Mix & Match Giveaway *CLOSED*

Now's your chance to win a Mix & Match set of your choice!! That's right, you choose what you want! ALL you have to do to enter is one or more of the below for one entry each. Please post each entry separately in a new post so it counts! The winner is chosen by random.org and will be announced on Saturday Aug. 14th.

Contest Ends Friday the 13th at midnight EST!!

1. Like our Facebook page

2. Post something on our facebook wall all share with your friends. You can do this by clicking "share" under your comment. Please make sure when you "share" to select "share with everyone" so we can see your post!

3. Visit bubelebaby.com and tell us what outfit you would love to have!

Don't forget to include your email so I can contact you if you win!

Progress

Summer break has been here for a couple weeks now and quite a few changes have happened!

First, Evan was re-evaluated and his speech has improved so much that he would not even be eligible for speech services! Now, we just have to keep working on it and working on the those behaviors that came along with the frustration! He is going to a summer program where the teachers are experienced in dealing with these issues and are focusing on getting him more involved in group activities. We have the option of continuing with a program like this for fall and our first reaction was to send him back to "regular preschool" but after seeing the attention he is getting, we are quickly changing our minds! How great would it be to get him completely caught up (and possibly even further along) by time he goes to kindergarten and look back at all this!!

Dylan is bored out of his mind this summer! He is not going into a summer program because we didn't like it last year so he is staying home. He entertains himself a lot and he loves our new sitter or "mommy's helper" that we just hired. Kristen started yesterday and she is so great with both the boys! Unfortunately, it was rainy and wet outside so they had to occupy themselves inside but she did a great job interacting with them! Being she is also a certified teacher helps =) She has lots of ideas to keep them busy and to get Evan eating!! She got him to eat his PB&J bite for bite with a granola bar yesterday while I was out running errands!

I might as well totally utilize this time with her and give her a list of things Dylan needs to work on for preparation for 1ST grade as well as a list of goals that Evan is working on at school!

I need help!

I am a DIY kind of gal so when it comes to running the businesses (yes, that is plural) and keeping up on housework and making time for the kids I figured I could manage it! Who the hell was I kidding! Working from home is great, or the idea of it is great. You think, well I can set my own hours and work when I want and spend whatever time I want with the kids. Then, you get busy and you start to justify, well at least I can take a break and go and see my kid anytime I want where if I worked out of the home, I would never see them.

Wrong! I would be such a better mother and have more chances at actual quality time with my kids if I did work outside the home! But this is not even an option for me due to the businesses growing, so I decided to take a step back and think....

1. what would make my life easier?
2. what would allow me to get the work I needed done in the time I needed it done?
3. what would keep my kids busy without turning on the TV more than we should this summer?

A super babysitter! Not just any babysitter, but one who will not just "watch the kids" but will keep them active this summer and one who will enjoy teaching my kids new things. Oh, and let's not forget someone who can occasionally watch them when mommy and daddy want to go out- ALONE! Yes, I am talking about dating my husband because not only are the kids being neglected, so is my marriage.

So, that's the answer to my prayers, but HOW do I find said babysitter when we live in a place where we don't know very many people and have virtually no family close by? I cam across a couple online websites that help find babysitters. At first I was a little leery about finding a sitter online but after browsing through the listings, I realized I could find someone with the qualifications I needed, interview, and do background checks.

The two sites I found were:

Sitters.com which attracted me first because it had no sign up fee and had a "pay as you go" option which allows you to pay for number of contacts (messages) you can send. It also has a money back guarantee.

I chose this one and bought the smallest amount of credits as possible and posted my job but no one responded so I contacted a ton with still no response. It looks like not a ton of people log into this site on a regular basis, so I doubt these girls are even checking their account!

So, this lead me to go back to another site: SitterCity.com that allows you to post a job for free and view candidates for free, but you can't access contact info until you pay a set up fee plus the monthly fee. So, I posted my job and had a ton of people apply! 3-4 looks very promising, so I budged and paid the sign up fee so I could contact the applicants I liked.

Keep your fingers crossed for my sanity!! Who knows, maybe I can also find someone to help with Bubele? ;)

Summer Styles are here!! Memorial Day Sale!

