Motherhood Incorporated

• 30Apr

  A Day in the Life of a Virtual Assistant

  Being a Mom, Children, Virtual Assistants, Working from Home No Comments

  by Shannon Penrod

  People ask me all the time what I do. When I tell them I am a Virtual Assistant they still ask, “But what do you do?” I explain to them that Virtual Assistants do virtually anything from research, to writing and all manner of office related tasks in between.  We just perform these wonders from the comfort of our own circumstances. 

  For me that means working from home, around my 4 year old son’s hectic schedule.  You might think, “How hectic can a 4 year old’s schedule be?” You would be surprised.  Most 4 years olds these days are busy.  My little guy is super busy.  He’s recovering from autism on a minute by minute basis which literally is a full time job.  My son goes to pre-school 5 days a week and then has 30 more hours of ABA therapy in our home per week.  Factor in speech therapy, physical therapy, clinics, play dates, and the birthday party ciruit and we’re talking about a schedule that would make the energizer bunny tired. 

  So how does all of that translate into some sort of a work schedule for me?  Here is what my day was like today:

  6:20 Rise and turn on the computers (I have 2!) Unload the dishwasher while waiting letting the computers boot.

  6:30 Placed a call to Florida to tell a new client that I had recieved her faxes

  6:35 Converted an AVI video file into a .mov file and a .flv file transfered the files between computers and emailed the files to a client who needed them for his website.

  6:40 Wrote 3 blogs for a local real estate legend

  7:00 Had breakfast with my son and my husband.

  7:30 Loaded my son into the car and drove him to speech therapy.

  8:00 Handed my son over to the speech therapist.Organized my day’s schedule and called the AVI file client to make sure he recieved the file.

  8:30 Walked my son from speech to his Pre-K class and spoke briefly with his teachers and 1:1 aide.  Kissed my son good bye and drove home.

  9:00 Arrived at home and started a load of laundry and sat down to write.  Wrote 2 more blogs for the local real estate legend and emailed them off with photos for approval. Wrote 9 additional blogs for realtors around the country and emailed them out for approval.  Front loaded 8 blogs from the previous days approvals so they will post to the clients blogs in the future.  Monitered comments on 4 websites and answered 5 emailed client questions.

  12:15 Had lunch with my son who had been picked up from school by my husband.

  12:30 Greeted the first therapist at the door, played with my son while she prepared the programs she wanted to work on with him.

  12:45 Back at work, did research on the real estate trends and located pictures for upcoming blogs.

  2:45 Played with my son while the therapist recorded data from her session with my son.

  3:00 Took my son swimming in our complex’s pool.

  3:45 Arrived at home, the next therapist waiting at our door. Changed both my son and myself out of wet bathing suits and updated the therapist on my son’s progress at school.

  4:00 Back at work.  Made 4 client phone calls, sent 8 emails answering questions, requests and other issues.  Composed and sent a letter requested by a client.  Compiled and sent out my monthly invoices.

  5:45 Cooked dinner with my son as the second therapist compiled data from the session with my son.

  6:10 Ate dinner with my son.

  7:00 Put my son in the bathtub with some Legos and checked email while he played.

  7:30 Watched Word World with my son and then read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone until he fell asleep.

  8:15 Checked email again.

  8:30 Welcomed my husband home from work and talked about the day’s events.

  9:00 Took a look at what the other ladies had to say in their blogs and decided to write this blog.

  What’s next?  A shower, a quick fast forward through American Idol to see who was voted off tonight and then off to bed with the latest romance novel.  That’s if I can manage to keep my eyes open.

  That was today April 30, 2008 in the life of this mom and virtual assistant.

  Tags: ABA Therapy, Autism, Blog, Blogging, Ghost Blogging, Ghost Writing, Shannon Penrod, Virtual Assistant

• 30Apr

  Motivation Leads to Emergency Room – By Nicole Perkins

  Being a Mom, Children, Nicole's Story, Working from Home No Comments

  By Nicole Perkins

  Yesterday was great – I was bursting with ideas and motivation. I wrote out a To-Do List, made some self-imposed deadlines and was ready to dig in. The problem was – as we all know – our kids have their own schedule.

  It’s going to be a busy summer for us so I outlined everything I want to have done in May – the big plans and there are a lot, and decided that each day I would knock out a couple things to get me closer – like I said, I was really inspired.

