Letter From A Stranger

In the famous words of Tone Loc, “And it goes a little somethin’ like this….” (You’re welcome…I’ll be singing it all day too.)

You have your first child. You fall madly and deeply in love with your child. You realize that you could never leave his side. You set out determined to find a way to stay at home to catch every single breath that he takes. You develop a terrific product. With the love, help and support of your husband, you start a business and take your product to market. You spend endless hours working your tail off to make something of your business hoping that your, now two sons, will see you as a successful, smart and determined woman who gave her all; a woman who didn’t see her children as an obstacle to her dreams, but glorious inspiration. Outside of your family, you have no idea that you are affecting others.

Well, that is my story in a nutshell. And until our recent article in Life in Chenal Magazine, I had no idea how much my business, my Prego Planner and my story, could affect others who I don’t even know.

Shortly after the Life In Chenal Magazine containing our article was published, I received a most amazing letter in the mail from the Executive Director of a place called “Birthright”. A loving place where women who are pregnant and need help can go for guidance, advice, medical care and so much more. The handwritten letter read:

Dear Mrs. Heather Patterson,

I so enjoyed reading your awesome message in Life In Chenal. My daughter is pregnant and I can not wait to order items from you! I also direct the Crisis Pregnancy Center here in Little Rock…. I would love to talk with you sometime! The joy really showed in the article…. Thank you again for representing the “joy of motherhood”! I will show this article to the ladies who come to our waiting room! Your message will be heard by many who are at a “crossroad” in their lives….

Wow! Receiving that letter was one of the highlights of my mompreneur career.

To learn more about Birthright, please call 501.664.0097. Birthright is located at 804 N. University, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72205.

Prego Planner Trunk Show

I’m a big city girl at heart…I prefer concrete over woods (there are a lot less bugs and snakes, but more importantly…better shopping). I get a “high” from tall buildings and busy interstates. I was 12 years old when I decided that, as soon as I had the chance, I wanted to move to Dallas, Texas. Dallas is big city coming from a hometown with a population of less than 25,000. So after I completed my 4 year, turned 5 year, bachelor’s degree plan of college, I moved to Dallas. I vividly remember telling my parents as we were returning the Uhaul truck, “Mom. Dad. I am finally home!” However, that is before I discovered San Diego, California.

Seven years ago, my husband introduced me to sunny San Diego and it was love at first sight. Matter of fact, I cried when we left. The weather – perfect! The food – delicious! The shopping – magnificent! The ocean – beautiful! The atmosphere – paradisiacal!

We have returned to San Diego nearly every year since and I still cry every time we leave. So when Dress for the Nines (http://www.dressforthenines.com/) invited me to have a trunk show in their new store, I jumped at the chance!

On Thursday, July 16, I hopped in my Enterprise full size rental car - complete with large cigarette burns and smoked filled seats - and headed off to this adorable little boutique in Hillcrest, San Diego. Bobbing and weaving traffic, I wanted the rest of the drivers to believe I was a true San Diegoan. And by the time I had arrived to Dress for the Nines, I had convinced myself that I was.

Allison Andrews, co-owner of Dress for the Nines, greeted me at the door with a most welcoming smile and vibrant personality. As I set up my table, I had an overwhelming sense of accomplishment as a mompreneur…Nah, na na na nah, na na na nah. Here comes the hotstepper! I looked towards the front of the store and saw my products proudly displayed in the window of a beautiful shop in the city I most desire to call home. A sign in front of the store noted the week’s events and Prego Planner was at the top of the list. Wow! All of my hard work beginning to pay off! Sitting on Cloud 9, I left the stratosphere when I looked back towards the display table and saw my new and upcoming product displayed for the first time. And not only was I showcasing our never before seen product, I was privileged to be giving away a new, 100% organic, made in the USA – Hot Mama Gown (http://www.hotmamagowns.com/).

The trunk show lasted from noon -2 p.m. and every minute was thoroughly enjoyed! Inspired by pregnancy, it was such a delight to watch bumps of all sizes and shapes and hormones of all levels walk through the doors. After the show, I zoomed back to the hotel to meet up with my hubby and we began our trunk show celebration "pregnancy style" by splitting a red velvet cupcake at Heavenly Cupcakes followed by a giant hot dog, popcorn and peanuts at the Padres game.

