Cool Dog Productions

Holiday Cards

2011-10-11T21:43:00.000-05:00

Has it really been months since I posted? Shame.

The Holidays are coming! (In case you have no idea what month it is either :-)

Here's our card from last year...

The Muppets are coming, the Muppets are coming!!

2011-06-13T20:34:00.002-05:00

A new Muppet Movie is coming out at Thanksgiving!
I can't wait to share the Muppets with my kids! How about you??

Custom Birth Announcements

2011-06-11T09:39:00.002-05:00

A custom birth announcement - one of my first. Love.

2011-02-06T14:24:00.002-05:00

Oh it's been a while internets! We're sorry.

Cool Dog is going through some growing pains with a third baby in the house. no time for much of anything. We'll be back soon-ish. Better than ever.

In the meantime here's a super cute video that I wish I'd had something to do with...

The Cool Dog

2010-09-02T09:48:00.015-05:00

The cool dog is not just my company logo. The cool dog is my dog, my baby, my Sammy.

We had to let Sammy go last night and I am heartbroken.

He was more than just a logo, an image on my website. He was boundless love and energy, patience and hard work. Dogs love without prejudice, play with exuberance, live to wait for you and to wait on you. Sammy loved everyone, except those rare few he deemed sketchy and deserving of the big dog bark. He loved the snow and the water and playing ball. He would put up with child after child pulling on him, and would do the same trick over and over again just to please you.

I used Sammy for my logo simply because he looked cool and I thought it was a good name for a company, and I loved him :-). As I sit here and think about him and Cool Dog Productions, I also think those qualities are alive and well within my business. Each and every client and their photos and videos get my full love and attention. I love finding new music and making just the right graphic. My favorite part of every video birth announcement is when I get the first photos of a new baby. Every time is such a joy. Every time! I keep plugging along with unending patience just like Sammy, because I do not believe our announcements have reached their full potential. Even with three kids to take care of, still, we work hard- just like Sammy.

I will continue to work hard with patience, exuberence and love, just like Sammy would. So that not only his image, but his way of being, will live on forever.

RIP Sampson LeRoy Gavini Reilly aka The Cool Dog

...and of course there will be a video. I just can't today. Sigh.

Mothers and Company

2010-06-07T11:22:00.006-05:00

I love Mother's and Company! I wish they were closer to me because I would be there all the time taking any number of classes or feeding my cloth diaper addiction.

They are in West Boylston and have a great spaces for classes, lounging, and shopping - and they have a POOL!!

"Mothers and Company provides comprehensive, evidence-based prenatal education, breastfeeding and new parent support, toddler classes and groups, special events for women and families, and natural parenting products to childbearing families in Central Massachusetts and MetroWest. Our services address the full circle of maternity and parenting in a way that encourages the natural process, informed decision making, and informed purchasing. We are dedicated to offering organic and natural products and the best of the best products for parents and infants. All our products and services come with knowledgeable instruction and support, as our staff are all compassionate parents with valuable experience and information to share.

MoCo is a community for families, founded by women passionate about educating and supporting families and those who love them."

I brought the retail display to Moco last week when I went out there to get a new carrier for my new boo! They are running a raffle, of course, so drop by for a swim and your chance to win a Video Birth Announcement.

(I'll update this post with pics of Nate and the display when we go back. My friend was nice enough to sit for N & S while I went. THAT was much easier :-)

The Mother of all Video Birth Announcement Days

2010-04-19T15:46:00.011-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of you!! I just recently became a Mom for the third time. I couldn't be more excited about it!

And I couldn't be more excited for all of you other new moms out there. Cool Dog Productions has a special announcement about our announcements that you may be interested in.

We have a new pricing!!

An online Video Birth Announcement is now $99 !!
Want a DVD Keepsake upgrade? That is now $149 !!

You just can't beat $99!!

Please help us spread the news.

Earth Day & Video Birth Announcements

2010-04-19T15:25:00.011-05:00

So we think that our Video Birth Announcements are a great way to go green when announcing your new little bundle.

No paper to throw away √
Our site is green √
All paper free communication √
DVD covers & Biz cards FSC certified √

Everyone that orders one this Earth Day gets a cute organic - free trade -water based ink - super cute- Cool Dog onesie!

Start'em off GREEN!!

Go HERE to order your birth announcement!

The Bump - Mom Biz of the Week!

2010-04-11T19:30:00.011-05:00

How cool is this?
THE BUMP - Mom Biz of the week!!

The Bump gave me and Cool Dog Productions a little shout out for our
Video Birth Announcements!

Savvy Sassy Moms like Video Birth Announcements!

2010-03-30T12:40:00.004-05:00

Savvy Sassy Moms gave us an incredible writeup at the beginning of the month that we were so grateful for.

Please go on over to her blog and poke around. She writes about some great stuff...if we do say so ourselves :-)

baystateparent magazine

2010-03-30T12:36:00.003-05:00

We were so honored to be profiled in baystateparent Magazine's March Baby issue!!

YouTube Channel

2010-02-16T14:05:00.004-05:00

Finally fixed up my YouTube channel. Been there since 2006!

Go on -visit and subscribe if you like!

Have a Heart for Haiti

2010-02-03T13:48:00.004-05:00

When there is a disaster we always wonder what can I do? If it was right next door we would DO something. We would physically DO something. When it happens faraway we give money, send positive thoughts and prayers.

Christine at Boston Mamas put out a special call to all of her local mom entrepreneurs. Would we be willing to donate a percentage of our profits to UNICEF to help the people of Haiti? She would use her stage over at Boston Mamas and her very eloquent voice to rally the troops to shop and therefore help.

So here it is...Have a Heart for Haiti .

From now until February 15th Cool Dog Productions will give 15% of all Video Birth Announcements sold to UNICEF.

So let's announce some babies people!!

The Armed Forces love us!

2010-01-29T16:32:00.007-05:00

Well their spouses do anyway.
Military Spouse Magazine featured us in their January Baby Issue.

We thank them (and their spouses) from the bottom of our hearts!

Our "Current" Theme!

2010-01-20T09:42:00.007-05:00

Our newest Video Birth Announcement theme comes in pink or blue, of course, and makes use of the fantastic song by Staci Frenes - Miracle Baby. We bought the right to the music, just like our other songs, so if you choose to buy a movie file you'll be covered on your blog, Facebook, or Youtube.

