Happy Holidays to all!

I hope your holidays were wonderful and that your new years will be great!

There are many exciting things in the works at Organic Monsters for the upcoming year!

We will be expanding into the food market hopefully by the end of 2009 so not only will you be able to buy many wonderful natural products at our online store but soon you will be able to get organic baby food made by us for your family!

It will be a process to get it all going but it will be fun to do it as well.

Since my daughter was born I have been putting together my own baby food and now toddler food that is mostly vegan and she is a strong healthy little girl...it would be nice to not have to always make her food as it can be time consuming so I, with some guidance from a great groups of folks I have met, Organic Monsters will be bringing that convenience to you in the near future!

Stay tuned for more updates as OM expands! I have added some new products to the store AND there is a sale going on so come and check us out!

Gone awhile

Between trying to potty train my daughter, finishing up my Master's AND growing my business I have not had a chance to write!

Today I am starting the third installment of potty training...hopefully third times a charm :)

I added a bunch of stuff to my inventory and am watching Organic Monsters grow.  Are we growing at lightning speed? Um no.. but at least we ARE growing.  I am not sure how others who start their own business by themselves with no financial support from others do it.  If I did not know that part of the reason to start my business was to open an animal sanctuary I am not sure that I could always find the fire to keep going.  Well no that is not true I like working for myself as well...that is pretty darn important, perhaps that is the driving force of many small business owners like myself.  It certainly can get tough when you are not seeing the kind of numbers you would like to see while staying motivated to keep going. Luckily for you and for me :) I know what I am doing is going to work and I know that this business will allow me to open my own non-profit funded by Organic Monsters.  I not only have the chance to bring you great eco-friendly products for your family but I also get to help others.

So I am very excited about it all....now the potty training thing.....no not excited about that at all!

Fall Fall Fall

I get very excited when this time of year comes around~It is nice and crisp (at least in Virginia) in the morning but yet it warms up enough to help ease you out of summer before the cold sets in.

I feel more energized too with the business, its amazing how everyday I learn something new not only about myself but the world of business.  There is SO much to know and when you are running your business as the sole employee you better learn quickly or you are going to sink very rapidly.   Everyday I have to learn and keep up with , marketing, new products, customer relations, finances etc. etc. it never ends.  I am sure I am falling behind on somethings but I need to keep going as I stand firmly stand behind what I have created and I know with a little TLC I will not be the only employee for long......oh won't that be a good day! :)

Happy Fall Everyone!

Neat Educational Toy for Kids!

A friend of mine was working closely with this new company that made these really cool toys for kids.  They are made from organic cotton and hand made-so each one is slightly different from the next.  I was lucky enough to be able to get on board with these great toys.

The toy is called an idbid, as in iddy biddy steps to help the earth add up to a lot :)

These toys come in three characters a rain drop, a flower and a cloud.  They simply are precious.  I think I love them so much because I know that when you are trying to teach a child why you need to recycle or why you don't litter or why you need to turn the water off when you brush your teeth-you can sometimes become a nag :) and you don't want that!!

These toys take the child who owns them on an adventure with a little journey book and carrying case to teach your child in a fun way all the things, we as parents, try to teach them.

I am sure they will do well and people will love them.  It is nice to get away from plastic bulky toys that offer no educational value what so ever.  Our kids our smart and love to learn AND play and now with these toys they can do all three.

Check them out-any thoughts??

www.organicmonsters.com/little-monsters.html

What to sell and what to cook for dinner?

You know I think anyone with kids can be a business owner :) It is not just for the hip, young single people with ample time on their hands and expendable incomes.  Once you have a child your reality shifts and you become pre-occupied with food preparation, growth charts, poop and pee (come on I am not the only one!) With that comes the what am I going to cook tonight brainstorm that typically has me crying with the fridge door open because I have EVERY single ingredient except that one dang onion that I REALLY need for my dinner! Of course I had it on  my list but when I was at the store I was trying to stop my daughter from knocking over the toilet paper display (yes I am serious!).

So life most days for me (maybe not for you, perhaps you have it together) is a series of what do I do's?  What do I sell at my store?  What do I charge for it?  What do I think my customers will think of these items?  What do I have to gain by adding this item? What do I have to lose? What do I make my daughter since she hates everything I make today but not tomorrow? What do I cook my husband that tastes good re-heated? (he is in the Coast Guard and works wacko hours) What do I cook that is tasty and healthy AND vegetarian since I am still trying to lose that last 15 pounds of baby weight etc. etc.

It really is all a big ole guess all be it an educated one but none the less a big ole guessing game that is played every day, so I guess I will just keep on keeping on and hope my choices are the right ones!

If anyone reading this has any suggestions on how to make a good guess you just let me know :)

Too busy yet able to get it all done..?? Why is that?

