Sunshine Wishes

New Product

2009-01-30T07:59:00.002-06:00

Hot/Cold Neck or Shoulder Flaxseed Wrap

If you like our Li'l one's Booboo Bags, Mama you're gonna love these! We've sold these on request to our locals for awhile and have had some online requests, so here they are!

Just like our Booboo Bags these are great hot or cold. Also designed with our removable (washable) cover. These are theraputically and evenly weighted to aid in relief of sore muscles, pinched nerves, achey joints....

Choose your print from our fabric collection and add it to your notes upon checking out.

Bags are filled with Flax Seed. Flax seeds natural oils excel at retaining cold or heat giving off moist heat as it cools. Flaxseed remain durableand effective for the greatest length of timeover cheaper fiber fill alternatives, conform to the body, provide a therapeutic weight.

Simply microwave the neckwrap from 1-2 minutes (time varies per microwave) and layback and enjoy it's comfort.

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)

2009-01-05T07:29:00.004-06:00

I have been reading and reading and reading some more. There is so much out there on this new act and it is written to be almost impossible for the common person to possibly understand and absorb/process all aspects of this thing.

There is no point in trying to reinvent the wheel - Karen over at Hyena Cart has summed it all up as nicely as I've seen it and here's a post from her blog.
________________________________________________________________

By now, many of you have read or heard discussions regarding the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) which is scheduled to take effect on February 10, 2009 (this link will take you directly to the government’s informational page). I’ll quote from Jen Taggert’s blog, The Smart Mama, as she sets up the background very succinctly:

On August 14, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). It was drafted as a toy safety law in response, at least in part, to the numerous recalls in 2007 for lead in children’s toys and jewelry. It was also drafted in response to the tragic death of a 4 year old after ingesting a charm that was almost pure lead.

It was designed to be a toy safety law, but its reach is much, much broader. And, like all broadly written, reactionary laws, it has very significant, it appears largely unforeseen consequences. Like perhaps putting out of business thousands of small manufacturers of children’s products, including some of my favorites - the small manufacturers of reusable cloth diapers, natural wood toys, handcrafted costumes, and innovative children’s products.

I want to address two specific points with regards to this legislation: 1) how will this specifically affect what you sell on HC / will HC be making any changes in reaction to this law? and 2) what actions can you personally take to keep this law does not negatively affecting your business?

So, point 1: how will this specifically affect what you sell on HC / will HC be making any changes in reaction to this law? In short, HC will not be taking any action at this time. The law is not clearly written, and it would be premature to do anything differently for now. If you, as a seller, wish to make changes to the items you offer, that is, of course, your choice. Just bear in mind that there is a lot of misinformation and rumor in the internet community and your best bet is to refer directly to the government’s site for answers. In addition, it seems there is still time to amend the law (more on this in point 2). Finally, a CPSC spokesperson has been quoted as saying, “There are exceptions to the testing rule for crafters making only one unique copy of each item.” (see this article).

On to point 2: what actions can you personally take to ensure that this law does not negatively affect your business? Three things:

By Jan 30, 2009, follow the directions on this document to suggest changes to the law, for example:
Exempt products made from materials that are very unlikely to contain lead - fabric, paper, wood, etc.
Exempt categories of items such as books, unadorned textiles, or handmade items made in the USA and Canada.
Exempt products from Canada or the EU that are already certified under standards that meet or exceed the CPSC standard.
Write to your Congressperson, notifying them of your concerns regarding this law. This site has excellent suggestions for the content of your communication.
Starting tomorrow, vote for this issue on change.org to bring it to the attention of the new administration as soon as possible.

There’s no doubt that this law is a cause for concern. However, rather than panic, the best thing to do is to take action to influence the legislation and ensure that it fulfills its intentions while allowing our businesses to continue. Please consider taking the actions outlined above to protect our handmade community.

Thanks!

__________________________________________________________________

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T08:12:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a a great New Years. All the website maintenance is finally complete. All orders except one have been shipped as of yesterday. The last order from 2008 should be gong out tomorrow.

