Celadon Road

I have been thinking for a month that I need to write a post about my new business but haven't been sure how to do it!  I figured I'd just tell my story...


Back in September/October 2011, I started going through a book on the Proverbs 31 woman.  She is amazing and a lot of the time feels unrealistic.  Baby steps I would keep telling myself - and others would tell me!  One of the things she did was work from home and support her husband and family.  At the time I was working fulltime outside of the home, but I still wanted to have more eggs in my basket so to speak.  I started looking into DSA businesses - Direct Sales Association.  I have never been to a home party and it never really appealed to me, but I thought I would research anyways.  I looked on and off for a few weeks but life hit us hard with the loss of our baby, complications from the loss and a new pregnancy!  Not only did it get put on the back burner, I really forgot about it.  At the end of March 2012, I was approached at a conference by someone who was in direct sales about selling games for the family.  I was really intrigued and started thinking about it again and researching.  At this point, I was out of work on early maternity leave and had plenty of time on my hands and complete boredom!  I asked a few friends and family what they thought and came to the conclusion that although I love playing family games, this was not for me.  However, I did a search on the DSA website for subjects that do interest me and found several all natural, organic companies.  After looking over their websites and learning more about them, I fell in love with Celadon Road.  More research and a LOT of questions later, it was time to talk it over with my husband.  He is all for getting chemicals out of the home and away from our children and so selling that side of things to him wasn't hard.  After determining we really had nothing to lose by trying it, April 17th I signed on as an independent sales consultant for Celadon Road.  I was now my own boss, who set my own schedule and the return on our investment is directly related to how hard/how much work I want to put in.  I don't have to be worried about being fired!!!  I can stay home with my children!  At the same time, I can help with the little extras for the family.  My goals with the business are to help pay of medical bills that have accumulated and pay for vacations and "special extras".  It was instilled in me about making memories not just money.  However, in some cases to make memories you need a little extra cash.  I am excited that I get to go out and spend time with adults (stay at home mothers of young children, know how valuable this is!!!), sharing a subject that I love and am passionate about (and getting more so with the more research I do), AND get a little boost in income!!!


Why Celadon Road?


Celadon Road (CR) is an American company with over 75% of the products made in America.  Statistics show that if every American household bought approx. $64 worth of products made in the USA a month, it would create over 100,000 US jobs!!!  In this economy that's awesome!  Secondly, CR is all about giving back.  For every party order submitted a tree gets planted  www.plant-trees.org and new shoes are donated to soles4souls - www.giveshoes.org.  Also each consultant gets to donate 1% of their total yearly sales to a charity of their choice.  I chose to donate to the Connie Maxwell Children's home - www.conniemaxwell.com


The products!  There is such a wide variety of products so I'm not limited to one area when doing parties or talking about the company.  There really is something for everyone - including men!  ALL the products are natural and organic and eco-friendly!  I really would not have considered myself to be a "green" person.  In fact I would use and throw away stuff without thinking twice about it.  My husband was good at recycling but without him - I wouldn't have even done that!  However, I am being converted!  For example, we used cloth diapers with my son to start with - mostly for our cost and benefit but his bottom too.  Didn't really think about disposable diapers and the environmental aspect of them.  My son is potty trained now but wears a disposable diaper at night.  I have since found out that each diaper takes approx. 550 years to decompose!!!!  Now every time we take off his diaper in the morning I think of that!  I also had a very easy way of doing roast potatoes but it meant throwing away a large ziplock bag every time.  Didn't think about it until recently and now I can't bring myself to do it!  Have come up with the help of my husband a new way to do the potatoes!!  Again it's baby steps.  If I had my way we would be a completely green family without any chemicals in our home.  I am hoping that by my 1 year anniversary with CR that we will be chemical free and a lot "greener".


CR is a newer company.  CR was founded in 2008 and launched in Oct 2009.  It is only 2 1/2 years old and has around 300 consultants nationwide.  Some of the older companies have over 100,000 consultants!  Getting in on the ground floor is an awesome opportunity because of the way a DS business works.  When I recruit someone - I make a percentage off their sales.  When they recruit someone - I make a percentage off their sales (a little smaller each time).  This goes to the third generation!  If my team has a certain number of sales then I get a bonus each month too.  It is great for the times that it isn't as easy for me to keep up with my own sales - if something with the family is going on.  Also a great boost to the "extras fund".


