Wordless Wednesday

Wow! You get what you pay for I suppose

I'm nine months into running my on-line shop. Lovely Eco Chic I have been working with a lot of bloggers. Mostly I've been very please with the reviews I've had done. Since I'm really pick y about what I carry to the point of being crazy almost I get really bummed out when I know a product Rocks! and the blogger makes it sound blah!

So far this has happened twice where I felt like asking them to just take the review down. In fairness to my fans I like them to see as many points of view as possible. This last one hits home. It's my favorite product. The review makes me look like I'm trying to sell moldy bread. I noticed I lost a few follows on FB today. I'm wondering how this affects my creditability.

I'm just sick to my stomach wondering what's the right thing to do. My business is just now getting weekly sales. I hope this wont stop them.

Where is my Start up an on-line for Dummies book. There has to be a what to do if your bloggers don't agree with you. Ugh!


To top it off I've been dealing with this drama and Sonny goes and tries to wash his hair with the left over chicken fat in our frying pan from dinner. It smells so bad. I just wanted to puke.

I love today! That is all.

My Broody Hen

Some of you know I have 2 sets of hens. Last years hens Blacky and Sally and this years chicks. My hens will be a year at Mother's Day. They are pretty solid egg layers at this point. Over the last couple weeks we had a huge BOOM of eggs. I was giving them away to everyone.

Well I now know the reason. Blacky thinks she should have chicks of her own. She's Broody. Poor thing doesn't realize that she needs a rooster. This is were it becomes a bit strange. Sally is our dominate hen. Definitely a hen. She too lays eggs. However now that Blacky thinks she's having chicks Sally is playing Dad. She struts around the yard protecting to coup. If you're any one besides me she pecks you. Blacky sits patiently in the nesting box. Waiting and waiting for these unfertilized eggs to hatch.

Looking at various websites how to deal with this poor Motherless hen I'm following none of the advice. I take her out of the nesting box a few times a day and make her hang out with Sally. I keep taking the eggs. Some have looked weird, jelly looking on deflated. Some are shaped strange  with ridges. Every website says this could be from stress.

I almost want to replace an egg Blacky sits on for a few days with a baby chick. As hard as this couple is working to raise some chicks I think they should have some. Just a couple of things are stopping me. I have six birds already. Who's to say the trick will work? That kind of borderlines on animal testing to me. I guess I keep making sure she socializes with Sally in the yard and get plenty of food and water. Heck I  have thought I was pregnant a few times when I wasn't.

Lovely Eco Chic Diaper Service and Boutique: Planet Wise Breastfeeding Cover Giveaway

Lovely Eco Chic Diaper Service and Boutique: Planet Wise Breastfeeding Cover Giveaway: Planet Wise Breast Feeding cover Giveaway!

My peeps first dust bath

Yes we are expanding our flock. More to come.

Worried homeless

My brother is homeless. Two of them are. Bad choices info their teens followed them into their 40s.

Driving my son Joey to school last week he told me God talks to him and told him his dad was dead. I wasn't sure what to say. It's been months since we have seen him. I could only feel sadness. Poor Joey to have that kind of worry at 10 years old.

Sure when I wake up cold or see the rain I hope my brother has a place to keep warm. Joey loves his dad. His worry goes beyond what mine ever can. This is Dad he loves and see suffer.

I just tell him to pray. God has a plan and hears him. Joe tells me he talks to God. I think my litter mans prayer were heard. My brother called my parents. He's in a rehab. The pastor of the church he goes to helped him get in. He's got a job when he gets out.  Even better news he shares a bunk with our other brother who's in rehab as well.

Today is good. Amen

Diaper Donation

Diaper Donation

Since the cloth diapering community is full of generous people, we thought we should send this message out to ask as many persons as possible to join this cause with us.

Our friend Jenn, the owner of The Big Blue Frog in Penticton BC has been approached by a local mom who is going to Haiti in June to do volunteer work in an orphanage for children with AIDS. They are in desperate needs of...well... everything so we thought we could help with the diapering part.

We've been able to find about a dozen of gently used diapers so far but we all know that it is far from enough, especially when you have 7 or 8 kids in diapers!

If you are able to participate, PLEASE send your diapers (pocket with insert, AIO, AI2, hybrid, fitted-cover) to

MiniMaestro
2339 Ogilvie Rd
PO Box 46004
Gloucester ON K1J 7M9

or to

Lovely Eco Chic

3649 Hillsborough Dr

Concord, CA 94520 ( I will send them for you. As international mail can cost slightly more. ~Mary)

MiniMaestro gift certificate for each diaper you send us. And if you do not need or want the gift certificate, MiniMaestro will donate a new diaper for each couple of diapers you send us. Please make sure you indicate your choice when sending the diaper(s), along with an e-mail address to contact you.

You can read more about the orphanage here.

So? Who's in with us to help those kids in Haiti wear descent diapers? Does not have to be cute or fancy, only do adequately what a diaper is supposed to do...

Thank you from the bottom of our heart!

One of those shopping trips

I am slowing adjusting to life where a big paycheck came in every two weeks in my name to a paycheck that is never consistent as a substitute preschool teacher. Fortunately I'm not a big spender and when ever I need money for food or gas god seems to deliver.