I plan a new resolution to keep this blog much more up to date than this last year. :)

January Plans

On my table I have fleece for shorties (yup, shorties) thinking of warmer days ahead already! I will also be opening custom slots for KCK^tmOne's and SW diapers. The KCK^tmOne now has snap options!

February?

There is a new Consumer Safety Protection Act that may impact many of the WAHM families and what we can/can't make and do. I am reading up as much as I can on this while congress irons our details and glitches. As soon as I know more definitive details I will pass the info along to you.

Previews & Stocking

2008-09-08T13:04:00.003-05:00

Wednesday at 10a.m.

ok We might be getting back into the swing of things! I have all the previews up and am ahead of schedule. Insert happy dance here :)

This week there is a wool backed mama pad package, custom soaker slots, onesie conversion slots (again limited) and a really pretty dress/wool soaker set.

There is still lots of goodies over at The Granola Chicks Ring - So if you missed it go take a peek.

Don't forget - if you can't find it on my HC or Granola Chicks I have stocked my website pretty well, check here. :)

Stocking, stocking & more stocking!

2008-09-04T08:29:00.003-05:00

Thursday at 10a.m. & midnight!

I have been busy busy busy trying to get back into a regular routine. Stocking on my HC at 10a.m.

The second stocking at Granola Chicks Ring - All diapers including a couple of sets. We are changing the stocking time to midnight, yup you read that right night owls!

Also have been working hard to update and stock my main site. It has been neglected terribly and is now up to date and I have added more stuff to it this week. So if you can't find what you want on HC or Granola Chicks, check here. :)

Remember, I'm all for combined shipping, so don't hesitate to buy what you want where it's stocked and email me for a combined invoice!

I will be working on more wool backed pads, possibly a few collabs (join our newsletter (over there ---->>>) and you'll be the first to know, of course!) as well as longies and soakers. Maybe I'll slip in a few custom slots ;)

Stay tuned for The Granola Chicks theme stocking this month on September 18!

Still Homeschooling?

2008-07-31T14:43:00.002-05:00

Absolutely! We've moved all of our homeschooling, curriculum & related posts to our home school blog. Come join us as we share unit studies, ideas and information!

Our new full schedule for school starts August 4th! How about yours?

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW)

2008-07-31T14:39:00.002-05:00

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is August 1st - 7th and celebrates the signing of the Innocenti Declaration, produced and adopted in 1990 by participants at the WHO/UNICEF meeting on "Breastfeeding in the 1990s: A Global Initiative on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding." The document lists the benefits of breastfeeding, plus global and governmental goals. World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated in 120 countries on various dates.

This year we focus on supporting women in their efforts to do what is most important for the health and survival of their children through the best and most cost-effective intervention: early and exclusive breastfeeding.

You can "go for the gold" when you --

give a mother the phone number of an LLL Leader.
tell a first-time breastfeeding mother she is doing just fine.
bring the new mother a nutritious snack and a big glass of water.
as an employer, accommodate a mother's need to pump with a private comfortable space.
as the baby's father, intercede with family and friends so that mother and baby can feel confident
write to legislators to support the enactment of laws supporting paid maternity leave and mother-friendly workplaces.
contact an emergency relief organization and request training to help in emergency situations, especially in breastfeeding support.
take care of your health and nutritional needs during pregnancy and lactation.
set up or join a network of lactation experts in your community.
provide transportation to a mother to attend an LLL meeting or visit a lactation consultant.
advocate for legislation that enacts the provisions of the WHO/UNICEF Code of Marketing.
ask for support and offer support to others.

Join us in celebrating all week long. We will be stocking surprise nursing pads this week on Hyena Cart. Some may be auctions with low bids, some may be free for shipping, who knows! :)

Spur of the Moment Sale!

2008-07-02T12:47:00.002-05:00

Wow has time flown. DD is just 3 months and DS1 just turned 6!

