On our show today we have an Invention Hunter and and Inventor!

Steve Greenberg is the co-host of a new show premiering this week on The Food Network called Invention Hunters. Steve is an invention enthusiast whose interest began at an early age. 

 Born into a family of patent filers, Steve quickly recognized the importance of America’s inventors.  Addtionally, Steve is the author of Gadget Nation: A Journey Through the Eccentric World of Invention and also served three years on the board of the United Inventors Association where he hosted a 10-part educational video series on What Every Inventor Needs To Know. Aside from being a product scout,

 Steve is a regular contributor to The Today Show and Dr. Oz where he demonstrates innovative new products.  Steve brings his enthusiasm and extensive knowledge to Food Network’s Invention Hunters to find the next great inventor and get their product onto store shelves. Check your local listings for show times or visit  www.foodnetwork.com/invention-hunters/index.html

On the second half of our show we welcome Amy Fazackerley, inventor and of Lay-n-Go.

 Lay-n-Go is about a Mom who loved all her kids’ incredible mind building toys with small pieces but needed an easier solution to clean, contain and manage the chaos. 

After years of development, and testing with her own three sons, her design and creation came tolife! She realized that Lay-n-Go could help other parents out there (that have invested - like we have - in multi-generational toys with lots of parts and pieces) to not have to cringe over “THE CRASH” any more.

With Lay-n-Go, there is no cringe because there is no CRASH!

Your kids can play for hours and cleanup in seconds! 

Just featured on The Today Show’s show segment “Great Must Have’s for all Parents”, The Lay-n-Go mission is to foster kids' creativity with smart and easy organizational solutions for families on-the-go. It should not only be fun, but it should be easy. To check out all the products at Lay-n-Go, visit the website www.layngo.com

Two fantastically dynamic women join us today! First we have financial advisor Janice Goldman Picker. Janice has a very unique niche in the marketplace because she really focuses on helping women understand and get ahold of their finances.

Janice has an unbelievable story.. She says she went to college to get her M.R.S. degree, and was successful. But life took an unexpected turn for her when her young husband died. At the time, she was pregnant with twins (who are now 25.) So, Janice had to hold it together, not just emotionally, but financially, and this began her almost three decade career in the industry.

Her number one reason for being a financial planner (and for choosing to focus on women) is because she wants to help women who are in the shoes she was once in. She truly enjoys working with single women, women who are getting divorced, and women who are married and in charge of the finances in the home. She wants you to love the world of finance—Really!

To contact Janice or to find out more about her visit her website:

http://www.ameripriseadvisors.com/janice.l.goldman.picker

Our second half we welcome Sylvia Friedman. For over 25 years, Sylvia Friedman has been changing people's lives - one TRUTH at a time.

As a motivational speaker, intuitive coach, handwriting analyst, astrologer and celebrated author, she not only sees the truth in others, she helps them discover it themselves.

From the hallways of neighborhood housing projects, to the boardrooms of Chicago's top companies, to college classrooms and entertainment venues all around the world, Sylvia has guided individuals from all walks of life on a journey of self-awareness and acceptance with her signature blend of comedy, candor and compassion.

Her book, The Stars in Your Family: Relationships between Parents and Children (Hay House), is in its 5th printing.

Visit Sylvia’s website at http://www.sylviafriedman.com to find out more!

BBQ Season is upon us! Memorial Day is right around the corner and you won’t want to miss out on getting yourself a Burger Pocket Press to make your burgers the best on the block!

Today we have Michael Ajackie on the show in our first half to talk about his genius invention! Then you will want to go right out and get yourself on at www.burgerpocketpress.com so you will be the envy of all of your BBQ buddies!

Our second half will be just as fun when we welcome Patrick Raymond, co-host of the upcoming show Invention Hunters on The Food Network. Patrick is an expert and a mentor in the invention field.  He is also the founder and president of the Inventors Association of Manhattan where he coaches inventors to help them strike a deal on their unique inventions.  Patrick also founded InventionScore™, an evaluation tool to help inventors get a better deal.  He is taking his passion and expertise on the road in Food Network’s Invention Hunters to find the next great inventor and get their product onto store shelves. The show premieres on Monday May 14th at 9pm EST. Check your local listings. For more information on the show visit Invention Hunters

Join us today and meet Jamie Wallace, mompreneur and creator of Straw-Lution. in our first half hour.

The concept for the Straw-lution Straw began when inventor Jamie Wallace's kids were very young and messy! Jamie shared a frustration familiar to millions of mothers - it seemed like whenever she gave a cup with a straw to one of her children, the straw ended up on the floor (or thrown at one of the other kids!). It felt like she spent more time cleaning up the messes than the kids spent drinking.

She eventually developed a revolutionary concept and design; "The straw that goes in, but doesn't come out™". The Straw-lution Straw is the first product that includes this patent pending design. The Straw-lution Straw was born on Jamie's dining room table in Round Rock, Texas. Her own children, friends, and family were her first focus groups and helped her perfect and expand on the many possible benefits and applications.

Today the Straw-lution Straw is available for a number of commercial and personal uses; in restaurants and homes, for children, the elderly, or anyone who enjoys minimizing the mess and expanding on portability and convenience. And the Straw-lution Straw is BPA free and proudly manufactured in the United States of America! To order your pack of Straw-lution, visit www.strawlution.com

Our second half we are pleased to welcome Wendy Cooper, Owner and Creative Director of C Spot Run Productions, an award winning direct response client service and production company. CSRP produces infomercials, commercials as well as radio spots and infomercials for direct to consumer products.

For over 19-years she has provided comprehensive direct to consumer marketing and multi-categorical consulting. To date, Wendi’s clients have grossed over 2 billion dollars in sales around the world. In 1999 she lead the way for ERA’s (Electronic Retailing Association) highly successful Invention Showcase and served as its committee Chair for 6 consecutive years. In 2000, as a dynamic speaker, Ms. Cooper brought the DRTV 101 sessions to ERA and in 2003 was honored as Volunteer of the Year.

For the past 10 years Wendi has been a guest speaker at the House-Ware Show in the Inventor’s Corner at McCormick Place in Chicago offering her expertise and marketing wisdom to inventors. Ms. Cooper has written several articles on the direct to consumer industry for Response Magazine and has been recognized with 15 Telly Awards for her creative work in film and video for consumer products. C Spot Run Productions was formed in 1997 and continues to provide unmatched direct to consumer consulting and creative expertise to clients around the world. Currently Wendi has brought her expertise to the highly successful LATalkradio.com – The C Spot with Wendi Cooper airs live each Thursday at 12 noon. The C Spot is a new spin on talk radio as the focus in “everything you need to know and more about bringing a product – any product – to market!”

For more information, visit www.cspotrun.com

We have a great show planned this week!

Our beautiful (on the inside and out) dear friend and go to health guru, Rachel Rosenberg will be our featured guest on the first half of the show talking about health and wellness. Rachel’s quest for health began after an ongoing battle with food sensitivities. Seeking a cure beyond traditional medicine, she was introduced to Arbonne’s line of pure, safe and beneficial products.

After experiencing a change in my her own health, as well as in those around me, she recognized the opportunity of combining her passions -- health and wellness, helping people, and bringing great people together.

