Peapods blog

The Beginning of a Great Adventure: Our Journey into Open Adoption

2012-01-25T15:22:00.006-06:00

Our family has always been an integral part of our store--from the early days when we would close the store for naptime to blog posts and facebook pics of our kids as they explore their world, test new toys, or help work our sidewalk sale. As babies, Abby, Riley, and Duncan were always with us while we worked, sometimes riding in a sling, sometimes sleeping in a stroller. Much of their growing up happened right here at Peapods.

Today, we are beginning a new journey as a family. We are hoping to adopt a baby through domestic open adoption. We truly enjoy being parents and we would love the opportunity to add one more child to our family. The best moments in our lives have been with our kids. It took us a while to realize it, but in our hearts we'd like to raise just one more baby.

What is Open Adoption? Basically, open adoption is an arrangement made between a birth mother (and often birth father, too) and the adopting parents in which everyone's identity is known, as opposed to a closed adoption in which the identity of the adopting parents and adoptee is kept secret from the birth parents and vice-versa. Usually, in an open adoption, birth parents and adoptive parents remain in contact, working together in the adopted child's best interests.

Our journey so far has taken us through pre-adoptive education, background checks and a home study at the Children's Home Society and Family Services here in St. Paul. (The staff there's been great!) We've been working since last September to get to the point where we are now, which is seeking a match with a potential birth mother.

It used to be that waiting families would rely upon an adoption agency to match them with a potential birth mother, but many matches today are made outside of an agency, which involves a certain amount of advertising and networking (as in the movie Juno, where a match was made through an ad in a local shopper).

So, we now have a website for our family as well as an official profile through Children's Home Society. (Please visit if you're interested in learning more.) As strange experiences go, writing advertising text about your own family ranks right up there! In putting it together, we tried to be as forthcoming and honest about ourselves as we possibly could. The goal, after all, is to establish a supportive long-term relationship with birth parents who will likely play a very important role throughout our adopted child's life.

We're on a pretty steep learning curve here. This is completely uncharted territory for us. Ultimately, we hope to make a positive contribution that transcends our small family. We see this new journey as a way to not only grow our family but also to expand our horizons. If you have questions or comments, please send us an email. We look forward to sharing more as we progress.

Peace and best wishes,
Millie and Dan

How to Make Potholders

2011-12-15T10:28:00.002-06:00

Happy Holidays! Hopefully this video inspires some winter potholder weaving! We have basic and deluxe potholder looms in stock, all made in the USA. Makes a great gift for ages 6+.

Our Best Holiday Gift Ideas

2011-12-08T14:02:00.003-06:00

We've seen lots of toy lists this year, from best to worst and even a bit unwired. So, we'd like to add some of our favorites.

Our guiding principle for selecting all the toys in our store is play value. We ask, how much will your child enjoy playing with this toy compared with

what it cost? Our observation from 15 years of parenting is that the toys that kids play with most are the simplest--toys that require kids to invest their own imagination instead of just responding to a pre-programmed microchip. The one toy in our store with the most play value is probably our BEKA Unit Blocks, which have been a part of our kids' play from the age of 1 through 12 and beyond.

So, with play value in mind, here's our list of favorites for 2011!

Green Toys Vehicles - these tough trucks are safe for toddlers and perfect for big kids! They'll hold up to hours of sandbox play and are made in the USA from recycled milk bottles. We're particularily fond of their brand new School Bus!

The Grow Up Transformable Wooden Ride On & Cart - These just arrived! This brilliantly designed toy transforms from a toddler push cart into a cargo-carrying ride on and then into big kid shopping cart. A great value that's three toys in one!

Our Wooden Fishing Pole - This toy is truly a Peapods classic, and it recently won recognition as one of Mothering Magazine's Best Natural Toys of 2011.

Nuchi Wooden Train Sets - These back to basics wooden trains don't blink or beep or talk but they're capture your child's imagination nonetheless.

Rody Ride on Toys - Made in Italy, these are perfect for indoor gross motor play during these long winter months!

Shop Home for the Holidays this Saturday - Saint Anthony Park at its Finest!

2011-11-30T10:44:00.002-06:00

Kick of the Holiday season with some charm and delight and visit our neighborhood at its finest! This Saturday December 3, join the fun in South St. Anthony Park along Raymond Avenue and in North St. Anthony Park all along Como.

In addition to a wonderfully festive and endearing holiday atmosphere, planned events include:

Find unique locally-made gifts at the artisan fair at Milton Square (1 block east of us and home to Micawbers Book Store, The Little Wine Shoppe, Serendipity Flowers, Bungalow Pottery and Muffuletta)
Festive Holiday Carolers cheering the neighborhood 11:30-1:30
Santa & Mrs. Claus and Reindeer-pulled sleigh rides next door to us at Park Midway Bank 9:30-1:30
A tree lighting ceremony with Santa at Milton Square at 5:00
Wine Tasting at the The Little Wine Shoppe 1:00-4:00
Cookie Decorating at Speedy Mart 1/2 block west of us
A book sale at Micawber's benefiting the Saint Anthony Park School

And, when you spend $50 total at of the above Saint Anthony Park merchants or here at Peapods, the Bibelot, or Finnish Bistro, stop by Serendipity Flowers in Milton Square for a free coffee mug and enter to win a Holiday basket of prizes from all of our local businesses. (Click here for a full list of merchants)

So, bring your family and visit Saint Anthony Park this Saturday and help us cheer in the season! We can't promise snow, but we can promise a lot of festive Holiday fun!

We're Making "Black Friday" Less Blechy! (And More Neighborly!)

2011-11-21T12:25:00.011-06:00

More and more people are wondering why we have this thing called "Black Friday", which is now creeping back through the early morning hours and into Thanksgiving itself. Why get up early and fight huge crowds when you can have stress-free fun shopping at your favorite locally-owned indie shops? Skip the big boxes and have some fun instead!

We had a fabulous time last year with our Black Friday celebration and we're doing it again even bigger this year! No need to get up early—just stop by during our normal hours for a cup of hot cider. And, with a purchase over $30, you can draw an instant-win prize from our Black Friday fishbowl. You’ll draw one of the following fabulous prizes:

$5 Peapods Gift Card
$20 Peapods Gift Card (at least 4 available in the fish bowl!)
$50 Peapods Gift Card (one of these in the bowl)
$20 Gift Certificate to our neighbor Micawber's Book Store (2 available)
$20 Gift Certificate to our neighbor the Little Wine Shop (1 available)
$20 Gift Certificate to our neighbor The Bibelot (1 available)
Beka Construction Site Toy valued at $120 (made in Minnesota)
Haba Technics Building Blocks Set valued at $70
Swaddle Designs Swaddling Blanket Gift Pack valued at $38
A bunch of other prizes including Kid's Chapter Books from Micawber's, Kathe Kruse baby toys, a Ravensburger puzzle, and a fleece-line Urban Baby Bonnet

Plus, we'll have a bunch of great stuff on sale!

Baby K'Tan Baby Carriers 20% off
Econobum single packs from BumGenius will be Buy One, Get One Free
BumGenius 4.0 Pocket Diapers will be Buy 5, Get 1 Free
FuzziBunz One Size Pocket Diapers (not the new Elite style) will be %30 off
BabyLegs 3-Packs will be $19.99 (Regular price $36)
Kallisto Organic Stuffed Animals Made in Germany (absolutely lovely!) will be $29.99 (limited supplies; regular retail $60-$70)
Rockin' Green Detergent's brand new SECRET HOLIDAY SCENT will be $11.99 for Classic Rock and $12.99 for Hard Rock (Normally $14.99/$15.99)
Grovia: Buy 2 Grovia Shells and get 1 free
Ergo Baby Carriers: Get a free infant insert with each Ergo Purchase

But wait, there's more!

Our Holiday Rewards Program continues! Through the end of the year, our rewards program is for everything in the store, not just cloth diapers! Earn a $15 store credit when you spend $200 on anything in the store before 12/31.

And finally, we are continuing to collect gently used Baby Carriers, Cloth Diapers, and Maternity Clothes for families in need through the Bum and Belly Drive.

We wish you and your family a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Looking Ahead to Election 2012

2011-11-08T12:48:00.004-06:00

On this election day, we'd like to draw your attention to next year's election and a proposed amendment to Minnesota's constitution which would ban same-sex marriage. We're mentioning this now because we need to begin working together now to defeat this discriminatory initiative.

There are a few issues which we feel compelled to use whatever community standing we have as small business owners to stand up for what we feel is right. We believe that marriage is a human right and that government should not interfere with who a person chooses to marry.

More than that, we are dedicated to serve Minnesota's community of families and children, which is the entire purpose of our store. Whether they have straight or gay parents, all children deserve access to the security and protections that marriage provides. Marriage confers a whole host of benefits for children and families which range from tax deductions to custody issues and from health insurance coverage to legal protections in a divorce. To deny children of these protections simply because of who their parents are is unfair and hurtful.

One year out, we are already witnessing the grinding wheels of the political process as it rolls toward its big show--a presidential election year. An issue like this proposed constitutional amendment in a swing state like Minnesota is going to draw unprecedented attention and money from all over the country. In just a few months, Minnesota children will be bombarded with confusing and often hurtful messages about same-sex marriage every time they turn on the TV or radio. How will this affect your children?

This is an issue which affects us all. Whether it's your friends, your coworkers, or your own family, people you know in your life will be directly impacted by the result of this vote. It may even be one of your own children. Whether our kids turn out to be straight or gay, do we really want to burden them with a discriminatory amendment to our state constitution?

You can begin helping now. We urge you to visit Minnesotans United For All Families and take their pledge today to vote no. If you have time to offer, consider volunteering to help them educate voters about this issue throughout the coming year. And, more than that, talk to your friends and neighbors about how this amendment would hurt real families and real children. This is about so much more than partisan politics. It's about honoring and protecting children and families--no matter what kind they are.

Free Child Development Education Event 11/17

2011-11-02T12:10:00.003-05:00

6:30pm on Thursday, November 17 @ Peapods

Stephanie Johnson offers an evening discussion about the effects of electronic toys and media on the child’s nervous system. Linking early physical experiences to future emotional and cognitive development, Ms. Johnson offers a unique perspective on child development. She is known for her warmth, clarity and humor and passionately educates the community on the body’s role in learning.

Babies in arms are welcome. For more information about Stephanie Johnson MA, R-DMT, LPC or Sage Education Center, please visit sageeducationcenter.com

Dispatch from the ABC Kids Expo

2011-09-28T13:18:00.005-05:00

We just got back from our annual trip to the ABC Kids Expo in Louisville, KY. As always, it was an overwhelming experience. It's hard to convey how huge this trade show is, but we heard that to walk the entire show (which we did and then some) was a full eight miles.

We visited with a lot of our new suppliers and found lots of great new products, too. Watch our facebook page over the coming weeks as we announce new arrivals! Specifically, we got a chance to see new products from bumGenius, including a new one-size all-in-one, new colors and prints, and a new Flip training pant. We should be among the first stores to receive those. Also arrivng soon are new styles of the Beco Gemini and Ergo baby carriers.

We also had great conversations with the folks from Thirsties, Naturpedic, Bummis, SoftBums, Haba, Doodletown, and many more.

In conjunction with the trade show, we attended the annual meetings of the Baby Carrier Industry Alliance (BCIA) and the Real Diaper Industry Alliance (RDIA). We got to meet Peggy O'Mara, the founder of Mothering Magazine, and lots of other retailers and manufacturers. We also got a chance to talk with Neal Cohen, the CPSC's small business ombudsman, about current product safety issues. These meetings were probably the highlight of our trip.

The Bad Idea Fairy Awards
As always, there were a lot of goofy products on display. There's always something there that seems to go out of its way to promote detatchment parenting. This year's standout was the Laptime infant lap seat by Infant Affection. It's basically a padded infant seat to use when holding your baby--presumably so that you won't have to actually touch your baby. Or maybe because mom and dad's arms are just too hard. We couldn't quite understand why this product was necessary.

