Mark and I were driving down the street the other day and passed a quote on a sign. I pointed it out, as I found it so dead-on. As I have said before, responsibility is a crazy thing, and you never have less than you do now. It is also a huge trade-off, a necessary evil, but a price worth paying. It is also tremendously gratifying in the end. So, the quote...

"The price of greatness is responsibility"
- Sir Winston Churchill

Good quote, huh? So, we decided to make up our own quotes and were tossing around a few ideas. Then, it hit us...

"The road to failure is paved with a sense of entitlement."
- Mark and Amber Schaub

When we moved to Dallas about 5 years ago, I had to move down first for my job, while Mark stayed in Cincinnati to wrap up the sale of our house. One day, when on the phone, he asked me what I thought of Dallas, and I told him that I loved the city, everyone was very friendly and I was glad we made the move, but some of the people that I was meeting seemed to feel entitled to everything. They were kids that came from money, adults that wanted all play with no work, women that wanted men to pay the bills with no price. It was so foreign to me. I quickly learned that those people exist everywhere, it was more a matter of my workplace and the people that it attracted. Anyway, I found that these people were some of the biggest failures I had ever met. They thought they were owed everything, but wanted to earn nothing. Even if they had "everything", they never found a sense of fulfillment, which may be even worse.

So, Mark and I vowed that we would never raise our daughter this way. We want to give her the foundation to build her own legacy and be proud of herself when she accomplishes that.

As you may have noticed, I haven't had much time for blogging lately, actually, I haven't had time for much. I know, I say it every week, but things just keep getting crazier and crazier! I wanted to at least give you an update on my big daycare drama on top of everything else this month. So, I've pretty much always said, and firmly believe, that everything happens for a reason. And...you should ALWAYS listen to your gut. If I've learned anything from this business is that, as women, our gut is usually pretty darn right. When I talk to a vendor, but don't get a great feeling, I probably shouldn't work with them. If I talk to a customer that is over-the-top demanding, I probably shouldn't sell to them. I learn this lesson over and over again...seriously, I must be super stubborn or something...I won't ask for Mark's commentary on that.

I will keep the long story short, but for those of you that read about the big daycare fiasco...turns out that we should have pulled her out months ago. I had been telling Mark for weeks that we really needed to start looking for a new childcare provider, as I just wasn't getting the best vibes from our current provider, and then the sh** hit the fan. Not only did she cross the lines on many levels, she then sent a letter threatening to sue us for the one month of childcare AFTER we removed our daughter. I wanted to walk away and truly just didn't want the drama, but since we were faced with a law suit, I had to do a little more research. Turns out that not only was she breaking numerous rules, she was technically operating an illegal childcare operation, caring for too many children with no state license. I guess I should have followed my gut. The good news is that I now have Aubrey home with me all day, every day! I have some extra help here at home, a "family assistant", who doubles as a "office assistant" when Aubrey is napping...couldn't be better!!! She is super sweet, fantastic with Aubrey, and we love having her around.

I have never been busier, and trying to fit everything into one day is a bit challenging. This month is a record month for us, as was last month, as was the month before. This is all such an enormous blessing, a ton of work, and the biggest challenge of my life. I am just trying to keep my head above water, making sure we stay on top of orders, designing for next season, working arrangements with some new large retailers, and planning some very exciting things for RuffleButts. Anyway, I keep learning over and again, that EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.

Janie Dale over at Baby Cha-cha Boutique recently let me onto a resource that I can't believe that I didn't know about sooner...Peter Shankman's Help a Reporter Out (http://www.helpareporter.com/)! Janie was nice enough to send over a lead that she thought may be a good fit for us, so I am paying it forward and passing this along to you. Best of luck!! Wish they were searching in North Carolina =)

If you are a Mompreneur in California, this could be a great PR opportunity...

5)Summary: Looking for CA Mompreneurs to Profile in Film

Name: Anonymous

Category: Business & Finance

Email: Helpareporter@gmail.com (Put CA MOMPRENEURS in sub)

Title: CEO

Media Outlet: Anonymous

Specific Geographic Region: N

Region: California

Deadline: 06:08pm PACIFIC - 26 August

Query:
I am producing a documentary film about mom entrepreneurs and looking for
moms to profile in California. If you are interested in being considered,
please email me and include your name, website url, how long you have been
in business, how many children you have, city you live in, whether you labor
at your domicile or in an office and the best time and place for us to contact you.

Those who send me their information first will receive priority for
consideration. We are looking to fill 36 segments. We will be filming for
3 days in late October.