A Natural Home

The WAHM or work at home mom used to be an unusual thing, but with so many mommies starting little internet sites selling this and that, it is becoming the “in” thing.

Working Mother Magazine contacted us (or rather me) about doing an article about our cottage based company, and I began to realize that I am not a work at home mom any more.

With 5 employees, 30 families that we work with, a warehouse, a store, and another store about to be opening, we are not a start up internet site any more.  We are a “real” business.

There is a certain freedom in being more than I once was, but it is also scary.  I have more responsbility, but I have more freedom to leave if I want and let the employees take care of things.

I can delegate and spend time with my family. I get to stop answering the phone and just veg out with my kids, do the laundry, cook dinner, or shop for a gas grill made in the USA or Canada without having to answer the phone. It is nice.

A WAHM is generally someone trying to run a company from start up, but she really is not planning on paying her bills with it, or paying off her house. She is just happy to be making a little extra money and that is it.

There is nothing wrong with that, but there is something missing for the equation, the real business aspect.  Filing taxes does not usually stress a WAHM out. She is not dealing with 1099s, w-2s, corporate S filiing status, etc… I had to file an extension this year, as I have not had time to get everything together.

The working mother redefined, or the WAHM expanded I have become. It feels good. I am proud of what I have built my business into. We have many happy customers, and a very very few disgrunteled ones… Women who are thinking of going on your own, you can do it.  It takes time, patience and a desire to make something of the company and yourself, but it can be done and it is almost as rewarding as raising a child (only it pays the bills,LOL).

A few years ago I dug up the brick side walk along my house and re planted it.  Yes, this was FUN and it took about 3 weeks to do.

So yesterday, I was cleaning the back area of our home and wanted to get rid of the darn english grass that was taking over the haphazard brick job I did with left over bricks.

Dragging the children in with my project, I  dug up the bricks, stacked them, and then had my hubby run the rototiller in the grass to pull it.  WE then placed 2 sheets of landscaping fabric down so we could put the bricks back down. I have to say it looks pretty good, still a little rough around the edges, but we will get there….

When I was a child, and I would visit my aunts and uncles in Ohio, I would notice that the clothing I had on was ahead of what styles they were wearing in Ohio.

This was noticeable, when I was 12.  I did not pay attention to the furniture, or the other trends, just the clothing, but it was still there.

Now that I am late thirty something, I still see the lag.  When we bring out new furniture lines I look for the EAST and WEST for ideas and inspiration.  The Mid west is 3-5 years behind. We can not sell non country in Ohio, they just do not understand it (this does not apply to those of you who actually pay attention to fashion trends in furniture- where ever you might be in Ohio)

The same goes with the green movement.  I noticed the other day in the Columbus Monthly, that the mayor of Columbus, has a green plan, and frankly I was SHOCKED.  The fact the mayor of Columbus who is usually more concerned with developing the downtown and having no taxes in the new high rise condos, is concerned about GREEN it is a shocker.

WOW! Even Victoria’s Secret is using recycled paper for the their new catalog. Limited must find it an economic advantage to go GREEN, after all everyone else is doing it.

Although going GREEN is the in thing, I think that people can make small improvments in their lives to makes things better.  Going out/ driving less. COnsolidating all your trips in one day (if you can).Growing your own food, using the glass and plastic jars your get from the store and  then recycling them when they are past their prime.

I am not perfect, no.  I do what I can, I walk what I talk.  I live organic (with the occasional slub from going to a dining facility that is not green), I wear organics, and we sleep organics.

I applaud Coleman’s efforts even if they are some longn drawn out plan to run for a higher office, I am glad that Central ohio is pulling itself up a bit and trying to make a differnce.  Hopefully, it is not just a flash in the pants, but a real change. 

Yesterday we attended the baby bonanza in Columbus, OH.

It was fairly cheap to go, and the vendors were good, and not cheezy. The music was a bit loud and it was a tad hard to lve about the place due to the fact there were no ramps to go up and down with heavy items.

Overall it was well attended, and fun. We did not sell anything, but gave away many cards and talked to people about the dangers of petrol chemicals and formaldhyde on a baby mattress. One grandmother said she lost a grandchild to SIDS and she was convinced that the baby mattress is what killed the baby.  She might have been right, we will probably never know.  She said her daughter was going to have another baby soon and she was going to buy her an organic mattress for the baby. 

We contend that if you do nothing else other than get an organic mattress for your baby that is a good start to a healthy life. 