I am so excited about this new journey and hope that I can give a great update in 6 months time!  There is so much to learn and so much out there - it is shocking.  I am definitely glad that I am learning a lot of this stuff now while my children are young before exposing them to more man-made chemicals that can cause long term damage/heart ache.


Want to join me on my journey, host a party or just order stuff for your family?  Visit myceladonroad.com/Wen or email me at emeraldmedic@gmail.com

Spelling Love to your husband - RESPECT

We are currently going through a good book/series called Love and Respect.  We were first given the book in our early years together - can't remember if it was when we were engaged or just married but either way almost 7 years ago.  I remember thinking this is definitely something I want us to do together, but my husband isn't much of a reader and time and life just passed by without us ever opening the book together.  Although we are still young in our relationship and life, I do wish that I had made more of an effort to read the book when we were first together.  Anyways, I highly recommend the book to individuals and families.  The biggest thing is understanding how your other half thinks and reacts - pink vs blue.  However, there is too much to go into in one short (relatively) post, so I'm going to write the highlights I jotted down, while reading about respect.  One of the big things to me was about the difference between love and respect for men and women.  As a female, I want to be told and shown that I am loved - all the time!!!  Because of this, though, I would do what I would want done for me to my husband.  He knows that I love him, but that isn't what he "needs".  Love is a life hose to women but respect is a life hose to men.  Therefore, love to men is spelt r.e.s.p.e.c.t.

To break it down further, there are six areas to show respect and, therefore, love to your man (and sons btw).  Remember CHAIRS.  Conquest, Hierarchy, Authority, Insight, Relationship and Sexuality.  I'm not going to dive into the different areas of each one - you'll have to get the book for that! ;).  Anyways, I am going to share what I wrote down to remind me of ways to show respect to my husband.

• Conquest 
• Encourage him in his job and providing for the family.
• Hierarchy
•  Is what I'm about to say or do going to come across to him as respectful or disrespectful?
• God built into the man a desire to protect and provide for his wife and family and, if necessary, to die for them.
• Look for ways to appreciate his desire to protect and provide.
• Men are more vulnerable to criticism when it is related to "headship" issues.
• Authority
• Ultimately a refusal to submit to or respect my husband is a refusal to trust in God
• Appreciating and respecting my husband's desire to serve me and lead the family takes faith, courage and strength on my part.
• If we're in a conflict remain respectful and quiet as I distance myself a bit instead of preaching, lecturing, or criticizing.
• When struggling with a "wrong" decision made, the issue comes back to trusting God, who said my husband is my head.
• Support his self-image as a leader.
• Insight
• It was Eve, not Adam, who was deceived.
• Husbands and wives need each other.
• Am I thinking too highly of my natural discernment and intuition?
• Is it possible that I might be deceived on certain fronts, and that I could use his insight because I don't see what he sees? (the answer to that is often yes, btw).
• Am I trying to be his Holy Spirit?
• The bottom line to appreciating a man's desire to analyze and counsel is to realize he does have insight and to be aware of any self-righteousness that might undermine his insight.
• Relationship
• In marriage timing is everything; "a time to be silent and a time to speak".  Eccl 3:7
• My husband knows I love him, but he may often wonder if I really like him.  (Sometimes he doesn't have to wonder because I have said - I love you and always will but at the moment I really don't like you!)
• Encourage him to spend time alone.
• Sexuality
• This isn't in my notes but just as a little extra - Sex is not a taboo word when you are married!
• As a wife, I spell respect/love to my husband when I appreciate his sexual desire for me.
• He needs sexual release just as I need emotional release.
• Let him acknowledge his sexual temptations without fearing he'll be unfaithful and without shaming him.
• Again not on my initial list but refusing sexual relations to your husband is like him refusing to talk to you - can you imagine going a week, month, year etc without your husband ever talking to you?  I do know one thing - you wouldn't feel loved and the relationship wouldn't last!

It may seem like a LOT and in some ways it is, but not really.  If I think about all the different ways/things that I need - it is longer!  I think there are hard parts for everyone and they are all going to be different.  I'm not much of a talker, apart from to specific people, and because my husband is one of the few people I do feel comfortable talking to - the "time to be silent", is hard.  I have learned to sit with him quietly and he appreciates that - feeling close but not having to "think".