Things are finally looking more normal around here! To liven up the mid-summer hum drum - I've posted a spur of the moment sale for 10" regular size mama cloth menstrual pads. Get them while you can as I usually only do this once a year. :)

http://hyenacart.com/SunshineWishes/index.php?c=18&p=95796

Free summer science clubs online

2008-03-28T13:49:00.002-05:00

Do you have a budding scientist? Want to keep learning alive during the summer but light & fun? Well look what I found :)

Please help me spread the word about Free Summer Science Clubs at Quick
Study Labs. Forward this invitation to homeschool leaders, publications,
curriculum advisors, and any one else you feel may be interested. Thanks in
advance! The number of engineers and science professionals will drop to an
alarming low in the next few years due to the baby-boomers retiring. This
is our small effort to help.

Free Summer Science Clubs

at

QuickStudyLabs.com

Are you looking for something educational to get your kids involved in this
summer? Quick Study Labs is offering Summer Club and Kid's Club as a free
service to the public. Honest! The only thing for sale is a multimeter for
less than $20 and if you already have one, you don't purchase one single
thing.

Although Summer Club and Kid's Club are primarily designed with Christian
Homeschool and Church School kids in mind, they are open to all, including
those in public school who are out for the summer.

Club activities sponsored by Quick Study Labs are designed to get kids
hooked on science as a fun choice of a career and to help kids see the
application of science in our every day world.

Each Club Project is HANDS-ON, FUN SCIENCE. The projects are limited to one
project every two weeks so as not to spoil summer vacation.

Club Activities Begin May 12

Enrollment Now Open

Register Today!

To register, go to <> www.quickstudylabs.com
and choose "Summer Clubs" from the bottom of the menu.

Joel Phillips
Teaching Technology to Homeschool Youth
Think Quick------Quick Study Labs
<> www.QuickStudyLabs.com

Lessons Learned by Example

2008-03-28T08:17:00.003-05:00

I came across this today and it fits right in with ds learning about resources very well. Even if it didn't fit well I would still get him involved. These are things our kids need to learn to appreciate and not take for granted. Who knows how long the earth will sustain us at our rate. :)

http://www8.earthhourus.org/

On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.

Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships–Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

We invite everyone throughout North America and around the world to turn off the lights for an hour starting at 8 p.m. (your own local time)–whether at home or at work, with friends and family or solo, in a big city or a small town.

What will you do when the lights are off? We have lots of ideas.

Join people all around the world in showing that you care about our planet and want to play a part in helping to fight climate change. Don’t forget to sign up and let us know you want to join Earth Hour.

One hour, America. Earth Hour. Turn out for Earth Hour!

Homeschooling Styles and Curriculum

2008-03-25T14:47:00.002-05:00

After people get over that we homeschool and ds1 is "almost" 6 and finishing his 1st grade curriculum in most subjects. They often ask how or if they know a little about hsing, they ask more specifically what our style is. I consider us Christian Eclectic. Which basically means we like to pick and choose among various methods with a base in Christian and godly ways when they style of books fit my sons learning style.

There are many many styles and ways to homeschool and I (personally) strongly believe that learning style must take precedents over everything else to make it as enjoyable and successful for everyone. We supplement with bible teachings, daily living and church where our basic core curriculum lacks. Every homeschooler is different. That's part of the beauty of homeschooling, you do what works for you and your family.

The next thing generally asked is how much time do you spend working? how do you fill your days? hmm let me think about that for a minute..... 2 active boys, 1 surprise on the way, a business and household to run. I think my days fill themselves before i get there, lol. I just manage them. You'd be surprised at how fast bookwork goes when you have a very self motivated child. That's how ds1 has arrived at the 1st grade much earlier than most public school kids. He doesn't have 25 other kids to take the teacher's attention.

Don't mistake that all we do is bookwork!School is never ending, learning opportunities are always around! School does not stop at just books, which is probably one of my favorite things about hsing. We walk out our back door and learn about nature, birds, deer, bugs...etc. We go to our library and learn things from our children's librarian, she's a wonderful and amazing lady. When we grocery shop ds learns something new just about every time. Just today on the way to an appointment he was asking about our garden. Daddy has been planning the layout and has been itching to get out and get started. He asked if we were doing pumpkins again, as last years were attacked & destroyed by some bug. I told him he'd have to ask daddy because I wasn't sure we could prevent it from happening again. He sat and thought for awhile then said he had a solution. He said we could build a house on top of them. I told him I wasn't sure it would work because they needed sunlight. In his most matter of fact, duh mom tone, he said we'd build windows in the top to let the sun in.

