A Story About our Monkey Bugs Beginning

As, I'm sure most of you know by now, I am a mom of twin girls. I have a love for those girls that knows no bounds. But being a mom who stays at home has been very difficult at times. I began to search for ways that I might be able to contribute to our family income, while still being the number one caretaker for my children (because I'm selfish, like that!).


I thought about working during the times my husband is at home, starting a day care business, writing a book. I struggled with each of these, for various reasons. Then one day, I dragged my mom to a sale for children. It was a great sale! A bunch of moms got together and had tables of kid type goodies to sell, and at the end of the day, they went home with a whole bunch of money in their pockets. Through out the day, my mom and I decided that we had so much fun shopping, we wanted to continue. So we hit a couple of resale shops, and a Fred Meyer, and it was there, in the middle of the FM shoe department (where I had once worked myself, a long, long time ago) that it HIT me. Like a ton of bricks! I looked at my mom, probably with crazy eyes, and told her: Mom, I could do this! Of course, being my mom she totally knew what I meant. And she said, in the best supportive mom voice: "Yes you can!" And so, standing in the middle of Freddy's, holding a pair of brand new $40 toddler Nike's in my hand, my idea for a chilidren's resale store was born. (The story of how I told my husband about my idea, and the fact that I wanted to start in our garage, went a totally different way! Luckily he came around, and is my number one supporter now!)


The name of my new little baby (the resale store of course), came almost as easy as the store idea. My little girls, all 18 months of them now, were my inspiration. I called one Monkey, and the other Boog, quite a bit. So, I tossed a couple of combinations around, and one I kind of liked was Monkey Boog, but Monkey Boog just didn't sound right to me. I kind of varied between calling her Boog and Bug (honestly it is what ever is spewed out at the time). So, I tried out Monkey Bugs, and gosh darn it, I fell in love with the name!


After two events at local churches in the Eugene/Springfield area, I feel we have gotten off to a great start. I have a lot of great ideas for the future of Monkey Bugs, and I feel very excited for our future. I hope our customer base keeps growing, and the excitement about the business keeps generating.


I am so thankful for all of our valued customers who have been so willing to try out a new store and idea, and even to follow us to our different locations! Thank you, seems like such a small word, but your support for Monkey Bugs helps put food on the table for my girls, keeps my mind busy, and gives me a creative outlet! Without you, there would be no Monkey Bugs, and what a sad, sad thing that would be!


This blog will serve as a place to show off our new pieces of inventory, keep you posted on future events and for me to express myself through the written word of Gina. Oh, how fun that will be!


As always, please LIKE us on Facebook, if you haven't already (we love feedback, so leave us some!). There, you will be able to stay current on all Monkey Bugs happenings and interact with me and all the fans on the page. You can also email us at monkey_bugs@yahoo.com or our brand new email address monkeybugsresale@gmail.com, if you have any questions and comments.


Can't wait to see you at the next event!