My Ongoing Flirtation with Direct Sales

Warning: Serious Word Vomit Ahead.

Indecision is my worst quality....scratch that, my temper is my worst quality. But my indecision is a rough one too. Like seriously. I am a humongous second-guesser, self-doubter, indecisive person.

So maybe my worst quality is my self doubt?

Either way, it's rough to work around!

As a new stay-at-home mom, I'm having a hard time adjusting to not having my own income to bring in. It's like really hard to want all these things that are material and non-material and feel guilty about getting them! I've just always been used to having my own money! I got my first job when I was 15 because I hated asking my parents for money!

And my husband is awesome. There are very few purchases that I have to run by him. He really is "what's mine is yours" and that is awesome. But I still hate that I'm not contributing financially. I feel like I'm just taking. Which obviously, I'm not. If I didn't stay home, the boys would have to go to daycare and we'd just have to pay that and the quality of care just can't compare to what I give them (shrug).

I've been trying to find a way to channel what skills I have into a way to make money. Crafts? Writing? Watching TV? What skills do I have? The answer is that I have no skills that are actually profitable, apparently.

I was recently approached by a woman who does EXTREMELY well in direct marketing. We all know someone who does those programs. Well, I've always been a huge skeptic of them and I've never really thought of pursuing those. But this woman is EXTREMELY good at her job and she totally roped me in, so here I am, the indecisive little skeptic, waiting on my starter kit to arrive and I'm still just like, wtf man? What just happened to me?

I've already called to try and cancel, but it apparently "just shipped." Right.

Maybe a form of divine intervention telling me to go for it? Or maybe just another sneaky way for this company to keep me attached?

I'm likely going to be sending the kit right back for a small loss of money and small piece of my dignity. I was all "inhale confidence, and exhale doubt" last night and I announced it on Facebook like I wasn't mildly ashamed, but now here I am being true to myself and crawling back into the introverted, judgmental hole from whence I came.

Honestly, I would kill to be able to do what this woman does. She reaches out to people and is so confidently herself. She's a master networker and she has turned it into a super lucrative way of life for herself and her family. What wouldn't I do to have that kind of dynamic personality! But I don't. I am who I am, and maybe there's confidence in admitting that? Or maybe I'm just a little coward.

It's not that I don't think that these direct marketing businesses can't work...I just don't think they can work for me. I just don't feel that I have the confidence that it takes to put myself out there for products that I'm not 100% sure I can get behind. I don't know how I feel about asking my friends and family to buy these things! It's not something to be ashamed of, but it's so wildly out of my comfort zone. I mean, I was even bad at selling candles for school fundraisers back in grade school.

And while I'm sitting here writing this, I keep seeing all of these inspirational messages, and I'm like inspired, but also shamed (?). Like, gosh, why don't I have what it takes?! Should I have what it takes? Will I ever have what it takes to make myself into something? Am I just lazy and using shyness for an excuse? Now I'm listening to a video of a woman telling me that the secret to success is doing things that other people don't want to do and she's literally talking about people backpedaling on their decision to not take the risk to do this company! So now where does that leave me? God, is that you speaking? Or do I just need to get offline? (It's nap time, and I should be working out or doing laundry, but here I am.)

Basically I'm just sitting here wrangling with my issues. I don't want to disappoint this awesome and dynamic woman. I want to impress her and I want what she has, but gosh where are the little businesses for the nice, introverted women like me? The kind who want to quietly shine and succeed and help their families? They don't exist.

Is it just enough for me to be a mom right now? Can I just come to terms with who I am and what I have and be happy with that?

I don't think it's that I'm a loser person, maybe this just isn't my game.

I think that these kinds of businesses are trees, and I'm a fish. It's silly for me to try to climb.

Or maybe I should let go of being cozy and get out of my comfort zone?

Agh.

Now I'm just sitting here feeling like a major sucker.

Or like this lady in the inspirational video I'm playing is telling me, I'm a cubic zirconia who wishes she was a diamond. She is saying I need to get determined and be willing to be turned down A LOT.

Even the thought makes my skin crawl and sweat.

The fact is that these organizations aren't really for everyone. They aren't. They aren't supposed to be. I'm just not sure that these are for me. I'm not sure that I'm emotionally prepared to jump out there like this. I guess we'll see what I do when my kit arrives. In the meantime, I'm going to go back to losing myself in an episode of The Good Wife on Prime while I fold all our laundry.

Diarrhea Blowout Survival

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It's November in the South and I'm actually pretty sure that global warming is a thing because it's still unseasonably hot here. I'm so ready for sweater weather, but it apparently isn't ready for me. And I guess I should be happy that sweater weather isn't here yet, because sweater weather also means cold and flu season, and I don't think that I could handle one of that on top of everything else right now!

