I thought I would share this with the soon to be mummies because I sure wished someone did when I had Chloe some 7 yrs ago. Being a new mother – although I was then 39 – I was still paranoid and panicky when it comes to looking after Chloe. When Chloe’s grammie said that she should go into her own bedroom – I cried buckets – because I felt that I was abandoning my baby. And let me tell you if you fell that way – it’s normal – it’s the hormones going crazy. So if you are a new and soon to be mummy – I strongly suggest you get those video monitor that allows you to watch your baby sleeping in her/his room while you do other things or even when you are sleeping. So that you don’t have to feel that you need to be able to see the baby every second. That kind of monitor is the the best baby video monitor because it allows you to talk to your baby, watch your baby and listen to your baby. Had I known that there was such technology then – I would have bought it for sure. Now that would have saved me my sanity and probably made me less stressed. So there – my advice to soon – to be mummies and first time mummies – buy that video monitor – it would do you and your spouse a ton of goodness.
Mini Vacation Gone Wrong
So we just got back from our mini – vacation to the city – and boy! was it a worrisome vacation. Our friend said I’m a worrywart but how can I not be – when the car was having trouble and our safety was in question. I was so looking forward to this mini-vacation because it had been 6 months since I had gone up to the city to savor my Japanese food and dim sum. And even though I did get to eat one meal sit down dinner at a Japanese restaurant and some dim sum – I know that PB wasn’t really enjoying it – nor was Chloe – because all the time during our mini-vacation – she said she wanted fish and chips *slap forehead*. We also lost some shopping time because we were out searching for a garage to look at our car – and our hotel room wasn’t the best at first but the hotel staff were excellent and tried their best to make our stay a great one. I had wanted to stay for another day – to get the car looked at first and also to get some more shopping done – but in the end – PB decided to come back on the schedule date *sigh*. So I rushed to get a few things done and get as much chinese food as I can get and then came back. All the way – praying for journey mercy from God. What a vacation!
Doing Business In Canada
Being in business for almost 12 years this year in a small town in Canada can be quite challenging but the spouse loves his retail store and as owner by association – I just play the supportive role and watch out for anything that can improve our business, our store and of course making the customers happy.
The store had been using a program written by a friend of the spouse and in most part it is an alright point of sale software but we know that at some point of time we are going to need a software that keeps better inventory than the one we are currently using. It would be awesome to be able to do inventory on a monthly basis with a bar-code scanner like the big retail stores – not with printed papers and pen since our inventory is growing so rapidly. Plus we also have a ebay store that we are doing a trial on – to see if it is feasible to move some products online. It’s alright if you are working alone but if you have employees – it is definitely much more effective to have a good POS system – more accurate, more systematic.
I told the spouse that at some point – we will have to do all the above not only because of ourselves but to be able to serve the customers better as well. And with a professional POS system, we can then go for long vacations without worrying about whether the employees can cope with doing inventory work the way we used to do them. 12 years in business is no easy feat – and to keep everything organized gets even harder without a good POS system – I think it’s time to call in the professionals eh.
Re-Organizing Our Study Room
We spent yesterday re-organizing the papers from the store that were store in our study room for the longest time. We have a closet full of documentation for the last 7 years from the store – because that is what we are supposed to do – according to revenue Canada. I told PB that he should get that software for document management – that way – everything is being stored in the hard-drive and we can store the paperwork in the basement or can throw those that are older than 7 years away. Of course, we are going to keep the ones from the last 2 – 3 years – but a closet full of documents – receipts and more – you can imagine – how much we had to do yesterday just to re-organized them. But truly, I would like to turn our study room into a guest room once our basement is finally done and we have a study in the basement again. For anyone with any amount of paperwork you have to keep – you really need that software – it will safe you a lot of space and time – that’s for sure.
A Gift For Chloe’s Teacher
May is already here and the school year will be coming to an end really soon. Each year – we try to show our appreciation to Chloe’s teacher for all that they have done for her and this year it will be no difference. I’m sure teacher gift from students is common but we don’t want to just give a mug or a box of chocolate – we would like to give her teachers something that they can remember her by and something really useful. Besides the regular personalize note pad that we made for Chloe’s teachers yearly from a printer shop in town – we will have to think of something else to give her. I cannot express how grateful we are to Chloe’s teacher – for taking care of her and giving Chloe so much confidence in her reading – Chloe has definitely done so much better in the last 1.5 years. Plus we also need to get some gifts for her after school program teachers as well. Therefore, I need to start now to buy the presents and not wait till the last minute.