As you know I am the mother of an almost two year old.  There by that's put me in a group of women that non-moms will never know about.  The non-moms will never know what it is like inside the den of a playgroup or a play date until the become a mom-mom :) So having been a non-mom I now know the inner working of the mommie play date and playgroups...and it has actually proven to not be at all what I though it was! 

For the most part I find it supporting and fun (note I said for the most part) there are those moms that I look at and think "Huh? how does your brain work?? I mean really how do these thoughts come out of your mouth???"  But that is not what this post is about.  This post is about the number one question that I get asked and that is "How do I manage to do it all"  Everyone in the US is busy plain ole busy regardless if you have kids or not.  The moms I hang out with tell me that the most stress they feel is the stress of "no-time" they can not fit in all they need to do for the day into..well.. a day!   I have never been able to figure out an answer to that question.  Am I just lucky? I am just a good time-manager? Am I better organizer then them?  Is it God? :) Is it XYZ...?? why am I not frazzled and ready to run away?? 

I had no clue, I could never say to them "Well if you do this and that you will have more time" because I did not know what I did to make my life run smoothly. I just do it and it works.

I will say that luck has never been part of the equation so we can take that off the table right now! I have had goals in life that had to be accomplished.  I had a plan for my life and I knew what is was (ask me how to get there and I couldn't tell you but I had a plan) I knew I wanted to be married-check-I knew I wanted a college education (yes the marriage came before the education)-check-I wanted a family-check-I wanted to be successful and start my own business-check-and no Organic Monsters is by no means making me a rich business owner just yet-while we are doing well and making money that money is going to pay off the initial debt of starting the business, it will be some time before I see profit in my pocket!

So I have worked at my goals, I have a few left like, having the play I wrote on Broadway and starting my own animal sanctuary but I won't strop trying that is for sure!

So how am I able to cope with the "busy"aspect of motherhood, wife and entrepreneur?  Well I now know the answer and I am able to do it all because I am part of a team and that team is Team Walls.

My husband has been taken for granted for oh most of our 8 year marriage :) but on the almost eve of our 9th wedding anniversary I thought I would share with the world just how much I COULDN'T do without him.

He is my partner in raising our daughter and a partner in helping me to advance my career and business.  He is my partner in household choirs and animal care taking.  He picks up my slack and I pick up his.  We work as a team and when that team doesn't want to play on any particular day the effects are felt, let me tell you!

He drives me nuts almost every other day, we certainly our not a perfect couple NO WAY!  We argue A LOT! and to the outside world it may look "mean" or "uncaring" but it is not.  We are communicating and getting things done but we just do not always have the time to remember to say please or to keep our voice down.

I have a motto in life that also helps me and that is "Do it and get it over with" I can not say "Oh I will do that tomorrow" because tomorrow is already busy! I do whatever I can do now, now and I do not wait until later. My husband likes to wait and he likes to put off (which is where the arguing usually happens) we are vastly different people who think of things in completely different ways...but for what ever reason we make a good team!

Can I do what I do alone-sure I can-but it wouldn't be any fun :)

With Team Walls in action- we both manage to spend time with our daughter,walk the dogs take care of the cat and bunnies, work, start a business, join a preschool co-op, volunteer, have a social life, have time for the two of us and alone time as well.. oh and I did I mention I also am in graduate school!! So without this team that we have perfected over time- I really am not sure I would be able to do all that I do and as fast I do it.  

Unfortunately, having a husband like mine is not necessarily something folks can come by very easily so I still have no words of wisdom for the mom's in my playgroups...and if you are raising a child alone-God Bless You-this is hard work and it surely is easier with help!

All I can say is that the people you surround yourself with are your best allies and who you surround yourself with is your choice.

I am thankful that I chose to marry my husband and to raise a family with him!

Preschool at the age of 2???!!!

Yes my friends it is true I am going to put my daughter into preschool and she is only 2 years old..is that weird?  As a mom I think she is 100% ready for a more formal educational type of setting that goes above and beyond a daycare or a babysitter.  My wee one will sit down with a book and "read" it to me or to herself all day long! Of course she sounds like this "Blah blah blah blah" but she thinks she is reading :) and love loves loves her books!

She is also very inquisitive, as I guess all kids are, but to me there is something special going on with her and she really seems to be ready to at least attempt to learn more than I or my husband can teach her.  

Is that odd?

Am I fooling myself?

Every parent thinks their kid is special right?

Regardless of your answers of mine and regardless if I get those looks like I am nuts-I think it certainly can not hurt and I really do not see the harm...except to the wallet!

