Merry Christmas To All...

We hope everyone enjoyed their day and the holiday season. As for us, we did nothing (for once), which felt quite nice.
Oh, one more thing;

Santa blogs, check it out.

Pretty Cool.


...And To All A Good Night.

Tis The Season...To Be Crazy...

Our Christmas Tree

It's almost 7 days until Christmas. The Monkey is very excited and crazed. Everything and everyone has to do with Christmas. Christmas songs, all the time. He wants to look at Christmas lights every night, I think we went out 5 nights last week. He's writing notes to Santa and leaving them on the door (amazingly, Santa leaves notes back, who knew?). He's calling Tom Santa, me Mrs. Clause, The Bubby Elf and himself Elf Calvin (Calvin, after Calvin and Hobbes). I don't know if we are going to make it. But at the same time I am loving every minute of it. Anyone else have similar experiences?

Contest and Another Update

Here is an update for our little contest. Photos from LogansWorld and the Birks that won't seem to go away. Note: "...the top edges along the entire shoes are either missing or severely bent, and a lot of the leather is so worn out that they look almost multi colored. Oh, he has newer birks but says they are not nearly as good as his old ones. Thus, he wears the old ones."
Thanks Ann for sharing and to your husband who is a sport about all of this.

Remember:
1) anyone who comments, will receive a 20% off discount code to use at our online store. (you can email us for it or we will email you)
2) if you send us photos and a little write-up of a piece of clothing that is as hard core as The Monkey's crocs, you'll receive the discount code and win a $25.00 gift certificate.

We are also having a sale on our baby and kids Halloween, Hanukkah and Christmas shirts. Check it out.

Tom and I were on mini-date night last week. After dinner, we walked around downtown and went into one of our favorite used books stores. We were looking around and Tom found Horton Hears A Who, by Dr. Seuss. He was pretty excited and thought it was timely considering what our government is doing to the rest of the world. So, we purchased it and brought the book home to The Monkey. Now, I had never read it (I grew up watching stories not reading them, i.e. T.V. kid). That's one of the cool things I find with being a parent, is that I get do, read and learn things that hadn't when I was a child. We love the story. The Monkey sits listening and asking questions. "A person is person, no matter how small." We talk about how we help those who can't help themselves. I feel, it is much more of a Christmas book than The Grinch..., with the theme of selflessness, stewardship and sacrifice. Or maybe it's more of an Easter book. Anyways, we can all learn from Horton.

Ahh, An Early Campy Christmas Memory...

We all know, when you have kids, you begin to remember things from your own childhood more often than you did before you had them. Case in point, Christmas memories. Now, Tom and I both grew up in Los Angeles but his memories are a bit different than mine (maybe he'll post something about his). My earliest Christmas memory is from 1975 and is very L.A. In my family, we would go to the local lot and get our tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We would get the decorations and lights out and begin decorating after dinner, while watching on the tube "The Hollywood Christmas Parade". Yes, "The Hollywood Christmas Parade". Over the years, watching the parade was huge. We couldn't wait to see what movie and t.v. stars would grace every one's presence along the parade route (with their microphones rarely working and with the audience always screaming too loud for them to hear the announcers questions about their latest movie or show, all along waving and smiling, well most of time). Like any parade, it would have a Grand Marshall and in 1975 it was the cast of The Waltons, John-Boy and all. Other Grand Marshalls over the years were, George Peppard (from my brothers' favorite show at the time The A Team), Michael Landon (Pa from Little House) and Tony Danza (Who's the Boss?). Hot? Not. Then at the end, Santa would ride his sleigh down Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards. Classy? Not.
Hmmm...not quiet the snow falling, Christmas caroling, chestnut roasting, mistletoe hanging perfect first Christmas memory one would have but oh well it's mine.
Merry Christmas and Good Night John-Boy.

