Mommy Toolbox

Daily Candy

2011-07-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were pleased to discover a delightful mention in Daily Candy! I have to agree, summer wouldn't be the same without our tools--I have used them more than I can count on two hands and feet!

Mama Gama

2010-11-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

One of the things I love is seeing Mommy Toolbox products displayed in different languages. There is something very fun and fabulous about the word Carabean written in so many different ways!

Today I'd like you to check out Mama Gama in Poland, their site is lovely, and the women who run it are pretty fantastic.

Karabińczyk may be the most amazing word for Carabean yet!

October Cancer Donation

2010-10-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and to participate we will be donating a percentage of all sales for this month to the American Cancer Society.

ALL sales, not just the pink ones!

So stock up on some fun items in the Mommy Toolbox store and feel like you are contributing at the same time. Win!

Babble review

2010-07-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

Our new friend, Meryl Levin, wrote a fabulous article for Babble Family Style on the Tent in a Bag.

Check out the article and follow her on Twitter!

Check it out and let us know what you think of their fun site!

Luxe Mom

2010-07-14T18:28:00.000-07:00

We are so excited that the folks at Luxe Mom like the Tent in a Bag as much as we do.

Check out our post--AND their fabulous blog!

Carabeans on Kid #2!

2010-06-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

Our good friend just had her second little one and is still using her original Carabean! We love that it's been passed on...and we wish we were shopping with you!

Their Little World

2010-06-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

Their Little World is such a cute blog--brought to you by the owners of the AlexandAlexa online boutique. Check out the fantastic review they gave our tools...

Baby Roo

2010-06-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

We just discovered this great review from our Australian friends--check it out!

Babyccino Kids

2010-05-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to Esther for her fabulous review on Babyccino Kids! It's such a great resource for parents all over the globe with topics ranging from products to travel. Check it out!

Our buddy Finn's tent!

2010-04-03T07:53:00.000-07:00

We would like to thank our friend, Finn, for this cute photo of his Tent in a Bag in action. If you don't have yours yet, get in on the fun!

New Review on Talking Walnut

2010-03-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

We met Pamela in New York at the Baby and Kids Expo and thought her blog, The Talking Walnut, was fabulous. Now, we know how she feels about us!

Check out our review on her fun BLOG!

Tent in a bag samples are in!

2010-02-26T11:26:00.000-08:00

Our newest idea came from watching a couple cute kids at one of our trade shows in NYC--the blazed into the booth and within minutes had the place turned into a big tent using clamps from our displays...now we can share the fun with you!

Check out our ETSY site for samples, and post here with thoughts and ideas.

Enjoy!

Blog Review

2010-02-08T16:22:00.000-08:00

Check out our new review and giveaway on Because I said so--Mom Knows Best!

Enter to win!

Good thing there were no squirrels!!!

2010-02-01T12:31:00.000-08:00

Our friend, Jill, sent us this. Luckily, her animals are incredibly well behaved, and the squirrels stayed home that day!

Shower Beans

2010-01-20T16:43:00.001-08:00

I did this, and it's given me tons of joy ever since. I know, I need to get out more.

Save the Day!

2010-01-20T16:30:00.000-08:00

Walking to school with a million things in tow has become the norm in our house. Unfortunately, half way there, my 3 year old's baby backpack snapped, and we were seconds from a total meltdown...Carabean to the rescue! I pulled it off my keys and in 5 seconds flat we were on our way. Whew.

New Blog Review!

2009-10-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

We love it when people love us. Who doesn't? For fun reviews of Mommy Stuff...

Check out MommyHype!

You Tube Channel!

2009-10-14T12:01:00.001-07:00

The new Mommy Toolbox You Tube Channel is up...we will be accepting video submissions as an ongoing way to support your creative uses of our tools. In the meantime, we have a couple videos of how to open Carabeans and Spring Beans, for those who haven't used them in person!

http://www.youtube.com/mommytoolbox

Enjoy.

Grandma's got a hot new walker!

2009-09-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

When my 90 year old grandmother took a spill recently, they hooked her up with a hot pink walker. The first thing I did (after making sure she was OK, of course) was to send her some Carabeans to pimp her ride and hold her bags for her. Grandma loved them so much, she shared some with my aunt for her walker after knee surgery. Now they can really zip down the street without being weighed down by heavy bags! Fabulous!

