For those about to Rock - we will wear you

A green, ribbed tank top with a pink electric guitar can you say adorable on my littlest one? The stars and guitars shirt is on sale right now at www.slicksugar.com!

I have the epitome of girly girl - the hair and nails have to be done; everything must match. However, when I got said shirt in the mail from www.slicksugar.com, it was fair game in this house. My older one - she’s my little alternative girl – wanted it because this shirt is so her style. Nope, the little one took it. It’s one of the things a tester didn’t get as it was in one of their sizes. Score, as the older one said.



Aside from the unique style www.slicksugar.com provides, their quality is above standards. The stars and the guitar didn’t even look like they had been washed after several washings, no faded colors, no shrinking. And I’ll be honest, I didn’t follow the instructions on the site, I went and did it my own way and the garment still held up. I do wash it inside out now though.

With so many unique designs ranging in sizes from 3-6 month all the way up to 6 years, you are pretty well covered. On the site, there is a great sizing chart to help you along if you have any doubts about what you may need because we all know sizes vary!



A little about SlickSugar - the founders Michelle and Dana are both mothers and donate a portion of the proceeds to Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation (http://www.mhopus.org/index.asp), which supports music education and its many benefits through the donation of new and refurbished musical instruments to under-served school and community music programs and individual students nationwide.



Just pop on over and take a peek, I have my holiday shopping narrowed down a bit. There isn’t a store here in Colorado that sells their wares but I can buy online at www.slicksugar.com. Don’t forget to tell them Mom in the Know sent you!

Labels: donate a portion of the proceeds, guitars, mom, mom owned business, Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, music education, pink, review, SlickSugar, stars, t-shirt, women owned business

Tell it like it is

What a concept. A baby saying what we want to or for all we know what they want to. Finally, Jill Bensoy of www.honestbaby.com bucked tradition and said that should be me, I’ll be the one to say what we are all thinking.



I happened to be online one day and stumbled across a shirt that said, “I’ll walk when I’m good and ready.” If that shirt had existed a mere five years ago or I had known about it I would have ordered that in addition to all her other catchy ones.

• I’m not a performing monkey.
• 10th percentile and still growing.
• Not sleeping through the night.
• I survived nipple confusion.
• I heard Einstein was a late talker.
• Ferberizing Stinks!

It was like someone read my mind, especially the 10th percentile one for me, as my girls were/are both tiny. Then again I struggle to be 5’3 so wonder where they get that!



The shirts come in short and long sleeves, from 3-6 month – 6 years. They are made of durable cotton that holds up under many types of washing and in either blue or pink. Though the samples I received were in red and black. I must say the simplicity of the designs, yet so creative is what sold me! My tester on the, “I’ll walk when I’m good and ready” shirt said she was stopped every 5 feet by parents in the grocery store wanting to know where she got the shirt. Of course, she said www.honestbaby.com and told them about the concept behind it and the other shirts. The simple concept of there is no right or wrong for everyone it’s what’s right for you and makes you comfortable? Well, I guess you can say it’s right for me.

MITK gives www.honesstbaby.com if you have any moxie like I do, then go there and get them for you little ones! And ask to get one for yourself!

Labels: accessories, announcements, clothes, family owned business, mom, mom on the go, mom owned business, product testing, toddler, women owned business

Sweet Pea Creations

Susan Stemple of www.sweet-pea-creations.com makes handmade birth, adoption holiday announcements in addition to invitations and note cards. When I received my package in the mail to review, it was a delight to open up and see the variety she offers. Not your run of the mill note cards and add a ribbon to them, oh no! Sweet Pea Creations offers an array of paper selections, paper styles, fonts, and options for the cards you are ordering. They have a personal touch you aren’t going to get by just going to a store – they are all handmade by her!