  So, first on my list was simple – get the truck washed. I had my new black FJ Cruiser parked outside for a couple days and of course the birds thought it needed some attention. My list was ambitous for the day, but it was all little things – nothing the kids and I couldn’t have fun doing so I packed some snacks and off we went.

  We pulled up to the car wash, I cleaned everything out, including the kids, and headed inside with my coupon that I actually remembered this time. My kids love the carwash – they have a huge window where you can watch the cars go through and so they raced ahead of me to get a good seat. When I got inside, my 2-yer-old son was standing on the chair and before I could finish telling him to get down before he fell, he fell – right on his face.

  I picked him up, and immediately blood was pouring out – this is a first for me and let me tell you, it is the worst feeling EVER! There was so much of it I couldn’t tell if he had lost a tooth or if it went all the way through – all I knew was that there was an Urgent Care in sight and I screamed at the lady to stop my truck – I had to go!

  He was still hysterical when we got there, both of us covered in blood and my precious 4-year-old daughter trying to calm us all down, and the hospital couldn’t have been nicer – I guess there’s a first for everything right! They cleaned us up and put us in a room and within 5 minutes, I swear, my son was trying to climb on the doctor’s stool, saying he wanted to go back to the carwash. Boys!

  Needless to say, my son is fine – teeth intact and luckily his huge lips prevented the cut from going all the way through (my husband said with the swelling he looks like a Simpson’s character)- just a mild concussion as evidenced by the vomit-soaked crib in the middle of the night which the doctor had warned me about.

  

  (Note – these are his lips without any swelling!)

  So my ambitions had to be put on hold for a day – a small price to pay for being able to stay home and be the one to take care of my adventurous baby boy.

• 30Apr

  Our Milk Money is Born!

  Ally's Story, Our Milk Money, Running Your Own Company, Starting a Company, Working from Home No Comments

  Do people really know what it takes to be a stay at home mom?  I certainly never knew. I began to wonder if others would value the products that I am selling more just because of where they came from, and how it’s value is much greater because it means a mother can stay home and raise her son
  herself, rather than send him to the only cheap daycare that was available while she worked in a large corporation- whose products may cost the same, but aren’t nearly as valuable.

  As a stay-at-home parent, I found the internet to be a useful resource, espcially since shopping with a toddler was the last thing I wanted to do. With my new little idea, I began to try and find products that were sold by stay-at-home parents like myself. I figured it was good Karma, and I happily imagined some other cyber mom performing the same search and looking to buy from ME, simply because I was a parent.
  I searched for hours, and with nothing, finally gave up. It seemed that finding a self-employed parent who sold my favorite shampoo was about as easy as shaving my legs with a tweezers .

  I knew there had to be someone out there, but if they were in the 647,005th page of an internet search, finding them would take a miracle. I murmured to myself how easy it would be to go to a site that listed all the self-employed parents across the country- and in that same fraction of a second, I knew that if there wasn’t one, I was going to create it.

  I immediately called Kelli, a fellow mom who I’d recently met and bonded with on a playdate who I knew was also looking for a new business venture. I told her about my idea, and her response was, “That’s brilliant. Let’s do it.”
  Our Milk Money was born.
  Before I knew it, I was a business owner.  Funny. Now that I am here, I can’t imagine ever working for anyone else again. 

• 30Apr

  Starting Your Own Company by Kim Hadley/ Imaginations Everything

  Imaginations Everything, Kim's Story, Running Your Own Company, Starting a Company 1 Comment

  by Kim Hadley/ Imaginations Everything

  Starting up your own business can be a daunting task. Sure, you have a great idea, friends and family encouraging you but there can be a huge chasm between the idea of, and actually sitting down and getting started doing.  I had worked in the corporate world for 20 years. My kids were in high school, so there wasn’t the same kind of time requirements, and I had a partner who had a good job, which could support us, which was a first.  It was time! I knew what I was passionate about, knew there had to be a market out there, but knew nothing about the business of running a business.  I felt totally overwhelmed when I dropped by the local business entrepreneur center, a myriad of classes and help, but it made me feel like I needed a business degree before I even began my graphic design business. Not really what I wanted, I wanted to design!One of the women there said they had an online business plan I could fill out, and that seemed a good start, so I set that up as my first task. Thankfully it was exactly what I needed to jump start. It was a very simple model, had a series of questions, with the answer fully typed in. All I had to do was re-write it for my business. What got spit out was a well formulated plan, and a To Do list, which I started on right away.

