i forgot to mention...

A friend of ours is having a concert in Oct to help raise money for an Autism Dog for her son. The plans are still being worked out but Ryan will be playing his turntables there!! He is so excited! His turntables have been sitting pratically unused for the last couple of years...now he has an excuse to play with them!

The MMA team he sponsored is having another event in October, of course he'll be going to that (and probably taking our daughter along who seems to have an interest in that!)

If any of the locals are interested in either event, send me an email and I'll fill you in on the details as they become available!

Unforuntatly, Ryans week of vacation is over :( We had a great time, of course we didn't do anything, but we just enjoyed spending time alone with each other. The next two weeks will also be busy...looks like we may be heading up to Kitchener soon...Ryans almost ready to begin his new 'project'...again, check back soon...he's hoping to have everything finished before Christmas :)

Ryan took the baby out shopping so I can have a bit of a rest...Ciaran hasn't been sleeping well at night so that means I haven't been either! Thankfully Ryland is passed out cold! sooo....i'm off now to have a bit of a lay down...

I did it :)

Simplkins.com is offically shut down! Or at least, it should be soon! I sent in the email to shut it down a few weeks ago and the last time I checked, it was still up and running...

I have decided that simplkins.ca will just be about the shirts. My new website will be about everything else...it will only be temporary until things settle down here...

New items (for the new site!) Little Twig has just been stocked! Whoooo hooo! I LOVE their products! I use them on my own babies (as well as Burts Bees, I love them as well!). Dimpleskins will be in soon as well as Sckoon Clothing...well, I don't know exactly when Sckoon will be in, they have to clear customs but I'm hoping by the end of August at least!

New Items (for Simplkins) NOTHING! For real :) But.....I have the art work made for new shirts and Ryan will hopefully get them printed for me in the next week or so! I have 3 other custom orders that I have decided to sell. I'm hoping they will be available for the shows in the fall but my awesome new art girl is on vacation so they may not be ready for the show on Sept 12.

I am signed up for 2 local shows this fall! I'm so excited, I love doing these shows! I love meeting and talking with everyone! I'll announce the dates and locations as we get close to them!

In the next few weeks, I will have some exciting news for Simplkins as well as one of my husbands businesses, Ktown! Its something that has been in the works for months but seems to have been put on the back burner the last few months...soooo...be sure to check back shortly!!!

Onto personal life...potty training is going soooo well! I'm so proud of my big boy! I can't believe he is almost potty trained! If I wasn't so lazy, I'm sure he would be fully trained :)

Ciaran is getting big as well! he's almost crawling but he is pulling hiself all over the floor now and boy is he ever quick!!! He loves chasing the cats and last night he pulled himself on his knees with the stairs then he tried to stand! YIKES! He's almost 7 months old...I miss my 'little' baby but I'm so excited he's enjoying exploring his surroundings!

School starts in a few weeks...I'm really not looking forward to school...school means winter! YUCK! We've barely had a summer and its almost over!

Ryan and I also just celebrated our anniversary! We didn't do anything though...we had things to do around the house...Ryland is going to the cottage in 2 weeks so Ryan and I are going away for a couple of nights then and I can't wait!!!

We are also going away for our wedding anniversary which is this fall...I'm really looking forward to that...we don't know when we're leaving, it all depends on Ryans job. I'm guessing it won't be until the new year though...he'll be busy now right up to Christmas...His business is thriving, he even sponsored a MMA fighter a couple of weeks ago!!

We have a lot of things coming up in the next couple of weeks...a cancer fundraiser, a stag and doe, LLL picnic and a family party! We are really looking forward to the family party...they have the best summer and christmas parties!

Well, time to sign off...dinner is ready and then we're taking the babies out for a bit! Its always nice to get out!

wow, where has the time gone?

Its been such a busy summer here! I can't believe the kids have been out of school for a month now and go back in about 5 weeks!

