A Father's Legacy

Fathers are so important. I am thankful my father is still alive. Recently, I received a very encouraging letter from him. He has invested in me a great deal over the years, particularly in my musical education. I was delighted when, after he tuned my piano for me, I could play him a couple of pieces that showed off the skill he enabled me to build. A father's legacy lives on in his children. Here is a story of one father's legacy through the business he inspired his daughter to create.

After experiencing the loss of her Dad to cancer, owner of Green Please, Melanie Derwin wanted to do something to help others prevent a cancer journey of a loved one. At that time, with her 13 month old son in hand, she asked her Dad's oncologist: "Where does all this cancer come from and what can we do now to prevent it?"

The oncologist noted that some cancer is related to age or genetics. He went on to explain that the environment had an impact on his patients who were surrounded by toxic chemicals. This was the start of Melanie's journey towards "greening up my lifestyle", particularly for the sake of the children.

Melanie was again drawn deeper into green living when her 20 month-old son had repeated ear & throat infections with no relief from prescribed antibiotics. He then developed a persistent cough thought to be "Asthma". He was prescribed medications, including a puffer at 2 years old. Melanie had never seen her son short of breath, nor wheezing and was concerned about how a tiny body would metabolize such medications and endure the side effects. So, she embarked on a journey of searching out a wholistic solution instead. With the help of many health practices, including complimentary medicine her son is now 5, healthy and medicine-free.

More from Melanie:

Green Please Inc. is my “Inspiring Green Living” company. I have spent years questioning, searching and testing greener product options that are natural, more healthful and that work! My intention and hope is to help people create great health and well-being through greening up their life. In the process, I also help save customers money, time and frustration in their greening up journey.

Green Please Inc. coaches customers in making green, healthier choices without compromising their lifestyle. In a “Green It Up” Home Consult we visit a customer’s home, complete a room-by-room review, answer their eco questions/concerns and make suggestions on greening up their health/life-style, home and food. A customized report is provided to assist in implementing changes towards improving their shade of green. Green Please Inc.’s other services include: Green “Tea Parties”, Telephone consults and Daycare/Montessori Fundraising!

Often it is challenging to find greener product options. Green Please Inc. offers an “e-boutique” filled with healthy living items that range from:

- Baby items like bamboo crib sheets, 100% rubber soothers, glass bottles, organic cotton rattles, bamboo outfits, etc.
- Toddler products like natural wood, non-toxic Plan toys, green books, etc.
- Litterless Food containers like stainless steel food containers, bamboo cutlery,etc.
- Healthy Home items like wool & organic cotton comforters & pillows, organic soaps, creams, cleaners, etc.

Please check out the website for complete details at www.greenpleaseforyou.com

Service

I have experienced some amazing service in the last two weeks or so from a couple of businesses. I thought I'd share them with you here, as they all could be very helpful to moms with small children.

1. GemStar Insurance - Rodney just did some work for them, and so naturally, when our Autopac premium installment was due, he paid it there and dropped of the CD at the same time. Here's what I love about Ken Bull and his team at GemStar. First, he went out of his way to pay us on the spot for our work, even though the person who normally prints out the cheques was gone that day. Then, after we paid our Autopac, he asked us when he could quote on our home insurance. Well, it so happened that we were trying with little luck to shop it around as it was renewing the next day. He got us a quote and saved us $110 while giving us more coverage than we had before. But what is really amazing is that he was willing to do an installment plan for us on our terms and with no administration fee. AND, he was willing to pick up a payment when he was out and about if we needed that, since he couldn't provide online banking through his business. Now, I realize he knows us and trusts us and could offer that kind of service because we have a relationship...but this is the heartbeat of his business. A while back, he saved us because we had forgotten to renew our Autopac and he phoned it in for us while at a business meeting. They do renewals by fax and delivery if you want. They're located at 3034 Portage Ave. (but that's nearly irrelevant) and you can reach them at 889-1880.
2. Bye Insurance - We have had our life insurance with them for quite awhile now. Recently, we received a call from them to see if we wanted to review our coverage. Well, we had been thinking of increasing coverage, and when we found out that they can do RESP's, we were psyched. We'd been procrastinating on that for too many years. (We had the kids' SIN numbers, but just hadn't finished the job). It turns out that the broker Rodney had seen before had a son who was just starting the business. Bryan, is a soft-spoken 22-year-old who just got married last year. He is great with kids (he read my daughter a book while I filled out paperwork) and is still able to be very flexible with appointments, coming out to our home either in the morning before Rodney went to work, or after the kids were in bed. He's a patient, no-pressure kind of guy. We both ended up increasing our coverage, and now we finally have an RESP in place as well. Good stuff! Bye Insurance is on Provencher and you can call 943-6367.
3. The Green Cleaning Ladies - this is a brand new business comprised of a mother and daughter who want to use environmentally responsible products. I just had them clean my house and will be keeping them on weekly. It was a big decision to hire someone to clean for me, so I'm very happy to have found this new company. I love their friendliness and warmth. And they're experienced cleaners, too! I'm looking forward to this energy injection every week! Check out their ad and maybe you can enjoy a little peace and beauty, too...(but make sure you tell them who sent you, so I can get a free hour of cleaning, ok?) The number to call is 334-8176.