Non Parent use for Carabeans!

2009-09-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

My lovely brother in law sent me this last night...in the rainy DC area, Carabeans are his umbrella holder! I love it!

MDA Telethon Auction

2009-09-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

We love raising money for the Jerry Lewis Telethon and MDA.

Giggle loves us, and we love Giggle!

2009-08-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

I came across this great video today of the CEO of Giggle, Ali Wing, talking about favorite products--and we are one of them! I'm glad they are enjoying the custom red and gray Carabeans, exclusive to Giggle!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYv9lxdEwLU

Love the Tool Belt!

2009-07-21T11:28:00.000-07:00

Our cousin Sarah and her adorable little one in Seattle--sporting the Tool Belt and lookin' HOT!

Baby Celebration Posh Mommy Suite

2009-07-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

We love all the fun parents we met in the suite--now they can enjoy Spring Beans and Carabeans too!

Hank Azaria Gift Basket

2009-07-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

We love Hank Azaria!

Taye Diggs Gift Basket

2009-07-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

Sarah Jessica Parker Gift Basket

2009-07-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

To welcome the new additions, we participated in this gift basket with Style Cafe Moms!

Ana Ortiz Gift Basket

2009-07-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of the gift basket we contributed to by Style Cafe Moms for Ana Ortiz.

Another use for Spring Beans

2009-06-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

This just in--another super cute photo of the Spring Beans in action!
Thanks, Shannon.
Love it.

New use for Spring Beans

2009-05-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

My parents came back from Hawaii with beautiful Hula dolls for the ladies. Dolls made of porcelain. You know, the kind that break. Immediately. Literally 3 minutes after receiving them...

So here I am with my two part epoxy gluing arms and legs and heads back onto dolls, and no way to hold them together so the glue can dry without attaching my fingers to them as well.

Bam! Give me that Spring Bean...

Worked like a charm. Until 5 minutes later when my 2 year old chucked the doll across the room.

Hot guys love Mommy Toolbox

2009-05-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

When it came time for the latest MTB photo shoot, the photographer asked me, "What are you thinking for models?"

"Hot guys."

She paused.

"Who doesn't like hot guys?" I said.

She pondered, then smiled.

Enjoy!

Unique Los Angeles

2009-05-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

I don't like to complain, really I don't.
OK, sometimes I do.

Surrounded by hipsters, listening to great music, drinking iced coffee...I'm supposed to be selling MTB like hotcakes, yet I'm in the section where the AC broke, the foot traffic missed us, and our view is of the building next door. HUH?

I bought a change purse made from a soymilk box, and I'm stoked.

Just trying to make lemonade...

Video/Photo Contest!!!

2009-03-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

Alright, everyone. It's time to address an issue apparently many have with our beloved Carabean.

How to open it.

For your viewing pleasure I have made you a short film. Once you have viewed it you may think, "I feel inspired to make my own Carabean video with a hot guy in it!" I encourage this. In fact, that is exactly what I want you to do.

Take videos and photos of your favorite hotties using Carabeans and you could win some Mommy Toolbox prizes! Email to info@mommytoolbox.com.

So check it out and get creative, I can't wait to see what you come up with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wq9D-OCSKg

Spitting

2009-02-06T14:14:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting at the warehouse in Compton waiting for a large box from China filled with Carabeans and duct tape. The people here are different. Heavy lifting, hard working, rough and tumble type dudes with big trucks and boots with laces and steel toes. Sounds kinda hot when I write it down, but somehow at the time it wasn't.

These men all think I'm silly. I'm the only woman for miles, and I'm sitting in my car eating gluten free banana bread and sipping a soy latte while I wait for the man with the fork lift to bring me my box. I smile and say good morning when they stare at me, but can't decide if this is a good idea or not. Oh well.

Then I see him. Early 30's, baggy jeans, tight fade, big earrings. He's walking toward the enormous opening of the warehouse and spitting. Constantly. I counted him spitting at least 6 times in the 100 foot walk from his truck. Not big honking spits from chewing tobacco, just little spits, like he's peeing on the bushes. Letting the other truckers know who's boss. How could he possibly have so much excess saliva? Does he do that all day long? Does his girlfriend want to kill him when he does it at the movies or outside a restaurant? I couldn't stop staring. Then I scanned the other dudes to see if they did it too...and they did! Maybe that's what I was missing...The yoga pants and flip flops would be more macho if I were spitting. Noted.

