Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Back to School

Well, summer is beginning to wind to a close. Only a few more weeks until the kiddos head back to school. This is bittersweet for so many reasons. My oldest will be a 2nd grader this year, and my son Isaac is going to Kindergarten. It was easy to say goodbye to Kalena when she started school; she was excited, chipper, and practically ran in without even remembering to say goodbye. She is my outgoing, friendly, talkative child. Isaac...that's a different story. I have a feeling that he won't take heading into a big, new, strange building without Mom and Dad quite so easily.
Nevertheless, it is time to start thinking about getting ready. So, with that in mind, I'm starting to order some great back-to-school items for the store.

We already have Goodbyns in stock:

If you haven't seen a Goodbyn in person, you need to check them out! This lunchbox is all you need...no juice boxes or ziploc bags. Each compartment seals individually with the lid to keep all of your lunch goodies separated! At only $24.00, it's a bargain. And it's dishwasher safe!

We also feature nap mats and coordinating lunchboxes from Mint. These are embroiderable, so you can have one personalized with your little person's name! And we are so excited to be able to offer monogramming in the next couple of weeks! I will keep you updated on that. Here are some of the nap mats we have right now at the store:



Last, but not least, we have backpacks on their way! Our Crocodile Creek backpacks and lunchboxes should be here this week or next, and we have a whole assortment of cute backpacks coming from Wildkin, as well! So make Pinwheel Kids your back-to-school headquarters. And, once again, let me know if you need something in particular. I will try to make it happen. I love hearing from you!

Rachel

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Welcome!

Welcome to Pinwheel Kids' Blog! We will do our very best to keep you updated with all of the latest happenings and products here.

In the meantime, let me tell you a little bit about myself, and how Pinwheel Kids got started. I am a mom of four beautiful babies. My oldest is a little girl named Kalena Grace who is going to be a second grader next year. When she was born, I was only 21, and, like most young moms, I had no idea what it meant to be a parent. So I followed the lead of my mother and my awesome mom-in-law, and began breastfeeding. I thought that was what everyone did. Lucky for me, my family made it seem like the obvious choice. Four kids later and many hours of research, I find that not everyone is given the support in breastfeeding that I was.

My mother-in-law, Linda, also suggested that I cloth diaper. She had done it with all of hers, and thought I should give it a try. I decided, what the heck. So we cloth diapered Kalena with prefolds and covers, and loved it. I discovered then that people looked at me like I was loony, and I began to question whether or not I was doing things the "right" way. But, I've always marched to the beat of my own drum, so off I went.

Isaac Augustus came along nearly 3 years later, followed closely by Adam David only a short 19 months after that. And if that wasn't crazy enough at my house, sweet little Rowan Suzanne followed Adam in short order, only 18 months later.

Through all that mayhem, I learned about babywearing, and my wrap, my sling and my ERGO saved my sanity. Someone gave me a nice nursing cover, and I about cried with excitement. I would see people with gorgeous wooden teething rings or beautiful nursing necklaces or cute shopping cart covers or any number of amazing baby gear. I kept running across all of these awesome products, but as I discovered all of them, I found there wasn't anywhere in town for me to touch, feel and try them out. I got aggravated at ordering things online and paying shipping, just to get it, hate it, and have to tote four kids to the post office to send it back. So I decided enough was enough. I wanted to bring the good stuff to Waco. So I have!

Parenting is hard, and if I've learned one thing, it's that every parent, every child, every situation is different. The worst thing we can do is judge one another: on parenting style, diapering choices, feeding choices....it doesn't matter what we do, there are always those who are ready to tell a new (or veteran) mom that they're doing it wrong. And there a million and one reasons for a parent to feel guilty. Do I feel guilty about not using cloth diapers with my last two babies? You betcha. But life happens, and it just didn't fit with our hectic lifestyle. Could I have made it work. Yes. Did I want to try? Yes. Did it happen? Nope. So you won't find any judgment here....just information, support and a host of great, quality products to help you on your journey.

Pinwheel Kids is coming to Waco from my heart. I truly want parents to have choices, information and access to the very best quality products to help them on their crazy parenting journey. I am searching high and low to bring stuff to my store that I believe in. I hope you'll check us out when we open next week.

And PLEASE use your voice! If you want it, want to try it, want me to try to get it for you, let me know! I am here to make your parenting journey that much more enjoyable!

Cheers!
Rachel