JelliBee Baby

Traveling without kids? Think again…why it takes a village at 35, 000 feet.

2009-10-28T12:41:00.001-07:00

Air travel can be stressful. Confined spaces, missed meals, grumbling companions, lack of sleep; getting where you need to go warrants surrender of some creature comforts. Air travel with kids however, is practically an out of body experience and an ultra marathon, and frankly, it makes a huge difference to everyone’s experience if we all pitch in and lighten up. But you, 19D, are not improving matters by exhaling loudly when my toddler accidentally brushes against your chair. See, he’s been up since 5am, when, after packing clothing, shoes, swim suits, snacks, drinks, books, toys, and 84 other necessities, his mother, addled and groggy on 4 hours of sleep and multiple shots of espresso, roused and shuttled him and his sister to the airport under the cloak of pre-dawn darkness. Were you there, performing the Olympic-caliber yoga needed to wrestle two behemoth car seats from their jaw like LATCH holds? Did you shuffle through security, as junior tossed his sippy, beloved stuffed dog, and bedraggled blankey about, Mom and Dad tunnel visioning, ignoring the stares, wrangling tickets, stroller, those car seats, and two children, the thoughts of those who stare, almost audibly entreating, “please, don’t let them be sitting by me.”

So when you turn around and roll your eyes, again, because my child is raising and lowering the window shade up down, up down, up down, and kicking your chair, bang, bang, bang, bang, and opening the tray table, again and again and again, just know that you aren’t helping. I can hear you, 19D, when you lean over and grumble to your (barren, icy, childless) flying companion as to the behavior of my children, and no, you are not helping. Would it kill you to play peek-a-boo, rather than tisk, tisk to yourself and the 4 surrounding rows? Don’t worry, soon the flight will be over, and you and that mile high chip on your shoulder will be free of my animated brood. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Because an airplane is like a little microcosm of life and the ride is always better if your companions don’t mind sharing their arm rest.

Back to SALE!

2009-08-24T23:50:00.001-07:00

Even down here in sweltering SoCal, the winds of change have begun to blow; soon enough, autumn will be upon us. This fall at JelliBee, we've got more than a few exciting new products to roll out, and are making room by putting all NEAT bibs on sale for $15, now, through Sept 30th. Grab a couple. They make great shower gifts. All styles, patterns, now on sale, at JelliBee Baby.

Heading home to CA...Happily ever after?

2009-07-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it takes a change of scenery to appreciate what you've got. Case in point: my annual July pilgrimage with the kids to my parents' in FL has got this east coast transplant longing for Long Beach. (Sort of.)
Tomorrow is July 31st, which means the month in the mist is over; it's time to get on that giant aluminum germ coaster in the clouds and head back to, well, what I dare say has become our favorite irrigated desert, the place we call LaLa land with a perma-tan: yep, we're going home, gulp, back behind the Orange Curtain. And this year, we are headed there (I can't believe I'm typing this) happily.
I've crossed the country from CA to FL with the kids for three summers, now. It's been fun, but,next year we're staying home.
It's not that I don't love spending time with my parents, I do. They have a lovely home, a stocked fridge, and their babysitting services are top notch. But give me the occasional tremor and 405 traffic over 98% humidity and fire ants, any day. Besides, my husband needs clean shirts and from what he tells me, he may begin to glow in the dark if he consumes any more canned goods. July is over. Now, if they would just open a couple of Dunkin' Donuts out here, I'd never have to leave CA.

NEAT Review over at Buck's Blog

2009-07-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday! We're pretty excited that blog-Daddy Buck Rogers in Memphis, Tennessee is doing a feature, review, and giveaway for our NEAT bib. We sent him the Chantilly Pink vinyl pouch version for his daughter, and she's going to give it her very own personal road test this week. Contest rules are scheduled to be announced this Friday, July 10th, over at his blog.

JelliBee supports Celebrity Yard Sale as seen in PEOPLE.

2009-06-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

Scott Baio and his wife, Renee, held a celebrity yard sale to benefit The Bailey Baio Angel Foundation in Los Angeles on May 31, 2009, raising over $16,000 in 6 hours. JelliBee Baby was thrilled to support the cause; our petite hangers and NEAT bibs were offered up alongside fabulous other new items from LA-based brands JuJuBe, Mabels Labels, as well as gently used celebrity gear including a classic car-shaped baby bouncer that Dennis and Kimberly Quaid used for their twins, an outdoor play structure that once belonged to actress Kristy Swanson's son, and pajamas previously worn by the daughter of Dancing With the Stars host Samantha Harris. Proceeds benefited the Foundation's mission: to promote newborn screening and help families who have children with metabolic disorders. To buy leftover items and get more information about an eBay store that will feature other items next month, visit the Bailey Baio Foundation Web site. PHOTO CREDIT: Scott and Renee Baio with daughter Bailey Photo by: Roger Karnbad / Celebrity Photo

Wool get 'em ready for you...

