Bag the Bag -Just say NO to Plastic BagsPosted: August 7, 2009 at 10:32 am | byFiled under: Nice things happen Welcome to Lots 2 Say Baby's Blog! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! People For Puget Sound Bag the Plastic! - Pledge to say “no thanks” to plastic bags, and win a whale-watching trip for 2 with San Juan Safaris in September!I loved this reminder to bring my own bags to the store. Even if you are not in the Puget Sound area it is still a great reminder..just without the promise of winning a trip It really isn’t that difficult and frankly..many of the ‘bring your own’ bags out now are WAY cuter than a brown plastic grocerybag! SO what am I waiting for?! NOTHING! I am going to start my BYOB movement in our house today! Are you BYOB too? Do you have a fav bag you love to use? Comment and let me know! -Chief Momma #fb (2)commentsWhat a week!Posted: July 8, 2009 at 11:10 am | byFiled under: Nice things happen The Fourth of July weekend came and went..I would like to say uneventfully..but. My dear sweet husband forgot his 36 years when he decided to take the jumps down Snoqualmie Parkway on his way home from the town picnic. Broken Collarbone..TWO places! He is thankfully on the mend but it looks like he will have his sling on for 6 weeks. The good news? He will be healed by the time we jaunt off to Acadia National Park for our last year of hiking and biking! With my hubby out of commission I was faced with a daunting task of packing the 50+ orders that needed to go out Monday. Thank God for neighbors and friends :) I even had one neighbor pulling weeds in the front since she knew I was SO NOT going to get to it! So, boxes are packed and the house is getting closer to being cleaned. All in time for my in-laws to arrive today! We will have a fun week of Thomas the Train visits, Soccer camp, hiking and packing more orders (I tell them its fun Ok, I am rambling today. Gotta get my month closed before we go to the airport. -Chief Momma (0)comments4% of sales go to charityPosted: June 24, 2009 at 5:04 pm | byFiled under: Building a Business, Company News, Nice things happen Hi Everyone! I am so excited to publicly announce our Lots to Say Baby giving plan. Six months ago we started donating 4% of all pacifier sales to charities that help children and young adults escape from the dangerous conditions they currently live in. We are part of a global community. One where children don’t have access to clean water, food, education or a safe place to call home. These kids are victims of human trafficking; of drug trade and extreme poverty. They don’t have access to education. We can make a difference in the lives of kids around the world. We can help them build a foundation of strength by making sure they have food, a safe place to sleep and access to education. We can help them get free from human trafficking and drug trade. With that basic foundation in place..they can start to dream. Dream..just like we want our kids to dream..of the difference they can make. Of the future they can have. I don’t want Lots to Say Baby to ever just be about the baby pacifiers we design. It is core to me that we use our resources to reach children in this world (locally and across the world) that don’t have the basics they need to survive. This includes supporting micro loans for families to start small sustainable businesses, expanding access to University level education in Cambodia, and helping at-risk teens and young adults get out of environments that support drug use and human trafficking. For more information on the charities we support please visit http://www.lots2saybaby.com/pages/Giving.php (0)comments2nd Annual Baby Day LuxePosted: February 16, 2009 at 11:35 am | byFiled under: Nice things happen Lots to Say Baby was excited to participate once again at the Providence Regina House’s Baby Day Luxe in Seattle! This Food and Clothing Bank serves their community every week by providing them much needed food and clothing. Carol over at Baby Chaleco came up with the great idea of getting boutique children’s companies to donate their products and give this community some fantastic products! I was not able to attend the Baby Day itself this year and so I loved reading Carol’s description of the day - it sounded memorable. I have posted an excerpt from her story below the pic. I also want to give a shout out to the Snoqualmie Ridge MOPS group for helping me FILL my car with donated diapers. My heart was so full of your generosity and carrying as I drove away - and continued to recieve boxes of diapers on my front porch. You made a difference in a lot of lives on Saturday. The entire press release is below and I encourage you to read all about the other fantastic companies that got the chance to participate!
