More ABC Expo Pictures - We Are In Them This Time

Melissa and I getting some paperwork in order


Oh we are such posers :)

Explaining the new elastic cinch sizing to the Terra Tots crew


More posing

I hang out with my ex husband and his wife

People look at me kind of funny when I mention that I am having dinner with John - my former spouse, (he prefers former spouse to ex husband), and his wife Meghan. I hear things like, "Wow, how can you do that?" and "Why would you want to hang out with your ex and his spouse?"

The truth is that I like them. John and I have known each other since I was 12 - we got married when I was 19 and divorced when I was 21. Frankly I think it was a classic case of getting married too young. We didn't have any "huge" issues, it was more like time to move on.

We do have a daughter Jordan who turned 16 on Thursday. This is another big reason that we hang out. Parents who communicate and show a united front - in my opinion - raise healthier kids. At least that's the objective.

I'm sure that John gets irritated with my logical and natural consequences approach to parenting because he's more of a keep em home and safe kind of guy. We are very different in our parenting and life philosophies and sometimes it's stressful but I am proud to say that we talk it out like adults and come to a resolution.

John and Meghan feel like family, not the ex-husband type but more like a cousin. We have been divorced for over 14 years and frankly I can't imagine ever being married to him. However, I really enjoy our time together, I laugh and have interesting conversations. John and I are both originally from a suburb of Cleveland and it's also nice to have someone from home around.

John and Meghan have a little girl who is just a doll and my Littles love to play with her. She adores Jordan and I try to have her over as often as she wants to come.

I am a firm believe in "it takes a village" especially with Jordan. It's not always smooth, it's not always fun but it sure helps to have other parents to rely on when things get tough. When something great happens, like Jordan skipping sophomore year, it's also wonderful to have someone to gush with.








Jordan's birthday dinner 9-19-09

Top Row:

Talia, Me, Chuck, My dad aka Poppy holding Zoe, John, Meghan holding Caroline, Marty (my mom's main squeeze)

Bottom Row:

Jordan, Rylee, My brother aka Uncle Jonny, My mom aka Ginger

A few shots of our booth at the ABC Kids Expo

We Are Back From the ABC Kids Expo

Well hellooooooooooooooooo...

Melissa and I are back from a week long working trip to Las Vegas where we exhibited at the ABC Kids Expo. In addition to exhibiting we had our annual Real Diaper Industry Association Meeting http://www.realdiaperindustry.org/ as well as several breakout sessions.

We introduced an updated version of LolliDoo™ Eco-Pockets




Organic Innies™



and Recycled Outties™



In addition to our existing retailers, we met several more wonderful people who share common values and are committed to keeping our babies and out planet healthy.


You can buy LolliDoo™ Diapers at:

www.babycottonbottoms.com
www.alyahs.com
www.bananapeelsdiapers.com
www.diaperdaisy.com
www.GoGreenBabyShop.com
www.littlelions.com
www.simplewondersdiapers.com
http://www.terra-tots.com/index.html
http://www.thechangingtimes.com/
www.tinytots.com

Our Iguana Helps Reduce Our Carbon Footprint

It's true!

When Chuck brought home Danatella aka Donnie we were so excited to have a new member of the family. The previous owner - a bachelor more concerned with drinking beer then taking care of the Iguana - fed her lettuce and oranges. Unfortunately Donnie was malnourished due to her poor diet and she broke both her femurs.

On the upside our vet got her all fixed up and we researched the proper diet for an Iguana.

Turns out she eats all sorts of things that we would normally throw in the compost. She eats the green carrot tops, when my kids have watermelon Donnie eats the rinds same for beet greens, the leaves off of cabbage pretty much anything that I would normally compost.

I Think We Had The Swine Flu

Yep, the dreaded Swine Flu aka H1N1.

My whole family started getting sick while we were driving home from Washington. Right when we hit Las Vegas Talia got sick. It wasn't fun, but it was so mild that I thought she was teething.

When we got home I got sick. I thought I had two flus at once. I had one day where I stayed in bed with a fever. That's it, one day. I was miserable for that one day - but not sick enough to go to a doctor.

One by one the rest of the Manes crew came down with this weird double flu. No one was in bed longer then two days.

I don't understand why people are panicking about this flu. It was milder then strep throat.

In case you do get the dreaded Swine Flu and want a natural remedy, check out this article http://livingclean.com/natural-treatments-for-swine-flu/

In my opinion the media likes to create exciting news and in doing so often times scares the poop out of people. Do not let the Swine Flu Pandemic cause you alarm:

A pandemic (from Greek πᾶν pan "all" + δῆμος demos "people") is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region.(Wikipedia)

A cold can become a pandemic if it spreads.

If you are a typical relatively healthy person then the Swine Flu is nothing more then any old flu - don't worry. I repeat STOP WORRYING!