New Business Venture!

Let me preface this by saying that ever since being a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM), I have been looking for things to do...both to give me an activity outside of momming, and also to make a little extra money.  I have tried wood burning (still enjoy it as a hobby, but not making any money off of it), I've edited papers, babysat, driven kids for after-school activities...but none of it has really clicked the way I had hoped.  

So it all started when one of my friends from my Tuesday Bible study sent a somewhat desperate text to the group saying that her sister-in-law was visiting from out of state and she had promised to host a party for her cleaning supplies business, and through some miscommunication needed people to come, and would we be interested in doing that instead of our usual gathering activities?  

I'll be honest.  I heard "party" and "cleaning supplies" and was feeling rather reluctant.  I tend to be a sucker for things and buy stuff I don't need or won't use because I'm easily convinced and have a hard time saying no to pushy salespeople.  Also, I just didn't have a ton of extra money to spend, and therefore didn't want any temptation to spend.  But I also wanted to support my friend and so decided to go.  Plus she was serving pizza...so...yeah. 

Anyway, the whole presentation and demo time was so interesting!  I immediately was drawn to the products (non-toxic, easy-to-use home and personal care stuff).  The girl presenting it wasn't pushy in the least.  And when it came time for the demos, the stuff actually worked and was amaaaaazing.  I know I said I was a sucker...but seriously, it was awesome stuff!  

I asked some questions about hosting a party and the business itself.  Apparently there is no one here in MN that is a distributor, so it would be a great opportunity!  My friend leaned over and whispered loudly, "YOU SHOULD DO IT!"  And it really was tempting!  I knew I needed to talk it over with Ben.  I had looked at doing other multi-level-marketing businesses and none of them clicked.  It was either a product that didn't jive with me or something I wasn't comfortable trying to convince people they needed/wanted, or it was a pricey buy-in.  Ben had been patient with my research and testing of products, but I anticipated a bit of skepticism.  He wanted me to try the products myself for a bit first, but ultimately was quite encouraging (especially when the stain stick took out some stubborn stains in his white dress shirts).  

All of this to say, I ended up signing up, doing the buy in and launching my own business as an independent adviser for the company 

H2O At Home.  

 Here are a few of my thoughts/feelings over this journey:

*Excitement:  I seriously do love these things so much and they have made me excited to clean and best is that they are easy and safe for my kiddos and dog (and Ben & I too, of course).  I'm excited for something to do that will have a social, financial and challenging aspect to it!  It definitely stretches me in good ways to get out of my comfort zone!

*Apprehension:  I'm one of those people who hosts parties, tries to get my friends and family to host parties.  I never pictured myself doing this, and in fact have kind of been a little judgy of those who do (sorry, full confession here).  I am realizing I'm not as bold as I have thought myself to be, and so it makes this kind of networking particularly difficult for me.  I also get a little embarrassed when I tell my friends about it.  Especially if I know their thoughts on people who do this kind of business. 

*Stress/Confusion:  Seriously, though, there is a stigma with doing this kind of work, and a lot of people either misunderstand or don't even offer you the time to explain why you do it.  One of my parties I invited close to 30 people.  Two attended, and I heard back from maybe 5 total.  Everyone else ignored me.  And I'll be honest, it was kind of hard for me.  I totally understand if it isn't for you, or if you're not interested...but a reply is generally a good thing to give. It has made some in-person interactions a little uncomfortable too.  I don't want to be pushy, and obviously some aren't interested or else they would have said they were interested.  I would like to know if they got the invite, but don't want to guilt anyone into coming by inquiring.   

Side note:  If you are ever invited to a party and don't want to go, a simple "Thanks so much for thinking of me, but I won't be able to attend!" will suffice.  No excuses or explanations needed. Just an acknowledgement that you received the invite and will or will not be attending!  If you really don't want to receive any more invitations or information, it is good to be up front and say you aren't interested.  It is better to be honest than to keep saying how neat it sounds and side-stepping.  We assume if you think it sounds neat, eventually you will want to hear more!

All of that to say, it is a total learning curve for me.  I am so grateful for Ben who reminds me why I am doing this, and that I am still me, even if people aren't totally understanding of it.  

Also (and this is important, and you'll just have to trust me!),  if I am with you and I tell you about this...don't take it as me just trying to sell you something.  These products are changing my cleaning habits and like I would with any product that impacts me, I get excited about it and will share about it.  Of course it is a business and it is always great if people want to host parties (and get free stuff!) or  just want to get some things for themselves, or even become an adviser themselves.  But ultimately I do this because it is a product I feel I can stand behind because it works, and cleaning is something everyone does...

