28 Sep L’il Monkeys 13th Anniversary – PROMO
L’il Monkeys is turning 13!
As I sit here trying to write a new blog post, I have so many thoughts running through my head. Trying to comprehend how almost 13 years ago, we were nervously anticipating the birth of our twin girls. 13 years ago! I had left my job as a Corporate Recruiter very early on in my pregnancy. I spent most of my days at home, on the couch absolutely exhausted and getting bigger and bigger by the second (so it seemed). To this day, I’ll never understand why it is called “morning sickness” cuz mine was all day, all night and nothing seemed to make it better. The first time I felt that little flutter in my tummy, was one of the best feelings I have ever experienced. It wasn’t long before that kicking became stronger and stronger and I swear there were times when I thought they would kick right through my belly from the somersaults and backflips!
As the story goes, I wanted each of our girls to have a special blanket of their very own. My sewing skills have always lacked, but I was determined to make them each a blanket. Off I hobbled to the fabric store, and I really was hobbling at this point as I measured longer around my belly than I do tall (nothing about it was pretty). At the store, I came across the softest, waffle fleece I could find. I decided that one would be purple and one pink, and each would have the girls’ name on it. Within a couple hours, the very first L’il Monkeys blankets were made. I made sure to make them well ahead of our due date because I knew once they arrived, I would never get to it and being a twin pregnancy, we were warned that they could come early. Good thing I had that foresight, because when I stood up to answer the doorbell for our first trick-or-treater in our new house, my water broke and off to the hospital we went. At 8:30pm and 8:31pm on Halloween, 2004, five weeks before our due date, we finally met the tiny acrobats and fell immediately head over heels in love with them. Weighing in at 4lbs 7oz, and 4lbs 12oz, they were the tiniest, pinkest babies I had ever seen. Strong little monkeys, we were able to leave the hospital with them just four days later.
The first six months were a complete blur. I have very few memories of the sleepless nights and complete exhaustion. The days seemed endless and I wasn’t sure I would ever sleep again. I did try to shower once in a while and get out during the day, if even to walk around the mall with my enormous double stroller. Everywhere we went, so did their blankets and we were often stopped by people asking where they could buy them. Once we started thinking about my return to work, and looking into various daycare/nanny options, the thought of leaving the girls with someone else made me very anxious. I started making blankets for those who had asked, and bringing in a little money doing so. It was then that we made the decision to actually make a go of selling the blankets, and L’il Monkeys Personalized Gifts Inc. was born.
By the time our girls turned one, the fabric store had discontinued the fabric I was using, and the demand for the blankets was growing. I placed my first order for a container load of waffle fleece at the end of 2005, and when it arrived from overseas, it took over the entire garage. I knew I was in this for a while! Fast forward to today, about a month before our girls turn 13, I can’t figure out where the time has gone! I have re-ordered fabric several times, changing the colours to reflect customer requests, and have sent blankets all over the world. I still hand cut each and every letter individually, but I have an incredible staff who takes it from there to produce the blankets. I am beyond grateful for the amazing and loyal customer base that continues to grow and I feel so lucky that I have been able to run this business from home and be present for our girls. Watching them grow into the teenagers they are has been an absolute blessing. Don’t get me wrong, the roller coaster of eye rolling, melt downs and seriously not knowing who I am getting from second to second has had its moments, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
This business would be NOTHING without you, my amazing customers. I am so touched by all of the stories you have shared with me about how much your Monkey(s) love their blankets. The photos that you take the time to share with me continue to make my day every time. A part of this business that I didn’t see coming was the demand for bigger blankets because your Monkeys had become so attached and were moving into bigger beds. Our girls still have their original blankets, but now only sleep with larger L’il Monkeys blankets and sometimes sandwiched between two. They even take their blankets to summer camp because the twin-sized fits perfectly on a camp bunk.
I don’t have the words to express how truly humbled and thankful I am for your continued business and support. Thank you just doesn’t seem enough. So…..as a token of my appreciation, I am offering a promotion for the month of OCTOBER 2017: order any twin-sized L’il Monkeys Personalized blanket and receive an upgrade to a DOUBLE-SIZED blanket on me! Go ahead and place your order for a twin-sized blanket and please specify in the special comments section that you would like to upgrade to a double (on me), and I’ll take care of the rest. Thanks again for everything.
~ Andi and the (not so) L’il Monkeys!