Thank you for my thankless job

They say being a Mother is a thankless job. When all those well-meaning Mothers and Grandmothers are giving this unsolicited advice as you glow with the joy of expectation and pregnancy you only half listen. Sure, you hear them, but dont really believe it. It is when you are being hit in the face with strings of spaghetti from an angry, and apparently not hungry toddler, that the words come back and the "a-ha" moment takes place. Even then though that sleepy toddler half closes his eyes and smiles and sleepy smile and you are back. Thankless? I don't think so. That little "I wuv you, momma" is all I need. It is true. We may not get "Thank you's" for being Mommy but we know we are appreciated and loved.

However, I have the true thankless job: being a working Mother. I can truly say that my children and husband are thankful for my homemade cakes, hair brushing skills, and wonderful tickle monster performances. The thing is the moment I get a phone call or have to turn on my computer they all act like I have not spoken to them in days!

Maybe it is because I work from home or part time. If I had a full time job I drove too there would be less expected of me at home I am sure. I would also have the luxery of leaving the office at the office. That, however, is not the case. I work 20-30 hours a week, from home, on my own business. I also pick up the girls from school, handle any and all doctors appts (and with three kids there are plenty), and run the house. This means I am mentaling working a to do list from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. It is also means that no matter how hard I try to make school hours my main working hours that that is not always possible. I have to answer calls occasionaly and checking my email twice a day really helps me not miss a beat with clients. I cook dinner, sit down with the family, watch everyone play Wii for half an hour and then the moment I step away and open the laptop. . . KABOOM! The world is ending, my husband is giving that look, the kids immediately start mis-behaving. What in the world!!!!

I would like my family to recognize and be thankful for the fact that they did not have to go to daycare today afterschool, that the laundry is done, and those darn chicken fingers were made from scratch! I would like for my husband to be thankful that I am trying so hard to be the perfect Mom and make a significant contribution to the household. That, yes, it would be great if I could be completely tuned in ALL the time but to do that means I would need to give up working. Why cant these people see the big picture?

So Motherhood IS truly it's own reward but there is no appreciation, at least in my house, for being a working Mom. I am looking forward to the day my kids have kids, and they are working their tales off to be fantastic parents, and provide for them at the same time and they get their "a-ha" moment. I know my Mom sure gets a peaceful look on her face everytime I thank her, once again, for putting up with me when I was this age. Maybe by the time I am that old even my husband (of whom I am only mildy complaing because for the most part he is just about as perfect as he can get) will get some perspective. Only time will tell. Until then I guess I will continue to do things like write my blog at 9pm on Sunday Night when a basketball game is on and I cant possibly being doing something for anybody else. Me time. . . work time.

Spring pregnancy, fun and the outdoors...

There's no better time to be pregnant than during the spring. Of course I'm sure every pregnant person has their own point of view, but how could you not love coming out of hibernation and into the warm sun.

Ok, here's the real truth, being cooped up in your home all winter with a 3 year-old and a 1 year-old could drive any sane person nutty. Now take into the fact that I'm pregnant, ahhhhhh!!! Seriously though, getting outdoors, going to the park, flying kites, blowing bubbles and playing in the sandbox are only a small fraction of all the fun Spring brings. My family and I enjoy having friends over, grilling steaks and veggies all while the kiddos are running around thawing out from their winter hibernation.

Last weekend I did something new to ring in Spring. I planted flowers! This is big for me because I kill everything that lives in soil. Friends have given me plants before and I welcome them with a "thanks" and say a silent prayer for the poor little plant soul being placed in my hands. Finally my mother exclaimed that it was time for me, a grown woman, to understand the basics of caring for plants, so she got me an ivy to jump start my training. It sits right next to my kitchen sink so I'm reminded to water it when the soil is dry. I've done pretty good at the watering part and it actually started growing so large that my mom had to come over to prune it. Since I passed my first challenge it was now time to embark on my biggest plant challenge. Planting flowers outside! My mom accompanied me to our local home improvement store and the nice little gardening employee helped me make my plant selections. We came across a beautiful plant with the perfect little red flower. That was the flower I wanted, so the employee helped me load up my cart. He then proceeded to tell me that I'll need to make sure to "dead-head" them for their blooms to come back. Ummmm, excuse me?? First, if you expect me to have the time to go around and snip the heads off these poor little flowers AND even trust me with scissors around any type of plant, well that wouldn't work for me. So the perfect little red flower plants had to go back on the shelf. Finally I did find my perfect plant and it had bright, vibrant blooms. I don't have to do anything except water. I've got the water thing down so I know I can do my part in keeping these plants alive, of course if they die this will not be my fault! We loaded up my cart and my nerves cringed when I swiped my card for close to $100 for all the plants. It's like paying for dirt, it doesn't feel right... Anyway, my mom and I got home and unloaded all of my beautiful plants. I said a little prayer for them all and started planting them in their new home. I learned a lot from my mom that day. She's one of those women that knows how to do everything! I also learned that my 3 year-old and I found something new for us to look forward to when Spring rolls around. We enjoyed getting our hands dirty, playing with the water hose and then sitting and enjoying the beauty of our new little flower friends.



One week later, I'm happy to report that they're still alive and beautiful. Even if the flowers don't make it through my torcher, we will still look forward to Spring every year and all the activities it brings as well as our new adventure of planting the perfect flowers.

Happy Spring Everybody! Kendra Odum- VP of Research and Development

For me . . . flexibility is FREEDOM!

For me. . . flexibility is freedom.