We hope you like it - we think it's super cute!!

A year (or five) of changes

2010-01-18T10:13:00.012-05:00

I sit here today working on our fourth theme for Video Birth Announcements. It seems like a long way from personal documentaries. Or is it?

Cool Dog Productions was mostly just an idea before I got married. It had to do with a group of idealistic grad students. We were out to save the world through development videos.

Video and it's distribution has changed in a mind boggling way since I started grad school in 2001.

I have gone from a single gal traveling to far flung places to tell the story of needy nonprofits to a mama of two (soon to be three) that edits during nap time. My work has gone from interview intensive documentaries to photo laden short stories of cute babies. I couldn't be happier. Someday perhaps I'll go back to the non profit sector, or perhaps I'll continue to use the voice I have here to tell you about them.

Our products are now shorter, smaller, higher quality, easy accessible multimedia introductions to the world. We love the babies and we love to tell their stories. We still create some slideshows and personal documentaries from time to time, but less so these days.

Our products also have a retail home now in Magic Beans and one traveling display. We think it's a great way to get our product out into the world and in front of people who maybe don't spend the day in front of a computer like I do.

I have streamlined my process so that most of my editing can be done during naptimes or after bed. The heavy lifting, creating new themes and working on websites is saved for days that I have childcare (thank you Nana Reilly :-)

If you haven't seen our new site please take a look. Every announcement has it's own page that can be password protected, with comments enabled so family and friends can tell you how happy they are. We have added some links for people to buy presents for the new parents or a link to their own registry. Also there is a handy button to print the announcement for those that like to hang it on the fridge.

All in all it's been quite an interesting evolution that Cool Dog has gone through. Thanks so much for being along for the ride (yeah I'm talking to you SLR)

Can't wait to see what 2010 has in store for us. I have a few ideas...

What A Year!

2010-01-04T14:33:00.009-05:00

Cool Dog Productions had it's best year yet, and not necessarily in terms of the bottom line - although that was good too. Video Birth Announcements are getting easier to explain. Even a couple of knock offs (you know the knock off are never as good right ;-)

We met lots of great local people
Sheri & Eli @ Magic Beans
Christine @Boston Mamas
Ann @Mommies Who Shop
Papa Products
Jill @ Go GaGa
Isis Maternity
Diaper Lab
Collaborating with Mary at New World Greetings is always fun.
...and so many more. And those were just the ones we met in person!

We met tons of people online that support what we do and would be thrilled to meet IRL. Many people still do not understand the fascination with Twitter and Facebook and how it could actually help your business. I'm here to tell you I have only scratched the surface of social media and couldn't be happier with the results.

The press we got we couldn't appreciate more. From blogs to article mentions - we heart you!
Daily Candy scroll down a bit :-)
Babyology
Pregnancy Today - Newborn Basics
Sweet Peas & Stilettos - Photos, Videos & Keepsakes
eHow - Creative Birth Announcement Ideas
cinchouse - Birth Announcements for Long Distance Families
MomsMiami
DCmom
Such a Southern Girl - she mentioned me in the same post as Ree Drummond. Just sayin'.

Bring it 2010. It's ON!

Then of course there are the babies! Oh how I love the babies! I posted a few new pics on our Facebook Page.

Next post will be about all the changes over the year and how we have evolved to better serve the babies and their parents!

Win a Video Holiday Card!

2009-12-21T16:38:00.005-05:00

It's NOT too late. You can send this one ON Christmas Day if you like!

Simply send us an email with Win a Video Holiday Card as the subject,
comment on this post,
or send "Win a Video Holiday Card" to @mamacooldog on Twitter!

The fine print....winner will be chosen at random at 9pm tonite, Cool Dog will need your photos by 12 Noon tomorrow, you can only choose a Blue or Red theme, no custom cards, and for goodness sake - be merry!!

See where your Video Holiday Card will live here

Good Luck!

MWS Raffle Winners!

2009-12-02T11:45:00.010-05:00

The Video Birth Announcement Winner is...Jess T.
The Video Holiday Card Winner is...Eliza R.
You will both be emailed individually on how to claim your winnings :-)

Use your coupon
If you didn't win please know that your coupon from the MWS show will be honored for the next three months!! So all you preggie mamas start thinking about which theme you want! The first of the year will also bring a new theme with a great new song.

The Holidays
And our Video Holiday Cards promotion is going strong. Order yours today to be sure I have your spot on the schedule reserved. Can't beat $99 holiday cheer!!

Winners were chosen by my intern Nate.

Video Holiday Cards!

2009-11-30T10:32:00.008-05:00

People have asked us for a couple years now to do Video Holiday Cards. We send out our own every year, but it seemed like too much of a mad rush to do it for others. Well we've finally caved into consumer demand. Holiday Cards it is. Amazingly, we're offering them for only $99! I know you paid waaaay more than that last year for your holiday greetings.

Simply send us 20 photos, pick red or blue graphics, and we'll do the rest. Set to a merry version of Jingle Bells you'll get to send out a variety of pictures from throughout the year to friends and family. Your Holiday Card will stand out from all the rest!

You will receive a link via email that you simply send to all your loved ones. Family still wants something for the mantle? With just a click they can print from their browser or open it in their own photo software and print or save.

We can host your holiday card on our password protected site or you can buy the movie file to post anywhere you like. Our site is comment enabled to spread the cheer :-)

Visit the Holiday site to check it out and then go on over to Cool Dog Productions to order your own! Oh and it only $99. Did I mention that? Yep 99 bucks. Can't beat that.

Happy Holidays!

Nate and the Traveling Retail Display

2009-11-16T09:53:00.021-05:00

On Friday, Nate and I traveled to Somerville to see the folks at Diaper Lab!

This was our first stop taking our retail display to visit baby and kids stores in Massachusetts and beyond. We're really excited to introduce local retailers and their customers to Video Birth Announcements by Cool Dog Productions.

As a stay at home and work at home Mom, I get to combine spending time with my kids with my work. We'll travel to different places and stop along the way, learning and having fun.