Hi everyone, First, big HUGE thank you for your unbelievably generous donations to Baby Day Luxe 2009. We literally could not have done it without you. Thanks to your generous donations we served an amazing 349 families! This broke all records not only for Baby Day Luxe – which is, after all, only in its second year — but for Providence Regina House – in all its history! Thankfully, with so many wonderful companies on board, each family with babies was able to take home at least a few special items. The day began early on a chilly Seattle morning even though clients knew doors wouldn’t open until 9:00 am. Apparently, word had spread fast that February 7th would be a special baby day, and with so many clients who had come last year to let everyone know what to expect, people started showing up at 7:30 am. Inside, the main hall was decorated with balloons and streamers, and the atmosphere was a upbeat and festive, despite tough times for so many families. Before starting Paige Collins, the Manager at Providence Regina House, lead us in a lovely prayer for the health, safety and good welfare of all. When 9:00 am arrived, one by one each client family was checked in at the front desk, Anyone with a baby (or babies) age 2 and under got a special sticker indicating that they could come and choose from the Baby Day Luxe tables. But you can be sure I snuck over with scarves and NotSox and put them right in the hands of little 3, 4, 5 and even 6 year olds who looked longingly from across the room at the tables piled with goodies. Many, many clients had questions about items they had never seen before: My Spanish stinks, but thankfully Paige had plenty of bilingual volunteers on hand to translate and explain. My eight year old daughter had a fabulous time working the baby food table and apparently did quite the job of organizing the vegetables. We kept sending her outside to check if the line was getting shorter… 10:00 am came and went, then 10:30, then 11:00… And STILL the line snaked around the block. It wasn’t until 12:30 that every last family was served. A total of 349 families in under five hours. WHEW! All in all it was a wonderful experience and I look forward to making it EVEN BIGGER AND BETTER next year. (0)commentsWOW! What a week!Posted: February 2, 2009 at 11:48 am | byFiled under: Media, Nice things happen, Adventures in Mommahood, About Me So I don’t want to go on forever about the Super Bowl since the rest of the world will be talking about it over the water cooler today. Let me just leave the subject with one sentence. WOW..what a fun last quarter. I love it when the entire room is on their feet cheering! Ok, that was 2 sentences. Sorry This week is crazy. I find out more on when my inventory will arrive (I SO hate waiting!). I am setting up the warehouse for the influx in pacis. MIL Elaine arrives Thursday. Then it is off to Baby Day Luxe - Saturday morning! I am so excited to be able to help again this year. A friend and fellow woman-owned business (mompreneur) started Baby Day Luxe to give each of the wonderful women served by local food & clothing banks items from many of the local baby/mom businesses. Items from Baby Chaleco, BooginHead, Lots to Say Baby and many others will be given out alongside the staples they need so much like clothing, diapers and formula. It is a great opportunity to get to know a new group of amazing folks. After a morning at Providence Regina House Sari and I will be heading over to the Sample Sale in Redmond. If you are local and reading this..come visit! Many local baby companies are selling their samples (Lots to Say Baby pacis and SippiGrips will be there!) & left over inventory from last year. It is an awesome bargain! The address is: 8413 154th Ave NE, Bldg I Redmond, WA 98065 Lost? call 425.785.5980 (or just google map it in the first place so you don’t have to worry!) So, now you know what Chief Momma is up to this week in between play dates and Sesame Street episodes! Have a great week yourself! XOXO Erin Chief Momma (0)commentsIt takes a Village!Posted: July 19, 2008 at 3:13 pm | byFiled under: Nice things happen, Adventures in Mommahood The last month or so I have learned a profound lesson in small business growth. The transition from “I” to “We”. As a small business owner that has created and grown a business from a glimmer of an idea to where we are today this is a major mile stone. If you haven’t been able to tell from my silence - The Wilson’s have been on vacation! While Chief Momma, Pappa, and B sunned by the lake Lots 2 Say Baby did not take even a moment off. The support required to keep our business thriving while we frolicked in Cottage Country was amazing. In fact, with a little hands off time on the day to day logistics we were able to spend time planning our future - and the impact was immediately apparent! None of it would have been possible without April - our uber sweet teacher turned professional organizer neighbor. Tip #308 - always go with an organized person when handing over the keys to your livelihood. We were lucky - not everyone gets a teacher and organizer to run your