To The Army Of Mommies

Last week my son, Cooper, and I flew to visit my parents. It’s a bit of a trek, and with a little guy dashing from the shuttle trains to moving walkways and escalators, a calm resolve can evaporate quickly.

We had a long layover at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, and I was lucky to find a playground for Cooper, so I could settle in with my book and relax for a few minutes. Too soon, though, we had to grab a bite to eat and go to our gate -- little did I know, there had been a gate change. It was after the last minute bathroom break that I finally clued in on the situation, hmmm…this is really strange . . . there aren’t that many people on this flight and why aren’t we boarding? I took a look at the departures board, found our new gate, and we were off and running – literally! By the time we arrived, though, the stewardess had just closed the door. The plane was there but we had just missed the cutoff. Frustrated tears filled my eyes, and I said to Cooper, “Buddy, mommy really messed up.”

We soon found ourselves behind more than 40 people in the customer service line. It was tough: a flight had just been canceled and we were stuck right behind most of those angry and tired passengers. During the wait, I set my son up with the DVD player and a movie, but it was a no-go. He had reached his limit and the meltdown was imminent.

Then something amazing happened. Over the course of the next 20 minutes, I realized I was part of something much larger: an army of mommies who magically swoop in with crackers, cookies, water, juice boxes, to help with your child or stand in your place in line so you can take your little one to the bathroom. They’d been in my shoes somewhere sometime, and they actually wanted to help. I was so touched by their compassion that it turned my night around (plus the customer service agent took pity on us, and gave us a complimentary room, which helped a lot, too).

So I just want to say “thank you” to the army of mommies who look out for each other and our little ones. I can’t imagine facing the perils of an airport without you!

http://www.namebubbles.com/

Name Bubbles Launches "Bubble Up" Fundraising Program

“Bubble Up” program members earn a 15 percent commission on referral sales of Name Bubbles personalized name labels.

We’ve designed our "Bubble Up" program to be easy to use, transparent, and as seamless for our fundraising partners as possible. Name Bubbles not only supply and ship the labels and track referral commissions on a unique program page for each partner, but we also provide our "Bubble Up" Web banner ads and other online marketing materials, so all they need to do is sign up, place their ads, and start earning their commissions from referred sales.

Like Name Bubbles, the “Bubble Up” fundraising program is easy to use. Here's how it works:

1. A visitor clicks on an advertising link or banner on a “Bubble Up” partner’s Web site, promotional email, Facebook page, etc.
2. The visitor's IP address is automatically logged by Name Bubbles and a browser cookie is placed in his or her browser for tracking purposes.
3. If the visitor orders (the order need not be placed during the same shopping session--cookies and IPs are stored for 90 days), the order will be immediately registered as a sale for the partner’s organization.
4. If the visitor has turned off their cookies on their Web browser settings, then the “Bubble Up” system will check for the partner’s Web site IP address.
5. Name Bubbles reviews and approves the sale.
6. The “Bubble Up” partner receives commission payouts via PayPal on the 15th day of every month, after the minimum balance reaches $100.

Fundraising partners are also given their very own program page, so they can view detailed statistics about traffic and sales; plus, partners can choose their own news and training materials, Web banner ads, and text links.

You'll find the "Bubble Up" program from our homepage at: http://www.namebubbles.com/

Tough & Tested Laundry Labels

As warmer weather takes hold -- and as water shoes, swimming suits, and towels start making an appearance -- the Name Bubbles Team would like to remind parents that our laundry labels (and all of our waterproof bubbles) are laminated for extra durability. And they are not affected by insect repellants or sunblock, which is important now that mosquito season is approaching!


We’ve recently redesigned our Bubble Toes with a cute flip-flop shape. Thanks to a new lamination process they no longer need the protective overlay step, so affixing them is a single-step process. Bubble Toes stay firmly stuck to the inside soles of any shoe. It’s also a fun way to remind kids which shoe is left and which one is right.

Don’t forget! While they’re designed to remain stuck to items permanently, all of our labels can always be removed with intent, which also makes them a perfect choice for clothing handed down to family members, donated to charity, or sold at consignment shops.

Enter To Win Our "Awesome" Daycare Labels Pack

Hi, NameBubbles aficionados,

I wanted to let you know about a wonderful review we received for our “awesome” Daycare Labels Pack in 365 days: +30 Mommyhood (excerpted below).

There’s also a NameBubbles giveaway afoot on that site, and it’s open until this Friday (April 2, 2010). To learn how to enter to win a FREE Daycare Labels Pack, just visit 365 days: 30+ Mommyhood (http://365daysofbeing30andamommy.blogspot.com/).