The oddest product we saw was a flowery headband gift for a baby that comes on a card suggesting that the headband should be saved and used later as a bridal garter belt. Talk about great expectations! We probably won't be ordering any of these, either.

Congress Passes Reform of the CPSIA!

2011-08-02T00:51:00.005-05:00

From Dan: For almost three years, we've been working hard to reform the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008, a one-size-fits-all law that imposed the same costly third party testing requirements on small batch toy crafters as it did on Mattel. Without a change in the law, we were worried about losing dozens of our favorite small business suppliers, many of work out of their homes.

I helped found the Handmade Toy Alliance in 2008, and I've made three trips to Washington DC and testified twice in Congress. Along with hundreds of other retailers, crafters, and small manufacturers, we've been trying to make the argument that handcrafted children's products deserve protection.

Yesterday, in a flurry of action during all the chaos of the debt ceiling debates, Congress finally passed a bill that offers a way forward for small businesses and targeted exemptions from the costs of third party testing. It was a truly bipartisan bill with only 2 no votes in the House and none in the Senate. We expect it to be signed by the president within days. We believe that these changes will save hundreds of businesses and many of our store's suppliers.

I have to thank the other members of the HTA board, all of whom have been working tirelessly to reach this day. They're a remarkable group of people with a diverse set of talents. They've helped me keep going even when all hope of change seemed to be lost.

We've all learned a huge amount about how the government works. And we've learned that it really is true that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.

Thanks also to all of our wonderful customers to wrote to Congress on our behalf--you really made a difference!

Finally, I have to thank Senator Amy Klobuchar, who's office has been incredibly helpful from the beginning. Senator Klobuchar helped us to shape this bill so that it was as helpful as possible and used her influence to push it through the Senate on a unanimous consent vote. We also owe thanks to our friends at MetroIBA, the Minnesota Retailers Association, and Park Midway Bank, all of whom helped us bring this issue to the Senator's attention.

Peapods Annual Sidewalk Sale June 24-25

2011-06-15T16:42:00.004-05:00

Different Sidewalk, Same Great Sale!

Yes, this is the big event! It only happens once a year—bunches of stuff on sale 25-75% off. Closeouts, overstocks, scratch & dents, discontinued items, errant purchases, stuff we don't know where it came from, things we wondered "why did we schlep these to the new store?", etc. As always, this is a huge event that happens only once a year and everything's priced to move. Sale runs 10am to 6pm June 24th and 25th.

Because our sidewalk sale is a busy event, we recommend (but do not require) shopping without small children. Our sale will take place rain or shine. Sidewalk sale purchases are final—no returns or exchanges. No fair arriving early!

KARE 11 Coverage of Great Cloth Diaper Change

2011-05-09T20:47:00.003-05:00

Here's the video from the April 23rd coverage on KARE 11 of the Great Cloth Diaper Change event. Thanks again to everyone who participated!

The story of a sign

2011-04-12T15:30:00.003-05:00

After 12 years of steady service above our old store on Snelling, we had to decide what to do with our old sign. Made of painted sheet metal on an aluminum frame, it was still in good condition, but the logo painted on it was out of date. What do you do with an old sign, anyway?

We designed our original peapod logo in 1999 by editing an MS-Publisher clip art image of vegetables. The font for "Peapods" was Rage Italic, also from MS-Publisher (the same font Panera uses for its menu boards). By 2005, the logo seemed awfully dated and, um, somewhat unprofessional. So we hired Katrina Hase at Mix Creative to redesign our logo. The sign, however, remained--mostly due to the cost of replacing it.

With our move, however, we needed to get that sign down. We're pretty hardy do-it-yourselfers, but we realized removing the sign from its mountings on the brick above the fabric awning would require some professional help. Plus, we were a bit preoccupied with our move and getting our new space into shape. So, we hired a sign company from Eagan to take it down. We would decide later whether to recycle it or keep it as a souvenir.

One day in February, Dan drove our minivan down to Eagan to take a look. We had the idea that he might just load it into the back of the van and drive it home. When he got there, though, it was clear that the sign is much bigger than what we assumed--it's a full 16 feet long and 40" tall. Recycling would be a far easier option. But, it looked so sad, lying there in snow. Dan felt especially sentimental about it, so we arranged to have it delivered to the new store.

So now it's at the new store. Now what? It was too big to even go down the stairs to the basement. The only possible place for it was to hang it high on the wall in our back room, which is phase 2 of our expansion into our new store.

Our back room was the former hardware store's repair shop, where they fixed windows and lawn mowers. A little more than 1,000 square feet, it is actually the oldest part of the building. It was built as a automobile service garage fronting the alley in 1930. The main front part of the building was added 10 years later and became Park Hardware.

When we bought the building, the back had a cement slab floor, cinderblock walls, an uninsulated ceiling, a large space heater hanging in one corner, and was lit by big fluorescent lights. Much of our work in the new store was to convert the back room into usable space. We insulated the ceiling and walls, installed a vapor barrier underlayment on the floor, built space for our office, installed a new furnace, sheetrocked the walls, hung a new ceiling, and installed a beautiful new cork floor. And then hung up our old sign.

So, there it is. Right above our new cloth diaper shelves. It's maybe a little Cracker Barrel--hanging old signs on the wall--but we think it of it as an homage to our old store and all of our memories that go along with it.

The Great Cloth Diaper Change -- Help us set a World Record!

2011-02-21T16:35:00.008-06:00

For Earth Day this year, we are teaming up with Do Good Diapers to host the Great Diaper Change event at our store. The event will happen simultaneously at hundreds of sites all around the world on April 23 at 11 am CST. And, if it's successful, we'll set a record for the Guinness Book of World Records for the most cloth diapers changes at the same time.

Cloth diapers have come a long way in past 10 years, and it's time to stand up and be noticed! In the Twin Cities, gather at our store at 2290 Como Ave in St Paul to help make history. Events start at 9:30 am with the big CHANGE happening at 11 am. Local diaper manufacturer Sarah from Softbums will also be on hand for demos. And, did we mention, there will be door prizes!

How to Participate:

Pre-registration is required so that we can plan for official observers, parking, etc. Go to www.dogooddiapers.com/guinness_record_sign_up to sign up for our event. Check out the national website to learn more about what is going on around the globe. And, follow us on facebook for updates and additional information as we get closer to the big event!

Getting the Temperature Right, Part 2

2011-01-28T11:41:00.004-06:00

One of the reasons we wanted to own our building was to take responsibility for its infrastructure so that we could make more efficient choices. Well, one of those choices presented itself a little earlier than we expected...

We wrote earlier about how this lead us to install a new high efficiency furnace in the back room of the new store. What we didn't mention then was that we were hoping to get a couple more years out of the 1963 forced air beast that served the front part of the store.

Well, we came up a bit short on that. We were open only 5 days when we heard this loud clunk clunk clunk CLUNK BANG! from the basement. The pulley system that drives the blower fan had seized and self-destructed. No more heat.

Well, 47 years of service isn't bad, right?

So, we called Boehm Heating once again. They put a temporary blower in the old furnace (so we could stay warm during last week's arctic blast) and put us the schedule to get another new furnace.

As of today, we are now the proud owners of 2 high-efficiency furnaces, each rated at 95.5% efficiency, which is about 25% more efficient than before. which means our gas bill should also be about 25% less.

Our new furnace. Yeah!

Although it was kind of a bummer to deal with this so soon after opening, at least we were able to use it as an opportunity to improve our building and, just a bit, our planet as well.

Thanks again to Boehm Heating for their quick response and service.

Extreme Floor Restoration

2010-12-27T23:14:00.011-06:00

One of the many things that we've been working hard on in our new store is the floor. When we first looked at our building, we noticed there was solid maple flooring underneath the old vinyl tiles that could probably be rescued. After all, what floor covering is greener than restoring the floor that's already there? All we had to do was rip up the vinyl and refinish the maple.

And, after 70 years as a hardware store, it probably had a lot of character, too. Well, it turned out to be a bit more complicated than that...

First, we had to move the stairway which led down to the basement. It was inconveniently located in the middle of the room, which made sense when the basement had been used as retail space. In mid-October, we ripped out the stairs, installed new floor joists, and lay new subfloor. A good weekend project, but we were just getting started.

Next, we had to rip up the old vinyl tiles (after first getting them tested for asbestos--these one dated from the 1980s and were clean). The tiles themselves came up easy enough--our 9 year old son Riley and his cousin Ian popped most of them up in about 1/2 an hour. The 1/2" plywood underneath, however, was nailed to the maple with 1 1/2" resin-coated staples and took a lot longer. We hired a crew of about 6 guys and it took them the better part of two days to rip it up and pull all the staples. By the time they were done, the plywood looked like shredded wheat. It was then that we discovered dozens of holes and thousands of staples and nails in the maple floor underneath.

So, the next step was to fix all the holes in the floor, including where the stairway had been. We went up to the Maplewood Re-Use Center and bought 500 square feet of used maple flooring and hired The Transformed Tree to install it, which took several days. Because the flooring is tongue and grooved, it had to be meticulously feathered in to the existing floor.

We fixed some of the smaller holes, ourselves, too. Here's Millie fixing a hole where an old drain pipe had been.

Then, we had to pull thousands of little staples out of the maple and set thousands of nails that had been face-nailed into the surface of almost every individual piece of maple above every floor joist. It takes quite a punch to set a 9 penny nail into solid maple--usually about three hits with a 3-lbs. maul. Dan, our floor guy Shawn Russell, and 3 other guys got the job done after about 4 grueling days of work.

In one spot, we saw that someone had started to sand the floor previously and then gave up. It seemed clear, after several days on our hands and knees, that the nails and staples had deterred them. Which was probably why the vinyl flooring had been installed in the first place. It seems we were just a little more stubborn.

Finally, Shawn was ready to start sanding. He started off with some extremely course 14 grit sandpaper paper, which showed immediate results. Then, he worked up to finer grits. It took 4 days of sanding before he was ready to apply the polyurethane.

And here's the finished floor, finally completed just a few days before Christmas. We used a commercial grade low-odor water-based polyurethane which won't off-gas and should last for years. The floor is beautiful, although it does look a bit "distressed" in places. This was a hardware store for 70 years, after all. It's one of many things that remind us that our building has a history and has played an important part in its community for a long time. We're proud to be continuing that tradition.

Our Upcoming Move

2010-12-24T00:32:00.004-06:00

We've managed to firm up a schedule for our move to our new store on Como Avenue. Here's the details:

We will be closing after Christmas for about 2 weeks. We'll be packing everything up the first week, then putting everything back together the next week. Both our store and our website will be closed during that time.

We are planning to reopen at our new location on January 7.

We realize this will be inconvenient if you need to return a Holiday present, so we'll be extending our normal 30-day return policy to 60 days for all purchase made in December.

We're excited, a little scared, and very overwhelmed about this huge undertaking. Please visit us at our new store when we reopen--we think you'll love it!

Getting the Temperature Right

2010-12-06T14:21:00.001-06:00

One of the things we're really excited about in our new store is central air. And when we say excited, we mean pretty excited.

In the 11 years we've been here, we've loved lots of things about our current space, but the radiator heat wasn't one of them. The 85 year old system was controlled from one thermostat for the whole building, so we had a hard time controlling the temperature of our store. Some days we had to wear coats all day and other days we had to keep the doors open in the middle of winter.

And, our only way of cooling the store was four window air conditioners mounted above the doors which sounded a little like a jet airplane when we got them all going.

Needless to say, this was hardly an efficient arrangement. We got a quote at one point to install a more efficient cooling system, but the price was prohibitive.

So, we were really happy to watch the folks from Boehm Heating install our shiny new high efficiency furnace, which is one of two that'll heat and cool our new store. We'll have a constant temperature, smart thermostats that reduce usage when we're closed, and a much smaller carbon footprint.

We though we'd share this because if it all works right, you probably won't notice these improvements at all--it'll just be quietly keeping us comfortable.

Let’s make "Black Friday" less Blechy!

2010-11-24T12:09:00.004-06:00

We’ve always wondered about the shopping phenomenon which has come to be known as “Black Friday.” Why do big box stores make their customers and staff get up super early and fight crowds just for a few good deals?

