We are so proud to have gotten to this moment. LOTS of sweat...and tears. Finally, our vision has become a reality and our company is able to offer you NEW designs, NEW icons, NEW products and a whole new experience when ordering our labels! We are thrilled to have taken our company to the next level and together with you, our customers, we will keep incorporating your ideas and feedback to offer you more exciting and innovative labels designs and products.
We hope you enjoy the new site. Comments and feedback are always welcome! Happy labeling!
With Label Love,
The LeeLee Labels Team
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Thursday, January 3, 2013
New Year, New Me? Mommy Guilt
I have often told expecting mothers that the one thing they need to expect is not all the traditional things that the books talk about - the sleepless nights, the rocking, the feedings, the changes...no. What do they need to expect? They need to expect that they will feel guilty. All the time. The ONE THING nobody EVER told me before I had my kids was how guilty I would feel! Sometimes a lot more, sometimes just barely there, but always there. It doesn't matter why. It just is - whether it's because more experienced friends are chiding you for not dressing your baby warm enough - or too warmly, whether the woman in the mall is giving you dirty looks because you can't soothe your wailing baby, whether it's the Early Intervention team telling you for the first time that your toddler has a problem that you didn't notice, whether people turn up their noses because you don't live in an area with the best schools (gasp! what will happen?), whether your child isn't reading at the same level everyone else is (I didn't spend enough time reading with him!)...doesn't matter how small or big, it's always there (and I can add about 100 things to this list!).
As a Mom, I would like to think that I do the maximum I can for my kids, but I don't. Some days I am tired and let them watch TV for 2 hours. Some days I have a short temper, and instead of patiently trying to calm them down, I yell. Some days I don't cook and we eat take out. Some days I feel like a complete and utter failure to my older son, who has some delays. Some days are better than others. Some days I have a lot of energy, and teach them about whatever is in their path. Some days, I sit with my son and ask him to read to me, and teach him. Some days I play games with my kids. Some days I color with them. Some days I advocate for my son with all my might. Those are the good days. I have them too. So why do I always feel so guilty?
It would be easy (and probably right) to partly blame a society which surrounds us with images of granola mothers feeding their babies homemade organic food, cloth diapering, and home-schooling their kids. It's just impossible to feel we measure up to these images. But really, the other, more important part that I can blame is the part that I can control - myself. I need to be able to neutralize all of these inputs coming in and start to get back to what feels right to me as a person, which is balance and moderation, and also forgiveness. My husband is a great advocate of balance, both in theory and in practice and I really believe this is a great way to live - not too much to either extreme. He also believes in forgiving yourself. After all, we're only human. His view -
Guilty about take-out or cereal for dinner? We cook home meals a few times a week, send fresh fruits and veggies with our kids to lunch every day, and otherwise have a very healthy grocery list. Not bad.
Guilty about not noticing your child's delay? Well, at least you sought help. At least now you know. At least you are doing something about it now. It wasn't on purpose. You're a new Mom. You would do anything and everything to help your child through this. That's what matters. Who says anyone else would have caught it sooner?
Guilty about not sending your kids to the best schools? There are good schools here, with good special ed programs. The kids have great recreational programs here. They have lots of friends. It's a great community. Living in this area allows us to fund after school enrichment activities instead of living hand to mouth.
Guilty about him not being at the same level as other kids? (And here, I have to say I agree with him). He says "You do your best". And I do. There are some things I compromise on, but this is not one of them. He also says "Don't compare your child to anyone else". I have become a lot better at that too.
I am learning to live with my efforts, and realize that although I am not always engaged with the kids and doing the maximum I can, I can't be. I need to recharge, too, after working full time morning and night. If I don't recharge, I can't: cook, be patient, teach, play...and do all the other things I love doing with my kids, even if it's not all of the time. I am also learning to forgive myself. I wasn't born a parent and my beautiful children teach me more and more every day about how to be a better one, and in fact a better person. But there's a difference between knowing this and really letting it free me of my guilt.