But it wasn’t until a close friend was hit by a drunk driver on a motorcycle, and she was able to help his family generate an income stream in eight weeks through sharing the products of Arbonne, that she knew she needed to leave corporate America as the VP of a financial institution and follow this path.

Over the past five years Rachel has continued to share these amazing products and this incredible, willable business -- one of personal growth, health and wealth. I now have the privilege of doing what I love while empowering and teaching men and women to live their healthiest lives through helping others.

Rachel’s mantra: “If you can’t afford prevention, how will you ever afford illness?” For more information about Rachel and her company visit her website at: www.sharingwellness.myarbonne.com

For all of you wannabe sports fans out there, the second half of today’s show you will not want to miss!

Author, Suzy Beamer Bohnert, launched her writing career with a job as a newspaper sports editor. During that job, she interviewed numerous coaches, athletes, and fans about sports, putting complicated games into simple words. She has written six books, including Game-Day Goddess: Learning Baseball's Lingo; Game-Day Goddess: Learning Basketball's Lingo; Game-Day Goddess: Learning Football's Lingo; Game-Day Youth: Learning Baseball's Lingo; Game-Day Youth: Learning Basketball's Lingo; and the fiction children's book Binkie Learns to Fly.

Her basketball, baseball, and football titles have been named Best Books for College Students by StudentAdvisor.com, a Washington Post Co. She also claimed the Best Books for Teen Boys Award from the New Hampshire Library Media Association.

The Mom's Choice Awards named Game-Day Youth: Learning Baseball's Lingo as the "Most Outstanding Nonfiction Children's Book."

The Mom's Choice Awards (MCA) is an awards program that recognizes authors, inventors, companies, parents, and others for their efforts in creating quality family-friendly media, products, and services. 

She also has a line of T-shirts that feature the Game-Day Youth Sports Series and Game-Day Goddess Sports Series.  These shirts can be customized for all sports lovers at www.zazzle.com/gamedaygoddess.

To buy Suzy’s books, please visit her website: http://mysite.verizon.net/suzybohnert

Advertising copywriter? Direct Marketing guru? Software developer? Photographer? A lifetime of thinking outside of the box makes David Ferris hard to categorize in the concrete. In the abstract, "pioneer" works best.

A pioneer in the field of communicating with purpose, he has hailed from some of the biggest names in advertising in New York City - BBDO, Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, Specht Gilbert and Partners, DDB Group Two and Marsteller. His career took him into the realm of Direct Marketing early on with stints at Chapman Direct Marketing and Scali, McCabe Sloves Direct.

Then swept up in the tidal wave of integrated marketing in the late eighties, as well as the livability and accessibility of Chicago, David served in the role of a pioneering specialist in integrated communications for Chicago's biggest three advertising agencies.

Now serving in various consulting roles, David is Founder/CEO of Ironwheel Works, Inc. -- a company he created to market PenJammer® which is a PDA software program he invented that earned a four-star review from PC Magazine. He is a practicing portrait photographer and plays guitar. His lifelong passion for creating communications with purpose unabated, he is CEO of Ferris&Caliber, a communications consultancy, as well as a Partner at Why8 Digital Marketing. If you would like David to help “pioneer” your company into the digital age contact him at dferris@why8inc.com or give him a call at 847-778-8532

In our second half we are going to completely switch gears and talk to all of you parent’s to be out there!

 Jennifer Cigale, author of the Book Newborn Necessities, will join us to discuss her book.

There are many items you will need to get ready for your baby and the book Newborn Necessities is one of those things. It will help you keep track of feedings, diaper changes, etc. so that you can easily chart and keep track of how your baby is growing.

 Jennifer designed this book for parents and she is a parent herself. It is quick, compact, and easy to understand and will leave you more time to enjoy your new baby and get some much needed sleep.

Find links to buy Newborn Necessities by visiting: http://newbornnecessities.tateauthor.com/

It is “Happily Ever After” Tuesday and we have two fabulous Mompreneurs with a couple of “Zings” for you all. Now that the weather is finally getting nice, these are two products you will not want to live without.

Susan Lowery is a Mom on the Go. She needed a stroller blanket that could keep up!

When she first started running, it didn’t matter that she had to stop to fix and readjust her child’s blanket. It gave her an excuse to catch her breath. But as she got faster and stronger, she didn’t want anything to hold her back. She needed a blanket that would keep her kids warm and dry and that wouldn’t get tangled in the wheels and was easy to care for.

She and her husband, Travis, created the Motr B…. the Moms on the Run Blanket to keep them going! With 3 young children, the Lowery’s make an active lifestyle a family affair. The Motr B was created to for all active families!

For more information on how to buy the Motr B please visit the website: www.themotrb.com

The second half, we are joined by Linda Varga, inventor of ezShade®! Linda is a mom of two very active boys—soccer, tennis and baseball.  She had purchased just about every portable sun product there is on the market. Over the years, she noticed that portable umbrellas and canopies only provide minimal sun protection. Most portable umbrellas and canopies do not block UVA or UVB rays, they provide only a limited shade area (the largest of which is when the sun is directly overhead) and they do not block the UV rays that are reflected off of the ground. 

After spending countless hours on playing fields chasing the shade, it occurred to me that if I could not buy it, I would invent it. I knew that I had to design something that would provide both UVA and UVB protection and was lightweight, colorful, easy to use, and very portable. 
 
After many months of research and development Linda launched what she believes to be the first and only portable umbrella and canopy curtain on the market. To buy ezShade®, please visit www.myezshade.com

Calling all you mamas in search of a place in your house to call your own!
The design team of Chicago/Highland Park/Buffalo Grove based Divas N' Design have built a contest (with buy-in from all of their materials sponsors) calling out to all harried moms out there that need a time-out. Karyn Musick, Lyn Gotlieb, and Bobbi Kreger, from Divas N’ Design, are our featured guests for the first half of the show.

They are asking moms to submit their most absurd mom moments, make-shift methods of escape, why they deserve a space to call their own, etc. They will choose one lucky winner in time for Mother's Day to win their very own M.O.M Cave designed by Divas N Design (valued at $20,000)

Man Caves are so heavily hyped and prominent in homes, why aren't there more places for moms WHO REALLY NEED THEM!? Divas N' Design want to change this! The Divas have been creating spaces for clients for over 20 years and they have realized that moms need more than just a desk in the kitchen or a drawer in the bathroom.  They need a "cave" to call their own, a place to re-group and reflect  read a book, or whatever your heart desires. Just think of a space that can transport you from a crazy moment into calm state of mind in your own home, in a matter of seconds.  This is what the Divas want to do for moms out there, help them think about their own state of mind and how important it is to stop and smell the roses, which in essence adds to the quality of the whole families lives.  So they are on a mission to assist woman in creating fabulous caves to call their own.
For more information about the “Divas”, visit their website www.divasndesign.com

Our second half should be really fun too, as we are joined by author Meri Ramey-Grey. Meri wrote the book “A Babie’s Guide to Parents..and Other Important People.”

