Summer is Almost Here!

Yesterday, Memorial Day, we went to the Turtle Back Zoo in New Jersey. Why? Well, besides being a totally awesome and VERY kid-friendly zoo, they also had a special event: Sheep Shearing Day.

You see, every spring, sheep need to get a nice haircut in order to shed their winter coats. Otherwise, it just gets too long and messy. So, the sheep at the Turtle Back Zoo farm got a visit from a sheep farmer and professional shearer, who helped them along. Here is what it looked like:

Sheep didn't seem to be very much bothered. You could tell they were ready for a haircut. But, don't think it is because it was almost 80 degrees outside. No. The wool is actually a natural coolant, and it takes the heat away from the body. It seemed to us that they were simply the urban kind that liked to keep up with the latest trends.

To see the sheep shearer in action, as well as a short interview we recorded, please visit our You Tube channel, or watch here.

Abe's Market: LIVE

A few weeks ago, Richard Demb, co-founder of Abe's Market, online market for natural, eco-friendly and green products, and one of the places where you can purchase our items, asked me to participate in their weekly live show. The idea behind these events is that they take and opportunity to introduce several of the very passionate sellers that are part of the Abe's community in a safe and easy-going atmosphere.

So, naturally, I said yes. I viewed it as a preparation for my big break on O... oops, she's off the air. Hm, Martha. What do you think?

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Not many people know this, but the popular nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" was published on today's day, May 24, in 1830. And according to our source, the trusty Wikipedia, it is based on a true event. The event took place in Sterling, Massachusetts, and has been capturing the imagination of kids everywhere ever since.

Here is the complete song:

Mary had a little lamb,
little lamb, little lamb,
Mary had a little lamb,
whose fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
Mary went, Mary went,
and everywhere that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to go.

It followed her to school one day
school one day, school one day,
It followed her to school one day,
which was against the rules.
It made the children laugh and play,
laugh and play, laugh and play,
it made the children laugh and play
to see a lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned it out,
turned it out, turned it out,
And so the teacher turned it out,
but still it lingered near,
And waited patiently about,
patiently about, patiently about,
And waited patiently about
till Mary did appear.

"Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
Love Mary so? Love Mary so?
"Why does the lamb love Mary so,"
the eager children cry.
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know."
The lamb, you know, the lamb, you know,
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know,"
 the teacher did reply.

Event Follow-Up: New Mamas Expo

Dear Queens Mamas, thanks for having us.

We has a fantastic time during your New Mamas Expo, and we hope to be back again next year. The seminars were very educational, and having a playroom for the little ones was nothing short of genius.

Here is the photo of our table, manned by our new intern Jeffrey.

Event: New Mamas Expo

Tomorrow, Sunday, May 22, the first annual New Mamas Expo (for pregnant and new mamas) will be held at the Forest Hills Jewish Center from 2-7pm. Tickets are are $15 in advance/$20 at the door. Kids are free.

Gift bags go to the first 200 registered guests and lots of great baby products will be raffled off. MoonSoup will be entertaining the kids.

Enjoy meeting such companies as Woolly Boo, Magnificent Baby, Britax, Stokke, phil and teds, iCandy, giggle, Mama Mio, Maclaren, and many more. They’ll have discussions and demos on How to BabyWear, BabyCare Basics, How to Install an Infant Car Seat, Breastfeeding Basics, and much more.

Go to http://www.queensmamas.com/?page_id=4590 for more info.

Event Follow-Up: Mommybites Summit

Now, that was a fun night!

We had an amazing time connecting with our current and future customers, and seeing our Toddler Pillows practically fly off the table. Here is what our table display looked like. Manning it is our new intern, Jeffrey.

For more photographs from the event, please click here.

Event: Mommybites Summit

This Thursday, May 19, Woolly Boo will take part in The MommyBites Summit, the Ultimate Moms' Night Out, organized by the amazing ladies of BabyBites, a social and education community for moms and moms-to-be. BabyBites has a huge local following in the Tri-State area, starting with their New York City website and community, which has now grown to include Westchester, Brooklyn, New Jersey, etc.

So, if you are a mom, or a dad, make sure to come to the Columbia Faculty House this Thursday for some amazing seminars and talks, as well as great shopping and opportunities to meet representatives of some of the best baby brands out there, including Woolly Boo.

A Sneeze and Wait Game

It is spring here in North East America, and that means only one thing: find your tissue box. Oaks and birches in our backyard have started releasing their pollen, and our life has been pretty interesting these last few weeks. And that wouldn’t have been that much of the problem, if it wasn’t unexpected.

Let me start from the beginning. My issues with allergies started when I moved to New York City, some 15 years ago. I just woke up one day and every little patch of grass I walked by, and they are very little, made me sneeze. After few years of suffering, I went to the doctor and complained about this perpetual “cold” I was having. Well, apparently, it wasn’t a cold. It was hay fever. I was medicated into oblivion and sent home. My morning routine was 30 minutes longer from that day on, simply because I couldn’t leave the house without ingesting or applying the various medications I received.

But, then something magical happened. When I got pregnant for the first time, as the spring rolled around, I kept waiting for the sneezing to begin. I already stocked the medicine cabinet with every natural option for fighting allergies, and then they simply never showed up. One pregnancy, second pregnancy, breastfeeding, nothing. Until now.

Several weeks ago I woke up with the headache. Then my throat started to hurt. Then I started sneezing. And then the nose started to run. I figured yet another bug kids brought from school. But, it wasn’t going away, and the symptoms never changed. And nobody else except my son displayed any symptoms. That’s when it dawned on me: we have allergies.

I felt really bad for the little guy, but there was no way to help him. Through my research I found out that children of parents with allergies are much more likely to develop allergies, no matter what you do, including spending a lot of time outdoors from the time they were born.

Well, unfortunately, the trouble didn’t end there. Last Monday night, just as I was getting ready for bed, I heard an unmistakable moan of pain coming from his room. I went to check on him, and he pointed to his ear. Oh, good. Another ear infection.

After a sleepless night, we visited the doctor. It turns out that because we didn’t treat the allergies, the liquids didn’t drain properly from his sinuses and his nose, causing the ear infection. Treatment would have been simple – a daily dose of over-the-counter antihistamines. Instead, we are on another round of antibiotics and pain killers. But, as my mom likes to point out, this is how children grow.

My advice to you: if you are suspecting allergic reaction, please take your child to the pediatrician immediately. It is a heck of a lot easier and simpler than waiting to see what happens. Now, off to catch up on my sleep.

*For additional information about seasonal allergies or hay fever in children, please consult your child’s pediatrician or visit Baby Center. Ms. Avdicevic is not a medical expert, just a parent, so if you suspect your child has developed seasonal allergies, please consult with licensed physician.