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Being an Entrepreneur is About Being All In

Owning your own business requires that you be all in. You want to be successful? You have to commit. It’s not for the faint of heart. And early on you realize that it’s a whole family affair. From accommodating non-traditional work schedules to hosting clients for dinner, everyone is involved.

It’s things like running some forgotten papers to the office on the way to the kid’s science classes. Taking calls while we’re on a family outing. Planning vacation around work deadlines. And lots of late nights.

Since we love football, and football is on my mind, with the superbowl coming up – which btw, is a great time to have friends and business associates over – it’s easy for me to come up with a football illustration. The beginning of the football season I was listening to an interview on tv and the player had a quote that I wrote on my kid’s marker board. “The Success is in the Struggle”. It’s something I remind my kids of when they’re having a tough day in school. And it’s something I’ve had to apply to being an entrepreneur. When things get hard, I remind myself that we’re in this for the long haul, it’s not about everything being smooth, it’s about learning what can be learned from the struggles and coming out successful in the end.

Or like Thomas Edison said – he’s also on my mind because my 4th grader is studying him this week – “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10000 ways that won’t work”. It’s learning to look at “failures” not as failures but as something learned and an opportunity to use that experience and improve on it next try.

So, we do our best work and if it doesn’t work out, we learn from it and try again because truly success doesn’t happen when it’s easy, success comes from trying again when it’s hard.

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Kitchfix Grain Free Granola Review and Giveaway

I received this product free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own. This post does contain affiliate links.

I was excited to try out these two varieties of Kitchfix Grain Free Granola. Original Mix and Honey Pecan.

I like to take granola and trail mix along with me when I’m out and about with the kids and to our coop every week. The catch is, I can’t bring peanuts. I’m not allergic but over half of the places I go with my children are “peanut free” so I try to follow the rules.

Trail mix is hard to find without peanuts or peanut butter so I’ve been trying out different granolas. I like both varieties of the Kitchfix granola that I tried. As an added bonus they’re grain free – certified paleo. I can eat grains just fine, so what that really means for me is that this granola has lots of awesome things in it. Like nuts, raisins, seeds, and coconut flakes. It’s sweetened with maple syrup and the Honey Pecan is sweetened with maple syrup and honey. And it’s nut just filled out with oats or other grains.

The original mix is very lightly sweetened. Which I love. I try to limit my sugar intake so a hearty granola that’s barely sweetened is perfect.

For something a little sweeter. The Honey Pecan is delicious. My 9 yr old loves this one even though she won’t eat the original mix because she says it isn’t sweet enough.

My younger kids won’t eat it because they don’t like nuts – which for some reason seems normal for my young kids, my 9 yr old just started liking them. The nuts in these granolas are nice and crunchy but not too hard.

The top of the bag is resealable and it’s perfect for bringing along in the car, baby’s diaper bag, lunch box, etc.

Because there’s so many nuts in this granola I find that it’s rather filling and I don’t have to eat a lot of it at one time.

I’m really enjoying these granolas and will be purchasing more when my free packages run out. They are exactly the kind of granola/snack that I want to have on hand for when I need a little something – or if I forget to pack myself a lunch.

They’re delicious and nutritious! Enter below for a chance to win a Kitchfix Grain-Free Granola Bundle and try these for yourself.

Win a Kitchfix Grain-Free Granola Bundle #3

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An Entrepreneur’s Wife

My husband has always dreamed of owning his own company, and always had his own little business that we just earned extra income from. So, a few years ago he decided to go out fully on his own and start a company. A couple of years in and he loves being an entrepreneur. I love it too, and since by now it’s fully integrated into our family life, I think it’s time to do a blog series on what it looks like to own a company, homeschool, and keep up with 4 kids.

