That time I started a business

Remember last time I posted how I talked about being a mom

and it was light and playful and funny?

This time I want to mention the flip-side... the one where I get down on myself because I still have all my baby fat. And the one where I spend way more money than I should and feel guilty because I'm monetarily contributing nothing (I know. I shouldn't feel guilty. I've heard the lecture 1,000 times.) Or the one where I feel like a slob, because it's 3 in the afternoon and oh, I just showered, because my child hasn't stopped whining all day long and when I put her down, her whining turns into flat-out wailing. (Teething? I don't know.) Or the time when the phone rings and What? Did I do my visiting teaching? Umm.. no, because, holy crap! How has a whole month already gone by again??!! Or... to trump it all, the times when I run into people who I haven't talked to in a while and they ask the ever-dreaded question... "so... are you just a stay-at-home mom?"

Yeah.

I'm just a stay-at-home mom.

*Self-esteem plummeting to the ground at full speed.*

 

Don't get me wrong... I LOVE LOVE LOVE that I don't have to report to a boss in the morning and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that I can snuggle with my baby girl any time of the day that I want and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that I can set my schedule to fit in play dates and lunch-time get-togethers. I really love all of those things and I am so incredibly grateful to be blessed enough to do them. And for some people those things are enough. But for me, when I have to tell someone that I stay at home, for some reason, it just gets to me. At the core.

 

Thus, I decided I needed an intervention.

Enter, Usborne Books & More.

 

If any of you are friends with me on fb, you will see that I have bombarded my page with posts and messages to some of you about my new business. Please forgive the overload. It is with the best intentions. It's because I want to share with you the thing that has changed my life! I know, I know... that's a bold statement. But I mean it. Before I started this business a few weeks ago, I was on a steep downhill slope to losing myself and it wasn't fun to be inside my head. I felt worthless. And I've heard it all, "you're doing the best job in the world" "You're so lucky, though" "That's a hard thing being a stay-at-home mom, you shouldn't get down on yourself" all of which are true, but none of which mattered when I felt that I wasn't contributing to our family in any other way than keeping on top of piles of laundry (which I fail at... miserably. I'm 100% telling the truth when I tell you all of our clean laundry is currently in a giant pile at the foot of our bed. And it's okay.) or scrubbing scum off of dirty dishes while attending to the constant needs of my little human. I just really like the satisfaction of working. In the workplace. This is something I've learned about myself since becoming a stay-at-home mom.

 

So. When I ask you if you want to host a book party, if you're interested.. GREAT! You're going to receive tons of free books (especially if you host before Christmas, because I can offer you double the amount of free books since I'm a new hostess. For example, I earned $180 in free, HIGH-QUALITY children's books when I hosted my party... and all I did was invite friends to my house) and it will be a fun night in with your friends.

 

If you're not interested... please just tell me. I promise it won't hurt my feelings. You have to realize that if I am putting myself out there like this, I am expecting to receive some no's... and it really doesn't bother me at all, because one no means another yes somewhere else. And if you're not interested, you're not interested. I get it. I couldn't care less about buying Tupperware.

(So if you sell it, there's your answer.)

 

Usborne is unlike other companies where you have to meet monthly minimums or pester people into buying things they are super skeptical about. It's books. Plain and simple. I just throw parties to find people who want to buy them, because it's the easiest way to spread the word.

 

That being said, if you or someone you know would be interested in hosting a party, let me know. If you would like to throw a party but don't want to clean your house or try your hand at baking, let's throw a fb party! And if you would rather not even see my face in any way shape or form, but you're still interested in maybe purchasing a book or two for some of the people on your Christmas list, check out my website. There is an online catalog and you can order directly and have the books shipped straight to your door.

 

And in addition to all that, for those of you who are actually still reading this (almost off my soap box here), if you, like me, would like to have your cake and to eat it, too, (stay home AND make money) then hit me up! I'd love for you to join my team! I drive to Lehi for trainings and sit at booths selling books at family events and boutiques and all of that would be much more fun with friends.

 

In parting, simply because I hate reading blog posts without pictures, here is one of my favorites as of late:

Even EAR MUFFS are made cute when you stick a baby in them!