Category Archives: Thoughts from a Dad of 9…

David’s blog and reflections on being father of 9 and husband to Robyn. Some advice and hints at parenthood may be sprinkled in for good measure.

Vive Las Vegas (Part 1)…thoughts from the ABC Kids Expo (Dave)

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We just returned from the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas this morning on a red-eye flight.  It is great to be home!

We had a very busy and energizing show.  Some thoughts and advice for anyone going to a trade show:

1) COMFORTABLE SHOES!!!!  And band-aids for blisters…a foot soak wouldn’t hurt.

2) Convention centers are arid (particularly in Vegas); bring chap-stick, tic-tacs, and lots of water.

ViveVita Trade Show Booth 9-093) Trade show booth talent is a good investment.  Don’t waste money on advertising at the trade show.  Hire local people with trade show experience to help with your booth.  You can use an agency (can be pricey), or try Craig’s list.  We made effort to screen applicants and find qualified talent that reflected our values and we were very happy with it.  Definitely a worthwhile investment.

4) Smile, relax and enjoy it.  Last year we were nervous and that comes through in your presentation.  This year we were calm, plus we let the booth help from #3 above be the ‘front line’, and we could see who was interested and who needed to be ‘brought in’ for more information.

5)  Be available.  Always have at least one of your principal people in the booth and readily available for questions on distribution chains, private labelling, and other in-depth questions that booth talent may not be able to readily answer.  Don’t eat in the booth or gab on your cell phone, and don’t sit down.

More to follow….

Thoughts from a Dad of 9…David’s two cents

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Hello,

My name is David, and I am the father of our 9 incredibly interesting and entertaining young children, and husband to my best friend, soulmate, and Mompreneur, Robyn.

I am what is called a ‘recovering engineer’ who entered the medical field after college and a short time working in the engineering world. My role at our home is ‘all things structural, mechanical, and technical’, which means I am the fix-it guy and computer geek.  I also like to imagine myself as a scaled-down reflection of the industrial engineering ‘efficiency expert’ and systems analyst  Frank B. Glibreth, Jr., the real-life father and inspiration for the original story and 1950 movie “Cheaper by the Dozen” (not the Steve Martin 2003 version which had little to do with the original, charming story).

I help Robyn home-school the children by teaching applied math and science, and I attempt to maintain and improve our physical environment, and hopefully facilitate positive learning and relational development between the children.

In my current profession, I primarily work nights with acutely ill and injured patients.  As such, I am part of a team that frequently has to “do the best we can with the limited resources we have”.  This has taught me many things that I am hopefully applying to broader topics in life.  Robyn also has a professional background in delivery of emergency medical care, and having experience dealing with true life-and-death situations helps give us somewhat of a more balanced perspective of what is truly an ‘emegency’ at home or not.  We still get flustered now and again over the little things, but hopefully not as much as we did in the past.Dave and our 2-year-old boys

I am not exactly sure what my role will be in contributing to this blog, nor how often I will have the opportunity to help out, but Robyn has requested I add an occasional input here, so I am happy to share with you, for what it is worth, my experience.

I am looking forward to this new opportunity.

Sincerely,

Dave