We joined a Co-Op preschool which is where the parents have a big hand in the classroom and play active roles in the school to ensure its continued success.  Of course I pick a school that I need to commit a lot of time too when my time between the business and the home are already far stretched, I guess I love the pain of no time and little sleep:)

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that read "Every mom is a working mom" and I wanted to stand up and cheer!! At that moment I was feeling very overwhelmed with life in general and I really needed my imaginary assistant to come and help me because it was one of those days that I felt very.....well.....spent, I was DONE.  We all have had those days where we are holding on by a loose very fragile string-and that was my day!  The bumper sticker brought the point home that being a mom is HARD--so much harder then I could have ever imagined.  Regardless if you work at home as a stay at home mom or you work outside the home or if your like me and work AT home as a working mom/stay at home mom..it will suck eventually at some point even if it lasts for only a moment.  

I find it ironic that at the point that I was having a killer day I see this sticker that made me just think "yeah its hard, and yes some days you just want to take a bath and lock the door and never come out :) but it's your life, you created it, you created life and really--that is pretty cool!  Mom's are awesome people and we all work hard (dad's are great too but I am not a dad so I can not speak from that perspective).

The only problem is I..um...like to take too much on e.g co-op preschools :) but hey my daughter is only in preschool for so long..with a little TM (time management) I will "make it "work" and really that is all we can ever do.

 

Baby Wearing~

As you all know by now I own a very cool (IMHO) online store.  My store (Organic Monsters) sells baby slings and carriers as well as some other fun stuff.  To be honest I am not selling as many of these as I would have thought?  I really thought more moms and dads were hip to baby wearing these days but maybe not?

I myself wore my daughter and still do actually and I think it is a great way to promote bonding and security as our little ones are figuring out how this crazy overwhelming world works.  It also allowed my husband a chance to bond with our daughter while I was breast feeding.

What are your thoughts on this? Is baby wearing the new "thing" or do people still have the impression that is for hippies only?

I have no idea how I would have survived the first two years of her life if I could not just strap her on my hip or back while I went about my day to day business! 

No TV allowed!! Unless...

Okay I admit it-my almost 2 year old has not been allowed to watch TV thus far in her lifetime--Yes I am one of "those" parents :)  If your kids watch TV good for you I make no judgements--but for me and my family we think she is 2 what does she know about following a story line?? :)  HOWEVER--she was sick for a couple of days as was I and I gave into the TV monster!! I needed a break, a BIG one! my husband was at work I was home from work (when I had my FT job) and I just needed 30 minutes to not "be on" with her and to rest to take care of myself, something moms rarely get a chance to do. So, I put on HBO's Classical Baby-Thank God for "on demand TV" and away we both watched--and I have to admit it was great!

That was a one time good deal though--I felt a wee bit guilty about it all! Like I was a bad mommy for allowing her to watch any TV~ like I was weak because I couldn't handle a 2 year old.  I felt the guilt and then I let it go--her watching TV was NOT the end of the world and it dose not pose any threat to her brain at a later time and date (I hope!)

So fast forward to a month ago I needed a time out to make some phone calls for Organic Monsters I tried to put her in front of a puzzle and then give her a story book to "read" we even went outside but she just wanted me and to be held and for me to talk to her etc. and I really needed to pay attention to what I was doing with these calls, because it was all about the money these calls and I can't screw that up! So what did I do? Can you guess?? :) Yup I sat her in front of the boob tube yet again so I could finish my calls.  Again it was the HBO Classical Baby series--have you seen that show? it is awesome!  I finished my calls in under 15 minutes (it is amazing how fast you can do stuff without a toddler around :) and sat down with her to watch the show. I no longer feel the guilt of allowing her TV. That being said the TV is not a regular part of her day or week for that matter and I am making an effort to not have her watch TV-because again it is not necessary. I want her to grow her imagination first and then be allowed to be sucked into someone else's.  I can certainly see though how that little picture box is a lifesaver when you need a distraction I just hope that I can be brave enough not to make it a habit for either of us!

SIGG Bottle Revolution!

I have to tell you--I really had no idea that the SIGG bottles I sell online at my store would be SUCH a "hot ticket" item.  I think with all the recent stuff in the news about how bad plastic is for you that people are getting scared and rightly so I say!  These bottles are very cool with fun funky designs and my two year old can drink out of them too :)! They are a very versatile product and I am glad we have them to sell.

The manufactures of SIGG are really turning to, to keep up with the demand.  I am very happy that this new "green" movement is becoming more mainstream.  Of course, as some of you may know, this movement has been movin' for a long time and a lot of us in the movement (before it went mainstream) got looked at like we were some kind of "hippy freaks" who were out of touch with reality by questioning the environmental practices going in the world and being pro-active by making sure the products we purchase did no harm to the environment.  But alas, the world is finally realizing that we are not hippy freaks we just care about the planet as its the only home we have and we want it to last...is there something wrong with that?

Yippee!

Well I talked to the Trademark lawyer today-and everything is good to go!

The issue of my using the word "organic" was that I had to make a disclaimer that I could not have exclusive rights to the word and of course that makes sense.