Let’s cover a couple of ground rules:

  1. This isn’t for the faint of heart – it’s a lot of work. Hubby works 80 hr work weeks and I log a lot of hours as well. Because I work with him that means that I know what’s going on. I know if things are going well, if a client isn’t happy, etc. This is how we make money to live and knowing all the details is scary at times.
  2. It requires boundaries – Dinner turns into an executive meeting, “going out” is a dinner with clients, and pillow talk is all about how to draft the latest client agreement. We’ve had to find the line and draw it, because the kids need our attention too. We need to hear about their day at dinner, return home more relaxed after we go out, and actually be proactive about our kids needs.
  3. My to-do list is ridiculous – It reads something like: new stair rail, e-mail accountant, make banana muffins, find new math curriculum, food for office meeting, check on insurance, find flower girl dresses, review book on blog. Seriously, it’s impossible to keep up with multiple to-dos so everything ends up on one big list and it all has to happen at once. Just get used to it. Especially since I work from home, all my stuff is overlapping.

As crazy as things can get, there’s just something to be said for going out on your own. Because it’s not just “Daddy” going to work every day and coming home at night. It’s a whole family affair. From a family dinner with a client’s family, to business discussions at dinner, to my kids watching me work, to the kids helping me clean the office. It’s really shown my kids that work isn’t this isolated thing that Daddy does 8 hours every day, it’s something that you choose, you make it your own, and it’s just part of life. They keep asking when they get to work!

I love what we do, and love that as the kids get older they’ll get to be more involved as well and we’ll make it more of a whole family thing.

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Death at Thorburn Hall – Review

I received this book free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed Julianna Deering‘s latest mystery, Death at Thorburn Hall. This is number six in the series and does not disappoint. If you’re looking for a great murder mystery series the Drew Farthering Mystery series is terrific.

Once again Drew Farthering, Madeline Farthering, and their friend Nick find themselves right in the middle of an adventure.

The three friends are visiting for a fun weekend at the British Open only to find themselves confronted with a puzzling murder.

The police are as puzzled as Drew. At first it looks like there are no suspects and then everyone is a suspect. Who did it? Why did they do it? and can Drew get to the bottom of this mystery before someone else is killed?

This book was easy to read, and hard to put down. Perfect for when you just want to relax with a good book.

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Powerpuff Party

I received this product free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own. Thanks to Tryazon and 3Doodler for the awesome party package!

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We had lots of fun with our 3Doodler Powerpuff kit! The kids liked the idea of creating their own Powerpuff character. However, in reality, we ended up with a bunch of pieces and a whole lot of eyes.

We love the original 3Doodler pens and my kids have spent hours designing things with theirs. And while I hope to one day finish my Powerpuff character, the character mold requires a lot of plastic and more time than I have at the moment. I managed to get 2 eyes done and then had to go do something else and when I returned the kids had removed my eyes and started their own project. So, I made 2 more eyes and it happened again. One day when I have time, I’ll do a whole Powerpuff girl without interruption.

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The kit comes with instructions, a pen, a head mold, and a few other forms. The head mold is larger than it looks and it took me basically an entire piece of plastic to do the black in the eyes. So, it takes a really long time to get all that plastic on there. The kids were pretty good at making accessories and they even managed an eye, the old kid at the party was 9 and even she lost interest before the project was completed.

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I really feel like this amount of detail is going to work better with older kids and adults.

While making the Powepuff girls is quite difficult, all the kids loved using the other round molds to make things like eyeglasses, hats, and such.

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All that to say, we had lots of fun making accessories, just didn’t get any actual Powerpuffs made. The box says 8+ for the age, which is pretty accurate, in my opinion. We just didn’t have enough time at the party for everyone to try it and to actually make a Powerpuff. However, sometime after the holidays are over and I have some free time, I’m going to sit down and make a Powerpuff or two because it really is lots of fun and they look so cute!

You can get your own kits from amazon:

Get the starter kit if you need a pen: or the activity kit will do if you already have a pen:

This post does contain affiliate links.