Hard Core Croc Contest

OK, we don't know if anyone has old crocs sitting around from this last year but we thought it would be fun to have a little contest.
Anyone out there who can present a photo of a pair of crocs or another hard core, worn out piece of clothing, that are more worn out than The Monkey's (note: that is a hole on the bottom of the left shoe), will win a $25.oo gift certificate from nina and tom. Just comment on this post and/or email a photo (or post one with your comment) to info@ninaandtomfamilyfashion.com and you'll be entered to win. Oh yeah, all who post any comment will get a special discount code to receive 20% off their next order. (We will email you the code)
Contest ends January 5th, 2008.

Happy Holidays!

Super busy with all the shirts. We are offering free shipping on all orders until December 15, 2007. Check it out.

Artsy Fartsy

This past Tuesday night, I was fortunate enough to be artsy fartsy again (it's been awhile) for a couple of hours with my (our) dear friend Sara.
UC Davis' Art Department Gallery, is presenting a show, You See, which shows off works of past faculty, Wayne Thiebaud (Uncle Wayne), Manuel Neri, William T. Wiley, Roy De Forest and Robert Arneson. After the reception, there was a panel discussion with the three surviving artists, Thiebaud, Neri and Wiley. The discussion as a whole was O.K. (we felt the moderator could have done a much better job) but for me, it felt so good to be back in an academic setting listening to, Thiebaud and Neri specifically, discussing what art is, teaching and old stories of the notorious group. These men are our generation's great artists.

Thiebaud was one of my teachers when I was a student at UC Davis (I have degrees in Art Studio and Art History). I took three courses from him (2 painting and 1 theory) and admired him since 1995, when he was an artist in residence at my old junior college in Pasadena, CA. In our household, we call him Uncle Wayne, for his kindness, openness and wittiness towards teaching and life. He is someone truly unique not only to the art world, but the world as a whole. Gosh, I'd love to go to that theory class with a cup of coffee and listen to him talk. The time would fly. He's 86, teaching and a true painter. I will never forget him saying to us, "Paint what you know. Search within yourselves. There is only one of you, that is what will make your art unique."
So true.

Neri is one of my favorite sculptors (along with, Hesse and Giacometti), for his beautifully formed and isolated nudes and complex surfaces and textures. And oh, I love his drawings. I'm a sucker for well drawn nudes, especially one's with a great use of gesture and lines. Mmmmm, yummy. He opens his studio up every once and awhile and I've been so lucky to have gone a couple of times. Neri's figures hold life. You can feel the energy when you're in a room full of them or see one alone in a museum.

Wow, Local Praise

We were featured in our local paper on Monday.
It's a very nice article and we are very flattered.
Read on:

Davis Enterprise, The (CA)

The right fit
Organic, hand-printed Davis-based clothing company takes off
Claire St. John Enterprise staff writer
Published: November 12, 2007
It went from being a hobby to a booming business when a Whole Foods representative called back and said the grocery store chain was eager to carry Nina and Tom's line of onesies, toddler T-shirts and some T-shirts for grownups. Hand-printed with fruits, vegetables, color names and slogans on organic cotton, Nina and Tom's products appeal to the modern parent.Plain white onesies sport strawberries, potatoes, pears, sweet peas. Others read "I eat my vegetables" or "I eat my fruits."Other hand-dyed T-shirts and onesies make a declaration of their saturated colors, printed with the words "Blue," "Red" and "Green."The Davis clothing line has been a runaway hit, tripling production in one year and garnering rave reviews in parenting magazines.Nina and Tom have also made a splash at the Davis Farmers' Market where they operate a booth every Saturday, weather permitting."We feel like we're part of something," said Nina Gatewood, remembering one little boy who bought a "Blue" shirt with money he saved up for weeks.Parents like the shirts because they're made with American-grown and -produced cotton clothing supplied by American Apparel, much of which is organic.Nina and Tom Gatewood not only put their name on all their products, they still create each one, despite having accounts all over the world, not to mention that hefty contract with Whole Foods."These are not mass-produced," Nina said.She was in the company's small studio on Olive Drive, and behind her, as if to prove the point, Tom screen-printed onesies for an order from Cape Cod, Mass."They're hand-made, one by one. We sew all the tags on ourselves, put the hang tags on," Nina went on. "Yeah, it's called Nina and Tom, but it's really Nina and Tom."The company got its start in 2004 during President George W. Bush's second campaign for the presidency. A local clothing designer offered the couple a screen printing table, and Tom took a class on screen printing. Soon, they were cranking out T-shirts with slogans against Bush that proved very popular in Davis."We still get requests for our political shirts," Nina said, adding that Nina and Tom political shirts could make a comeback during the 2008 presidential election.In the meantime, Nina and Tom are focusing on growing their business, and keeping up with the growth they're creating.The clothing has caught on all over the world. Recently, they received orders from the kingdom of Bahrain, Canada and all over Europe.This year, the company sold about 7,000 items, Nina said, and the company probably will need to start hiring employees and buying more equipment in about a year.For now, Nina and Tom's son Liam, 3, and Tom's son from a former marriage, Kiernan, 16, help out as much as they can.Liam can be seen in most of the company's advertising, grinning his signature grin and sporting a Nina and Tom shirt. Liam was also the inspiration for some of the company's most popular onesies, those emblazoned with "Der Poopinator," "Blobzilla" and "Chubnik," names Tom gave Liam when he was a toddler and the company was just starting up.Tom, who works two shifts as an operating room nurse, spends hours screen-printing and packaging and Nina creates new designs and is responsible for marketing.But with a small operation, everyone does everything, of course."We try and keep everything really simple," Nina said. "We're trying to keep a low overhead on everything. But it's awesome. Everyone is so supportive."— Reach Claire St. John at cstjohn@davisenterprise.net or 747-8057.

