So, I had some (lofty in my opinion) goals for today. Did I make it?

Well, today was a good day. I have cleaned half of the bathrooms. The kids got along for over an hour! In fact, the little ones did great through trips to both Costco & Target… Amazing! Now the bananas didn’t quite make it to banana bread, but they are instead in muffins that smell delicious. New items on my site? Well, maybe tomorrow will be the day for that…

Tonight, I think that I can go to bed feeling pretty good.

So, maybe it’s a little late for today to be the day, but there’s always hope for tomorrow.

So, tomorrow just might br the day that:

I get all of our bathrooms clean at once.
I get the banana bread in the oven v. just in my thoughts.
The kids all get along for more than an hour.
I get another item or two on the site…

It’s good to dream, right?

So, a few years ago I did a fitness boot camp. I loved it. Well, all of it except for the actually getting up and going to it part, 5:00 is just too early.

Yesterday, I went to an entirely different boot camp. This was a women’s boot camp for entrepreneurs. We took our small business (Rad Crafts) and set up a booth in the vendor area and then attended the speakers… We only sold a few things, but we gave out about a million cards and spoke with tons of other small business owners–although, I don’t think ours is even big enough to consider small, we’re more like a minuscule business. I think it was good. Our booth looked great! We didn’t have space for our clothing rack so we couldn’t display many of our clothes, but we made use of the space we had–photos will have to follow. I feel like we are getting to be experts at setting up our displays.

In a couple of the sessions, I also felt like we were already experts… They were talking about social media… and we’ve been doing the right things (in case you didn’t know, you can follow us on face book or on twitter ). And in another session they were talking about the brand of “you”. I feel like we are just doing what we like & know. So the brand already is “us”. We make cute stuff.

But, there were other areas that were way over our heads. We don’t have any extra insurance, we don’t have credit card terminals, we don’t have a team that we need to be better leaders of…

Overall, I thought it was a good day. I got to hang out with one of my BFF’s & talk about the cute stuff that we create. I think that we already know the next steps that our tiny business needs to take. It’s just a matter of fitting them in on top of all of the rest of life. For Renee, that means work, school, volunteering. For me that means, kids, the house… Fortunately, I think that Rad Crafts has actually helped me do those other things better. It gives me more energy than it takes.

So, with that, I’ll get going with my day. The craft we’re doing here today will not be for sale. It’ll be for lovers… 😉 We’re making Valentine’s Day cards for our boys to take to school tomorrow.

Love you all!

For the record. Just because something is different does not mean it is, by necessity, better or worse. Sometimes different is just different. Each child needs to be parented a little differently. Just because I don’t parent the same way you do doesn’t mean that my way is better or worse, it could just be different. Just because you dress in a certain style doesn’t mean that you look better or worse than I do, we just won’t look the same. Now, I have my own opinions on what is better or worse, but, so do you. Who am I to judge what is better or worse for you or your family?

I ate a pear this morning that was amazing. Reminds me of the movie City of Angels… It was just great. I wasn’t going to have one, but Ms. Bean took one bite out of it and was going to throw it away. I’m so glad that I decided to have it instead.

The (much) more interesting part of this is where said pear came from. I woke myself up at 6:30 (on a weekend! Even the kids weren’t awake…) to go to a park to pick up a basket full of produce. One of my good friends has been using a food co-op for awhile & she’s told me about it more than a few times. So, I decided to check them out. And, so far, I’m happy with it. The idea behind it is simple, buying in bulk. So, they buy a ton of produce & you purchase your share of it. It’s all volunteer ran & the prices are very affordable. There’s no choice in what you get, but I found that I’ll use everything that was in my basket.. I received strawberries, bananas, apples, pears, spinach, celery, red peppers, tomatoes and potatoes. I’m sure there was something else in there, but I can’t remember now. I also bought an add on of produce to make guacamole… if you’re coming to our party tomorrow you’ll get to eat some!

Anyhow, just wanted to share a little bit of love with them.. if you’re interested, go check them out here. They’re not just in Arizona either. They’re in several different states.