Time may be money but flexibility is freedom. I have three kids, a dog, and husband. All of which need my attention on a daily basis. That is not counting my mom, dad, sisters, in-laws, and friends. I love them all and love being the one they call. I love helping others and being depended upon. I hate having to say no, even though after the third child was born I got much, much better at it. However, even with a few no’s, and a lot of helping hands in my life I am still always running.
Family is priority one for me. I want to be there when the kids get off the bus, I want to eat dinner around the table, and I want to spend long, lazy days with them riding bikes, having picnics, and really immersing myself in their world. I am so lucky to have such an incredible partner in life that loves immersing himself into our family as much as I do.
I know I have made my own decisions and have not done so lightly. My husband and I have both chosen career paths that keep us home more than away. Our goals in life are to raise happy kids in a loving home. To have dinner together, weekends together, to really enjoy being a part of our family. They grow so fast and we are having so much fun. We just want to soak up this really incredible season in our life. This is the way it has always been with us. We tried to get pregnant on our honeymoon. We had no list of things we wanted to do before kids. A family was our list. So truly we are on cloud nine right now. Sure our 7, 5, and 2 year olds keep us busy but we would not have it any other way.
That being said, we still need for me to have some type of income. Bike rides may be free but the bikes are not, nor is the fee to park at our favorite trail, the food for the picnic, and so on and so on. That is why I have chosen to work with Golden Sol. I work when I want and as much or little as I want. This kind of freedom allows me to volunteer in my child’s classroom, go on field trips, and meet the bus everyday without completely giving up my ability to contribute to the household budget and have my own adult life outside of the home.
Flexibility is the keyword for me. With all the people in my life that depend on me I need to be able to re-arrange my schedule every single week. But really, I would not have it any other way. . .

Working Mom- Balancing it all.

Thirty-one years old and still battling to find a balance between family and being a business owner. For so many years I’ve questioned my self-worth. Not that I didn’t think I was clever enough or capable, just whether I was sacrificing one thing to achieve another. Was it possible to become a successful business owner and to be a great mother?
I remember that my mother once told me, “You can only ever be GREAT at one thing, good at two, fair at three, and then it goes downhill.” It that was true, I was prepared to just be “good” at both career and being a mother.
Already blessed with an amazing daughter, who now is five, my husband and I wanted more. We suffered with two miscarriages after my daughter was born. It was hard and painful to say the least, but we managed through. We always considered how fortunate we are to have our daughter.
Three years since our last pregnancy and much time to forget, we found out a few weeks back that we were pregnant. The surprising thing was that we weren’t even trying. I was so excited and hopeful. A few very short days later we found out that it just didn’t work out.
I felt broken. It wasn’t this miscarriage that broke me, but the forgotten hopes and dreams of another child from three years back that came bubbling to the surface. However, through every heartache, something profound can be learned.
I realized that I’m truly happy with who I am as a person and more importantly who I am as a mother. My husband and I have picked ourselves back up and are now on a mission to get on the baby bus.
As for my career – well, can you ever have it all? I think so. I feel like I’ve found a balance between maintaining the career-driven aspects that help to fulfill me in my life while at the same time being able to pick up my daughter when school gets out. To me, it doesn’t get better than that.

Krista Bixler- Business Owner and Working Mom

Balancing my life between being a working mother and raising my family is the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to tackle…emotionally and physically. I wonder if you ever completely decide which is best for you? One week I love being a business owner and actually having goals to reach for and the next week I’m daydreaming about being that stay at home mom that dedicates her entire day to her family’s health and well-being. It doesn’t help that I’m an emotional rollercoaster right now, being 5 months pregnant with our second child and wondering how in the world I’ll ever fit it all in. My 3 year-old is so excited about becoming a big sister but also needs more attention these days to cope with the idea of a new member being added to our family. I have found it very difficult with this pregnancy to find any extra down time and I’m wondering if there will ever be such a thing again! I have always been one to put a lot on my plate and then laugh at myself later and wonder “what were you thinking?” Somehow, I always pull through and vow never to take on too much again. And then the very next day I do it again. Is this a woman thing…or a mom thing…or a personality flaw?? Do I secretly enjoy the chaos or am I just a people pleaser who doesn’t know how to say no? My goal in this life on earth is to figure out why I do the things I do and what path I should be on. Have you ever wondered what your purpose in life really is? I am on a constant journey to find mine and feel that I’m one step closer with each day that passes. So, about being a pregnant, working mother….. I started a business roughly 2 years ago and was fortunate enough to join forces with two very powerful women this last year. We are all mothers and have had quite a journey together. We have laughed together, cried together, completed milestones together and truly found a bond with one another. No matter how different we are, we are all dealing with the same thoughts of being business women who want to make a difference, but trying desperately to find a healthy balance between work and family. We’re at a crucial point in our business where we are introducing new products and ideas and we’ve also decided to share who we are with the rest of the world…which means photo shoots!! Yikes! If photo shoots aren’t hard enough, try adding some extra weight and a bunch of clothes that don’t fit and it becomes a very scary adventure. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love being pregnant and know that I am truly blessed; it’s just so hard to let go and embrace the crazy changes that pregnancy will take your body through. Isn’t big supposed to be beautiful?? Why can’t we see that? In our business, we primarily work with women and we are just astonished at the way most women feel about themselves. We’ve yet to find a woman that is truly happy with the way she looks and feels. Why is that?? Why are we so hard on ourselves? Back in the day, a bigger woman was more desirable than a smaller woman and why does size matter anyway? We were all made to be perfect individuals…no two people alike. Will we ever get back to thinking like that? So, as I say I’m trying to find my purpose, I feel a pull towards helping women feel beautiful again…just the way they are, naturally. That’s where I’ll head for now.