Whew.  Now that that is out of the way, it won't be awkward when I see you and we chat about this and you wonder how in the world I could do this.  I love answering questions about the products, the business and really anything else about this process, even if you are just asking out of curiosity and aren't interested in buying anything =)

Month 2 Complete!

This has been sitting in my draft folder for WEEKS.  And I totally forgot about it.  So you are getting this update a little late...but it is still pretty relevant I think.

{PSA: to whoever has been anonymously commenting regarding our dog:  Sierra is fine and well.  She was living with my in-laws for the month after Toby's birth but is back home with us now.  She is still big. Still shedding, although is doing so outside now, thankfully.  She probably doesn't get as much attention as she needs, but I try to walk her or get her to the dog park when I can! She turned 6 in January and has mellowed into a nice family dog.  While the hair is bothering me, we are glad summer is here so she can be outdoors more where she is most happy!}

It has been 2 months since Toby joined our family and we are pretty much settled into a rhythm (as much as we can be before something new pops up, as it inevitably does).

Everything is going pretty well overall.  Minus the weather.  This pseudo-spring is really getting me down.  I mean, as I type this, there is a super swell snow storm going on outside (how was that for alliteration?!).  I mean, so much snow for the middle of April.  And not just a one-and-done dump, but like, two days of continual precipitation (snow or freezing water junk) flowing from the heavens.

I am a little grumpy about this, I'll admit.  I mean, I really want need warmth and sunshine.  Not to mention the entirely unimportant fact that I have a lot of cute warm-weather clothes for Toby and he will be grown out of them by the time it is actually warm enough to wear them.  Grrr.

Okay, I'm going to stop that train before it crashes.  Back to life going pretty well overall.  It is true.  We are making it.  Some days feel like survival mode, but not all of them.  Some days there is minimal disobedience from Asher, there is contented laying by Toby, there is productivity by me.

*Side note:  that previous section about weather was written a few weeks ago and it was soooo miserable.  But now the forecast is high 60s to mid-70s and it is glorious.  Like seriously I am loving it and I feel like my spirits are lifted and my outlook is grand! (Yes, that is how much warmth and sunshine impact me!)

The Tobes is one growing baby.  I mean, he is pretty much fully in 3 month clothes, and could potentially be out of them before he is 3 months if he keeps up this rate of growth.  He isn't too chunky right now, but he is loooong.  Which is opposite of Asher, who was (and still kind of is) a bit lower percentile in terms of height.  Toby also sleeps a lot, and eats a lot, which makes me think he is in kind of one continual growth spurt.  He used to be pretty fussy in the evenings but that leveled out and now he is mostly pleasant all day.  At night he is sleeping 5-7 hour lengths of time (usually 9-4 and then wakes up again around 8).  And when we put him in his bassinet at night, he is awake and just lays there until he drifts peacefully off to sleep.  It feels like a dream that I know won't last and so I can hardly enjoy it, because it may be over any day.  So I'm trying to appreciate it and the sleep, for now.

Asher is expanding his vocabulary daily and has an incredible memory.  I will take credit for that, since it is probably my genes which gave him that fun ability.  But I'm talking names of random things in books that he heard once or twice (Umpire, octagon, Diplodocus, motor-grader etc...).  All the verses of random songs (It is Well, All Things Bright and Beautiful, 10,000 Reasons, Drops in the Ocean, The Greatest Showman soundtrack and all his slugs and bugs songs).  Things that happened days or weeks ago (Things he did with my mom when she came to visit, places we drive past that he will recognize from an outing).  It is kind of crazy.  And must have been what I was like as a child.

He was struggling with naptime a while ago...Like refused to stay in his room, wouldn't fall asleep for like two hours, and then was super grumpy.  It was a fight every day.  We tried everything...until we discovered bribery  incentives.  Pause this story while I fill you in on the other part of the story...

We had another problem that needed solving and decided to kill two birds with one stone.  I was bound and determined to be a minimal-screen-time kind of parent.  But what ended up happening was I had a 2-year-old who begged for video time a lot, and then threw a fit whenever we had to shut it off.  It was miserable.  There were times I wanted to let him watch a video, but dreaded the ending of the time and how hard it was for both of us.  So I decided that maybe we should have daily screen-time for about 15-20 minutes.  It would be often enough that hopefully he wouldn't freak about it being done...but seldom enough that it didn't take over our days.