It's a slow process, but I am learning to entrench my husband's view in my mind and neutralize all those perfect images and words coming at me from "society". I don't know if I will ever rid myself of my guilt, but I am certainly going to try to lessen the feeling.
As a Mom, I would like to think that I do the maximum I can for my kids, but I don't. Some days I am tired and let them watch TV for 2 hours. Some days I have a short temper, and instead of patiently trying to calm them down, I yell. Some days I don't cook and we eat take out. Some days I feel like a complete and utter failure to my older son, who has some delays. Some days are better than others. Some days I have a lot of energy, and teach them about whatever is in their path. Some days, I sit with my son and ask him to read to me, and teach him. Some days I play games with my kids. Some days I color with them. Some days I advocate for my son with all my might. Those are the good days. I have them too. So why do I always feel so guilty?
It would be easy (and probably right) to partly blame a society which surrounds us with images of granola mothers feeding their babies homemade organic food, cloth diapering, and home-schooling their kids. It's just impossible to feel we measure up to these images. But really, the other, more important part that I can blame is the part that I can control - myself. I need to be able to neutralize all of these inputs coming in and start to get back to what feels right to me as a person, which is balance and moderation, and also forgiveness. My husband is a great advocate of balance, both in theory and in practice and I really believe this is a great way to live - not too much to either extreme. He also believes in forgiving yourself. After all, we're only human. His view -
Guilty about take-out or cereal for dinner? We cook home meals a few times a week, send fresh fruits and veggies with our kids to lunch every day, and otherwise have a very healthy grocery list. Not bad.
Guilty about not noticing your child's delay? Well, at least you sought help. At least now you know. At least you are doing something about it now. It wasn't on purpose. You're a new Mom. You would do anything and everything to help your child through this. That's what matters. Who says anyone else would have caught it sooner?
Guilty about not sending your kids to the best schools? There are good schools here, with good special ed programs. The kids have great recreational programs here. They have lots of friends. It's a great community. Living in this area allows us to fund after school enrichment activities instead of living hand to mouth.
Guilty about him not being at the same level as other kids? (And here, I have to say I agree with him). He says "You do your best". And I do. There are some things I compromise on, but this is not one of them. He also says "Don't compare your child to anyone else". I have become a lot better at that too.
I am learning to live with my efforts, and realize that although I am not always engaged with the kids and doing the maximum I can, I can't be. I need to recharge, too, after working full time morning and night. If I don't recharge, I can't: cook, be patient, teach, play...and do all the other things I love doing with my kids, even if it's not all of the time. I am also learning to forgive myself. I wasn't born a parent and my beautiful children teach me more and more every day about how to be a better one, and in fact a better person. But there's a difference between knowing this and really letting it free me of my guilt.
It's a slow process, but I am learning to entrench my husband's view in my mind and neutralize all those perfect images and words coming at me from "society". I don't know if I will ever rid myself of my guilt, but I am certainly going to try to lessen the feeling.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Thanksgiving
Ah, yes, it's been a while since I last posted. Well. There was that hurricane (technically a storm by the time it came ashore) that put us out of power for a few days. And all the fallout after. Forget Halloween (this year it was delayed by a week by NJ governor Chris Christie and it was a "trunk or treat" in our town due to the fallen power lines and trees everywhere) - this was a time for reflection on how thankful we need to be for all we have.
It's funny how taking electricity away from people for a week or two (this was the range in our area) brings out people's best and worst. At their best - people with power inviting friends and family to stay with them in their homes, preparing hot meals for others, inviting people to take a hot shower, lending out generators, helping move fallen trees for neighbors, etc. And their worst - fighting in gas lines, fighting over power outlets at malls. It really made me think about just how dependent we are on electricity in every aspect of our lives, especially in the cooler northeast climates. And how thankful I am to have been born in a time that has these luxuries. I am not talking about iPads or GPSs or computers (which I lived without when I was a kid). I am talking about flipping a switch to make a light turn on, or heat my house, or get hot water. These are the really valuable luxuries I have, and I feel lucky to have been born in a time where I have them available to me. So for Thanksgiving, when I was enumerating al the things I had to be thankful for, these luxuries were right up there after my family and their health. The storm has really put things in perspective for me.
