Easy like sunday morning? Is your morning more beautiful than you think?

Last week, mommy shorts blogged about this photo shoot.  I don't normally comment on posts. Ever. Which is silly because I LOVE it when people comment on mine!! But, this one compelled me because it's near and dear to my heart. I'm not sure if it was fully intended to communicate this way, but what this post read to me was about the realization, the real seeing, of your beautiful moments in your day when you can shift your perspective just a tad. Through these photos, the author was able to see all those little moments through an other's eyes, and ultimately acknowledge and see it for herself. That is what embracing the moment, our mission, is all about. I cannot change the pace of life, or reorganize the flow of your day. But, I can bring you moments of opportunity. I can bring comfort and ease to the 15-100 diaper changes and care-taking moments, so you can more easily embrace that moment with your baby - focused on that sweet face, those little fingers, thigh rolls, and soft bellies. 

That said, it takes one to know one, right? It became my mission to strengthen connections between parent and child through smart design, because I was that busy mom. NOT focused on the moments. I was that busy mom just getting through it all. I was that busy mom who couldn't see the forest for the trees. Then I had my ah-ha moment, and my perspective changed. That is not to say I'm all changed. DAILY, I remind myself and work at this.

moments from a typical weekend morning. coffee, reading, knitting and fighting dragons before 9am.

My comment: 
"Okay, so throwing my comment in the ring :) I work from home, and have just launched my own/first business. I'm up, get the kids up, morning milkies for them and coffee for me, snuggle on the couch and then things usually go south. My son demands breakfast to the tune of

"HEY?! Where are my cheerios?!!" and my daughter refuses it. "sigh. I'm just not hungry, mom." 

Then begins The Game of Clothes. She wants him to get dressed first, he wants her to get dressed first. This morning it's Him. He wants to be dressed on the couch. He wants me to pick out his clothes. I agree. I pick them out. As soon as I return with them, he jumps up and runs away from me to the other end of the couch...laughing.

"come on, buddy, let's get dressed now"
"HAHA, nooooooooooooo!"

and my panic button goes off because it's turned into a frown and whine face.

"look what I picked out for you!" 
"NO. I don't like that shirt."
"okay, go pick another one out."
"NO. YOU."

This goes on for some time until potentially he's melted down and/or I give up and turn my attention to HER. She's older and she knows that I haven't actually dressed him so technically it's NOT her turn yet. I'm not ashamed to say, I beg.

"please, honey, he needs to calm down and we all need to get going."

She has pity on me. After a few shoes changes, and fixing the placement of her pony tail 3x.

"not, there. THERE!"

She is dressed and begins to chase her undressed brother around the house. This distracts him and he doesn't even know I'm changing his clothes. Clock check. Yup, supposed to have left 5 minutes ago. Run to fridge, no lunch boxes. We both forgot. Leftover noodles, juice box, carrot sticks, cheese sticks. Done! throw those in the back packs and let's go! aaand, I'm in my jammies. Pull back hair in to ponytail, throw in jeans and a tee. Glance in mirror, run fingers under eyes. Good enough. Let's go!

Not so fast, mama! he wants to be carried downstairs and she forgot something in her room. Two trips to the car and she's gracefully, a la Ms Universe, coming down the stairs.

Step.
By.
Step.

He's now gotten out of the car and has found some dirt to play in or puddle to jump in. Well if he can, she can! 

(let's go, let's go!!)

I pick up children that windmill their arms and legs in the direction of their new attention. In. Buckled. GO. 

School started 2 minutes ago. Adrenaline pumping, nail biting, I brace myself for THE LOOK. The late pass woman at Her school knows me too well. Dropping Him off, we're there too late, no adjustment time and he clings to me like a life raft.