I guess what I'm doing is working. I've tried to teach him to not always think of solutions the books provide but to come up with his own in a creative way.

So there's our homeschooling in a nutshell. I've posted our 1st & 2nd grade curriculum's on the side, partially to share that homeschooling curriculum doesn't have to be boxed, but it can get expensive and partially to help keep myself organized. :) I try to look for 2nd hand teacher's manuals when they are necessary or 2nd hand textbooks when I can find them. Used good condition books can help defray the cost. We are lucky enough to have a teachers store about an hour away we visit a few times a year. :)

An older custom with a rare request

2008-03-25T13:40:00.004-05:00

On my custom slots I am pretty flexible. After all that's what makes it custom right? Awhile back I had a request for side alpix closures. I haven't done those in ages! I wondered for a day or so if I could remember how i used to do it and make it work, especially with those much needed laundry tabs. I started playing with my pattern for placement and it all came back to me.

I liked this so much I might just start making them for instock. :)

Back to Basics with Cloth Diapers

2008-03-25T13:20:00.007-05:00

I recently did a trade with a wonderful wahm. She wanted custom fitteds that were white knit inside and out. The only specific request was that the snaps be girly colors in pink and purple. I wanted to dress them up and make them a little special for her and this is what came out in the end. Needless to say I am pleased with the simple but special look these have.

Home Is Where the School Is

2008-03-25T12:02:00.003-05:00

This was passed onto me yesterday and I think it is so well written and to the point I had to share. It was published in the Washington Post.

Home Is Where the School Is

By Gregory J. Millman

Sunday, March 23, 2008; Page B01

During a break in a high school debate tournament not long ago, my 17-year-old son struck up a conversation with a student on the rival team from a New Jersey public school. "Where's your school?" asked the boy. When my son replied that he was home-schooled, the student probed.

"How do you socialize when you're at home all the time?" he asked.

"Well, for one thing, I'm here, right?" my son laughed.

My children have gotten used to most of the standard questions from their conventionally schooled peers: Are you super-religious? Do you stay at home in your pajamas and watch TV all day? Is your mom a teacher?

Adults, on the other hand, can be surprising. Like the professor at the community college where one of our sons was taking a course, who went out of her way to pull him aside, sit him down and tell him, "You home-schoolers think you can change the world. But you can't. Nobody can."

It's hard to generalize about home-schoolers, but if there's one thing we know, it's that we are changing the world, or at least the world of education choices. Others, though, see us as either misguided or threatening -- and probably cheered last month's California appeals court ruling that all children in the state must be taught by credentialed teachers. At least 166,000 California children are home-schooled. And most home-schooling parents don't have teaching credentials, so the ruling is worrisome, even though Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called it "outrageous." The decision will probably be appealed, but the teachers' unions are applauding in the meantime.

Nonetheless, home-schooling is booming. In 2003, the National Center for Education Statistics estimated that the home-schooled population nationwide was 1.1 million. And the National Home Education Research Institute estimates that it may be growing at double-digit rates.

There's no denying that the modern home-schooling movement was born of the desire to shake off stultifying school bureaucracies and to sidestep the uncertain mission of public schools, which is set by adults with often conflicting priorities for children. A century of ideological struggles has defined the hodge-podge taught in schools, and they persist to this day. Will schools teach evolution or intelligent design? Offer safe-sex or abstinence-only instruction? Encourage art and dance or treat them as distractions from No Child Left Behind tests? Home-schoolers can make our own decisions based on what's best for our children.

But "home-schooling" is a misnomer, really. Most of it doesn't even take place at home, and the schooling has little in common with what goes on in school. The legal definition varies from state to state, as do registration and other requirements. In New Jersey, the law only requires parents to see that their children get an education "equivalent" to public instruction.

What home-schoolers most readily reflect are the virtues of the old American frontier settlement or the Amish barn-raising -- we co-operate in self-reliance. My wife and I have been teaching our children ourselves for more than 15 years, and we've found that home-schooling opens doors that schools leave closed.