Copyright, 2007, The Davis Enterprise. All Rights Reserved.

Happy Birthday ninaandtom.com

It's our our on line store's birthday. To celebrate we are having a 22% off sale for 22 days (November 1-22). Come by and enjoy the party.

Pumpkin Time

Because this is my favorite time of year (Tom's is the winter), I'd thought it would be nice to post photos of The Monkey picking pumpkins at our favorite patch (Debbie Dazzler's). We had to restrain him on how many to load up in the wagon, but as you can see, he still was able to fill it up. He loves walking though the corn too. So fun. Tomorrow, we carve them.

Good Design and Good Espresso, What More Does One Need?

This means more to us than anyone will ever know.
Check it out here
and here.

We only worship the Illy Gods.

24.7.365=Mom...So True

Here is our latest shirt. Check it out.
A great hoilday gift for Mom.

Prince and Prince

We have been so proud of The Bubby this week. He and his boyfriend were named by their junior class Prince and Prince for homecoming. You can read what the Sacramento Bee wrote here. It was also mentioned in our local paper, The Davis Enterprise, saying "...[they] broke ground when they were named princes of the junior class, the first time Davis High students voted in a gay couple for such a high honor." And you can read, first hand, what it was like for The Bubby on his blog, Paris Garage.
For us, it has been an amazing experience to see how open, loving and accepting the kids are in this town. We were not sure what to expect at first, maybe 50 against 50 pro. Wrong! 100% support. When the original announcement was made at the spirit assembly, there were cheers, during the parade through Downtown Davis, more cheers and at the football game's half time celebration, more and more cheers.
So Awesome!
The Bubby and Brandon showed their peers and community the same dignity, grace and respect that were given to them. And for that we are most proud.

36

Yesterday was my 36th birthday. It was the first time, in awhile, that I felt relatively normal and wanted to do celebrate it. Four years ago I had morning, afternoon and evening sickness and the last three years I've been too tired to remember what year it was, let alone how old I was going to be (The Monkey wouldn't sleep much, but that's another post). So, Tom jumped on the opportunity and arranged for our little family and couple of friends to have dinner at a Moroccan restaurant in Sacramento. Let's just say The Monkey was bored and tired. Tom ended up leaving with him hoping he would fall asleep in the car. We'll he did, until Tom got home and turned off the engine. The Monkey woke up to asked, "When we have cake?" and "When we open presents?". We did have cake and we did open presents. And The Monkey finally went to bed.
It's funny how life shifts. If someone would have told me years ago about my 36th birthday, that my kid went to dinner with us and was tired, fussy and bored, I would have said, "What? No way. Where's the sitter?" So, I would tell myself now about how excited my little monkey was and that the first thing he said to me that morning was, "Happy Birthday, Mommy."