Life with the boys has gotten hectic again because we are dealing with our third, yes THIRD, big stomach bug. Which just means we're going through double the diapers and Lysoling everything like crazy. My preemies just can't catch a break! I'm going crazy trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong. We don't wear shoes in the house, I try to keep everything totally sanitized and sterilized and bleachized and whatever else. I'm a total germ freak, and yet the boys keep getting sick! The doctor says that all babies get these germs and that it's not anything that I am or am not doing, but that my little guys just don't have the immune system that term babies have. We'll be seeing a GI specialist soon to see if there might not be anything else going on.

Poor Beau has been running a fever and has had bloody stool. Seriously, I think my little mama heart might just shatter. I'm hurting really bad for my boy. While we did take him to the doctor for a stool culture, I don't want to have to resort to antibiotics again, because they really do a lot more harm that good in the long run. Bennett had started to get sick first, but we've been able to keep his little tummy in check by using Mommy's Bliss probiotic drops. It was a lot easier to use than the Culturelle powders since the boys have totally forgotten how to use bottles since they were switched to EBF last month. So these drops are great. I just wish that they had a dropper top on the bottle instead of a separate dropper.

Either way, they have totally kept Bennett in the clear. He had started to have some diarrhea and I started him on those drops and it cleared up in just a few days. I think it gave his little immune system the boost he needed. I'm not sure what Beau picked up. I've been giving it to him, and he's fighting it off, but the poor guy is fighting  hard. He must have picked up something a little worse. We're waiting on the culture to come back on Beau, but until then a lot of rest and a lot of mommy time is what's doing the trick! Mommy life is so sexy and glamorous, guys.

Anyways, here are my top tips for surviving those dreaded baby blowouts:

• The main trick to surviving baby blowouts is PREPARATION. 
• You need diapers in a variety of sizes. We usually go a size up when we don't have blowout blockers. 
• WHITE onesies are the best for these days. It might seem counterintuitive, but you'll be able to spot the blowout right away, and you can bleach these in the wash without worrying about discoloration. They might stain, but a day out in direct sunlight will bleach it right back to white. I swear by sun-bleaching. 
• Get the best diaper rash cream available. My recommendation is Triple Paste Ointment always. It's be best stuff. Start using it before you see a rash. Make sure you are letting that cute little tush air dry before strapping on the diaper. 
• Start your little guy on a probiotic ASAP. It'll help clear the diarrhea more quickly. 
• Switch to organic wipes, or even just wet wash cloths. You'll be wiping that skin a lot, and it's only going to get more tender. 
• When using bleach to sanitize, know that splashless and color safe bleach are not considered effective. Only the traditional stuff will do the trick. Don't worry too much about discoloration either, I've washed our Rock n Play covers and our carseat pads multiple times and they haven't ever faded or stained. That fabric is incredible. 
• For fabrics that I don't want to wash with bleach, but don't want to toss in the wash with all that bacteria, I use Lysol Max spray. It's made to be used on fabrics. The regular kind works too. 
• Remove onesies over the feet instead of the head. Most of these are made so that you can remove them that way. 

God speed, mamas! 

The Twins' First Halloween

Growing up, I had an awesome mom. If I had one complaint, it would be that Halloween wasn't really a big deal to her. Now as a grown up (or as grown ups would say "an adult"), I see it as more of the pre-party to Christmas season...like if the holidays were a dinner party, Halloween would be drinks. 

A super fun part of the party, but not the main event. Thanksgiving is totally appetizers (whetting your appetite for the main event) and Christmas is dinner AND desserts. New Years is the after dinner limoncello that you DID NOT need, but drank, semi-regret and eventually learn to pass up as you get older. 

Anyways, as a kid Halloween was its own event and I want it to be that way for my boys. I want to start having a lot of traditions that they can look forward to. Carving pumpkins, baking treats, making popcorn balls, and picking out their costumes and me making them. 

Well, since my kiddos were just tiny babies this year, I couldn't really do all of those with them. I mean, obviously I baked treats...and ate them all, but you know what I mean. The babes can't really carve pumpkins with me. But they CAN totally rock an adorable Made with Love by Mommy costume, which they totally did. 

It was my first DIY costume literally EVER, and I think it turned out so great! What do you think? 

For less than $10 at Hobby Lobby I was able to put this together. 

My only materials were felt, yarn, a yarn needle, and my trusty hot glue gun. 

I sewed the edged together by hand with a basic blanket stitch. I really liked the way that that stitch made for a real DIY vibe. It popped in a really cute way! 

All in all, it was a perfect first Halloween costume for my twins. They only wore it for this picture. It was too ridiculously hot in Arkansas to leave them in a felt outfit all day, and my Bacon packed on a few pounds since I originally measured and cut his costume (lesson learned). The hubs had to take a running start to jump in and surprise the boys to get them to smile. But it was so worth it just for this little iPhone picture. (My guys super weird out in front of my Canon.) So happy that I was able to get this tradition started at the very beginning. 

What are your Halloween traditions, or favorite DIY baby costumes?

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