And contrary to most popular belief, home-schooling isn't the brainchild of religious fanatics. It actually got started in the counterculture of the 1960s. In his landmark 1964 book, "How Children Fail," teacher and education reformer John Holt accused schools themselves of causing students to fail; eventually, he came to advocate a sort of "underground railroad" out of compulsory schooling. It wasn't until the end of the 1970s and into the 1980s that the movement spread through communities that believed public schools were threatening their moral values.

The boundaries between the counterculture and Christian home-school traditions blurred through the 1990s and 2000s, as home-schoolers from various backgrounds came to discover how much they actually have in common. Today, a well-established and widespread infrastructure of home-schooling groups, Web sites and networks has made home-schooling accessible to a broader population, people who wouldn't consider themselves either particularly countercultural or particularly religious. People like my family.

My wife and I hadn't originally planned on home-schooling, but with six children and one modest income, we couldn't afford a house in one of the better school districts in the state. We were living in Plainfield, an elegant old central New Jersey city with typically poor urban public schools characterized by bureaucratic mismanagement, low teacher morale and student violence. In one notorious incident, third-graders in one school were strip-searched because someone suspected one of them of stealing $20. That wasn't what we wanted for our children. We first tried a local Catholic school, but we thought that the teachers' expectations for students were too low. Since we couldn't afford classy private school tuitions, we turned to home-schooling.

Though we first tried to teach the children what the official curriculum standards said they ought to be learning in school, we soon realized that this only made sense in the context of a school. So we scrapped dry textbooks and workbooks and found more interesting ways for our children to learn.

We haunted used-book sales and assembled a library of classics for pennies on the dollar. We introduced statistics by driving to Florida for spring training (learning some geography on the way). When the dollar was strong and the airlines offered good deals in the off-season -- when other children were in school -- we took ours to Europe to see the great art and architecture or to learn about ancient Rome by walking through the Forum. Travel showed our children things they never could have learned in classrooms.

For several years, they participated in a fife and drum corps, playing colonial and traditional patriotic music, marching in parades, learning not only music and history but also teamwork, perseverance, discipline and a great deal about the communities through which they marched. This kind of experience is fairly typical of home-schooling.

Home-schoolers also work across a much wider socioeconomic spectrum than the conventionally schooled. We have worked on many projects, and in many organizations, that draw participating home-schoolers from all around our state, from far beyond school district borders. We joined a Shakespeare troupe founded by a single mother who was a college professor of literature. She taught the children to find the characters through the language, and they staged a complete Shakespeare play every year. Other members of that troupe founded a home-schooled robotics team, building robots to compete in regional, national and international events. We founded a debate and speech team that continues to compete at the middle school and high school levels.

The results? Studies have shown that home-schooled children outperform the conventionally schooled not only on standardized academic tests but also on tests of social skills. This, I believe, isn't because home-schoolers do things better than schools do them but because we do better things than schools do.

I've never heard a home-schooling parent refer to a child as "learning disabled," for instance. There are many kinds of intelligence, but conventional schools usually only focus on one. Take late reading. A conventional school education depends on written textbooks and workbooks and homework, so a child who can't read is unable to learn. But home-schoolers have developed systems and approaches that work with the kind of talent and intelligence a child has. One of our sons didn't read until he was 8 years old. That was no disability, though. He learned from audio tapes and DVDs and from being read to and -- very importantly -- from going outside and looking around. He could spot a deer on a hillside or a bluebird in a tree long before the rest of us. When he finally decided to read, he jumped into "The Chronicles of Narnia" and finished the series within weeks. "I want to read the books before I see the movie," he told us.

Home-schooled students' high performance continues into college. Admissions officers at IUPUI, a joint-venture urban campus of Indiana University and Purdue, and at Georgia's Kennesaw State University, have tracked the performance of admitted home-schoolers and found that they earn higher GPAs than the general student population. Associate Dean Joyce Reed of Brown University has called home-schoolers "the epitome of Brown students," telling the university's alumni magazine that "they are self-directed, they take risks, and they don't back off." Admissions officers at other highly selective colleges, such as Swarthmore and Stanford, have made similar statements. Some colleges and universities are admittedly more open than others to making the effort to understand home-schooling, but we've gone through the admissions process with three daughters, and all were admitted to excellent colleges.