This book gives a humorous and warm heartfelt account about life in the first twelve months, from a baby's point of view. In this guide book, you will find life-long learning lessons that are great to have start at the beginning, such as using manners. This guide book also follows development of newborns until twelve months old, including their gross motor skills, rolling, crawling, fine motor skills with a good 'pinching ability'. In addition, what do you feed a baby, and at what age? Is there anything harmful to feed my baby, and why? What over-the-counter medicine can I use to help my infant when they are not feeling well? These questions, and many others, are all answered from the baby's point of view. Babies may not be able to speak a full vocabulary, but that does not mean that there are not many things that they are trying to tell you. Meri wants you to sit back and enjoy what they want to tell you!
To order Meri’s book, please visit her website http://www.babiesguide.net

Our featured guest for the first half of our show today is Wendy Armbruster Bell. Wendy is the Founder & Creative Director of Snugabell Mom & Baby Gear, creators of the PTPA Award Winning PumpEase® hands-free pumping bras and the Toni Top™ "bump, breast & beyond" clothing line.

When she is not helping thousands of moms breastfeed and pump in style, she and her husband Mike are busy raising their two young daughters in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.  She has been featured in Baby Talk, Pregnancy & Newborn and TIME magazines as well as on Dragons’ Den, Cool Mom Picks, Parents TV, Breakfast Television and Celebrity Baby Scoop.  Wendy was named a Top Mompreneur for 2009 by The Mompreneur Magazine and was a top finalist in Small Business BC’s Successful You Awards in the Business Growth category in 2010.  For more information, please visit www.snugabell.com.  Wendy can be contacted at wendy@snugabell.com or toll-free at 1.866.963.SNUG (7684).

On our second half we are excited to feature, Erika Taylor Montgomery, CEO/Chief Publicist and Founder of Three Girls Media & Marketing Inc. Erika enjoyed an 18-year broadcasting career in the San Francisco Bay Area before transitioning to Public Relations in 2001. In 2005, Taylor Montgomery launched her own agency, Three Girls Media & Marketing Inc.

Erika is the co-author of the Bestselling book, The Spirit of Silicon Valley – Journeys & Transformations Beyond Technology, available on Amazon.com. She is also the author of the forthcoming book, PR for the 21st Century – A Step-by-Step Guide for Small Business, Non-Profits & Entrepreneurs.

Following her award-winning broadcasting career, and prior to beginning Three Girls, Erika worked as Director of Media Relations for a prestigious Silicon Valley PR firm, and for the California State Legislature as a Press Secretary. While managing Three Girls, she also hosted the nationally acclaimed radio show, “PR 101 Radio: Marketing Advice for Business.”

Erika’s media expertise came in handy while managing PR campaigns for NBC, including work with the cast of Will & Grace and Crossing Jordan. As a journalist, Erika covered Bill Clinton’s Presidential campaign, the San Francisco/Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989 and the infamous Oakland Hills fire. She also enjoyed the lighter side of TV, hosting The Simpsons and Star Trek marathons for the WB network.

Passionate about giving back to her community, Taylor Montgomery currently sits on the Marketing Committee for the national non-profit, Wish Upon a Wedding, is on the Board of the Silicon Valley Chapter of NAWBO – the National Association of Women Business Owners, and offers pro-bono PR services to several non-profits including the YWCA of Silicon Valley.

For more information about Erika’s company visit her website www.threegirlsmedia.com

On our show today we are featuring Amanda West, a 28 year old mother of three boys age 4.5, 2.5 and 7 months. She discovered a passion for early childhood education and the benefits that it brings children for the rest of their lives. 

Her company, Colorful Concepts, began as a result of decorating her oldest son's new big boy room when he was 18 months old.  She had a hard time finding any artwork for the walls that she believed would be relevant to him so she created some art for him herself- depicting the four basic shapes as this was what he was learning at the time. 

Together, they created some games and shapes songs and "Discovering Shapes" was born. For information about Amanda’s company and to purchase her products, visit her website at www.colorfulconceptsforkids.com

Our second half continues with author, Michele Howe, Michele is the author of twelve books for women and has published over 1600 articles, reviews, and curriculum to more than 100 different publications. Her articles and reviews have been published in Good Housekeeping, First For Women, Single Parent Family, Christian Single, and many other publications. Michele’s single parenting titles include, Going It Alone and Still Going It Alone. After having undergone five shoulder surgeries, Michele saw the need for a women’s inspirational health-related book co-authored with her orthopedic surgeon titled, Burdens Do a Body Good: Meeting Life’s Challenges with Strength (and Soul), released in 2010 and from which Prescription for Life, their Health, medical and surgical informational book is based. Read more of Michele's work at http://michelehowe.wordpress.com/ 

We have two fantastic women featured on the show today!
First up is Andrea Wulfing Van Ness, founder of Thumbuddy To Love® (ThumbuddyToLove.com) Andrea started her company because she wanted to help children stop thumb sucking and make it a positive experience for them without the use of thumb polish (chemicals) or apparatuses that dentists will put in a child’s mouth that are costly and uncomfortable. According to the American Dental Association, prolonged thumb sucking or pacifier sucking can cause problems with growth of the mouth and alignment of the teeth

Thumbuddy To Love® is for boys and girls and it comes with a beautifully illustrated book and matching thumb puppet in the characters of Ballerina Sue and/or Fireman Fred. Andrea remembers all the negative things my friends and family tried to do to get her to quit sucking her thumb when she was young. To give up a comforting habit is hard and you need something positive to replace it. Fortunately for Andrea she had a wonderful grandmother made her a thumb puppet and it was her positive words and hand made thumb puppet that helped her break the habit in no time.

Andrea  was inspired to create Thumbuddy because there were not any positive teaching tools out there for thumb suckers. The book also comes with a calendar and stickers that kids can mark off days and get involved. Dentists love it because they now have something fun and non shameful for parents and their kids/patients. Kids love it because they don’t have to wear a glove or contraption or bitter nail polish.

Thumbuddy To Love®  received a Mom’s Choice Award the year it came to market. Their newest product is called the Binky Fairy and it helps children break the pacifier habit without all the tears or fuss. It calms children in knowing where their pacifiers go and just like the tooth fairy, she comes in the middle of the night to collect the pacifiers and leaves a binky Fairy Puppet under their pillow so children look forward to waking and knowing she came!

All of the Thumbuddy To Love® products are available on Amazon or the website www.thumbuddytolove.com

Our second half we are excited to have writer Amy Kite on the show. Amy recently released her first  book called Love, Lust and Lunacy.

This book exemplifes the contradictions of love. It is a passionate compilation of poetry written over a tumultuous five-year time frame. An excerpt:

We love, we hate.
We laugh, we cry.
We discover, we lose.
We fall, we get up again.

And again.

This book of poetry makes a great gift for lovers, for friends, for mothers, for daughters – for anyone who has been struck by the complexities of love – for anyone who wants to explore passion and its profound effects.

Amy Kite is a poet, freelance writer and mom of three.  After receiving her Masters in Journalism from The Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, she worked as the Managing Editor of a travel magazine.  Her job took her around the world, and all throughout her journeys, she wrote poetry, journaled and had numerous magazine articles published.  She stopped working full-time to raise children, but she never stopped writing.  She currently writes poetry, lyrics, blogs, short stories and children’s books.  She loves music, writing, reading, dancing and, most of all, loving! 