This year, I found Thanksgiving to be a time not just to think about all we have been blessed with and to show gratitude for those things, but to really think about the messages we are sending to our kids. How can we keep their sense of proportion in check about things that don't go their way, and do it using terms they can relate to? The best way I found is to simply use examples about myself or my husband (but I could just as easily use examples about my grandmother). Today my older son was going on about a toy he wanted "now". I was shocked. Never had he displayed such spoiled and entitled behavior. I thought I instilled a sense of appreciation for money, how we work so hard for things and save our money and spend it wisely. I began to explain to him about how when I grew up, my parents didn't have much money and so most of the time, I didn't get anything I wanted (and spiced it up with a few examples). These stories really spoke to him, because I told him something personal about myself and my experience; how I really wanted things but I had to wait or (most of the time) just accept not getting them at all. He loved hearing about how I felt when I was his age.
I don't want to raise entitled kids who don't have appreciation for all the things they have, be it electricity, hot water or a set of Lego. So this Thanksgiving I made a resolve to make my kids much more aware of the value of the things we are giving and, more importantly, the value of the things they already have, including their family.
From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope it was wonderful for you and your families. And don't forget, LeeLee Labels is offering a 25% off promotion on all labels, site-wide from Black Friday through Cyber Monday.
It's funny how taking electricity away from people for a week or two (this was the range in our area) brings out people's best and worst. At their best - people with power inviting friends and family to stay with them in their homes, preparing hot meals for others, inviting people to take a hot shower, lending out generators, helping move fallen trees for neighbors, etc. And their worst - fighting in gas lines, fighting over power outlets at malls. It really made me think about just how dependent we are on electricity in every aspect of our lives, especially in the cooler northeast climates. And how thankful I am to have been born in a time that has these luxuries. I am not talking about iPads or GPSs or computers (which I lived without when I was a kid). I am talking about flipping a switch to make a light turn on, or heat my house, or get hot water. These are the really valuable luxuries I have, and I feel lucky to have been born in a time where I have them available to me. So for Thanksgiving, when I was enumerating al the things I had to be thankful for, these luxuries were right up there after my family and their health. The storm has really put things in perspective for me.
This year, I found Thanksgiving to be a time not just to think about all we have been blessed with and to show gratitude for those things, but to really think about the messages we are sending to our kids. How can we keep their sense of proportion in check about things that don't go their way, and do it using terms they can relate to? The best way I found is to simply use examples about myself or my husband (but I could just as easily use examples about my grandmother). Today my older son was going on about a toy he wanted "now". I was shocked. Never had he displayed such spoiled and entitled behavior. I thought I instilled a sense of appreciation for money, how we work so hard for things and save our money and spend it wisely. I began to explain to him about how when I grew up, my parents didn't have much money and so most of the time, I didn't get anything I wanted (and spiced it up with a few examples). These stories really spoke to him, because I told him something personal about myself and my experience; how I really wanted things but I had to wait or (most of the time) just accept not getting them at all. He loved hearing about how I felt when I was his age.
I don't want to raise entitled kids who don't have appreciation for all the things they have, be it electricity, hot water or a set of Lego. So this Thanksgiving I made a resolve to make my kids much more aware of the value of the things we are giving and, more importantly, the value of the things they already have, including their family.
From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope it was wonderful for you and your families. And don't forget, LeeLee Labels is offering a 25% off promotion on all labels, site-wide from Black Friday through Cyber Monday.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Raising the Bar - and Halloween!
I am so excited to be the first person officially blogging for my company, LeeLee Labels! I have always loved writing, so I jumped at the opportunity to be the official blogger for LeeLee. We have some exciting changes coming soon, but I wanted to make this blog be a little more personal, and not just label-oriented. This Mom of 3 has enough going on to blog for several companies!
