Easter is right around the corner. And with it, a time when gifts are sometimes given. Even if you aren't into that sort of thing, it is never to early to get started with your holiday gift buying!
Thanks to being a part of the parent blogger program, I am able to share information about SmitCo.
Quality, affordable gifts for girls ages 2 to 12. SmitCo LLC has several
different diaries with lock and keys and diary sets for girls in Emoji
and Diva themes, as well as several different nail art sets to provide
hours of fun.
A huge hit is the brand new Mermaid themed scrapbook kit as well as 3 unique princess dress up sets.
SmitCo products also include rose gold, gold or rhodium plated jewelry
and sets, as well as very popular stretch sets for little girls - all
packed in cute gift boxes.
Find all the great products here:
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We trust you will find some or all gifts here for the princesses on your list!
My readers get to save!
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Life has its ups and downs. Mostly downs. Valleys. It makes us appreciate the view at the mountaintops more. But they can certainly be difficult to navigate. Especially when they interfere with the life you are setting up for your family.
In the past 3 weeks alone, so much has happened in my life. My great grandmother passed away. I moved into a new apartment. My dad visited from Florida. My fiancé was in a car accident - thankfully he was able to walk away, but the car was totaled. Two days later, I was laid off due to a reduction in workforce in the company.
I feel like I'm barely taking time to breathe. I tackle one task, one problem at a time. Tomorrow, I leave for Louisiana to say my final goodbye to my Nana. I look forward to it and dread it all at once. I have missed my parents and siblings and will be glad to see them. My mother will be meeting my baby girl for the first time. On the other hand, I dread having to face the reality that my Nana is truly gone. That its time to say goodbye. To move on. No matter how long I knew it was coming, I still wasn't quite ready for this. For the moment when her laughter, her fun-loving spirit, her heirloom stories would suddenly stop. But I have to accept that she is now no longer in pain as well. She has been suffering for so long. Physically and mentally. Her only child passed away, her sister has been suffering memory loss, her only nephew passed away, and all her other family members lived in other states. Those she had "helping" her, stole from her. Took advantage of her. A woman who worked hard all her life. Who gave so much to everyone else, but asked for so little. A woman who lived an amazing story and gave me the drive to excel as she did... She's now gone. My heart will always hurt. A hole will always remain where she was. And my memories of her will always be bittersweet. Its like looking through a broken glass. The view is distorted. Mixed emotions. Unclear depictions of the past. I have to piece some of it back together, while being mindful that it won't be 100%. I'm in a valley, but looking forward to that mountain top.
Her obituary as written by the woman who loved her best, my Mother:
To often life escapes us. We are born with no say in the matter and then 1 day, the end reaches us. It truly is what is in between that matters in history. Here we look at the life of Bonita Mouhart. She was born in 1934 during a depression. She lived through WW2. She learned the value of a dollar through sacrifice. She saw different automobiles, televisions come to everyone's homes, and men go to the moon. She saw phones come and then turn into what we have today. Not to mention all the progress in the medical field. She has seen countless friends and family pass through this life to go to the next. She had a great faith in God the Creator. She loved her fellow man (even when they mistreated her). Her last years she had the joy of sharing her one and only son's final years with him. After he passed, she looked forward to going to live with him for eternity. She didn't complain much and lived a very simple life. But the most remarkable accomplishment in her life was from this one woman came forth 26 people to date. She was very interested in her large family. Each new addition made her happy. She will be missed but never forgotten! The love and life lessons will be passed down from generation to generation.
There are few things I greatly pride myself on in life. But today I can say I have another thing to add to my list of accomplishments. I was the editor for International Best Seller, Mark Villareal's, new book.
The title, Leadership Lessons From Mom, says a lot. He takes great pride in quoting lessons he learned over his life time from his mother. And while doing so, he ties everything together to show applications towards business.
