Mission #Makeclothmainstream Booth at Miami's Ultimate Baby Affair {PHOTO RECAP}

Now that I'm home recovering from my whirlwind trip to Miami for Miami's Ultimate Baby Affair hosted by Tutti Bambini, I just wanted to share the awesomeness that was #MUBA2015 in case you were not able to attend.  This was our first year putting on a Mission Makeclothmainstream booth, and I have to say, it was a HUGE success!  I want to start by giving a huge THANK YOU to the phenomenal brands who send us tons of goodies to use as models to explain modern cloth diapers and how easy and adorable they are.  You guys made our job so easy with your cute and squishy fluff!!  Here are the sponsors in case you want to check them out and show them some love:

AppleCheeks
Balm! Baby
Change-Diapers.com
Funky Fluff
Gen-Y
GroVia
Lalabye Baby
Logan + Lenora

Milkin' Cookies
Molly's Suds

Project Pomona

Sloomb

Smart Bottoms

Spray Pal

Thirsties

Tots Bots

TushMate

Seriously, I had no idea what to expect going into this event.  I'd been told there are lots of people using cloth in northern Florida, but that Miami was this little (or big) pocket that didn't have the education or resources to learn about cloth diapers and how cute, easy, and economical they can be!  So Tutti Bambini reached out to me to change that. 

In addition to providing our Mission #Makeclothmainstream booth at their event, they've also started carrying more cloth diapers and accessories in their store.  You can now purchase a Spray Pal diaper sprayer and shield at Tutti Bambini, along with a variety of cloth diapers from brands like Sloomb, Lalabye Baby, AppleCheeks, and Softbums.  If you live in the area, be sure to stop by and check them out!

As for the event, all I can say is WOW.  I was so completely impressed with everything from the organization to the decor to the amazing people who attended.  Tutti Bambini, you guys know how to throw a party!

Here is my recap in photos:

Step 1: Assemble cloth diaper goody bags.

So many fun things from amazing brands to stuff into the bags!

Our bags were seriously amazing thanks to all of our wonderful sponsors!

Step 2: Set up the booth.

The Spray Pal certainly loves being surrounded by so many amazing brands. Featuring Sloomb, AppleCheeks, Funky Fluff, Project Pomona, Balm Baby, Smart Bottoms and more!

Grovia, Molly's Suds, Thirsties and Logan and Lenora!

How about a little Tots Bots, TushMate, and Gen-Y?  Oh and there's a little side of Thirsties on the left with a box of Lalabye Baby up top. ;)

The finished booth...isn't she lovely?

And how could we forget the Diaper Wearing sign?  Because of course, Diaper Wearing = Cloth Diapers!

Step 3:  Smile, answer loads of questions, and meet a ton of amazing people! Oh, and convince them all to switch to cloth diapers! ;)

Our booth was packed the entire time with people asking so many wonderful questions about cloth diapers!

The winners of our MUBA Premium Ticket giveaway on the Spray Pal Blog. :)

I got to talk cloth with Ashley and JP from The Bachelorette and I got to meet baby Ford!!  Can you tell I was nervous??

This adorable family of SIX won the cloth diaper raffle prize and we couldn't have been more thrilled for them!

All in all, the event was a huge success and a big milestone in our mission to make cloth diapers mainstream.  The more we get the word out about cloth and show people all the options they have to make it simple to manage, the more we can convince people to make the switch!

Did you attend MUBA2015?  What did you think of our booth?  Where else should we go to #makeclothmainstream?

Funky Fluff New Cloth Diaper Reveal!

I was fortunate enough to get to hang out with the lovely ladies of Funky Fluff a few weeks ago at the Toronto Kid Show, and before I left they gave me (well, not really me, but Mini Spray Pal 2.0) their adorable new Funky Fluff color...and I've been holding my tongue since then! Aren't you super impressed?  I admittedly almost blew it with one post, but Kathy helped steer me straight. ;)

So, the day has finally arrived, and we can reveal this adorable new color!  I have to say, Ryan looks pretty dapper in this diaper.  It's the perfect color combo for Valentine's Day, but the bonus is that it's a great every day color as well!  In fact, if anyone's planning ahead for Halloween, I think you may need to stock up on these!  They'd make the perfect addition to any ladybug costume (or watermelon for that matter).