Maybe next time I'll just spring for delivery...

How stupid do you think I am???

2008-11-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

I receive an email from a potential wholesaler in another country asking for line sheets and an order form. This is very common, so I send them. A few days later he emails that he would like to place a large order and pay by credit card to ship immediately--oh, and by the way, could I use a shipper he always works with? Sure.

I email the shipper--which is a gmail address, by the way, so at this point I already know it's bad news. The shipper emails back the shipping quote of $800. Hee hee. AND he only takes Western Union, is that a problem? Nah, why should it be? Everyone knows that all above-board business exchanges happen with Western Union. Standard Practice here in the USA. So I let the "store owner" know that he'll have to pay credit card for the entire amount, and I'll then pay the shipper...here's an invoice. An invoice in which the shipping is actually more than the product ordered. No prob.

Soon after the email comes with 2 card numbers--again, TOTALLY legit. The "store owner" asks me to run each card twice for different amounts to "break it up." Sure. OH--and "please keep all credit card info private." Of course. Why wouldn't I?

This is where it gets really annoying. I call the credit cards to report that their "owner" is a weirdo, only to discover that neither card has "a department" or "protocol" to deal with someone calling to report this. I simply ask them to call the card holder and find out if they are trying to purchase a large wholesale order of children's products--because I bet they aren't. "We'll take care of it. Thanks for calling."

That's what I get for trying to be a crime fighter. I tried. I'd like to think someone would do it for me.

Funny, though. When I emailed him to apologize for his cards declining, and give him another option for payment, he never responded. Huh.

Mindless Television

2008-10-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

Has anyone else noticed that the more complex your life gets, and the less sleep you have to cope with it, the simpler your television watching becomes?

I found myself watching "Wife Swap" the other night. Not that it's a bad show, on the contrary I found it to have a profound meaning...and yes, that is what I am talking about.

I have a friend who is in a book club, belongs to movie groups who view independent movies and discuss them afterwards over a glass of wine...I read "Real Simple" magazine at the dentist's office last week and learned how to clean my kid's humidifier. Oh, and I found out that Angelina and Brad are "so happy" with their family of 8. Good for them.

I know it won't last forever. And when it's gone I'll long for the days when all my kids want is to play crazy eights for HOURS and have me chase them around the house pretending to be a cheetah. A day will come when I can return to HBO series and Netflix.

It's good to have goals.

Shipping to Canada?

2008-09-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

Starting a new company is like having a baby. Every day someone asks you something you don't know the answer to, and you then spend entirely too much time researching the right answer, so that the next time someone asks you, you know.

"What's the most time efficient and inexpensive say to ship a 14 pound box to Canada?"

"What's your MOQ for direct delivery from China to New Zealand?"

"You are taking omega 3's and calcium, right? You know it's crucial when the baby is developing kidneys..."

"uh..."

Luckily I enjoy troubleshooting. I think that's why having my own company, as well as having children, seems to work for me. You have to be willing to NOT know. Put on your game face, and find out the answer. Or make it up.

"Mom, if the Earth implodes because the sun turns off, will we get on a spaceship to mars to live? Can we pack snacks?"

"Were unicorns and dinosaurs friends?"

"Can you make 3000 custom pantone purple Carabeans and have them in Las Vegas by next week?"

I like my jobs. They freak me out, but the challenge keeps me moving. Thank heavens for Google.

Does it count?

2008-08-21T14:01:00.001-07:00

As a parent, one of the things I have found in common with other parents is the new found doubt in our appeal to those who are not married to us, or conceived by us. I don't even remember the last time someone held a door for me, or asked me...well, asked me anything other than "oh, how old is she?" or "Wow, expecting another?" The last one, by the way, was asked by a woman two aisles over in Trader Joe's to which I bitterly replied, "No, I'm just fat." That was a great day.

Today, however was different. I was out for a nap time walk with my little one, dressed in a lovely ensemble of capri sweat pants, dirty tank top and MBTs. (MBTs, by the way, are simply delightful. People will ask you why you are wearing such "interesting" shoes, but your back will feel fantastic. So treat yourself.)