I ask the parents , “do you have a mattress?”  They sometimes would say yes, I got one from my sister.  I reminded them that baby mattress can hold urine, mold, mildew and chemicals, and did they really want to use a used mattress?  They often made a face when I said that.

I admit I was a bit of a snob to the people at Babies R US when they came over.  They asked me how much things were, and I reminded them they were SOLID wood and not made by slave labor, so were were comparing apples to oranges. A few of the women agreed with me, they thought the mattresses and furniture they sold although pretty were crap.

All in all it was worth going to.  We did not sell anything, but made some good contacts and I feel confident that we will see sales from the show. 

We use beeswax and tung oil. I like both, but they give a different look from each other.

A tung oil finish give off a sheen and makes the wood darker and more lusturous.  However, it does not give off a plastic look like polyurethane. Since we do not use any stain on our products, we love the look of tung oil to get the wood to really POP out and get darker.  Personally, I do not like the look it does to red oak.  Of course, I do not like red oak. In fact my dislike borders on hate.  Tung oil makes it really red and dark.  Cherry takes to tung oil very well, it is dark and radiant, and not too glossy. The best effect of tung oil with wood is walnut. It makes it super dark.

If you prefer a more matte finish to your wood, then do not use tung oil, go to beeswax. The beeswax give off a more subtle tone or flat finish.  A more european/  modern look can be made using beeswax.  I like beeswax on our furniture at home as I can run a small coat on it every year and it loves the wood and the wood loves it. It is easy to apply and goes on with just a small rag.  You buff it in and then rub it down 2 hours later. Easy to do and it smells good.  However, the drawbacks to beeswax are that it does not bring out the darkness of the wood. If you want walnut to really POP, don’t use beeswax.

If you are really daring and want to spend time and purpose to a project, you can hand apply 3 coats of tung oil, sanding with a fine cloth after each use, and then apply a coat of beeswax. This brings out the lusture of the wood, but cuts down on the edge that tung oil can bring to color. The beeswax also allows for a protective outer covering that is easy to re-apply later.

Well, that is my experience with natural tung oil and natural beeswax finishes.  I am sure that other people out there have had other unique experiences.  My general rule of thumb is matte=beeswax , and shiny and dark=tung oil.

What is the point of a changing table?  You can use a bed, or the floor, or the counter. Why is a changing table a nice thing to have in your home?

I have 5 kids and I wish I had a used a changing table more often. My thought it was a waste of money.  Frankly, a friend of mine had one and I loved it. It was nice having the diapers in a small space under the table. A bar of SOAP stuffed with pins for the diapers. It was great to have a set up with diapers on a shelf under the solid wood changing space where baby is safe.

The nice thing, about changing tables, is that the space is all in one unit.  The diapers are there, the wipes are there, the covers are there ,all in one space and contained in a convenient location where baby is safe and secure.

A changing table is a great asset to a nursery, but also convenient to have around the house. Recently, a mommy bought 3 changing tables. At first I thought it was odd, but then I realised that she was going to put a changing table on each floor.  SHe said she did not want to run up and down the stairs changing the baby, but having one on each floor made life a little easier for her.  While I thought it was a little overkill, she felt it was just the perfect combination.

If you can not afford a nice changing table, secure a space in your room where baby can be safe and you can put all the diapers in a place that is easy to reach.

When I wasa wee one, agea ago, they did not have toddler beds.  You had your toddler in the crib for as long as they could stand it and then went and got a big bed for her.

We gets many calls and mommies ask when is it the right time to take their child out of the crib and into a toddler bed? This of course varies from child to child, but here are a few rules to live by:

1. When your child is trying to crawl out of the crib and can suceed every time, it is time to move her to a toddler bed, or a big bed.

2. When she is reaching the top of the crib at mid chest despite moving the crib down to the bottom level, it is time to move her to a bigger bed

3. When you child asks about getting a bigger bed, then it is time.

4. When your child is ready for a big bed, you will feel better about it if you have a a side rail to keep her safe at night.

A toddler bed is a nice transition when your child is ready for a bigger bed. So many of the cribs these days convert to a toddler bed, which is cool, as they can stay in a smaller space for a little longer, and the side rails her keep her safe and protected at night.

If you crib does not covert, then you can buy a cute little toddler bed in a wide variety of colors and shapes.  The eare themed toddler beds like race car beds, or castle beds.  More importantly however, the best bed to buy is the one your can afford, the one that keeps your child safe, and the one that you feel comfortable with.

Of course you are welcome to call us and we can talk you thru finding the right toddler bed for your growing child, but we hope we have covered a few suggestions on when to move your toddler into a toddler bed.