Conventional schools are like the nation's Rust Belt companies, designed in the 19th century but struggling to meet the standards of international competition today. School boards and administrators should be concentrating on ways to make schools more like home-schooling -- not on ways to force home-schooled children to go back to schools. People who are free to think for themselves usually get together and find solutions that are better than what bureaucrats can devise.

Those are the kinds of principles that gave us California's Silicon Valley. Let's hope that someday soon, home-schooling will be perfectly legal there once again.

gregandmartine@gmail.com

Gregory J. Millman is co-author, with Martine Millman, of "Homeschooling: A Family's Journey," to be published in August.

Homeschooling

2008-02-22T11:30:00.002-06:00

Among everything else, we home school. DS1 is 5½ and working through first grade. We've been hsing for the last 2 years, so we've complied quite a bit of books, curriculum and information. There is tons out there on the web but it's always nice to hear from someone who has actually had experience with it or found something you haven't yet.

A great cost of home schooling can be the books. Where to find books at a good price, which curriculum to use, what about used books in great reusable condition?

One site I always head to Homeschool Super Center has a huge variety of curriculum you can get in packages or make your own/buy individually. The A to Z Teacher Stuff has loads of free ideas, printables, lessons, tips and tools as well as a store with down loadable books. They also host a homescool chat board that I've found very friendly and helpful with home schoolers from all over.

Another great resource not only for home school work but record keeping in various forms (which we all know can be a challenge) is Donna Young's site.

One last site I've recently found is Home School Classifieds. I haven't had alot of time to browse around but it looks like a great source for used books & supplies.

If you have questions about home schooling or resources feel free to contact me. I won't promise to have the perfect easy answer but I can always dig in my files or find someone who does. :)

Last Customs for awhile

2008-02-22T11:03:00.005-06:00

Time has flown! I've been busy trying to keep up with the last batch of customs. I am at 34 weeks and slowing greatly. I will be offering the last of my custom slots tonight on Mom's Boardwalk. The Granola Chicks just had a Groovy launch, with plenty still left to grab! These will be anything goes slots with our theme "We've got the beat". All outstanding customs are planned to ship by tuesday. I am planning on opening customs and restocking semi-regular in late April - May. Join our Newsletter to be the first to know!

Here's a few recent customs & projects.

Happy New Year - Have you joined our Newsletter yet?

2008-01-08T10:09:00.000-06:00

Here's some of January's first newsletter. Be the first to know about stockings, sales & newsletter subscribers specials!

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday season. Our new year has started off with a white bang,lol. It's been snowing yesterday and today an keeps going.

We have some exciting plans for this year and have already implemented a few.

Fitteds:

encased backwaist & leg elastic
four rows of snaps to extend wear
7-9 core absorbent layers (sherpa, cotton fleece, hemp fleece,
etc..) depending on inner layer ie velour, suedecloth etc in place of primary absorbent fabric.
Snap in soaker can be requested to snap in front on customs
hidden snap in soaker snaps
Best new feature of all - all directional fabric will now be right
facing on both sides!

I realize the new design will extend drying time but believe it is worth the extra time for the absorbency. These can still be dried in one average dryer cycle. Due to the extra absorbency & other changes prices are going up, but all fitteds will be the same price unless specialty fabric is used. When specialty fabric is used, price will be based on price of fabric, I have some surprises
coming soon. :)

Mama Pads are newly improved!

Liners are 8" long and 2½" snapped
Regulars are 10" long with a 2¾" sewn in soaker and have 2 snap settings for a more adjustable fit.
Heavy/OV/PP are 12"long with a 3" sewn in soaker and also have 2 snap settings for a more adjustable
fit.