Being my first trunk show, I learned an amazing amount of tid bits to take with me through the planning and preparation of our next trunk show and business in general. Motivated from the trunk show and a week in San Diego, I’m ready to take the maternity world by storm – I can see the lightning now! No wait! That’s the paparazzi!!

Prego Planner and Tot Tag Product Review

And So I’m Back, From Outer Space – errr, San Diego…Yes, your GlaMOMorous World drought is over! I have returned from the West Coast and it was a magnificent trip….as to be expected. But before I can tell you about sunny and sensational San Diego and the trunk show, I wanted to….

Thank Lauren for the great Prego Planner and Tot Tag review on her blog, 4BabyAndMom!!

About the Prego Planner, Lauren wrote:
“This planner makes one of the best, (in my opinion), and most unique baby shower gifts on the market! In fact, I think that this would be a very cherished memory for first time moms, especially!

About the Tot Tag, Lauren wrote:
“Another amazing product developed by the same super mom, Heather, is the fabulous Tot Tags. Again, another must-have for first timer moms, Tot Tags provides an instant mini-check list of stuff that should be in your diaper bag before you head out.”

Want a chance to win an award winning Prego Planner and Tot Tag? Hurry!! Contest ends July 24! Click on the link below to see the many ways you can win for yourself or a friend.

http://4babyandmom.blogspot.com/2009/07/prego-planner-tot-tags-review-and.html

Can’t wait to share my week in San Diego with you! Please come back to see me soon to get all of the juicy details!

Speed Dating

Main Entry: speed dating
Part of Speech: n
Definition: An organized method of meeting potential partners in which participants evaluate each other over the course of a single event through a series of brief one-on-one meetings.

It’s market time again and the Atlanta Gift Show will be starting on Wednesday, July 8, and ending on Wednesday, July 15. I always tend to get a little anxious around market time. Probably because, to me, it’s a bit like speed dating. It’s basically a formalized matchmaking process for store owners and product lines. Retailers rotate and meet over a series of short “dates” and at the end of each interval, the retailer makes an immediate decision – interested or not interested. If there is a match, contact information is forwarded to both parties.

We have been a part of an amazing showroom out of Atlanta (JPS The Signature Collection) for a year and a half now. What a terrific group and how privileged we are to be represented by such a great showroom. They do a remarkable job promoting our products and the lines of communication are incomparable. During market, JPS is very good at sending your orders [nearly] as soon as they are received. That being the case, I sit next to the computer like the class wallflower waits by the phone on prom week. I’m clicking the “Refresh” button on my email every minute (our faxes come through via email) looking for the most marvelous and desired words of that week “Incoming Fax from 404 – xxx – xxxx”). What a feeling of great accomplishment you get when the orders come in. Yea! You were accepted! They thought you were astonishingly beautiful, full of life, and had a lot to offer! They want to see more of you!!

So please come visit us at the JPS The Signature Collection Showroom in Atlanta this week. Sit down, spend some quality speed dating time with our products and fall in love with us. We promise to show up on time and to love you back just as much! Pssst…and we’ll even wear a dress (see “Dressy” Prego Planner http://www.braelynbountybug.com/main.php?section=products&pageID=prego-planner).

JPS The Signature Collection
Americasmart 2
230 Spring Street
Suite 1327
Atlanta, GA 30303
404.749.4693
jpsshowroom@yahoo.com

Jumpin' July

Wahooo!!! July has been such an exciting month! And I’m full of excitement as I anticipate the events that are to take place in the next two weeks. My sister is getting married this next weekend and as the matron of honor, mother of the ring bearer and complimentary wedding planner, I have many duties to fulfill in the days ahead. On a business note, I’ll be leaving for San Diego, California, after the wedding to preview my products at a trunk show at Dress for the Nines (http://www.dressforthenines.com/). (Wish I could say that I was taking the Braelyn Bounty Bug jet, but that is many, many Prego Planners and lottery tickets away ;o) I also hope to be giving a sneak peak of our new product expected to launch in the fall. Oh! And I’ll be giving away a very chic Hot Mama Gown – the alternative to the generic hospital gown (http://www.hotmamagowns.com/) during the show. So if you’re in the San Diego area, please drop by and see me on Thursday, July 16, from noon till 2:00 p.m. Not going to lie, San Diego is one of my MOST favorite places to visit so I’m mixing in a much needed vacay and maybe a little L.A.! Yes, I’ll be sure to send pictures ;o)

Our story in Life In Chenal magazine came out this month too. It is a fantastic article! If you have access to a place that offers Life In Chenal, please pick up a copy and read what we’re about…all that and a bag of chips…and some oreos.

