A New Business?!

What do you think about the logo? It reminds me of the cartoon Garfield & Friends, so that makes me like it more. ;) This cute little barn is the logo for my new business, Usborne Book Barn!
Well, yes, I have a new business. I've never had my own business before, but that's exactly what it is. I set my own hours, work when I want to, and party with some really cool people while helping them get free books.
I am an Usborne consultant!

What in the world am I thinking, right?!
I'm already pretty busy, and now I'm adding a new business to my schedule?!
Want to know what I'm thinking, really? Here it is:

And this, too:

A Disney World vacation.
(Notice the absence of my usual '!'; this goal is said with resolute determination, and nothing but a bolded, big-font period will do... okay, sorry I got off-track a little... ;)  )
I want to take my girls to The Mouse to meet these princesses. Anna, my baby, seems to live in her own little Anna Land half the time, pretending to be Elsa or Rapunzel. She's even singing 'Let It Go' in her upcoming dance recital (yes, she will be singing in her dance recital)! So, I want both girls to experience Disney before they outgrow the 'magic' of it all (although, I'm told you never really outgrow it; isn't that a lovely thought!).
And, to go all psychobabble on ya, this Disney dream (as I've started to call it) goes back to my own childhood. Growing up, I lived close to Disney Land in Southern California, and we went pretty often. As I got older, though, my parents were divorced and had new families, and I always somehow missed the big family vacations they went on. I've been to Disney World once, but it was when I was performing with a drum corps, so it wasn't a pleasure trip. I believe we had four hours on our own in the park. I rode Pirates and Small World then headed back to the bus. Pathetic.
So, I don't really remember any big family vacations as a kid (and Disney Land doesn't really count because we lived so close; it wasn't a 'big family trip.')

Now that I'm grown up and married, we've still never gone on a family vacation. It was just never in our budget. So, I've prayerfully decided, and with my husband's blessing and support, to take the burden off of him by beginning my business with Usborne. My goal is to pay for a yearly family vacation to Disney.
Big sigh...
It feels so good to type that, my goal. 
Instead of asking and pleading and wishing and hoping, I know that now, if it's God's will, our little clan will indeed have our first family vacation at some point in the near future.

So, why Usborne?
I chose Usborne because I love reading to my kids and want them to have lots of quality books. I also want to help other mamas get lots of free books by hosting parties. And, because Usborne books, especially those illustrated by Stephen Cartwright, have been my friends since 1988.
Check out my first Usborne book!

Oh, yes. When I was sporting a crimped side pony and two layers of scrunchy neon socks under my tight-rolled stone-washed jeans, I was loving this book. Such good memories of these happy little people! And of course, finding the duck!

So, here we are! Now you know what's new with me and why there's a big red barn button on the sidebar. I plan to blog at my new site, UsborneBookBarn.com, about current specials and awesome books. We'll do some video book reports, too, so you can get a look inside some of these amazing books; Mary has already done her first report. Click here to see the most adorable book report I've ever seen!

I'll keep doing my normal posts here about family, homeschool, opera for kids, Classical Conversations, parenting a special needs child with Gorlin Syndrome, and other stuff that I feel like sharing. I'll also be adding posts about Usborne books that match-up with our CC cycles, and I'll let you know about eShows that you can be a part of to get the monthly Customer Specials (which you can only get by going to an Usborne party or being invited to a specific eShow!). I'd love for you to like Usborne Book Barn on Facebook so you won't miss any deals and fun events.
And speaking of fun events...

My launch party kicks off April 17, but you can take advantage of the specials by shopping the presale now!

Click here for a pdf of the April specials.
These are such amazing steals!

I paid around $20 for a different book in the Illustrated series at Teach Them Diligently, and here's the fairy tale book for only $9 this month! But, remember, it's only a special for customers at the home parties or through an eShow (like mine right now!).

Click here to view the catalog of over 1400 educational and high-quality children's books that your kids will LOVE to read!
And then click here to start shoppin' my launch party eShow and get your exclusive Customer Specials!
What about you? Do you love books and helping people get them for free? Need some extra money for a vacation, kids' violin lessons, or CC tuition? (I know I just sparked some mamas' interests right there!) Join my team! I'd love to do this together with you! And, hey, summer is right around the corner; you'll have a little extra time to start your business up! Click here to learn more.
Thank you so much for your support in my new business as I try to help my family make some life-long memories together. Stay tuned for great Usborne books for Cycle 3! And don't forget to like The Barn on Facebook so you don't miss any great deals and events. :)

(and I promise I won't always sound like a commercial; I'm just super-excited to share these awesome books and eShow specials with you!)