Umbrellas Don’t Work Here
It had been raining a lot here – and for years, we’ve tried all sorts of umbrellas but they don’t work – because PB gets all upset – that the umbrella is just not strong enough for the wind and he claims that it gets blown away. So for years, we haven’t really bought any umbrella except for the few that we’ve had sparingly – that always end up somewhere – like the garbage in the basement. So the other day, I saw some very cheap rain coat from the dollar store and picked one up for her because I saw one of her school friend wearing it. Chloe liked it a lot and it did the trick to shield her away from the water – while walking into school from the car. As for PB – it was so cheap – he didn’t really protest – because to him – little rain is nothing – but he doesn’t know that it’s so irritating to be wet. Yes! he rather get wet than to wear a rain coat.
Spring Weddings
Spring weddings are so beauty – don’t you think? we’ve just attended one of a close friend and it was absolutely beautiful – despite the fact that the weather was still a bit too chilly for our liking. But the bride was beautiful and the designer bridesmaid dresses were to die for! I told PB that had I known that the bridemaid dresses were so gorgeous – I would have begged to be one of the bride’s maid – hahhaha!! But it was a beautiful wedding and everything was perfect – even the wedding cake were yummy and gorgeous. The bride and groom served us the wedding cake themselves and it was definitely a very nice gesture. The couple was the sweetest and I wish them happiness always.
The Birthday Boy! My Ex-Boss
My ex-boss was from Greece but migrated to Spain because he fell in love with a lovely woman from Spain – and I do keep in touch with him – because he treated me really well – during the 3 yrs I worked with him. He was always fair to me – and never treated me like an employee and I had the same benefits as the engineers in our company. From traveling to expenditures – I was able to claim just about anything the engineers claimed. His birthday is round the corner and I know he like cigars for he always gets a box when he flies from one place to another for work – I’ve never seen someone who knows so much about cigars like him. My ex-boss – dear Mr Hernandez is turning 70 this year and I am going to get him some middleton black and mild cigars this year for his birthday, I hope he likes it and why try to stop the man at this age from enjoying something he liked so much right? And I do like the smell of cigar as compared to regular cigarettes. Happy birthday! Mr Hernandez.
Cute Beanie For Chloe
I finally found some cute beanie for Chloe and at very good price too !! Only $13 !!!! usually I try to get them from Etsy – but thus far they are far too small or the colors isn’t what we expected – quite disappointing when you have to pay so much for something eh. So I saw some on Kangol and loved the beanie there – and another hat too – for Chloe but I’ll get the beanie for – and it’s going be cold for a few more months – so she can still wear them. And because it is so cheap – I am going to get some for Christmas present for the end of the year – for some of Chloe’s friends – very practical and definitely worth every penny spent if the kids make use of it for months. I just love cute beanies for Chloe because she won’t get any younger and we all know that when they grow older they won’t want to wear cute stuff anymore – so I’m making the best out of the little girl years I have in her.
Princess Tea Party
The Princess Tea Party is organized by the Children’s Wish Foundation – and I’m sure you all know what they are. This year I decided that we will bring Chloe for the Princess Tea Party – after all, she isn’t getting any younger and you know how kids are – after a certain age – they don’t want to dress up as princesses anymore – they want to be all grown up. So yes ! at 7 yrs old – I think she is old enough to enjoy it. The tickets are expensive and a parent need to be there with them – they made it clear that they are not babysitting for you (so said the ticket seller). We bought our tickets today – after talking with Grampie and making him sponsor Chloe’s ticket. Now we have to think of her costume for the party – and since it isn’t halloween – I might have a hard time finding her the right costume. Chloe just informed me that her tiara is too small for her – so I might get some beads and other tiara stuff online and make my own tiara for her.
If you are wondering why there are so many tickets – it’s because I’ve round up a few friends and their princesses to go together with us. I’m very excited about the party – but chloe – she is so – so excited. She is more busy trying to get her pirate ship going – hahah! The party is in April at the hotel in town – cupcakes and tea will be provided. Can’t wait to take a ton of pictures.