Well, I looked back on my “renewal” post from January and realize how truly accurate (& prophetic) it was! It seems like a ridiculous understatement when I say there has been a LOT going on since that time.

Here’s a very brief overview.
1.) Started and finished yet another semester of school (knocked out 14 credits of G.E.s + 4 “for my art edification” auditing life sculpture again)
2.) AuTeen started driving. (wait, that was last year) O_o
3.) Had a “couch surfer” (aka extended houseguest) for a couple of months. That was a nightmare and a crash-course in TOLERANCE and coping skills.
4.) Went to Biltmore with my beloved for our anniversary and came home with a very special piece of jewelry for a certain finger, on a certain hand!!! ;-D
5.) Discovered that we are expecting a baby!!! Big, happy SURPRISE. (btw, the “cheese puff is due mid-October)

***everything else is a bit of a blur***

6.) oh yeah. finally got rid of couch surfer.
7.) started search/process of buying our first home. (it has been quite a roller coaster in this economy, and to find something big enough in our budget)
8.) started taking 2 summer classes online
9.) traveled to oklahoma & texas w/parents & twill (Grandmom is turning 91 this year, so I wanted to visit before I get caught up in new baby lost-time-mode) – also had family reunion.
10.) getting back involved with the AP community.
11.) Twill is turning 4 next month! Time FLIES!
hew:

I realize it’s definitely valuable to catalog all this life change, so I’ll probably start posting more regularly. I just hope it’s not too much info, or boring. If so, I guess no one has to read it. lol

hope this finds you well!

Today is the official CSPIA BLOG-IN. As someone with a fledgling handmade baby carrier business, I am exponentially more concerned than I would be ordinarily. 8-/ I have signed a few petitions and send emails to my representatives. But I feel like there should be MORE to do… Therefore, I share this with you.

ETSY – Craftivism: CSPIA Action Kit

National Bankruptcy Day – (be prepared to get depressed at this site!)

Fashion-Incubator: the leader posts some EXCELLENT info. most encouraging IMHO is a link to a letter written by 2 TN Congress Members requesting that FABRIC & YARN BE EXEMPTED.

(Please note: I am not the author of the text below. But it is a great starting point to find out WAY MORE than you probably WANTED to know.)

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As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They’re banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we’ve seen in decades. I’d like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.

Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.

The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:

To the Parents of Young Students:
Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren’t originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.

To the Avid Reader:
Due to the new law, all children’s books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there’s always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.
Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322

To the Lover of All Things Handmade:
Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it’s passed testing. It won’t even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter.

To the Environmentalist:
Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can’t sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can’t even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Second-Hand Shopper:
Due to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children’s items all together to avoid future lawsuits.

To the Entrepreneur:
Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you’ll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector:
Due to the new law, you’d better start buying now because it’s all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren’t certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html

To the American Economy:
Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.

To the Worldwide Economy:
Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses.

If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html

And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Law
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react.

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… into the FUTURE!

Here I am, with a very chatty toddler and a teen son who is eligible for a Learner’s Permit (driving) in less than a month!

So here’s the scoop. Twilli’s vocabulary is ever increasing. And lemme tell you, she’s PROUD of it! She’s way too good at climbing and has gotten hooked on standing at the dining table on a step stool… for the WHOLE MEAL! I don’t even know if she’d sit in the high chair if we had it here. :-/

Au-teen has gotten MUCH MORE helpful with her. So, of course, she is even more crazy about him now! (She was patting him on the back yesterday. It was so cute!)

It’s so shocking that Au-teen is actually DISAPPOINTED that the enrollment process for his new high school is taking WAY longer than we expected. LOL – Who’d a’ thought?! (He wont be able to start until next Wednesday, at the earliest.) When we went to register last week, he was thrilled to see a nice cross-section of students. Looks like he’ll FINALLY fit right in. These kids are much cooler than I had expected! (While he was trying to inconspicuosly scope the scene, I was drooling over the architecture! LOL They just built a new building, and it’s STUNNING! – I’ll try to post pics soon.) And the office staff is AMAZING! It’s ABOUT TIME we found a public school worth something!

I’m still trying to dig things out of boxes and find reasonable homes for everything. The storage in the new apartment is far from optimal. But it’ll do.

