Home from #abckids11 plus Giveaway!

I wrote to you a short while ago about my upcoming trip the All Baby and Child Expo.  I first heard of the expo more than a year ago and have been looking forward to attending ever since.  The expo was held this past weekend (Sept 23-26) and it was all I could have hoped for and more.  It's Tuesday and I am just now ready to sit down and tackle the mountain before me.  A good mountain, but a mountain nonetheless.  Let me tell you about my weekend!

OH MAN!  I was up at 5am to get ready for our trip down to Louisville (my sister-in-law came with me).  I got a gorgeous cup of coffee and we hit the road.  We headed straight for the expo because it was far too early to check into the hotel.  We walked through the doors and the first company I came to was Blueberry, who has this fantastic one-size fitted diaper.  I haven't tried it yet, but in hand, it looked perfect for nights!

The rest of the show, I'm not sure I could lay out for you in order if I tried.  It was an amazing blur of fantasticness.  We didn't sleep until 2:30 Saturday morning (good food and dancing!) and then I was up again at 5:30 (the clock in our hotel room was set an hour ahead... oops!)  We had breakfast with The Bump where we got signed copies of The Baby Bump and met an amazing baby planner who really helps parents not just before birth, but after with breastfeeding, cloth diapering and all of those things that us parents wish we would have known sooner.  Once we were pumped full of protein and coffee we headed back for a full day at the expo.  I think this goes without saying, but we stayed in and ordered a movie and room service Saturday night!

One of the most amazing things about coming to this expo was not only being able to see items in real life (so many are so much more than online pictures can show) but being able to sit and talk to people who are passionate about their products.  I was able to talk to creators, owners and people that are inspired by the companies they work for.  I kid you not, I was nearly moved to tears by one company.  Their message and philosophy was so touching and close to home.  It was the Dr. Sears booth with their new Family Essentials products.  They have brought, and are bringing some great products to the market, but keeping them very affordable.  I can still hear the gentleman saying "We'll just make less." in reference to profit after the cost of the materials vs. the price point they wanted to be able to offer to ensure that these safe, healthy products were accessible to everyone.

The passion that filled the nearly 1 million square feet of exhibit space was palpable.  Also, for me, it was exciting to have an opportunity to not only be inspired by the people I had a chance to meet, but also to share what I do and have amazing conversations that showed my passion.  I write because I love it.  I love sharing my path and my passion with you.  I love that I'm doing something meaningful to me and that by sharing it I can hope to help you in some way that is meaningful to you.

I could go on and on about the expo, there really is so much, but for now I must get to my mountain.  I am quite certain that I will have plenty to explore and share about in the months to come, so stick around and have fun!

In the meantime, I have a Rockabye Baby CD Sampler that I would love to share with you.  Enter to win below!