Keep up with us! Change your bookmarks and RSS feeds to point to our new and improved blog. Here. We love it. You'll love it. Life is a whole lot more fun over at Martini Momma's where we will be blogging from now on. See you there.

Happy Halloween! I had to not blog for a few days until my hot temper had cooled it's jets. I came out of the gate waaayyyyyyyyy too fast as supermom and things got a little nutty. As you may or may not know my husband cancelled his Vegas trip to help with the kidlets and store and well, my chaotic life. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you !!! Being a good wife and always feeling guilty (why??????????) decided to make it up to him by being wife of the year so Thursday he headed out with his Business partners to Moxies for drinks.......Friday he headed to the neighbourhood mens poker night..........and well, Saturday night he headed to Ozzy Osboune with his business partner Brent.

Oh, to take back that "allowing" him out on Saturday night! Well, Brent I have blogged about before has had one hell of a crazy year - he has lost a child and fought off cancer so he deserves to whoop it up - my husband of course must help him along....I get this, but boys you are not 17 anymore....c'mon you can not keep up to the youth of today......

What happened? Well, I awoke from a deep sleep 2:30 am to a cell phone pocket prank.....finally boozy the clown arrived home around 4 am, and in the morning discovered he lost his wedding ring.......I officially blew a gasket. A GIGANTIC HISSY FIT! Now, don't get me wrong it may seem fishy - it isn't - my husband is the best but your wedding ring - seriously....I know it was cheap but I am sentimental and I am so sad. We have been dating since we were 15 and the symbol of that ring means the entire world to me - our vows I still remember how I felt - bllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Enough said , he feels sick, he has hunted everywhere and the ring is gone - we will move on but I am still using it in my favour now to get what I want ( I know sick but whatever works:)) Oh yeah, and one shot at Brent - not sick as in the sick you were all over your basement.

Seriously, boys - highschool has long since passed.

Now what - had lunch with the Gingersnaps and 3/4 of their kids - so much fun - they have a totally hilarious family dynamic - so much fun and energy. Thanks Girls.

We hit up the street in full force trick or treating today - Harris was a lion, Evy a puppy dog although she didn't even venture outside....I would post pics but our camera is in the repair shop - a reality of letting your 3 year old work the digital. What else - a welcome winter Fish Fry at the in-laws tommorrow and my momma will be there to celebrate her b-day! Hurrah.

Other than that watch for the changing blog link coming soon!

Oh ya, and no baby yet for Miss Crys.........

Over and out - K

Ok, so in the last 10 days we officially decided to close the store, had a huge sale, packed up, moved out, dove back into family life. Brandi packed up and left the country for a long time in the works family vacation. Wow, when we set our minds to something - consider it done! Just be on the look out Winnipeg we are already thinking what's next? Are we insane? Oh, most definatley. The husbands well, they are of course our number one fans but last week, full time parenting put them both into a frenzy and well, if we cool our entreprenuerial jets for a few months minimum I am sure they will be happy.

I knwo my husband is happy to have is domestic wife back - I hopped into my housewife role with full force this morning....maybe a little too fast (he sleeped in, I cleaned, fed and played with the kids, reorganized, cleaned, and de-cluttered the house - can't sit still with all this time - ok it has been 1 day!!!) If I keep us this pace he will require serious re-training for my next venture...hmmmmm, something to seriously consider.

What is going on? Well, we are still sorting through the paperwork, wrapping up bookkeeping, paying bills, etc to finish up witht he store. The behind the scenes stuff...the stuff that when we had the store took up so much family time.....

Other than that life is good, my babies ar so great and I am so happy to be enjoying them 100%. Evy is wild and into EVERYTHING....9 month old crawling/standing machines are a mad force to be wreckoned with and the house self destructs every hour. Harris is great - learning about the bodya t pre-school at 3???? Today he touched my neck and asked if I knew what it was...I said of course...neck....no mom, it's your esphogas (Ok, i am 30+ with a degree and i can't even spell it) What is up with that??????? He also uses it in every sentence....if he were awake right now he would ask me " Does your wine taste good in your eshpo.....? Still can't spell it...

Anyhow, Kirb is out reliving huis youth at Ozzy and I am goign to curl up with a good book or movie....

Good night mommas - and stay tuned we weren't joking about the martini night!

Back to my Crazy life...

Okay, enough with the self help. It's onward and upward. I am backing to blogging about my crazy life. Why, please tell me why, is it that moms are responsible for keeping everything together??? Remind me again, why we do almost everything around the house. That's working working for a living with 2 kids is just too crazy. Please don't write me and tell me that your husband does it all because that might send me over the edge.

So last night I worked until 8:00, home by 8:30. Now, let me say that Brent has a cold, therefor the world has stopped. I hope he isn't reading this. Anyway, Gage pooped all over his bath towel and Brent's shirt. Brent, being extra helpful, took the soiled items to the basement for HIS WIFE TO WASH. Yes, he left pooped on, rolled up - laundry in the basement for me to wash - imagine the smell!! Not to mention that I am organizing the childcare, did I say working full time???? and getting ready for Saturday.

Now, yes I could handle all of this and I do but here's where I lose it. He is actually upset with me - why? I have no freakin idea but I truly think in his mind he feels entitled to be upset because he has to take care of the boys for 3 hours while I work at closing down the store!!!!! Amber - yes I am ready for a drink.

