Calls at odd hours started to occur since both women lived on islands, but on opposite sides of the country. One enjoying the beauty of a small island off of Washington State, while the other thrived on the chaos, hustle and bustle of life of Long Island, New York.Very soon the name Val became unwelcome to three children in New York, and a call from Kathy made two babes in Washington meltdown.

Suddenly, moms who were only too willing to play outside or chat on the sofa were now consumed with calls and emails, letters and articles. Hugs and snuggles were given with one arm while the other was typing on the computer. Replies to questions about when dinner would be made or walks taken soon became “One minute, mommy is building her media empire.”

Husbands accustomed to clean houses and homemade meals (More Val’s husband than Kathy’s) were coming home to take-out food and dishes in the sink, piles of laundry and wives saying, “How was work today?” while hunched over a computer at all hours of the night.

Then one day, almost by miracle, the magazine was ready to launch. Excitement, joy and overwhelming gratitude overcame the two women, who by now were not only business partners, but really good friends.

This little idea grew quickly, but not without the help of many, many people.

With the risk of sounding like an Oscar acceptance speech we really feel the need to acknowledge those people who without their help this venture would never be possible.

First off, we would like to thank our families. Parents, sisters, in-laws and friends quickly lent their support and encouragement. We could not have done, or continue to do this, without all your help.

We got lucky and married two great guys who support and believe in this project 110%. Mere thank you’s don’t seem enough.

We also have wonderful children who are learning along with us how to balance this life/work thing. They have taught us that sometimes the best choice is to just stop working and play.

This project may have been guided by us, but it could not have taken flight without the fabulous bloggerswho, sight unseen, trusted their work to us.

We are forever grateful to all of you talented women. Our hope is that we give your words and pictures a beautiful showcase and the chance for a new audience to see what wonderful sites you have created.

To our blogging friends who lovingly wrote and continue to write original content for us, we give a huge heartfelt thank you. You have helped make Bonbon Break more than a place to find great sites, you have helped turn it into a creative community of women.

A giant thank you to Melonie and Chris of Tif and Gif Creative. If you think our site is beautiful and easy to navigate, it is due to the creativity, commitment and skill of these two amazing web designers. They were so patient with us and really made us feel like this project was their only one. If you are looking for design services big or small, you could do no better than these two incredibly talented people.

If you love Bonbon Break’s logo, it is the creation of the extremely skilled and accomplished Jenn Rigg of Loea Designs. She took our idea and just ran with it to forge a logo we simply adore. If you are looking for a designer to listen to you and understand your concept, you really need look no further than Jenn.

And last, but certainly not least, to our readers we want to extend a very happy hello and welcome. Thank you for taking a moment of your precious time to check us out. It is our deepest desire to become a fun place to hang out while exploring some wonderful new sites. We look forward to you joining us week after week to celebrate the happy, messy, hectic and often crazy life we call motherhood.

We hope you enjoy the second issue of Bonbon Break. We have another collection of entertaining and informative sites and writers to share with you this week. Come on in!

~ Kathy and Val ~