How many companies are on the web offering the same? Thousands I’m sure but Susan contacted me and responded within minutes and asked me what I would want if I could have anything for Mom in the Know. She seems to be able to cater quite well to what the customer needs. All of the paper stock she sent me is quality and feels fantastic to the touch, the pictures transfer are more then professional, her products are above par, plus it saves you a trip to a chain store that would cost 12 times more.



At Sweet Pea Creations you will have that one on one customer service you need with something as important as your announcements and invitations, her prices are great and I wouldn’t complain. Shipping is within post office regulations, and quick.



Now a little about Susan from Susan-

Thank you for visiting Sweet-Pea-Creations! Offering custom handmade birth and adoption announcements, baby shower invitations, baptism and christening invitations, and note cards for your special event.

A little about me...my name is Susan, and I am a work-at-home mom to my 5 year old daughter, 3 year old son, my husband, 2 cats and a dog! I am an avid scrapbooker and card maker. I designed an announcement similar to the ones offered here to announce the birth of my daughter in 2002. My family and friends raved about the announcements! I knew I could offer these to other families at a price they could afford. So I started selling on eBay. My announcements have been such a huge success, I decided I needed to expand my business. And so Sweet-Pea-Creations.com was formed and I opened my online store in July 2005. My goal is to design a card just for you. No two cards are ever alike. I will work closely with you to make sure everything is just as you want it. I am also happy to make any suggestions if you aren't quite sure what you want. I am happy to personalize these specially for you! I only use high quality materials on the cards I offer, and everything used is acid free, so you can even display the card safely in your scrapbook. I have been offering my creations for 4 + years and I am proud to say I have many satisfied buyers, so you can buy with confidence.

Please check out my Customer Comments page to see what Sweet-Pea-Creations customers have to say! Thank you again for stopping by.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to Email Sweet-Pea-Creations . I am always happy to help!

Labels: announcements, art, invitations, mom owned business, note cards, review, sweet pea creations, women owned business

Rockin Baby Sling

www.rockinkidshop.com or www.rockinbabysling.com


Lisa and Natasha were the first who truly reached out to me, and did they need to? NO! Just the day before they were flooded with calls as Gwen Stefani had been featured in a magazine and all over the internet wearing one of their slings. Within two days I had a funky, pre-washed cotton, reversible sling in hand and was ready to go. It comes in a great little package, not wasting a lot of space with clear and concise directions (pictures to show you even!) The positions are age specified for mom and baby, as neck and head usage dictate. Guess what? If you lose your pamphlet, you can look on the website and they have all the information there as well as contact information if you have questions. There is a cleverly disguised pocket for you to store your ID, money, and credit card, or whatever you want while you walk through the mall or wherever.

Now you are probably asking, is it bulky, easy to use, will I be able to use it alone? Are there hard plastic clips like the other slings? What makes this one so special, Mom in the Know?

Well, aside from the fact they have several different designs even ones that dad will be comfortable with, it is easier to use alone then most. You may want someone around the first time but I’d say that with any sling, the large rings make it easy enough to do alone though. The design is made so you can do it by yourself and so you can adjust it as well.

Rockin Baby slings are durable and comfortable for you and baby. Not hard, stiff, uncomfortable scratchy or boxy. Your baby just snuggles right into the fabric like he or she would a blanket in your arms.

Once on and secure, your arms are free. You can go about your shopping, moving around the house and daily business. Do your bills, watch television, read that book you’ve been wanting to read, walk the dog! Of course. exercise caution as you would do with your child.

Do you want to know something even better? They have a lot more then slings in stock! Pouches, for a closer fit, a great line of clothing for boys and girls to 10 years old, blankets and bedding, shopping cart covers, diaper bags, bathrobes, plates for your little cowpoke, art, accessories, books, and toys.

Are you sold yet? If not, then read a little more about Lisa and Natasha.