I am so thrilled that I can cross this off my list of "To-Do's"

Now my next challenge is the upcoming weekend where I will be home alone with the daughter-what to do, what to do?

Like most moms, my daughter and I spend a good deal of time at the store as I am always forgetting something!

This weekend though I am on a quest to find some good recipes for veggies.  I have to admit I suck at making them and to make veggies that a 2 year old and my husband and I can eat is more difficult I think then it needs to be! So I am out to change that this weekend.

Wish my luck and please share any ideas about making a good veggie dish that you have!  I am so eager to know!

The agenda for today

I have been waiting three months to hear about my pending trademark application.  I think my logo and tag line are really cool and I want to make sure I get to keep them forever.  I mean right now no one really cares about me and my logo but business is picking up and I am striving to keep the growth of my business on the up and up.  So I want to ensure that 3 years down the line when people have taken notice in a big way (fingers crossed!) that everything I have worked for will not be taken because I forgot to legally make the name "Organic Monsters" my name legally.

I get a call from the attorney at the Patent and Trade office who tell me there is a problem, he was super nice but is of course on vacation now so I have to wait a week to fix this and I hate to wait!!

Then I get an email about the problem. It seems using the word "organic" is in question because the FDA has specific criteria of who can use that word to label something for sale.  "Hello are you kidding me??" I am not selling organically grown monsters-the word monster refers to the kids-cuz if you have any you will know that sometimes they are so sweet and great and then you turn around and see that a monster has taken over your child!  The word also refers to the animals we share our lives with, so the word, to me, has more then one meaning.

The word organic in front of it means that there are parents (of the furry and non furry variety) who do not want their "monsters" to grow up filled with chemicals and crap that regular food and products has to offer. They want their kids to grow up organically and as close to the way mother earth intended.  Everything on my site is organic or made from organic or recycled products..so hopefully this will not be an issue.

It is just one more thing I have to deal with! and it kinda sucks that I have to wait to fix it!

Today my daughter is home from daycare so I do not get much work done on the days that she is home.  I get up way early on these days before she gets up to take care of the animals and then nap time is work time.  I do sneak in moments when she is happily playing alone to run to the computer but other then that I have little time to spend on OM.  My husband will be home all day today though so that will certainly help!

I left my job in the non-profit world to spend more time with my babe and to try and create the life I always wanted and knew I could be successful at.  I wanted to take her to those goofy kiddie classes I hear other moms talk about.  Today is one of those days we get to go to a kiddie class--however this one is not goofy. Its Music Together and she started going right when I left my job and the new "semester" starts today.  Its only 45 minutes so it doesn't bother me too much with being long and she loves it--so I hope this class will be as good as the last one.

I also hope to meet some new moms in the process as well.

Today is the first day...

....I have decided to do this whole blogging thing :)  Don't get me wrong I think blogs are a great way for folks to express themselves and I guess I want to get in on the action!....and of course talk about what I am doing in my life to propel it forward.

I am a mom, wife and entrepreneur.  I just started my own business selling organic/natural products online.  I started Organic Monsters because I was SICK TO DEATH!! of running around from store to store trying to find the products I needed for my family.  I have a 2 year old, a husband and 5 animals..that is a lot of beings to shop for!  I also had a full time job at the time of all this running around! 

My inner monster or voice as some like to call it, was screaming for something new!  I kept asking myself is this it?? Is this my life? Running around like a crazy person trying to find all the things I need (and really needed this was not pleasure shopping), going to work, coming home, taking care of my daughter, spending time with hubby, trying so hard to spend time with my furry monsters and then sleeping and doing the same crap the next day?? 

Well, I wanted more so I decided that the one thing I knew was products! I have been a vegetarian for 15 years, and have tried my darnedest to tread lightly on the earth by being conscience of what I buy before it was cool to be "green" :)  I have used so many products, some were awesome some not so much.  I have listened to other moms tell me what they love and what they hate and I really believe that the products I have selected are the most trusted and most used by families.  I am always open for suggestion and will always let others give my their insights into what they need, hate or love.

That is why it was so hard for me to get the stuff I needed, there was not ONE SINGLE store (not even the almighty Whole Foods) that had it all for me.

Plus some of the stores I did go to I felt like I was some sort of second class citizen because I did not wear my fancy clothes and high heels to do GROCERIES!  

That is why I started my own company. I want to bring the joy of living organically and meat free to the masses.  I want to make it simple and easy and not rape people out of their money. It is a lot of work and it is a work in progress.  

I wanted to start this blog as a way to share what it takes to move from working for someone else to doing it for yourself while raising a child and having a good marriage AND a life!

I am not perfect and I will stumble I am sure along the way.  I hope you will take this journey with me and share and discuss with me your thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, working for others, working for yourself and what it means to live consciously!