2009-06-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

We've got really adorable wool animals just about ready to launch. If you love boiled wool, earth-friendly materials, cuddly critters or bright, bold toys, our handmade stuffed animals will delight you. Giraffe, chicken and duck are coming soon. Are you ready to gift and receive something soft?

Not your Mother's Ballet Skirt

2009-05-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

Gigi Volk is a friend of mine and fellow ballet enthusiast. She is combining her love for dance, style, and business, with her venture, Gg Skirts. We have been on this little entrepreneurial adventure together, and it has been all the more fun with such a dedicated gal...so happy to know you, Gigi!

How to predict your baby's gender...

2009-05-27T10:33:00.001-07:00

So let's figure out what you are having! If you are pregnant, chances are you are at least mildly, if not hysterically, preoccupied with what type of little person is going to greet you in 9 months or less. If you haven't made it to the 20 week tell-all ultrasound, or thought you wanted to be 'surprised' but can't take the wait any longer, this post is for you. Let me be clear right up front: I am not a doctor and I do not play one on TV; still, I should share that I have been eerily accurate in predicting the genders of many, many of my friends' future babies by simply asking them the series of questions below. While these statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, some gender-specific symptoms can be traced to the estrogen and testosterone surges typical in pregnancy. So let's get down to brass tacks. Have a paper and pen handy? Number 1-7, and mark B for boy and G for girl:

#1 Cravings: Suddenly ga-ga for sweets? Gone mental for fried foods? I had a wicked craving for McD's special sauce and treated myself to a Big Mac once a week while carrying my son Alex. Mark #1 with a B if sweets or fats are your thing. If new, sour, or odd foods characterize your pregnancy cravings, mark #1 with a G.

#2 Conception: Did you know when you were ovulating, and did you try to conceive on or around this date? (put a check in B) or did you throw caution and contraception to the wind; perhaps the pregnancy was unplanned (that would be a G)? Typically if you were targeting an ovulation date, you are more likely to conceive a boy. (For all of you IVF Mommas, it's a toss up: you'd think 'boy' because their doing everything around your ovulation, but female embryos have been shown to do better under stress. It's a draw for you on this one.)

#3 Skin: Ravaged by acne since becoming pregnant? Just more breakouts? (mark B) How about incredible, glowing, clear skin? (Girl all the way).

#4 Mood: Think hard. Since you've known you were expecting, would you say you have been more 'blissed out,' day-dreamy, happy-like-Clinque-perfume-ad-happy-rose-colored-lenses-happy? (girl) or have you been a bit of a rage-aholic or worry wort more than you usually are? (man-child in your midst).

#5 Heartbeat: At your OBGYN visits so far, is your little one's heartbeat trending above 145? If so, G. Below 145 bpm? That would be a boy.

#6 Your face: You may need help on this one. Get a loved one (or sometimes a non-loved one is more objective. I'm just sayin'.) Or look at a picture of your rockin' pregnant self. If your face is fuller, we're feeling girl. Face thinner, sharper features? Boy.

#7 Bump shape: Carrying high and pointy? You know, sporting the basketball under your shirt look? Boy. Just looking like you ate a huge lunch? Carrying big all over? You might as well break out the pink- mark a G.

OK, all finished! So how's it looking? The more Bs you've got, your probably carrying a boy. Got mostly Gs? I would say girl. Drum roll please...it's a...not what the Chinese calendar intuited? Make sense to you? Hey, if you think I'm on to something please let me know. And if you think my quiz is rubbish, well, that's ok too: I'm a Mom, I'm used to hearing lots of opinions! Talk to me! And good luck at that 20 week ultrasound. Either way, Congratulations!

The NEAT Bib in Action

2009-05-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

Jane@JelliBeeBaby.com

2009-05-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

Funny, sort of. Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

I was having one of these days, recently. Oh, I mean everyday.

If You Give a Mom a Muffin
by Kathy Fictorie

If you give a Mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She'll pour herself some.
The coffee will get spilled by her three year old.
She'll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do some laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
she'll trip over some snow boots
and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her
she has to plan dinner for tonight.

She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She will look for her cookbook
(101 Things to Make With a Pound of Hamburger).

The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.

The checkbook is in her purse that is being
dumped out by her two year old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two year old.

While she is changing the two year old,
the phone will ring.
Her four year old will answer it and hang up.

She remembers that she wants to phone a friend
to come for coffee on Friday.

Thinking of coffee will remind her that
she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some.

And chances are......
If she has a cup of coffee......
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.