We thought we’d make the whole experience a little more pleasant! No need to get up early—just stop by during our normal hours for a cup of hot cider. And, with a purchase over $30, you can draw an instant-win prize from our Black Friday fishbowl. You’ll draw one of the following fabulous prizes:

A $5 Peapods Gift Card
A $20 Peapods Gift Card (at least 4 available in the fish bowl!)
A $50 Peapods Gift Card (one of these in the bowl)
A Moby Wrap gift set including a Moby Wrap, Baby Blanket, and Baby Hat (a $70 value)
Our giant “Red” Fraggle Rock Doll (a $120 retail value)

Plus, receive a free extra large reusable canvas shopping bag with every purchase over $50.

Plus, our Buy 5 Get 1 Free sale on Bum Genius 4.0 pocket diapers continues.

PLUS, All Fuzzi Bunz Perfect Size Diapers will be on sale for $11.99. (We've got lots of smalls, fewer mediums and larges)

As always, gift wrapping is free.

Let’s make the day after Thanksgiving fun and fabulous!

P.S. We’ll be closed on Thanksgiving, Have a great day with your family!

A Big Announcement: Peapods is Moving!

2010-11-03T13:09:00.009-05:00

We are excited to announce that Peapods will be moving in January to a bigger (and in many ways, better!) location at 2290 Como Avenue West in St. Paul. We will remain at our current location through the Holidays.

The new store will be about 50% bigger than our current store, so we'll have even more room for new products and increased selection. What's more, we'll have some great new neighbors. Within one block of our new store is Bibelot gifts, Micawbers Books Store, a branch of the St. Paul Public Library with a special children's book collection, a Dunn Brothers Coffee Shop, the Finnish Bistro and Bakery, a post office, a great neighborhood grocery store, and the Muffaletta Restaurant. There's also two great city parks within easy walking distance.

We'll be easy to get to, too. We're about 3/4 east of Highway 280 on Como, just a hop skip and a jump from I-94 and Highway 36.

Our store will be in the old Saint Anthony Park Harware Store building, which we've purchased and are now busy renovating. With our lease expiring at our current location, we really wanted to own our next building so that we could strengthen our roots in the community, make investments to improve the sustainability of our business, and to ensure the long term viability of our family business.

We've always felt very much at home here in Macalester-Groveland. And, while we're excited about our new store, we're sad to be leaving the neighborhood that's nurtured us so well for 12 years. We simply couldn't find a suitable building to buy anywhere nearby. In many ways, this feels like we are closing our current store and opening something new. We are extremely thankful to all of our current neighbors and we hope you'll visit us often in our new store.

We've been working on this project for over a year; getting our finances in order, looking at buildings, and then long months completing all the work that goes into buying a commercial building, which is about 200 times more work than buying a house.

Over the next two months, we'll be pounding nails, painting, sanding, and scraping to prepare our new space (during the Holiday season no less!) So, if you see us with saw dust in our hair or paint on our clothes, that'll be why.

Millie building new basement stairs, Dan framing in a new restroom.

Finally, we'd like to thank our Realtor, Steve Townley, who stood by us throughout the 6 months it took to complete this transaction; Park Midway Bank, which provided our financing; and Stew and Kathy McIntosh, the previous owners of the hardware store, who allowed us to begin work several weeks before we closed the purchase.

Thank you to all of our customers! We think you'll really love our new store!

Our Trip to the ABC Kids Expo

2010-10-15T16:31:00.005-05:00

From Dan: Once again, Millie and I made the trek to the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas. If you can imagine ten gazillion square feet of convention space on two floors jam packed with cribs, strollers, diapers, gadgets and gizmos--that's where we were.

We got a chance to catch up with a lot of our favorite vendors, including Moby Wrap, Ergo, Beco, BumGenius, Thirsties, Babyhawk, and Green Toys. Sarah from SoftBums (yeah SoftBums!) was there for the first time, too. (Although on the day we were there the booth next to her was using a large, mostly naked Sumo wrestler to demonstrate their diaper rash cream, which was somewhat distracting.) We got to see lots of new offerings from many of these companies, several of which will be arriving in our store soon.

There were a whole bunch of new cloth diaper companies on exhibit, which was incredible. There must have been 24 different companies where just a few years ago there were only 2 or 3. Cloth Diapers are really reaching mainstream proportions. We have quite a few choices for new products to add, but we'll probably need to greatly expand our diaper section first--a project which is already very much in the works (more later on that.)

Like last year, there were quite a few "green" vendors, some of whom understood the concept better than others. We asked one company what kind of plastic their product was made with and they said "um...plastic plastic." One the other hand, the rep from another company had a whole report on the low estrogenic affects of his baby bottles versus other similar products, complete with cell growth data. We'll probably be ordering from him.

As always, the Bad Idea Fairy was busily at work this year. We saw a motorized stand for an adult to stand on behind a stroller that propels both adult and stroller (so, who's getting any exercise now?). We saw a special bag designed to lower a baby out the window of a burning building (this might be something we've neglected to worry about so far). And, although we love babywearing, we're not sure about Kindergartner wearing. Yes, there was a contraption designed to carry a 5 year old on your back, standing on a small platform near your waist. It looked somewhat uncomfortable.

All in all, we had a great time. It was a pretty intense 2 days, but we really enjoyed talking to our suppliers and other shopowners. And, next year the show is in Kentucky! See you later, Las Vegas!

On Learning to Ride a Bike

2010-09-12T13:22:00.005-05:00

From Dan: I learned something the other day about parenting when our nine year old son Riley finally learned to ride his bike. I say finally because we've been making sporadic attempts at it since he was 6. It was my fault, really, that he didn't learn sooner; for some reason we didn't do it the summer when he was 5, which is probably the best time to learn. And, even though we sell kick bikes in the store, we never got one for him when he was younger, which would have helped a lot. By the time he was 8, it became a source of frustration for him and we were both kind of avoiding it. And I was feeling a little like I had failed him as a father in this important step.

So, last week, we decided to try again. I fixed up his bike and we walked down to Newell Park, where there's a long grassy slope that's perfect for coasting down. I helped him get started at the top of the hill and gave him a gentle push. And there he went. In five seconds, he became a biker. In 15 minutes, he was biking all around the park. Now, we're going on daily bike rides together.

Afterward, I shared with Millie what I thought to be the lesson from this experience: That I should have taught him earlier, that I should have thought to use a hill to help him learn.

But she said we should have just trusted that he would learn when he was ready, just like everything else. With all three of our kids, whether its learning to read, learning to use the bathroom, or learning to ride a bike--they'll figure it out when they're ready.

All true, I said. Although it might have been useful if we'd learned that lesson a little earlier.

The New Roseville Library

2010-07-13T10:01:00.009-05:00

Our family made our first visit last night to the newly re-opened Roseville Library last night, which we've been frequenting since it first opened some 15 years ago. The new spaces were gorgeous, inviting, comfortable, and much larger than before. Riley dubbed it "the library of the future". Suffice it to say we were impressed.

Above is a view of about 1/2 of the new children's room, which was amazing. Plenty of room to sit and read or just hang out.

The library seems to be at least twice as big as it was before, with a new second story housing the majority of the fiction and non-fiction stacks. Again, there was a lot of space to hang out in--it has a bunch of lovely little refuges among the stacks to read a magazine.

Our favorite space, though, is the new Children's Reading Garden, an outdoor space accessible through the Children's Room with gardens, reading benches, and a unique cistern that collects rainwater for play and diversion to a rain garden.
We love this feature because, with three children, we often find ourselves with two kids in a quiet library mood and one who isn't. The Children's Reading Garden provides a place for quiet play that we can hang out in without disrupting the rest of the library.

Finally, we were impressed by some of the library's technological innovations. It seemed evident that they were aware that as the future of books themselves is changing, so will the functions and roles of libraries. They dedicated a lot of space to their media collections and had some very new programs like a new Power Check Meter that you can check out to monitor the electrical use of your appliances. And, the books are now labeled with RFID tags, so you don't have to scan them when you check out, just place them on a sensor pad.

They even had two Xboxes in the teen room, which is certainly beyond the traditional scope of a library. But, there were actually teens hanging out in the new teen room--how often do you see that?

All in all, we were really excited to see the new building. Definitely worth checking out.

Big News form BumGenuis: The BumGenius 4.0 Pocket Diaper

2010-06-29T14:15:00.007-05:00

We have just learned that BumGenius is once again updating the design of their very popular pocket diapers. We have placed our order and are hoping to receive our first shipment of BumGenius 4.0's in the fourth week of July. Here's the scoop on the 4.0's new features:

1. Now accommodates even larger babies! Better yet, the diaper still fits small babies too.

2. All new hook & loop closures

3. Accessible, easily replaceable elastic. All elastic tack-points are now visible from the inside of the diaper. To replace elastic, turn the diaper inside out, thread new elastic through the casing and stitch it down at each end.

4. Three new colors. Bubble (light lavender), Noodle (light cream) and Sweet (light green).

5. And the best new feature (we think)... you now have your choice of closures (snaps or hook & loop).

We will still have 3.0's in stock and few more on the way, although color choices may be limited. Stay tuned for more info!

Click on the image below for graphical details:

Announcing the MetroIBA Independents Week Promotion

2010-06-29T12:47:00.003-05:00

July is the month to celebrate your independents!

Peapods is joining 24 other local independent businesses throughout the Twin Cities to celebrate Independents Week throughout the month of July. (Why limit it to just a week?)

Throughout July, each time you visit a participating business, you'll get a chance to enter a drawing for $1,250 worth of gift cards--$50 from each participating business. Plus, each of us is offering a special discount or giveaway when you enter the drawing. At Peapods, you'll get a free large canvas shopping bag. Stop into the store for a brochure with a game card to keep track of all the indie businesses you visit.

We're proud to participate in this great promotion along with lots of other businesses we admire, including Bibelot, Izzy's Ice Cream, Birchwood Cafe, Electric Fetus, Grand Hand, The Wedge Coop, Wet Paint, Key's Cafe, and many others. This is a wonderful opportunity to spend the month of July getting some great deals and getting to know other unique businesses. The fun begins July 1! Full details are on the MetroIBA website.

Handmade Toy Alliance Blog Week: Spotlight on American Toy Co.

2010-06-23T15:40:00.003-05:00

Many of our customers will be familiar with the work of Mike Spikes, the owner of American Toy LLC in Corvalis, Oregon. We've sold Mike's toys for at least 10 years, and they've been a favorite all along.

Our favorite is his ping pong catapult, which launches a ping pong ball across a room or down a flight of stairs. We've also heard that it'll launch a variety of other objects including dog biscuits, acorns, and chestnuts. In any case, this is probably the perfect toy for a rainy day. We don't know of a better way to burn off a whole bunch of energy than running up and down a flight of stairs shooting ping pong balls into a cardboard box and retrieving them.

Another favorite is the basketball free throw toy, which requires just the right amount of pressure on the wooden spring to land the ball in the hoop. It's one game that a 6 year old can consistently beat an adult at.

Like all the members of the Handmade Toy Alliance, Mike has been forced to do extra testing and labeling because of the sins of big toy companies like Mattel who outsource their production to China. To us, his toys have always been safe and incredibly fun and we're hoping to carry them for years to come.

This Friday and Saturday: Our 10th Annual Sidewalk Sale!

2010-06-21T11:02:00.004-05:00

Dan wrote a song to commemorate this event (apologies to Bob Dylan):

Snelling Avenue (aka Highway 51) Revisited

Millie counted her boxes and started to sing
We need some room for more new things
We’ve got trikes with dents and games with dings
Clothes and books we bought last spring
Do you know how we’ll get rid of these things?
We’ll just put some tables out in the sun
And sell them on the sidewalk of Highway 51.

Ok, so that was pretty goofy, but here's the details:

Yes, this is the big event! It only happens once a year—bunches of stuff on sale 25-75% off. Closeouts, scratch & dents, discontinued items, errant purchases...June 25th and 26th 10am to 6pm

Because our sidewalk sale is a busy event next to a busy street, we recommend (but do not require) shopping without small children. Our sale will take place rain or shine. Sidewalk sale purchases are final—no returns or exchanges. No fair arriving early!