For more information about Amy, go to www.amyleekite.com.

 Happy Valentine’s Day!!! We have a wonderful show planned! We start off the hour by welcoming Little Toader founder, Lori Bredemeier.

Lori has always shown an interest in being an entrepreneur. As a child, she would make perfume and sell it to the neighborhood kids. The desire to own her own business was always there. It was kicked into high gear when she had her first child. Lori and her husband Michael, were always looking for unique baby products and they just weren’t out there. After much prayer, Lori and her husband Michael decided to start Little Toader. Lori’s nickname growing up was Toader, so the business name was a good fit. Little Toader makes a line of silicone teething toys called Appeteethers. They are designed to soothe sore teeth, but also to give parents some comic relief too. They come in a Chompin’ Chicken Wing and a Baby-Q Rib. They are BPA-free, Lead-free, Phthalate-Free, PVC-free and non-toxic.

Little Toader also makes StoryBook PJ’s. They are a pajama and book package where the images on the PJ’s match the images and storyline in the books. As you read along to your little one, you can point to the characters on their PJ’s. StoryBook PJ’s are designed to help make a bedtime routine more fun, and to help build cognitive skills. They come in sizes 6 months – 2T.

For more information, please visit their website www.littletoader.com

Our second half we welcome Eric Fine from Burton History Tree Art.

These works of art are a fabulous gift for any sports or music enthusiast.

What is a Burton History Tree you might ask?

Burton History Trees bring to life the history of your favorite sports team or musical era. The content of each tree in uniquely arranged in chronological order and sized by significance.Thus, the story is told, from the beginning to end, without turning pages.

By combining names, images and sketches, Burton creates a one of a kind piece of art that is the ideal conversation piece.

For more information on how to buy a Burton History Tree, visit www.burtonhistorytrees.com

It’s Happily Ever After Tuesday!

First up is mompreneur, Monica Wreede. Monica has been a children's clothing and accessory designer for over 7 years. Inspiration fell into hery lap in 2004 when her daughter was born. Her creative streak was in full swing and she knew she just had to make all of the cute accessories for her. Before she knew it her little hobby had turned into a great little business. Along the way, Monica stumbled across designing custom flip flops and headbands with her attached accessories. She knew there was a better solution for her customers so they wouldn't have to purchase the flip flops or headbands from her, just the accessories. Recently she designed and came up with a removable and interchangeable strap device used to mount accessories to flip flops, headbands and pet collars which is patent pending. That is when my her new product and company was born called Accessory Connectz.

For more information on Accessory Connectz and to purchase Monica’s adorable prodcuts, visit her website, www.theboutiquekids.com

We continue with the mompreneur madness when we welcome Dr. Amy Baxter, inventor of Buzzy. Buzzy is an amazing product that helps take the sting and the fear out of shots for kids! We are all over this product!!!

What is Buzzy exactly?

Buzzy^® is simply a small vibrating bee with a unique ice pack.  Put it near any sharp pain, and presto!  Using natural pain relief, Buzzy confuses your body's own nerves and distracts attention away, thereby dulling or eliminating sharp pain. In the same way that rubbing a bumped elbow helps, or cool running water soothes a burn, Buzzy^® crowds out pain by sending stronger motions sensations down the nerves instead of sharp pain. Cool! Research shows it really works .In an emergency department, nurses and doctors can get too busy to wait for numbing creams for needle procedures. For newly diagnosed diabetic children, the medical community has a history of expecting kids to just get used to needle pain. For shots, for bee stings, for boo-boos, for injected medicines,… for all acute pain management, we developed Buzzy^® to put instant pain management in YOUR hands.

For more information on how you can get your hands on one of these puppies…oops we mean bees, visit the website at www.buzzy4shots.com

Our featured guest is Mompreneur Priska Diaz inventor  of the BARE baby bottle , which is being launched later this year.

As a new mother and big supporter of breastfeeding, Priska realized that baby bottles weren't doing the job for her and her new baby. Her low milk supply forced her to become a "combo" mom. Every time she bottle fed her baby, she turned him into a bag of gas resulting in endless sleepless nights for her whole family. As is usually the norm with babies faced with an mother with low milk supply,(until now anyway) Priskas baby began to reject her breast due to nipple confusion and easy feeding from the bottle. Breasts don't have air-vents, why should baby bottles? That was the question that gave birth to Bittylab, LLC in June of 2010. 

Hear Priska's story and maybe it will inspire you to launch an idea that you have had!

To learn more about Priska's product visit www.bittylab.com

Do you have a "go to" friend--you know the one. You don't know what to do about your toddler who won't separate to go to pre-school, is there a miracle product to help me not look so tired, how do you work that new smartphone etc. Elisa All, creator of the website 30 Second Mom thought that every mom could use that "go to" gal right in her back pocket.

She has assembled a team of "in the know" moms to help the rest us navigate life a little easier. What a concept! Elisa joins us for our second half of the show. Go sign up now www.30secondmom.com-- it will take you 30 seconds and it will change your life.

How early should you start to teach your children the importance of being kind and to “play nice”? What if in this electronic age of ours there was an app for young kids that specifically focuses on kindness and anti-bullying?  Well, indeed there is! We are fortunate to have Nicholas Zaldastani, creator of the App RINDIN which is an animated storybook that you can download to your IPAD or IPhone that will be entertain, engage,  and actually teach your kids a little thing or two about the importance of being kind to others.

 In a world searching for positive change, Mr. Zaldastini’s company, CrocPond, has a mission to provide entertaining cross-media products that Inspire Children and their Families to live with more Courage, Confidence, and Hope.

The CrocPond™ brand is built around 32 role model characters, each with its own focus, easy-to-remember name, and associated positive life principles. Each of the CrocPond characters are icons for their mission.

CrocPond Apps will provide children with an evolving experience measured over years, not weeks. Parents will know that they can trust CrocPond to provide not only entertainment, but also a values-driven content set that creates a series of teachable moments wrapped in a very entertaining and fun story line. CrocPond provides a solid foundation for children, upon which wise choices can be made within a world of infinite possibilities.

To learn more about CrocPond and to download the App visit, www.crocpond.com

It’s all about kids today as we welcome Dr. Amy Baxter, mompreneur and inventor of Buzzy. Buzzy is an amazing product that helps take the sting and the fear out of shots for kids! We are all over this product!!!

What is Buzzy exactly?

Buzzy^® is simply a small vibrating bee with a unique ice pack.  Put it near any sharp pain, and presto!  Using natural pain relief, Buzzy confuses your body's own nerves and distracts attention away, thereby dulling or eliminating sharp pain. In the same way that rubbing a bumped elbow helps, or cool running water soothes a burn, Buzzy^® crowds out pain by sending stronger motions sensations down the nerves instead of sharp pain. Cool! Research shows it really works .In an emergency department, nurses and doctors can get too busy to wait for numbing creams for needle procedures. For newly diagnosed diabetic children, the medical community has a history of expecting kids to just get used to needle pain. For shots, for bee stings, for boo-boos, for injected medicines,… for all acute pain management, we developed Buzzy^® to put instant pain management in YOUR hands.