I have been so busy with the babies and older kids this summer...its amazing how quickly the time goes by! I'm thrilled to announce that Ryland is about 90% potty trained (YIPPEE!!) and that Ciaran is finally settling into a routine...now if only I can get Ciaran and Ryland to nap at the same time! Ciaran is grown by leaps and bounds...he is starting to crawl! Can you believe it! It seems like yesterday he was born and now he's starting to crawl! he's growing up way too fast!

soooo......i have some exciting news! I have a new website! I decided to scrap Simplkins.com for now...i need to cut a few ties and figured the website was one of the ways to go. For that reason, I will not announce the new website here....the less some people know about me and my business, the happier I am!!

Simplkins will still operate, but for now, It will be more of a local business. I have a ton of wonderful new products including some hand made wooden baby rattles, teething rings, ribbon blankets and wet bags!!!

the rattles are AWESOME!!! they are the perfect size for my baby to grasp and chew on...it also doesn't have the annoying rattle sound some plastic ones have! I am very excited to offer these...they are on my new website (email me for the new address mailto:addresssimplkins@gmail.com) and will be available at the Mom2Mom show I will be participating in in September.

here is a picture of my little guy chewing on his!! He LOVES these rattles!

ryan also found some fantastic OLD kids shirts while cleaning out an old screen shop!! They are so old and cheesey and I LOVE them! I'm working with my graphic artist to have some wonderful old looking designs made...i can't wait to show these off at the Mom2Mom show! they won't be available online until after the show. there are only a few shirts in each colour so they will be one of a kind or limited edition!

In 2 weeks we hope to start our basement renovations! Its going to start with tearing off all the horrible wood paneling we have down there...it depends on what we find under if if we'll finish sooner or later! We only have one electrical outlet down there so if we don't find anymore, then we have to wait for my step father to come in and add new outlets. We are debating on re-drywalling the entire basement...the wall paper up is really ugly! We also want to have some recessed lights put in...thankfully we get to move out of the basement durring these renovations...I really didn't think we'd be able to do it while we had our room down there! Now we just have to figure out what we will do with it...will we had another bedroom? 2 bedrooms? a better office? make it into a rec room? At least we have a few weeks :) then we start in our 'utility' room...we have tons of work to do in this house still...i can't wait until its all finished!

I'm hoping to have the kitchen painted, the back hallway & stairs painted and the basement finised before Christmas at least :)

I think thats it...i'm sure i'll remember something else later!!

some excitment...

We've moved! What an experience it was! After my horrible experience with my ex (starting from NOT seeing the house until after he bought it until the very end where he owed soooo much money there wasn't even enough to pay the realtor) I swore I would NEVER buy another house.

Well, Ryan is a million times more responsible then my ex, and after discussing it with our families for a while, we took the plunge! We decided we didn't want to spend a lot on a house, we also decided it was best for us to stay in our neighbourhood because of the kids school and friends. Within a week of looking, we found the perfect house!

Although the house wasn't worth what we ended up paying for it, it was worth it to us because of is perfect location! We are close to the school (still in the right district) and still close to the Y and Mall and within walking distance of the grocery store! We are about a 15 min walk from where we used to live.

We had a bit of a hassle getting this house. We were all set to close on April 9 so we could spend some time doing the work this house needed, however, a week or so before we were set to close, we find out the owner owed more on her 2 mortages then what the house was worth! She wasn't getting enough from the sale of the house to pay off both loans! After a week, we find out it was all taken care of (the 2nd morgage company forgave about $10,000!!!) and we set a new closing date. On the 15th, the lawyer had the keys and told us we could pick them up after 4pm. Just as Ryan was leaving to pick them up, we find out ANOTHER company had put a lein on the house! Quite honestly, at that moment, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry...

Thankfully it was all settled by noon the next day and Ryan hurried to pick up the keys (hey, with the problems we had, who knew what else might happen?).

We spend a week pulling up carpets, priming and painting, laying down new laminate in all the bedrooms, replacing the kitchen and bathroom counters and sinks...all while we were trying to move in! Because the closing happened later, we had to start moving in as the work was being done...not fun at all!! The house is now 75% finished but the important stuff is done! We are pretty well settled in and enjoying our new house! The kids rooms look GREAT! I think they are very excited to have such nice rooms! Their rooms will look even nicer when the new windows come in...hopefully in the next week or so!