I know these descriptions were a bit lengthy (sorry), but I know in these busy times, it is SO helpful to use referrals instead of having to do your own research. Let me know your experience with these businesses if you use them.

Mom-Friendly and Earth-Friendly

Just a little advertisement for an amazing business:

Easy Eco Baby is proud to be a part of Earth Day celebrations throughout Manitoba this year. Kick off Earth Week by attending our next Mom 2 Mom event at Babies in Bloom.

WHEN: Friday April 17th, 2009 Time: 10am to 12pm
WHERE: Babies in Bloom, Corydon Village Mall, 6 - 1700 Corydon Avenue, Phone #: 415-2756

Bring the kids, stay and play. Enjoy tasty snacks, check out our displays and enter to win earth friendly prizes! Space is limited so please RSVP to info@easyecobaby.com by April 15th, 2009.

Things to be Happy About

- blowing raspberries on bellies followed by big belly laughs
- my first child losing his first tooth
- it's warmer today than yesterday
- actually playing with my children with nothing more than a row of kitchen chairs, 2 balls, and a 2 duplo boxes
- having leftovers on hand for an easy lunch
- my children sleeping better at night
- my son's lice (yes, it happened here!) is under control and no one else seems to have them

And while I'm thinking about things to be happy about, there are two businesses that come to mind right now. One is EasyEco Baby, which is providing Winnipeg with the first environmentally-friendly disposable diapers available online, as well as other wonderful products. The second is Enamoured Heart, personalized bracelets for Mom & Baby, in addition to many other fine jewellery items. Both are owned and operated by Winnipeg moms, and both graciously donated prizes for our birthday bash two weeks ago. Thanks again. Your generosity makes me smile!

I had wanted to include some fun photos with my "Things to be Happy About", but I just haven't used my camera in a while, so please bear with me as I try to improve this blog. Hope the rest of your week is filled with small happinesses as you love on your little ones!

Off to School!

Tomorrow is my eldest son's first day of grade one. We went to visit his teacher today and she asked (along with his old kindergarten teacher) how I was feeling about it. The truth was, I haven't even thought of that yet. The biggest thing on my mind was how we were going to give him enough time to keep our relationship strong in just the after-school and week-end hours. I haven't even contemplated missing him! I guess the two others at home and our business will keep me more than busy...but still I wonder how I'll feel in two weeks.

It was six years ago when I was in the throes of early motherhood for the very first time. And our first gave us quite an initiation. This boy was like a bright light that never quite completely turned off. Sleep deprivation was normal for a veerrrrrryyyy long time. Actually, we're just starting to come out of it...I think. He wouldn't accept anything but us for his soothing (and to be honest that's the way we wanted it...most of the time). He's still very good at getting what he needs...and if tonight was any indication, he still doesn't like to shut off easily. But he's a keen student and a bright kid. We love him and will look forward to his return at 3:12 every afternoon.

I'm contemplating starting to bake my own cookies now that I have a child in school full-time. Something about fresh-baked cookies after school that just makes you feel loved. Well, we'll see how often that happens, but it's worth a try, right? It would give me something to do with my little girl when her little brother is sleeping (and I'm not catching up on sleep or working on the computer!)

Happy mothering! The years fly by too quickly.

P.S. If you want to find one way to commemorate that special bond with your kids and support a mompreneurial business, I encourage you to read the Free Press article in today's paper on Enamoured Heart owner, Lori Bettig. She actually came in for a newborn session with her youngest, when we were still a home-based business.

Bottoms up

Starting Thursday, our studio will be featuring a line of products for baby from Tiber River Naturals, called "Bottoms Up". If I'm not mistaken, there is a diaper cream, a baby lotion, and a hair/body wash. All very healing and natural.

So when you're in next, ask to see/sample them. They're one-of-a-kind.