For more information on how you can get your hands on one of these puppies…oops we mean bees, visit the website at www.buzzy4shots.com

A very inspiring show for our listeners today, Our first half hour we will be joined by author and traumatic brain injury survivor, Mark Elswick.

Nearly two decades ago,  proved medical experts wrong when they said he would die following an automobile accident. Then, after a week of life support, he spent a month in a coma while doctors said he would live life as a vegetable if he ever regained consciousness. Surprisingly, not only did he survive, but he has gone on to write both seriously and humorously about his life as he is generating much-needed TBI awareness. In this eBook called "A Dad's Guide to Buying...Those and other Tales, which is dedicated to 24/7 TBI caregivers and military personnel, Elswick combines a lot of stress- relieving humor with an awakening glimpse into the world of traumatic brain injury survivors.

The first book by this nineteen-year TBI survivor, available as an eBook on amazon.com and BN.com for $4.95, contains eight comedic tales, many of which detail the everyday aspects of fatherhood. Impressively, these turned-hilarious instances have drawn a comparison to the phenomenal work of Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Dave Barry.

For more information about Mark, please visit his website at www.markelswick.com.

Our second half hour will prove equally inspiring-Author and Nutrionist, Beth Aldrich is back on our show to talk about her new amazon.com Best Seller "Real Moms Love to Eat!"

In her book, Beth shares her wisdom, experience and knowledge about all things food and wellness. From health coaching, and living a balanced life to, the energet

ics of food and finding your passion, Beth delivers her message in a charismatic yet compassionate way. She is the founder of For Her Information Media, LLC (FHI) established in 2003, with productions such as the PBS TV series, For Her Information (aired in Turkey, Israel and 60 cities, nationwide), the radio shows, A Balanced Life with Beth Aldrich, and Real Moms Love to Eat with Beth Aldrich, and the online magazine and newsletter, FHI Online. Her company's mission is to be a life guide for conscious-minded women. Beth is also the founder of Restoring Essence Nutrition, LLC and a Certified Holistic Health and Nutritional Counselor through the American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP). Beth received her education from Columbia University's Teachers College and The Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City.

She studied under natural health and nutrition experts such as Dr. Mehmet Oz, Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil, David Wolfe, Dr. Walter Willett and Barry Sears. Her work with Restoring Essence and FHI is a perfect blend of offerings, giving clients the opportunity to find happiness, learn, and become accountable for their own health and wellness.
To learn more about Beth and to find out where you can buy her book, visit her website www.realmomslovetoeat.com

Happy New Year to all of our listeners!! We wish everyone a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2012.

To start our new year off we have author and yoga instructor Laurie Jordan on our show today! Laurie is the author of a wonderful new children’s book called Yawning Yoga.

Sleep problems are very common among children. In fact, MOST children aren't getting proper sleep at night. And every parent knows that when children are sleep deprived, they are likely to have a hard time controlling their emotions. This can lead to potential problems at home and at school, and can be exhausting for mom and dad. 

 At last, help has arrived! Yawning Yoga is a beautifully illustrated and carefully sequenced bedtime routine that is proven to work.  Laurie has devised a perfect sleep solution that helps relax kids before bed by clearing their minds from worry and stress, and relieving their bodies' anxiety and energy.

Her book, Yawning Yoga helps quiet the noise and shifts children's focus from outside stimuli and daily stressors to attention of stretching, posture and breath work. The ultimate result is relaxation, a timeout from stress, and a restful good night's sleep...for both parent and child. Incidentally, she uses Fairytale Wishes Sweet Dreams Spray in all of her classes.

For more information about Laurie’s book and to find out where to buy it—visit www.yawningyoga.com

With the holidays upon us—we always like to pause and think about those in this world who are less fortunate than ourselves, and if possible help efforts to make those lives just a bit happier for the coming year.

On our show today is one of those people—an everyday hero among us, Amber Singleton Riviere is heading up a project to help kids in Foster Care called Funding the Farm.

Fund the Farm began its fundraising efforts in December, with the hopes of creating a self-sustaining farm in Acadiana to build better lives for more kids in foster care within Louisiana and the U.S.  Drawing supporters from all over the country, the campaign is running through January 31, 2012 and has an initial fundraising goal of $28,000.

With nearly 500,000 kids in foster care in the U.S. and 100,000 of them needing permanent homes, it's important to make lasting change.  A farm would provide a place for more kids in foster care to live and thrive and for older kids and those who have aged out of the system to come home to and learn essential life skills they'll need as adults, and with so many opportunities for growth and expansion, a farm would quickly become a self-sustaining operation that could make an even bigger impact on foster care in the state of Louisiana and in the U.S.

From December 1, 2011 through January 31, 2012, the “Fund the Farm” campaign is running at IndieGoGo.com, an international funding platform, to raise $28,000 to cover initial costs to start the farm.

For more information about the project, visit www.FundTheFarm.com , or to make a contribution, visit the “Fund the Farm” IndieGoGo page at www.IndieGoGo.com/FundTheFarm.  

On our second half we are going to lighten it up a bit with up and coming singing sensation Jared Lee. His first album, Falling Through the Holes—just debuted in October with his first single, “It’s Over” getting rave reviews.

Have a listen to Jared’s story and what it is like to be a recording star. For more information on Jared, check out his website www.jaredleemusic.com and look for his new album on http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/its-over-goodbye-single/id399512116

On our show today-straight from her appearance on The Ellen DeGeneras show, Shea Vaughn, mother of actor Vince Vaugh and a 25-year veteran of the fitness industry. As a fitness expert, professional trainer and wellness coach, Vaughn has become a spokeswoman for creating well-being at any age with new book: Breakthrough: The 5 Living Principles to Defeat Stress, Look Great, and Find Total Well-Being (October 2011, HCI Books).

What Vaughn discovered, from both fitness training and personal experience, is that women over 45 often feel like they are spinning their wheels and failing to live up to their own expectations. She says the problem is a lack of a mind-body connection, which can lead to depression, discouragement, disconnect, and deflation in body, mind, and heart.

In Breakthrough, Vaughn offers women her Five Living Principles within a self-styled East-meets-West lifestyle, wellness and exercise practice developed from her own life lessons, decades of training in many disciplines and influenced by eastern philosophy that is tailored to address specific

"The Five Living Principles of Well-Being: Commitment, Perseverance, Self-Control, Integrity, and Love, are an inspirational force in helping me create a positive lifestyle with a healthy body and the supportive mental and emotional paradigm to deal with changing and demanding times," says Vaughn. "One encourages the other and together they help you find balance, self-confidence and a personal state of well-being."

Vaughn herself is no stranger to this phenomenon: a mother and entrepreneur, she has had similar personal challenges which led her to find a new way of living, including reconnecting her emotional health with her physical health and founding SheaNetics®, a revolutionary blend of ancient and contemporary values and movements that deliver a powerful mind-body experience. Followers of this practice get in shape, feel great and naturally make life-healthy choices

From recipes for well-being to creating your safe space to "meditation in motion and thought", Breakthrough offers a jumpstart for women looking to redefine their way of life in a sustainable way.