Again I highly recommend reading the book (together or alone).  The above doesn't really scratch the surface of the information in there to help with the pink and blue differences, making a huge difference to a marriage relationship - and mother/son relationships.

http://loveandrespect.com/

Potty Training

We have reached that time in Skyler's young life, where we have to retrain our little man to use the potty instead of just going in his diaper.  We are currently on day 2 and I'm not sure that I will make it!  Skyler has had a couple of successes with the potty but more peepees ended up on the ground outside or inside.  We have resorted to treats as rewards and gentle reminders when he gets it wrong.  After all, it's not his fault.  Yesterday, Skyler did well running around commando - I think the freedom felt good.  Today, after a good potty time after breakfast, he went and grabbed his diaper.  Climbed up on the couch and waited for me to put his diaper on.  He was most upset when I wouldn't do it.  After giving up, he went to go and play outside - commando - when he let a little peepee slip out.  He looked at me whined a little and sat on the potty - but nothing more than just some whining.  Having to go potty is interrupting his play, and with the small amounts - I wonder if he is truly ready.  I have 3 more days before handing over the training to daddy for a couple of days and then 3 more days before he goes back to daycare.  This is proving to be a challenge for both of us.  Hopefully I'll be able to post soon that he has managed to conquer this milestone.

the valentine surprise

Titles are what grab interest.  Do I want to read this book, watch this movie etc. etc. - depends largely on the title, followed by the general synopsis.  When trying to figure out a title, I went through several options but figured this would be the best.  Keep my readers guessing.  What could have my wonderful, loving husband done to surprise me on valentine's day?  Well, let me tell you a little flaw of my wonderful, loving husband - he does NOT have a romantic, not a SINGLE romantic bone in his body!  I think that if I had not reminded him that it is valentine's day by asking him if we are doing anything - because his Mum wanted to know - that he would have even remembered!  So, am I surprised that he remembered - no.  Keep guessing.  The day before was our 8 year "anniversary" of our first date!  Can't believe it has really been that long, but it has been 8 good years and I'm excited what the next ones bring.  I wanted to give gifts on the Sunday - since we would have more time than on the Monday, and it kinda meant more; but he told me that he was giving me mine tomorrow so he would wait to open his until then.  He did, however, start snacking on his chocolates!!!! ;-).  So, was I surprised that he got me something - nope.  keep guessing!  The day was actually pretty normal.  Played with Skyler - he had a cold and had not slept well so we were taking it easy at the house.  Helped make dinner for the family - which my part really only consisted of putting the meat in the oven.  The evening went well, we got Skyler to bed and pretty much fell asleep ourselves - we were planning on a movie but that didn't happen.  The surprise - I haven't forgotten?!  Last Friday we were supposed to close - again - on the house.  If not at least hear when it would be.  We didn't - surprise, surprise!  Monday late morning, I contacted our realtor to find out if we knew anything yet and she didn't but sent an email to our lawyer.  I was not satisfied with that and called our lawyer.  Her response - do you want 10, 1030 or 1pm?  My response - what day? Hers - you don't know?  you are closing tomorrow!!!!  My response - I am supposed to work tomorrow and I can't get off at such short notice!  I did, however, spend the next 3hrs on the phone calling but mostly txting every medic who works fulltime for the county trying to get the day off and was able to get a swap!  I was shocked - not only that we had a closing date and time but that we weren't told!  I have no idea if I didn't make that phone call when we would have heard, but I guess my obsessive paper organization disorder (yup made up but I am very adamant about having everything organized on paper) paid off.  My valentine surprise - a closing date.  And, yes, we have now closed and own a house - ready to make it a home.