fulfillment center! April tirelessly worked to fill orders and generally ran the office in a more organized way than I thought ever possible. She was brilliant and proactive - totally putting my mind at total ease! -And- Did I mention she was 9 months pregnant!? Our calls covered everything from orders out to home to time contractions! I’m writing about April today because we just could not do what we do every day with out her. Even as she timed contractions she worried about all the stores getting pacis on time. So, THANK YOU April. For your drive and commitment to our stores when you have so much else to think about. Thank you for being such an amazing friend. It takes a village, and we are so lucky to have you in our lives! Woot! Woot! Chief Momma (0)commentsTraits of an amazing babysitterPosted: May 14, 2008 at 10:29 am | byFiled under: Nice things happen, Adventures in Mommahood So Saturday night Sean and I went to the 25th annual Charity Auction for this preschool that we want to send our son to. Ok..let’s get this part out of the way first. Yep..Briggs will not be attending preschool for at least another 18 months..and we went to an actual AUCTION that supports this school and spent real money (actually waay to much but my husband now gets to go to Corvette Driving School in AZ). The school is this amazing place that fosters creativity and love in each child. It is tucked away in the woods and you cross a little bridge to enter. They celebrate everything from the arrival of apples in September to Chinese New Year. It has just an amazing feel to it and all the parents gushed about the school to us as we wrote our little bid number down on too many items at the silent auction. We have been Brain Washed. Briggs is SO going there! Though my blog entries always wander a bit let me get to the point. My most amazing babysitter. I can always trust that Briggs is safe and having a great time. That he is being fed a nutritious dinner and goes to bed on time with a hug goodnight. Our kitchen is clean when we get home and she often tidies up. But Saturday she leapt to a whole new level! I had sent her a text message saying we were so sorry to have rushed out of the house (we didn’t want to keep the preschool waiting - we can’t afford a mark against us -lol!). I didn’t give B a kiss goodnight because he was having so much fun with her and I didn’t want to upset the balance - ie. have him screaming his head off when he saw we were going somewhere..even if he didn’t notice we were gone in the first place. I digress. So halfway through dinner I get this text message from our babysitter…no words..just this.
I was having fun..but let me tell you when I got that picture of my little goofball having fun in the tub I relaxed completely. It was the best gift I could get - live action updates that made me crack up. Oh yeah..my phone was passed around the table so everyone could see how cute he was AND her number was shared so everyone could experience the most amazing babysiter in the world! All the Best, Erin PS. One last thought of the day…SHARE your sitter’s number. There ARE enough babysitters in the world if you share. The shortage is due to us sitter hogging! (1)commentVacation vs. Hard LaborPosted: May 5, 2008 at 3:50 pm | byFiled under: Nice things happen, About Me Hard Labor..not Hard Time! This is not a post about Martha Ok, so my hubby and I learned the most amazing thing about our marriage this week! It is SO life changing that I HAD to share it with you! Vacations - while nice - are NOT the secret to reconnecting as a couple! Sure it is fun to chill sans kids and remember what it is like to have a conversation. BUT I also realized that tackling a project together..doing something as a team..has a WAY larger impact then passively vacationing. Last week, Sean and I were lucky enough to experience both 2 nights away while Grandma babysat AND a huge project of building a picket fence around our yard. Here is what I learned. Hard work feels GREAT! It has been forever since I have had the chance to tump dirt, dig weeds and use power tools. Just working side by side on a project is a treat. Typically it is “divide and conquer” but with a baby sitter you can actually work TOGETHER on something! If you don’t nag..and give them a sec to actually solve a problem in silence..our husbands WILL figure it out! Sean did such an incredible job designing and assembling our fence. I had no clue how to tackle that type of project and it felt great to have Sean take the lead. (Also, a little secret - our hubbies like to be in charge to0..and are very smart..otherwise you would not have gotten married..so let them do it!) Sometimes they just need a little company. When it is freezing cold..and hailing on you in May..it is NOT fun to be working alone. I spent a good bit of my time out there bundled up just chatting and making up funny songs to keep him entertained (yes..I sang goofy songs..but I SWEAR it made the sun come out for a nano-second! ) So before plunking down all your money for 2 days away..consider plunking it down at Home Depot. Call a Babysitter and go work on a