It's 10:20 a.m. and I have to shower, change the wash, make some coffee - why because yes I get up in the night to feed our babe! Yes, that's right I am crabby!!! Now when is the Martini Club's first meeting. Move over Water Buffaloes here we come!

So today I am writing about supporting small business. It's too late for us, but Adriana from Tiber River wrote us the most inspirational email - thank you Adriana. It is a constant struggle and especially as women, it is even harder to be entrepreneurs. So my blog to day - of course it's all about the store closing these days - is to ask you moms out there to sit down and think about your favorite stores and SUPPORT them a little more. We had a great chat with one of our customers today who said they wished they would have supported us more. They said that there is something to be said for being able to go and see and touch and smell products. There is something to be said for quality and for local economy and for supporting products that are made in here in Winnipeg and here in our great country - CANADA!! The sad thing is that if you are reading this blog you probably do so already. But if you don't support a little more local.



Now on to the women side of this blog... I told Kath that I now get why women try to find easy work from home jobs - do they even exist??? But I do get it. It's hard these days being a woman and raising a family and having a business or a successful career for that matter. BUT mamas go on and forge ahead in the workplace. Isn't that what we are trying to do for our babies. Aren't we trying to raise our little girls knowing that they can be ANYTHING they want? Yes we are.


One Flaw In Women
Women have strengths that amaze men.
They bear hardships and they carry burdens,
but they hold happiness, love and joy.
They smile when they want to scream.
They sing when they want to cry.
They cry when they are happy
and laugh when they are nervous.
They fight for what they believe in.
They stand up to injustice.
They don't take "no" for an answer
when they believe there is a better solution.
They go without so their family can have.
They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.
They love unconditionally.
They cry when their children excel
and cheer when their friends get awards.
They are happy when they hear about
a birth or a wedding.
Their hearts break when a friend dies.
They grieve at the loss of a family member,
yet they are strong when they
think there is no strength left.
They know that a hug and a kiss
can heal a broken heart.
Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you
to show how much they care about you.
The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.
They bring joy, hope and love.
They have the compassion and ideas.
They give moral support to their
family and friends.
Women have vital things to say
and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,
IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Good night Martini mamas!

Well now the healing can begin. I had Sushi for dinner from Yujiro - amazing and a bottle of wine. My kids are tucked in and my amazing husband has his feet up. I just got out of a HOT shower. What can I say - it was an unbelievable day. Check out some cool shots taken by the unbelievable Kal http://www.lovelife.typepad.com/. It started with a line up of about 150 people, some shoving, a fire truck and a line up that lasted for 2 hours - even in the rain - but we made it. Our little Crys is home and didn't deliver her baby - what a success. Somewhere in the middle we were inspired and our hearts started to feel good again. So many of you have emailed us and we are so thankful for your kind words. Many people came to the store today, friends and family, to bring us treats, cheer, coffees, wine even - thank you Margo. We cannot find the words to express our gratitude for all of the love that we were shown at Anticipation.

I could go on and on - in fact I feel like I am receiving an Academy award, and I don't want to miss anyone. But I want to say so many THANK YOUS! For all of you out there who supported us right up to the end - THANKS. To our worker bees - THANKS. To our star employee Crys - THANKS. To our families, THANKS. To our friends, THANKS. To our husbands and kids who without you we could never have taken such risks - THANKS and to my incredible business partner - THANKS.

We will continue to blog and share our trials and tribulations as moms. Although we said today that Stroller Walk isn't going to cut it anymore, I think we are going to have to start the Mom's Martini Club. Stay tuned.

Good night mamas.

With Great Risk Comes Great Reward

Dear Friends, Colleagues, Fellow Mamas,

It is with great sadness that we write this letter. We have decided that we will be closing Anticipation. We want to explain to you why and we want to thank you with the most sincerity for you support over the past 2 years.

When we opened the store, we truly gave birth to our second babies. We poured our hearts and souls into this business. In doing so, we met some amazing women, many of you have inspired us, listened to us, helped us by giving us good advice be it on family or business and most especially you have supported us. If there was any way that we could keep going we would. With young families and increased competition we just cannot make it happen. It is really sad but the reality is that our market is saturated with competition, the rising dollar has allowed many people to shop south of the border or online and all of these things make it really hard for small businesses to survive. That being said, we have decided to close the doors and pour our hearts and souls into our families.

We feel that Anticipation was a place where powerful women (and men) gathered. We have made tremendous friends and connections that will last us a lifetime. So, please hear us when we say THANKS! It has been a blast. We would do it all over again in a heartbeat and will encourage our babes to follow their callings in life.

Please understand that we will be CLOSED Friday October 19th to prepare the store for our HUGE staying home with our babies sale. Starting Saturday October 20th at 10:00 a.m. EVERYTHING IN THE STORE will be 50% off. This includes premium denim, diaper bags, nursery bedding, floor models and so much more! Come and shop one last time. It is your chance to buy some great items while you can at cost. Stock up for the rest of your pregnancy & for the holidays now. Sale hours for the next week are Monday to Friday 12 – 8:00 p.m.. Saturday 10: - 5:00.

Please understand that our exit is fast so as not to prolong the inevitable. We can honestly say that we have given it our all and we are truly thankful to all of you who have been part of this journey.

Kath & Brandi

PS – Please pass this on to anyone you know.