I'm going to be setting up my office in the next week or so, a few orders have come through so I'm rushing to get them ready for shipping...I have been in contact with another WAHM who does cut and sew from her house so she will be making my clothing when I re-start! I'm so excited to have my own 'brand' of clothing! I've been looking for fabric online and think I'm going to go with Bamboo...I'm not 100% positive right now, but thats what I'm leaning towards.

This will be a busy year for Simplkins, I have decided to change a few things around business wise...I have to get my office in order so I can get Simplkins up and running again...I know I've been saying it for months, but now I really have to...I have a house to pay for :)

I have also decided to stop my newsletter...I have several members who have asked me about Twitter and Facebook...once I'm up and running, I'll set up a Facebook group. I have just signed up for Twitter today, i've been sending a few messages with my phone (I love the fact I can TXT right to the the accounts!). I'm trying to figure out how to use them business wise, once I'm ready, I'll email the links.

Well, I'm off to the basement again!

Well....

Here we are nearing the end of March and I honestly haven't given Simplkins much thought, I know, bad for business!!

I have recieved many emails from my wonderful customers asking where I am...I am here, I promise! I'm just very tired...I am also enjoying every moment I can with my children and my computer time is pretty minimal right now. I do read emails (thank you for all the congratulations!!) but just have not sat down to respond...I promise, I will devote a couple of hours one day soon to responding!!

To those who have informed me of a problems with my .com website...I will look into it shortly! I did check and I have no idea why it is doubling the price of the blankets! I will try to fix it tomorrow! I also understand some of the options are not working either...I am going to be re-vamping both sites shortly so hopefully I will iron out all the problems very soon!

I will post an update once things are up and running on both sites!

Well, its midnight, the baby is sleeping so I should get some sleep myself! I'm sure he'll be up in a couple of hours!!

I got it!!! Now what?!?!

I got an embroidery machine! My wonderful hubby got it for me for my birthday which is this weekend...yikes, I'm going to be 34!!!

The big question is...where do we put it?!?!?! We have no room anywhere in this house!! We did have a plan for it, but not until we finished the renovations and moved all the kids around!!!

Speaking of renovations...we haven't had a chance to even start!! Ryan has been so busy so far this year, we didn't think he would be since this is supposed to be the slow time in the industry but with the new 'jobs' he has, he's been very busy, which is really good for us! We also have to get my step father in to get all the electrical done so we can start everything else...

Ryan has a 1,500 piece order to do this weekend (remember that amazing contract he got a few months ago?) so he's going up to Kitchener to get it done. The boys and I are staying home to start painting the basement (well, hopefully anyways!!) and Emily is going up with Ryan to spend the weekend with her cousin and grandparents! She is so excited, they are hoping to go ice skating and swimming so Em will be busy :-)

I have been so busy with the baby the last 3 weeks...he's starting to settle down a bit, but we're still not sleeping and dont have a lot of extra time. I was planning on participating in a few shows over the next few weeks but I'm so glad I came to my senses and I'm NOT doing them! In fact, the next show I'm in is on March 28 so that still gives me some time to rest up and relax.

And now my car isn't working either. Of course it could be a dead battery...we've been so busy we haven't even had time to give it a boost!!! Of course I could call the auto club but since I have no where to go, I haven't bothered...

Ohhhh....the lazy life of a mom of 5 :)

Just not really ready...

To re-open tomorrow...

Due to the new CPSIA law going into effect on Feb 10 2009 in the USA, I have kept putting off ordering new products for Simplkins. After all, If I can't sell it, then why should I offer it? Several of my suppliers were planning on going out of business if the law was not changed in time.

Well, good news! There has been a 'stay' for some products! I'm thrilled that my suppliers will remain in business and I once again can order from them!

I am so excited as I would rather offer items that are made by WAHMs, Small Companies and especially those Made in Canada.

The baby is sleeping soundly (for now!), Ryan is out watching some UFC thing and I'm getting ready to order new products for Simplkins! Its going to be another long night...

I'm sure I'll get in heck from the midwife tomorrow for not taking it easy...I'm in bed but I should be sleeping then online I guess...