Our Anthem

Need we say more, except Ralph is the coolest.

The Other Side

If you read our profile you'll see that we own a small business of screen-printed children's tees and that we have day jobs. But what we haven't really discussed is Tom's day job. He assists in surgery at a local hospital. We feel lucky that he has the job and was able to cut his hours back to part-time because the business continually grows. This sounds nice, expect that his job isn't a normal job. When I say part-time I mean 20 hours a week (7:00am-5:30pm two days a week) but then there is the call. He must be on call at least once a week (7:00pm-7:00am) and then take call for a weekend (Friday 7:00pm-Monday 7:00am) about once a month (it used to be worse- every other week- when they were short staffed on and off for a year). When he is on call he must be at the hospital within 25 minutes. The call is the stressful part because he (we) have no idea of how our night or weekend will end up. Sometimes it is very quiet, but other times, more often than not, it can be crazy.
Take this weekend for example:

Friday: Hospital 7am-5:30pm
Saturday: Farmers Market 7am-2pm
Hospital 3pm-10pm (Appendectomy and ORIF Mid Shaft Humeral And Radial Fractures)
Sunday: Hospital 12am-6am (Multiple Stab Wounds To The Chest)
Hospital 9am-2pm (Laproscopic Cholecystectomy And An Appendectomy)
Hospital 5:45pm-? (Appendectomy)

So, it's Sunday night and almost 10pm and I haven't heard anything yet. I don't know when he'll be home, I just know that it ends at 7am tomorrow morning. Luckily, he doesn't have to go back in to hospital to work a normal shift until Wed (which is a new policy that changed recently). But we have a bunch of work for the business that needs to finished by the end of the week.
You might be wondering why he(we) keep(s) doing this. It's for the health insurance. If we were to buy our current health insurance out of pocket through our business it would cost us $12,000 a year for our family of four. We're just not there yet. We feel so fortunate that we have the insurance and it's the best out there. We are very liberal in our thinking and believe that all should have excellent health care provided by the government. But until then, we will keep working to move forward so we don't have to live on this crazy schedule just to stay healthy and not go bankrupt because of medical bills.

Update:
Well, Tom came home that night at 11:30pm, went to bed at 12:00am. Then was called in again at 3:00am (Ventoral Hernia with Incarcerated Bowel) and came home at 8:00am Monday morning. Crazy!

Dinky Part 2

Here is the latest to Dinky Dinky Dink Dink.

Take'm Outside

Did you know that it is
International Take A Child Outside Week
(September 24- September 30 2007)?


Taking a child outside promotes concentration and relaxation, connects them to their natural environment, and reduces their chances of obesity.
Go for a walk. Have them look up into the sky and ask them, "What do they see?".
Have them pick up a stick or pick up a handful of leaves.
Let them get dirty.
The dirt will wash away but their memories of being outside will always stay with them.
Not to mention, it is good for us parents too.

Lately, we've been reading the original Thomas the Tank Engine stories and we've come across warning signs in some of them. I'm not sure what chord this has struck with him, but the monkey is very interested in them. Maybe I'm just mean but for me the greatest pleasure surrounding the sign here is that he thinks it says "Danger Keep Away". Kinda the same. Tom

5 T-shirts to 5 Lucky Customers

Remember...
We are having our first giveaway tomorrow at 8:00pm PST.
Just login or make a purchase and you're entered.
Winners will be notified by email.
Good Luck!


Saturday September 15, 2007 8:25pm PST
And The Winners Are:

Karen Taylor, Florida
Erica Tomlinson, California
Danielle Moore, Georgia
Gwen Roedel, California
Pamela Gallego, California

Thanks to everyone who entered and visited our site. Stay in touch we will be having another giveaway soon.
Cheers!

Mon Mode

The Bubby has an Etsy shop. Check it out.