Handmade Toy Alliance Blog Week: Spotlight on Camden Rose

2010-06-21T09:09:00.003-05:00

All this week, thirty blogs across the country will be profiling the member businesses of the Handmade Toy Alliance. We're happy to participate and would like to start off the week with Camden Rose, one of our favorites.

Camden Rose began in 2003 as an effort to produce in the USA the same kind of high quality wooden playthings as are made in Germany. We stock their rattles, wooden eggs, child-size mops, little wooden cars, and stacking blocks. All are heirloom quality and will last for years.

A couple of years ago, we visited Camden Rose owners Judy Alexander and Jason Gold at their shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We got an incredibly warm reception and were impressed by their vibrant business.

Their signature piece is their Cherry Rattle, which many of our customers will recognize. We love it for its organic shape and smooth feel. When you hold one in your hand, you know that it wasn't made by a machine on an assembly line but by human hands.

Back in the fall of 2008, when the toy safety law known as the CPSIA was passed, we called Jason and asked him how the law's new third party testing requirements were affecting his business. He told us that he had already contacted a lab and got a quote for nearly $4,000 to test his wooden rattle for lead and phthalates, a plastic additive, neither of which have ever been found in wood.

We've been working with Jason and a collection of several hundred other businesses ever since through the Handmade Toy Alliance. One of our early victories was when the CPSC declared in 2009 that fabric and natural materials like wood will not need to be tested for lead. Hopefully we can make more progress in easing the burden of the CPSIA on small manufacturers so that we can continue to offer wonderful toys from great businesses like Camden Rose for many years to come.

Toys and Recomended Age Guidelines (and some new ones from Green Toys)

2010-06-11T11:19:00.008-05:00

One of the challenges we face as toy store owners is how to deal with our manufacturers' perceptions of age recommendation vs. our customers' (and their children's) perceptions. What does it mean if a toy is labeled for 6 and up? Can I not give it to my 5 year old? Or, my four year old really likes these wooden blocks, but they're labeled for ages 1 and up--does that mean they're too babyish for her?

Usually, these age guidelines are only guesses by the manufacturer about which children will most like a toy. Haba, for example, gets real specific with its wood toys--some rattles are labeled for 1/2 year olds, some for 3/4 year olds, if that makes any sense. Almost all of these recommendations can be taken with a grain of salt except for one: Age 3 and up.

When a child turns three, they are officially trusted by government safety standards to play with small parts. Three year olds generally know not to swallow marbles, game pieces, rubber bands, etc. So, if a toy is rated for ages 3+, it usually means that the product contains small parts or that small parts could break off during normal use and abuse.

It costs more to design, manufacturer and test products to be safe for kids under three. Over the years, we have seen some toy companies make products that will naturally appeal to a toddler or a two year old but, in order to save costs, will label the toy for ages 3+. We've dropped several lines of toys because we felt the manufacturer's age recommendations were not appropriate.

For that reason, we really appreciate Green Toy's announcement this week that they have retested and certified several of their most popular toys for kids under three after it became clear that their toys had wider appeal than they anticipated. This kind of action is very rare in the toy business and we really respect Green Toys making this effort. Their new age guidelines are as follows:

Now Ages 2+:
Tea Set
Cookware and Dining Set
Tool Set

Now Ages 1+:
Dump Truck
Recycling Truck

Now Ages 18m+:
Sand Play Set

So, if you've been holding off on buying one of these great toys because your child is too young, take another look! They're all made in the USA from 100% recycled milk bottles. We really like Green Toys--both their toys and the way they do business.

Newsletter Excerpt: Attachment Parenting & Older Kids

2010-06-09T11:18:00.005-05:00

The following article, written by Millie, is a preview of our annual newsletter. If you're on our mailing list, the newsletter will be arriving soon in your mailbox. If not, you can sign up today and/or read the current newsletter online.

When we began Peapods 12 years ago, we were firm devotees of Attachment Parenting. William Sears sets out a list in The Baby Book: shared sleep—check. Breastfeeding—check. Responsive to baby—check. We signed up and drank the Kool-aid.

It was really, really hard and really, really good. Best intentions aside, none of our babies were easy. The fundamental lesson of Attachment Parenting for me was trust—trust in my children, trust in myself, trust in the world. Trust that the baby who was awake at 3:00 a.m., after already waking at 2:00 and 1:15, really does need something. Really does need me. That nursing 10 out of 24 hours is accomplishing something. That holding a cranky baby is always more important than weeding the garden.

And it worked! They walked, they talked, they started growing into fabulous small people. Of course the questions and the choices didn’t go away. Now we had to trust that they would wean before kindergarten. That someday they would be done with diapers. That provided with good food options, they would make good food choices. That the universe is unfolding as it should.

Fast forward a few years: Abby is 14. She’s taller than me. She’s smarter than me. Riley is 9 and wants to be a pitcher on his baseball team. Wasn’t he just playing T-Ball a few minutes ago? And Duncan is finishing up his last year of preschool. Suddenly, it seems, we are no longer parents of small children.

There is no checklist anymore. The question, as always, is what do our children need, now, to thrive, to grow deep and tall. And the answer, as always, both changes and stays the same.

The lesson of trusting hasn’t really changed as they’ve grown older. Nor is it a lot easier. My kids have taken their time learning to read. Not like “get out the flashcards” late, but “is it time to call the specialist” late. Now they read. Incessantly. “Put down the book and go outside!”

Today they’re tackling challenges like climbing really tall trees, using power tools, and traveling around the city on their own. Soon we’ll be looking at driver’s ed. These are all wonderful, important things I want my kids to learn. And they can seem so scary as a parent—those trees can be so high, the saw so sharp.

After all the hand wringing, the answer almost always comes back to trust. My kids are capable, strong, and generally not stupid. They need to be safe, but they also need to be righteous. I trust my kids enough to say yes most of the time. I also trust myself enough to say no when I need to. I try to listen to my kids, and in return, they usually listen to me.

Introducing 'Wood from the Hood' Growth Charts Made From Local Reclaimed Trees

2010-06-04T12:20:00.004-05:00

We are excited about these great new growth charts! They're made from reclaimed trees from all around the Twin Cities. Wood from the Hood harvests trees that need to be cut down to make way for construction projects and distressed elms and ashes. They turn them into picture frames, cutting boards, even cabinets and countertops. For us, their growth charts are perfect. Made in Minneapolis, each growth chart is labeled with the zip code that the tree came from. You just can't get any more local than this! It's the perfect way to create an heirloom keepsake of your child's growth.

Introducing the Pacific Rim Woodworking Maple Crib

2010-05-05T10:13:00.005-05:00

We're pleased to announce the newest addition to our store--the solid maple crib from Pacific Rim Woodworking. This is the first crib we've ever stocked, so we wanted to offer the best available. Made in Eugene, Oregon, it's made from FSC-certified maple. We think it's the greenest crib on the market. And, the quality of workmanship and finish is exceptional.

This crib is fully compatible with our EcoBaby and Naturpedic organic mattresses or any other standard mattress.

We're stocking a version with 2 fixed sides for extra security, which we aim to always have in stock. We can also ship anywhere in the lower 48 states, which takes 6-8 weeks for delivery.

Happy Earth Day!

2010-04-19T17:19:00.003-05:00

We have 50 Eco Recycling Games and great reusable canvas shopping bags to give away on Earth Day, April 22. Both are courtesy of Plan Toys, which is one of the greenest toy companies in the world.

So, stop in early on Thursday and help us celebrate Earth Day!

Welcome to the Neighborhood: Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply

2010-03-31T19:18:00.005-05:00

Our very good family friends Audrey Matson and Bob Lies are opening an urban homesteading store called Egg|Plant on Selby Avenue 1 block east of Fairview (about 4 blocks west of Snelling).

Their official opening is tomorrow, April 1 (no fooling!), and they're all stocked up with an amazing selection of gardening supplies, heritage seeds, plants, composters, planters, implements, books, and backyard chicken supplies. Audrey knows her stuff, too--she's the one who turned us on to raising chickens a couple of years ago.

It's been really fun watching Bob and Audrey plan Egg|Plant and make it a reality.

So, before you put in your garden in this year, stop in and check out Egg|Plant. We think it's destined to be another great independent store that makes St. Paul such a great place to live!

Above, a few preview photos of Egg|Plant as Audrey and Bob and their kids (and a few of ours) prepare for opening day.

The BabyHawk Oh SNAP! Structured Baby Carrier

2010-03-17T12:21:00.003-05:00

We recently added this new soft structured carrier from BabyHawk called the Oh SNAP! It's a great carrier for older babies and toddlers and can be worn on the front or the back.

It's similar to our long-time favorite the Ergo, but it has a fold-down head support panel instead of a hood and a wider center panel. Like the Ergo, it has a wide padded waist belt, padded sholder pads, and an adjustable chest strap. Unlike the Ergo, BabyHawk doesn't (as yet) make an infant insert to accomodate small babies--it's intended only for babies 15lbs or larger.

We love BabyHawk's sense of style and we get new fabric combinations every time we order. We also love the fact that they're made in the USA. Stop in a and try one on with your baby!

New in Store: Simple Eco-Friendly Toddler Shoes

2010-03-01T10:12:00.004-06:00

We just got in our spring supply of toddler shoes from Simple. These are sturdy and wide little shoes made from certified organic cotton, hemp, and natural and recycled rubber. Even the laces are green -- made from recycled soda bottles. We're stocking size 4-10 in both boyish and girlish styles, but they might not last long since we didn't order a huge amount. If you need a pair of super-green puddle jumpers, stop in soon!

Announcing the Peapods Cloth Diaper Bottom Line Savings Program

2010-02-24T13:30:00.001-06:00

Get rewards for building your cloth diaper stash!

We know that as your baby grows, her cloth diapering needs will evolve. And, we’d like to help you out each step of the way. From newborns to toddler, from prefolds to training pants, we’d like to reward you for coming back to us for all your cloth diapering supplies.

If you sign up for our free Bottom Line Saver’s program, we’ll keep track of your cloth diaper purchases for you—there’ll be no special card to carry. Then, spend $200 on cloth diaper supplies with us, we’ll give you $15 in store credit for your next purchase that you can use on anything in the store.

Every cloth diaper, diaper cover, or pocket diaper you buy adds to your rewards total. Save up and spend your rewards on a new toy, some great kids’ music, or… some more cloth diapers!

Simply stop into our store and sign up when you make your next purchase. Or, email orders@peapods.com with your name, address, and phone number and we'll add you to our system. No cost, no obligation. As one of our employees said, "There's really no reason not to do this."

Review of the NY International Toy Fair

2010-02-21T14:00:00.002-06:00

From Dan: Earlier this week, Millie and I flew to NYC to attend the NY International Toy Fair. Honestly, we had a lot of fun. In addition to the fair, we met up with other businesses owners members of both the Handmade Toy Alliance and the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association. We also got the chance to shop lots of Manhattan stores, from haute baby boutiques to FAO Schwatrz.

The best news from our trip is that we found lots of great new toys, which we'll be telling you all about as they arrive throughout the year. It seemed like there were a lot more new products on display than there were last year, which seems like a very good sign for everybody.

If there was one product that defined this year's fair, it would have to be mechanical toy animals--in particular hamsters. Yes, expect small armies of Zhu Zhu Pet knockoffs to invade malls everywhere in the coming year. The weirdest thing we saw was probably fake fingernails for little girls. Or maybe it was a product that turned bathwater into something like Jell-o.

The coolest thing we saw was...well, we'll let you know when they arrive. Stay tuned! In the meantime, check out Rocketboom's review of Toy Fair--it provides a good sense of the experience, especially if you keep in mind that the whole things takes the space of about a dozen football fields.

Vacation

2010-01-19T19:25:00.001-06:00

Our store will be closed January 24-30 so that our family and employees can take a much-needed vacation. We will reopen on February 1. All Internet orders will be processed when we return. Thanks!