Tapered wings are slightly wider for more coverage
slightly wider soaker pads
double snap settings on regulars & heavy pads
slightly wider tops/ends to ensure good coverage

While some of these changes may seem very minor, I can assure you it will make a difference. :)

A Cool End to 2007

2007-12-18T15:47:00.000-06:00

It's been a busy busy month! I have somehow managed to keep all orders up to date and currently shipping in 1-2 days. Lots of mama pads and fitted diapers priced at clearance prices! I have some changes coming to my patterns in the new year, so these older in stock have to go.

Sunshine Wishes Hyena Cart has gotten a face lift. Bright colors and a slight new layout. Throughout the categories you will currently find loads of mama pads and some fitteds at clearance prices. These will soon move into the clearance category.

Through the end of the year there are a few medium fitteds over at Granola Chicks (who have a few things up their sleeves for the new year ;)).

On another note..... we've recently been blasted with some fierce winter storms. From ice to snow snow and did I say snow?

Anyhow I hope you enjoy the holidays with friends and family. Stay safe and Join our newsletter to hear when we stock in the new year!

Stocking Stuffers & Handmade Holiday Presents.

2007-11-22T07:59:00.001-06:00

If you don't want to venture out into crazy land with all the holiday shoppers & traffic, there are a great many ways to shop online. Most are commercial stores with mass produced products. BUT! there are a few places to go to see unique handmade quality products.

One place is Etsy. I haven't ventured on there too much but really like what I've seen so far. There are some great things to be had from some very talented people.

Second is one of my favorites, Hyena Cart. Ok I'm really partial because I stock there in several forms. My own cart and 2 congos :) You can find me through Mom's Board Walk or Granola Chicks (links on the side). On HC there are tons and tons of unique homemade crafts, clothing jewelry and more. Right now alot of WAHM's are ready to help you out with your holiday shopping. How? They are stocking things just for the holidays! unique presents for all ages (some will even do customs if you ask) as well as those hard to find stocking stuffers! We all know how hard it is to find nice practical things to stuff our kid's stockings w/o shoving a bunch of cheap/useless toys at the last minute.

So while your out shopping online try out one or both of these places, you'll never know what you'll find if you don't look. :)

Sunshine Wishes Thanksgiving Weekend Sales

2007-11-22T07:54:00.000-06:00

We just did a mini inventory so everything is up to date on the website. I
despise year-end inventory, so help me get everything out to make room for
new prints & products in the New Year!

We are having a Doorbuster sale this year! If you're an early riser Black
Friday is your day. From 5 a.m. - 8 a.m. CST use code blackfriday to receive
20% off your total! From 8 a.m. to midnight the code will be good for 15%
your total.

Saturday & Sunday blackfriday will get you 10% off your total.

Also for the entire weekend (Friday - Sunday) I am dropping the free
shipping down to $75 (domestic, international orders receive 50% off
shipping).

I want wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Please know that we enjoy working with everyone and appreciate your business throughout the year.

Enjoy your family and traditions and travel safe!

Wool Raves

2007-11-15T07:50:00.000-06:00

We've gotten a few pair of wool longies this last month and I haven't had a chance to post these raves. Both are really sweet mama's to work customs with and have beautiful results!

If you know me you know my oldest stands and poses for the camera while the younger one is just too busy to care, lol.

These are from Kim at Essential Elements

Our second pair were from a surprise lottery at The Keiki Company. Kristyn hit it right on with these!

Fair Fun!

2007-11-15T07:37:00.000-06:00

There were lots of crafts and Mom/baby things there this past weekend. I enjoyed talking with everyone. If you missed it and wanted to see cloth in person, just drop me a line and I'd be happy to meet up!

I was one of the lucky gals to get a spot right in front of the main door! I didn't get to bring as much as I wanted to but...there's always next time :) Here's some pics before everyone started coming in.

Another Update

2007-11-02T16:40:00.000-05:00

diamonds622 - waiting on package
Lindsay - ship 11/3
Alaina - on table

Update & Great Cloth Diaper Hunt

2007-10-30T15:58:00.000-05:00

First an update to my dwindling customs list. It's been slower than anticipated but getting there. :)

Samantha - shipping in a.m.
diamonds622 - waiting on package
Lindsay - est finish 11/2 to ship 11/3
Alaina - on table

Just a reminder the Diaper Hunt starts November 1st. The GCDH starts at 8 AM PST, 9 AM MST, 10 AM CST and 11 AM EST. Any entries submitted before that time will not be counted. Don't forget you can register and start at any time during the hunt. It's a fun way to see new WAHM stores with great products!

