If you have toddlers that are thirsty for learning, we have found the best thing for them in the world. It is called Starfall, a website just for kids learning to read! It is so awesome, and free! Garrett and Gavin absolutely love it, and can't get enough of it. (See photo - Saturday, pre-breakfast!) It is an incredible tool. These kids literally spend a full hour at a time on Starfall, and its a great hour of learning - not pointless cartoons or something. Granted, most little kid tv shows these days are not pointless or without value, but Starfall is such a better way to keep their little light bulbs illuminated. Plus, the real bonus is that these boys aren't begging us for entertainment! They are totally engulfed in the word games and stories. It's a priceless hour for parents to do dishes, fold clothes, change oil, fix broken ____(fill in the blank) etc.
Garrett and Gavin both fell in love with the computer at about the same time. Once they realized that the mouse makes the little arrow go, it was on. I'd come home from work to find every application on my computer open, and every file on my desktop in complete disarray and renamed. Nice. They'd rename my projects stuff like "krgghjivbnre" or "1i6u4mk++=+". Sometimes stuff would vanish completely. Luckily its all still in the apple time machine. That thing has been a lifesaver since the boys have started meddling with our computers! I now use a password lock.
We realized that there has to be some software or a program to buy that would suit these guys' ages, so we started hunting for it, and voila! We found Starfall. Nothing to buy, its free! Its the best thing out there that we've tried, even compared to some of the pay sites "free trials".
I love the way the buttons on the site are really large, easy to click. There are matching games, spelling games, and click/drag games that teach coordination. These kids have gotten so good at using the mouse just in the last week or two, its amazing. I recommend using a wireless mouse, for sure. It eliminates a lot of wired frustration.
Gavin and Garrett take over our computers like a couple little thuggish computer jackers. They just love these games! I love the way Gavin is sounding out each letter of words now. He's actually learning to read the right way! He was reading by memorization before. He could memorize a book after I read it to him a few times, and he would recognize the words in other places. I don't know if that's a bad way to learn, it just doesn't seem conventional or practical. Starfall has some magic way to keep these kids engaged and progressing. Their brains are just flourishing. Its very exciting! We've got to get these dudes their own computer. Or two. Everything has to come in pairs nowadays. Maybe we can get some used e-macs on craigslist for cheap! That'll have to be after Christmas...
Life around here isn't crazy enough, what the heck, let's do a onesie contest! Sara is busy updating this website to a newer, improved version while nursing a finicky 4 month old. Bodie has been so fussy lately during the day, Sara can hardly put him down. He spends most of his time in her lap on the Boppy pillow, cuddled up to the mammaries. Life is good for him.
I spend most of my free time, which is usually from 3:30 to 6 AM, stocking up for the Christmas flood and filling orders. Lately, even that little bit of free time has been getting cut short. We've got mice in the attic, so I've been trying to humanely catch them and banish them to the countryside. My humane trap has consisted of a 5 gallon bucket with a granola bar at the bottom. I positioned it next to a stack of small boxes so that the mice could climb into the bucket, but not get out. This morning the granola bar was half eaten and there were little mouse poops in the vicinity. Who knew a mouse could jump out of a 5 gallon bucket? Not me. All of my attic shenanigans every morning have made the boys get up earlier and earlier, and when Gavin and Garrett are awake in the house - nothing gets done by me. I try not to get frustrated, that's just how life is right now. They need attention. Someday they'll be self sufficient and I'll miss these days of chaos. I think.
Running a small business like this is a big undertaking, not a leisurely venture. I'm not complaining a bit though, this is a little slice of the American dream for us. We've taken our ideas and made them into something people will buy from us! It just kinda happened by a fluke that Snugfits is doing our first design contest! We've been wanting to do something like this for awhile, we just weren't sure on how to get the ball rolling...
Along comes an awesome company called Brickfish (and a dear friend of Sara's named Karisse Green who worked there) who said "HEY! Lets do a onesie design contest!" With their experience and ridiculously huge network of Brickfish members, soon we will be awarding prizes for the best onesie designs. It'll be really easy for anyone to enter this contest - you don't need a degree in graphic art or have Photoshop expertise. Brickfish has templates on their site for you to use, no special software required. All you need is a unique onesie design (just a good slogan we haven't thought of is dandy) and a desire to win money and prizes!
The Grand Prize winner (selected by us out of the top 200 highest scoring entries) will have a onesie or tee inspired by their design created, featured and sold on Snugfits.com plus a copy for themselves, a $200 shopping spree at Snugfits.com and $300 cash.
Runner Up (selected by us out of the top 200 highest scoring entries) wins a $100 Shopping spree at Snugfits.com and $150 cash.
Most Viral (selected by us out of the top 200 most viral entries) wins a $100 shopping spree at Snugfits.com and $300 cash. Learn about "Most Viral".
Best Surfers Healing Design (selected by us out of all entries that include the Surfer's Healing logo) wins a $100 gift card to Quiksilver.com and a copy of Clay Marzo's DVD "Just Add Water." Also, a onesie or tee inspired by the winner's design will be made and distributed to local surf shops around the country to be sold, with a portion of the proceeds going to Surfers Healing, a Foundation for Autism. We love Surfers Healing - see Gavin's video if you need proof!
Sign-Up Sweepstakes: Six winners who sign up for the Snugfits newsletter will be randomly selected to win a free onesie or tee of their choice from us.
Doesn't this sound like fun? And, if you are clever, the odds of winning are actually pretty good.
See all the details a link to the "official rules" by going here.
Helpful hints from the judges: By reading our blog, you've already got a leg up on the competition. We are going to keep an open mind and welcome any and all creativity, but keep in mind that this design will be added to the Snugfits collection (we allow ourselves the liberty of modifying it in any way we deem necessary for printing purposes and design feel). We want it to fit in and be attractive to the crowd of regulars that dig our modern baby style. If your design is completely different than what we currently offer - that's great! Maybe we can start a new line and collaborate with you. So, good luck Snugfits fans! Make yourself some extra money! You'll need it right after the holidays...
We are so excited (and honored) to have been picked as an upcoming "Cuddle of the Week" at the brand new www.truecuddles.com website. True Cuddles features unique, hard to find items for babies, kids and moms - all made or founded by 'mompreneurs' like myself. They've got sweet deals on uncommon goods every week. It is kind of like Woot! for babies (except it's weekly instead of daily). They have only a limited amount of product on hand and offer it at a discounted price until it sells out. When it's gone, it's gone! Its a cool way for busy moms to find the most hip, one-of-a-kind stuff for their kids. If you haven't already, sign up to be on their mailing list to be one of the first to know what the "Cuddle of the Week" is every Monday, so you can grab it before it's gone. While you're there, you should scroll down through the pages to see the chronological progression of this website and concept. The owners, Julie Baron and Sarah Milne, celebrate the creative 'mompreneurs' that they partner with. Twice a month, there will be inspiring stories of moms who successfully juggle family and business. Currently, there's a great interview with a mom who designs must-have shoes for toddlers learning to walk, and owns the company named for her son called See Kai Run. True Cuddles is giving away a free pair of these shoes this week to one of their subscribers, so sign up now! Soon, some of our very own Snugfits™ will be featured on True Cuddles. We can't wait, and we'll let ya know when we're "on".