Peapods featured in NEED Magazine's Holiday Gift Guide

2009-12-02T09:40:00.002-06:00

Thanks to NEED Magazine for posting this wonderful interview with Millie about fair trade and local toys for their Holiday Gift Guide!

Coming Soon: Babies the Movie

2009-11-27T23:55:00.004-06:00

This looks totally cool.

Thanks to our friends at Happy Bambino for the link!

Rediscovering a great toy

2009-11-22T10:37:00.001-06:00

Sometimes your child will find a toy you bought several years ago and start playing with it all over again like a newfound treasure. At 5, he might see a toy with different eyes and a different set of questions than he did when he was 3. Having a good selection of quailty toys around the house (which requires fewer toys than you might think) helps create an enriching environment that resonates more than a whole lot more plastic battery operated toys can. I thought of this when Duncan rediscovered his spinning top and found a new fascination with it this morning. -dan

Announcing the Peapods "Black Friday" Sidewalk Sale

2009-11-20T14:47:00.002-06:00

In honor of our unseasonably warm weather, we announce our first ever "July in Christmas" Sidewalk Sale. It'll be only on November 27th and 28th from 10am to 6pm (no need to get up early!)

We'll be offering 40% off on select merchandise--overstock toys, games, shoes, and more!

Extended Hours
Also, as in past years, we will be open on Sundays from 12-4 through the holidays.

Product Availability
we want to let you know that this has been a somewhat different year for us and many of our vendors. For a variety of reasons, many of our most popular toys will be in shorter supply this year. We encourage you to shop early this year for the best selection.

Thanks again for your continued support! We wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!

Note: if winter actually arrives during the sale, we'll move it inside!

Hand turned wooden tops

2009-11-11T16:56:00.001-06:00

New in store: hand turned wooden tops made in Minnesota. No two are alike. $5 each.

Holiday idea: wooden swords from Germany

2009-11-08T18:07:00.001-06:00

This idea comes with a photo testimonial from Duncan.

Introducing the BumGenius Flip Diapering System

2009-10-26T14:45:00.002-05:00

Brand new item: The Bum Genius Flip Diapering system.

Essentially, this is a one-size fits all cloth diaper cover that comes with an adjustable fleece/microfiber insert. There's no pocket to stuff, and the flip cover will work with other cloth inserts like DSQ prefolds.

And, there's also a disposable Flip insert, which is similar to the gDiapers inserts we used to sell. It's great for travel--toss the insert and reuse the cover. These inserts can also be used with our other velcro or snap covers.

The BumGenius Flip system is available now as a single pack or a day pack. Enjoy--and let us know what you think!

Disney Gets Smart

2009-10-25T01:44:00.002-05:00

In the news today, Disney admitted that their Baby Einstein videos don't actually make kids smarter and are offering a refund to anyone who bought one.

This seems a bit obvious, perhaps. Einstein himself didn't watch them when he was a kid, did he?

What does make kids smarter? According to this piece in the NY Times, "Parents and other caregivers teach young children by paying attention and interacting with them naturally and, most of all, by just allowing them to play."

Play. Makes you smart. Huh.

H1N1 and Seasonal Flu Vaccines contain thimerosal

2009-10-07T00:04:00.003-05:00

As concern rises over this year's flu season, we'd like to point out that both the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 vaccine may contain thimerosal, which is made with the neurotoxin Mercury. The CDC explains:

Will the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine contain thimerosal?
The 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccines that FDA is licensing (approving) will be manufactured in several formulations. Some will come in multi-dose vials and will contain thimerosal as a preservative. Multi-dose vials of seasonal influenza vaccine also contain thimerosal to prevent potential contamination after the vial is opened.

Some vaccine manufacturers will be producing 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine in single-dose units, which will not require the use of thimerosal as a preservative. In addition, the live-attenuated version of the vaccine, which is administered intranasally (through the nose), is produced in single-units and will not contain thimerosal.

We believe that thimerosal is responsible in whole or in part for causing autism and other diseases linked with the immune system. Whether or not you agree, we would encourage you to ask your doctor whether their flu or H1N1 vaccine contains thimerosal before getting the shot.

That's How a Pumpkin Grows!

2009-09-29T09:39:00.003-05:00

Just in time for Halloween, Brian Vogan has a new music video for "How a Pumpkin Grows" from his CD Little Songs. Enjoy!

Why we are closing out on SIGG Bottles

2009-09-28T10:41:00.006-05:00

We have always loved SIGG water bottles for our family and loved to sell them in our store. They're great looking, fun, and easy to use.

But, as you may have heard, it turns out that SIGG has been misleading all of us about the nature of the liner in their aluminum water bottles. They told us that their liner "did not have BPA", otherwise known as Bisphenol-A, a common plastic additive that's been identified as a human endocrine disruptor. What they meant, it turns out, was that their liner had been shown not leach BPA in lab tests, but it did in fact contain a small amount of BPA until SIGG implemented a new liner technology about a year ago.

We do believe that both the old and new versions of SIGG bottles are very safe and we have no reason to doubt SIGG's independent lab report showing that no BPA leaches from their old liners. We are continuing to use our old SIGG bottles in our family.
However, we no longer trust or respect SIGG. They lied to us and many other retailers, which caused us to unintentionally mislead our customers. For that reason, we are discontinuing our relationship with SIGG and are closing out all our stock (all of which have the new liners.)

We continue to stock many great alternatives, including Kleen Kanteen and Crocodile Creek stainless steel bottles.

If you have an older SIGG bottle, SIGG is offering an exchange program which requires you to mail your bottle to SIGG. Since we are discontinuing our SIGG altogether, we are not able to exchange them in the store.

As a store, we apologize for passing SIGG's misinformation along to you, our customers.

Update 11/5/09: Our understanding is that SIGG ended their exchange program on 10/31/09.

Press Release: Peapods and the Handmade Toy Alliance react to testing exemption for Mattel

2009-09-04T17:23:00.006-05:00

St. Paul, MN – September 1, 2009 – The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) continues to issue important guidance on several key areas of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which was passed by Congress in August 2008 and requires all children's products to be tested for safety by third party laboratories. Except, it turns out, for toys made by Mattel, the world's largest toymaker, who has recalled 12.7 million toys for safety hazards or lead paint since 2007.

The CPSC granted Mattel permission to operate "firewalled" in-house testing facilities instead of paying third party laboratories for performing required toy safety testing. Although such in-house testing facilities are allowed under the CPSIA (due to Mattel's heavy lobbying in 2008), only very large manufacturers can meet the requirements set forth in the law. Smaller manufacturers, including the members of the Handmade Toy Alliance (HTA), must pay third party labs for testing services ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars per item.

“We are concerned that this is just another example of the fox guarding the hen house,” wrote Consumer Reports. Members of the Handmade Toy Alliance couldn't agree more. “Mattel is one of just a few companies that caused all the panic over toy recalls back in 2007,” said Dan Marshall, Vice President of the HTA and co-owner of Peapods Natural Toys (MN). “While the provisions of the CPSIA are causing hardship for hundreds of smaller companies with impeccable safety records, Mattel has been allowed to bring their testing back in house with only a promise that they will not have continued lapses in product safety.”

“This really makes me crazy,” said Jill Chuckas, Secretary of the HTA and owner of Crafty Baby (CT). “This law is nearly impossible for small businesses like mine, but Mattel gets let off the hook. How is that fair?” Mattel's stock has risen 33% in the first six months since major provisions of the CPSIA came into effect on February 10, 2009.

The Handmade Toy Alliance again calls to Congress to amend the CPSIA to make it fairer for small businesses by allowing the CPSC to apply risk analysis to mediate the costs of compliance without sacrificing safety. Small businesses should not be punished for Mattel's mistakes.

Although the CPSC has recently defined a list of materials that are not expected to be contaminated by lead, many materials still require testing. “It's fine to exempt wood, fabric, and paper from testing,” said Cecilia Leibovitz, President of the HTA and owner of Craftsbury Kids (VT). “But as soon as you attach a nail, zipper, button, hinge, or a coat of paint, we're back to having to pay for testing. Most of our members are still very much struggling with this law.”

The Handmade Toy Alliance is a grassroots alliance of 382 retail stores, toymakers and children's product manufacturers from across the country, who want to preserve consumer access to unique handmade toys, clothes and all manner of small batch children's goods in the USA. Formed in November of 2008 in response to the CPSIA, HTA members are parents, grandparents and consumers who are passionate about their businesses as well as the safety of the children in their lives. While in support of the spirit of the law, the unintended consequences of the CPSIA have motivated members of the HTA to work to enact change at a federal level.

Our Fall See Kai Run Shoes Are Here!

2009-08-26T16:36:00.000-05:00

Here's a view from our back room. Our shelves are packed with cute little shoes!

Happy Tomato Season!

2009-08-23T00:05:00.003-05:00

Yikes--we're suddenly having a bountiful tomato season. Hope your garden's doing well, too!

New in Store: Gymnic Bouncy Balls from Italy

2009-08-12T17:03:00.002-05:00

Guaranteed to burn some energy!

New in Store: Kidishes Tempered Glass Dishes

2009-07-31T15:10:00.001-05:00

Finally! Glass dishes that won't leach chemicals, won't smash when dropped, and won't break your budget. Find 'em in our store and online.

Earth Hangs in the Balance! Buy Local!

2009-07-31T15:04:00.000-05:00

New! Totoro figures from Japan

2009-07-29T12:27:00.001-05:00

Our perspective on health insurance reform

2009-07-28T11:15:00.003-05:00

We have been observing the ongoing debate over health insurance reform for quite a while, and it seems to be coming to some sort of complicated conclusion. Or maybe just a new convoluted beginning. We're definitely confused about the different proposals competing against each other, but there's one thing we're certain of. Something needs to change.

From our perspective as small business owners, health insurance for our family has always been a problem. Millie has Type I Diabetes, which means no insurance company will insure us. When individuals apply for health insurance, they're only accepted if there are no pre-existing conditions and diabetes is a deal breaker.

So, we've been participating in Minnesota's health insurance plan of last resort, called the Minnesota Comprehensive plan, which is a subsidized plan for "uninsurable" people like us. For our family of five, it costs us about $1,100 a month. Our deductible is $1,000 for each of us, which means we always have to think twice, sometimes three times, before visiting urgent care or making a doctor appointment. Most years, only Millie ever gets past the deductible. One time, when we took Duncan to the ER, the insurance coordinator at the hospital said "wow--that's really crappy insurance." "Yes," we said. "We know." Offering health insurance to all our employees is not an option, because Millie, with her diabetes, would set the rates for the whole group sky high.

When Obama talked about offering a "public option" during the campaign, we thought that sounded great. Frankly, we'd also support single payer, although that doesn't even seem to be on the table. We're not even sure--what is on the table? All we keep hearing is that some compromise plan which may or may not help us may or may not make it through congress.

We've been chomping at the bit for health care reform since Hillary Clinton. In any case, we're sure that our situation is not unique and we know that many people decide not to start small businesses precisely because of how expensive health insurance can be. Almost anything would be better than the current system.

We've heard more people talking about how the health insurance problem affects small businesses. Our friends at the Birchwood Cafe recently held a press conference about how their business is impacted, too. We agree entirely with their point of view and we call on Congress to do something now to fix this problem.

Hey--we're Twittering...Um, Tweeting

2009-07-27T13:27:00.003-05:00

Yep, Peapods is now on Twitter! Follow us for in-the-moment flashes of inspiration, new product alerts, local news for parents, and whatever else crosses our minds. See twitter.com/peapods_mn .

For those keeping score at home, this mean that we now have:
1) A store.
2) A Website.
3) A Blog (you are here).
4) A Facebook Page.
5) A Twitter account.

All different! All fun! All a bit much, perhaps.

Enjoy.

Linker Logs Open Source Toys

2009-07-09T02:21:00.002-05:00

From Dan: These are so cool! LinkerLogs open-source toys. If you happen to own a woodworking gizmo called a ShopBot, you can fabricate this building toy using a free file. It's the Linux model applied to wood toys!