Bumbo Recall - Offers New Warnings and Instructions

2007-10-26T14:50:00.000-05:00

These have become quite popular and I have often seen given as gifts. From the bumbo website:

You may have seen, heard or read about our recall. We want to clarify that the recall only has to do with the safety warnings, instructions and packaging of the Bumbo Baby Seat. An independent analysis by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has determined that the Bumbo Baby Seat is not defective and therefore does not need to be returned and no refunds are being offered.

What we are doing is making available free downloads of updated instruction leaflets and safety warning labels.

Click to read more

Update

2007-10-25T16:33:00.000-05:00

Amanda - shipping in the a.m.
Samantha - started, a few days behind. est ship tuesday/wednesday
diamonds622 - waiting on package
Lindsay - on the cutting table
Alaina -

Guess What?!

2007-10-23T16:08:00.000-05:00

Sunshine Wishes is going to be in the November Spotted Box! This is an awesome box of WAHM samples. A lot of times there are full size products also! Grab one in November and December and keep stocking stuffers in mind! How great is that?!

Fall is Here

2007-10-23T15:56:00.000-05:00

Fall has definitely arrived! Cooler temperatures here and lots of clouds with intermittent rain & wind... want some? :) Anyhow I think my most favorite times of year are the seasonal changes from summer to fall and winter to spring. They are the most pronounced and the most beautiful. Here's a pic from our backyard, we were suppose to have some sun this afternoon but the weather had other plans, lol.

Slow down and don't forget during this time of year to enjoy the view around you and your family, we're all going to be crazy busy soon enough!

Great Cloth Diaper Hunt & A few Updates

2007-10-19T15:53:00.000-05:00

The Great Cloth Diaper Hunt is getting near again and I'm gearing up for it. It's a great way to find new WAHM shops and possibly a prize along the way. Sign ups are open - you can register and start at any time during the hunt also! Once the hunt gets started there is a great hint forum for when you get stuck, many hunters still don't know this exists! :)

For those of you in NW Indiana: I will be attending the Knox Christmas Bazaar on Nov. 9th. So if you want to talk and/or see cloth diapers/mama items in person stop by and chat. It will be at the Knox Community Center.

I am moving my customs list here since it seems to be the most neutral place, lol. Between emails, my website, HC, etsy & message boards it gets crazy!

Amanda - Cutting saturday
Samantha - received package, planning to start monday
diamonds622 - waiting on package
Lindsay -
Alaina -

If I've missed you, please email me!

New stuff you just gotta try

2007-09-30T14:44:00.000-05:00

So I love trying new things. I'm a sampling fool. :) I have always loved Sheepish Grins products and they just keep getting better. As most know pregnancy can bring on heighten sense of smell. Diaper Pail odors are sometimes a challenge to contain even when you just emptied it. Sheepish grins has this awesome pail deodorizer powder . It comes in several scents and is easy as just a dash of a scoop on top of your diapers or right when you change your pail liner. My favorite scent right now is the orange, I do plan on stocking more scents in the near future but this is a definite must have for me.

One other new item Sheepish grins has is their foaming bum wash. This is so affordable and portable it can't be beat. I keep one in my diaper bag and even dip into it when I'm at home and too lazy to make a new batch of wipes solution with my bits. :) You can bet I'll be stocking more of this new great product as well as a few others. :)

Intro

2007-08-30T15:50:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd put a little bit about us before I start posting regularly. We are a family of 4 soon to be 5 early next year. Our boys are 18 months and 5 years old . We live in rural NW Indiana and enjoy every minute of our quiet calmness. I am a stay-at-home/work-at-home mom as well as home school my oldest, who craves learning.

On here you'll probably see things about us and most definitely will see posts about or way of living and things I learn and feel the need to share.