So, I give to you, my dapper little heart-breaker in his Love Bug cloth diaper by Funky Fluff:

 

He's rocking his cochlear implant and his Freshly Picked moccs with this combo, right? Just had to share because he was we are super excited about his adorable Valentine's Day outfit this year.  His special Valentine, also known as his big sister, is pretty smitten with his outfit, too. ;)

To purchase, you can click on the graphic below or check with your favorite cloth diaper retailer to see if they have them in stock!

Will you be wearing special cloth diapers for Valentine's Day?  If you're looking for more ideas, check out this adorable list of sweet options from Dirty Diaper Laundry:  http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/6-sweet-valentines-day-themed-cloth-diapers/

Dear Grandma and Grandpa, Don't read this post. Love, Jen

I've been trying to think of something upbeat and positive to post today, but sometimes I just need to vent to get past the funk that's trying to push its way into my mind. So bear with me.

I just got out of a "Transition to 3" info meeting and my heart is heavy with information overload. It's crazy that Ryan is about to turn 3. It brings out a lot of feelings, not only reminders about the traumatic birth and the resulting 7 months in the NICU, but now that he's being evaluated for placement into a special ed preschool program, it sort of highlights his disabilities and forces everything to the surface and it isn't always an easy thing to process.

As I sat in the meeting and they went over the list of qualifying "disabling conditions" that would give a child access to the special education program, I couldn't help but feel like each one was another twist of the knife into my heart.  Here was the list:

Autism (Maybe?)
Deafness (Check)
Intellectual Disability (Check)
Orthopedic Impairment (Maybe?)
Other Health Impairment (Check)
Specific Learning Disability (Possibly?)
Speech or Language Impairment (Check)
Traumatic Brain Injury (Hmmm...lack of oxygen in the NICU maybe?)
Visual Impairment (Check)

Basically, what DOESN'T he have??  I try to stay positive, I really do.  But this Transition to 3 crap SUCKS.  It's freaking emotionally draining to be one of the few parents sitting in a room who has to ask a million extra questions because my child hit the lottery for disabling conditions. 

The presenter is going on about how their goal as an education agency is to get the kids in and out of special ed.  Help them meet their goals and close those gaps and get into the mainstream classroom.  Except, that's not going to happen for Ryan.  And this whole meeting is just making me face that reality head on and my brain and my heart weren't emotionally prepared for that at this moment in time.  I have enough of a challenge trying to keep it together every year on his birthday so as to not dwell on the PTSD-inducing experience that was his birth.  I've held his first two birthday parties in July because his actual birthday in March brought about more tears than joy in my memories.  I blamed it on the flu season timing, but the reality was, I didn't think I could handle it for my own selfish reasons.

So now, here we are.  My baby is turning 3 and starting some sort of preschool.  He'll be evaluated 3 times over the next few weeks and we'll have his first IEP in March right before his birthday.  We'll set some goals for him, figure out the best and safest placement for him for a school site, and he'll be on his way.  And I can't even begin to wrap my brain around it all.

On the drive home, I heard that song "Give me a Reason" by Pink on the radio and do you guys do this?  Whenever I hear a duet I always picture myself singing the girl part and usually Mr. Spray Pal singing the guy part.  Only with this song, today, I was singing with Ryan.  And it was SO fitting in my head! Probably because I thought the line said, "We're not broken, just better" but when I looked up the lyrics after I got home I found out it's actually bent, lol.  So, whatever...to me it was amazing.  I was singing with Ryan:

Just give me a reason
Just a little bit's enough
Just a second we're not broken just better
We can learn to love again.
It's in the stars
It's been written in the scars on our hearts
We're not broken just better
We can learn to love again.

(I think Pink should take note, this song is AWESOME with my adapted lyrics!  ;) )

And for some reason only God knows, that song struck a chord in my heart and made me realize somehow this was going to be ok.  Ryan's not broken.  And he really is better than so many of us.  He is innocent and sweet and happy.  He never throws a tantrum, he never talks back, he never feels like his life is lacking anything.  In his mind, he's not broken.  He's just him.  And he is loved.  And he's just better.

Mission #MAKECLOTHMAINSTREAM Booth at MUBA 2015!