From Lisa herself-

Natasha and I started making Rockin’ Baby Slings in 2002. They both had babies back then and were using slings, but there were not very many companies then offering stylish options. They tended to be very pastel blue or very earthy. We both were into fashion and wanted something that worked better with the clothes they wore. We decided on a weekend at the beach together to make a few slings out of vintage fabrics for ourselves. As soon as we stared wearing them women would walk up to us on the street to ask us where to get one. We decided to maybe start a company and did a first run of about 20 slings in a great mix of vintage and new fabrics with trim on them. At first we were literally selling them out of our cars as moms and dads would ask where they could buy a sling. That was when we decided to start a company for real, realizing that there were actually other people like us out there who wanted more fashionable slings. We launched our website late in 2002, and started to sell them wholesale as well. We are both believers in baby wearing. The bottom line is it makes for a happier baby and a happier more connected parent. A baby in a sling can be close to mom or dad, right where they can hear a heartbeat, sleep there, check out the world, nurse and the parent is able to use their hands and remain functional.

Although the slings and pouches are packaged with instuctions, we have also always offered sling support via phone, email and in-person if they live in the greater Los Angeles area, so that people can feel confident using their sling or pouch.

We still choose all of the fabrics and trims ourselves, sometimes even printing our own fabrics, and always search for patterns and colors we think are amazingly cool. We have learned over the years how to manufacture an incredibly well-made and safe product. We pre-wash all of our fabrics in a warm salt water wash to set the colors, prevent shrinking and soften new fabric We also make sure all of the edges are overlocked so that there will be no fraying or tearing. We have also had our slings and pouches pull tested for strength and they did not rip until 1100 lbs. Nearly all of our slings are reversible, and all of them have pockets in the tail. All of our pouches are completely reversible, adjustable to 4 sizes via hidden zippers and have a padded edge on one side of the pouch. Nowadays, there are hundreds of companies out there, but we continue to strive to make the best product that we can. We continue to make our products here in Los Angeles, paying people a good wage.

We opened our store in Eagle Rock a little over two years ago now, which has been an entirely new adventure with its own learning curve and set of challenges, but thoroughly enjoyable all the same. We sell our products as well as clothing and accessories from hundreds of other companies for babies to 10 year old kids. We carry lots of great stuff from local moms, from small mom and pop companies like our own and from super cool and trendy companies we all read about in the press. Our address is:

Rockin’ Kid Shop
5048 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
www.rockinkidshop.com or www.rockinbabysling.com
888*645*baby

Lisa has one son, Seamus who is now 5, and Natasha has two kids, her daughter, Tova, who is 3 and her son, Finn, who is 6.

Labels: accessories, art, baby sling, bathrobes, bedding, blankets, books, clothes, mom owned business, plates, review, rockinbabysling, shopping cart covers, toys, women owned business

Do you want to participate?

Hi!
I'm Mom in the Know. I run a blog and I'm always on the lookout for samples to be submitted that I can review for you to garner publicity via my site! What's better than that? Not much! My site is geared towards people that like to shop at their fingertips and want honest answers and reviews from a person like them. Someone who doesn't have a
paid advertiser 3 pages later in their magazine. If I find an issue, I'll alert you before I post it. I also prefer grass roots causes, if you don't have the funds for advertising this is the best way to do it. Trading links and helping each other out. Just email me via this site and I will contact you. I can't wait to see what we can do!

Labels: about, accessories, bag, family owned business, link request, mom, mom on the go, new business, parent, parents, product request, product testing, purses, review, women owned business

New developments

Here at Mom in the Know we have products coming in ready to review. One repeated request that I' ve had? That's the best diaper bag/purse/bag in general for a Mom on the go? So fellow parents and readers I'm looking for the answer to that question for us. That is my agenda today to find some to advertise here and for me to test out. If you know of a purse/bag designer of if you yourself are one let us know and we will contact you.
Thank you all who have supported thus far, keep reading and keep linking!

Labels: bag, bags, diaper bag, family owned business, link request, mom, mom on the go, mom owned business, new business, parent, parents, product request, purse, purses, restaurant, women owned business