20 minutes later, I've started my day an hour late. I haven't eaten, showered or brushed my teeth. Sadly, this IS 75% of the time. you'd think I'd do myself a favor now and again...make sure bags are packed, get up and shower first, etc. I guess I'm into self sabotage! ;)

That said, there are the little moments. Morning hugs as they cling to me when they first wake, "hi, mama." Kissing my son's belly as I dress him another one of them. When he stands in front of me, it's right in my eye line. Smelling my daughter's hair as I brush it and kissing her cheeks as she proudly smiles at me in the mirror. [addendum: since writing this comment, I can think of so many more!] I really appreciated this post. Yes, there are so many beautiful moments to the morning. Maybe I'll put on opera during our car chase of a morning tomorrow! :)"

Happy Sunday all! If you haven't started school already (our first day is tomorrow), enjoy the moments during your car chase!! Focus on those! :) 

xoxox

every sweaty little head, and all the dirty little feet

last year was our first summer "out of school." short days and part-time weeks. it seemed as though the whole summer was stretched out before me. long, sunny days of laughter, pool and play.

enter, reality.

i was late. every day. i was juggling our line launch, play dates, general entertainment and hygiene. no one ever got a big enough piece of me. worst of all, the summer flew by before i knew it.

near and dear to my heart is embracing the moment. belle&beanzer is built on that foundational feeling and action. so... this summer i'm committed to a different reality.

enter, adventure friday!!

every friday will bring a new and spontaneous adventure, even if it's just our back yard. it's about being present and enjoying this time. right now. my family and i will never be who we are right. now. i want to savor every sweaty little head and all the dirty little feet.

i'll be posting our little adventures and hope it will inspire your family to create space & opportunity for connection with each other!

how are you embracing the moment this summer? i'd love to hear from you!

xoxo

Embracing Tubby Time - The antics make it all worth it!!

I've been thinking a lot about all them moments that make up a day. Some of them sort of suck. Some of them you go to your mental happy place and push through. If you've read my story, you sooo know I get it.

Tubby time shouldn't be one of those times. The books, and product pics talk about the soothing warm water, bubbles clinging to chubby little arms and cheeks, and sweet giggles as you gently bath your children and they ease into calmness as they prepare to go to sleep.

from my instagram feed @belleandbeanzer

...
HA!

Tubby time, in our home, has become the time the kids act like we just gave them lines of cocaine.
Screeches reaching never dreamed of ear shattering notes, flooded bathroom floors, wash cloth & toy fights with laughter and tears, non-verbal crazy talk, and lots of pretending to be giant whales.

Last night, wI had briefly stepped from the room (yes, I was hiding), and was listening to my husband and kids...

"Okay, come on, let's get our jammies on..."

"but we can't move! we're stuck! we're rocks!"
(hidden under their towels on the floor in the hallway)

"come on guys, it's jammie time..."

"we're rocks!! I'm Jonah Rock!"

and then...

"oh, Jonah Rock, huh??"

"yup." 

"hmm, so I guess I have to move this VERY heavy rock. Wow, it's so big...maybe I'll just swing it over my shoulder..."

"no!! It's not a rock!! It's ME... Jonah!!" followed by laughter from both the boys

meanwhile my daughter is still curled up on the floor giggling maniacally under her towel, waiting for her turn to be "discovered" she's still really our little peanut-girl.

guess what? it took 1 minute to pretend they were rocks and they got dressed. why not embrace it and let my kids be rocks? embracing it changed the whole event from a struggle to connection.

In other news! belle&beanzer will be at the Brooklyn BabyFest this weekend!! YAHOO!! Check out our invite on our FB Page, and our Newsletter for more details!!

xoxox

I know & you know that you wanted to know: garment finishing & details

we've got some pictures & details for you, FINALLY!
check out our garment finishings & details page on our website...

you know our message is embracing the moment. you know it's inspired by my experience as a designer and baby clothes being designed for boxes and hangers, rather than for babies & families, as well as a mom and my realization that we were disconnected from precious moments.

this line is about designing into the pieces to encourage simplicity, connection and gentle touch while keeping all the creativity, cuteness, excellent quality, comfort and softness you expect.

well, enough from ME, go take a look and read about the pieces in the line coming soon to YOU!

here's a sneak peek...