Today I took my 5 year old son to the dentist for the first time after discovering a HUGE cavity between his molars. Ugh, I thought. This was NOT going to be fun. To my surprise, the office and staff were lovely. I do not remember my visits to the dentist being this pleasant when I was a kid! Anyhow, these firsts inevitably bring me back to my own childhood. First - the Xrays. When I was a kid, my father never let me or my siblings close to a dental X-Ray machine - he always refused them for us. And here I was, leading my son into the mouth of radiation hell. A mother's guilt never rests. The staff assured me that the dose of radiation was smaller than, for example, standing next to a microwave. I didn't want to tell them that as a kid I wasn't allowed to go near the microwave, either. If she would have said that the television emits more radiation I would have felt much better. I let my crisis of conscience pass since I convinced myself that with a cavity that bad (and the toothache), there must be some nerve damage and it would be best for the doctor to see the damage through an X-Ray. Also convinced myself that this was the last time EVER I would expose him to an X-Ray. Damn cavities.
Second - there was a sign up there about the dentist "buying back" Halloween candy. Well. First, let me say that Halloween is my favorite holiday of ALL TIME! I love it not just for the candy, but for the smell of burnt wood in the air, the decorations, the hordes of kids in costumes knocking at my door, but most of all, the excitement and anticipation that precedes it. As a child my brother and I would read Halloween books, watch Halloween shows and basically breathe Halloween till it came around. Maybe that is because our parents (the ones who would never allow X-Rays) were not big on buying us candy either! When my siblings and I returned with our bags of candy, we had a tradition - sort all the candy and line it up. Chips sorted by flavor, chocolate sorted by brand and size, candy sorted into small groups - then line it all up. Yes, there it was. 14 bags of chips, 2 bags of Doritos, 1 bag of Fritos. 8 Mars bars, 10 Snickers, 2 Milky Ways...you get the idea. And we would eat. It. ALL. It took us about a month, even with my Mom hiding the candy, but we went through it. So one year, my father convinced me not to go Trick or Treating. How? The day of Halloween, Dad said he would go to the supermarket with me and I could pick out WHATEVER I wanted - in bulk - and bring it home - IF I didn't go out that night. I remember bringing home Fruit Roll Ups and other things, giddy with excitement. But when that night rolled around, I was so disappointed! How could Dad take that away from me? I don't even remember eating the stuff I bought. All I remember is not going. Anyhow...back to my point. This "buying back" idea - I get it. I do. Let the child experience the thrill of Halloween, just don't let their teeth get messed up. Except. Except there is something DELICIOUS about eating chocolate that you got from trick-or-treating as opposed to buying it from the 7-11. So, I have decided, despite the terrible outcome of my son's checkup (for the record - cavities which would have happened without candy, as he hardly eats candy anyway), I am not going to have the dentist buy back his candy. Unlike me and my siblings, my son tires of candy fast, so I can give him a treat every day for a week or two and then he will stop asking. But at least I will give him that week in heaven...the experience of opening his lunchbox with his friends and comparing what they got on Halloween night. The excitement of trick-or-treating without the lingering thought of having to give it all away. Does this make me a bad Mom? I think not - I just want my son to experience the full Halloween holiday, the before, during...and after. And of course, the ubiquitous pumpkin basket in which he collects his candy will be labeled so we know with certainty whose is whose. Did I mention I have three boys? Till next time...
Today I took my 5 year old son to the dentist for the first time after discovering a HUGE cavity between his molars. Ugh, I thought. This was NOT going to be fun. To my surprise, the office and staff were lovely. I do not remember my visits to the dentist being this pleasant when I was a kid! Anyhow, these firsts inevitably bring me back to my own childhood. First - the Xrays. When I was a kid, my father never let me or my siblings close to a dental X-Ray machine - he always refused them for us. And here I was, leading my son into the mouth of radiation hell. A mother's guilt never rests. The staff assured me that the dose of radiation was smaller than, for example, standing next to a microwave. I didn't want to tell them that as a kid I wasn't allowed to go near the microwave, either. If she would have said that the television emits more radiation I would have felt much better. I let my crisis of conscience pass since I convinced myself that with a cavity that bad (and the toothache), there must be some nerve damage and it would be best for the doctor to see the damage through an X-Ray. Also convinced myself that this was the last time EVER I would expose him to an X-Ray. Damn cavities.