  The business took two or more years to even begin to support me in the manner that my previous job did,  yet  all along there was a sense of growth, and that it was going to viable. I know a heck of a lot more now, than I did then about running a business. But most of what I learnt didn’t come from a classroom, it came from where it usually does… on the job training!

  Check out Kim Hadley’s Website www.imaginationseverything.com and her blog at http://imaginationseverything.com/articles/.

• 29Apr

  Virtual Assistant Success Story by Kim Hadley/ Imaginations Everything

  Imaginations Everything, Kim's Story, Running Your Own Company, Starting a Company, Tips and Tricks, Virtual Assistants, Working from Home No Comments

  by Kim Hadley

  One of my favorite VA’s (virtual assistants) is Lindsay.  She came to me via a client. She was a stay at home mom, that wanted to start an e-commerce business selling beauty products, my part in the project was to help her set up the site. She and I worked together to create www.exclusivebeautyboutique.com. In the process of working with her, I could see what a firecracker she was.  During that project we got talking and it turned out she was a fit for another project I was working on, so we’ve continued to work together throughout the past year.  Sometimes we have to schedule our meetings around nap time, or we get interrupted by a crying baby, or junior wanting a cup of juice, but she always gets the job done, and done well, has so much to bring to my business in terms of her thought process, experience and expertise… it’s well worth some distractions. Check out Kim’s site at www.imaginationseverything.com and her blog at http://imaginationseverything.com/articles/.

  Tags: Exclusive Beauty Boutique, Imaginations Everything, Kim Hadley, motherhood incorporated

• 29Apr

  Is a Blog Good or A Challenge for your Site? by Shannon Penrod

  Blogging, Shannon's Story, Tips and Tricks, Web/Graphic Design No Comments

  by Shannon Penrod

  One of the questions we are frequently asked at Motherhood Incorporated, is that doesn’t blogging open up a can of worms? Many companies fear the reports from the outside. If you are truly intersted in communicating with your clients, potential clients and the public, blogging is a great way to gather opinions, get new ideas and give your public a chance to respond.

  One of the features allowed on most blogs is the option to moderate or check comments before they are posted. This allows you to weed out offensive, slanderour or just rude comments. Allowing people to know that as a company that you are interested in them and interested in making a better product can have outstanding results.

  Even having a company specific blog that is only viewable to employees can be a great way to improve on your internal customer service.

  So our advice to you? Blog! It does a company good!

  www.motherhoodincorporated.com

• 29Apr

  Motherhood Incorporated and Nicole Ocean!

  NicoleO's Story 1 Comment

  Motherood Incorporated is pleased to announce the addition of seasoned professional Nicole Ocean. The author of two books and the owner of a successful business, Nicole will be blogging for us about her life and experiences as a working mother.

  Check out Nicole’s site at www.nicoleocean.com and her ebooks!  We are thrilled to have her writing for our reading enjoyment.   Please don’t confuse her with Original Nicole!  To keep them straight we now have Nicole and Nicole O!  Welcome Nicole O!

• 29Apr

  Appreciating the Simple Things in Life by Nicole Ocean

  Blogging, Imaginations Everything, NicoleO's Story, Personal Growth No Comments

  I must say that I am finding this to be kind of therapeutic right now and I hope you are enjoying the content I am writing about!I am sure each one of you has had things that they have overcome and struggles that you have endured in the course of your life.

  I hope that you can take a moment to tell yourself, “I am proud of myself for……” and then you fill in the blank for one thing that you have experienced, learned from and now overcome in your life.If I could share with you one thing that I have overcome, I would tell you that.  ”I am proud of myself for being able to appreciate all of the simple things I have in my life.”

  To explain myself a bit more about being able to appreciate all that I have, I want for you to know that it isn’t the material items that I prize most and hold dearest to my heart. I cherish the simple things like being able to hug my son in the morning before going to school, or stopping what I am doing to appreciate something that I notice in nature that is beautiful and even in being able to think about how blessed I am to have people in my life to love and who love me. Who could ask for more than having the simple things in life?

  If you haven’t thought about all that you appreciate for being in your life, isn’t it time today to reach out and express your gratitude?