For more information, visit Shea's website at www.sheanetics.com

The holiday season can be a very stressful time for all of us. We like to decompress at our favorite Yoga Studio---Yoga Bent. This is not an ordinary yoga studio. It incorporates the brainchild of Miguel LaTronica—The Mighty Body Band.  Miguel will be our first guest on today’s show—we hope we can keep up with our favorite yogi!

The Mighty Body Band® (The MBB™) can easily be used at home, gym, office,fitness center or on-the-go. For those of you who spend countless hours sitting at the computer, driving, or on your feet much of day, you will find this product to be crucial to your physical fitness and well-being.

Product testing indicates that postural awareness is dramatically improved after using The MBB™ for wo weeks. The patented technology gently trains the body to achieve its optimal balance by targeting specific parts of the muscle that would otherwise not be worked. Further, the user will get an immediate, yet safe and satisfying release of nagging muscular pain.

The unit easily enables the body to safely compress and decompress many of the body’s organs. People suffering from conditions such as sciatica, compressed spinal discs or Piriformis Syndrome will feel immediate results.

For more information on The Mighty Body Band and the Yoga Bent studio, please visit, www.yogabent.com

Our second half will prove just as exciting as Dhana always finds the most wonderful prodcuts and this one will not disappoint. We have Amy Cooper with us discussing her cozy wonderful cashmere wraps and her company Red Twist.

Amy founded Red Twist after spending several years living in China with her family. 

During her time there, she fell in love with the Asian cultures and food, but also with the fashion treasures she found wandering in markets and boutiques in the far corners of the world.  An avid traveler and photographer, she longed to find the perfect cashmere to wrap up in on those long flights to and from the states.  She looked everywhere--from the high fashion of Hong Kong to the markets of India—only to learn that all cashmere is not created equal.  While in Beijing, Amy stumbled upon IT--the warmest, softest and yummiest cashmere—the cashmere she had been searching for.  So she did what any cashmere-lover would do, she had it made into a wrap to accompany her on her travels.

After frequent inquiries into her wrap (including one airline stewardess who wanted to buy one mid-flight), Amy decided to start Red Twist.  Each wrap is lovingly made in Beijing from luxurious Mongolian cashmere and is one size fits all.

In addition to her fashion finds, Amy also learned of the hardships of living in China, especially for young girls.   As a mother of three young girls herself, she is passionate about helping Chinese girls have access to education.  The Josephine Charles Foundation helps disadvantaged minority children, especially girls, in remote mountain communities, to attend school. (http://www.josephinecharlesfoundation.org). A portion of your purchase will go to sending an underprivileged Chinese girl to school.

For more information on Red Twist, visit the website www.theredtwist.com

Join me, Dhana Cohen with our special guest HOST~ Karen Rosenzweig from That's all Greeting, truly the funniest woman I know!!! Can she make life insurance and umbrellas funny??? you'll have to tune in to find out!! 

Right before Thanksgiving, we need to give thanks to our families. What better way to do that, then with Life Insurance! Our first guest, Sam Goldsmith,is principal broker of Goldsmith Insurance, Agency. He takes pride in building his knowledge base and will only work with top quality companies. He and his team specialize in life insurance, annuities, long term care, and wealth management. Licensed in over 33 states, Sam takes his time in shopping for the best, most cost effective plan for you and your family's needs. 

Make sure to have Sam give you a quote for your insurance!

Goldsmith Life Insurance

And another way to protect you and your family is with The Brelli umbrella. What an amaZING innovation. Made from sustainable bamboo, UVA/UVB protection even with their clear design. The Brelli is the brain child of Pam Zonsious, it all started from a drink on the beach, and today you can have the world's first truly biodegradable umbrella! 

The Next Big Zing was proud to offer The Brelli with The Next Big Zing AWARD for 2011! One of the most innovative products of the year!! congrats Pam and her team!

Here is the link to The Brelli 

With the enormous amounts of “Deal” websites entering the marketplace, how is a mom to know which ones to subscribe to and which ones are a waste of time? We have the answer for you! Mom.com has just launched in Chicagoland, and is has deals every day that are specifically geared towards US, in our very own neighborhoods!

Lisa Silvers and Jenny Vacala Marsico, from Mom.com will be with us to tell us all the great happenings on this website that you won’t want to miss out on. Until the end of the week, for every subscriber that subscribes through our link, $1 will be donated to our special charity—The Debbie Lydia Kogan Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. So what are you waiting for—go to http://www.mom.com/p/chn-blog-chn-believeinyourfairytale-110911 and sign up today!

 In our second half, we will be joined by Karen Porte, inventor of an ingenious product, Tugo!

Here is the idea that Karen had-- The space between the upright handles of a rolling bag is just about the right size to hold a coffee cup. So she rolled up her sleeves and went to work inventing the tugo. Clearly, this multi-tasking mom and emergency room nurse is a problem solver.

"It happens to all of us," says Karen, "Travelers have their briefcase, laptop, handbag, and carry-on, in a hurry to get to the gate while juggling a meal and beverage purchased in the terminal - they just run out of hands."

 But Karen and her husband, Tom, want to do more than just solve problems. They want a product designed, developed and produced the right way. The Tugo is manufactured in the USA and is made using materials without phthalates. The packaging is recyclable paperboard.

Listen in to hear Karen’s story and then grab a couple Tugo’s on the website www.goodtugo.com . They make a great holiday gift!

The Holiday season is rapidly approaching and you know what that means-lots of yummy treats! Our first guest today has a product that can help keep you in shape throughout the holidays right in the comfort of your own home.

Estelle Underwood, creator of the BodyWorksBand and owner of the Southern California-based fitness studio Bodyworks for Total Health, has gained extensive experience working with clients with various physical limitations over the course of her career, as well as helping clients achieve functional fitness to improve quality of life.   Many of her clients are referred to her by local doctors and chiropractors, and she develops personalized exercise prescriptions which help them improve, stabilize, and maintain joint and spine health, as well as increasing bone density, strength, and flexibility.

After many years spent working face to face with clients in this regard, and after producing an exercise DVD for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis (www.bonejuvenate.com), Estelle has recently brought her expertise to a vast number of people through her newly developed BodyWorksBand.  It is an almost weightless resistance band that exhibits illustrations of a full-body strength training workout printed across the entire band.

Throughout her career, Estelle witnessed how many of her clients led intensely busy lives. From busy single mothers to working professionals, it seemed everyone was seeking a way to keep up a fitness regime either at home or on the road. Estelle also recognized the demand for a product without a huge learning curve or big price tag - something that was accessible to those who couldn't keep up full training sessions on a regular basis. The BodyWorksBand was her answer. By having the instructions printed on the band itself, Estelle has developed a product that simulates having a personal trainer with you at all times, and users of the BodyWorksBand can be sure they are targeting muscles safely and efficiently. 

The BodyworksBand would also make a great gift for that special someone. To learn more visit Estelle's website at www.bodyworksband.com

A great second half is in store for all of our listeners today. Melinda Knight, founder of Womentorz will be on our show. What in the world is that you might ask???

