This year in the Suburban AZ our local libraries teamed up with the Museums and the Phoenix Zoo to make visiting these landmarks more affordable.  The idea is basically like getting a library book.  They have a designated amount of passes per Landmark per Library.  If it is in stock then you can “check them out” and you receive 4 free adult passes to that Landmark.  They expire in 1 Week.  When you use the tickets the pass goes back on the shelf for someone else to “check out”.  You can do this as many times as you like you just can’t have more than one location checked out at a time.  The idea is brilliant and we can even utilize our online system to see if the passes are in.  Pretty cool.  If you in the Phoenix area check out www.showup.com for more information.

According to the Washington Post Article on January 26th, 2009, The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), a non-profit group, conducted 2 studies that found detectable Mercury in commercial HFCS and a third of the carefully selected 55 items bought off the store shelf in 2008.  The Corn Refiners Association says its been using Mercury free re-agents in foods for years and is disputing the claims.

The foods parents need to be aware of, according to fooducate.com, are the foods that the IATP tested have HFCS listed as the first or second ingredient and the results are as follows from highest levels of Mercury first:

Quaker Oatmeal to Go, Jack Daniel’s Barbecue Sauce (Heinz), Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce, Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars, Manwich Bold Sloppy Joe, Market Pantry Grape Jelly,  Smucker’s Strawberry Jelly,  Pop-Tarts Frosted Blueberry,  Hunt’s Tomato Ketchup, Wish-Bone Western Sweet & Smooth Dressing, Coca-Cola Classic, Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt, Minute Maid Berry Punch, Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink, Nesquik Chocolate Milk, and Kemps Fat Free Chocolate Milk.

According to the Washington Post “HFCS has replaced sugar as the sweetener in many beverages and foods such as breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS, but teens and other high consumers can take in 80 percent more HFCS than average.”

I know this sounds odd but my New Year’s resolution is to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle. I was recently challenged by a girlfriend through the Nike+ program.  We started a challenge where the first one to reach 25 miles receives a free coffee from the other girls participating.  Then the first to reach 50 miles receives dinner.  The coffee and dinner are a nice perk but what really got me going was a challenge.  I would consider myself a pretty competitive person so I took the challenge.  While I’m only a week in I’m up to 8 miles.  For some of you that may be a little or a lot.  But the reality is it got me out of my normal routine and I’m really enjoying it.

So here’s a little challenge for you moms out there looking to participate.  Get yourself the Nike+ Sensor for your shoes ($30), it’s compatible with most iPod Nano’s and a few other iPods and get connected.  You can track your times, challenges, and calories at Nike Plus and you have a little voice that helps you along the way!  Start your own challenge with girlfriends or join one that is already taking place.

Happy Movin’ and Groovin’!

I was raised by a mother who loved to entertain.  We hosted holiday parties, block parties, progressives, you name it.  I too enjoy putting together these parties and I’m usually the first to offer up our home as the host location for gatherings thus taking on the brunt of the menu and decorating.  I hardly ask for help and I usually always try to over do it.  From the way I was raised to even my full time job now it has been instilled in me to “deliver the WOW”.  I’m somewhat disappointed if that wow doesn’t come.  As I get a little older and the more I entertain I find that I work so hard trying to deliver the wow I don’t get the chance to enjoy the whole reason of the party, to enjoy the great company that we keep.  

This holiday season I’m throwing my desire to receive the “Hostess of the Year Award” to the wind and I’m taking off the apron to join my own party.  I’m going to minimize the time I spend fixing an amazing spread of food to faster lighter fare and spend all that excess time with our friends.  I think it’s also time to take my friends up on their offer to bring something.  I’m not going to stand in the kitchen preparing and replenishing all the food while watching everyone enjoy themselves except me.  This is my year to participate and to be honest I can’t wait. 

When I had my son two years ago I was really struggling with being able to create a foundation for God in his life. While I was raised believing in God, in my heart I knew it was right for me, but if you asked me why, my answer would have left much to be desired. I definitely didn’t feel ready to lead anyone else on their journey to God.

After discussing my concerns with my husband, we agreed to set out to find a church that was right for us and last October we found a church that was a perfect fit for us.

While my adventure was started for what I thought was for my son, it has really changed our lives forever. I never thought we would be the kind of family that looks forward to church Sunday mornings. What we love most is how each week is the family bonding and the lesson that is taught is something we can relate to like marriage, parenting, stress, communication, and the encouragement to find out what our purpose is in life and we can use those lessons daily.

I now feel confident that when Parker asks the inevitable questions, “Do you believe in God?…and Why?” I can give him a wonderful answer.

I am one of those sick people that could spend 2-3 Hours at the grocery store slowly browsing through the isles looking at labels and thinking of new dishes to create for the family.  Now that we are in a money saving mode, I can deal with my shoes and even purse budget being put on hold but I cringe when my grocery budget is messed with.  Grocery stores around us are having awesome sales, but on all the wrong food.  While Mac and Cheese, box cakes and ice cream are buy one get one free.  An organic Lemon is $1.29 or Organic Milk is $6.00.  My family’s health and well being is very important so I set out to find out what is the recommended order of priority for organic products so I can plan accordingly.  Here is what I found, you decide where to draw the line!