Mary's Soft Dough, Made in Oregon

2009-06-22T18:22:00.001-05:00

On our recent vacation, we paid a visit to Mary Newell, owner of
Mary's Soft Dough in the wonderful town of Eugene, Oregon. We'd met
Mary through our work with the Handmade Toy Alliance, so we dropped in
to say hi.

Mary invited us into her shop and Abby, Riley, and Duncan got to help
her make a batch of dough. Then we rolled it out and used cookie
cutters to portion it into containers. The dough is made out of 100%
food ingredients like flour and salt and it doesn't have that weird
"play doh" smell. She gave us samples that we played with for the rest
of our trip.

We were so impressed with Mary and her dough that we ordered a bunch
up for the store--you'll find it in our arts & crafts section. We
think you'll love it, too.

And thanks again to Mary for the memorable experience!

New Maple Teethers from Little Alouette

2009-06-21T20:58:00.003-05:00

See them online at peapods.com.

Recycling in Senegal

2009-06-19T00:57:00.004-05:00

Peapods Sidewalk Sale June 26-27

2009-06-18T23:08:00.010-05:00

Don't miss our awesome, spectacular, irresistible, sensational, once-a-year Sidewalk Sale! June 26 and 27, 10am to 6pm. Closeouts, scratch 'n dents, discontinued items, samples and questionable ideas all marked 25-75% off.

We do recommend leaving small children at home for at least the first few hours of this event--there's always a lot of people and Snelling Avenue is a busy street. See you there!

ASTRA Toy Store Convention in St Paul

2009-06-14T13:26:00.004-05:00

If you happened to be in our store yesterday afternoon, you might have been pretty surprised when a tour bus pulled up and 50 people came into our store. What the heck was that? Well, the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) is having its annual convention here in St. Paul and we were on the local store tour. Basically, these were toy store owners from across the country who've all come to town to talk shop for a couple of days. It was great to show off our store to so many like-minded folks, but it feels even better to be showing off St. Paul, which looks pretty darn good in the month of June, doesn't it?

Let the Children Run Free

2009-06-07T02:16:00.005-05:00

If you're on our mailing list, our annual newsletter should be arriving soon. If not, you can read it online, too. The following is one of the articles we wrote, which is about the free range kids movement.

(Duncan in Berkely, CA)

Our daughter Abby became a teenager a few months ago—it’s hard for us to believe that our little “Peapod” has become a young woman. And, we’ve been thinking about what we did at her age and how uncomfortable we would be with those things now.

Dan at thirteen often took the bus downtown and spent the day exploring skyways and record stores. Millie gathered signatures against nuclear weapons in Uptown for INFACT. Somehow, both of these activities in this day and age fills us with fear.

In this day and age? Who are we kidding? Why would we be more scared now of our daughter being out in the world than when we were hanging out in City Center or Lake & Hennepin? A generation of fear has blunted our instincts and caused us to trust our children less. Two decades of media saturation about the dangers of the world have left us struggling to reconcile our childhoods with our parenting.

Lately, we’ve come to recognize that if we want to raise strong, capable, self-actualized children, we need to overcome these fears. Thankfully, Lenore Skenazy’s Free Range Kids movement (freerangekids.wordpress.com) is leading the way. Lenore’s journey began when she wrote about letting her nine year old son Izzy ride the NYC subway on his own. In doing so, she tapped into the humongous schism that’s grown between reason and fear in the minds of every parent today. “Somehow,” she writes, “a whole lot of parents are just convinced that nothing outside the home is safe. At the same time, they’re also convinced that their children are helpless to fend for themselves. While most of these parents walked to school as kids, or hiked the woods — or even took public transportation — they can’t imagine their own offspring doing the same thing.”

In her new book, Lenore takes on all the crazy things we do as parents because of fear, not the least of which are the ridiculous safety products that use fear to make a buck. We’ve seen loads of these—knee pads for crawling toddlers, GPS tracking devices, marionette-like harnesses for learning to walk, helmets to cushion falls, and “glovies” to keep germs off little hands. All of these products not only deny a half million years of human evolution, but also plant in our children an insidious, damaging message: You are not fit for this world. You need constant protection. Be afraid.

As parents, we know it’s a constant struggle between our instincts to protect and to create
healthy, capable children. Unlike birds, there is no single moment when our children fly from the nest—it’s something that happens every day in a thousand tiny steps. What’s important is what’s between our ears each time our children take a step out into the world. Do we inveigh a sense of fear or trust? We’re hardly perfect, but we’re bending our minds toward trust.

On vacation, campin' in the redwoods in Northern California

2009-06-03T00:40:00.002-05:00

Introducing Lumberjack Logs - Made in Minnesota

2009-05-13T13:17:00.004-05:00

We are proud to present Lumberjack Logs, a brand new toy that's made right here in Minnesota from solid maple. We're the first toy store to have them and we even got a chance to work with the toymakers to develop them.

We like these a lot because they're audaciously big and the finished structure is extremely stable. The roof is held in place with a notched roof beam that keeps it from tipping over and the second story has a floor made out of maple slats.

What that means is that building the structure is only half the fun. Once it's built, you can play with it with dollhouse dolls, toy horses, toy furniture, etc. The play value of these toys is tremendous.

Available as either a cabin or a barn, Lumberjack Logs are available now in our store. In fact, we have the cabin set up and ready to play with. Stop in and let us know what you think.

NYTimes Conversation on Women & Breastfeeding

2009-05-12T01:55:00.003-05:00

Hanna Rosin, left, of The Atlantic (perhaps you've heard about her article in the April Atlantic) and Ruth Lawrence of the University of Rochester School of Medicine, a longtime breastfeeding advocate, discuss what breast-feeding means for nursing mothers. (Follow the link at the bottom of the page to continue the video when it stops.)

Handmade Toy Alliance Testimony in Washington, DC

2009-04-18T02:26:00.004-05:00

Testimony on April 1 at the capitol in Washington DC by Cecilia Leibovitz and Jill Chuckas, two of our co-conspirators at the Handmade Toy Alliance.

Our trip to St. Louis

2009-04-08T16:13:00.006-05:00

We just returned from a week in St. Louis visiting friends. If you've never been there, you should take your kids to the City Museum in downtown St. Louis. This was our third visit and we had a blast. There's no other children's museum like it. Here's some pictures.

Peapods on Facebook

2009-02-25T09:42:00.003-06:00

The facebook generation caught up with us! Yes, we now have a facebook page. We've posted a bunch of pictures from the past 10 years. We're also posting links to other pages, upcoming events, and articles we like.

So, take a look at our page and let us know what you think. -- Dan and Millie

Our letter in support of banning BPA in baby bottles in Minnesota

2009-02-13T15:53:00.004-06:00

Here's a copy of our letter in support of removing BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups in Minnesota, an action currently under consideration in the state legislature.

February 13, 2009

To: Deanna White
Healthy Legacy
308 E. Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55414

Re: Minnesota Bisphenol-A Legislation

Dear Deanna White,

Thank you again for meeting with us this week. We appreciate Healthy Legacy's work on promoting safer alternatives for children's products. We have been intimately involved as a business in the same initiative for over 10 years and agree that much work remains to be done.

As we stated, we are very concerned about the effect of product safety regulations on small businesses. The survival of our business and the hundreds of small companies we buy from has been severely threatened by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which became federal law last August. We view it as an overly broad measure which unfairly hurts small manufacturers while forcing the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to focus on dozens of product types which represent little threat to health while ignoring high-risk products.

It is our goal to reform this law to make it more focused and effective and to preserve small businesses. To that end, we helped create the Handmade Toy Alliance and have been working closely with the CPSC and Senator Klobuchar's office to advocate for common-sense rules that will improve the CPSIA.

As for legislative initiatives in Minnesota, we would like to express our support for eliminating BPA from baby bottles, children's sippy cups, and infant formula cans. The dangers of BPA have been known for many years and several alternatives are now widely available. We feel there is no reason why BPA bottles and cups should remain in the marketplace. In fact, we have seen a dramatic increase in BPA-free cups and bottles at large retailers. Wal-Mart has even announced that they will be discontinuing BPA-based products.

Although we would prefer a federal ban instead of a myriad of state laws, we recognize the role that Minnesota can play in accelerating consideration of a federal ban by passing this law now. Keep in mind, though, that banning BPA in bottles and cups while continuing to allow it in canned goods and food storage containers only solves a small part of the overall problem.

We are not in favor of requiring third-party testing in order to prove compliance with a BPA ban. The state may conduct random audits to assure compliance, but mandatory third party testing will be disproportionately detrimental to small businesses, which is precisely the effect we've seen with the CPSIA.

Thank you again for soliciting our input on these important issues. We wish to stress again that we are very engaged with these issues, both as parents and business owners. Our goal has always been to provide safe and affordable alternatives to synthetic and disposable products. We look forward to working with you further to pursue these goals.

Sincerely,

Millie Adelsheim and Dan Marshall
Peapods Natural Toys & Baby Care

CPSC Issues Stay of Enforcement

2009-01-31T10:33:00.003-06:00

Late yesterday afternoon, the CPSC issued a one-year stay of enforcement, which means our small manufacturers will have a another year to figure out how to comply with the CPSIA, Congress will have a year to fix many of its problems, and the CPSC will have a year to complete its rulemaking and issue exemptions.

Basically, the CPSC agreed with us that we should stop the car for a while before we try to change the tires.

Strangely, Thomas Moore, one of the two CPSC commissioners who voted for the stay, said his vote was in response to "an aggressive misinformation campaign" from bloggers and work at home crafters. The only misinformation we know about is that Congress and the CPSC were misinformed about the impact this sweeping law would have on small businesses.

Nonetheless, we are very thankful that we have been given a reprieve and a chance to work to get this law fixed before small businesses start losing their livelihoods.

Thanks to Senator Klobuchar

2009-01-31T10:19:00.003-06:00

Senator Klobuchar has issued a very supportive letter to the CPSC that calls for many of the reforms that we have been calling for. Members of the Handmade Toy Alliance have been working with lawmakers across the country and many have gone on record to argue for changes to the CPSIA to save small businesses, but many others are still replying via form letters. I haven't spoken with any of these other lawmakers, but I feel that Klobuchar's office was really remarkable in their willingness to listen to our concerns and to engage in a process to fix the law's unintended consequences.

A great deal of work remains to be done, but I think all Minnesotans can be proud to have a Senator that listens to her constituents.

Our long campaign

2009-01-09T01:02:00.002-06:00

From Dan: It's now been about a month and a half since we helped form the Handmade Toy Alliance in an effort to save the dozens of small companies that we buy stuff from. I've learned a lot in that time, most of it incredibly humbling.

First, I've learned that there are a lot more people making toys and children's products in the US than I ever would have dreamed of. I wrote last year in this blog that there is no one making dolls in the USA anymore, and I have learned that this is not true.

We are really at the start of a renaissance of manufacturing in this country, with hundreds of people making stuff in their living rooms and basements and selling it on the internet. It shouldn't surprise me so much, since that's basically how we started our business, but it has. I only hope we can fix this law before all that energy gets squashed.

Second, I've learned that it is true that a small group of dedicated people can make a difference. In early December, all our calls to Congress went unanswered and the CPSC ignored us. But, working from one member to the next, one blog to the next, one reporter to the next, we've finally gotten the attention of Congress and the CPSC, which has begun issuing guidance to make the CPSIA less burdensome to small businesses.

I've been talking to too many media folks, from the LA Times to CNN to Oregon Public Radio, which is way beyond my comfort level. Others in the Alliance have been quoted in the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Wall Street Journal, amoung many others. The story is easy to tell: why should these tiny manufacturers suffer because of the sins of Mattel and Thomas the Tank Engine?

We're not there yet, not by a long shot, but we have found hope in this month and a half. I'm not sure it's audacious hope, but it feels better than despair. The truth is that the reason I'm working so hard on this is that it's the only way for me not to get totally depressed about the situation. We'll know we've succeeded when every one of our suppliers and every member of the Handmade Toy Alliance can say yes, I can comply with the law and I can remain in business.

And, along the way, I've met some really wonderful and talented people that I never would have had a chance to meet otherwise. People like us who believe in sustainable, quality goods for children.