Womentorz.com (http://www.womentorz.com) is a website that allows women inventors to have a virtual storefront for a very minimal investment.  Womentorz provides all of the promotion and social networking needed to generate traffic to the women's products giving them the exposure their inventions deserve.  By using the concept of group marketing, Womentorz is able to save the women a great deal of money and provide unique marketing opportunities.  Womentorz also gives the women inventors a sense of community and support that's so important in staying focused as well as spirits lifted.

What began as one woman's moment of inspiration two years ago has gained national attention in a short period of time. With numerous radio and television appearances, huge following through social networking, and offers to partner with similar e-commerce sites it's not surprising that this novel concept has grown rapidly.

Sure to be a really fun hour!

Our featured guest today is mompreneur, Dinah Vogel, President and owner of The Cumberland Companies.

This former real estate broker, mom of two boys-one with special needs, invented a product every single parent needs! Disposable potty chair liners! Her product, called Tidy Tots is the "mess free" solution to potty training. You have to check it out at www.tidytots.com.

As a way of helping the community, Tidy Tots are packaged and warehoused at Sunshine Industries in Knoxville, TN.  Sunshine Industries provides long-term sheltered employment to individuals with developmental disabilities.  Employees are paid on a piece rate or hourly basis while they learn job skills and develop good work habits, with an emphasis placed on production and quality control. Individuals develop self -confidence, independence and a sense of accomplishment.

Tune in to listen to how this mompreneur turned her idea into a great product!

A really fun show is in store for all of our favorite listeners today.  It's a Female Entrepreneur Love Fest!
A simple need for a bigger, more comfortable baby towel grew into a practical product - a solution Déa Viola found and tried on her kids, and a new business was born.

Baby Flamingo is a perfect name for her enterprise - it's a great reflection of the creativity she has shown throughout her life. Whether dancing with the Joffrey Ballet, or on the set of "Scent of a Woman", teaching music or playing in a band, sewing children's accessories, this Brazilian born mom is passionate about life and she is an inspiration to her kids who are very proud of her. Déa approaches her business the same way moms go through raising children - one step at a time. As with kids, nothing in business can be done simultaneously, but as long as you make an effort on something each and every day, you progress forward.

In addition to her growing business, she also gives back by being a sponsor of Humanity Healing International.

For more information about the The Mama Taco Towel^TM  and Lettuce Wash Your Fingers and Tomatoes Washcloth and Sponge Set^TM visit the website www.thebabyflamingoco.com

Our second half we are really excited to welcome Worry Woos founder, Andi Green.

From a groundbreaking character creating art exhibit, Andi Green launched Monsters in my head LLC in 2008. What started as a doll and a storybook collection has become the nationally award winning Worry Woo Monsters. Green's vision for the WorryWoos Monsters is to create products, which openly discuss emotions and help children to "embrace their inner Woo"

We can't wait to hear her story and for more information about Andi's products visit www.worrywoos.com

Abbey Fishman Romanek is one of our featured guests today.  Abbey is running for in the Cook County Democratic Primary for Judge in the 9^th Judicial Subcircuit.

Abbey has had a 24-year legal career.  She has represented clients in commercial, civil and criminal cases.  These include Capital murder trials and representing doctors and hospitals in multi-million dollar medical malpractice cases.

Abbey's career also includes extensive community work.  She is on the Board for Connections for the Homeless and the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.  Listen to the story of why becoming a judge is part of her "happily ever after!"

The second half of our show welcomes Elke Quade.  Elke is inventor of the Muffinmeal, a new bakeware accessory, and President of Cupcaqe Ltd.  After working in real estate for over 30 years, she decided to change fields to something closer to her heart. That was Cupcaqe, Ltd.

Her first product, Muffinmeal, was inspired by a simple desire for an ice cream cupcake. She couldn't find a good one, so she invented Muffinmeal to make it easy to bake cup-like holes into cupcakes which she then filled with ice cream. From there, she realized she had to share this invention with everyone who ever wanted to fill a cupcake or muffin with the fruits and flavors of their imagination.

Elke has always been passionate about helping others and giving back, and she makes sure her company promotes that mission. To that end, Muffinmeal is completely manufactured in the US, creating jobs for Americans.  As an extension of these efforts-and as Muffinmeal sales hopefully increase-Elke plans to hire clients from Avenues to Independence to assemble and package her product. Avenues to Independence is a local charity that provides jobs and independent living for developmental disabled adults whose unemployment rate is 90%.

To find our more about Muffinmeal and Elke's company, please visit www.muffinmeal.net

A great surprise today-we have Karen Rosenzweig, President and founder of That's All Greetings , filling in for Dhana as our guest co-host today. Karen is a soul sister of the show and soul sister of Dhana and Debbie's. If you want to learn more about Karen's company, please visit her website www.thatsallgreetings.com

How far would you run to help low income students have a shot at going to college??? 10 miles, 15, a marathon...how about 100 miles!!! Or at least attempt to.

Our first guest today, Paul Wehner and a team of running buddies did just that last summer in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  While Paul did not actually complete the race-his body got himself through 60 miles. Through rain and mountainous terrain, it is quite a story to hear with a great mission.

Paul's running team raised money for Admission Possible, a non-profit making college admission and success possible for low-income students through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support. For more information on Admission Possible and to learn how you can get involved, visit www.admissionpossible.org

In our second half hour we are joined by Lori Hall, founder of EZ Bouquet. Flowers bring so much joy to people. We have always said to have flowers around in the house is like having smiles all around you. Are you mystified as to how people arrange bountiful bouquets while you are just the person that haphazardly sticks your stems in a vase and hope they stand up and look pretty?

Lori Hall WAS that person. So what does every great inventor do-she finds a better way. She developed a prototype for helping ordinary people (like us) arrange flowers like a pro. She entered QVC's product search and was chosen as 1 of 8 out of 6000 entries for Oprah's Next Big Idea in 2008.

Listen in to hear her story, then hop on her website www.ezbouquet.com and start flower arranging immediately.

A truly inspiring show is on deck for all of you today! We are honored to have Dena Mendes join us!

Dena is a motivational speaker and author of the new book “Kicking Cancer’s Ass”, who is absolutely inspiring audiences to empower themselves by growing a “New Sense of Themselves”. Her experience as a five time cancer survivor has been a “Health Awakening Experience” where she has truly turned crisis into opportunity. Her attitude and education of twenty years has catapulted her as an expert in helping others through the healing process of body mind and spirit. “I wasn’t sick, I was doing research and development.” She laughs with the confidence of someone who is truly Kicking Cancer’s Ass! She motivates others everyday to do the same in a gutsy and gritty way!

Check out Dena’s amazing book Kicking Cancer’s Ass and her Wellness Cookbook at www.denashealthyu.com

Dena inspires us all to take control of our health to live a “Happily Ever After!”

Also appearing on our show is Gary Hills, inventor of the product “Holiday Storage Solutions?” The holidays start with Halloween and if you are one of those people who LOVES to decorate your house with lots and lots of lights—you know who you are—then you don’t want miss the information on this great storage product.

For more information on Holiday Storage Solutions, check out www.holidaytoragesolutions.com.