project together! Cheers! Erin Lots 2 Say Baby Pacifiers make their first TV Appearence!Posted: March 5, 2008 at 4:25 pm | byFiled under: Media, Nice things happen, Cool Product Reviews When KATU (an ABC affiliate out of Portland) called to say that they wanted to include our pacifiers on a broadcast they were doing on baby products we were THRILLED! The segment aired today and I have to tell you Kerri did awesome! Volume Control, Got Latte?,Just Chillin, Too Cute and all of our other fun pacifiers were featured with other great products like Bink Link, Fleurville Diaper Bags, & PediPeds! Check out the broadcast yourself (scroll down to the bottom to where it says Baby Products!) http://www.amnorthwest.tv/ (0)commentsStarting the year right with Baby Day Luxe!Posted: January 6, 2008 at 5:40 pm | byFiled under: Nice things happen, About Me To kick off 2008 Lots 2 Say Baby was lucky enough to be able to take part in “Baby Day Luxe” at the Providence Regina House in Seattle. This Food and Clothing Bank serves their community every week by providing them much needed food and clothing. Carol over at Baby Chaleco came up with the great idea of getting boutique children’s companies to donate their products and give this community some fantastic products! I can tell you that I had a blast! Sari Crevin (Sippi Grip) and I helped parents pick out donated clothing and had a chance to meet all the adorable babies and their parents. I also had the chance to meet Jennifer from Satsuma Designs. It is always so much fun to meet other wonderful women following their dreams ~especially at such a great event! It was definitely an amazing way to start 08! The entire press release is below and I encourage you to read all about the other fantastic companies that got the chance to participate! Warmest New Year Wishes, Erin Baby Day Luxe: A Charitable Twist on a Growing Trend
Seattle, WA In Hollywood, the start of the year means the Golden Globes, and along with them, the glamorous giveaway parties where celebrity and commerce intersect, as famous people are given free luxury goods in a quest for publicity. Here in the Pacific Northwest, a group of baby-product companies plans to start 2008 with a heartwarming twist on one aspect of this trend: the parties for rich and famous parents to give away luxury baby products that the PR-pro party organizers hope will end up on magazine covers.
In Seattle on Jan. 5, 2008, there will be a big party. Just like in Hollywood, lots of parents will show up with their adorable babies, and lots of luxury baby goods will be given away. But in this case, the recipients will be the clients of the Providence Regina House food and clothing bank in the South Park neighborhood.
The party will start early, at 9:30 am, and the doors will stay open through noon. Along with balloons, music, and of course, luxury baby products, essentials such as diapers, formula, and food will also be given away. The idea is to provide an extra treat for babies that get too few of them.
It all started when Paige Collins, the manager of the Providence Regina House, talked to her neighbor Carol Schiller, the founder of Baby Chaleco, about Baby Day.
³Our regular Baby Day is held the first Saturday of each month to benefit the clients of the Providence Regina House community Clothing and Food bank. This event is well known in the community and many, many families come to receive packages of baby food, formula, diapers and clothing. Normally, the items are donated through community collections or purchased with funds raised by the Providence Regina House,² explains Collins.
Schiller, who had recently been invited to participate in the baby giveaway suite at the Golden Globe awards in Hollywood, was inspired by the coincidence.
³It’s no secret that celebrities can well afford to buy whatever their babies need. I immediately thought, how much better to be part of a giveaway bash for families in need, rather than for celebrities,² recalls Schiller.
Schiller and Collins decided to create Baby Day Luxe: a fancier version of the regular Baby Day. Pacific Northwest companies will donate products with a normally unaffordable bit of luxury to babies whose families struggle just to get by.
Schiller used her contacts in the baby business to reach out to other local manufacturers, and the list of enthusiastic contributors quickly grew.
Jennifer Porter, co-founder of Satsuma Designs explains, ³We were thrilled when Carol approached us. Many of us have seen the sheer volume of Œproduct¹ that companies are willing to bestow on celebrities. Baby Day Luxe gives us a chance to put Œproduct¹ into deserving hands.²
Ultimately, the list of contributing companies reached eight: Baby Chaleco (bibs); Baby Star (apparel and accessories); Egg Press (custom printing); Lots 2 Say - Baby (pacifiers); Picaflor (knit apparel); Satsuma Designs (organic blankets); See Kai Run (footwear); Sippigrip (sippy cup holders).
With such a strong start, Collins and Schiller hope to turn Baby Day Luxe into an annual event. Considering the enthusiastic response of current participants, that looks like a good bet.
