7-Quick Takes

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1.  Today the girls, sis and I will be going to a baby shower!   I can’t even remember the last time I went to a baby shower and it was fun to look at all of the new baby things.  I can’t believe how many new gadgets they have since even eight years ago when Rosie was born!  I decided to get something more practical than sentimental, and so I’m giving a very nice diaper bag, stuffed with newborn diapers and wipers.  I remember when we had our kids, diaper bags always looked like they should be carried by the kid – all the pastel colors and little elephants or bears – which is probably why at first Mr. Pete always carried the bag in front of him with a look of disdain on his face.  Now the bags are quite stylish and even somewhat masculine, although mom could easily carry it too and not worry about it getting dirty or worn looking.  What I really liked about it were all the pockets – you really wouldn’t even need to carry your purse if you didn’t want to.

2.  Izzy made cupcakes for the shower too – and yes, they know they are having a girl!  Pictures forthcoming by the end of the day!

3.  I’ve been listing to a talk by the author of Starting a Micro Business (Micro Business for Teens).  She has some fascinating tips and lots of encouragement for teenagers who want to start their own businesses.  I really want to look into that for Izzy.  Izzy can make jewelry and she can also bake and decorate cakes and cupcakes. Surely she can somehow turn this into an income producing endeavor?

Interestingly, in Ohio, you can indeed sell baked goods from your own kitchen, as long as you label it as made in your private kitchen and list the ingredients.  That’s it!  So it looks like this could be easier than we thought!!

4.  I’ve also been listening to some talks from 2007 from Rhea Perry about how her home school, high school drop out son ended up owning a business that was substantial enough to bring his dad home to work for him!  It’s a great listen and it gave me a bit of encouragement as I enter into a time with my own home school, high school drop out.  At least it’s good to know that other parents have gone through this.

5.  Rhea Perry also talked a lot about affiliate marketing and how her success in that helped her to make her fortune as well.  I have done affiliate marketing on this blog and still do – but I don’t think I will ever make a big fortune at it.  I’m sad to say that my worst experience with affiliate marketing was with a Catholic homeschool vendor – Homeschool Connections.  The first year I was an affiliate for them I got a nice check at the end of the year for about $300.  Last year, I was checking my stats and figured I would be getting a check for at least that before Christmas. Then suddenly the affiliate site went down.  I called several times and heard nothing back.  I made phone calls, face booked and sent e-mails.  I was told that they were working on it and even got a phone call from a Mr. Crawford but I wasn’t there to get the call.  And now I see they aren’t even offering an affiliate program.  So that was disappointing to say the least.  I still have a year subscription to their service, but unless they comp me next year, this will probably be my last year with them as a subscriber.

6. The big thing taking over my thoughts is the colonoscopy I have scheduled for Friday. Apparently the prep I have to do for this is going to consume most of my time and attention starting Thursday!A diet of clear liquids for most of Thursday and then actual prep of laxatives in the late afternoon.  I’m sort of dreading all of that.  I also have to get up at 4:30 a.m. to drink something too because I won’t be allowed to drink anything after  6 a.m. Luckily, I’ll be sleeping most of the day Friday after I wake up from my propofol induced sleep!  I’m just overall not looking forward to this and will be glad when it’s over.

7. A month from now I’ll be looking at the 11th birthday for my stillborn son Raphael – always a bit of a somber time for me.

 I just recently discovered that the author of the book Love you Forever, Robert Munsch, originally wrote the little tune in the book for his own stillborn children.

Eventually he wrote the story around the song and although the plot changed, the sentiment was definitely the same – and I’m one of those moms that can’t get through the book with sobbing.  So much loss in those pages- the loss of our children as they grow up, the loss of a parent through old age and death. But I think the message that the love goes on through the generations is an important one.

Maybe I should stick a copy of this book into the diaper bag gift as well.