Salina and Ryan, the owners of Diaper Lab, have a great little store on Highland Ave in Somerville. They can answer any cloth diaper question and can introduce even the most timid to the NEW cloth diapers :-) Salina was very interested in our announcements and we can't thank her enough for letting us come into her store. She's hiding behind the register there in the last photo - she ducked at the last second.
Really! I think she does like us :-)

Where do you think we should stop?? Please leave comments with store suggestions. Nate loves to take trips!

Diaper Lab's First Anniversary

2009-11-13T16:57:00.006-05:00

The Cool Dog Family looooves Cloth Diapers! So we're so excited to have found a local source for dipes. For a while now I've only been able to order them online, but now I can go and touch all the diapers I want :-)

Do you cloth diaper? Sposies are so 2008. Get yourself over to Diaper Lab and see for yourself how much has changed in cloth since your mom had you in cloth and pins. They can answer all your burning questions.

If you go tomorrow you'll stumble upon Diaper Lab's 1st Anniversary Celebration! They're having an afternoon of demonstrations, raffles, activities, and fantastic sales!

Have fun!

Mommies Who Shop - Boston

2009-11-11T10:38:00.008-05:00

Mommies Who Shop is coming to Boston!!
Cute stuff for mom, kids and baby at sale prices. Wine, munchies and pampering - free. Door prizes, raffles, and swag bags. Seriously do I need to go on? I will anyway...The Seaport Hotel Ballroom, Aura Restaurant, a nite out with the girls.

Really, more?

Cool Dog will be there!! We may or may not have coupons for $25 off Birth Announcements. We may or may not be taking orders for Holiday Cards. That's right you asked, we heard. Holiday cards it is!

From Mommies Who Shop:
What's better than hanging out with a bunch of cool moms? What if you could shop and drink and get a mini-massage with them?! I see lots of new friendships forming... :)

Mommies Who Shop features the "best of" in handcrafted, local designers for babies, kids, and their mamas too. Bonus: music, eats, drinks and swag, FUN GNO!

Buy advance tickets now! Be among the 1st 200 advance tickets purchased to ensure you receive one of our loaded goodie bags! $20 in advance/$30 at the door. Discounted parking vouchers to the Seaport Garage will be given to the 1st 100 cars.

You'll be hungry with all this shopping... Enjoy gourmet hors d'oeuvres and desserts from Chef Rachel Klein of Aura Restaurant - home to Fine Dining, "Family-Style." This weekly family dining program takes place every Friday night at Aura in a special family dining room designed to let parents enjoy a three-course prix fixe menu while kids buzz through their healthy favorites to go to play with toys and enjoy planned activities.

Tired from all the shopping . Stop, get a glass of wine, and a mini massage from Best of Boston's Bella Sante.

Magic Beans, full specialty toy store combined with a baby specialty store featuring the best stroller selection anywhere, is offering these awesome items for the charitable raffle:

UPPAbaby Vista stroller
Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair
Kettler Happy Navigator Tricycle
Melissa and Doug BIG Giraffe

Tickets/info: Mommies Who Shop

Buy 4 get 1 free
Grab your gal pals and go! Purchase 4 tickets at Mommies Who Shop, the 5th one is on me! Enter coupon code, "girlfriend" at checkout. :)

Video Birth Announcements - A New Home

2009-11-02T16:49:00.005-05:00

For the past few months I've been working on a new site. A New Home for all of my babies..my announcements. CoolDogBaby.com

I chose a blog format for privacy and comment enabled fun. I also include some subtle advertising for gift giving, and a registry link. For after baby is born there is no subtle way for a mom to let people know that she is registered. And people want to know. So Cool Dog can take all the wierdness out of that and tell them for her ;-)

It's still in beta for the next few announcements as we gather data and feedback. Please let us know what you think too!!

Isis Maternity Prudential turns 1!

2009-11-02T13:48:00.007-05:00

Happy Birthday Isis Maternity Prudential!

We were thrilled when the Isis Pru wanted to sell and have a retail display at this awesome store. And now we are very excited to be a part of their celebratory events this week. See the Isis site for even more deets.

We'll be there on Thursday for the Registry Event 5-8pm
-Learn about the Gift Registry program
-Hear recommendations for what baby needs
-Lots of strollers and gear on display

Cool Dog Productions' Video Birth Announcements are wonderfully subtle way to let people know that a new mom is registered somewhere, like Isis. We put a small link at the bottom of the announcement post. Let's be honest, it's rude to tell people outright where you're registered, but they really do want to know. They want to get you a present and they want to get you what you want. Let Cool Dog do it for you :-)

From Isis:
Monday: Bring in your budding artist to color a cake picture anytime. Free playgroup for mobile babies and todders from 4:30 - 5:30 PM.

Tuesday: Meet the reps and learn all about the very cool Beaba Babycook from 11 A
M - 2 PM or bring your baby to Open Play with tunnels and balls at 4:30 PM.

Wednesday: HappyBaby offers samples of their organic baby food and toddler meals from 10 AM - 12:30 PM. Free Open Play for mobile tots at 4:30.

Thursday: Baby Gear and Gift Registry Event from 5-8 PM. Light snacks, product demos & answers to your questions. Call 781.429.1470 to RSVP

Friday: Storytime and cookies at 3 PM! Playgroup for infants - 1 year at 3:30 and Open Play for mobile tots at 4:30 PM.

Please stop by Isis Prudential this week! Come see us too on Thursday :-)

seeing (RED) at Magic Beans

2009-10-23T13:38:00.005-05:00

We were at Magic Beans the other night to help celebrate the (RED) event with Bugaboo and Magic Beans. The store looked fabulous all decked out. Sheri and Eli's Wellesley staff did an amazing job.

Lots of great people, lots of talking shop, and lots of support for Cool Dog. We had a great time and truly appreciate that Magic Beans included us.

We were there with our retail display showing off our announcements...

Video Birth Announcement Raffle Winner

2009-10-08T15:02:00.002-05:00

and the winner is Tara S. Congrats!!

We contacted everyone by email - the winner and losers :-( Losers get an extended offer of the incredible Mommies Who Shop price.

Thanks everyone for entering and thanks for stopping by to say hi!

Here's our very scientific raffle winner choosing system...