BTW, we are running an embracing the moment photo contest.

1. Fill out form below & upload your photo:
Choose one favorite photo, and submit it just once. The ideal photo size is 100KB, if it's larger we will resize to fit properly. Photos are not expected to be professional quality, it's all about those real moments, but if your picture is too small, blurry, dark or bright, it will be hard for others to see and vote for it.

2. All qualified entries will be posted to our Facebook fan page for viewing and voting.

3. Vote! You may vote just once for any one photo, so spread that word so your friends and family can vote for your photo!

Winning
There will be 2 winning opportunities. 1) Grand Prize winner will be selected by the belle&beanzer panel of judges and will receive one (1) 4 piece holiday gift pack, 2) Winner by popular vote will receive one (1) two piece gift set from our holiday collection. Winners will be contacted and announced October 13-15th.

embracing the moment photo contest! enter now!

we are SO excited to kick off this week and announce our embracing the moment photo contest!

we believe that dressing your baby is an intimate & nurturing time of connection. our line supports and reflects that point of view, and our message to all new parents and seasoned parents is to embrace the moment. it's the simple moments that add up to a life time of memories.

share a favorite moment you captured with our belle&beanzer community, & enter to win one of two gifts from our holiday line. we are looking for special photos that capture embracing the moment with your baby. your images can be taken anywhere in the world. they can share any aspect of embracing the moment with your baby: touching, difficult, or hilarious. 

How to Enter

entering your embracing the moment photo in our contest is super easy & fun!

1. Fill out the entry form & upload your photo: Your baby must be 0-12mos at the time of entry, and you can submit your photo through our website, click on the green box on our homepage, or click here. or, you can submit your photo on our Facebook Fan Page, just click on the "win" tab.

Choose one favorite photo, and submit it just once. The ideal photo size is 100KB, if it's larger we will resize to fit properly. Photos are not expected to be professional quality, it's all about those real moments, but if your picture is too small, blurry, dark or bright, it will be hard for others to see and vote for it.

2. All qualified entries will be posted to our embracing the moment photo album on our Facebook fan page for viewing and voting.

3. Vote! You may vote just once for any one photo, so spread that word so your friends and family can vote for your photo!

Winning

The contest runs starting, today, Monday, 9/10/12 though Monday, 10/8/12.
There will be 2 winning opportunities:

1) Grand Prize winner will be selected by the belle&beanzer panel of judges and will receive one (1)
4 piece holiday gift pack

2) Winner by popular vote will receive one (1) two piece gift set from our holiday collection. 

all winners will be contacted and announced October 13-15th.

please know, the confidentiality of all families who enter are of the highest importance to us. only names, ages, photo & embracing the moment description will be posted

please see official contest rules and regulations for more details.

we are so looking forward to seeing all these special moments together!
can't wait to see your photo, please, enter now!

embracing surprises: finding a little love every day

I only saw the side sticking out, but I knew immediately what the shape was.
My little love rock was waiting in the sand for me during my beach walk this week. 

happy labor day! 

xoxo

Christmas in July: working with entrepreneurial teens, holiday samples, and our new photo contest!

it's THE entrepreneurial adventure!! really! no, really! as in the entrepreneurial adventure teen camp, created and facilitated by jonathan fanning. he leads the teens through a week long experiential, interactive, teen-directed camp where they literally touch on all aspects of what it means to be an entrepreneur. Such as: meeting local business owners of varying sized businesses, negotiating rental agreements and financials, writing a business plan, pitching said business plan, consulting marketing experts and creating a marketing strategy, discussing how to get a small business loan at a bank...just to name a few... as an adult friend of mine just recently said, why can't i go too?!

as a friend, i've been on the sidelines watching jonathan do his entrepreneur thing. so, when he asked me to be a part of his most recent camp it was a definite YES!