Good luck with the contest! I also hope you enjoy reading these excerpts from our fabulous 365 days: +30 Mommyhood review – we sure do:

In the daycare pack you get dishwasher safe labels so that you don't have to worry about relabeling bottles, as well as laundry safe labels so all of Abby's extra clothes won't get lost (and I don't have to use the old school "write her name on the label with a sharpie" thing). And you also get some fun water resistant stickers to put on odds and ends that may be left at daycare like diaper cream or lotion bottles or her personal toys.

And of course I had to test them out for you. So here are some shots of the dishwasher name bubbles. And trust me, they are before and after, though you can't really tell the difference, b/c they are just that awesome...

I tested putting the name bubbles directly on the clothes as well has the separate label, and they each did perfectly fine. And again here, you can't tell the difference b/c they are just that awesome.

Overall, I was really impressed at how all the laundry and dishwasher labels performed. And the dishwasher ones have gone through several more times after the pictures above were taken and they are still securely on.

Name Bubbles also has some other packs that I think I will be getting in the future as Abby grows like their school pack and their camp pack. (Though they have loads of other packs to choose from.) I have a feeling we are going to become fast friends with this company.

Bubbles To Share

Keep Your Friends and Family Sticking Around

During our first year of business we received a lot of feedback from our customers, and I want to thank those who took the time to call and write us about products they wanted or product and Web site improvements that you thought we should make.

One request we received from more than a few parents, was the ability to order a few labels for each child or have the ability to give labels to friends and family members as gifts. Because of this feedback, we created our Sampler Pack, which includes 6 personalized sheets of 14 labels (a total of 84 labels) for $18.88. The sampler pack allows six friends or family members to have 14 personalized labels of their own, -- three different styles of labels for each individual.

All of our labels are waterproof vinyl and laminated for extra durability. Each sampler sheet includes two Bubble Toes or shoe labels, six Bitty Bubbles for a child’s garments on the go, and six dishwasher safe Mini Bubbles that can be used on sippy cups, water bottles, and toys.

So, if you love to bubble, we now have bubbles to share. To see our Sampler Pack and Name Bubbles labels, visit http://www.namebubbles.com/labelpack/sampler-pack.html or http://www.namebubbles.com/

Name Bubbles Luggage Labels

Our neighbor is commuter-plane pilot, and he mentioned how often small overhead suitcases get mixed up. He also said that even the pilot’s black bag in the closet at the front of the plane is at risk. With Spring Break already upon us (and Summer vacations getting planned) we are pleased to offer our uber-useful Luggage Pack to keep travel confusion to a minimum!

The Luggage Pack includes your choice of 8 Super Bubbles or 8 Big Bubbles and 8 Square Bubbles – all with your name and contact information, such as, e-mail, phone numbers, or your address. No need to worry about your bag tag being torn off, because your luggage labels are designed to stay firmly affixed to your luggage, even under the worst treatment by luggage handlers.

Our labels are waterproof, weatherproof, and laminated for extra durability. Before you take off, be sure to visit http://www.namebubbles.com/ for our luggage labels. And enjoy your vacation!

A Big Boy Day

It was a big day on Friday. Two childhood hurdles were taken on; things we have been waiting many months for took place spontaneously and quickly.

My son is three-and-a-half and has been slow to embrace the “Big Boy” underwear. For many months we remind him about the time and using the potty, he hasn’t been very interested in tackling the routine and has preferred using his pull-ups rather than taking time away from his toys. Everyone (even the pediatrician) has told me, “It will just happen one day or as soon as he feels like it.” We’ve done our best at getting the ball rolling and being patient but he’s in control and he lets us know it.

During this time we’ve also enrolled him in swim lessons, the earlier he is a strong swimmer the better (more for safety reasons than anything else, but he also happens to love it). For six months my husband and I have sat up in the bleachers at our local YMCA during Cooper’s weekly class. We watch him climb up the racing platform, agonize about jumping, and then he quickly climbs down to jump from the side of the pool.

Something happened on Friday, I am not sure what it was but he insisted on wearing his “Big Boy” pants that day. I quickly ran to his drawers and pulled out three extra pairs of underwear and pants to pack in his bag for daycare. I also labeled everything to make sure I didn’t lose anything, if there were a lot changes. On the way to school I reminded Cooper many, many times to let his teachers know if he needed help going potty – I was not very optimistic about the laundry pile. When I picked him up I was thrilled to see that he only had one accident.

An hour later my husband and I were sitting on the bleachers watching Cooper swim up and down the pool. The class climbed out to do their jumps, on queue he climbed up the racing platform. He agonized a little but quickly jumped with his arms spread out like his was going to fly. When he popped out of the water (thanks to his floaty), his mouth opened in a smile and he let out a squeal. My husband and I grabbed one another and started screaming like our son had just won a gold medal, he turned to me and chuckled, “Honey, are you crying?” I have to admit that I was a little misty. What a day.