Cool Little Backpack and Deal

When we were in the bay area working recently, we went in to an Elephant Pharm to look around. We came across their display of SIGG water bottles and accessories. Along with them were these cool backpacks for kids. They are super sturdy, colorful, functional and come with a kids size SIGG bottle (blue with pirate frogs). Aren't the little feet at the bottom cute. The most useful feature is that the red flat in the front can pull open so you have direct access to the SIGG bottle. No need to open up the whole flat, just pull open on the little ear shapes and grab your water bottle from it's special home from the inside. The Monkey loves it and so do we. Oh, did we mention, Elephant Pharm is selling them for $25.00 and they are $45.00 on the SIGG website. What's up with that? Call Elephant Pharm and get one.

Words of Wisdom From The Bubby Part I

"All the cool things come from Sweden. I mean like, IKEA, H&M and ABBA."
Hmmm.

Doing Our Part...Because It's Important

For those who pay attention, the recent recall of toys and news regarding manufacturing practices in Asia are of no surprise. That so many goods are manufactured and even grown abroad really is a problem. Oversight becomes compromised and less than ethical decisions can have free reign. Trade deficits drive imbalances in economies from which few ultimately benefit.

The manufacturing base of the United States was once huge and powerful. Out sourcing has pared this to a shell of its former self. This is not unique to the United States either; other countries are experiencing similar changes. This is not a xenophobic assertion. There are organizations that do oversee ethical and fair business, manufacturing and farming practices. But when one creates or grows a product more “locally”, one can have more control over the result. One can take on a greater share of responsibility.

We are concerned about these issues. At nina and tom, we do everything we can to minimize our role in these issues. Increasingly and especially as we convert our entire line to organic, we are accomplishing this. Presently, with only a few exceptions, everything we produce, from the growing of the cotton to the sewing of the garment to the printing of our totally cute designs is done here, in the United States, in a fair and responsible way. We’re proud of this, because it’s important.

Dinky-Dinky-Dink-Dink

This has become The Monkey's new thing. He loves watching it and has gotten Tom to make him his very own. Only Tom's isn't quite elaborate (Oh, but he is working on it). We'll be posting a photo or video of it soon. I love the song that plays at about 4:50 minutes and because there is just something diverting about it.

Sometimes A Three Year Old Can Be So...

OK...That Was Lame but Lucky

So,
this morning I was at The Monkey's gymnastics class watching him bounce around with the other kids. As I walked to go to the other side of the trampoline, I felt my toe get caught on a mat and heard the sound of a stick snapping. I looked down and saw my left pinkie toe in a position I had never seen it in before, saying rather calmly, "Oh my gosh, I think I broke my toe." The other moms came over to look and were completely shocked. Some saying, "Oh, it looks like you just displaced it." (You think?) or "Wow, that looks broken." Amazingly, it didn't hurt then but now it does. I called Tom and he came right over. He looked at it and put it back to where it has always been. Many don't know this but Tom is a surgical tech at local hospital (two days a week, mostly so we can have health insurance during times like these) and has an amazing understanding of the anatomy. The three of us walked home and called one of the doctors he works with. I went in and had some x-rays taken and low and behold I broke my toe. What was so cool was that the doctor had said Tom had put my toe back perfectly, "I couldn't have done a better job. This is why he can't leave his job, he's too good." (well that's a whole different story for a different post). Tom was very pleased and flattered by what the doctor had said by saying, "Gosh Honey, you married a man who can sew, cook, pees sitting down and can align a fracture, perfectly. Aren't you lucky?"
Yes I am.

Something New...Poll Qustions

I guess blogger is having some problems with their poll software. Unfortunately, I do not know HTML enough to figure it out on my own, so if any one wants to answer the the questions to the left under comments, that would be great.

(Would you like to see new holiday designs? Would you like our organic shirts in long sleeves?)

What do you think?

Cool Hand-Made Goodies & Giveaway

We have added more beautifully hand-made goodies to our gift ideas section of our website. Beebee Mod's lovely custom made Lovely Sleepy Sacks, Lily Bean's amazing detailed playfood and Diddle Dumpling's exquisite baby shoes. So cute, no?

Also, we are having a giveaway of our t-shirts to five lucky customers. Just join our mailing list or make a purchase and you'll be entered to win a cool shirt. The drawing will be September 15, 2007. The winner will be notified via email.

