Gymboree takes a hit due to CPSIA

I am a HUGE fan of Gymboree. They have excellent quality clothes and although the prices can be steep, I'm always scoping out the best deals and hitting the Gymboree outlet store near me which has made them affordable.

Sadly, Gymboree has been affected by CPSIA. The best post I've seen yet on this is on Rick Woldenberg's blog here:
http://learningresourcesinc.blogspot.com/2009/03/cpsia-body-count-rises.html

By the way, if you haven't read Rick's blog before it is a wealth of good information. I highly suggest reading it regularly.

For my son, I bought things from Gymboree up to 2 years in advance for him when I could get great deals on sale. He won't fit into these clothes for at least another year (he's 6 months old now). All of a sudden these SAME clothes, made of the SAME materials are deemed unsafe by CPSIA. I will most certainly not be throwing all these clothes out. Who can afford to do that? And my kids aren't any less safe for wearing Gymboree.

I am so disgusted with CPSIA.

One other thing that has been weighing on me. For all of you who are still sending letters, PLEASE check your spelling and grammar. It might just be my own personal pet peeve, but so many people offer the letter they've written for others to use. Some of these letters are full of spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. Please correct these errors before you send them out. And do not use abbreviations like SAHM. People who are not as involved in the online world do not know what a SAHM is! Write it out. Also, so many people have complained about receiving a form letter from their representative. Why would you send a form letter if you don't like getting one in return? This makes no sense to me. Keep fighting the good fight. It's amazing how fast a year goes, we don't really have that much time.

BuggaLove Recommends....

I am thinking that every once in awhile, I'll have a post about things I recommend. This will be the first in that series. I have a small obsession with baby feet. Ok, it's not so much baby feet as much as what goes on them. A very good friend of mine is always bemused with my matching socks for every little outfit. When my daughter first starting wearing shoes, I bought more pairs than she could ever wear. Of course, at that time, I had no idea the extent of the handmade options available to me. Only one pair of her shoes was handmade, the rest were Robeez. If only I had known then what I know now! This from a woman who before having her own children thought that shoes on babies were unnecessary and ridiculous. Of course, I didn't go as far as these baby high heels, which I still contend are unnecessary and ridiculous.

With my son, now only 6 months old, I was completely entrenched in handmade. And as such, I looked to fill my obsession with new baby shoes. I was so disappointed that there were more boy options. The girl options seemed so endless! But I was determined to find the perfect little shoe. That's when I found these by BabyBugShoeDesigns. They come in several design styles and all the colors in the rainbow. So many wonderful choices!

I bought him a little brown pair and a pair of argyle shoes. These shoes are FABULOUS. They stay on little feet, they can be machine washed and dried, they are made of the softest material (an Ultrasuede), and the craftsmanship is excellent. I absolutely loved them. This week, the time came that he outgrew these itty bitty shoes. As I sadly packed them away, I just had to go back for more. I bought him the same pair of brown ones again (they're just so perfect for almost every outfit!) but I also got him an "athletic" pair. All those little sweatsuits and hoodie outfits would be totally incomplete without these on his feet!

I was VERY torn about getting a pair of personalized ones with his initial on them. In the end, I decided against it. But I'm sure that when he outgrows these, I'll be back for more! I hope you'll visit BabyBugShoeDesign for your babies shoes!