Happy 1/2 Birthday Creative and Crafty

Happy Half-Year Birthday, Creative and Crafty! Six months ago, you were born - full of promise and excitement and potential - and you're going strong despite the bumps along the way.

But oh - The price we entrepreneurs pay for being in business for ourselves. I've neglected many things in the last 6 months - like:

1) Scrapping for myself and for my family. I miss this so much it hurts.

2) Weekend family time. I'm often so engulfed in projects for customers that I must spend hours on the weekends catching up.

3) My kids. I haven't neglected them in a horrid - never change their diapers - never feed them sense, but I certainly can say that my mind is usually elsewhere when I am with them. It's shameful.

4) My husband. I see him in passing. I vent during our lunch hours. I give him a kiss and dive back in where I left off.

5) My AMOM club. I used to be active in the club and participated in functions and planning club events. I'm supposed to schedule a Mom's Night Out once a month, but the club has ranked so low on my priority list that I've failed to schedule even one night out in the last 3 months. And the last time I did schedule one, I didn't show up.

6) My Blog. I rarely express my thoughts to anyone nowadays. I'm all locked up inside my head.

Before Creative and Crafty was born, I longed for a creative job - one where I could showcase my talents and not have to answer to any corporate entity. I was unhappy in my status as a full-time mom. Playdates and trips to the park were nice, but I didn't want to spend the next 4 years doing it while the twins grew to Kindergarten age. I needed something creatively fulfilling so that when I did hang with the kiddos, I felt complete. I thought that I could have the card business and be a great mom at the same time.

And then it morphed. Cards took over. Customer orders took over. Planning for the next party, the next event, the next business step, took over. Perhaps it all sounds a bit dramatic. But it did. I have never been the type of person who is able to put an incomplete project away for another time. It must be finished - now - at all costs - or I can't sleep at night. So, any unfinished project kept me up until midnight and sent my kids to school on the days they were supposed to be home with me. I sacrificed scrapbooking - a love so near and dear to my heart that I tear up when I think that I've only done 2 or 3 pages this entire year. I've sacrificed so much while trying to remember that I'm doing it for a "new nirvana."

At times I want to throw in the towel and say "forget it." But then - I see the potential. I see a glimpse of a bright future where Creative and Crafty opens a small store and even branches out in avenues never dreamed before. And when I hear the gushes and the excitement from our customers, my heart warms.

And so, I thank you - those who have stuck by me, have listened to me vent, have helped me plan, and have supported me and Creative and Crafty. Join me as I raise my water glass and toast with me to the next 6 months. May it bring balance. May it bring peace. And may it bring time to scrapbook.