1. Baby Food 
2. Milk (goat and cow)/ Dairy 
   without the extra rBST, rBGH and antibiotics
3. Meats
4. Fruits with consumable skins Strawberries, Peaches, Cherries…
5. Rice
6. Fruits without consumable skins, Bananas, Oranges, Lemons…
7. Veggies, Green Beans, Corn, Celery…
8. Potatoes

I am having the worst time keeping our new kitchen FABRIC chairs clean.  Our toddler thinks he’s old enough to sit (kneel) at the grown up table like the rest of us.  Like many toddlers with older siblings he’s trying to be a big boy and won’t use a high chair.  Oh Boy, do we have a Gooie Mess!  He gets food everywhere! He gets it on the chair and sits on it, then his clothes are messy, he turns around and gets food on the back of the chair and on the floor.  AHHHHHHH…..We humor him much of the time and understand he wants to be a big boy now that our baby uses his high chair. 

What were we thinking when we bought the new table with FABRIC chairs?  Well, I have discovered that we need to resort to the old school method of covering our fabric with- VINYL.  I actually went out in search of vinyl furniture fabric.  Sadly when I found some, this lady before me bought the entire roll off the shelf at the hobby store.  (She must have the same problem but obviously much bigger) HA!  I asked the clerk, “Can’t you just cut me off about 1/2 a yard, she won’t notice it’s gone.”  She found no humor in that.  Bummer.  The only option was vinyl, covered in printed lady bugs. Ummmm….. Can you picture it, funny huh?  Not gonna happen. 

What did I do, well, I found some fake leather (aka pleather) I already had in storage. It was a nice neutral tan and decided to take the top off my chair and slap it over the fabric and screw the chair back together. Easy right…. taking 4 kids on a trip to a hobby store, wasted $10 in gas, and lost some sanity on the way.  The solution to my problem was already in my hands.  We torture ourselves don’t we.   

There are so many talented Moms I’ve met over the last 10 years after becoming a mom myself.  I have seen first hand an enormous amount of talented stay-at-home Moms wishing they could profit from their many talents.  The only problem is, they don’t know where to start.  I was there myself.  I have tried painting, scrapbooking, stamping, sewing, pottery and even old furniture rehab.  I loved all of it.  Was I good at it, not really, but it kept me content.  Did I profit ummmmm…no.  That wasn’t my goal back then.  It was just really fun to play around with different crafting styles.  I learned so much.  I realized I wanted to make a living working from home doing something that I loved. 

I have heard many people say “I don’t want to make my favorite hobby my full time job because eventually I’ll hate it.” Guess what…. so what.  I would rather be waking up every morning to a job I love and will profit from mentally, spiritually and financially.  I certainly don’t want to get a job I can be content with just to get by.  BORING!  Life’s short Moms.  Get crafting.

If you know what you want to do, DO IT, LOVE IT, PROFIT.  The best part of starting your small business is choosing a company name.  Do the research to see if your name is already taken.  Google it, call your local County Clerks office or Attorney to see if it’s available.  When you have your funding, go online to your state government web site  (Illinois site-http://www.revenue.state.il.us/Businesses/register.htm  register and get crafting while you wait for that certificate in the mail.  Every state has different laws just make the call to your local County Clerk and they will help you.  It is so worth it.  If I could help all of my friends start their own business I would.  It’s up to you! Do you want to profit, JUMP, LEAP, PROSPER. You can do it, I DID, my talented sister did and we have joined hands on this wild ride you call retail. 

Over the past two years my husband and I have tried diligently to keep our friends and family caught up on our lives through pictures and videos of our son on our blog and photo communities.  With 90% of our family out-of-state it is so difficult to connect regularly.  

I like to think of myself as fairly websavvy, considering I do have an internet business and all.  Well for some reason it has taken me a few years to embrace the idea of the webcam.  Recently I witnessed my husband using SKYPE (a FREE video/audio service) for his work and suddenly a light bulb went off, I need to learn how to use this! Did I mention ITS FREE! 

I am so embarrassed that I was so worried that I wouldn’t have a clue how to work this.  It’s so easy.  As a matter of fact my parents (still at the beginner internet level, and 2,000 miles away) took a few minutes downloading SKYPE and installed their webcam and we were LIVE!  It was amazing, Nana and Papa were elated to see us and our son is able to see their faces and share all the new words he is learning.  We have talks almost every evening, even if it’s only to say good night and blow kisses.  This enthusiasm for SKYPE has caught on and there are now 4 cameras in the family, I can honestly say it has really brought us all closer together. 

I wanted to share this personal story for all you families that are struggling to keep up with a busy life and keep in touch with your loved ones.  You will absolutely LOVE this service!  Again its a FREE service if you are talking Skype to Skype.  You can also use it as a phone if you don’t have a webcam all you need is a microphone.  This is a great way to save a few dollars on long distance phone calls. 

Check it out www.skype.com

Here are great webcams that are compatible with Skype

Logitech

At Royal Baby Wear we are continually looking to add lines that offer a great quality and value to our customers.  We are so excited to add a large number of new items to our Summer Line.  Just a few of the new lines are the adorable JP Lizzy Diaper Bags, Mom Bracelets, Baby Bjorn Covers, Blanket and Diaper Cakes from Infamous Baby, and the entire line of Baby Star Products.  We are also a part of the Sew Golden Promotion with BabyLegs.  If you haven’t picked up a pair for your baby yet you need to.  

If you come across a brand or item you really think you would like to see Royal Baby Wear carry, drop us a note and we’ll check it out.