Little Miss Energy

Some days I think C has enough energy for 10 mommies. I know she has a ton of toys, but I think we touch every toy we own at least twice a day, some toys, of course, even more than that. Her favorite words lately are "Mommy, want to play with me?" or "watch 1 show?" Even though one might think that the shows would let me have a bit of a breather, not so much. C wants Mommy to sit with her to watch her show, and interact with her throughout. I wish I knew where she gets all of it, considering she hardly eats anything. In addition to being Little Miss Energy, she's also Little Miss Fussyeater and Little Miss Iwantpantiesbutnotpotty. So, in addition to keeping up with her, I'm trying to convince her to watch fewer shows, eat a wider variety of foods (and more at a time instead of snacking all day), and use the potty. All of the challenges between the two of us just get exhausting. Speaking of eating and energy usage, I keep wondering where she gets the energy to grow like she has lately! I think it was in the course of a week, but she sprouted through a whole size of clothes. She's now up to 3T tops and 2T bottoms. I'd hoped that she'd even out for a while and be in 2T for both instead of the 2T top/18month bottoms she'd been in. No go. I'm now facing the challenge of finding shorts for her. As long as she wears a dress or tee with jeans, it's easy enough to dress her, but shorts seem to only come in sets, and she doesn't wear the same size on top as on the bottom! Frustrating. Our activities are coming to an end for the summer, so it's going to take just about all my creativity and energy to keep her occupied on a daily basis through June, July and August. I'm thankful for the child development center and child care there, as well as having good friends around with whom we can go on outings. Wish me luck. 

Business start

My first gathering was fairly successful. We had fun, and I practiced my presentation on people I already know and who are more forgiving of my foibles. I also recognized that I needed to refine my game. Best of all though, was getting to show my friends and fellow scrappers the products that I'm so enamored with. The whole order process went smoothly; my only problem was in correctly figuring the shipping and handling, but I've now ironed that out and I'm good to go for next time. The products arrived less than a week after placing the order. I've had orders for just myself come in that quickly, but I'm impressed that an order with multiple orders and so much product arrived just as fast. Now I'm getting set to go to my first gathering as the consultant and not hostess. It will be a new and interesting experience.  

A New Venture

Well, tonight's the night--my big kickoff open house. That's right, open house. For what, you might ask. Well, the short story is: I'm a new independent consultant for Close To My Heart (scrapbooking and stamping supplies). The long story: I was introduced to Close To My Heart products about 2 years ago when an acquaintance invited me to her open house when she kicked off her business. I immediately fell in love with the products. The coordinating papers and stickers, the easy-to-use stamps, the compact organization! I spent so much on them at first that Fred put me on a “scrapbooking allotment!”  When that happened, I went through my catalogs and made so many wish lists that I knew the pages certain products were on at every gathering I went to. Kimberly (my friend and consultant) suggested a few times that I'd make a good consultant. I pooh-poohed the idea, after the experience I had with another direct sales company a number of years ago.  Another friend (also a consultant) mentioned that I'd make a great consultant, and again I shrugged off the idea. Well, when Fred got his most recent orders, I really started thinking about what I wanted for myself--beyond being "(military) wife" and "mommy". What was my dream in the long-run? I started talking to Fred about “someday” opening my own scrapbook store. He frowned and said, well, if you want to do that, I’d rather you do like Kimberly and sell Close to my Heart. You already know and love the product. You talk about the stamps and paper with anyone who even mentions scrapbooking. 

That was in March. I looked into it a bit, and then decided to wait on it, but started praying. I decided that if someone I didn't know offered to host a gathering, then I'd go ahead with the business. In April the PWOC and chapel sponsored a papercrafting day. It was an incredible blessing to be able to socially scrapbook like that. The vast majority of my "toys" are from Close To My Heart and several gals were oohing and ahing over things. I also had my idea book with me and was sharing it around. I mentioned once that I was thinking about signing up as a consultant. At the end of the day, Suzy, a woman I met only that day said, "If you do decide you want to do it, I'll host a party for you." That was that...and I think I'm ready for my first gathering tonight. 

C's "babies"

Oh my, C's newest infatuation is with "baby sisters". The mother of our friend/neighbor just had her third baby, a baby sister for her other two girls. C has seen the baby now, not just the talk about her, and she is all about the "baby sister" concept. I keep hearing "I want baby sister," and "where's my baby sister." So far I've managed to convince her that her babydolls are quite enough. The "baby sisters" come with us just about everywhere. They come shopping with us, and they go about the house with us carried, in stroller or in cart. She's very conscientious of their needs: giving them a bottle, covering them with blankets, and making sure they take their naps. It's quite sweet. As for the future and real baby sisters, who knows.