Today, it got me thinking... WHO is falling for this stuff? I remember when I first began my life coaching business, Moms Work, it seemed that I ran into one of two "crowds"... The crowd that thought I was a multi-level marketer and resented what they considered a "very clever disguise" of my "true" business... and the crowd that came to my workshops HOPING for a no-experience, no-time, no - investment needed way to bring in 10K a month. Seriously...

Anyway, Duke and I have this "authenticity" thing in common... and it is so refreshing!  But, for these "rediculous promises" sales pages to be so common, they must be working on someone.  I feel extremely sorry for those people truly "betting on" the GET RICH NOW WITH NOTHING REQUIRED OF YOU type of mentality.  Because I know that our income (as entrepreneurs) is a direct reflection of how well we are serving our target market.  Serve more.  Make more.  Serve BETTER.  Make more.  Give first.  GET second.  In business and in life....

Washing laundry for a family of seven is a full-time job. Seriously, I wash at least 3 loads a day, every single day including weekends. That equals, on average, 90 loads of laundry each month. Bleh. If we have a bad day (as we have had LOTS of lately), then a load or two of Little Critters bedding is added. Now that summer is here, it seems the kids do not realize they can hang up and re-use their towels and that bathing suits do not, in fact, need washed every single day. For some reason, Little Critter is obsessed with mud and mess making, so it never fails that the kids' towels end up muddy instead of waiting nicely on the picnic table for their wet bodies to appear.

Now, there is a cozy looking, little bed. Just right for LC. Except its not "just right" in her opinion. In fact, everything about it is ALL WRONG. That would be because her usual bedding is in the wash again, for the second time today and about the billionth time this week.

For Little Critter to sleep, things must occur in a specific order. First the pink blanket, soft and fuzzy side UP, not down as I would put it so the fuzzy snuggles my skin. Oh NO, that can't happen. Next comes the blue blanket. Unless she wants the yellow blanket today, then that one must go IN THE MIDDLE of the pink and blue blankets. Usually, the decision isn't made to sleep with the yellow blanket until the blue one is already on her, so she lifts it up and instructs Mum to "put the yel-wo one right here... in the mid-will". Then she will snuggle down, require her Panda (which looks like it has been through a Tornado, as it's also the cat's favorite toy), then Panda must be covered JUST SO. Next comes the hugs and kisses. In order, on the lips. If I kiss her cheek... it's freak out time, "no, ON THE Wips, MOM! Kiss my Wips!". Once I hit the door you can bet she is calling me back in because I forgot one of her hugs and kisses, or mine weren't just right.

You can imagine that putting a child such as this to bed without her proper blankets causes issues. When I tell her that they are in the washing machine because she (fill in choice of phrases here: pee'd, rubbed bloody nose all over, vomited) on her bedding AGAIN. She responds with, "get 'hem outta wash". I try to explain that they are wet and she cannot sleep with them until they are dry again. This gets us no where. Lesson to Mom, wash FASTER. If I am lucky, at least one of the usual blankets has survived the most recent mess and I can attempt to soothe her with that.

Mom is a Laundress. Got it. Did I mention that my washing machine, now 8 years old (it was my crazy pregnant woman MUST HAVE prior to the birth of my first child) is on the fritz? Maybe fritz is putting it lightly. I walked into the laundry room and stood in water the other day. 'Nuff said. Also the AC needs repaired and the dishwasher no longer cleans. Huh, talk about pouring when it rains. I'm drooling over the Red LG Steam Washer and Dryer, although not sure that's going to happen with everything else crapping out at the same time. Oregon Dad ALMOST gave in to CHARGING the appliances. Hopefully we can avoid that.

Evidently, Mom is also a Short-Order Cook. For breakfast today, I decided the kiddos would have eggs since I was already making them for Oregon Dad's Bagel/egg/sausage breakfast sandwich. So I made them, omelet style. Very pretty and folded just right. K3 loves hers smothered with Organic Ketchup, K1 only likes a little ketchup. After enjoying their eggs, K1 wants a bagel, toasted with cream cheese and K3 wants applesauce with cinnamon. Then Little Critter wants no eggs, just a bagel and yes, it can have cream cheese on it as well. K2 finally crawls out of bed. No eggs for her either, but she'll have a bagel with BUTTER, no cream cheese, meanwhile, K3 has decided that she wants something "like a bagel" since we are out of GF bagels around here. I said the only thing I have is GF pancakes or toast. So, she has a pancake with REAL Maple syrup. Now K1, K2 and LC would also like applesauce with cinnamon. Just as I'm ready to sit down, LC decides she also requires some cereal. By this point, I was sure they were all full... she was very insistent so finally I gave her a small bowl and faced the fits when she asked for a refill.

I thought we were all having EGGS for breakfast. But then, what do I know, I'm just the cook. :) I do love to remind the kids, when they are whining about breakfast... how lucky they are. I ask them, "how many of your friends get fresh blueberry muffins (or pancakes, eggs, waffles, etc...) on school mornings?" That usually quiets them down for oh, about five minutes. Why do they appreciate the nasty, chemical laden cinnamon rolls the school offers over Moms good food?

Stay tuned, I'm attempting REAL Donuts, Gluten Free style this weekend. Should be interesting! Oregon Dad's response was "great, so we are getting hockey pucks for breakfast?".