  

  By: Nicole Ocean of nicolesdreams eBooks

  www.nicoleocean.com

  www.motherhoodincorporated.com

  Tags: BPO Trainer, Broker Price Opinion, eBook author, motherhood incorporated, Nicole Ocean, nicolesdreams eBooks, Real Estate, Realtor

• 29Apr

  What is a Blog? by Shannon Penrod

  Blogging, Shannon's Story, Tips and Tricks, Web/Graphic Design No Comments

   by Shannon Penrod

  Many of you already read and subscribe to our blog, but when we asked a few of our staff  at Motherhood Incorporated about blogs, many could not answer beyond — it’s stuff you read on the web.  So I decided to put a few thoughts down about blogs, what they are and what they have in common.

  A blog is a frequently updated, personal website featuring diary-type commentary and links to articles on other Web sites. Blogs can be used to share information or just comment on the world events. Blogs range from the personal to the political, and can focus on one narrow subject or a whole range of subjects.

  Many blogs focus on a particular topic, such as parenting, relationships, sports or politics. Some are more eclectic, presenting links to all types of other sites and just a place for someone to express themselves – their likes and dislikes in a web form media. Others are more like personal journals, presenting the author’s daily life and thoughts.

  Blogs usually have a few things in common:

  • A main content area with articles listed chronologically, newest on top.
  • Articles are often are organized into categories.
  • An archive of older articles.
  • A way for people to leave comments about the articles.
  • A list of links to other related sites, sometimes called a “blogroll”.
  • One or more “feeds” like RSS, Atom or RDF files. 
  • A calendar

  What you choose to put on your blog is entirely up to you. You can use a blog offered free or you can design your own. What’s most important about a blog is that it is a reflection of you or your company.

• 29Apr

  Let The Spinning Begin

  Health&Fitness, Jennifer's Story No Comments

  I’m working on losing my pregnancy weight. I have about 15 pounds to go. It’s been almost seven months since my little boy arrived. By nine months I want to be back to my fighting weight. I always thought I would be the kind of woman that would be back in shape after just a few months of given birth. Well, life happens and sometimes things just take a bit longer.

  My plan of attack includes the gym, hiking, keeping my calories in check and remaining positive. I always set aside time in the week to have my son and husband spend quality alone time while I go to the gym. But when it comes to hiking, we all go! My husband and I will usually join forces to watch our calorie intake. The problem is we both enjoy food, a lot! We’re vegetarians and we eat pretty well (lots of veggies and fruits and tofu) but we just eat in big portions. The dreaded portion control…that’s a whole other blog!

  At the gym I like to do weights, at least three kinds for each section of the body (arms, abs, legs/butt). I then do cardio for about twenty minutes, giving it a good go (this means sweating a lot, ladies).

  This is all fine and good. But there is one exercise that will whip you into shape and make you feel like you’ve climbed Everest. It’s Spinning!! I just love it. It kicks my butt. I end up sweating so much I have to peel off my cloths. I end up drinking a very large amount of water and I feel on top of the world after words. It great. I’ve started back to class and I tell you, I just can’t get enough.

  If any of you out there are looking to really step up your workouts and get in shape quick, this is the way to go. Most gyms provide these classes for a nominal fee (my class is $2 each session). I recommend it.

  Good luck, ladies. Let the spinning begin!!

• 29Apr

  My Very First Blog Entry on motherhood by Nicole Ocean

  Blogging, Marketing Your Own Company, NicoleO's Story, Personal Growth, Running Your Own Company, Starting a Company, Virtual Assistants, Web/Graphic Design, Working from Home 2 Comments

   

  Hi there, my name is Nicole Ocean. (Yes, that is my real name, I’ll tell you more about it later) I work as a Realtor who does Broker Price Opinions full-time and Real Estate sales part-time in the state of Washington. I also keep myself busy by owning an online business where I sell eBooks that I have authored and contracting myself out on Elance.com. 

   I have been in business for myself as a Realtor since Jan. 2006 and started my eBook business in Jan. 2007. On top of all of this I am also a single mother of an awesome 8 year old boy named Nickolas Surfer Ocean. Please see his pic below.

