how much "enough" is) inventory left to meet the demand of the viewers and retailers that may see the show and want the product is key and there just isn't enough time to produce more Woobee's before the show airs. I think I have "enough" but who knows? Becoming an overnight success comes at a price. Yes, it means more money but it can also put the company into a position where everything is reactionary - you're putting out fires all the time and not making strategic steps toward responsible growth. Don't get me wrong. I want our basket to be chosen for the show and for Woobee to be an enormous success, I just wish I had more time to prepare so I could make sure inventory and customer service was up to potential flood of attention.

So what am I doing all weekend instead of playing with my kids? Packaging product that may or may not go to the Ellen Show. What happens if our basket doesn't get picked? It just doesn't get picked, but someone at the Ellen Show would have seen my wonderful Woobee's. Also, all my inventory will be packaged and ready to go. All the way around in goodness.

Customer Service? Anybody out there?

So from one customer service person to another, do you ever feel that technology has dulled our societies ability to creatively problem solve. Here is why I say this...I ordered a poster today from Staples in California for someone else to pick up for a local event and their on-line service does not offer a payment option for in-store pick up items so I call the store to pay via phone but they couldn't figure out how to make that happen, so I asked for the total so I could send the person picking up the poster a check, and they did not know how to get that information without ringing the poster into the computer, so I asked what the local sales tax is (so I could add it up myself) and they had to find a manager. Hummmm. What happens if the magnet strip on the back of a credit card isn't working...total disaster?

As an owner of a company, and customer of many others, is it too much to ask that young people (I sound 80) know a few basic things like:
1. get a manager when it is appropriate (like when a phone authorization is requested, instead of saying "Um, I don't think we can do that").
2. know how to use math skills without a computer.
3. know what their local sales tax is, especially if you work in retail...hello.
4. know how to take someones phone number down AND call them back when you found an answer to their problem.

Am I asking too much?

Video weight

A fabulous PR girl/journalist named Whitney Keyes asked to interview me about running These Two Girls, LLC. Here is the link to one part of the interview, it is very odd to watch yourself in an interview - kinda fun, kinda not. It seems like I remember myself much younger (and thinner)...

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-biz-bite-with-these-two-girls/3576899453

Here is another part of that interview, just in case you didn't get enough of me the first time...
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-biz-bite-with-these-two-girls-1/1639173008?icid=acvsv1

Quickbooks is Lame!

Okay, I am compelled to vent about wasting my entire Saturday trying to fix my Quickbooks entries to reflect all my shopping carts little fees and random deposits, arggghh. I honestly don't know whether to more irritated at Quickbooks or my shopping cart. My reality with shopping carts...fees, fees, and more fees. If anyone knows a wonderful inexpensive shopping cart I am all ears.

Wondering why I am still doing my own books and trying to get them sorted out? Well, I have had bookkeepers but none that have been consistent. I am working with an account right now who I know personally that specializes in getting financials in order and doing sales projections for the upcoming years. I am so excited to get it all together and really start mapping out the direction of These Two Girls and Woobee Kids. She does however encourage me to not pay her to do bookkeeping since her hourly is quite a bit higher than a person who enters receipts and reconciles statements. So I suck it up as a responsible business owner and do it myself. Quite honestly, I am not very good at the whole Quickbooks thing. I just do not find the program very intuitive and often spend more time doing something over because I did not get it right the first time. I have got to suck it up and find a bookkeeper.

Have a great weekend!

Own Company = Better Snowboarder

You may think it's a bit of a reach to say owning These Two Girls, LLC. has made me a better snowboarder, but I think it has. Why you ask would I make such a random comment? Because a few weeks ago (which was probably more like a few months) I actually went snowboarding for the first time since I started making the amazing All Weather Woobee's (shameless plug). Nicole Donnelly (owner of BabyLegs) invited me up to the BabyLegs cabin (20 minutes away from Stevens Pass ski area) for an overnight "work" snowboard trip. Nicole used to be a pro-snowboarder and knew I loved to ride since I lived on Mt. Hood (and Mt. Baker) for years slinging drinks and snowboarding - doing my damnedest to hold-off adulthood (which is how I met my husband). Well, since hubby and I decided to leave Neverland and caved in to growing up, going back to school and institutionalizing our commitment to each other, there has not been a lot of snow time. And the more children the less time. A new company, less time. Needless to say I hadn't been snowboarding in years and do you think I was little nervous to get back on my board with an ex-pro leading the way, ummmm yes! I was totally worried that I would not be able to keep up with Nicole and that I would be so bloody sore the next day I wouldn't even be able to lift my arms to my laptop(stay with me, here this is where I tie in the owning business thing). Here is what I discovered, since owning These Two Girls my analytical skills, confidence is my decisions, and general focus have sharpened considerably. Multi-tasking at such a heightened level has taught me to block out surrounding activities and quickly assess a situation to chose the next best move. When I was on the hill it was just me, no children, no Woobee, no BabyLegs, just me picking my route down the mountain. It was liberating! I have never appreciated my time on the mountain as much as I did that day. My new ability to truly focus, analyze my situation successfully, and appreciate the moment allowed for an awesome day of cruising through fresh powder, moving through trees (which I never really liked before), and whooping down long fluid runs...pure magic. The cherry on top, since I was so on my game (and on my board) I wasn't sore the next day. So, Nicole and I got some girl time sans kids, got some magical mountain time, and came back to the cabin to get some work done. A perfect 24 hours. The one nasty surprise...lift tickets were $59! Last time I skied I had a season pass so I was shocked. Was it worth it...every stinkin' penny!

