Whew...we are back from Vegas. What a whirlwind trip it was...full of surprises! The booth setup in Seattle never made it to Vegas, and so when we arrived on Friday, we weren't sure we would have anything to set up! A thousand phone calls, sweet-talkings, one personal visit, and a ton of money later (remember, this is Vegas), everything came together, and we had a fabulous show! And because of the adversity we had to overcome, we appreciated our success even more.

aquaBling is a product of adversity. When my first son, Aidan, was three months old, he became very sick with RSV. For those of you who aren't familiar with RSV, it is a respiratory virus that is contracted through saliva and mucous. It presents in most children like a bad cold. However, in a few small babies, particularly premature babies, the virus can be deadly. Although Aidan was not premature when he was born, he was one of those unlucky babies who became very ill. After spending a couple of days in the hospital, he was air-flighted to the pediatric intensive care unit, where we stayed for about three weeks. He was gravely ill, and for a few days we thought we might lose him. Since he had not been baptized yet, we held an emergency baptism in his hospital room. But, through the grace of God, he pulled through. As he was recovering, we were informed that if he were to contract RSV again this year, he would most likely not survive it this time. His father and I both worked; but upon hearing this news, we decided that I would quit my job and stay home with him. Although it was not the easiest decision for many reasons, there was not a choice for us. Our son and his health were too important.

Aidan's recovery was not instantaneous, and while we were in the hospital we became very aware of the importance of frequent hand-washing and not sharing drinks in order to prevent illness. And while we were in our own home it was easy to keep cups straight. But whenever we would be out somewhere and drinking bottled water, it was incredibly difficult to keep all the bottles straight in the car, diaper bag, and stroller. Add in family functions, other cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents' drinks to keep straight, and it becomes nearly impossible! Finally, at a family reunion a few months after Aidan's illness, I decided that there had to be a way to keep bottles straight. Thus, aquaBling was born.

You know, if my son had not almost died, I would have never understood the importance of not sharing drinks. As a family, this seems like such a benign act. I used to think it was so cute when my little baby tried to drink out of my cup! But it's not cute...it's dangerous, and now we, as a family, are healthier for it. I encourage all of you (with children or not) to stop sharing drinks with eachother. It's such an easy way to prevent illness. Here's to healthy living!