Cause Haun, Owner of See Kai Run comments, ³I was excited to have an opportunity to create excitement and buzz for a more satisfying event. I feel many more will participate as Baby Day Luxe gains exposure.²
Baby Day Luxe will be held at the South Park Neighborhood Center, located at 8201 10th Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98108 from 9:30 to noon. For more information, contact Carol Schiller at 425-260-1008, cschiller@babychaleco.com, or Paige Collins at 206-763-9204 paige.collins@providence.org.
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Providence Regina House, a ministry of Providence Health and Services, has been serving those in need in the Seattle area since 1963. The roots of this ministry began as a response by Sister Mary Regina Bomber and the Sisters of Providence to the poor who sought food by knocking at the kitchen door of Providence Seattle Medical Center in the Central district. Originally known as the ‘House of the Poor,’ the name was changed upon Sister Regina’s death to honor her great work and dedication.
Baby Chaleco designs and manufactures stylish baby tops with waterproof bib performance built right in. Located in Bellevue, WA, Baby Chaleco is a mom-owned and operated business inspired by founder Carol Schiller’s desire to create an attractive baby bib that would keep her champion drooling son dry all day. Baby Chaleco bibs are made in Washington and are now available on the Web and at fine baby boutiques around the United States. For more information about Baby Chaleco LLC please visit www.babychaleco.com.
baby star is devoted to creating high-quality baby products for the design-savvy parent and the texture-loving child. born out of the desire to balance style and functionality, baby star strives to create essential items for both baby and parent in a clean, simple and modern way. all of the key baby star essentials are made out of combinations of 100% cotton and formaldehyde-free fabrics. visit www.babystar.com to learn more.
Egg Press was founded in 1999 by Tess Darrow, an ex-corporate graphic designer with a love of textiles and letterpress printing. The company employs a dozen amazing people and has seven vintage letterpresses in operation. We combine elements old and new - our vibrant geometric patterns and sweet animal and botanical designs are inspired by simple, modern and vintage imagery. Egg Press products have been featured on Martha Stewart Living Television, and in magazines such as Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living, O, In Style, and more.
Based in Snoqualmie, Washington, Lots 2 Say Baby provides designer pacifiers for stylish babies throughout the U.S. and Canada. Chief Momma Erin Wilson’s designs are all made in the USA from the highest quality materials, are available in multiple colors and sassy sayings, and may be viewed at www.lots2saybaby.com
Picaflor offers comfortable, daily wear for children sized preemie to 8 years old. Our collections are 100% natural fiber, hypo-allergenic and easy care. Picaflor is based in Portland, OR and all of our production is in Peru. We employ fair trade ethics and work closely with our co-op of women knitters. For more information, please visit our website at www.picaflorkids.com <http://www.picaflorkids.com> .
Satsuma Designs produces all natural, bamboo-spun and eco-friendly products for baby and home. Satsuma Designs is proud to support Providence Regina House with our donation of 100% bamboo swaddling blankets for families in need. Please visit www.SatsumaDesigns.com.
See Kai Run is a family-owned and operated business located outside of Seattle, Washington. The idea was born when owner Cause Haun was on a quest for the perfect first pair of shoes for her son, Kai. Unable to find shoes in fun styles that still promoted the healthy development of little feet, Cause and her husband created their own line of shoes that satisfied all of these needs. In just two and a half years, See Kai Run has seen sales expand from a few boutiques, mostly in the Seattle area, to stores all around the country and worldwide. See Kai Run shoes fit children from six months to three years. Please visit www.seekairun.com for additional information. Retail price starts at $34.
For See Kai Run media inquiries, please contact Julie Dodobara at 888.524.7463 or Julie@seekairun.com
BooginHead LLC. is the creator of the SippiGrip product. SippiGrip is a mom invented product that prevents your child’s cup, bottle or toy from falling to the floor and getting lost or dirty. It is a great ‘on the go’ and germ prevention product that has a unique grip material to create a strong hold on any cup or bottle. It is adjustable in length, washable, durable and non toxic and is available in a variety of colors.
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Baby Chaleco LLC 12819 SE 38th Street #41 Bellevue, WA 98006 Phone: 425-260-1008/ FAX: 425-644-7041
Providence Regina House 8201 10th Ave S. #6 Seattle, WA 98108 TEL: 206-763-9204
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