ENK Show

Hey folks. I flew home Wednesday night from a 6 day trip to NYC for the ENK trade show. If you have ever worked a trade show you know they are hard work and very little play, but I believe an integral part of creating longevity for your brand. You know what I find most valuable about doing these shows? It's meeting the people you do business with face-to-face. It is amazing to see what happens when you can shake a hand, share a laugh, and answer questions in person. A relationship gets built and from that relationship comes loyalty which in turn brings sales. For example, if you had a limited budget for re-ordering say kick ass blankets (ha) and two of your lines had similar sell-through rates but you could only re-order one. If you had met and really liked the owner/rep for one of those lines chances are you'd re-order from that company. There is a lot of competition out there for customers dollars, you have to be able to differentiate yourself from all the others and a smile and friendly personality is one of the easiest ways.

The show this season was apparently slower than normal (the BabyLegs booth is always busier than most) but Woobee had a great "coming out" to the East Coast buyers. Our booth had three lines in it - BabyLegs, Woobee, and Vintage Onesies. The booth looked great and the lines complemented each other well. Vintage Onesies is owned by Matt and Kim (who have 3 adorable kids 3 years and under) who are salt-of-the-earth kind of people. Their onesies (nice and thick with funny sayings and cool colors) match BabyLegs perfect and they created a wonderful display wall that has given us lots of ideas for future shows.

The East Coast has many differences in buying trends for apparel that I witnessed. I was shocked at the booths that were the busiest. Clothes for little girls that I affectionately referred to as Jersey Shore 80's Pageant wear. Now, no one get mad. I am by no means making gross generalizations that everyone from the Jersey Shore has slutty, shiny, flashy style. It was just amazing that very grown-up, flashy, short, and black clothes with crazy patterns were the most popular in little girl fashion. It made me nervous for my daughters and especially my husband. Hey, but more power to those companies that obviously know what their customers want. East Coast buyers are also very upfront about what they have time for, which is refreshing in many ways - it saves me time and energy to not have to pitch products they are very honestly not interested in. Which is why I think having a great rep on the East Coast is so important - they hold the relationships and know how to introduce their reluctant customers to your products. When selling Woobee I can easily tell if I have an interested buyer buy their reaction to the retail price ($70). Only certain stores carry inventory in that price range.

Alright, I am still in mommies home! mode and I am number one choice to get the girls everything. Gotta run. Have a great weekend!

Inspiration - in all shapes

We are all inspired in our lives by unique things or moments. People ask me all the time how I was inspired to start Woobee Kids (that's easy, I had a baby and needed a kick ass blanket). But what I have really discovered is that Woobee Kids has given me inspiration in unexpected ways.

By starting Woobee I have been inspired to really define my sense of style through exploring the Woobee Kids brand and identifying the soul of my company (for example I love modern style, for home - specifically Danish modernism). I have been inspired to reach out to other mothers through NWEM's and make myself available to answer question about my experiences in business. I am inspired to know (and truly understand) my limitations as a mother that owns a company and works so I can still prioritize my wonderful daughters.

I am also inspired to acknowledge who I am & who I am not. I am a women that can & will grow a successful international company - Woobee world domination! I know that I do not want to be a CEO forever. I know I would like to be more available for my daughters during the pre-teen years and on. I know that I will make a crap load of money to make that happen, and now more than ever that I am capable, smart, and strong.

Well, there's a whole bunch of personal information...I'm feeling a little exposed...hold me.

Here is a site that feeds my love for modern style http://bloesem.blogs.com/bloesem/ . Irene does an wonderful job bringing us fabulous finds from designers all over the world. You can see a Woobee / BabyLegs review on her sister site for children http://bkids.typepad.com/. This woman and her blogs provide me with an amazing amount of inspiration - thank you Irene!

Need to Post

I know I had a subject in mind when I opened my lap top to post an entry. I am so tried I can't remember what it was...I gotta go to bed. I will try again tomorrow when I am all perky from a frsh cup of coffee.

Welcome 21st century, Damn Glad to Finally Meet You.

I don't know about any of you, but raising a family and a business is so filled with daily details I find it impossible to remember everything. The other day when I almost missed two important meetings I finally decided to take control of the craziness. I went down the street to a cell phone place, kicked my old ghetto cell phone to the curb, and got the new Touch phone (Sprints version of the iPhone). Now if you have been reading this blog for any amount of time you would know that i am not a tech savvy person (still don't know how to text), well that is all about to change! This phone is remarkable/ridiculous. I am totally out of my league here folks. It gets more cable stations than I have at home. I was on my treadmill yesterday morning (yeah!) watching episodes of Desparate Housewives.