The Prego Planner is featured as part of Pregnancy & Newborn magazine’s July Celebrity Mock Basket Giveaway. If you’re prego or know someone who is, be sure to pick up an issue and register to win. There is some major swag to be given away!

Holiday Road - Part 4

I have to confess something. I’m ready for the Holiday Road to come to an end. When I started blogging my journey, I was filled with a rush of emotions. Sitting on the edge of my seat, filled to the brim with new-found wisdom that I couldn’t wait to share. Four weeks later, it’s bringing me down and I’m ready for some good belly laughs! Aren’t you?! So the journey ends here folks….

After a poem-filled, event-filled trip to North Carolina, we decided to brave the trip back home. We left that following Monday evening arriving back home at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Exhausted, I unpacked our bags and washed clothes only to pack them back up on Friday for another road trip…thankfully a much shorter road trip.

A two hour drive south, we were invading my parents home for the weekend so I could attend a bridal shower for my sister. My sister, head over heels in love, anxiously anticipating the “big day” and blushing at the sound of her fiance’s name…ohhh, the days of “young love”. The excitement of the unknown…the excitement of starting your lives together…the dreams of starting a family together. It’s the time in life where you don’t let anything else interfere with your love and attention for each other and you swear you never will. You’re consumed with him and him with you. The shower was beautiful and so was the bride-to-be. It was very refreshing to see the bliss in her eyes.

The next day, I had to brave the most difficult trip yet. Before we left for home, I took the boys to visit my grandmother who has been placed in a nursing home. My grandmother, when “present”, asks about her great-grandchildren constantly. The last time I saw her, I barely recognized her. This time, I would have been for certain it wasn’t my grandmother if it weren’t for my grandfather sitting by her side. Unfortunately, she didn’t recognize me or the boys that day. She didn’t even recognize my grandfather. Matter of fact, she asked my grandfather where her husband was.

My grandfather, who still lives in their home, is there when she wakes in the morning until she falls to sleep at night. Everyday, he is there by her side whether she knows it or not. Many nights he is there past midnight. If you have ever seen “The Notebook”, I have witnessed it in real life. My grandfather, who will turn 90 in September, has been head over heels in love with my grandmother since the day they met. As stubborn as she is, he has lived his life to please her. My heart breaking, his eyes full of tears – for him and for her.

She is a woman who I found it hard to connect with, yet I had so much in common with. A lady who refused to let go of the bottle (and I mean the hair dye bottle) until she could no longer raise her hands above her head. A woman who always had an excuse to host a tea party and loved to use her china. Diamond was her best friend and clothes her closest acquaintance. A mother of three boys.

As we drove back home, I contemplated the circle of marriage. Seeing my sister and her fiancé about to start their journey and seeing my grandparents about to end their journey. It made me look at my husband in a whole new light. The man I love more than anything in this world. The sexiest, smartest, strongest man I know. The man who puts up with more attitude from me than he deserves…I never want a day to go by that he doesn’t know how much I love him. We’ve been married for six years and it’s easy to let “life” get in the way. It’s easy to go another day without any quiet time with each other because we’re both exhausted. It’s easy to give all my energized attention to the kids because they demand it. I want to be there by his side when he wakes up and by his side when he falls asleep, giving him all the attention he deserves. Don’t let me take one day together for granted. I want to love him with all I have. I want him to know that I’m loving him with all that I have.

Whew! I’m emotionally drained and glad this road has come to an end. I could barely finish this entry and to be honest, I didn’t want to. Let’s sum up Holiday Road and get back to our regularly scheduled program:

ONE: Long road trips are CRAZY, CRAZY, CRAZY!
TWO: Written by your children, what will your Bio Poem say?
THREE: Written by your friends and acquaintances, what would a poem about your life say?
FOUR: Do you take your spouse and marriage for granted?