i met the EITs (entrepreneurs in training) at b&b hq as i returned from a business trip from la, just a wee bit jet lagged and not sure what to expect. what was required of me? let a room full of teens review my baby clothes business, have my social networking strategy reviewed by an expert (i'm weak, folks!), and ultimately work with the kids on a piece of my marketing strategy. nope, nothing there to make me at all nervous.

cut to the awesome end…
• social networking expert and entrepreneur, andrew torba, of kuchoon gave me some great advice: i'm using too many !!!!! i'm not communicating regularly enough!!! watch the punctuation!!! and seriously, we watched 2 amazingly inspired videos:

• the teens were awesome: teens and baby clothes? unlikely match and yet they invested themselves in the purpose of belle&beanzer's line, and because of them we are now working on an amazing new idea for our holiday launch. alll their idea! 

newsletter folks, check your inboxes because details of the embracing the moment photo contest are coming your way! what? you're not subscribed? no worries, click here. not a newsletter kind of person, no prob, you wont miss out, we'll be posting details.

august is a funny month. the days are hot and nights are cool. it's bittersweet and exhilarating, isn't it?
that's sorta how we feel here at belle&beanzer. this moment, right now, as we are literally on the cusp of bringing our line to families everywhere, it's pretty amazing, and we're embracing it.

i was going to end there, but i couldn't help it... in case you missed our post yesterday, our holiday 2012 samples are starting to roll in! more on this very soon!

hello! we are launching holiday 2012!!

I can't bring myself to look at the date on my last post. For shame!! But, hey! Guess what?? The big news is our website is live! (power of distraction, right??!) This was a big, huge, fun step in our business. I also want to clarify there are, in fact, no clothes for sale yet. Crazy, I know, but we're not quite through summer and I felt a little weird introducing holiday just yet :) We intend to embrace the moment at belle&beanzer, and that includes our lazy days of summer. 

That said, no so many lazy days over here! We are busy getting ready for our first holiday 2012 line. In October, the holiday shop will be open!! In the meantime, we're adding more to our site every day. We'll be uploading some fun (and funny) pictures and videos of our prototyping process, colors, and mood boards...to mention a few. 

We are so excited and grateful for everyone who has already gone to our website and received your 20% off, in honor of our website launch.  We've decided to extend it this entire week!

Thank you, everyone for your excitement, enthusiasm and support! We are looking forward to introducing the line to you, and being in service to families everywhere!!

Sometimes I need to get hit over the head

Yesterday on the way home from the beach, Ava put her head on my shoulder, and asked if she could just relax the next day with me.

Ok, sure...

Last night, when andrew and I were out for our date, she told her grandparents she was going to spend the next day relaxing with mommy.

Aww, ok, so sweet...

This morning, she came in our bedroom, curled up in bed with me and asked if we were going to spend the day relaxing together.

Yes, sweet girl...

She then spent the morning climbing all over me, insisted I help her with everything, whined, and carried on.

"Ugh," I thought, "the beach honeymoon is over."

I knew what to do!
GET. OUT. OF. THE. HOUSE.

When, I announced we were all going to head into town, Ava's face fell, she cried and started a fight with her brother.

A teeth gritting, shoulder hunching "nooooooo" wailed throughout the house.

I'll admit I was very confused.
And frustrated.
And annoyed.

So, I stopped. Everything. I scooped that girl up and held her. And listened and finally heard what I had not been able to hear for 24 hours.

She wanted down time. With me. Just mommy and Ava.

So we got ready for a girls day on the town. We put on special outfits, did our hair, a little mascara and lip gloss.

Undivided girl time.
She had been telling me all along.

Sometimes I need to get hit over the head!

embracing the moment

This is a quickie post, and the first of many big reveals for 2012. My family is
patiently waiting (some more than others) for me, so we can head out for our
New Year's adventure. Here is a little collection of moments from Christmas day,
when Ava, Jonah and I embraced the moment and got silly together. 

Embrace your moments.

It's a gift. An opportunity. It's for you. For your child/ren. For your family.