Win RD Gift Certificate for talking!

Do you own a Resa Design product? Have you gifted one to someone else? Now you can share your experience on our site.

The first 30 people to leave a review of the item at our website
will be entered to win a $30 Gift Certificate to be used at Resa Design.

Comments must be left at www.resadesign.com under the product description (scroll to bottom). Only one comment per person will count, but feel free to leave comments on multiple products. If you leave the first comment for an item, we will give you a double entry in the contest. 

[Winner will be choosen by 4.8.09 or as soon as 30 comments have been left. Winner will be announced on our blog and via Twitter.]

Are you follow us on Twitter? @resadesign

Contest Closed.

Winner: Heather Slater

Fly over to Twitter and win Resa Design tees!

Yes- we have another contest for you. Friday we will be giving away Resa Design Tees to our Twitter followers. Not sure how we are going to choose yet, so be sure to stay tuned. 

Spread the word- 

Forward this post to all your pals or copy this tweet:

Follow @resadesign by Friday for your chance to win a designer tee shirt for your little cutie from http://www.resadesign.com Re-tweet away!

This contest is over. Thanks everyone or playing. 

Winners:

@rubybabyvintage = Resa Design Tee of choice

@mmiller0912 = $10 Gift Certificate

@jenkubes6 = burp cloth

@didacticwife = burp cloth

Easter Dresses with Simple Style.

Looking for a perfect Easter Dress that she'll get plenty of use out of? Try our Anywhere Dress by Resa Design. Available in sizes up to 4T. Exclusively at Cotton Babies. (online and in store) Hey, and then after she's worn it for the big day, throw it over some jeans for a casual school day, or sleeveless at the beach this summer. The possibilities are endless.

Modern Big Brother Tees @ Resa Design

Shop Resa Design.

Around the ETSY neighborhood.

Just a reminder.. Check out these items on sale in our ETSY store. More to come, so keep checking back. 

While you're at ETSY there check out a few of our favorite places: [follow ETSY on twitter @ETSY]

Little Pretty Studio

MiChiMa

Hudson Block Co.

Design Fruit

ormolu

Shop Resa Design.

follow us on Twitter @resadesign [you never know we might just start giving things away!]

Mom Tip Monday: 20 seconds to kill stubborn germs

:: Last call- Germs get out! ::

Spring has sprung at our house in St. Louis. So has the allergy medicine and some random germ we can't seem to get out of our house. Today's tip could not  be more timely. Thanks this Mom Tip from guest blogger and mom, Joy Abad, we'll be trying something new at the sink.

• • • • • •  • • • • • •

As a former teacher, I had to take part in the annual food handlers’ safety training. And while I’ll never forget the life-changing adage, “If it’s wet and it’s not yours, don’t touch it,” I also took to heart some other valuable information, such as the importance of proper hand washing. According to the CDC , proper hand washing is the single most important means of preventing the spread of viral and bacterial infection.

How does this apply to Mom Tip Monday? Well, after watching colds and coughs take a nasty tour through my students’ lives with each change of season, I started the habit of counting slowly to twenty in my head to fulfill the CDC’s recommended 20 seconds of washing to make sure my hands were clean. Naturally, when I retired from teaching to stay at home with my baby girl, the habit was formed, so now when I use a warm wet washcloth to rub my baby’s hands clean, I count out loud for her benefit as well. Not only is she being trained from day one to wash for a full 20 seconds, she’s also learning how to count. If your kids are older, it’s never too late to start. Be a role model and count out loud when you wash your hands.

You can also mix it up. It doesn’t have to be counting for 20 seconds every time. You can sing the Alphabet song or Happy Birthday through twice to run down the time as well. Counting, singing, and forming a good habit that will keep your kids healthy—you can’t beat that.

 
Bonus Tip The CDC does not recommend using hand sanitizers in place of proper hand washing. The claim that they kill 99 percent of germs is usually disclaimed somewhere on the label that it is only effective when hand sanitizer is used in conjunction with proper hand washing. 

••••••

Joy is a freelancer writer and editor whose first loves are her wildly supportive husband and her chubby-cheeked daughter whose newest skill—pointing—constantly directs mama’s attention wherever she pleases. Joy primarily writes for children, but as a new mother, she’s found that balancing a career, social life and motherhood without sacrificing who she is requires more skill than originally anticipated. Joy hashes out her journey on her blog Balance, and welcomes mamas, writers, entrepreneurs and lovers of life to follow her.

Have a mom tip to share? Email us at email AT resadesign DOT com

Catching up with the world...

I'm the first to admit I am not an early adopter of much. I like cars with straight lines not the curvy aerodynamic types. I prefer to write with a pencil and paper over typing. I like classic styles like white button down shirts over trendy tees. Little People without arms don't scare me, but toys that make noise do. I'm a sucker for white sheets and towels. I wear the same ring, watch, necklace and earings everyday. 

