Parent Teacher Conferences

Does it mean I'm a complete nerd if I absolutely love Parent-Teacher Conferences? Granted, my children are only in Kindergarten and 1st Grade. The two in school are girls and so much better behaved there than at home. Their teachers love them, they are "model citizens" and meet all expectations on their little report card style assessments. I love it. Perhaps I'll dread these conferences a few years from now when the boy hits primary. I doubt it.

It's so rewarding to hear teachers rave about my children. How interesting and articulate they are. It makes me so proud. And grateful. Grateful that my children have such a different experience from so many of their peers. They are growing up in a multi-cultural home, speaking two languages fluently, they've traveled overseas already (one was born in Asia!) and have family all over the world.

I think it's perfect that conferences come a week before Thanksgiving, because it reminds me of how lucky I am to have such wonderful, intelligent, healthy, kind-hearted little beauties. How lucky I am to have such a lovely family. With all the stress in life, I have this bubble of warmth watching my children play together, loving each other, loving us, loving me. I am happy. I hope you are too!

When panic attacks strike, breathe deeply and drink wine

My little boy is vacuuming, the girls are coloring. I'm sitting here to quell my panic attack and ease my anxiety. A cold glass of white wine is my nearest companion and I'm taking slow, deep breaths.

Not me, but close enough.
Photo by swan-t via Flickr

Following your dreams is a wonderful, amazing and liberating move. But, when the bills come and there's no money to pay them, it's far more frightening then any Halloween horror film. Our store is awesome. It's different, unique. People are starting to discover us and everyone has given us wonderful feedback, so it's only a matter of time. Start-ups require time and money. We're running quite low on the second requirement. No banks will lend us money, but fortunately we can borrow wine from ourselves.

The 42-page application for State aid that I was half-way through was lost and I need to begin again. My work laptop was attacked by a trojan virus and 360 tracking cookies. Now it sits idle. I do not, however. In the midst of all of this, I am grateful I still have the laptop I'm using now. So what that it has to lean against a wall because some part is broken and it can't stay up on its own. It works. It is virus-free.

I sit. Breathing deeply. Inhaling the subtle fruit scents in my Pinot Grigio. It's hard to identify any individual scent. Perhaps because of my cold. But it still tastes good. And it helps to breathe.

Back to blogging

It seems the more I write the more I want to and the easier it gets to pop out a quick post. I'm blogging now on my business blog, writing about wine for an online new service and of course, sometime right here where my blogging began.

So, I've decided to go ahead and get back to blogging here on a regular basis. Hubby and I are splitting shifts at home and in the store until we make enough income to afford childcare, and what better way to get there than to write! Perhaps I can earn a little money blogging after all. You just never know!

I might only make pennies, but
pocket change can add up!

I'm not going to become a coupon queen of any sort, though there are some good ones here, but I may as well provide links that can help other bloggers as well. See that box on the left side? Sponsored reviews is one great way to earn a little extra. Like everything, it takes time to move up the ranks to earn more cash, but $5 here and there can add up! You may as well try it out!

Besides, it feels good to write to you. It's like I'm chatting to a good friend. Necessary to stay sane when one has a two-year-old! And you don't seem to mind him screaming and running around like a madman at all!

Happy blogging!

Random thoughts from a home-bound Mama

I've decided to get crazy and post two days in a row. I'm standing here, still in pajamas while one child rides circles around me on a car with sirens and horns. The other two are watching Horseland. One should be in school today, but she came home with a fever yesterday and it got worse throughout the evening until around 4am when I gave her fever reducer. She's still feeling rotten, poor babe.

I must vacuum, do some laundry, feed and care for the three children, secure a babysitter for my store's grand opening, and resist eating like crazy. I'm hungry and craving pasta and bread (damn pms!) and chocolate (typical). But I suddenly realized that we're going on the local news program next week to publicize our event and I should probably drop those few pounds that have snuck on since working next door to Starbucks. Oh, to resist the lure of the Peppermint Mocha is something I just can't do. I have switched to non-fat, but I still take the whip.

Did you know that lack of sleep actually stimulates your appetite? Because I was up most of the night with my daughter, I forget all of the details involved and I'm too lazy to google them right now to verify, but I do recall that it's our body's way of making up for something we lack. Not enough sleep? Better eat! So, if dieting, be sure to get enough sleep! I shall nap when the boy does and encourage the girls to do the same.

It started here, I'm sure of it.
Photo by Jencu via Flickr

Any tips on how to get children who are too old to be sucking their thumbs to stop sucking their thumbs? I'd love your advice. This is the reason they frequently get sick when school is in session. I need to get them to keep their thumbs out of their mouths at all times! They don't do it in school, but immediately after. I try hard to catch them with the hand sanitizer, but they are fast and furious about their thumbs. Tips?

Babies and Taxes

Opening your own business is a lot like having a baby. It really is like first-time motherhood when you worry over every little thing and can hardly sleep at night whether baby is sleeping or not. It's always on my mind, I'm always working, I never have a day off, even on my day off (today).

And, like having a baby, there is a huge learning curve. From how to price to what to put on my shelves and how to put it there to encourage my customers to buy it, to liquor laws and of course, inevitably, taxes. Yes, I have to learn about taxes. I am not naturally gifted in this area, but I've generally managed. When I was a student I did my own with those blissfully easy online services like Turbo Tax. That was very useful when I lived overseas as well, especially because you could easily file tax extensions online (by the way, if you've done so, your deadline is looming!). Which I always did. Since coming back to the States and having children we have filed promptly, if not early, for that beautiful refund check.

But, I won't be seeing one of those for a long time! Now I have to learn about sales tax and business tax and which items to tax and how to get an exemption for non-taxable items and tax this and tax that. My state has plenty of rules for me to learn about. And even though I now have an accountant to guide me in the right direction, I still have to understand everything to be able to give him the information he needs and comply to all the rules. All this while trying to learn as much as I can about every other aspect of business, including my product!

And that's the best part. The bit that helps me relax and smile even with all there is to do. I'm in the business of wine, and it's always enjoyable learning more about that!

Hard at work: Studying the color of a lush red wine