Thanks again to those people and to all of our customers who have expressed their support. Best wishes,
Dan

Please Vote Now to Save Handmade Children's Goods

2009-01-05T14:10:00.002-06:00

Our cause to save handmade toys from the devastating impact of the CPSIA needs your vote today! Please vote before January 15 to make sure we get national attention. Visit www.handmadetoyalliance.org for more info.

Video: Quantum Mechanics and Toy Safety

2009-01-04T00:53:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays

2008-12-26T17:34:00.003-06:00

Just a quick post to say Happy Holidays to all our customers, our employees, our suppliers, and our neighbors. Thank you for another great year!
Thanks,
Millie, Dan, Jule, Abby, Riley and Duncan.

Please sign our petition to save handmade toys

2008-12-10T00:06:00.002-06:00

Please, if you value locally made, handmade, fair trade, organic, or European toys, please click here to sign the following petition:

Like many people, I was deeply concerned by the dangerous and poisonous toys that large Chinese toy manufacturers have been selling to our nations families. And, I was very pleased that Congress acted quickly to protect America's children by enacting the CPSIA.

However, I am very concerned that the CPSIA's mandates for third party testing and labeling will have a dramatic and negative effect on small toymakers in the USA, Canada, and Europe, whose toy safety record has always been exemplary.

Because of the fees charged by Third Party testing companies, many small toymakers will be driven out of business. Their cottage workshops simply do not make enough money to afford the $150 to $4,000 price tag per toy that Third Party testers are charging.

I support a reform of the CPSIA so that toys made in batches of less than 5,000 units per year or manufactured within the USA and trusted countries with established toy safety regimes such as Canada and the European Union be held exempt from third party testing requirements. They should be held to the same high quality standards defined by the CPSIA but will not need to pay for expensive third party testing or batch labeling.

These toy makers have earned and kept the public's trust. They provide jobs for hundreds and quality playthings for thousands. Their unique businesses should be protected.

--------------
You can also write to Congress and the CPSC urging reform of the CPSIA to protect small toymakers. Visit www.handmadetoyalliance.org for more info. Thanks!

Handmade Toys Facing Extinction

2008-12-04T12:25:00.003-06:00

From Dan: I've been writing this post in my head for a while, but the time has come to commit words to pixels.

As a store, we've always been concerned about safety. One of the biggest reasons Millie and I started Peapods was to provide healthier and safer toys than what was available everywhere else. For ten years, I think we've done a pretty good job of that.

But, many of our smallest toymakers are now facing a possibly insurmountable burden imposed by Congress when it passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) this past August. The CPSIA was designed to prevent the problems caused by large China-based manufacturers who failed to control quality and turned 2007 into "The Year of The Recall"

One of the central aspects of the CPSIA is that it mandates third party testing of all children's products. Not just toys--everything from cloth diapers to Barbie Dolls. For large manufacturers, this adds a cost of a few hundred dollars per toy, which is negligible when you're making hundreds of thousands of toys at a time.

For small toy companies, however, the cost can be a lot more serious, especially if you make lots of different toys which will each require testing. Third party laboratories are charging anywhere from $150 for simple wood blocks to $4,000 for a wooden rattle, depending on the toy and the specific standards that apply to it. For some of our toymakers, these costs will put them out of business. These rules go into effect this coming February.

In fact, we have just learned that Selecta Spielzeug, which makes all their toys in Germany from hardwoods finished with beeswax, will cease selling to the Unitied States this month because they cannot afford testing.

Another toymaker that we've carried for ten years wrote to us: "This new law makes it impossible for us to stay in business as our understanding is that on one simple product each color thread, each piece of trim, interfacing and each color of silk must be tested...the cheapest [third party testing] rates we have found are $230 phtalates [per toy] and $35 per lead component. One simple toy was found to have 8 components so each one will cost $35. And we have over 100 other products to test."

Many small toymakers, WAHM diaper makers, etsy crafters, fair trade companies, and small kids clothing companies are just starting to realize what the ramifications of the CPSIA will be.

Truly, we're feeling a bit depressed about all this. We never thought we'd be in a position where we'd be arguing against the regulation of industry. But, this law was simply written without any consideration for small manufacturers, the great majority of whom have exemplary safety records. If this law were applied to food, almost every farmer at the farmer's market would be out of business.

We've been working with other stores and toymakers to argue for improvements to the CPSIA through a new group called The Handmade Toy Alliance. We're hoping that we can persuade Congress and the Consumer Products Safety Commission to make some reasonable accomodations that might save small manufacturers. Please take a moment to visit our site and, if you feel as we do that small toymakers should be protected, click on "How You Can Help" and write a letter to Congress and the CPSC.

Thanks,
Dan and Millie

Riley writes ad copy

2008-11-19T20:13:00.005-06:00

From Dan: So, we had a thought to run an ad in our local paper for the holidays. We wanted to convey an idea that our toys may cost more than Walmart's, but they have greater play value, meaning your kids will spend much more playing with them than a disposable plastic toy.

I was already having trouble formulating a succinct turn of phrase that conveyed this idea, when Millie said, "I want something that says, these are the toys that you'll be happy to see your children open under the tree. These are the toys that you'll feel good about watching them play with...Can you combine that with your idea of play value?"

Umm...

The best I came up with was "Authentic Toys that Inspire". Jule said, "Inspire what, exactly?"

Just then Riley wandered into the office and asked what we were up to. I asked if he had any ideas.

How about "Toys that Make You Smile"? he asked.

Indeed. Toys that make you smile.

Motrin Feels Your Pain

2008-11-18T11:08:00.002-06:00

So, Motrin thought they'd appeal to baby wearing moms with a condescending ad about back pain and baby slings.

Reaction from moms was swift and decisive. According to Forbes, "a flood of scathing items appeared on Twitter...The Motrin.com website went down Sunday night and as of Monday morning still hasn't come back up." We imagine that'll be a hard pill to swallow for the Johnson & Johnson marketing department.

More Good News

2008-11-14T01:08:00.002-06:00

So, November 4th was Duncan's fourth birthday! Like the night before his birth (when Bush was reelected, poor kid), the event was partially imbued with politics.

Duncan didn't mind, though. When we called the kids together to watch Obama's speech in Grant Park, Duncan exclaimed, "What? Barack Obama got elected? On my birthday?!" How cool is that?

For those wanting more good news, check out this issue of the New York Times! After all, anything's possible.

Plastics industry wrote FDA policy on BPA

2008-10-30T13:42:00.003-05:00

As you think about who to vote for next week, consider this. The Milwaukee Journal reports that the FDA, which ruled in August that the plastics additive BPA is safe, was influenced heavily and guided by plastics industry representatives. In a pattern similar to what we've seen at the Consumer Products Safety Commission relating to toy safety, the Bush administration's FDA has deliberately allowed industry to determine its policy. The result is that baby bottles, water bottles, toys and hundred of other products continue to be made with BPA, despite mounting evidence of the chemical's harmful effects on the endocrine system.

Environmental Working Group (EWG) President Ken Cook said, "An agency that once epitomized independent, impartial expertise in the service of public health has degenerated to a disgraced stenographer for the chemical and plastics industry." You can read here a more extensive criticism of the FDA under Bush from the Organic Consumers Alliance.

I'm sure we'll continue to find fault with government agencies no matter who is president. But, nothing more than regime change can reorient these important government agencies so that they fulfill their mandates and protect public health rather than promote the interests of industry.

Obama defeats McCain (In paper dolls at least)

2008-10-25T00:34:00.003-05:00

Yep, When it comes to paper dolls, the results are in. Obama dolls outsold McCain dolls in our store by a 3 to 1 margin. Nationally, the Dover Book Company tells us that Obama has outsold McCain by 2 to 1. In fact, they're almost out of Obama dolls. We still have a few left, but they're going fast. We haven't had this much fun in an election year since Al Gore ate at the St. Clair Broiler back in 2000!

Announcing Do Good Diaper Service Starter Kits

2008-10-22T17:06:00.004-05:00

We've always thought that a cloth diaper service is an excellent introduction to cloth diapering for new parents. I mean, when you have a new baby, you want to provide the best for your child and the environment, you don't have a lot of extra time for doing laundry. It's a great time to do some outsourcing.

So, we're very pleased to partner with Minneapolis-based Do Good Diapers, the Twin Cities only cloth diaper service. We now stock the Do Good Diapers Starter Kit, which retails for $72.50 and has everything you need to start up with diaper home delivery--6 Prorap diaper cover, a pair of Snappi fasteners, 10 cloth wipes, a nylon diaper tote bag, and a coupon for 1 FREE week of Do Good Diapers delivery service (worth $19-$23). How cool is that?

Although a service costs more than washing diapers yourself, it's still a lot cheaper than disposables and much better for the environment. So, if you're thinking that you'd like to try cloth but aren't up for laundry, stop into the store and do some good with Do Good Diapers. Check their website to learn more about delivery areas and how the service works.

The First Egg!

2008-10-21T10:57:00.001-05:00

Way to go, girls!

Two hikes in the woods

2008-10-20T00:59:00.003-05:00

From Dan: It sure was a great weekend here in Minnesota. Two beautiful warm fall days with the leaves at their colorful peak. On Saturday we went hiking out to Pike's island at Fort Snelling State Park, just below the airport under the Hiawatha bridge. We first visited this park a few years ago, having lived in the Twin Cities all our lives and never seen it before. It's a pretty cool place, with a lot of land hidden away where the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers merge. We climbed fallen cottonwoods and walked along the river and picked up some trash.

We also found out about the State Park system's Geocaching courses, which are new this year. Homeschoolers that we are, we got oursleves a low-end handheld GPS and trekked out to Afton State Park on Sunday. (Many parks also have free GPS units available for checkout.)

Abby and Riley took turns with the GPS, directing us from one checkpoint to the next until we found all 6 of the geocaches in the park, which took us about 2 hours and 2 1/2 miles of walking (we're pretty slow in the woods). When we found the final cache, we got to write our names in the log book and collect a card as proof. Riley's excited about collecting cards from all 72 State Parks and Recreation Areas that have set up geocache courses, but that might be a little ambitious. Still, Millie noted that it's at least as fun as golf without having to hit a ball around--a free and fun outdoor family activity.

Peapods Top 5 Toys for 2008

2008-10-17T13:25:00.004-05:00

Looking forward to the holiday season, we ran a report on our fancy pants computerized cash register to see what our most popular toys were in the past year. We were very pleased to see that, out of our top 20 toys priced over $10, only 3 were made in China. We were also very pleased with our top 5, which really are some of the best toys we offer.

So, here's the Peapods top 5 toys for 2008:

Number 5: The Plan Toys Shape and Sort A simple shape sorter for ages 1 and up, made in Thailand by Plan Toys. We love this toy because it's very open-ended, very durable, and the blocks made a satisfying clunk sound when you drop them through the holes. And, we love Plan Toys for their quality, design, and their commitments to environmentally sustainability and fair labor practices.

Number 4: The Plan Toys Punch 'N Drop Another favorite toddler toy from Plan, the Punch and Drop is probably the best selling toy in the history of our store. Hammer or push the colored balls through the top and they clunk down and roll out the side of the box. It's like playing peek-a-boo. Also made in Thailand.

Number 3: Baby Bottoms Anatomically Correct Cloth Dolls These toddler safe cloth dolls are great for potty training or big brothers and sisters. Soft and cuddly with a removable diaper. These are made in China.

Number 2: Sophie the Giraffe Sophie is so cute, so sophisticated, that it's almost a shame that she's so easy and satisfying for babies to chew on. Made in France from natural rubber, Sophie mutters a cute little squeek when squeezed. A great teether for babies and toddlers.

And our Number 1 Best Selling Toy for 2008: Uncle Goose Classic Embossed Alphabet Blocks Made in Michigan by the really nice folks at Uncle Goose, these blocks are carved with embossed designs that harken back to the turn of the last century. Truly a classic, these blocks not only teach letters, but are great for stacking up and knocking down. In fact, with our kids, we found no better motivation to entice a baby to try to scoot across the floor than to make a short stack of blocks just out of her reach. We also offer these in Spanish and ASL/Braille.

