This week is going to be a big week for me! I head to Los Angeles today to meet with some of our L.A. retailers and then on Thursday, I will be attending the Pregnancy Awareness Month kick-off event "Motherhood Begins Now" at the Skirball Cultural Center.

I am so tickled that Scandinavian Child is sponsoring the very first Pregnancy Awareness Month (PAM). Anna Getty, a holistic lifestyle expert, founded this important celebration of Pregnancy in the hopes of empowering women through information. PAM has four key initiatives  education, exercise, nutrition & wellness, and nurture. Each week of May will be devoted to one of these four topics.

The kickoff event, on May 1, will feature resources, experts and inspiration to show women how easy it can be to make healthy changes in their lives for themselves and their children. Guests will be treated to a panel discussion with Pre & Post Natal experts, a Work/Life Balance round table (that I will be sitting on) hosted by Cookie Magazine's Executive Editor Alanna Stang, pampering services including chair massages by Burt's Bees and mini manicures, a delicious organic lunch, and a gift bag with mom and baby essentials. Held at the Skirball Cultural Center, a portion of the proceeds from this ticketed daytime event will benefit Healthy Child Healthy World. If you are in the L.A. area next week, I encourage you to attend. It should be a great event!

Scandinavian Child is a proud sponsor of this event because of its' importance for the well-being of mothers and children. Other sponsors include The Cradle , Seventh Generation , gDiapers and Burts Bees.

Whether you can attend the kickoff event or not, I encourage you to visit the PAM Website at pregnancyawarenessmonth.com

As if that isn't enough ... there is even more great news coming in the next week or so. We have been very, very busy. I can't wait to share!

Brenda's been incredibly busy this past week working on lots of developments (don't worry - we'll share soon!) so I thought I'd give you all an update on the Baby Celebration Show that Scandinavian Child exhibited at last weekend in Los Angeles.

We typically attend a handful of trade shows a year, but consumer shows are fairly new to us. This is Baby Celebration's second year and I can't begin to tell you how impressed I was with this show. Penny and Patrice, the show's coordinators were just as nice as they could be and so professional. They check in with you, make sure you have everything you need AND they took around water and candy during set-up! I've never been to a show that does that.

Our products were the perfect fit for this show. We had multiple attendees come by our booth and comment on how much they love their Svan High Chair or Svan Bouncer. We even had one customer who said she came to the show specifically to buy a líllébaby EuroTote! That was such a nice feeling.

We were also lucky enough take part in several other aspects of the show. We were sponsors of the Baby Rest Stop. Any moms who needed to change a diaper or give their child a snack could visit the lounge and use our Cariboo Changing Tables or Svan High Chairs at their convenience. And the líllébaby EuroTote was seen at the 'Celebrate the Bump' maternity fashion show. The EuroTote was also on display in the Family Groove Lounge.

If you're in the industry or just in the neighborhood, and haven't checked out this show before, I highly recommend it. This is a top-notch show - from the organizers to the exhibit contractor, Blaine Convention Services - everyone was incredibly helpful and wanted to ensure that the best experience possible was had by all. Kudos!

I had to share ... Anton had "wild, wacky hair day" at his preschool yesterday. He told us he wanted a Ho-Hawk (Mohawk). I'm really not sure where he learned the word.

When Christer finished his masterpiece, Anton ran into the kitchen saying 'Mommy, Mommy, I Kitchen Little!' As you can see from the photo, he really does look like Chicken Little!

Yesterday on the news, I learned of a terrible local accident where two children were crossing the road with their mother and sister. One child died at the scene and I just learned that the other died today.

"Basil Shahin, 7, and his brother Kaled, 9, were crossing Falls of Neuse Road at Spring Forest Road with their mother and sister about 4:45 p.m. Wednesday. Witnesses said the mother, holding the boys by their hands, stopped in front of vehicles waiting in the left-turn lane. But the boys kept walking and were struck by a 1992 Toyota 4Runner going south on Falls of Neuse Road. Their sister had made it across the street."

She was HOLDING their hands! They were 'big' kids at 7 and 9 years of age!

This is such an important reminder to be extra careful with our kids near cars  streets, parking lots, driveways, anywhere. Children do not have a sense for the danger and they are typically out of eyesight. We hear all the time about children who are struck in their own driveways because their parents don't see them behind the cars.

This is just another reminder to all of you parents out there. For more information, please visit this great web site for more information and ideas: www.kidsandcars.org

If you want to help, they have a petition for better car safety standards to prevent backover and car window strangulation incidents. You can send a petition to your lawmaker through this link.

I apologize for such a sad post right before the weekend, but it's been consuming my thoughts. My thoughts are with the Shahin family and all families who face the terrible tragedy of a child lost. Please think of them.

Source: News and Observer 2008