(And just for the record, I know that a lot of bloggers get paid or trade or whatnot for sharing this type of thing.. I didn’t. Just did it to spread the word.. 🙂 )

See, I told you I’d post photos….

And here are a couple, photos just because B has a new camera and was playing around. Besides, don’t you come to my blog to see photos of my beautiful kiddos? We all know you don’t come here to read what I babble on and on about…

 

So, as I said in my update… we’ve had 2 birthdays here in the last week. V turned 5 and d turned 8… On each boy’s birthday I let them pick the menu. Well, sort of, d wanted McDonald’s for both breakfast and dinner and that was not going to happen! V asked for pancakes for breakfast, but then changed his mind to doughnuts. So, I took some inspiration from him and we had pancakes for lunch instead. Only, as a family tradition on my side, birthday pancakes need to be special. So, with my sous-chef d by my side, we whipped up some out of the ordinary pancakes… And then the kids had a ton of fun decorating them and enjoying their works of art…

 

And, because child cannot live on pancakes alone.. We did a cake as well…

Now, if you were “wishing” (get it, wishing? While they blow out the candles.. hehehe..) for photos of our new place. Well, rest assured that I *am* working on it. I’ve taken photos of a couple rooms. And this weekend we’re hosting another party so I’ll have another excuse to clean up and take the rest of them. 🙂 I do want to share! And I am also planning on getting back into my blogging routine. I’ve had some rough days as far as my depression and getting sick has definitely taken a toll. But, I am feeling better today and am looking forward to continuing on the path to health!

So, I *should* be leaving to take V to school, but he’s still eating.. so, I’ll take time to update.

I no longer have kids aged 4, 4, 7 & 8.. now they’re 4, 5, 8 & 8.

We rocked out at the Monster Truck Jam for V’s birthday, but haven’t planned little D’s party.

Currently half of the people who live in our house have some sort of disease.. and are on antibiotics. As of tomorrow we’ll be out of the contagious phase. Wish luck to the three who remain healthy.

One of my best friends has moved away. And even though we didn’t see each other every day, I know I will miss her every day.

We are going to Florida in March.

Oh, and I know that I owe you a million photos…

I promise, I will share some soon (maybe even later today!).

OK, time to go!

Note to others (and, no, this is *not* a note to self, because I will not forget):

When climbing over seats at a hockey game be careful! If your leg should slip and get wedged between the parts of the seat, fight the impulse to just yank. This will cause you to hurt your knee. Also, resist the temptation to just pull as hard as you can in a panic to pull your foot out. This will result in scratches and bruises on both sides of said stuck foot. Instead, remain calm and figure it out.

Thankfully, I can walk normally again today.

My mom used to tell us that, “Sarcasm is a waste of energy.” I find it best to say that phrase with a very pained expression and lethargy in your voice for maximum sarcastic effect.

I adore a good bit of sarcasm.

What I have had more than enough of is guilt.

Enough already!

And, yes, Mom, I *am* talking to you! And all of the moms out there who read this. Let go of the guilt. None of us will do this job perfectly. And even on our best days, we will make mistakes. Put on your big girl panties and let the guilt go! You *will* not have perfect children. And you will never be a perfect mom. Who would want that anyhow?

Mommy, you did a wonderful job. My memories are filled with laughter and fun and games and trips. And, even a few of your “mistakes”. I hope that as you watch me parent my children, you see a little bit of yourself–both the ups and the downs. I’m not a perfect adult and I know that there are things here or there that you wish and dream for me that aren’t happening, but I really do hope that you do feel some pride. You gave me love and support and a great role model.

Thanks for coming to see us… And, hopefully, the next time you read my blog, you’ll get a smile knowing how much we love and adore you.

So, one (of the many) project that I’ve been working on is getting some photos ready to share of our new home. I can’t wait to show it off! We are still unpacking and the garage is very daunting. But, there are definitely getting be pretty areas in our new home!

 There will be many more photos to follow!

I also wanted to update, I have started baby-stepping towards one of my goals and have started drafting a letter that I plan on sending out to businesses to pursue more discounts for foster parents. We’ll see how much time and energy I can devote to this, but I do think that it’s one of the things I’m meant to be working on this year.