2009-09-28T10:02:00.004-05:00

We'll be at Mommies Who Shop in Essex tomorrow night. This is an event NOT like last time. Lots of the same designers but with slashed prices!!

Cool Dog's prices on Video Birth Announcements will also be at a crazy price. I can't tell you here though - you have to come to the event to see for yourself. And we'll be raffling away a free one!!

From Ann at Mommies who Shop! ~ We moms, it seems, have a weakness for luxury... while we may hold off on the latest "it" bag for ourselves, somehow our little ones (extensions of ourselves, of course) seem to get it all.

Thank goodness for sales, like this coming Tuesday's Mommies Who Shop! This exclusive, one-day event brings together over 30 high-end, independent designers of baby, child and hot-mama gear!

Not to be confused with our Spring and Holiday events, this one is for the SERIOUS bargain-hunter! Everything will be at a minimum of 25% off, with many items clearance-priced up to 70% off!

Tuesday, 9/29 6-9pm at Woodman's Essex Room, 127R Main St., Essex.

Avoid the lines! Purchase tickets here (just $5)
RSVP: Mommies Who Shop

Coming in April - a Video Birth Announcement

2009-09-24T16:07:00.004-05:00

...oh and another baby for us!! We are so excited (well nauseous) to be pregnant again.
We'll keep you posted!

This will be my last post of a personal nature on the Cool Dog Blog. I'll be moving all of my family stories, pic, videos over to lifeofreilly.net (not up yet). See you there!

High Tech Baby at Isis Maternity

2009-08-12T16:38:00.012-05:00

I'll be giving a workshop for Isis Maternity in Arlington, MA on August 17, 7pm.

It's called High Tech Baby!

"Discover the brave new world of video birth announcements, home movies that really pop and other very cool ways to announce your newbie. Document your baby’s milestones and antics to wow friends, delight family and preserve memories using today’s technology. "

I'll cover all the ways I have found online to announce your baby to the world. The centerpiece of course being Video Birth Announcements by Cool Dog Productions.

I will talk about traditional paper and photo announcements and how to best utilize the web, your computer and your creativity to announce your baby with style! We'll cover how to take better photos and videos, some editing tips, and how to store and share your masterpieces. What we won't do is edit videos for you so please don't bring your footage ;-) But the actual babies are always welcome at Isis!

Hope to see you there.

Video Birth Announcements - a retail display made with love

2009-08-12T16:14:00.006-05:00

I am slowly learning that there aren't many things that my husband can't do. While he still has trouble with directions and getting his underwear in the hamper, that's run of the mill stuff.

We decided a while ago that retail would be the way to sell more Video Birth Announcements. One problem though...people have no idea what a video birth announcement is. Even when I explain they still have a funny look on their face. But when I show them the funny look disappears and is replaced by a wide smile.

So we knew that customers had to SEE the announcement. Hence the idea of a retail display was born.

Here's a sneak peek of one of the many things my architect husband is capable of. Ok he didn't bend the steel but he sure could have a career ahead of him in industrial or product design.

Here's to my guy!

Australia loves us, mate

2009-08-12T15:45:00.006-05:00

These ladies down under were so kind to us. Their review of our Video Birth Announcements showed that they really took the time to check out the website.
But more importantly that they really liked our product!

Please take a minute, a few actually, to check out their review and to surf around their site. They've got some good stuff on there!

And do you know what clucky means? We didn't either we had to ask!

Pregnancy Today

2009-08-12T15:43:00.004-05:00

I was quoted in Pregnancy Today in an article on Birth Announcements. Sweet!
Go and leave a comment. Seriously, go.

:-)

They came, they shopped, they learned about Video Birth Announcements

2009-08-12T15:21:00.009-05:00

Ok, that doesn't really have any kind of ring to it at all. But you get the idea, right?

Mommies Who Shop was a great success for everyone I think. The numbers came back from Ann, and while we didn't sell anything tons of other people did! I didn't expect to sell any announcements. Not there. It's not really the place to buy one of our announcements. But it sure was the place to spread the word about them.

We talked and talked and talked about Video Birth Announcements and "exactly what are they?" It ain't easy being a trailblazer and introducing a new product that nobody knew they wanted . When they saw they not only wanted - they needed. We got a lot of "Omg, I wish I knew about this when I was pregnant.

Well tell all your preggie friends about Video Birth Announcements! Don't let the same thing happen to them. Friends don't let friends have birth announcement regret :-)

One of our Announcements...

It was also great to see so many of the local baby biz people (let's all just face facts - it's a biz.)

So while we didn't sell any, the seed was planted, so to speak. We also got some potentially incredible business opportunities (more on that later).

and she's walking...

2009-06-15T21:18:00.003-05:00

Daily Candy

2009-06-08T12:20:00.003-05:00

I am posting this waaay late but it's still very important and exciting...
We were in DAILY CANDY! Yep, Daily Candy Kids Everywhere, not just Boston EVERYWHERE.

WOOT!!

Mommies Who Shop!

2009-06-03T18:15:00.003-05:00

I'll be at Mommies Who Shop on Wednesday June 10th, 6-10 pm at Regis College's Grand Foyer in Weston. Cool Dog Productions will have a table showing off our latest announcements and cute new onsies. I think it's going to be a really great event! You should GO!!

Tickets are $15
It buys you not only the chance to shop from the very best designers in the
area, but some really cool free stuff, including:
open wine bar and refreshments
swag bag filled with very cool items
amazing door prizes
including an overnight stay at Boston's Seaport Hotel, a
Stokke highchair (from Magic Beans),
Bob Revolution (From Isis Maternity)
Papo D'anjo layette set and more!

The current promotion is Buy 5 get one free!
Grab your gal pals and go! Purchase 5 tickets on Mommies Who Shop, the 5th one
is on me! Enter coupon code, "girlfriend" at checkout. :)
Offer Expires: 6/9/09

Hope to see you there! Please stop by and say Hi :-)

My big sis turns 40!

2009-06-03T10:39:00.005-05:00

Video of Super Nurse!

2009-05-23T09:45:00.001-05:00

I'm just swooning with pride!!

Happy 1st Birthday!!

2009-05-20T10:25:00.005-05:00

Yep! That's my momma in the Boston Globe!!

