“No Constitutional Right to Homeschool”?

I just received an e-mail from my mother that contained some disturbing news. Being recently transplanted to the state of California, I immediately decided that this was something that deserves some attention.

Not more than two weeks ago, a California appeals court declared in In Re Rachel L. that the vast majority of parents in the state of California may choose only between sending their children to public and/or private schools. These three judges believe that the parents are unqualified to teach their own children. Tens of thousands of children in California are currently homeschooled, but that wasn't enough to convince these three judges, who boldly proclaimed that “parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children,” unless they are certified by the state to teach. The California court refused to recognize the rights of the parents as fundamental rights. According to the court, homeschooling could not be a legitimate educational option because it would place “an unreasonable burden on the state to have to supervise each and every home in which a child was being educated.”
In a recent Press Release Governor Schwarzenegger declared that “parents should have the right to decide what’s best for their children.”

Read more about this topic here »

90210 organics

My friend Sarah and her business partner, Jennifer, have decided to open their own online Baby Boutique that reflects their love of all things natural and organic. These two California moms wanted to share their passion for living naturally with the rest of the world, and what better way to do just that than to open their own shop! 90210organics.com
In their shop you'll find high quality organic fashion, natural baby products, and beautifully handmade accessories, all personally handpicked by Sarah and Jennifer. In Sarah's words, let them "inspire you to live the natural life you were meant to live.”
Here is a small sampling of what you will find there:

Organic Dish Cloths/Exfoliating Wash Cloths


Cozy Cocoon Organic Leopard Cocoon

Ecobaby Cozy Rattle Large - Maiden Love Flora Spring Green Elephant

So what are you waiting for? Go visit them today where Being “green” is not a trend, it is a way of life!

the Boo Boo Baby Booty line by Rheba James

I stumbled upon the cutest little baby shoes tonight, while reading through my Tot Trends Weekly online magazine. I just had to share these with you! I actually found them in a posting on the Editor's blog titled "Beautiful Baby Shoes by Rheba James".


Rheba James designs the most surprising and wonderfully decadent baby shoes! Boo Boo's are her most recent design, inspired by the delightful babies in her life. Aren't they adorable and oh so beautiful? It's too bad that my kids are too big to wear them. They are only available in 0-3 and 3-6 months at RhebaJames.com.

Let's try this again!

Okay... Let's try this again! It's already 2:00am and once again I'm still awake, working on some of my business stuff online. Seems that as of lately this is the only chance I get! I've been really sleep deprived this past week. Let's see if I can finish this post without one of the kids waking up!
They should sleep good tonight though... I recently joined a "mommy group" that I found through "Meetup" and today was our first playdate with them... About 5 moms showed up at the park (with babies in tow). I'll have to say that I know I was the oldest mom there! But it was nice to get out of the house for a bit and to enjoy some fresh air. And the kids got a much needed chance to burn off some of their energy! We stopped at Taco Bell on the way back home and then it was straight into the bath with them! You see... while we were at the park, Caitlin took it upon herself to dump a handful of sand down Brandon's back, which made it all the way into his diaper! Ahhh... the joys of motherhood!
By the way, I do apologize for not keeping up with this blog as I had intended. I've been focusing a bit more on my other 2 blogs lately. But I am going to do my best to start posting here again as well...

I've also added a link to my Monkey Baby Etsy shop on the side bar. So feel free to check out what I'm offering over there right now too! You'll find one of my original knitted hoodie patterns, which Caitlin is modeling above, and a couple of pairs of my soft soled baby shoes!
Well, until next time... I think I'm going to try to get to bed a little earlier tonight!

We made it!

We are finally settling into our new home in the San Francisco Bay Area. We arrived last month, but have been so busy getting organized. More to come... I hear a wee one waking up just now!

Our move is finally on again!

Well, my husband's new job with Yahoo is finally finalized! He's supposed to report to work on Jan.7th, 2008! So we're back in the process of getting ready to move to Sunnyvale, California. The Silicon Valley will definitely be a change from the frigid wintery weather that we're experiencing here in the Chicago area right now. We've even had a few snow flurries already! Now we're just waiting on the movers to see when the big moving day will actually be! Along with preparing to move, we're also planning a couple of trips to visit family over the holidays. So... I may not be posting to my blogs as often as I'd like to during the month of December either.
But have no fear! Once we get settled in the Bay Area, I will be back and ready to keep on postin'!

Our move is on hold!

Well our move to California is sorta on hold right now. Due to a series of unfortunate events, everything has been delayed and is actually up in the air until further notice. My husband is still waiting for the Final Offer letter to arrive, which they say they are still working on. Needless to say it has been a bit frustrating. I guess I'm being taught a lesson in patience!
Anyways, I decided to start working on my Monkey Baby Boutique website a bit again until we have more concrete info on our move. I had put everything on hold. But with the holiday season approaching, I don't want to miss out on offering my new merchandise during the busiest shopping time of the year!
I did spend a little time today just browsing the web and checking out a few other blogs, and I wanted to share this REALLY CUTE fabric activity book that I found.

I am considering trying to make an activity book of this type to add to my Boutique. Of course it won't be exactly like this one, but something similar... I wouldn't want to "copy" this design! Anyways, check out the blog she wrote and read the cute poems that go with each page.