How is this phone changing my life? I run Woobee, do business development for BabyLegs, am the vice pres for NWEM, and carpool my girls before and after school everyday. This phone allows me to be synched into my Outlook calendar (which i just recently learned how to use) keeping me on task with all the little details of my day, check all three of my email accounts (personal, Woobee, and BL) which is allowing me more time with my girls, and I can get on-line when I need to do a few quick searches. What i have now realized is how much time I wasted at my laptop whenever I checked my email. Computers are TIME SUCKERS! I have found that being able to glance at my phone to see my emails has liberated me. I literally have twice as much time in my day. I feel like I'm on vacation.

Understand that the phone is only as effectient as the user. Friday morning it suddenly dawned on me at 9:15 a.m. (with both girls home sick) that I was supposed to provide a main dish for Ava's schools kindergarten teachers appreciation lunch...italian theme...and it was to be delivered by 10:30. I threw the girls in the car, ran to the store for the fast shopping trip of my life, came home and made rigitoni with meat sauce, and dropped it off at the school at 10:30. Had I remembered to enter that task into my phone the morning would have been a lot more relaxed.

Knowledge in Business

Recently I have had the pleasure of meeting with a few key people that have loads of experience in business structures, buying/selling businesses, international business, and are just all around good people. I have Nicole from BabyLegs to thank for providing me access to a few of these wonderful key people. As a person whose only business back ground is through osmosis from growing up with a business owning mom, these meetings are crucial for understanding how to grow These Two Girls, LLC & the Woobee line successfully. I am finally starting to understand the depths for what I need to do to make These Two Girls a multi-million dollar company, and whew, it's going to be a ton of work and take some help. Although for the first time since Oct. 2005 (when I sold the first Woobee blanket) I feel empowered to make the right decision to move forward.

Sooo, my husbands home!!! The journey home from Taiwan was long and the time change is crazy so he hasn't been exactly functional, but whatever. I am just happy he is home, and it sounds like he had some great experiences while away.

I am now a much saner mom...well, that's debatable.

Check out the Woobee post on Apartment Therapy's childrens link Oh Dee Doh http://www.ohdeedoh.com/. It's a giveaway, so enter yourself to win a blanket.

4 More Days!!!!!!

Yeah! My husband will be home in 4 days...whew! You know 14 days without my very helpful spouse would not be so bad if it weren't for needing to run a business. It turns out that I get most of my work done when Hands On Hubby is in the game. Now I have to make a decision whether I want to make food or enter orders and receipts into Quickbooks (tax season is a tough time).

I need to give a holler to Melissa from Destee Nation for totally hooking me up by handling my server transfer and email switch. For 2.5 years Melis and Matt have had me on their personal server for free, and when the switch to another server needed to be made Melis took care of everything. I feel so blessed to have a friend that carved time out of her very busy day to help her me (her non-tech friend). Thank you Melissa!!! Check out her site www.desteenation.com if you like cool tees shirts and support local businesses.

Time Warp!

Whoa. I haven't blogged in a while, although it feels like just yesterday. With hubby away for 6 days w/ 8 more to go I feel like time is flying by with the business of life yet standing oh so still...there is still 8 MORE DAYS! Urrgghhh! I am trying my hardest to keep with the New Years resolution to take time for more "adventures" with the girls, and that is actually going well. It turns out we leave the house more when hubby isn't home to organize our day with.

I am going to the MAGIC trade show next month for a few days to do some sourcing for Woobee and I will tie in some BabyLegs work as well - visit people we work with and want to work with. It should be interesting. If any of you out there are going to the Magic Kids show let me know and I'll swing by and say hello.

I need to give a huge shout out to my friend Deb Grover from BellySock! If you ever think you have a lot going on you should shoot her an email and instantly your load will seem lighter. Deb has two young girls 3 and 1, she runs BellySock, goes to graduate school for her MBA and is starting yet another wonderful business. Crazy girl! Anyway, in Deb's international business class they are doing a very cool project and Deb convienced them to use Woobee as the company - so cool! Thank you Deb!!

I gotta get some sleep...single parenting is as tough as I always thought it was! Below are a few pictures from the photo shoot we did last weekend.

Mommyland - gray and dark here.

Hi Folks. I hope you all had an amazing holiday season. Lots of lovely family time and for those of you with businesses, I hope your pocket books are bursting.

During Christmas my girls were out of school and pre-school for TWO WEEKS! Why the capital letters? Because. Since my work is so flexible (thank you BabyLegs) and my husband goes to an office 5 days a week, the girls schedule all defaults to me. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a pity shout out I love my girls. This is just the way of the parent world - the one with the most flexible job takes care of the kids when their sick, handles days off from school, and carpooling. My husband is aware of how he is skating out of all these hidden obligations, and grateful to Woobee and BabyLegs work-from-home attitude for saving us from spending a fortune on childcare. Although working with two young girls around is a joke, and i have been awake a lot later having to get work done. I am SO GRATEFUL that school is starting tomorrow.

Work wise...Woobee and BabyLegs are still working on a contract. Nicole and I are not sure what the shape of it will be now, but we want to make sure everyone is benefiting.

Have a great week everyone.