Our store (www.BeyondMaternity.com) will be closed from Friday January 4 - Saturday January 12, 2008. We will be going on a family vacation! If I receive any orders in this time, they will all ship out on Monday January 14th. Thanks for understanding!
Well part of the reason it has been so long that I posted is that I had plans to start a new blog. I figured if I was going to start a new one that I would post more there. Well that is on the back burner for now.
Sales have been crazy the past few weeks, mainly on Amazon.com . I even charge shipping since their fees are so high, but most of my orders come from there. I really need to tweek my ads to get more business to my main website store.
Anyways if any of my customers have gone to my blog and wonder if I am still around, yes I am! I love orders from my site as it is so easy to print the labels and get the orders out! Amazon is more work as I have to print my packing slips from Amazon, print my labels on paypal (free!), then confirm the shipment on Amazon with the tracking info.
If anyone actually reads this 
and is looking for some style of nursing wear that we do not carry, please feel free to leave a comment on what you would like to see!
Here are some of the new styles we have ordered from Mommy Matters due to arrive within 2 weeks time. All will be available in sizes S-XL. These items were chosen for their stylish yet MODEST designs for our fall/winter collection. Please feel free to leave your comments on the styles. I hope that you like them! Please note that the pictures are from Mommy Matters. I do know that some are not the best. Make sure you click the thumbnails to see the full size images.
1. Long Sleeve Shirred Neck Top in Forest Green. This will also come in Black. 100% Cotton. Nurse from front layer. This works as a Transi Top - Pregnancy and Nursing!
2. Long Sleeve Tunic in Black. This will also come in Cappuccino! 100% Cotton. Nursing access is from the surplice neck or from the empire band. This works as a Transi Top - Pregnancy and Nursing!
3. 3/4 Sleeve Sash in Burgundy. Nursing access from empire band. Rayon/Spandex.
4. 3/4 Sleeve Sash in Blue Green. Nursing access from empire band. Rayon/Spandex.
5. Ruffle Nursing Nightie in Mist Green. 100% Cotton. Nurse from crop layer.
6. Ruffle Nursing Nightie in Pink. 100% Cotton. Nurse from crop layer.
7. 3/4 Sleeve Sweet Victoria in Army Green. 100% Tencel. Nurse from under the faux shrug.
Prices have not yet been determined. They will be very reasonable - probably in the $25 -$32 range. The non-cotton tops will be slighty more than the cotton tops due to import duties and cost as well as the nightie due to cost.
Well last I wrote the van was supposed to be fixed on Friday. So we all go to the dealer to pick up the van. When the porter drives the van up to the front he tells Flynn that it did not start well (grinding but not starting up right away). As Flynn is about to pull away he stops and gets out. He tells me that the check enging light is on!! All the mechanics are gone for the day, so we leave it another day.
We call up around 1pm on Saturday to see what is going on with the van. They tell us that they “can not reproduce the problem” - essentially they are telling us that the check engine light is not on so they can not run it on their computers to find the problem. I think these people think we are crazy! We decide that we will leave home around 3:15pm to get it before they close and to make sure someone is there to talk to. Just a few minutes before we are ready to leave they call and say that it was acting up, and that they ran all of the tests. The total was a little over $400 in repairs and the parts would not be in until Tuesday. The problem was something with the fuel pump. They said it was using too much gas I think.
So we leave it until Tuesday evening. Our extended warranty is going to pay much of it, but with another maintenance item added (free labor since everything was open already) we will be paying close to $180 out of pocket. See the dealer overcharges labor by time and rate compared to what our warranty company thinks is fair. They also charge $25 just to deal with warranty companies. We tried calling ourselves, but the warranty claims people insisted that the dealer call them. Since the warranty company is in bankruptcy we again have to pay the bill in full and wait for the check in the mail.
They had our van for 8 days! Unbelievable! It was really frustrating to go back twice and leaving our without our van. I just hope that it is fixed now. We survived fine driving the smaller car around. The main issue I have with it is that there are no power locks and of course it is small. Using all 4 doors when we go out as a family is so frustrating without power locks or keyless entry. This is one improvement in technology that I am truly thankful for.
Well it has been a while since I posted. I have been busy with my business and family stuff. I am looking into buying some new items for fall/winter. I will probably no longer be wholesaling out Mothers En Vogue items at BeyondMaternity.com .