Becky Rabson is a stay-at-home mom of two deliciously wonderful, but absolutely messy young boys, ages six and eight. They were the inspiration behind her home-run business, SmartSeat^TM Chair Protector. We love mompreneurs like her!

The idea came to Becky about two years ago when she purchased a new dining set. Wanting her boys be able to eat with us at the new table, but didn't want them to ruin the new upholstered dining room chairs. Frustrated by the lack of options on the market, Becky decided to create her own design made out of a soft, comfortable and waterproof material.  As a mom, Becky knows how picky kids can be about texture and the way things feel against their skin. She used her experience with her boys as the motivation to find a design and fabric choice that would both completely protect her chairs from stains and spills and get her kids' approval.

For more information about Becky's fabulous chair seat covers, visit her website: www.pbjdiscoveries.com

Also featured on our show today is Sally Schwartz.  Sally is a native of Chicago's north shore She has been an entrepreneur since 1985 when she started Paint Me A Party Productions, one of Chicago's leading party planning companies. In 2002 the company was renamed Image Pilots to reflect a virtual team and a broader focus on trends in marketing and merchandising and was named one of the "Top 50 Global Event Planners" by Special Events Magazine.

Sally is a collector of antiques, art and "vice" including cigarette lighters and swizzle sticks and started the Chicago Antiques & Collectibles Festivals in the mid 1990's so she wouldn't have to shlepp out to the country to find kitch and props for events. In 2004 she started the Chicago Antique Market as a one day event on the street in the West Loop which is now known as: Randolph Street Market, home to the Chicago Antique Market, a monthly indoor/outdoor urban antique and collectibles flea market and the Indie Designer Fashion Market, the monthly hub for emerging fashion talent. Randolph Street Market also serves as producers of the Modern Vintage Chicago, a bi-annual vintage and indie fashion event; and the annual Randolph Street Holiday Market. The market benefits Chicago House, for people living with HIV and AIDS, and the Trio Foundation pet rescue.

Happy Fall Everyone! We have been off for a couple of weeks but we have a great show planned for you all today!

Great things are happening in Highwood, IL-Melissa Sands is our first featured guest this morning. She is in the unique position of seeing the vintage/antique world from 3 perspectives-dealer, collector and promoter. She runs the North Shore Flea-which is an amazing "flea market" where you can find lots of treasures. Melissa also sells her vintage finds online at www.etsy.com. Her company is  Pure Vintage Chicago.  The North Shore Flea occurs every Wednesday in Highwood 3-9pm rain or shine.

In our second half, our featured guest is Kathy Pickus co-founder of Dot Girl products. If you have a tweenage daughter or granddaughter-you will not want to miss this! Debbie bought one for her daughter last spring. She and her sister Terri Goodwin wanted to make the transition from being a girl to womanhood an empowering experience and they invented the First Period Kid, a discreet stylish carrying case that has everything a girl needs for her first period including lots of answers to frequently asked questions that parents may find uncomfortable to answer.

To find out more about Dot Girl, visit www.dotgirlproducts.com. They are offering Free Shipping through September 15^th!

Do you (or someone you care about) have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? It's called ADHD and it affects six out of every ten people. The symptoms are restlessness, distraction, disorganization, low arousal, impulsiveness, craving for stimulation, and more.

Most doctors prescribe ADHD drugs, but there's also "brain training for ADHD" that is safe, reliable and effective. It's so easy, that you can do it while lying flat on your back, with your eyes closed. It's been described as "the lazy way to get rid of ADHD". However, it's also a method that's used in neurotherapy clinics across the country, and is supported by empirical research.

In her new book, "Train Your Brain, Transform Your Life: How to Conquer ADHD In 60 Days, Without Ritalin" author Nicky VanValkenburgh reveals how to address the root cause of ADHD, and boost the electro-chemical activity in your brain. It's a method that you can practice in the comfort of your own home, without ever stepping foot inside a clinic. Finally, there is a way to interrupt your ADHD and create new neural pathways for peak performance. As you read Nicky's book, you'll realize that you have every reason to be optimistic about overcoming ADHD. It's time to train your brain and transform your life!

If you mention that you heard about Nicky's book on our show, she will give you $5.00 off the book and Free Shipping. Click on the link for this special "Fairytale" offer: http://www.trainyourbraintransformyourlife.com/fairytale.html

We have a very special mompreneur on the second half of our show today. Kara Anderson-co-inventor of the The Bag Holder and the company Cleaning With a Meaning-a network of cleaning providers that offer Free house cleaning to families who have children diagnosed with a serious illness or injury. Talk about giving back to the world!!!!

Kara, a mom of 2 young children was a personal chef and her mom the "personal assistant" needed a way to make mass meals in minutes for the families she cared for without making a huge mess. Using a gadget in the kitchen that would stay open when adding ingredients, store leftovers and help assemble the meals was a necessity. Thus, The Bag Holder was created, designed and prototypes were made.

It changed the way they did everything in the kitchen from start to finish and even her kids loved mixing the meals they made. It truly was like having another assistant in the kitchen. The thought of making memories without the mess with her children was a huge bonus. They began the patent process in 2006 but the price of creating, inventing and marketing a business was more than expected and they placed the idea in their "basket list" and continued working to care for families.

In 2009, Kara was diagnosed with breast cancer and after surgery, chemo, radiation and continued treatment, she started a network of cleaning providers that offer free house cleaning to families who have children diagnosed with a serious illness or injury called Cleaning with a Meaning. It was founded by the company she runs today.

With all the health concerns and unknown possibilities she realized there was no time like today to get The Bag Holder in every home.  In 2010, Carol and Kara got back on track and with the help of social media and running a successful cleaning and errand service company,  they were ready to take on the challenge again.

Kara and her mom Carol want to bring back the joy of working together in the kitchen without wasting added time in the process. Every home can find a use for The Bag Holder and the way families can all pitch in is wonderful to watch. Like the old saying "Where ever I serve my guests they seem to like my kitchen best" but as Kara says it should have said "they like to clean my kitchen best" because using The Bag Holder makes mess free meals every time you use it.

For more information on Kara and her companies, please visit her website at http://www.thebagholder.net

Back on our show today is author (and fellow soul sister) Jackie Pilossoph to talk about her new novel, JACKPOT! If your mother offered you $8 Million Dollars to have a baby would you do it??? Sounds like a good story right???

 Jackie made her debut as a published fiction author with "Hook, Line and Sink Him" (Blackhawk Publishing), a romantic comedy set in Chicago. The single mother of two has been writing novels and screenplays for 10 years. She describes herself as "a romantic, a Girl Scout leader, a reader, and a Bulls fan," among other things.

Find the book at www.amazon.com and bookstores everywhere! To find out more about Jackie, visit her website at www.jackiepilossoph.net

Our featured guest in our second half is Edith Tolchin, international global trading expert. Edith is called "The Sourcing Lady" and has written a book called "Sourcing Smarts" which guides you to getting your prodcuts manufactured safely and with the abiliy to make a profit overseas.

Edith has over 30 years of experience in cost cutting solutions for international trade and shipping. She specializes in inventions of textiles and sewn items, baby and fashion accessories, arts and crafts and unique household articles. 

To learn more about Edith and to get her book, please visit, www.egtglobaltrading.com