So although I doubt I'm the last one to join the newest club on the block, I'm not even close to being the first...

You may now follow Resa Design at Twitter. I might have to hire my five year old to keep this up for me, but I am going to try. I anticipate I'll use it to let followers know about new items, sales, special offers, and other design kind of news as it comes my way. I am constantly being introduced to amazing new ideas, products, and designers and this might be the best way to share this info with you as well. So we'll see. It's a new venture. If it doesn't work. Well, I think there is a delete your account button I can push somewhere :)

So to update all my high-tech info here's my new business card:

Resa Design, LLC

Resa Troyer, owner/chief designer

www.resadesign.com

Follow us on twitter: @resadesign

the 'I Like Resa Design' fan club meets here on Facebook. 

And well, you're already on the blog, so you can check that off!

Cheers to technology and the genius minds behind it.

Mom Tip Monday: Practice makes Perfect

:: Practice responses with your pre-schooler ::

We're at the park. It's a beautiful sunny day. All I can think about is how much I'm dreading the "time to go" call to my pre-school son. Inevitably it's followed with screaming and crying about how he's not ready and doesn't want to leave. Can you relate to this scenario? If so I came up with a little trick (and I'm not sure this was an original idea, but I can't remember where I heard it if it's not).

Before we get out of the car (at the park or just about anywhere else) we rehearse what we want him to say and how we expect him to behave when it's time to go.

For example (for the park situation):
"When it's time to leave the park you are going to say, 'Yes mom. Thanks for taking me to the park. I had a really great time.' And then you will walk with a happy smile to the car with me."

And then I would have him say it back to me a few times. I usually put a consequence on the end to help reinforce my expectation. After about the second try at this technique he really got the hang of it. (And I didn't dread outings.) Hopefully it will work with our other child too!

Do you a mom tip that worked for you? 

Send it in and we might just share it right here in the weeks to come.

Mom Tip Monday: Multi Use Medicine Cup

:: What do with the leftover plastic medicine cups? ::

Over the past few years we must have gone through over a dozen of those little plastic cups that come with liquid medicine. You know the one that holds that awful cough medicine you kids can smell from a mile away. I started recycling the extra cups until I found a few re-purpose uses for them. 

• Add a straw when serving up medicine in the cup. The fun of a straw helps the medicine go down! At least most of the time.
  
• They are the perfect size for those 'I need a drink' and 'I'm thirsty' late night requests.
  
• A great trainer for your toddler to practice drinking without a lid. And if he spills, it's only 2 tablespoons and not half a cup.
  
• Replace the paper cups in the bathroom with a few. Then just toss in the dishwasher to clean and re-use.
• Paint cups.
  
• Sort or count small items with your pre-schooler. Each cup will hold about 6 Cheerios. Also try beans, pasta, beads, pebbles, marbles, pennies, etc. (As appropriate by age.)
  

Have any other ideas? Share them in the comments section below.

Don't forget to hit the envelope button and pass this tip on to a friend or two.

____________

Thanks for all the great feedback we've received on these Mom Tips. It's been a fun new venture for me. I look forward to hearing and sharing your tips as well. Email them to me anytime and we'll get them in the loop.

Resa Design SALE @ ETSY.com

We just listed some overstock and clearance items over in our ETSY store. More to come, so keep checking back.

Might Junior [hearts] Resa Design

Resa Design was tagged on Mighty Junior! What a fun site. Check it out today.

Mom Tip Monday: See Mommy Work

:: See Mommy Work- Keeping kids entertained around the house. ::

If your children are anything like mine, they like to be wherever you are and do whatever you are doing [and don't usually want them to do]. I found keeping 'just like mommy' items in strategic locations helps advert melt downs and repeating the word 'No' dozens of times. 

For example, in the office I have a spare keyboard and mouse that the kids are allowed to play with, bang on, or play with as they please. In the bathroom, I have an extra hairbrush and toothbrush, a left over toilet paper tube, or empty lotion bottle for little fingers to experiment with. Finally, in the kitchen we have a kid drawer. It's at the perfect hight for those beginning Cruisers. There is no organization to this drawer and everything can be dumped and refilled as many times as he finds interesting. Other kitchen items that seem to entertain our troops are metal bowls and wooden spoons, whisks are quite fascinating, cookie cutters, and empty food boxes. 

What other 'just like mommy' items fascinate your kids so you can get a few things done [in peace] every once in awhile? 

Mom Tips is a new column we are going to try out on Mondays. If you have any suggestions, or tips you would like to share, let me know. Us mom's can use all the help we can get!

Don't forget to hit the little envelope and share this with a friend! 

Shop Resa Design.