This morning The Monkey and I went out exploring. I had intended to take him peach and raspberry picking, but alas, they were closed after a busy weekend. So...we ended driving out to Solano Lake (about 1/2 hour drive west of us) and stopped at the picnic/campground area. We walked along and threw stones at the little lake, climbed trees, and looked at and chased peacocks. Yeah, peacocks. They were wondering all over and were beautiful. After a while we headed back to Davis and stopped by the peach and raspberry stand (which was open but not for picking). The owner was just getting ready to feed the the chickens, goats, sheep and the pony (named Candy) and she asked The Monkey for some help. He obliged and did a great job. We were told that roosters will cock-a-doodle-do to let the hens and chicks know there is food, as well as, eat only when they know everyone else is finished. She also told us that there is this one hen that lays an egg everyday. After she lays the egg, she calls out to the rooster and keeps doing so until he finally comes to her and the egg, then and only then will she stop calling. Pretty funny. We then picked out our peaches and raspberries and talked about how beautiful the morning was, how great it was to be outside and how important it is for kids to be enjoying the outdoors. The owner and another customer were talking about The Dangerous Book for Boys, a book for playing in the outdoors. The book talks about the essential outdoor gear boys need, a Swiss army knife, a compass, a magnifying glass, etc. and how to make anything from a paper airplane to a fort. Pretty cool. Then I had mentioned that I've been reading (slowly) Last Child in the Woods. Which discusses children's (and adults) Nature Deficit Disorder, the criminalization of play and how we can get our children back outside free playing and using their imaginations, so they can become more in touch with nature and themselves. The ladies were interested in the book and I had felt my morning come full circle. Where we live is truly beautiful, with farm country just outside of town, a big open sky and trees everywhere. I don't want to get preachy on my soap box but I'm feeling like more and more needs to be done about kids and the environment. They are told everyday to be environmentally friendly, "be green", recycle... but how will they ever know how to save something that they feel so disconnected to because they are indoors watching T.V., playing video games, chatting on myspace, blogging, talking on their cell phones or plugged into their ipods, to name just a few activities. It can all get too overwhelming, so all Tom and I can do is raise our boys to appreciate nature and make it a part of our daily lives and hopefully they will continue doing so.

I Can't Help It

Along with being busy with work (we're having a big 25% off Back-to-School Sale, now until August 20th) having a sick Monkey (GI problems, need I say more) and being one man down (The Bubby went to Austria for 3 1/2 weeks), I thought this would help explain as to why there haven't been too many posts this month. Thanks for understanding.

Super Hot and Super Busy

It's been over 100 here in Davis, which makes things a little harder to do but we're getting work done. Hang in there we'll be coming back with our latest ideas and adventures.

Mama Mia

Can you tell we love to cook? Here is The Monkey making pizza in our friend's kitchen. Lots of fun and yummy.

Yummy

Hello To All. Well summer is here for The Monkey (school ended last Thursday). And The Bubby will be finished with his sophomore year of high school at the end of this week. There was an end of the year potluck at The Monkey's school so I thought I'd put a twist on cupcakes I agreed to bring.
I found this fun recipe in one of my baking books . I altered it just a tad and it came out great and the kids and parents loved them. These are so fun.
Enjoy!

Ice Cream Cone Chocolate Cupcakes

1 1/4 cups of self-rising flour

1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 cup white bakers sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 eggs room temperature
6 oz unsweetened chocolate melted see note
1 cup half and half milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 bag of semi- sweet chocolate chips

Note: To melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for approximately 5–10 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm 5–10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl put flour aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the half and half milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not over beat. After mixing pour bag of chocolate chips and mix in with spoon. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. Carefully spoon the batter into flat bottom ice cream cones, filling them to the top of the cone. Still using the cupcake pans (or muffin tins) place one cone in each hole. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Be careful when pulling pans out and placing them on the cooling rack. Some cupcakes may get lopsided and may fall over.
Cool the cupcakes for 20 minutes and make Glaze Topping.