Finally, I have caught up on back orders and was able to do a photo shoot with a ton of local babies at a park nearby and I loved it!! It turned out great and was able to re-shoot a ton of my outfits which was much needed! The weather was beautiful and my photographer that I have been working with was awesome! It was really tough to organize all the different babies and outfits and pieces that I have available and I did not get them all, but I am really proud of myself for getting as many as I did!! I knew I was going to miss a few =)

Come by and see the summer stock (more to be up on the site soon) and enjoy 10% off your purchase and FREE shipping!! Use code: MEMDAY at checkout. Sale ends June 1st.

OH EVAN!!

This has become the new saying in the house because quite a few times a day Evan gets into something he shouldn't and even Dylan now says "OH EVAN!" Most of the time Dylan just laughs at him which as you can imagine doesn't help ;) Evan turns 3 next month and it is reminding me what a long way we have come. I've been really frustrated with myself lately for my lack of memory. I thought I was passed being pissed about what had happened in that labor room 3 years ago, but I guess I am not. It's causing more problems than I thought. Adam has to deal with the gaps of memory that sometimes does not make sense. I can sometimes remember the most random things that doesn't have any significance but can't remember an important date. I am terrible with recognizing people (even right after meeting them), can't remember names, and have to write everything down.

With all of these issues, I have to realize that I am lucky but damn it sometimes it doesn't feel that way when my 6 year old looks at me with confusion when I can't remember something he had told me. For all I know, he thinks I just don't care.

Evan continues to have some speech issues, but last week after going back to see the ENT, it was decided it was best to proceed with having ear tubes put in. This was after getting 2 ear infections within a 6 week period. They scheduled it really quickly and we had to go into surgery yesterday morning at 6:45 AM. I basically had to do what we did for the sedated ABR hearing test. I went into the room with him where we put the mask on him for gas while the anesthesiologist talked softly about taking a balloon ride and flying high in the sky which was totally appropriate since he is always talking about flying to the moon! He was out quickly, I gave him a kiss and it seemed like it took 10-15 mins and he was in recovery. Since the little bugger didn't sleep the night before, he was OUT! Daddy tickled his feet until he woke up. We had to make sure he was OK before we were discharged.

He was in a little discomfort, but we gave him some Tylenol and he has been in a pretty good mood since so it looks like everything went fine. PHEEEW! I am positive we made the right decision here.

He went back to preschool and recently had a Mother's Day brunch where he was supposed to hand me a potted flower and bring me to the table and serve me a Pb&J sandwich but as usual he did not want to participate and refused to be a part of the group. While all the parents stared on, I tried to calm him down and get him to sit at the table with me but kept screaming "NO TANKS!!" (This is because he would typically scream out "NO" so we are trying to replace that =) It was just too much for him (and me because I felt like I was going to cry if I had to sit there any longer with everyone's eyes on me) so off we went and he was happy again.

I felt a little pathetic walking out because I could not stop the flow of tears. I sucked it up quickly and decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and I should be grateful that he is at least talking more! We just have to kick these behaviors =)

Ebay Charity Auctions

I have been wanting to get involved in charity work for such a long time, and over the past couple years I have made a couple donations of clothing to be used at events, but I found Hope For God's Children which was started to help raise funds for families who have or are losing children. These funds help families with medical and funeral expenses- both being something a parent should never have to think about!

I wish I could do MUCH MUCH more for these families, but as I have been saying for awhile, my clothing and diapers are my capital so I will try and do what I can with what I have!

Currently the money being raised will go to Emily's family and the auctions I have up are:

Sage stripe tee

Blue dots tee

Bulk pack of Bubele Bums 6 AIO diapers (choose your own colors!)

If you are a designer interested in getting involved in raising funds, you can visit the Facebook Group

Thanks everyone and please share so we can get those bids up!!

Bubele Bums New AIO Cloth Diaper giveaway!

The new Bubele Bums AIO is in and while I have been criticized a little for changing designs so much, I do believe each change brings me closer to having the perfect diaper- Live and Learn!! =)

A little bit about these new diapers:

Trim fit
Less layers, more absorbent
More snaps to adjust just about every fit from newborn to potty training!

What you will win: Your choice of any color!



How to win:

1. Visit www.bubelebaby.com and leave a comment here letting me know what you love!

2. Follow this blog for another entry and leave another comment to let me know

3. Become a Facebook Bubele Fan: Bubele Fan Page and tell me about it so I give you another entry!

4. Twiiter about this contest and send me the link

5. tell your Facebook friends and send me the link

Contest Ends: March 12th at 12:00 AM

Good Luck!