2009-05-04T16:56:00.006-05:00

Kathy Gavini: Honoring the Precious Moments
A hospice nurse's gift to patients and their families

As a hospice nurse, Kathy Gavini is dedicated to helping her clients cope with end-of-life issues. This includes everything from managing pain to being sure a patient's mentally challenged grandson receives the proper counseling.

"I love all aspects of my job," says Gavini, who has been the clinical services direc tor for Broad Reach Hospice on Cape Cod for the past three years. "It's an honor and a privilege to be with patients and their families at such a critical time."

A nurse for 28 years, Gavini came to hospice work six years ago, after the death of her sister. Dealing with death had always been part of her job as a nurse, but in help ing her sister die with grace, Gavini realized how rewarding the work could be. At Broad Reach Hospice, which serves clients in their homes or other care facilities, she now coordinates care for 80 to 100 patients a year.

"In hospice, we consider the patient and family as a unit of care," explains Marsha McCarthy, the administrator at Broad Reach Hospice. "Thus, our job consists of pain relief and palliative care, but we are also there to counsel the dying and their survivors. Each situation is different, and Kathy is exceptionally good at honoring the individual needs of patients and their families."

McCarthy recalls one patient who knew death was near and said the one thing he longed for was a beer. "So Kathy got up, went out, and bought him a beer," she says. When another patient said she wanted to put her feet in the ocean one more time before she died, the nurses brought her a bucket of sand and seawater."Everyone has such different needs," Gavini agrees, recalling one patient who seemed especially anxious about her situation. "I asked what I could do for her, and she finally confessed that she wanted to balance her checkbook," says Kathy. "I had to laugh, since I hadn't balanced my own checkbook in 30 years. But that's what made her feel good. She was relieved that she wouldn't leave the chore for her daughter."

In her letter nominating Gavini for recognition, Susan Henderson writes about the service Gavini provided to a dying professor who once taught nursing. The woman knew what she wanted: to die in her own bed. It was the daughter who needed to adjust to the loss and learn to be with her mother during this final stage. Gavini and her team tended to the two women, nursing the relationship as much as the patient. But there was one last wish of her mother of which the daughter was not aware.

"She wanted to put together a photo album for her daughter," says Gavini, gathering up all family photos into a memory book. When the mother died, the nurses, who'd worked on the project in secret, presented her daughter with the finished album. "I remember how grateful she was," says Gavini. "I remember all the patients I've helped and all of their families. That's what I love about hospice, being part of this important moment in their lives."

The Nomination Letter
Wonder Nurse: Kathy Gavini Broad Reach Hospice

I work with the best nurses on the Cape. But one stands out as Wonder Nurse. Her name is Kathy Gavini and she works for our Hospice organization I have worked with Kathy for many years and have witnessed her go above and beyond to help her patients and their families to receive the best care and support possible. Kathy has a great deal of patience, she spends time educating families on what to expect during each stage of the dying process, and is there for them if they need her.

We had a patient with breast cancer she wanted to die in her home, in her own bed. She had a beautiful king size, four poster, canopy bed, which was higher from the ground than your standard bed. Kathy promised this woman she would have her wish.

Our patient's daughter was having a very difficult time with her mother dying: she didn't want to be alone with her and told us she could not help with her care or be present when she was dying. But in the weeks before her mother's death, the daughter became more comfortable with what was happening. It took a lot of coaching from the team and Kathy' s magic to turn this into a very special time for mother and daughter. The two would lie in the huge bed together and reminisce, laugh, and cry. It was beautiful for us to all witness this connection. Kathy would always schedule her visits when I was with this patient to help me with her care. We would climb onto this bed and make her beautiful and comfortable. Our patient would laugh at us despite her growing weakness.

The day came and Kathy called me to come to the house. Our patient died with her daughter in bed with her and all of us at her side. The daughter helped us with her mother's care after her death. The experience was so positive for the daughter. These are very personal memories she will hold onto during her grieving. Wonder Nurse Kathy did her magic again.

—Nominated by Susan Henderson, CNA

New Player!

2009-05-01T10:45:00.002-05:00

Found this new player at Sonettic! SO cool! I hope it works in Wordpress ;-)

How do I love thee...

2009-04-23T08:47:00.004-05:00

enough to fold a mountain of diapers.

This should have been posted on Wordless Wednesday!

I'll file it under yet another reason to love my husband.

Earth Day Special on Video Birth Announcements!

2009-04-22T15:35:00.009-05:00

Today, Earth Day, through the end of April, get 15% off a Video Birth
Announcement from Cool Dog Productions!

Choose from one of our six templates, 3 each for a boy or girl.

Happy Day Mother Earth.

The real winner is...

2009-04-17T10:13:00.004-05:00

The real winner of the much hyped who will get to a million followers on twitter business is the children.

Not only did Ashton Kutcher donate nets, but so will CNN, Oprah and Ryan Seacrest.

50,000 nets on their way to save the babies. I have travelled to many parts of the world where a mosquito net was mandatory for me. But I saw locals with no such protection.

A simple net - it save lives! Rock on Ashton, rock on.

the span of time

2009-04-15T10:52:00.007-05:00

Sienna, 11 months with Nonna, 94

She did it Herself!

2009-04-14T10:59:00.003-05:00

And I could NOT have done a better job. Heather's friend informed me the other day that I would not be needed do create the slideshow for Maddie.

Mom was going to put together slideshow herself! I could not believe my eyes. I would be crying over all the photos not being able to pick. She said she was enjoying the process and it was nice to have a project.

Today was Maddie's funeral.
Dad's tribute
Mom's tribute

The Tribute to Our Madeline from Mike and Heather on Vimeo.

Please see the donation link in the last post!

For Maddie

2009-04-10T09:33:00.009-05:00

I sit here today waiting. Waiting for photos of a little one to upload to my site. A sweet little girl. A beloved child. It is not an announcement, but a memorial. I cry just writing that.

People have always told me I should do slideshow tributes for funerals. I have always said no. The turnaround is too quick. I have two small children that will not accommodate that. There would be lots of money in it they say - everybody dies. I don't do this for the money. I would have a different business model if I did. Everyone gets born too, I'd rather do that.