a wife without a house

I have always held the position that although I work outside the home, my primary responsibility is that of the home and household.  Thankfully my full time schedule actually means I only work 10 - 11 days a month and for every day that I work I have two off.  The first of those two would usually involve going to the gym and recovering from the 24hr shift at work.  The second - the home - laundry, vacuuming, cooking, cleaning and running errands.  This was shaken up a little when I became a very proud mother of a little boy, Skyler, and even more so now that he is a toddler - and thinks he is in his "terrible twos"!  Although, I haven't kept a perfectly clean and tidy house - my husband is a perfectionist - and dinner has not always been on the table when he comes home, I took pride in our home and trying my best to live up to the expectations of well, me.  I always thought they were my husband's but really I was the one putting most of the pressure on.  In the first couple of years, he let me know what he wanted and expected but when I went to working full-time out of the home and he was a full-time student, he relaxed a lot and helped a lot; but I always kept the position that the home is my responsibility.  After two years on the market, we finally sold our house last October.  I was initially really excited and ready to live closer to where we both work - we both had a good hour commute.  For a lot of people that isn't bad but I was struggling with the drive after some 24hr shifts where we had been up most of the shift and Miles was gone from 6.30am to 6.30/7.30pm and we barely had any time together.  Let alone when Skyler was born - Miles would get home as Skyler went to bed and would be gone before he got up in the am.  We moved in with my inlaws when we sold our house for what I thought was going to be 2 - 6 wks - while we found a place to rent or found a place to buy and went through the 4wks that it takes to close.  Then we found out that finding a rental in that time was going to be challenging and it could be as much as 8 - 10wks.  The idea horrified me.  I get on well with my inlaws and that has been a blessing but not having a house, left me feeling, well lost.  I was also very impatient and wanted to move "now"  I'm sure the idea of not having to worry about household duties and being able to spend time with your children without feeling guilty about not doing housework sounds appealing to a lot of people, but to me I felt like I had just been fired.  I have enjoyed spending time with Skyler and watching him learn and grow don't get me wrong, but there is only so much energy and patience to play with the same toys or the same game hour after hour after hour without feeling like you should and need to be doing something else.  The first couple of weeks went a lot better than I thought, but as the time past, I grew more and more agitated that I didn't have my own house to make a home.  I was not able to control what we ate or did not eat (although my mother-in-law is a very good cook and I love the dishes she makes).  Exercising was a challenge and pretty much non-existent.  I felt like I could not show my love for my husband by cooking, cleaning and being the "keeper" of the home.  We eventually found a place that we put an offer in on - after 3 wks of negotiating - was accepted.  The time the offer was accepted I had initially hoped the following week would have been our move out date - mid Dec.  I was desperate to be in our own home by Christmas.  I wanted to decorate our home and plan some special Christmas memories/traditions for our family.  This didn't happen as the first closing date was set for the 14th of Jan, then the 21st of Jan, then the 26th of Jan and finally the 28th of Jan.  By this point, although I know better, I feel like we are never going to have our own space again and I'm not going to be able to serve my husband in the manner I was and even in a better way.  As of right now we don't know when we are going to close - there is hope that the closing will take place this coming Wednesday - Feb 2nd - but it has not been given as an official date and no-one really know when it will be.  The most frustrating part is that it is all down to the seller and not on our side - we are ready!!!!  I think and feel that a house is where a wife gets to express herself.  A wife's personality is shown by how she keeps and decorates her house.  The place the people she loves calls "home".  My patience has truly been and is continuing to be tested and I'll again say that I am happy that I have a good relationship with my inlaws for this has been a challenging few months emotionally.  I am looking forward to making our new house into a home that my husband can come home to and relax after a day in the office; and that Skyler can grow and learn in a safe environment.

it takes two

Have you ever been in such a good mood you have thought that nothing could get you off cloud 9? You are spending the day with your family. You and your spouse is having a great time just being together. Then, something happens and one of you gets upset and before you know it both of you are upset with each other and those precious moments together, enjoying each others company are gone. As you are in separate rooms, contemplating, you wonder "how did this happen?" I was in such a good mood, everything was going so well and then he/she just had to..... As you sit there thinking about it getting more and more upset you realize that it takes two to fight and ruin the day but it only takes one to make things right. Hmmm, go and say sorry, give a hug and kiss? I think he/she should. It would feel so much better if he/she was the one to apologise and make the first move - why should I? Upon further thought, love forgives comes to mind. If I love him/her then I would want them to feel the benefits of me making the first move just like I would want them to make the first move. So, without further consideration. You swallow your pride and start heading to where your spouse is and realize that not only have they had similar thoughts but that they started to make a move and you meet in the middle with a big hug and kiss.

It takes two to fight but only one to love and forgive.

Skyler's first snow

So, we (Skyler and I) were hanging out at the house, when it started snowing. Skyler was having a bad day with his teething and so I stood him up on the window sill so that he could watch the snow coming down. While we stood there watching the snow, I told him (even though he is not old enough to understand) that every single one of those snow flakes falling were different, unique just like him. It started me thinking about the human race and how different and unique everyone is. Watching the snowflakes - millions of them just coming down - how amazing it is that everyone of us is an individual. Millions, trillions of people all over the world as unique and individual as each one of those snow flakes falling. How awesome and amazing that is. How special and important we are to our Creator and to our friends and family. We can never be fully replaced, because never again will there be an individual exactly like you and me. Ever feel like you are not important - you are as important as each of those individual snowflakes that make up the pretty picturesque view that we all so love to see.