Glaze Topping

Melt
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tblsp. canola or veg. oil
Pour into a separate bowl and dip tops of cupcakes
Sprinkle with sprinkles

Makes a little over a dozen.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, let me know.

Mmmm I Love These

I've been getting a number of compliments on the earrings I received on Mother's Day.
I LOVE THEM.
So I thought I'd spread the info:

They are from Polli in Australia. Check out their other items; simply beautiful.

You can purchase them on line from the Polli website
or you can get them at the hippest store in Davis, California

Nestware
204 G St
Davis, CA 95616
(530) 757-6400

Ask for Lynn or Rosalie, they are the owners and the coolest ladies in town.


Thank you Honey, I love you.

Thinking About Being A Mom

It's been a few days since Mother's Day and I've been thinking about how lucky I am. It's not because my family had breakfast waiting for me while I was still in bed or that I got to go to some spa and indulge or anything else that some moms get to experience on that day. In fact, Mother's Day seemed to be quite a normal day (I did receive a pair of beautiful earrings and had my gym membership renewed. Sweet). I worked (as any small business owner does) and did laundry and other household chores (like any mom or dad does). I am lucky because my family loves me, we are healthy and our boys are happy. After dinner I took The Monkey to get some special mommy's day ice cream. As we were walking back, he wanted to run in and out of the water fountains at the park. I stripped him down to his bare nakedness, which he was happy about, and let him run free. As I watched him play in the fountains and let him share with me his excitement, I stopped and soaked up that moment of no worries or stress, just us giggling and playing together. I have learned from what others have told me with experiencing how fast time does go by. Already, The Monkey is no longer a little baby he once was. He is now a little boy. I will hold on to our time as mother and son, always, and treasure each phase of our life together, never forgetting what joy he brings me when he smiles.

Springtime with The Monkey

The weather here in Northern California has been beautiful lately. This has afforded all animals to enjoy the benefits of spring, including The Monkey. In the last week he was able to play with and walk his godfathers' dog CheChe Lobo. The Monkey was gentle and listened well. CheChe was pretty happy too. Moving on, at the beginning of his school day on Thursday, The Monkey witnessed three new baby chicks being hatched. This is a good because the first chick that was hatched earlier in the week will now have bubbies. The Monkey was very sad and wanted it to have a mama, dada, bubbies and a meow. Now that it has three new bubbies to play with, The Monkey wants to know when will they have a meow of their own. Hmmm. And finally, The Monkey's car "had a leak" (created by himself with water), so instead of taking it to the shop, he wanted to fix it. "Mama, I will fix it, cause it's my job to do. I like to fix things." Note the different tools and how his car has water underneath it. As his mother, I am taking great joy in watching his imagination grow and watching what he does with it. I hope he always finds ways to fix things and make them better so others can benefit from what he has to give.

Cool New Products

Cool capes by Superfly Kids that let the imagination fly.

And cute bags by Kissycake that both kids and grown-ups will enjoy.

We are so excited about adding hand-made artistian products from around the country to our website. People can go to any WalMart, Target or Toys-R-Us to get gifts for their kids but if you won't something truly special and hand-made (and well made) keep visiting our site and get something as unique as your child. We'll keep you posted on other play items and our new designs that will be coming soon.

In the meantime check them out.

May Cute-of-the-Month

Check out nina and tom's cool baby and kid's clothes and their May Cutie-of-the-Month.
Cute, no?

Plastic God

The family did something crazy and went to San Francisco for 1/2 a day to see our dear friend Plastic God. He had been asked to paint a room for Hotel D'Arts, in his notorious style. Plastic God and nina go way back, about 15 years. We met at Pasadena City College, where we were taking design, painting and drawing classes. He knew he was an artist, nina didn't know anything. Plastic God went on to The Art Center, worked in the corporate world, quit that and now makes his cool heads that he is famous for (nina has Billy Idol and Police). nina went on to drift around (a.k.a party), fall in love, finish school and now makes baby and kids clothes. Strange where life takes you. It was great to see him and talk about things, past, present and future, all the while having The Monkey run around the pub. I'm so glad were still friends and miss the old days a little.