My mother has worked in nursing homes my whole life. I grew to understand our life cycle at an early age. I have a very large family so I have been going to funerals since I was a child. But funeral video tributes is just somewhere I didn't have the strength to go. My brother died 14 years ago and I still have not put all of his photos together. Imagine that? That's what I do for other people and I have not done that for him, for me, for my parents.

A couple of months ago I joined the Twitter community. The first week I had no idea what it could possibly be useful for. I just didn't get it. Then slowly I saw it's value, making connections, strangers writing about my business, a sense of community. I woke the other morning to see that someone named mamasphor was having a very hard time. The tweets were flying. Baby is sick. Pray for Maddie. Then just as suddenly - Maddie passed away. There was just a moment of grief and then an outpouring of support and retweets. People virtually holding this woman up through her grief. Her best friend raising money for the March of Dimes in lightening fast speed. Organizing help for all sorts of things that a grieving parent need not worry about. Like a video to be played at her daughter's memorial service. Someone that I had connected with on Twitter suggested to her friend that she contact me to see if I could help. I saw the tweet and didn't hesitate, of course I would help.

So here I sit, waiting for photos to come from across the country, crying again. I hope that I can create something beautiful for Maddie and for her parents. Then maybe I will get all of my brother's photos out...

Rest in Peace sweet Maddie.

Maddie - http://remembermaddie.com
What you can do -UnDomestic Diva
to donate to the march of Dimes in Maddie's name go here...
to donate to help Maddie's parents go here

Mommy's Little Helper 2009 style

2009-04-07T09:29:00.004-05:00

This is my salvation. The only way I make it through the day. Sad but true.

Caffeine is the new drug of choice for some mommies, well, for this mommy anyway.

Buying this machine was the best $400 I EVER spent. It has paid for itself a thousand times over. It makes a better latte than Starbucks.

Gasp! Yep, I said it!

Of course it is operator dependent. My husband will admit that my lattes are a bit better than his, but I have a professional edge. I used to manage a coffee shop so I should be able to steam milk better than an architect. We all have different skill sets and this particular skill I have mastered!

As I type this the jones have set in. I need to go make another...yum.

SLR on Renovation Nation

2009-04-06T12:53:00.000-05:00

SLR's Renovation Nation episode premiered on Friday Night!
You can see it here.

New site

2009-03-23T21:35:00.003-05:00

Ok it's up and I'm exhausted.
I will write more about how much I love and how much I hope you will too...tomorrow :-)
And it will be help me find the typos day!

2009-03-19T06:55:00.003-05:00

My brother would have loved my business. I think he probably would've been a big part of it.
Fourteen years ago today he left this world, and I have never been the same.
Today I feel like I should turn this date into a positive day as well. I will finish my work to launch my new product and have great success...with his help.
Love.

My new intern

2009-03-14T16:06:00.007-05:00

My new intern is the cutest guy I have ever met!
Can you believe that chubby little hand can right click??

SLR Architecture

2009-02-25T11:15:00.001-05:00

Steve's site slrarchitecture.com is UP!!

Please check it out and pass it along.

Cool Dog's latest little one

2009-02-13T21:29:00.006-05:00

A Video Birth Announcement!

Jamie was born on Jan 21. Welcome to the world little one :-)

Valentine's Day Special

2009-01-23T12:35:00.004-05:00

We love love around here!!
That's why I made up some templates and chose some great songs to make it easier for everyone to send some love. Some high-tech slideshow love!!

Here's a sample. I am going to embarrass my sweetie and show you the one I made for him. Love you baby!

or click here to see it on it's own webpage.

Happy Day.

A Poem for Every Occaision

2009-01-19T22:36:00.004-05:00

Check out our new collaboration with New World Greeting Cards!

Mary is awesome! Valentine's is just around the corner...

SLR Architecture

2009-01-13T13:04:00.001-05:00

Steve's new website is coming VERY soon.
We are so excited about it. I'll let you know when it's live.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-17T09:00:00.004-05:00

Happy Holidays from The Reilly Family
Cool Dog Productions
& SLR Architecture

Cool Dog goes Green!

2008-12-01T14:03:00.002-05:00

We here at Cool Dog have long been concerned about our carbon footprint. I have done a lot of research to figure out ways to make us greener. I am proud to tell you about some of those choices we have made.

We now do all transactions online - invoices, payment and signing off on terms of service. No paper trails everything is digital.
Our site is a certified Green Site through Dreamhost.
We have recently found some really great looking green packaging alternative for our DVD's
And of course, the greenest of all, eCards for Birth Announcements and Holiday Cards. No need to send those paper cards that eventually land in the trash (hopefully they will at least be recycled).

Now if only Apple would make my Mac Pro green...we're waiting, fingers crossed ;-)

Renovation Nation

2008-11-19T18:35:00.004-05:00

Renovation Nation came to Woodbine Terrace!

What the hell were we thinking? We spent too much money getting the house ready for them to come and they didn't even film it! I had the house professionally cleaned and then it rained and there was mud everywhere. They put me in this crazy tyvek spacesuit to spray soayfoam insulation. No doubt the comedic part of the production. But I don't mind being the clown if it's for my family!

The segment is about the studio that Steve is building in the backyard (that's why they didn't film much of the inside of the house :-). SLR Architecture will have a new home very near our home! We are trying to build it with mostly recycled and green materials.

They'll be back again on Saturday to do some family b roll and hopefully do a bit more interviews. I was not at my most eloquent last Saturday. Oh well! Steve and the Papas have been working hard all week to get the studio built. The walls are up and the electricity is being put in right now!

More later...

2008-11-17T11:40:00.002-05:00

So the funny thing about that last post is that I thought we were all set at our new polling place for our new address. I figured out where we needed to go - I was sure of it! We got there with the two kids and we were not on the list :-(
We had to go to out old polling place - whoops!

Do you know where to vote?

2008-11-02T23:00:00.002-05:00

Do yourself a favor and figure it out before Tuesday!!

Give a Gift

2008-11-02T22:55:00.004-05:00

I've had a few people contact me in the last couple of months that have wanted to give gifts to their loved ones. One was a birth announcement, the other an eCard. Both happened to be men giving it as gifts to their wives.