We are REALLY thankful for babywearing! Especially now that it’s “single mom” mode again! I don know WHAT I’d do if I couldn’t perch Twilli on my back while we are out and about! We LOVE the special, pimped-out pod that I FINALLY made for my birthday/moving gift to myself! It has taken a lot of abuse and still looks BEAUTIFUL!

Speaking of pods: The TWILLI PIE PODEGI baby carriers are really starting to take off. I’m working with my first local client to create a (maybe 2) semi-custom pod. She fell in LOVE with the corduroy straps and ease of throwing a back-carry with a pod!

And I just created a KNOXVILLE BABYWEARING MEETUP. So hopefully we will get to meet even more cool, like-minded parents who wear their babies and/or toddlers!

We are still having a tough time adjusting to the winter climate. :-/ I used to ask my mom to read THE PENGUIN WHO HATED THE COLD all the time, when I was little! It’s such a cruel thing that I had to leave SUNNY FORT LAUDERDALE in the dead I winter!

But I have to say that I KNEW getting the iPhone was the right decision. It has kept me from falling into total social hibernation! It has also been EXTREMELY handy as a GPS! (I forgot how EASILY I get lost when I’m out of the city.) I plan to do a whole write-up on my experience with the iPhone 3G –good, bad, & ugly– soon.

I’m saddened that most of my old friends here in the VOLUNTEER STATE have been too caught up in their own routines to VOLUNTEER ANYTHING! (There are a couple I exceptions. But I’m no longer candy-coating things. So if you can’t take the heat, don’t play with a firefly!)

But anyway, we’re adjusting… slowly, but surely.

And if anyone here in Knoxville/Oak Ridge has any extra furniture they’d be kind enough to donate, LET ME KNOW! I will gladly VOLUNTEER to take it off your hands – think CLEAN SWEEP for the NEW YEAR! :good vibes:

**NOTE: Pictures & links are forthcoming. I need to find a better blogging iPhone app!**

Well, it’s been forever since I’ve blogged. Its been sheer chaos with the planning, packing, grieving the loss of our dear kitty, traveling, & setting up the new apartment.

But things are settling down, so I wanted to write a quick little note of greetings and good cheer.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope everyone is enjoying a great time with friends and family!

It was fun to watch Twilli and her cousins, J & D, open presents and all try to play with the same gift at once! In the end, they liked my vegetable steamer the best! LOL We even saved a few of the gifts, for the kids to open later.

Au-teen was thrilled to get GUITAR HERO – World Tour: Whole Band Kit! (Thank you, Grandma & Papa!!)

Other than that, we went VERY minimal on the gifts this year, due to tight budget & moving, etc. But it was still very good.

We are so blessed to have wonderful friends & family around to share the season with.

I’ll try to post photos soon.

So many people are doing Wordless Wednesday these days. So, being the rebel that I am, I have decided to do *WEARS the Baby Wednesday.

I have to give a credit for the clever play on words to one of the first sites I found on my babywearing journey – *WearsTheBaby.com. (Katie, I am not claiming to come up with the phrase. I am just getting mileage out of it, and hoping to send you more link love!)

Ok… on with the babywearing show…

I just posted my very first FSOT listing (For Sale Or Trade, if you don’t already know that acronym, there is a key of it and related ones here) listing on TBW (TheBabyWearer.com, in case you didn’t already read the acronyms page ). I am selling several slings on the listing. But the ones I want to show you are especially cool! These slings are made of a fabric called “Solarveil”.

Solarveil is a lightweight fabric, which resembles netting or gauze, and is ideal for hot, tropical, or desert climates. It’s light and wicks sweat away from the body so that it can quickly evaporate. Solarveil is a UV protective fabric, protecting you from the sun’s damaging rays (one layer provides 70-80% UV protection, and two layers provide up to 90-95%). Unfortunately, Solarveil has been discontinued. So these slings will be increasingly hard to find. For more info about these slings, visit my FSOT listing.

QASSIA, COME TO MAMA

Qassia is another form of generating backlinks to your site.  You get credits for adding bits of “intel“, information you can share. At the end of each intel, a link to your site is added.

The more intel you add, the more credits you receive and the higher you rank in Qassia’s directory.

On top of this, you can add Google AdSense to your Qassia page and you get 100% of the revenue generated by those ads.

I just signed up with Qassia, I’m going to check it out some, add some bits of my own intel and see what it’s all about.. They are still in beta and joining is by invite only… but if you want to check it out for yourself, you can visit my page and sign up through there reneeholiday @ Qassia.