Second - there was a sign up there about the dentist "buying back" Halloween candy. Well. First, let me say that Halloween is my favorite holiday of ALL TIME! I love it not just for the candy, but for the smell of burnt wood in the air, the decorations, the hordes of kids in costumes knocking at my door, but most of all, the excitement and anticipation that precedes it. As a child my brother and I would read Halloween books, watch Halloween shows and basically breathe Halloween till it came around. Maybe that is because our parents (the ones who would never allow X-Rays) were not big on buying us candy either! When my siblings and I returned with our bags of candy, we had a tradition - sort all the candy and line it up. Chips sorted by flavor, chocolate sorted by brand and size, candy sorted into small groups - then line it all up. Yes, there it was. 14 bags of chips, 2 bags of Doritos, 1 bag of Fritos. 8 Mars bars, 10 Snickers, 2 Milky Ways...you get the idea. And we would eat. It. ALL. It took us about a month, even with my Mom hiding the candy, but we went through it. So one year, my father convinced me not to go Trick or Treating. How? The day of Halloween, Dad said he would go to the supermarket with me and I could pick out WHATEVER I wanted - in bulk - and bring it home - IF I didn't go out that night. I remember bringing home Fruit Roll Ups and other things, giddy with excitement. But when that night rolled around, I was so disappointed! How could Dad take that away from me? I don't even remember eating the stuff I bought. All I remember is not going. Anyhow...back to my point. This "buying back" idea - I get it. I do. Let the child experience the thrill of Halloween, just don't let their teeth get messed up. Except. Except there is something DELICIOUS about eating chocolate that you got from trick-or-treating as opposed to buying it from the 7-11. So, I have decided, despite the terrible outcome of my son's checkup (for the record - cavities which would have happened without candy, as he hardly eats candy anyway), I am not going to have the dentist buy back his candy. Unlike me and my siblings, my son tires of candy fast, so I can give him a treat every day for a week or two and then he will stop asking. But at least I will give him that week in heaven...the experience of opening his lunchbox with his friends and comparing what they got on Halloween night. The excitement of trick-or-treating without the lingering thought of having to give it all away. Does this make me a bad Mom? I think not - I just want my son to experience the full Halloween holiday, the before, during...and after. And of course, the ubiquitous pumpkin basket in which he collects his candy will be labeled so we know with certainty whose is whose. Did I mention I have three boys? Till next time...
Friday, January 27, 2012
We have been very busy lately with some new changes being made here at LeeLee..we are super excited for our brand new designs, coming REALLY REALLY SOON! It will be a bright spot in our winter blahs, although to be perfectly honest, this winter has been nothing short of fantastic! Only one snowfall so far that only lasted a couple of days - enough time for the kids to get their fill of fun in the snow but short enough not to get on everyone's nerves as it stands in heaps at the edge of the road.
As we make our way through this delightful winter, we want to thank you, our customers and supporters, for giving us the opportunity to run a business that we love. We promise not to let you down! We'd love to hear any of your comments and suggestions - please feel free to email them to us at customerservice@leeleelabels.com
As we make our way through this delightful winter, we want to thank you, our customers and supporters, for giving us the opportunity to run a business that we love. We promise not to let you down! We'd love to hear any of your comments and suggestions - please feel free to email them to us at customerservice@leeleelabels.com
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
LeeLee's big launch
We are thrilled to announce that after receiving numerous orders before going live, we are finally online, and just in time for back to school (check out our back to school pack @ www.leeleelabels.com)! LeeLee Labels is the #1 label provider for durable, waterproof, dishwasher-safe, laundry-safe labels, personalized just for your kids! Have a question or comment? We would love to hear from you! Email us at customerservice@leeleelabels.com
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