Gus Gear

When I think of my friend Sarah I think of the term 'solve a problem and you have a business'. Sarah solved a problem and now has created a very unique niche online business called Gus Gear.
Not everyone needs Gus Gear in fact there are only around 5000 adults and children in New Zealand, my daughter Matisse being one of them. So what is Gus Gear - their tag line Helping medically challenged individuals build confidence and self esteem. For my daughter they provide a cover to hide her ostomy bag which she got when she was just 4 days old.
Most of you thankfully won't need to know what an ostomy is but for some of our children and many adults it is a life saving operation that allows the body to eliminate when the intestine is not working correctly. Although your life has been saved or improved you then need to cope with an ugly bag which sits on the abdomen and for littlies like mine, hangs below clothing lines and is difficult to hide. Thanks to Gus Gear children like mine can have discretion while sporting something pretty cool!
What impresses me most about Sarah is that she is a mum who is building a business to solve a problem but also copes with the many daily challenges of raising a medically complex child.
If you know anyone who has an ostomy please check out Gus Gear they also do covers for feeding tubes and pump bags.
Photo - Matisse sporting an ostomy bag cover from Gus Gear.

Your home and Garden

Check out Sticky Tiki in the latest edition of Your Home and Garden magazine (NZ news stands). Kim from Sticky Tiki also happens to be my sister and featuring in the spread are my gorgeous nephews (Zavia and Jasper) and niece (Kahlo). Before my family moved to the US my sister and I lived down the street from each other; her in her very hip but very old property and me in my brand new house by sea. Although our styles are worlds apart I love the 'new look' of her home which has changed dramatically since I was last there two and a half years ago. You will see the Sticky Tiki wall decals prominently featured - a testament that you can never have too many!

Sticky Tiki Update and Meeabee shout out!

STICKYTIKI IS NOW WEATHER AND WASH PROOF!!!!!! Sooo this means all those sticky little fingers marks can be wiped away...it also means your StickyTiki can go OUTSIDE or like me on your car!!!! The possibilities are ENDLESS...

We have been testing safe water based laminates and have found one that meets all our strict requirements to make it safe for you, your little darlings and the environment!

Jacqui at Meeabee talks about our Multi Healing Balm. Jacqui makes the cutest bags which both adults and children love! Check them out below or visit MeeaBee.


Find more photos like this on Skout Trade Fair

Visit Lola and Ben and pick up some BabyBaby

National Agricultural Fieldays™ – Mystery Creek, Waikato

10-13 June 2009

8am-5pm daily

Lola & Ben – New Zealand Style for Little Ones (baby sleeping bags, merino baby clothing, modern cloth nappies, BabyBaby skincare, merino socks, wall decals, baby bibs, wooden toys and more)

Location: Fire Station Building



We are going to have some great show specials and offers.

We're going on a BabyBaby hunt...

The Great Kids Fashion Hunt is coming to BabyBaby Today! While you are there check out our fantastic specials.

How To Play
Register

Good Luck!

Dear Deer Tree

From Kim at Sticky Tiki
Phew finally have this one done. I painted it about 5 months ago and it has been waiting to get Si's techy magic on it!! I am so excited as I think the kids find this one really magical and because there are so many ways to put it together it makes it a really interactive piece of art!... And because it is hand painted once on the wall looks as if you have painted on there yourself...really you could get away with passing it off as your own work of art.
We print on a really fine fabric (almost like and ultra fine canvas), we use Eco friendly inks and package our products in Eco friendly packaging..we are trying to do our bit. And because our stickers are reusable so long as they are looked after (not too much dust on the sticky side) they will last for years.

More info...

I have to add that the children in the pictures are my beautiful niece, Kahlo and very cute nephew Jasper or as my son calls him Basper!
Jodee

The Great Kids Fashion Hunt

Free to join eScavenger Hunt - Fabulous prizes up for grabs!
Starts June 1st, 2009
Sign up now

BabyBaby have joined the great eScavenger hunt and have donated some fabulous prizes including our popular Breast Feeding Pillow.

The best part about this online competition is that the Ronald McDonald House Charities benefit. Our part was to donate some of the awesome prizes but to also make a direct donation to Ronald McDonald House (RMH) which happens to be one of our favorite charities.

In 2001 I was first introduced to the amazing RMH in Auckland when my daughter was admitted to Starship Children's Hospital. My family spent a total of five months at the House that year and became regulars to the house over the following years. My family have also been frequent guests at the Wellington RMH.

For families like ours with a chronically ill child having the use of such a fantastic facility has meant we could stay together as a family while making the hospital stay just that little more bearable. Until you are in the situation of having a sick child it is hard to understand the many levels of stress and emotion involved. The RMH charities not only understand but they have successfully come up with an incredible solution -a home away from home.

If you ever have the opportunity to support this cause it is one that really does directly support families. 100% of donations go to the Ronald McDonald Programs.

I hope you are never in the situation where you need to stay at the RMH but if you are, you will truly appreciate the incredible work of staff and volunteers and understand the dire need for this haven for families of ill children.

For more information on the RMH Charities visit RMHC

To join the great eScavenger hunt visit The Great Kids Fashion Hunt