Tying back in to naptime incentives, we decided to make that video time a reward for going down for a nap with no fussing and no coming out of his room til his little clock light turns green.  It has worked remarkably well.  We do give him a few warnings if he seems like he is going to come out of his room, but for the most part he stays in and earns the video time!   Now that he gets it more regularly, he doesn't seem to throw as big of a fit when it's time to be done, because he knows he will get it again tomorrow if he has a good nap.  Toss in letting him push the power button off and setting a timer, and he really does well with a limited video time.

Ash is also just so stinkin' cute these days.  The things he says, phrases he repeats...I'm loving this stage.  He wants to pray for someone specific every night.  Often it is someone who just so happens to have something "bigger" happening (sickness, travel, relationship problems, struggles at work etc...) and he has no idea, and just comes up with their name out of nowhere.  It is really sweet and makes me think he has some kind of sense of who needs prayer.  Neat way of seeing the Spirit working.

I am totally blanking on other things he says right now, but I'll write another post about his phrases again soon.

I'll post a few pictures of recent-ish happenings:

Asher had a nasty cough that worried me...bordered on sounding like whooping cough.  So I took him into Urgent Care.  They had a sign posted that if you had a cough you had to wear these little masks, and they had Disney ones for kids.  He was a little hesitant until I told him I would wear one too.  Then he loved it.  And wore it the rest of the day.  

(He didn't have whooping cough...just croup.  He had that horrid cough for almost 3 weeks after his 1-3 day contagious period at the beginning.  not fun)

I love this boy and his expressions.   

Asher is very into drawing dots on his easel.  He is precise (note the tongue), and likes to use all the colors.  He has now expanded to bigger blobs (he says they are chips), and lines.  

My dad came to visit us to meet Toby and spend some time together.  My mom was on another little trip and so it worked out for him to come while she was gone.  We had so much fun in those two days he was here.  He is such a great Papa and loves on us so well.  

Due to being out of the water most of the winter season, Asher was a little apprehensive at first to swim, but Papa won him right over and pretty soon they were splashing and jumping and doing all kinds of fun pool things! 

At our first bonfire of the season!  Toby ended up being happier than he looks here.  And Asher is a blur because he is always moving...

These are updated side-by-side pictures of Toby and Asher at 1 month old.  

Toby is on the left, Asher on the right

People keep saying how much the look the same, but I mainly see the distinct differences.  

I mean, they have similar facial expressions sometimes but Asher leans more to Ben's side and Toby leans more to my side.  

This was taken on my birthday morning.  Both boys cuddled up with me in bed as Ben was leaving for work.  Couldn't think of a better way to start 29! 

The Passing Days

I turned 29 at the beginning of April.  As always, another birthday makes me stop and ponder where I am, how I got here and where I'm going.  I'll admit, I don't feel like I always imagined I would when I arrived at the end of my twenties.  I used to view people at this stage of life far more mature and with things far more put together.  I still can't believe I have 2 (TWO!) children, a house, a car, a husband and all the grown-up things in life.  That includes the stress, the responsibility and alllll the bills =)

This is kind of a confusing season for me.  I don't feel confident that I'm adulting well.  I'm a mother, who feels at a loss at times on how to raise her children.  I love being a grown-up and having the independence and ability to do what I want.  But I also don't love the weight of responsibility for the choices I make with that independence.  I'm not a college kid anymore, but I don't feel any different than that girl, really.  My body is definitely aging, and I'm beginning to realize it only will get worse from here.  The number of silver strands in my hair is astounding to me.  I still struggle with being liked and seeking others' approval even though I've been a grown woman-who is technically established in who she is-for quite a while now.

All of this reminds me of what my true identity is, and where to run when I am feeling confused, lost or overwhelmed (and even when I'm not...)

After his bath or shower, when Asher is all wrapped up in his towel, he has this tradition of asking to snuggle with me.  He just leans into me, all damp and warm, and stays there...sometimes silent, sometimes just saying, "Mommy" over and over.  I ask him what he wants and he says, "I want Mommy."  I hold him close, remind him I love him and say, "I'm right here."

How that brings joy to my Mommy heart.  I can't help but think that that simple exchange is exactly what God desires from me.  A standing tradition of coming close, letting Him hold me and when He asks what I want, to say I just want Him.  And, as always, He is ready and willing to remind me of his love and just be with me.

My goodness, I love how these kids, who God gave to me, are being used as refinement and sanctification for me.  The bring joy and delight, causing me to praise and thank God. They also expose selfishness and pride, causing me to seek God for strength and wisdom.  It can be a painful process, but oh-so-glorious!