I loved the correlations and portrayals of how these lessons came to be told and how they related to situations he encountered later in life. His mother truly had a wonderful mind for business, but great care for her children as well. I enjoyed reading and editing Mark's book. I would suggest this as a must read for Moms, for business women, and those who enjoyed Mark's first book, Shortcuts Get You Lost!
But don't take my opinion. Check it out for yourself. You can read a sample chapter on Amazon. It is available for purchase on Amazon as well as Barnes & Noble.
Today's society has gone down a very crooked and crazy path. Morals are thrown out the window while caution and care are things of the past. We rush through life. We blame others for the shortcomings we face.
In the business world, its all about money. Push until they collapse, is the business motto I think my own employer should embrace. Better yet, maybe companies should compile personnel requirements outside of work. Here's what I mean....
I work for a sales company. 8-5, Monday - Friday. Sales is all about money. The more, the merrier. For the owners at least. Doesn't matter how much I bring in to the company as I'm only an administrative assistant to one of their Million Dollar Producers.
That life doesn't compliment the personal side of my life. I have 4 kids. Oldest one is 8 years old. His school expects me to read to him every night, do several pages of homework every night, have him read to me, while also getting him to bed by 7:30 PM so he won't be too tired for school the next day. Normally, I get home a little before or right at 6 PM. I have an hour and a half to do the following:
Reading (most nights my fiancé has their homework done before I get home)
Serve dinner (same as above, my fiancé tries to have dinner made by the time I get home)
Cleanup the dinner mess
Brush teeth and get everyone bathed
Make their lunches/snacks for school the next day (they have to tell me what they want)
And a final bedtime story.
This is not how it should be. And then I still get notes from the school that my oldest is failing first grade. That I'm not helping him enough. I need to read more and work harder with him at his homework. I'm sorry that the teacher isn't getting these done enough with him while she has him for 8 hours a day, but I also don't have enough time to cram more into him. Besides, by time I get home, he's dead tired and ready to eat and sleep. That's why its a fight to finish his homework.
I know I'm not the only parent out there with these issues. More studies are being done that show how this is a failing system. Kids aren't getting time with their parents. If they are like my kids, they probably watch their parents run errands or clean house on the weekends since they had no time during the week to. Studies also show that business people these days are burnt out from 8 hour days at work by the time they reach Wednesday. They also quit at an alarming rate because of the demands from their workplace. Taking time off is considered a hardship on the company and is frowned upon. My employer doesn't allow you to call in on the first, 15th, or last Friday of the month. My supervisor even told me that I needed to avoid taking off Mondays and Fridays. Understandable for business reasons, but it adds stress of trying to fit outside life into those guidelines. Job burn out causes people to stress more, have higher likeliness of illness, depression, and ultimately throwing in the towel. Some companies are seeing that lessening the workweek, say a 4 day workweek, has increased their productivity and overall happiness of their employees. Less vacation and sick days are taken. People have that day to take care of doctors appointments, take longer weekend trips, and spend time with loved ones. Amazon is one of those companies. I loved working my 10 hour days 4 days a week. If it weren't for my back problems, I'd still be there. The environment was great. They pushed everyone to care for themselves and well-being in order to, not care for the company, but to care for those they provide a paycheck for. Amazon leaders told their employees to watch themselves and do all they could to stay healthy. Not so that they would not miss work so much and cause hardship on the company. They did so while reminding everyone that if we missed time, we lose pay. We lose pay, we lose out on providing for our families. That is what companies are failing to do these days. Forget about telling your employees that they are a burden if they miss a day. Your employees don't care about that. Especially when you rake in millions-billions every year regardless. Remind me that my family is depending on me. Tell me that my paycheck is important to keep us afloat. That's what I need to hear to push myself. Give me one more day during the week to take care of those needs I otherwise have to avoid... and you have yourself a happier woman who is willing to drive herself to exhaustion to make it work.
So here is what I suggest. Companies should reevaluate the demands and amount of time they make people work each week. OR only hire single individuals, with no children, no outside life, and a love of money. Because people like me just don't fall into the guidelines of success they write otherwise.