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Thankfulness with Kids

I received this product free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

Gratefulness, for kids, and adults, can be difficult. Each evening over dinner we ask our kids 4 questions. What made you happy today? What made you sad today? What did you do for someone today? and What did someone do for you today? Without fail, answering the last question is the hardest thing they have to do all day. It’s not that something wasn’t done for them today. I mean, I made them all breakfast and we continued on from there. It’s that they fail to recognize all the things that people help them with throughout the day. And they’re not grateful.

So, I started this post before Thanksgiving, because I like to focus more on gratefulness with my children. More than usual that is, gratefulness is an ongoing process. But then, you know, life happened. So I’m just now finishing it up.

  1. I really love asking my kids “What did someone do for you today”, it makes them think about what they’ve been helped with and realize that yes, it was really nice of my sister to carry my backpack into the house for me. It’s a good question at the end of the day as we reflect back as a family on how their day has gone.
  2. Making kids do chores makes them way more grateful for what I do around the house. My kids hate cleaning the kitchen, but, after having to take on some kitchen duties, because of the new baby, my 9 and 6 year old are way more appreciative of a clean kitchen that they didn’t clean.
  3. Giving is a great way for the kids to learn to be more grateful. We participate in our Church’s Thanksgiving baskets and also the Angel tree. This year we picked up some tags for shoes for some local children. It was actually mind blowing to my kids to realize that some kids don’t have access to new shoes whenever they need/want them. It’s important to talk about the blessings that we have and how important it is for us to give to others in need.
  4. Family Honor Plate – In the interest of fostering gratefulness in my kids this year, I was super excited to review this Honor plate.

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It comes in this box, with the paint, brushes, and stand in there as well. Basically, you pain the plate, let it dry, and then bake it to set the paint, then it’s ready to use.

Step #1 MOM AND DAD – BE THE EXAMPLE. BE THE ROLE-MODEL:

The virtues are listed in the center of the plate for mom and dad to use as their anchor, their moral compass to guide them in how they need to show up for and to their children. This is how our children learn what character (Christ’s Character) is, what it looks like, what it feels like. Our children are watching us and learning from us.

Step #2 BE ON THE LOOKOUT:

Look for the good choices and attitude your kids/spouse are making and showing throughout the day. Track it back to the virtues and character it shows.

Step #3 CELEBRATE THEIR CHARACTER:

Turn dinnertime into a celebration when you catch someone making good choices and showing good character and present their meal on the FAMILY HONOR PLATE. This is when you:

· Talk about the choices they made and the virtues and character that it showed (Be specific).

· Talk about how they made everyone involved feel and the impact they had on people and how that is POWERFUL and BEAUTIFUL.

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We divided the plate into 3 sections, and each child got to paint a section. I love how their styles are so different! And then the next night we got a chance to use the plate. My 9yr old is singing in the children’s Christmas choir at Church and has tried out for the past 3 years for a solo part and just not been good enough. So, each year she’s worked hard to improve her singing. And this year she finally got a solo part. I was told that she really earned her spot in that she couldn’t carry a tune 3 years ago and has significantly improved to where she can keep up with the choir and sing a solo with a mike.

I praised her for her perseverance, which is really a combo of patience and self-control. And she was so excited to be recognized for all her hard work. The choir sings this Sunday and I can’t wait to see how she does!

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I was also sent a set of Table Thyme Discussion cards. They have some great questions like, “what do you like most about weekends?” or “Tell a funny story about someone at the table”. These are great for dinner conversations and my kids can’t wait to see what the next question is. I’ve even caught them doing these questions together on their own.

Every question is followed up with “Why?” to take everyone’s answers to a deeper more intimate level. It’s not just what do you like to do on weekends? It’s also tell me why you like to do that. Have we done that before and you have a fun memory? Or has a friend done it and told you about it? These questions encourage you to hear more than just the answer, but to hear why a particular family member thinks or feels this way.

Often I ask one question and we spend all of dinner talking about it, and other nights we go through 5 or 6 questions before we hit one that really sparks conversation.

I’ve also learned some really interesting things about my children. Like how they would respond if someone was upset – which was not at all what I was expecting – or what they think I do all day. These questions are so much fun and there’s enough of them in this set to just keep going through them over and over.