In case you haven't heard, Tutti Bambini is hosting THE most amazing baby event in Miami on February 6th, 2015, and Spray Pal will be there hosting the Mission #Makeclothmainstream booth!!  This booth was the genius idea of Monica from Tutti Bambini to provide a comprehensive resource  for all the new and expecting parents in Miami who are interested in learning about modern cloth diapers and how easy it can be to save tons of money, keep waste out of landfills, and keep your baby's bum wrapped up with the most adorable, chemical-free fluff around!

If you are attending Miami's Ultimate Baby Affair, be sure to stop by!  I'll be there with Elise from Sloomb and Melissa from Lalabye Baby to answer any and all of your cloth diapering questions.  Our booth will have cloth diapers and accessories for you to check out, touch, feel, and experience first hand.  We'll be happy to guide you with our wealth of knowledge (between the three of us we've cloth diapered 8 kids!) and introduce you to the various brands and styles of modern cloth diapers on the market today.

The amazing Mission #Makeclothmainstream Sponsors!

We'll also have some pretty amazing goody bags to hand out!  These are separate from the main event goody bags and will be specifically for those parents who are already using cloth or interested in making the switch. They will have LOADS of cloth diapering swag and info in them provided by the amazing sponsors listed on the graphic above! ***Cloth diapering goody bags available FREE while supplies last!! Stop by the booth early to snag one!***  Many of the products you'll see at our booth will also be available for purchase right at the event at the Tutti Bambini pop up shop!

To celebrate this awesome partnership with Tutti Bambini, we are giving away a pair of PREMIUM tickets to this event valued at $150!  Each admission includes access to the event for ONE person. Ticket holders will have access to all seminars, samples and all general event offerings and additionally will receive a Premium Gift Bag filled with samples and information from participating sponsors. Each ticket is for ONE Premium pass and ONE Gift Bag ONLY. Premium ticket holders will also receive a certificate for $150 off Tutti Bambini Photography's "Watch me Grow" package. Premium Pass ticket holders will also receive 1 prize drawing ticket (To be used in one of the three sessions.) Winner must be present to claim prize.

To enter, just fill out the rafflecopter below!  If you're not going to be in the Miami area that weekend, be sure to share this giveaway with your Floridian friends so they don't miss out on the fun!

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Small Business Saturday!

This year for Small Business Saturday, we're teaming up with our absolute FAVORITE small business (besides Spray Pal) to bring you some awesome giveaways and fun! 

The purpose behind Small Business Saturday is to get holiday shoppers to focus on the benefits of spending your money where it really counts.  Big box stores always have great deals, but that's because the can afford to!  Small businesses offer the best deals that they can, but the overhead for running their business comes directly from their paycheck.  So you can see why most small businesses can't really offer those deep 30,40, even 50% discounts.  But, when you think about what you're paying for, you might think twice about where you spend your hard earned dollars.

Here at Spray Pal, you're paying for a product that is made in the USA with the highest quality materials.  Our splatter shield is BPA free and made from 50% post-consumer recycled polyethylene.  Every once in a while the post office roughs up one of our packages or one of our clips might have a quality control issue.  And by shopping small with us, you know that you can send us a message any time and we will help resolve your issue.  You can't beat the customer service.  Plus, you get to feel good knowing that your dollars are not only saving your time and money on bathroom cleaning supplies over the long run, but you're also supporting a hard working family, allowing me to work from home and around my kids' schedules, and you're helping cover the crazy medical expenses and insurance stuff we deal with as my other "full time" job. ;)

So, stay tuned as we share about the fun people behind the scenes at Spray Pal on Instagram and our Facebook page throughout the day!

Now, on to our OTHER favorite local small business! If you follow us on social media, you can probably guess who I'm talking about: my brother's place, Beach City Brewery!  Who knew back when we were kids that when we grew up, we'd both end up owning businesses in our 30s!  When I was in college at UC Irvine working toward my teaching degree, and my kid brother was still at Servite High School, I NEVER in a million years would've guessed that in just over a decade I would be selling a cloth diapering accessory and helping #makeclothmainstream out of my home while he was opening up a craft beer brewery just about a mile away! Life is crazy, I'm telling you.

