I finally saw the drained caplet and put the fish smell together to figure it out. SO, he gets a bath with the other two little boys, followed by a bath for the three little girls.

Anyway, funny smell at dinner tonight–it turns out ALL SIX now smell like fish. Another bath night tonight, now in different tubs….

Now that there is getting to be a broader exposure and understanding of our product, we have received comments that it would work well as a child ID bracelet.  Well, they are absolutely correct.  We have used them in the past when traveling as an easy way to put the name of a child and our contact information somewhere visible in case they were separated from us.  We also use a backup by putting all pertinent information on a small index card or business card and putting it in their pocket.

Bandette band size generally runs a little big for the wrists of small children, so we found it works also to put it over a sleeve or on a child’s ankle where it is less likely to come off.  As long as it is not so snug as to be uncomfortable or restricting we found it to be no hinderance.

Team up this idea with Gripsterz Stay Along, and your outing should be fun filled and enjoyable!

Got an idea for ViveVita?  Visit our idea submission page <click here>

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Three of our little guys and gals went to the dentist yesterday for a check-up and tooth cleaning.  They received high scores from the dentist for good tooth brushing!  We were so proud of them.

We also had a flurry of medium kids losing their teeth, with 3 coming out this week.  I think the Tooth Fairy is going to apply for government bailout funds!

But with all this talk about dentists, teeth, toothbrushes, and all, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Toothbands.   BPA-free, Phthalate-free, lead-free food-grade silicone labeling bands that help your youngsters keep track of which toothbrush belongs to which child.  This helps prevent germ spread.  Because we all know how confusing it can be when little ones come back from the dentist with new toothbrushes, and you still can’t remember who the old ones belonged to–now you have to memorize their new colors or characters—aaagh!!

Not so with Toothbands.  Your child keeps the same color and character, and simply transfers their band to their new toothbrush.  That color and character belong to them, through-and-through, as they also match their Bandette cup band, and their My Spot seat marker (and they can even start out with a matching Keepster pacifier label when they are a baby).

Today marks our youngest daughter’s 5th birthday!  Even though we have FIVE birthdays in July, we have two little ones with birthdays about a week apart in October, plus good friends whose children have birthdays in the the same range.

On top of that, this roughly marks the half-way point in the fall soccer season.  Both birthday parties and soccer events are great times to use your Bandette and Bandle cup and bottle labels to keep track of whose cup is whose and help limit germ spread.

Our birthday get-together with our friends with six children saw 15 children, ages 2-12 years enjoying meals and cake at the same time…definitely not an event where you want children passing around germs on their cups.

And soccer Saturdays for us usually start at the 8:00AM game and finish after the 12:00PM or 1:00PM games end.  That means we have several little guys cheering on their brothers and sisters from the sidelines for a good chunk of the day.  It also means there’s a lot of time for them to confuse their cups if they are not clearly marked.

We are really grateful for the Bandette and Bandle sippy cup and bottle labels, since they help us keep things straight and organized.  Because no one wants to come home from a birthday party or soccer game with a cold!

P.S.  October is also our anniversary month–Happy 13th Anniversary, Robyn!!!

While the entire industry has been hit by the economy, this was perhaps the best show we have been to yet.  Thanks to serendipity or destiny, whichever was to credit, we had phenomenal booth placement at #313.  That was the second row in from the front doors, just past the “Landing Strip” on the main aisle, and next to several major non-competing vendors.  We were able to catch most of the core major retailers and connect with many key people, thanks to our location and the connections Joel had made in the industry in prior years.  We renewed some international contacts as well as made several new ones with both retailers and distributors, which was a bonus.

We also reconnected with network contacts we had made from prior shows and working relationships, as well as build several new ones with other vendors, retailers, distributors, and representatives, both within and outside of our working categories.  Work-wise, it has been a great show for us.

In terms of fun, we also had a great time Saturday night, grooving with KC and the Sunshine Band.  He put on  a great show and signed an album for Robyn afterwards:

Robyn meets KC (& the Sunshine Band) (video 6 second download)

It was so much fun sharing our products with the families of Charlotte.  Many had already known about our products, and others seemed genuinely thrilled to learn about how they worked.

The three shows in the last week or so (Moms@Work Luncheon, All About Baby, and Southern Womens Show) were great consumer awareness campaigns for us in the local Charlotte area.  They also helped us get prepared for the retailer/distributor show–ABC Kids Expo this Friday (9/23) – Monday (9/26)  in Louisville, KY.

But it was hard to be away from the kids for most of the day, several days in a row.  There were great big hugs from all the little ones each night Robyn came in from the show.  I feel sorry for any babies who might happen to pass in front of Robyn in a stroller by day 3 of the show next week–they are likely to get a vicarious hug from a red-headed stranger!

We may consider the Southern Womens Show–Richmond in April of 2012, but we’ll see how our schedule is shaking out at that time.  One big thing we learned was to use cushioned floor mat for the booth–it is truly worth it and saves your feet from standing on concrete floor all day.  That will definitely be coming with us to the ABC Expo later this week.

• 1 parent
• 9 children
• 6 players
• 5 teams on 5 fields (3 at 9:15AM, 2 at 9:45AM; 2 at school on one side of a main street and 3 at the YMCA across the street)
• 3 players on 2 teams with pictures at 8:40AM (we were late, but still got there in time to get team and player pictures)

We have been blessed to have have the opportunity to play on our Church’s teams, with fantastic coaches and team parents, many who are from large families themselves, and who were able to lend helping hands.

So, we started with a head count of 9, and finished with a head count of 9.  Not sure if they are all ours, but we can sort it out later (after we determine whether or not we traded up for some ‘keepers’).

Next week will be a slightly different story, as the number of parents goes to “zero” while we are both at the ABC Kids Expo in Louisville, KY.  We’ll be saying our prayers.

If you come in the front entrance, stay just to the right and head down the main corridor.  As you pass between the first set of Belk booths, take a right and we are just past the end of the Belk booth on the right (see diagram).

Come visit us and say hello–we’d love to see you!!

Robyn Pellei, CEO of ViveVita and MompreneurPlus9 (soon to be 10), will present at the ViveVita Booth at the Southern Women’s Show – Charlotte at The Park Expo and Conference Center (formerly known as the Merchandise Mart) at 2500 East Independence Blvd from Thursday September 15 – Sunday September 18 2011.

Robyn will be demonstrating how several of her ViveVita company’s products make life easier for her and her family of 11.  The products the be shown  include:

• Gripsterz monkey character handle and walking rope
• Kissaboo boo boo covers
• and The Label Itz line
  1. Bandette sippy cup labels
  2. Bandle baby bottle labels
  3. Toothband toothbrush labels
  4. Keepster pacifier labels
  5. My Spot place markers

These products make great gifts for new parents, or any family with children ages 0-10 years, and they will be available for purchase at the show.

The event will be held at the Charlotte Convention Center (501 S. College Street, Uptown) in Charlotte, NC on Sept. 9, 2011.

The Coffee and Contacts Sponsor are Charlotte Radiology and Childcare Network-Charlotte.

For other sponsors, please visit this LINK