It happened.

"Woo hoo! Yeah Baby! Nice one!"

I look up to see a white van with a man hanging out the window. A paper bag in one hand, and a long flowing mullet blowing behind him, he gave me the thumbs up and blew me a kiss.

Most women would be immediately horrified and disgusted, but all I could think about was, "does this count as being whistled at?"

I decided it did, but still felt the need to ask everyone I talked to for their opinion. So far everyone agrees that I can count it, and that's good enough for me.

Awkward?

2008-08-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

I would imagine we have all been there as parents...you are at the park, your kid starts playing with another kid and you strike up a conversation with the parent. Two hours later, you and your new mommy buddy are laughing and having a great time while your kids play together beautifully. Then it happens. One of you has to leave, and there is that moment. The "wow I had a really great time on our first date" moment. The "I'm not sure if I should give you my number so we can have a playdate" moment. So you both just stand there and go through as many goodbyes as you can before one of you has to break away and throw in the towel. Driving home, you wonder if you made the right decision...

The only thing MORE awkward than this is when the parent is a dad.

I had this happen yesterday. At the beach, kids playing together and having such a great time, Dad and I talking about hybrid cars and minivans..."wow, you live right in our neighborhood!"..."Oh, your wife sounds great!" Blah, blah, blah...then it was time for him to head out for his youngest to take her nap.

We stood there.

"Well..."
"So nice to meet you..."
"Yeah..."

Then he left. Awkward.

I have decided that we should create a code word for other parents so that everyone can know that it's ok to ask the other parent for a playdate, but if one isn't interested, they can just ignore the signal and leave. Hmmmm...it would have to be something subtle, but obvious enough that we would get it. "I really like Cracker Jacks," or "wasn't the Electric Company a great show?"

I'll work on this one, I think it's worthy...let's save ourselves from this.

Amazon.com

2008-08-04T08:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone told me to list my products on Amazon, so I did. I read the millions of confusing pages of catagories, listing ideas, photo uploads...and finally I did it! I felt a great sense of accomplishment at clearing the hurdles of yet another online store. The products looked great, page seemed as comprehensive as an Amazon page can get, and I was on my way.

Until I received the email about $39.95 being charged to my account this morning.

"Huh?" I said out loud as I read it. Then I went into my Amazon account and searched around about this fee. Couldn't find it. So I called...

Turns out the "30 day fee trial" was for a web store, and I was merely selling items. Confusing? Yes.

"What's the difference?" I asked.

"The icon you clicked to enter the area where you set up the store."

Crap.

So I explained my stupidity and hoped she would feel sorry for me and reverse the charge and make me happy about my account. Instead, she directed me to the page I somehow skipped that explains the fee.

Crap.

Now I'm in a back and forth email conversation with a robot to try and get the account cancelled. As if the phone conversation with the robot wasn't enough.

The worst part is that I'm outraged not only at them, but at myself for somehow missing this! I hate surprise fees, hidden charges...who doesn't? Lesson learned. I'll chalk it up to being naive and try to make it up to myself. Hmmmm, chocolate? Yes.

Batman

2008-07-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

I saw Batman this weekend. I love Batman movies, all of them. Val Kilmer is hot. Clooney, well, he's Clooney. Bale, smokin' hot too.

I bet you are wondering what this has to do with Carabeans? Other than the fact that the Black Licorice would be a fabulous accessory on the Bat Bike, and it would give me an excuse to snuggle up to the Batsuit, nothing. OH-and the Pumpkin Orange would have been a great grenade pull for the Joker, right?

My Brain

2008-07-30T21:22:00.000-07:00

One thing I did not anticipate when starting a new company was the constant spinning of the monkey brain. I find myself waking up in the middle of the night wondering if Carabeans will fit onto bicycle handle bars, or if people really do like having the option of 6 colors...is it too many choices? Should I keep it simple? Silly, silly, silly...but I'm totally obsessed. And loving it.

Day One

2008-07-30T15:56:00.000-07:00

Today is the day I start the soon famous "Mommy Toolbox Blog." I'm sure people from all over the world are fantasizing about it, and now it's here.