Our 2003 minivan would not start after a trip to CVS for deals (5 free toothpastes and 1 free deodarant - used coupons to make the toothpaste more than free!) on Monday with Adelynn. The lights came on but when I turned the key to start -NOTHING! Not a sound, no crank. It was pooring rain, and my phone was about dead. I was able to call my hubby, Flynn, and he brought Emilynn. When he finally arrived, we called our roadside assistance. That took 1.5 hours! We were then towed to the dealership. That trip to CVS (with plans for 2 other stores after) took 3 hours.
So the dealer calls us the next day at like 7:30am asking what the problem was. Apparently the van started fine. They continued to check supposedly on the hour and it kept starting. They stated that it could be many things and it must “happen” for them to know what is wrong. They kept it another day (Wednesday). We only got one call that day near the end of the day stating that they can not find anything wrong, so come pick it up. This was not comforting as I knew something was really wrong.
So when Flynn got home from work we all piled into his car and headed to the dealership. The porter brings the van up to the front and turns it off (Thank you Lord!). As I go to turn it on, it is DEAD! Yeah! Finally they know we are not nuts. They had to get another man over to push it back in. I think that the 2nd man was a mechanic, and he was looking at it (work day was over) as we left before pushing it inside.
So today it did not start for them either. Thank goodness it did not start, or we would probably have had to wait again for it to die. The problem is PCM whatever that is. They say it is covered under the power train warranty!! WOOHOO! No need to try to get our bankrupt extended warranty company (Flynn’s old employer) to pay. Now they say it won’t be ready until Friday - probably a part they need.
With all this I realized that we really do not need 2 cars. The only day this week I needed my van was Monday. Since Flynn works at home on Tuesday and Thursday, I can use his car those days. Monday is one of our two library days, but we could go another day. Unfortunately I do not think we will give up the little car as the gas mileage is so much better than the van, and we really feel that we use the van enough (for the space) to need it.
Starkist Tuna $.62 - $.50 (supertarget.com coupon)= $.12 per 6ounce can (some stores may be cheaper)
1lb. Strawberries $2 - $1 (supertarget.com coupon) = $1 1lb.
Glade Flameless Candle $9.99 - $4 manuf. coupon (from newspapers) = $5.99 - $5 Target gift card with purchase = $.99 (I could not find any at my SuperTarget)
Back to School, Back to College, Yard (BBQ’s, fertilizer, tools, etc), and Pool items are all on clearance now from 30-75% off. I saw some great deals on swim vests, water bomb balls, and other pool toys.
Walgreens and CVS do not have much this week on sale worth getting. We bought some envelopes that we needed for B1G1 $.99 (long ones are 40-50count) at Walgreens.
If you love Pirate’s Booty and other Robert’s American Gourmet products click here for some great prices. Some are only $1 a bag! Make sure you spend $25 to get free shipping.
Robert’s American Gourmet Pirate’s Booty, 4-Ounce Bags (Pack of 12)
Here is a list of my husband’s favorite (mainly technology) deal sites. He always goes to these before purchasing any kind of computer or electronics item. Hopefully there are some that you have never been to before and would enjoy.
Please don’t forget to visit our special Labor Day Sale at BeyondMaternity.com . We are offering 35% off all MEV brand short and sleeveless maternity and nursing items! The sale ends Wednesday Sept. 5.
http://www.slickdeals.net/
http://www.hot-deals.org/
http://bensbargains.net/
http://dealnews.com/
http://www.techbargains.com/
http://www.techdeals.net/
http://www.woot.com/
http://www.gotapex.com/
http://www.xpbargains.com/
http://salescircular.com/
http://www.ableshoppers.com/
http://www.fatwallet.com/
Today at the apple orchard and on the way back we saw some silly animals.
With all the flooding here in the Chicagoland area, the cows are getting a place to cool off out in their fields.
This little goat at the petting zoo really wanted some food, but was too scared to fight at the fence with the others.
To celebrate Adelynn’s 4th Birthday, we went to an apple orchard. She chose this over the zoo! Flynn worked a half day today (the first half at home), and then we headed out to an orchard near the Illinois/Wisconsin border. It was really hot - upper 80’s today, but we survived. First we picked a pint of raspberries. The girls had a blast. Emmy started picking some all on her own and eating them without any direction or help. After the raspberries, we took a break in the car with the A/C and then headed to pick a peck of apples. There was only one kind ready, so we picked those and finished fairly quickly. Finally we went over to the petting zoo/barn and fed some of the goats and sheep. The girls also climbed on some play structures (wood tractor, truck, boat, etc). The girls had a lot of fun. We headed out with some apple cider donuts and raw honey toward home with a quick stop at the outlet mall for some bargain kids clothes.