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You can purchase these items online at the Family Honor Plate website. These are terrific products if you’re looking to intentionally enhance family time.

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Our Ozobot Party

I received this product free from Tryazon for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

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I received two Ozobots for free to host an Ozobot party. These things were way more awesome than I expected! First off, the color “coding” is really easy. In this picture, you can see one of the kids picking from the code bank to give directions to the Ozobot or “Bot”, which is what the kids named it.

The Ozobot package comes with the Ozobot, puzzle cards, markers, and a charging cable. My party kit also included a few experience packs which were papers with paths and other coding ideas for the Ozobot.

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As soon as I got it out the kids swarmed to it. The adults had to wait until later to try out Bot and his friend. They pulled out the markers and had no problem making paths to tell the Ozobot what to do.

Bot also plays games. Cover the four sensors to cycle through them. My kids favorite is where the Bot follows their hand when they hold it near the Ozobot. It can also run away and play music. So much fun!

And as if this wasn’t enough. There’s even an Ozobot app. It’s super easy to connect your Ozobot to the app, in fact, it practically does it itself. There’s games and other ways to interact with your Ozobot. I tested out the app before my party. I wasn’t really comfortable handing my iPad to a large group of kids so they had to stick with markers and paper for the party.

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Eventually the kids headed off to do other things and the adults got to try their hand at the Ozobots. They’re so much fun for adults and kids!

If you want to purchase your own at Ozobot.com use code OzobotParty1517 for 15% off your puchase. These would make an awesome gift!

 

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ESV Illuminated Bible – Review and Giveaway

I received this Bible free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

About

The ESV Illuminated Bible places the full ESV text alongside over 500 elegantly hand-lettered gold ink illustrations by renowned artist Dana Tanamachi. Printed on thick cream-colored paper, the Bible’s single-column text setting and wide margins provide generous space for additional notes, prayers, and designs—inviting readers to creatively engage with and reflect on the beauty of God’s Word.

• 9-point, Lexicon

• Black letter text

• 2-color printing

• 64 full-page, custom book opener illustrations

• 50 full-page verse illustrations

• 250+ hand-lettered margin verses

• 100+ other illustrations throughout

• Illustrated by Dana Tanamachi, whose work has been featured by Google, The Wall Street Journal, Random House, USPS, and Target

• Thick, cream-colored paper

• Wide margins

• Single-column, paragraph format

• Smyth-sewn binding

• Packaging: Permanent Slipcase

• Dana Tanamachi is an American lettering artist, graphic designer, and illustrator whose exquisite typographic murals ignited the worldwide chalk-lettering trend. She has been commissioned by clients such as Instagram, Target, Google, Time Magazine, Nike, and West Elm.

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Review

I have trouble writing in books but this Bible encourages you to write in the margins. I like that there are illustrations already there, so I’m less intimidated at the thought of making notes in my Bible. I love that this Bible is ESV, since that is my favorite version, and while I just haven’t convinced myself to write in the Bible yet, I’m getting close. In fact, I may let my 9 year old break it in for me since she loves to highlight, underline, and make notes when she reads.

In my opinion, this makes a great family Bible where everyone is encouraged to make notes, illustrations, etc for the entire family to enjoy.

The paper is thick so it’s designed for writing on. The illustrations in the Bible are gorgeous. Even if I never end up writing in it, it’s still a beautiful book to read, and I just love beautiful books. Because of the thicker paper it’s a bit too heavy to easily carry to Church with me, so it’s more of a family Bible or study Bible.

I’m just loving this ESV Illustrated Bible and the interaction it encourages!

You can purchase these at Amazon or check out the Illuminated Bible website.

How We Made the ESV Illuminated Bible from Crossway on Vimeo.

And I get to give away a copy of this ESV Illuminated Bible to one of my readers! Enter below for your chance to win.

