q&a-part 4-two little tots stuff

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today is all about being a SAHM and two little tots!  i am going to try and answer the rest of the questions today, but i don't want it to get too long!

what is my favorite part of being a SAHM?

hands down...these 2! 

but, that is not all i love about being at home!

-making my own schedule for us...LOVE it!  the days is ours to do what we want with and i love that freedom.  

-being at home and be able to get things done, that i know would be harder to get done if i was working again.

-sleeping in :)...today we got up at around 8:15!

-lazy mornings in pjs

overall, just being with the girls...

playing 

teaching

learning

enjoying

i would not trade my job for the world!  and i am so thankful that i can do it!

what was the hardest part when i first became a SAHM?

oh, it is still hard some days.  even, if i would not trade this job for the world, i have my bad days, which i call...mommy monster days!  

looking back, i think the hardest part was the girls were so young still...9 months old when i started staying at home.  they didn't talk to me, they needed me a lot of the day still.  one was walking, the other was not, so it was just hard having 2 babies still and not a lot of interaction with adults.  i could not wait for todd to get home, so i could talk to someone.  it was early summer when i left my job, which was good timing, but it was still a hard summer on all of us.  i was really unhappy the first 6 months of my new SAHM job...i didn't think i was going to make it.

finding a network was helping...and having a great neighbor with twin girls who are the same age loved a ton!  i don't think i would have made it without my good friend kelli!!!  it got easier as i got the girls involved in more activities and we got out of the house.  i like to have a day at home...or a morning, but then we all need to get out.  everyone is at each other i feel like and we just need get out of the house.

i had to find what worked for us...and i figured out that being in a few activities a week helped and then typically having the same schedule daily was good too.  now, we can fly by the seat of our pants...hang out in the morning at home and get some things done, go to something for a few hours and then home for dinner.

this summer the girls' activities were in the afternoon around 4ish...this was a huge help with the transitions of naps going away.  and i do not like hours from 4-6:15 in this house at all...the witching hours are the worst part of the day for me.  the girls are needy, they want to eat everything in the house, i am done and just want todd to come home and i have to make dinner!


this summer we have had the best schedule and the girls are enjoying playing together, playing with friends and are in activities they do without mom.  everyday seems to get better and better and i am loving it!

is owning your shop helping me have an 'out' when i need one?

yes!  i opened the shop about 9 months after i was at home and i needed something for me!  i can only do so much laundry, plan so many meals and clean this house so much!  i have always been a creative person, so i thought why not open the shop.  i had no idea how it was going to do and if anyone would buy something.  to my surprise it has done so well and i love it!  and i have meet so many wonderful people too...that has been so much fun!


it is getting harder to sew everyday!  the girls are a lot more busy and with no naps, i find i don't have a lot of time during the day to sew and at night i am just ready to relax after they go to bed.  once they are in school this fall, i am going to work one full day just on shop stuff and i hope that i can get things made a little faster!  


now for some two little tots stuff!
how did i really get my business off the ground?
i don't really know how i got my business off the ground, which sounds silly, but it is true.  at first i just blogged about it.  i started my blog before the shop, but it was a good way to get my name out there.

i did a giveaway on clover lane and that helped a lot.  and then i ran an ad last year on Ali Edward's blog...that really drove in sales.  and since then i have just ran ads with different blogs i like, hosted a lot of giveaways,  which i need to do a better job of telling you my blog readers about and i have done a ton of networking and mostly on line. 
 
having an online business is so much different then other types of businesses, but it comes down to networking and having a good product.  my past life of working in retail at target has helped me a ton with the shop.  target is all about their 'brand'...if you didn't know they have a color red that is only for target!  so, i knew i wanted to have a good 'brand' out there.  over time it has changed and it will continue, but i am happy with there it is right now.

find a few good mentors is great too.  i have a few that i love and have helped me so much...these ladies are great...check them out!
-lelan over at good gravy, she has helped me a ton with my shop designs, business cards and paper products and has become a good friend
-maggie...aka: gussy!  she is wonderful too and we have become good friends over the past year.  we just had a little business meeting the other night!
-gina from lettergirl or dreamland design...she was the one who told me to open a shop!  
-and my friends and family..their word of mouth has been great...and their support of my shop wonderful!
how do i choose fabrics?

going to the fabric store is like going to a candy shop for me!  i love it!  and i love cute little fabric stores, they have so much charm and cute stuff!

i tend to choose a lot of girly fabrics.  it is so easy for me to pick out girl fabric vs. boy!  i think because i have 2 girls, my eye just goes towards girly stuff.  i am trying to get some more cute boy prints, but there is not a lot out there.  

do you have colors you tend to avoid naturally and have to force yourself to pick them out here and there? 

i tend to avoid colors i don't like that much, which really is not good.  i am not a huge fan of purple, so i don't have a ton of purple going on in my shop.  boy stuff...again, hard for me to pick out!  and i really avoid characters...i am not a huge fan of character shirts, pjs, towels, etc. for the girls, so i don't use a lot of that kind of fabric in the shop.  it is just not my brand at this time.  


that wraps up the q&a.  i will do it again in a few months, it was so much fun!  thanks for so many great questions.  if i missed a question or if you have one more...please ask! hopefully you learned a little bit more about me!


enjoy your weekend...i think it is going to finally cool off around here into the 80's.  we will be swimming at the pool, seeing friends and hanging out!  


see you on monday!