I couldn't help but think what genius that was - a sentimental, thoughtful, personal gift - girls love that stuff! They scored big. Both of their wives cried and said it was the best gift he had ever given them. Take that big box stores!

So when thinking about what to give a loved one this holiday season. How about a gift that keep on giving and makes you a hero in her eyes :-)

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T21:45:00.001-05:00

Twins!!

2008-10-24T08:03:00.003-05:00

Since Massachusetts has one of the highest rates of multiple births in the country, it was only a matter of time before we got to do an announcement for a lucky couple having a couple!!

Meet Joey and Emma!

Celebs

2008-10-24T07:30:00.003-05:00

I will read People at the OB's but I don't buy it. So I'm not one to go gaga over celebs, but...
I just saw this website from Gwneyth Paltrow. Who knows what it will become of it or why we should care. I just really appreciated the sentiment that is her placeholder for things to come.

"Make your life good. Invest in what's real. Cook a meal for someone you love. Pause before reacting. Clean out your space. Read something beautiful. Treat yourself to something. Go to a city you've never been to. Learn something new. Don't be lazy. Workout and stick with it. GOOP. Make it great."

Seriously though, wth is GOOP?

Make it great today!

Web Updates

2008-10-02T15:13:00.001-05:00

Cool Dog now has an upload page for your convenience - just send your photos over the internet.

Also we now accept Paypal and credit cards! Enjoy the convenience of doing everything from your desk:-)

Runs in the Family!

2008-10-02T13:05:00.003-05:00

This is such a fun thing - Good Widgets (link above).

They make cool little slideshows for your webpages, blogs, or facebook pages.

This are old photos of Nate at Christmas. Must run in the family, eh? Well he shows his inexperience in the last pic :-)

Dish it Out

2008-09-23T15:45:00.006-05:00

Last night was my first adventure into marketing Cool Dog in person. Meaning I actually went out and talked about my business. For those of you that know me you know this is waaaaay outside my comfort zone. I went to Steve's BNI meeting once, but other than that I rely on my computer to try and market Cool Dog.

Well, a couple of weeks ago I got a very nice call from Catherine who runs Dish it Out, a fun networking evening for women entrepreneurs. She asked me what I was doing in terms of Word of Mouth marketing (WOM) for Cool Dog and didn't I want to meet like minded women that could potentially help my business? I said nothing, and yes! Considering that most of my business has come from friends of friends and friends of clients I decided to give it a go. I put on a dress and some makeup, kissed the kiddos goodbye and did my best to seem un-nervous :-)

I arrived fashionably late, found a parking space right a way, and went inside. Katherine gave ma a warm welcome a nametag and sent me on my way. I met Nicole first. She runs All Heart PR. She was my iPod guinea pig and really set me at ease to meet the rest of the ladies. She suggested I try Daily Candy for some PR. We'll see..

More on the other gals later...

So everyone step outside your comfort zone every once and while - it's good for you and just might end up doing you some good :-)

I met some very nice women and I am super glad I went.

O Canada

2008-09-16T07:50:00.006-05:00

Even Canada likes us!

A short write up in Sweetmama in Canada
Cheers sweetmama!

Sienna's Video Birth Announcement

2008-06-16T10:23:00.005-05:00

She's Here!!

2008-06-07T12:16:00.004-05:00

Sienna Lee
born May 20th
we're all so in love.

Video Birth Announcement soon!

Waiting...

2008-05-15T14:39:00.002-05:00

Not working.
Just waiting on baby...

High Tech Baby - postponed

2008-04-09T07:58:00.003-05:00

My High Tech Baby Expert Speaker Series has been postponed until the fall!

Better anyway - I have some serious nesting to do :-)

We finish up the biggies of the renovation this week and next, move next week then have a baby a few weeks after that!!

I'll tackle Isis after all that is done :-)

Cool Mom Picks

2008-04-04T17:18:00.003-05:00

Cool Mom Picks, well, picked us to write about today!

They said some really nice stuff like...
"As a pro, she's more than capable of cropping, zooming, wiping, retouching up to 30 of your fave baby pics, and generally creating a piece that doesn't look like you fumbled through iMovie yourself and got zany with the special effects. I'm crying at the sample video on the site, and I don't even know the people."
and
"The prices are way better than you'd think; even less than ordering 200 printed birth announcements (198 of which end up in the trash) and you'll get a website to share with the world and your own DVD."

But you should go there yourself to read all about it.

Expert Speaker Series at Isis

2008-03-28T09:00:00.002-05:00

I'll be giving a workshop for Isis Maternity in Needham, MA on April 13th, 3pm

It's called High Tech Baby!

"Discover the brave new world of video birth announcements, home movies that really pop and other very cool ways to announce your newbie. Document your baby’s milestones and antics to wow friends, delight family and preserve memories using today’s technology. Presented by Sharon Gavini Reilly of Cool Dog Productions."

I'll cover all the ways I have found online to announce your baby to the world. The centerpiece of course being Video Birth Announcements by Cool Dog. I will also talk about traditional paper and photo announcements and how to best utilize the web, your computer and your creativity to announce your baby with style!

Hope to see you there.

Think Pink

2008-01-23T08:13:00.000-05:00

Oh yippee! It finally comes in pink. What a cute present. A pink or blue iPod Nano with a birth announcement loaded on it!

Happy Holidays!

2007-12-31T15:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays from
The Reillys
Cool Dog Productions
& SLR Design & Architecture

More Press!

2007-12-10T15:26:00.000-05:00

Last week was a great week for Cool Dog. We were the featured business on MetroMama, and the featured Mom Entrepreneur on MomToBeDepot!

Very Cool!

After the new year I have a feeling there will be a lot more chatter...

Cloth Diapers

2007-11-12T11:46:00.000-05:00

So we just started using clothes diapers here in the Cool Dog family!!

I know it's sounds crazy. Friends and family think I'm nuts!

Why am I telling you this? Well of course we're going to make a little video about it :-) So I can prove to everyone and anyone that it's not so crazy to cloth diaper. In fact it's better for baby, better for the environment, better for your bank account...do you want me to go on or do you want to wait for the video?

Stayed tuned...

2007-10-26T10:21:00.000-05:00

The second newsletter went out yesterday!
Thanks for taking a look at it people!!