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Where We Belong – Review

I received this book free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

Where We Belong by Lynn Austin was an intriguing read about two sisters who grew up in Victorian age American but preferred adventure and travel in defiance of the expected social rules of the day.

In this story of adventure and challenge you follow two sisters, Rebecca and Flora as they search for an important manuscript. You’ll learn about why they’re here, how they got here, and be inspired by their love of adventure.

This book reads a lot like a historical fiction, which I found confusing at first until I found out that the author was inspired by a true story of two sisters who found an important manuscript. While this book is not historical fiction and really only takes the topic from actual history, it’s still very fun to think about how those women may actually have discovered things.

I enjoyed reading about Rebecca and Flora’s journeys to different places, and the dangers, the friends, and the adventures they encountered on their way.

This post does contain affiliate links.

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What Different About Four?

So, is it different having four? Is it harder with four? What’s it like having four? Are you done? The most common questions I’ve been asked since having my fourth child. All basically the same question. How has having four changed my life?

First off, yes, it is different having four, because, obviously, there is one more, so it’s different. Is the fourth child different, yes, because every child is different.

Is it harder with four? Yes, and, no. Four has a different set of challenges than 3, so currently, it’s harder than it was a year ago. However, it’s easier than it was 4 years ago when my third came along. There’s some significant family differences that make this the case.

My oldest three are 2.5 years apart each, meaning, when my third child was born, my oldest was just 5 and my middle was 2.5. So I had a brand new kindergartner, a toddler, and an infant. I was honestly a model parent until my third came along. Whether it’s because he’s a boy or just the combo of child, toddler, infant, is tough, I’m not sure. But with him, model parenting went out the window.

For example – my 4yr old waltzed through Target today in his socks (and I was lucky he had those on) because his feet were “too itchy” after football practice. Two children ago, those shoes would have been on the feet. Now, I’m like, it’s not wet out, it’s not cold out, and his feet won’t get dirty, so let’s just roll with the socks.

The distance between my kids is different. My youngest is 4 years younger than the sibling above him, so I have no toddlers. Now, I have 3 children and 1 infant. My oldest is 9 and loves to help with the baby. The 6yr old and 4yr old help as much as they can as well. I am dragging the infant along to every dance practice, every football game, and every activity (kid and adult). Luckily, he’s super laid back and actually loves all the activity. Doing all this with an infant is more challenging than without, but it’s also way less challenging than life was with a young child, toddler, and infant.

You have to realize, he’s the only child I have to buckle in the car. Everyone else does their own buckling. That’s about 20 minutes less time I spend getting in the car, compared to 4 years ago when my third child was born and I was buckling everyone myself.

All that to say. Adding the fourth was not harder than adding the third. My third child has been my hardest baby so far. But this is mostly due to other sibling’s ages and has little to do with the baby.

What’s it like having four? It’s awesome. We have so much fun. The baby is never bored – actually, except for this week of fall break. We stayed home one whole entire day and he didn’t know what to do with himself. He’ll literally sleep anywhere – except his crib in the middle of the day.

With sibling to entertain him, I still get to do important mommy things like shower alone, and eat lunch (most of the time). And with only him keeping me up at night (except for my husband when he snores), I am actually able to get a reasonable amount of sleep – and I can get a nap when needed. “If you disturb me, you’re taking a nap too” is a great way to ensure that children play quietly so I can nap. Because, no matter how tired a child is, they do not want a nap.

And with a 9 and 6 year old, I have someone to talk to during the day – you know, actual conversation. So my postpartum emotions haven’t been too bad this time. Not that mine were ever that bad, but this one is the best so far.

Are you done? Um, I’m sleep deprived, still physically recovering, experiencing postpartum emotions, the post pregnancy hair loss is starting (pretty sure this is my least favorite part about postpartum recovery), and I’m trying to figure out how to get my stomach back in shape for a wedding I’m attending in the spring. No, I’m never, ever, having another child. Honestly, give me about a year and then ask, because I might look like I have it all together right now, but I’m really just taking it one day at a time and hoping that most of them work out for us.