Category Archives: Baby Gear

Earnest Mom Local Spotlight: The Family Shop

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The Family Shop is a new and exciting parenting retail store opening here in Erie, PA.  Created by Jeff and Kristyn Chiaramonte, their mission is to provide the best quality family care products and services at fair pricing to support families of all income levels. Every customer matters to them. Such a perfect name for their shop as they truly are family focused and family supportive, a community effort that is rarely felt in any big box store today.  They are trying to help the community not only by providing great products to families but also by supporting local “mommy makers/artisans” which will have Erie made products featured on their Vendor Wall.

The Family Shop will provide great new natural products focused on helping families. They will be offering  a variety of baby carriers/wraps, nursing/maternity apparel, cloth diapers, bamboo feeding tools, educational toys, teething products and more. The shop has a Mommy Corner, designed with nursing moms in mind, it is a quiet corner where mammas can nurse if baby gets hungry during shopping or change their bums without being distracted from the business of the hustle and bustle.  There is also an adorable kids spot that is a space designed specifically for little ones to play, with a huge open window  where kids remain in sight from across the store; moms and dads can shop while their little one plays, and can keep a good eye on them at the same time.

The Family Shop will have their grand opening starting Tuesday April 26, 2016 10 am lasting all week, they will give away free reusable “The Family Shop” totes on each in store purchase, while supplies last.  The shop’s regular hours of operation will be Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10 am – 6 pm.  During the grand opening there will be large stamp pads available in an array of colors so the customers can use their hand prints to decorate the lower half of the store’s walls.  I earnestly love this idea and cannot wait until my littles are old enough to return and can pick out their own hands on the shop walls.  As the days lead up to the grand opening, stay tuned on Facebook where the shop has been featuring some fun reveals and keeping us updated with any news.

I am earnestly excited for this store to open, as an Erie resident and mama of two I can see the potential and need for this shop to be a great community support.  Kristyn and Jeff hope to start hosting learning programs from the shop to allow moms and dads a safe place to spend time, grow and learn, and allow children to socialize as well.  The shop is quaint, inviting and welcoming to all customers.  Whether you are curious about baby wearing, cloth diapers, looking to simply connect, or thinking about going bit greener in your home, this is the shop you want to stop by!

Contact The Family Shop at Yorktown Plaza
2501 W. 12th Street
Erie, PA 16505
814-616-6801
or Connect on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Eriefamilyshop
and Twitter:
@familyshoperie

Hope to see you at the Grand Opening!
x. em.

Earnest Mom Baby Wears. Do You?!

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Featured image courtesy of Babywearing International 

It’s International Baby Wearing week this week! I love wearing earnest baby everywhere I can. Since she is still nursing it allows us to keep that intimate closeness but I can’t lie, as a stay at home mom the whole “carry your baby hands free” helps me out so much! We started out using a K’tan, which is a Stretchy Wrap and for my inexperience, was a great starter wrap for us. We have since used ring slings, buckle carrier and woven wraps. Every carrier is different and unique as you and your baby; for earnest baby and I, we are a huge fan of the buckle carriers. 

So…why baby wear? Check out this great infographic courtesy of hakunamatatmama.org   Curious about baby wearing but don’t know where to start? Well if you are local to Erie, there is an amazing and supportive natural parenting shop, The Pure Parenting Shop where they have a wide array of carriers and super sweet staff that are more than willing to help get you in the perfect carrier for you and your baby!  They also are having a 20% off of a comfy joey ring sling or wrap conversion ring sling; so if you’re here in Erie, PA stop in and say hi!  They also host a great baby carrying support group Don’t Give Up The Wrap, so if you’re new or experienced in babywearing and are looking to connect check them out too! If you are not local to Erie, hit up Google and Facebook and look for lending libraries, natural parenting shops and babywearing groups in your area to get wearing your baby. Also, be sure to check out Baby Wearing International, this site is full of helpful information and may even help you find a local chapter to attend. 

Stay tuned, all week I will feature a different carrier on Earnest Mom Blog to help you choose which carrier would be perfect for you! Already baby wear? Please comment and share your baby wearing experience! Oh! And you may want to be checking in on my Facebook page…there MAY be a sweet giveaway sometime this week!

x. 

earnest mom

Mommy Con? Yes Please!

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I recently had the privilege of attending Mommy Con in Columbus, Ohio. It was a hike from my little town but man, it was worth it! (Stay tuned to see the swag bag). 

I was able to attend a few VIP/Media opportunities where I got to hang with the BabyGuyNYC and meet sweet Xsa and the lovely Laney (who are the brains and hearts behind Mommy Con). I also got to volunteer (which got me in for free) and help out the wonderful Keeley as we handed out swag bags and disassembled Mommy Con after all attendees left.  Here I am below with the BabyGuyNYC

 
If you read last week’s post, I let you know all about Mommy Con, a boutique style convention for moms who breast feed, baby wear, cloth diaper, along with other natural parenting approaches. I attended some great seminars including Potty Taining 101 with the fabulous Tamica from Potty Schmotty, and yes Tamica I am STILL singing the potty song in my head! I also attended a seminar about lady business and how to go green during that time of the month. Both of these seminars will be detailed in future posts.   

 All in all, even though I did not pay the $40.00 it costs to attend (because I volunteered) I would say, if you’re into natural parenting or parenting as a whole, attend!!! It’s SO worth the money. The information I received was priceless and the swag bag was EVEN better…oh yes swag bag, well here it is pictured below.   
I must say, the ladies that work crazy hard to put this kind of event together for moms, being moms themselves (well most of them) they are amazing. Like I said I was blessed enough to have a media session with darling Xsa and Laney and they are some the kindest and genuine ladies I’ve ever met, and I’m so thankful to have had such a good time. 

Then there were the giveaways with the BabyGuyNYC. Oh. My. There were car seats, breastpumps, strollers and much, much more! Some mamas (and daddy’s too walked away with some amazing gifts that day. 

My volunteer shift was at the end of the conference where I handed out swag bags, and man that little room with zero airflow was HOT but it was a lot of fun, especially with Keeley who kept humor around for us to enjoy.  After that we worked hard, breaking down and cleaning up the entire conference, it was a blast! Here I am in the gift bag corner.  

  

All in all, my experience was great. If you find a Mommy Con near you, get a ticket! (Or keep and eye out for the call for volunteers).  I know many are selling out and they’ve already released presale tickets for next year’s locations so, head on over to Mommy-Con and check them out!

Until next time!

x. 

earnest mom.