I know you have busy lives and we appreciate any time that you take to check out Cool Dog! Word of mouth is the way this business will continue and prosper and it will be because of Cool Dog's friends - and satisfied customers, of course! Made a few changes on the website and I'll have a better video player soon.

I have become an amateur flash website developer in my spare time - Ha, I am totally kidding. I fake my way through it! Steve's website will be the test.

SLR Design & Architecture's new site will be up in a couple of weeks!

Again thanks for looking!
Be cool!

2007-10-22T10:30:00.000-05:00

We've also been mentioned on Mom to be Depot as a featured product. And they're going to run me as a featured Mom Entrepreneur - Nate is so proud!

2007-10-12T07:06:00.000-05:00

We have a promotion running on Boston Mamas - a very cool blog for hip Mamas in Boston.

We're giving away a Photo Only Birth Announcement to a very lucky winner.

Love this!

2007-10-05T10:19:00.001-05:00

"A little video for everyone". I have a video iPod (you say of course you do) and I love it. I bought a little speaker to go on top of it so I can share without people needing to use the buds. But this little guy is so cute!
Now only if Apple would put a speaker on them and offer a pink one. That way my clients could share their birth announcements on pink or blue iPods. Also a very cute push present!! I suppose white and blue will do for now.
Love it!

Happy Wedding

2007-08-25T09:19:00.001-05:00

Happy Wedding to Siobhaun & Casey!
We created a slideshow for their rehearsal dinner that they absolutely loved - we love that!
We wish them all the happiness in the world!

2007-08-25T08:33:00.000-05:00

Here's the Maine slideshow! We had such a great time at the Mann's house. Garrett celebrated his 1st birthday while we there as well. Perhaps we'll have that slideshow sometime in the future.

Maine on the 4th

2007-07-19T08:33:00.000-05:00

I am a week or two behind here!! We went to Maine over the 4th of July to spend some time with some of our very favorite people. Good friends and good times...boating, ice cream, a first birthday, campfire dance party and of course smores! Here are a couple of pics until Cool Dog makes the Maine slideshow and Garrett's First Birthday Party video.

Nate's first boat ride. Cool Dog tshirts are all the rage!

First newsletter

2007-07-08T12:27:00.000-05:00

I sent out our first newsletter the other day with what I think was great success! I sent it to friends, family and clients and got a wonderful response from all. The newsletter described our newest product - video birth announcements and asked people to go to our new website. We are very excited about both of these things. I will go into more detail about both of those topics in posts to come.

Jay's Movie

2007-06-22T08:51:00.001-05:00

Here it is Jay's movie!
Jay parent's chose a webpage as their way to share with friends and family.
See Announcement!

Happy Graduation

2007-06-11T09:00:00.001-05:00

We hope you had a great graduation party Chelsea! Chelsea's Mom had us working extra fast to get something together for her daughter's graduation party. We had a fun time creating this one. Anytime you get to use the song Wild Thing makes for a fun editing process!

Our newest client!

2007-05-28T11:44:00.000-05:00

Our newest client is almost three weeks old. He was one week old when we first met and shot his birth announcement. We had a fun time with Jay and his big brother Finn. Finn held Jay for the first time for our camera - we felt very privileged :-)
We'll post his announcement when his Mom and Dad have okayed it!

Video in the Blog?

2007-05-21T17:24:00.001-05:00

Easy Peasy!
I thought that was going to be a bit more difficult!
Now here's Sammy...

Constant Contact

2007-05-21T16:52:00.000-05:00

Signed up for Constant Contact service today to keep my clients straight and keep new ones coming - hopefully. Trying it out for a couple of months. I have seen some photographers and casting agents use it with great success. I think it will be a useful tool for me and my clients! Please let me know if it's just annoying though. Html emails are very cool but can be a bother to some...

First Post

2007-05-20T16:32:00.000-05:00

I tried to do this blogging thing once before but never kept up with it. I am going to make more of an effort this time around. This is going to be about Cool Dog Productions with some friends and family sprinkled here and there. Since we're all about friends and family anyway here at Cool Dog!!

Cool Dog Productions

Holiday Cards

The Muppets are coming, the Muppets are coming!!

Custom Birth Announcements

The Cool Dog

Mothers and Company

The Mother of all Video Birth Announcement Days

Earth Day & Video Birth Announcements

The Bump - Mom Biz of the Week!

Savvy Sassy Moms like Video Birth Announcements!

baystateparent magazine

YouTube Channel

Have a Heart for Haiti

The Armed Forces love us!

Our "Current" Theme!

A year (or five) of changes

What A Year!

Win a Video Holiday Card!

MWS Raffle Winners!

Video Holiday Cards!

Nate and the Traveling Retail Display

Diaper Lab's First Anniversary

Mommies Who Shop - Boston

Video Birth Announcements - A New Home

Isis Maternity Prudential turns 1!

seeing (RED) at Magic Beans

Video Birth Announcement Raffle Winner

Coming in April - a Video Birth Announcement

High Tech Baby at Isis Maternity

Video Birth Announcements - a retail display made with love

Australia loves us, mate

Pregnancy Today

They came, they shopped, they learned about Video Birth Announcements

and she's walking...

Daily Candy

Mommies Who Shop!

My big sis turns 40!

Video of Super Nurse!

Happy 1st Birthday!!

Yep! That's my momma in the Boston Globe!!

New Player!

How do I love thee...

Earth Day Special on Video Birth Announcements!

The real winner is...

the span of time

She did it Herself!

For Maddie

Mommy's Little Helper 2009 style

SLR on Renovation Nation

New site

My new intern

SLR Architecture

Cool Dog's latest little one

Valentine's Day Special

A Poem for Every Occaision

SLR Architecture

Happy Holidays!

Cool Dog goes Green!

Renovation Nation

Do you know where to vote?

Give a Gift

Happy Halloween

Twins!!

Celebs

Web Updates

Runs in the Family!

Dish it Out

O Canada

Sienna's Video Birth Announcement

She's Here!!

Waiting...

High Tech Baby - postponed

Cool Mom Picks

Expert Speaker Series at Isis

Think Pink

Happy Holidays!

More Press!

Cloth Diapers

Newsletter

Love this!