When we first opened the doors to Bloom Essentials in 1997, Kim and I had no idea. No idea how much time and energy Bloom would require. No idea the roller coaster of emotions that would come with business ownership. And certainly no idea about the weight of responsibility that comes with having people depend on you for their livelihood. We were, after all, just kids ourselves.

Looking back, now that we are both mothers, it is easy to see that Bloom was truly our first born. We nurtured our business from that first day, hoping she would one day be successful and independent. Feeding her with our energy and ideas, we watched her grow slowly but surely into a strong business. Of course there were rough spots along the way when we weren't sure we were doing anything right, but small little victories kept us going and the rewards began to outweigh the sacrifices.

Bloom will turn 15 this June and we must have done something right because she has turned into a very capable teenager. We are still there, doing what we've always done, but her needs are not so immediate and demanding as they once were. The roller coaster is less scary and the weight of the responsibility is more bearable. We can enjoy being in the spa, but our team is immensely capable if we happen to not be there. We can focus more on the big picture and a little less on the laundry.

We have been thinking about this a lot lately as we raise our boys, this process of raising a business that in turn allows us to raise our babies. We feel so truly lucky to have the best of both worlds. Changing diapers, wiping noses and playing at the park means working like mad women during nap time and after bedtime, but somehow it all works out. There won't always be little people underfoot and one day we'll be back at it full time, but in the meantime we are so thankful for our first born. And so are the little faces below...

Kim spends her time chasing this little happy-go-lucky guy around.

My days are filled with this silly-yet-serious boy and his little brother, who is now 12 weeks old and making up for his early arrival.

Welcome to the twelfth and final day of our extravaganza! 

Everyone's drinks sounded equally yummy so we decided to make the daily winner a randomly chosen contestant. This means Andrea S. (Peppermint white chocolate mocha? Yum!) is the lucky winner of a $25 gift certificate. Congrats! We will be in touch with Andrea and all the other daily winners by end of day today. 

Welcome to day 11! Thank you for sharing your best gifts ever. We are reminded that a little effort put into gift giving can really mean so much to the recipient. Oh, and we're going easy on you today as a reward for putting so much thought and effort into the last few challenges.

Welcome to day 10! Are you hanging in there? We couldn't give away pedicures for a whole year without making you work for it, now could we? Oh yes, this is a marathon, not a sprint!