Today Joey needed new shoes. Lucky me my brother always sends gift cards to my kids for Christmas and Joey got his shoes. Target in our town also has groceries and I picked up a few things.

I can't help but try to shop fast when the boys go anywhere with me. A perfect example why is the sweet elderly woman who told Declan not to grab the coffee cup out of the trash and he lost it. When I picked him up his pants were soaked through. Joey and Sonny want everything on the self and I'm broke. It's a hard thing for me to say "No we can't get that." After all my joke for years has been ...Target's the what the heck did I buy for $300 store?

The lines were exceptionally long tonight. My boys stood by me calmly. Miracle. The checker finally rang us up after a 10 minute wait. My boys are still calm.... I'm slightly holding my breath and crossing my fingers at this point. Sure enough after giving the checker 3 gift cards I still owed $41s and had $35. I asked him to take something off and he voided my entire transaction then proceeded to look threw the trash for my gift cards. Fifteen people behind me standing there were asked to go to another line and a woman lost it slamming her cart and throwing an unattractive grown up woman fit. My boys stayed calm.

An hour later still trying to leave Target I was given another $5 credit off my bill for my kids and my own patience. I'm just thankful today I was given that miracle of peaceful boys in the store. They could have easily made an awkward situation so much worse. I don't know if the knew or not but I sure love them.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday.....

Family day... good idea or bad idea?

Our family has started the year spending time together on Sunday. I love this idea, unfortunately it doesn't come with a natural excitement and ease for all of us.
In our family, change does not come easy. Our first outing was a walk around our local reservoir. My husband and the boys ran ahead while I trailed behind with my preteen who silently protested by walking as slow as possible. The highlight was her little brother teasing her into tears. The day was not a complete failure but not our finest moment.
Yesterday we hit Briones regional park. This time we all started grumpy. I of coarse planned this one off a memory five years back and took us to the wrong location. First party failure. The hike was long and uphill with long drops to the side. This worried me. My little ones were just to fast and careless running along the path. Warren finished the hike with numbers 2 & 4 of our kids while I meandered back towards the car with numbers 3 & 5. We met about an hour latter and a cool face to face with a couple young bulls. Everyone was in good spirit.
No tears....or just for now. The adventure part of the day worked out. However owning your own freelance writing company on deadlines and unfinished homework made us talk about less family days.
No clue if we will hike next weekend? I'm hoping we do. Being unplugged grumpy or not is priceless. My kids wont be small forever.

Mom + braces = Oh my goodness

We went to our second orthodontist visit today for Joey. Our first was a year and a half ago. We were told he was delayed due to his circumstances before we got him. We went through the process of pulling baby teeth and waiting for the new to grow in.

No one told us how many teeth we were waiting on. Apparently it was 14 since he still had 12 to go after . This poor kid complains daily about his teeth hurting and tries hard to keep him mouth closed as to not show people his crooked teeth.

As his Mom I want him to be proud. He's a great kid and super cute. The orthodontist gave us a few options.

1. Wait for his teeth to fall out naturally. The orthodontist told us if this does not happen naturally in 6 months to work with a pediatric dentist and get them pulled. He should have all his teeth in a year and a half.
2. Two rounds of braces. This would have poor Joe in braces for 5 years. Costing us a pretty price of $8000.

My heart is breaking for him. I wore braces for 5 years. I felt a lot better day one. My teeth were shinny. My teeth started shifting and even looked straight in the braces for years before I got them off. Getting Joey his braces now would get them off by freshman year. If we start his braces naturally when he looses his teeth and it takes a year and a half he'll be in junior high when we start and late high school when they come off.  That just sucks! That bill is a hard one to commit too.

Now I'm regretting in the biggest way quitting AT&T. Feeling very selfish pursuing my own dreams. My kids need. I'm sure braces on kid #3 isn't the last of our massive costs of raising kids. Just the first step. Yikes!

My little shop will have to wait. Not closed just be moved down in priority. I may have to go to school at night to improve my appeal to employers. As my skills are very telephone related.  Pray for a Pell Grant. I need another job! Full-time so my kid can grow up confidant and pain free. Now would be great!

The truth is

I've been pretty down lately. The winter typically does this to me. I always blame it on my lame birthday. December 26, who wants to relate their birthday with forgetting and leaving?

So my rant today adds to that. I'm beating myself down. No job. No jobs advertised. My little shop sits listless and people are cleaning house on Twitter and Facebook and I'm loosing my small inch of internet fame as I'm disliked and unfollowed. Now returns are being made.

The hardest part of all this is I'm 36. I have five beautiful kids and I feel like such a cruddy role model. My parents worked hard. We had things. Sure not a lot of time was spent as quality family time but I could look up to them and feel proud.

My kids parent me. If I slip and swear they correct me. They are diligent about doing homework before having fun. Sure their rooms are messy not matter how I nag. I suppose it's the value of being a kid to blame that on. I love them all so much.

I'm up to nothing. I spend a lot of energy on my shop without interaction. I miss my kids all day. I'm just sad . It's the truth.