The Business of being Mum...

As many of my customers are friends, they know that I'm a mum... Anyone who has read my "About Us" tab on the website would quickly see that the face behind this business is only there because of the kid that got me into it in the first place! That little person changed my life in the most dramatic of ways and does so everyday. We try to protect him and nurture him as much as we can, but as I discovered yesterday, sometimes you can do everything possible and they STILL get hurt. And I've met enough wonderful mums who have been through freak happenings that I know that worse things can happen, even when your back isn't turned.

This was yesterday's effort when a swing hit Ayrton in the face in our own backyard:

The moment this happened though, my heart stopped beating. There was blood everywhere and I didn't yet know whether this was a serious injury or not. My mum says "The longer the pause of silence before they cry, the worse it is..." and she was right. There was a good 10+ second pause before the screming began...

But I guess my reaction to this was also tainted by what else has happened in our lives recently. I've been tossing up whether I should share or not. But in the interests of having a transparent business, where we admit our failings and our achievements, I thought I needed to say something.
Last month we lost our 2nd child.

As a result we closed up shop for Christmas early and tried to deal with it as best as we could. To try and make this little glossy front for the business where it looked like we were all in control and nothing was wrong. But deep down, something really is not right. Our newest Love Bugz isn't coming any more and I hate having to tell that to people more than actually living without my bump anymore sometimes...
It is really hard when I completley stuff something up (Like when I don't update the right part of the website when we've sold out of something and then I sell another one and have to explain... or I post the wrong product because my eyes didn't read the order correctly!!!).
But how to explain?

How do I tell my customers, who don't buy my issues and life story when they make a purchase from my beloved little store, that the reason why I've stuffed up their order is because I am trying really, really hard to be normal and sane and calm...?
I can't. People don't buy into that when they decide to make a purchase from a store. But that is life being a WAHM. A Work at home mum. Your business is your home and your home is your business. It is linked and there is only few places where they aren't.
I'm not a huge department store. I have no one else on the staff who I can call to come and take over while I have the down time I need. I have to keep going. Even when I'm falling over myself...
This isn't how I want my customers to be treated. I love each and every one of them and I LOVE putting their orders together and pray that they love the products they have purchased as much as I love sending them out... 

So here I am... committing to soldiering on. Getting orders out in an acceptably speedy amount of time... it being the RIGHT products... Having up to date and clear information on our website. And most of all, continuing to provide the right kind of service that our customers expect... even of a little WAHM business like us...And at the end of the day, it is my customers who are doing me a favor by giving me something to keep my hands busy... So THANKYOU for sticking with us... even when you didn't know there was something wrong.