The book's always better than the movie

2008-10-14T00:50:00.004-05:00

From Dan: The kids and I went to see the movie City of Ember tonight. Abby was excited to see it because she'd read the books. Riley was excited because he loves a good movie. We had a great time. The movie was pretty good, too.

One of the previews we saw was for Inkheart, which is another movie made from a book we've enjoyed--in this case as an audiobook on one of our long family trips. It's remarkable, I think, how many wonderful works of children's literature are being made into movies. A lot of our favorites have already been done: The Dark is Rising, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Ella Enchanted, Eragon, Narnia, the Golden Compass, Despereaux and of course, Harry Potter.

I don't remember all of my favorite stories turning into movies when I was a kid, but I think it's kind of cool to first experience a tale as only words and then as moving images. Riley and Abby agree that sometimes the images your mind creates when your reading or listening to a story are better than what a movie can create. But the movie condenses and sharpens the story in interesting ways--some of which are not deemed acceptable. Ask Abby, for example, how many plot points the movie of Prince Caspian got wrong and you'll likely get an earful.

Abby says she'd like to see Hollywood adapt the works of Tamora Pierce or the Mysterious Benedict Society. And, we're still holding out hope for the The Subtle Knife and The Hobbit.

In the meantime, Riley's hoping that the folks in Wisconsin Dells will build a City of Ember waterslide like the one in the movie. "That was totally awesome!", he said.

NYTimes: Momma, I'll Have What You're Having

2008-10-01T15:14:00.003-05:00

The New York Times today sand the praises of making your own baby food with the little hand-powered food mill we sell. It's an excellent article with lots of ideas and guidelines. Yes, what's good for mom and dad can be good for baby, too!

You can read the article here.

And, um, you can buy your own Baby Food Mill here.

A Chicken and Egg Situation

2008-09-29T15:54:00.005-05:00

From Dan: Well, it looks like the stock market laid an egg again today. But here in our Little House in the Midway, we are eagerly anticipating our first eggs from our small backyard flock, which should be arriving soon. Our hens are spry young adults, with their feathers proudly poofed and layered and with their waddles coming in.

We've been improving their henhouse with the addition of nesting boxes, which are two small sheltered spaces where our girls will feel snug and cozy enough to lay. We added a golf ball and a large white marble that Riley got from The Essence of Nonsense to encourage egg laying thoughts. We'll see which works better.

It strikes me how smart chickens are. Not learned or intelligent, but in an instinctive and inborn way. They find their way back into their hutch every night. They flock and stick together. They peck only the ripe tomatoes in the garden. They know that when half a crusty old baguette is thrown to them, the easiest part to eat will be the cut end.

I don't know if the simple lives of chickens might hold some promise for calming the turmoil that our country seems to be flying into. But, it's hard to deny how much folk wisdom comes from these silly birds--almost all of which currently applies on Wall Street: The chickens have come home to roost. The fox guarding the henhouse. Don't keep all your eggs in one basket. Egg on their faces.

Maybe these birds have just grown on us, but I can't help feeling reassured that they're with us, providing sustenance while we sustain them as humans and chickens have done for thousands of years.

New Bum Genius Brights!

2008-09-22T11:04:00.002-05:00

They're here! Bright new colors from Bum Genius: Ribbit, Moonbeam, Zinnia, and Clementine. Designed to complement the original pastel bumGenius colors, these new brights will really stand out in a crowd. Cute stuff.

Dispatch from the ABC Kids Expo

2008-09-10T15:45:00.009-05:00

From Dan: Millie and I just returned from the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas, which seemed to be about 50% bigger than last year.

Las Vegas was the same as always--hot, loud, and crowded. On Monday, we got to witness a rare thunderstorm, though, which flooded the streets up to our taxi's wheel wells. I guess they don't build real big storm sewers in Las Vegas.

The expo itself was a huge mixture of strollers, diaper bags, baby carriers, toys, and just about everything else you might buy for a kid. We visited with a lot of our suppliers that we've worked with for years, like Moby Wrap, Ergo, Bum Genius, and Maya Wrap. And we found lots of new items that we hope you'll like when they arrive in our store.

As always, the Bad Idea Fairy has been busy in the past year. We saw several products designed to help toddlers keep track of their food, including a strap that attaches a sippy cup to a child's wrist so they won't lose their juice and a silicone band that performed a similar function for bagels. The worst idea we saw was the "Baby Beehavin"--a stroller with a built in DVD player. Why look at the world around you or even at your mother's face when you can just sit and watch Dora?

We also saw dozens of products designed to solve problems that don't really exist, like a tether that you connect to your kid when you go out so that you don't accidently leave them in the car; or a sticker with a hand print on it that you put on the side of your car and tell your kids to keep their hands on the sticker while you load groceries. Well intended, both. But needed?

Finally, we saw LOTS of celebrities!!!!! Well, not really celebrities, but pictures of them either caught in the act of using a baby product or quickly photographed at some event where a free diaper bag or swaddle blanket is shoved into their hands. Some of them we didn't even know--like a soap star who was going to make an appearance at the Foogo booth to help them sell sippy cups. We paused to ask about a certain baby sling and all we got was a bunch of nonsense about how many celebrities owned it.

Hello baby product makers everywhere: We don't care what Angelina Jolie uses for diaper rash or which baby shoes Adam Sandler's kid wears when he's shopping. LEAVE THOSE CELEBRITIES ALONE! NO ONE CARES!

So, that's our report from the baby gear trenches. It was nice to come home to September in Minnesota.

More Drama in St. Paul

2008-09-04T09:56:00.003-05:00

From Millie: We watched the Sarah Palin speech last night. I have to admit, I was more favorably impressed by her than I expected to be. She has five beautiful kids. She seems to love her husband. They seem to be handling the whole teen pregnancy with a certain amount of grace. She seems like she might be a good mom. She seems like a fairly normal person--someone with whom you could have an interesting conversation at the neighborhood block party.

All that said, I think Sarah Palin is frighteningly unqualified to be a Vice Presidential candidate. John McCain is an old man, and in spite of the fact that he keeps trotting out his healthy mother, statistically there is a very good chance he will kick the bucket in the next four years. And the thought of Palin being president for even a day makes my blood run cold. She doesn't have the education, the experience, the knowledge, the vision, or the wisdom. As far as I can tell, she has no experience of anything outside of her life in Alaska.

Now, I'll admit, I'd be happy if McCain chose Ronald McDonald as a running mate if it would help him loose the race. But still--what were they thinking?

Call me Uncle John

2008-09-03T15:23:00.004-05:00

From Dan: This picture is from today's NY Times. John McCain greets Bristol Palin's boyfriend Levi right here in St. Paul.

Millie and I started dating as Sophomores in High School, and growing our relationship through parental expectations, school, and the realities of the real world wasn't entirely easy. But, at least we didn't have to contend with national politics or an abstinence-only health curriculum.

I can only imagine what McCain is saying to Levi and Bristol here. "Time to be a man, son. What would would like for a wedding present? A nice toaster oven?" Juno this isn't.

It seems really sad to me that these kids have been hurled into this situation. Hopefully they'll be out of the spotlight after November.

One Rich Cookie

2008-08-28T21:11:00.004-05:00

Now, we know that the haute parenting magazine Cookie isn't meant for us. We don't usually recognize the celebrities or the Manhattan boutiques they tend to profile. But, we always thought it was an interesting window into a world where style is all that matters and no one ever has a poopie diaper. We sometimes even found interesting products within its tony pages.

But the September 2008 issue made us think maybe this is written for people we will never even meet. People who own, say, 8 houses. Inside the cover, the first four pages are dedicated to Ralph Lauren spreads featuring kids in knit Polo sweaters who look as if they can sense the unfashionable shoes we're both wearing and are slightly put off by them.

Next we have a two page spread by DKNY featuring tweens who look like they're on their way to a Cosmo photo shoot. If that's too flashy for your taste, the next two pages by Lord & Taylor offer a lifestyle of casual blue-blooded elegance. After that we have a spread featuring a vision of tween love by Guess.

So who is this magazine for? The next page makes it clear with a Citi ad featuring a multi-million dollar home on the coast of Maine with a palm tree planted outside. Using his Citi Card, Dad helped smooth the move to Maine for his daughters by relocating a palm tree "roots and all...Now we have a little bit of Palm Beach right off the coast of Portland." Thanks, Dad!

Then, we're briefly back to reality with a full page ad for Prada reminiscent of Jackie O. But, we're soon off again with a photoshopped ad for "Adventures by Disney", where you'll see "What most ordinary tourists never see..from exploring the Galapagos with a naturalist to hiking with huskies through the Alps." Sounds nice. Then...a Gucci ad.

We've always argued that it's worth spending more to get quality stuff for your kids that's ethically made. But, we're still just a couple of middle class midwesterners. After all, what kids need most is your time, not your money. Our cookie, it seems, is granola. Enjoy!

A Really Great Day at the State Fair

2008-08-26T23:04:00.002-05:00

From Dan: Sometimes I really like the State Fair--even though it makes it impossible to get around our neighborhood for 12 days. Somehow all the folksiness and strange smells make it feel much more inclusive and less alienating than Minnesota's other great get-together, the Mall of America.

We got there at about 4:30 and saw the crafts building and the 4H building (Abby's 4H club had performed their "10-Minute Hamlet earlier in the afternoon), climbed on the tractors, checked out the Eco Experience, rode the trolley, ate corn on the cob, and rode the giant slide (which has been my favorite thing at the fair since I was a kid.) Duncan didn't want to do it last year, but he loved it this year.

Near the slide is the McCain campaign booth, which looks a little like a shack. I think it used to belong to Jesse Ventura. It was none too busy. I sent Riley over to it to ask "Is this one of McCain's seven houses?" The campaign folks didn't seem to know how to answer him. We laughed for a long time about that.

Then we rode the river ride (Millie and Abby got really wet) and went to the baby animals exhibit. Riley stood mesmerized for about 20 minutes watching a chicken hatch from an egg. Then we had to see the real chickens at the Poultry Barn and discovered that cochins (of which we own two) grow really really big. One of the buff cochins was about the size of a turkey. Yikes!

Next we procured some honey ice cream and went to hear Brandi Carlile, who did a free show at the bandstand. Not a bad day at all.

Bush signs CPSC Reform Bill

2008-08-14T19:09:00.003-05:00

Today President Bush signed into law a much-needed reform of the CPSC, including increased funding, stronger authority, much reduced limits on lead in toys, and a ban on many types of phthalates in plastic toys. He wasn't sure he was gonna do it, but he found a way. Good boy, George! You're a really useful engine!

December '08 update: When we wrote this post, we assumed that this law would prevent more poison toys from China, but we had no idea it would have a devastating impact on small American and European toymakers who have been making safe toys all along by requiring them to perform expensive third party testing. It seems small toymakers were simply overlooked when this law was passed. The devil is in the details! Please visit the Handmade Toy Alliance for more details, including how you can help.

Oxford Pool AKA Great River Waterpark

2008-08-11T17:23:00.002-05:00

From Dan: The kids and I finally got over to the newly renovated Oxford Pool on Lexington Parkway. We'd being swimming there for years and Abby and Riley took many of their swimming lessons there. But, it's been closed for the past couple of years for some major renovations.

I have to say that we were quite fond of the old Oxford Pool, even though it was kind of run down. We were a little afraid that the new pool would be all gimicky squirty things with not many places to actually swim.

But, we were quite pleasantly surprised. The new pool is clean and comfortable with lots to do. True, the old giant bathtub that served as a wading pool is gone, but the climby splashy thing that replaced it was plenty entertaining. They added water slides without taking away from the main pool and the waterslides were actually quick and fun. Best of all, St. Paul Parks kept the diving board, which is a rare thing in an indoor pool these days. And, unlike some other pools we could name, the lifeguards were attentive but laid back. The only downside to the new pool was the Sauna--the old Oxford had the hottest sauna in town, which probably wasn't the best thing from a public health point of view, but I really liked it in the middle of January.

All in all, it was a great improvement. We're looking forward to spending quite a few winter evenings there.