My brother, Glenn, and I have teamed up today to bring you a special SIBLINGS edition of Small Business Saturday! All you have to do is show us how you are shopping small this weekend.  Enjoying nice weather?  Head to your local cloth diapering store and take a selfie of yourself shopping there. Or head out to a local watering hole and order yourself a local craft beer (legal stuff should be said here, I'm sure.  Be over 21, have a DD, etc.)  Weather not so great?  Order from a small business online and show us a screen shot of your order! (Just make sure we can't see your address or other personal info...don't want that stuff leaking on the interwebs!)  The best of ALL these worlds would be if you stopped by Beach City Brewery in Huntington Beach, CA today and then ordered something from the Spray Pal from your phone while there. OMG, instant winner right there! ;)

Do any of the above this weekend (through Cyber Monday), take a photo or video and share it on social media, and then TAG US so we can see it!  You can also use the hashtags #craftbeermeetsclothdiapers and #smallbizsat.  Then come back here and grab all your entries in the rafflecopter to win prizes from us!  We bought some BCB gift cards (perfect for SoCal locals) and we have some great cloth diapering prizes that we'll be giving out to non-locals.  Thank you for supporting small business this year!

www.facebook.com/spraypalusa
www.facebook.com/beachcitybrewery
Instagram: @spraypal and @beachcitybrewery
Twitter: @spray_pal and @BeachCityBrew


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Why I LOVE Small Business.

Well, that's easy.  Because we are one.  The end.  #thanksforlistening

OK, just kidding. That's not the only reason. ;)

There really are too many reasons to list.  But let's just say after spending over an HOUR on the phone with an amazon.com rep trying to figure out why they couldn't get the promotional code I had set up for our customers to work, it confirmed everything I'd ever felt about the differences between big and small businesses.  And then I said EFF YOUR PROMO CODE and just went and changed the price myself.  Because it's EASIER.  Why do they always have to complicate things?!

Ignore that 5-7pm time limit.  We'll let it go through tomorrow since amazon made things so difficult!

Anywho...here is the FLASH DEAL that was supposed to go live earlier this afternoon.  Just click the link and buy...no code needed!  I've taken $10 off the regular price ($54.95) of our diaper sprayer on amazon through Small Business Saturday (or while supplies last). You may notice that we don't have any reviews of the Spray Pal diaper sprayer on there yet.  If you're curious about how awesome this sprayer is, you can check out the Bumkins sprayer reviews which are pretty phenomenal.  They worked with us to make the Spray Pal sprayer, and the quality really is the best we could find on the market.

If you're looking for deals on the Spray Pal sprayer and splatter shield, check our website!  We've got discounts and freebies all weekend long, plus free shipping over $20!

Can't wait to show you all the fun stuff we have up our sleeves for #SmallBusinessSaturday tomorrow!!  Let's just say...small business runs in the family now.
#craftbeerandclothdiapers #makeclothmainstream

The Gratitude Giveaway from Spray Pal

Around this time of year, people start reflecting on the many things they are thankful for in their lives.  And Mr. Spray Pal and I are obviously thankful for the obvious.  Good health, loving and supportive family and friends, and of course our two beautiful children.  But there's a group of people in this world that we're thankful for that we really don't want to go unnoticed.  And that is all of YOU!

We are so blessed to have the most amazing fans and followers, and I know I say it a lot, but you guys really are the best.  You're always positive and upbeat, you support one another in your cloth diapering journeys, you support US in our roller coaster of a journey with mini Spray Pal 2.0, and we truly can't show you enough gratitude for the smiles and joy you have brought us, just with a simple "like" or comment. 

As a very small token of our appreciation, we're going to do a Gratitude Giveaway.  We'll be giving away a complete diaper spraying system, which we lovingly call the "What Do I Do with the POOP?" bundle. ;)  This includes a Spray Pal diaper sprayer and a Spray Pal splatter shield. 

We tried to make it simple for everyone to enter.  You don't have to do much to get the first 10 FREE entries.  If you feel like following us on social media or sharing, etc. feel free.  But anyone who clicks that free entry button gets 10 chances to win.  We wanted to keep it simple for you.

SO, thank you for being so awesome.  And we can't WAIT to show you even more amazing things in 2015!!

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