  

  I am the type of person who was destined to be able to have my own business. Since I first started working at the age of 15 ½, I have experienced a lot of grief, frustration and disappointment in working for other people. Now that I am grown up and the sole person to be able to provide for my son and myself, having my own businesses and being able to control my own destiny has made all the difference in my life.

   

  By: Nicole Ocean of nicolesdreams eBooks

  www.nicoleocean.com

  www.motherhoodincorporated.com

  Tags: BPO Trainer, Broker Price Opinion, eBook author, motherhood incorporated, Nicole Ocean, nicolesdreams eBooks, Real Estate, Realtor

• 28Apr

  Motherhood Incorporated En Espanol!

  En Espanol No Comments

  Nope! Your eyes are not deceiving you. We are now offering one of our favorite blog writers in Spanish. This allows us to reach further into the community of Spanish Speaking mothers who find the information we provide more helpful in their native language. We are really proud of our offering and thank Julia Rodriguez for providing her blogs in both English and in Spanish.

  Well Done! Julia Rodriguez!

• 28Apr

  El Nombre Para Tu Negocio Por: Julia Rodriguez

  Blogging, En Espanol, Marketing Your Own Company, Organization, Running Your Own Company, Starting a Company, Working Away from Home, Working from Home 1 Comment

  Por: Julia Rodriguez 

  El nombramiento de tu negocio puede ser un paso difícil en comenzar tu negocio.  Discutimos la materia con nuestro consejera de motherhood incorporated y hicimos  una lista de cosas que debes considerar al nombrar tu negocio.

  ¿Venderé mi negocio?
  El nombramiento de tu negocio con tu nombre o apellido no es una buena idea. Será difícil que lo vendas. Considera esto. Si nombras tu negocio flores de Hernández, tú tienes que encontrar a alguien con el mismo apellido para que lo compre.

  Permitir el sitio para el crecimiento.
  Cerciorarte de que coloques tu negocio para crecer. Por ejemplo, si quieres abrir un negocio de la limpieza, no lo nombres limpiadores caseros estupendos. Esto permite solamente que limpies hogares. Solo nombralo limpiadores estupendos. Esta manera puedes limpiar hogares, oficinas, fiestas y mucho más.

  ¿El nombre hace fácil hacer publicidad?
  Elegir un nombre que haga fácil para que encuentres una insignia y fácil hacer publicidad. Esto te ahorrará dinero y medirá el tiempo al elegir tarjetas de visita o un Web site.

  Y recuerda, siempre divertirse con él. Estás abriendo un negocio que permitea que hagas dinero y el más importante, haces lo que amas.

   Si tienes un asunto o una pregunta, agregar por favor los comentarios y te contestaré seguramente detrás.

  Tags: abriendo tu negocio, Blogs en espanol

• 28Apr

  Motherhood Incorporated Blogs En Español Por: Julia Rodriguez

  Blogging, En Espanol, Virtual Assistants, Working Away from Home, Working from Home No Comments

  Por: Julia Rodriguez 

  Grandes noticias. Motherhood Incorporated comenzará al blog en español. Nuestro objetivo es alcanzar a la comunidad hispánica y abrazar los talentos, la educación, y las experiencias de mujeres por todas partes.

  Motherhood Incorporated se dedica a traer a mujeres expertas nuevamente dentro de la fuerza de trabajo que se salió de sus trabajos por un número de razónes. Ésto esta hecho de una manera que acomoda el cliente y nuestras trabajadoras.

  Puedes visitar nuestro Web site para más información.

  www.motherhoodincorporated.com

  Tags: abrir negocio, Blogs en espanol, Spanish Blogs, trabajo en casa

• 28Apr

  Blogging Basics – by Shannon Penrod

  Blogging, Tips and Tricks No Comments

   by Shannon Penrod

  Having trouble getting people to look at your blog?  It could be that people are having trouble finding it. The 1st lesson in blog marketing is making your blog easy to find.  And I mean EASY! 

  If I don’t see a big button on your main page that says BLOG, chances are that I am not going find it.  Why spend thousands of dollars on a website and then invest the time to blog without making it incredibly easy to find? 

  Give me a button.  It’s the easiest way for me to get to your blog.  It makes me happy.  And if I’m honest if I don’t see a button, I just assume that there isn’t a blog. Or I assume you don’t want me to read your blog.  End the controversy, give me a BLOG button, make it big, make it noticeable.  Then get ready for traffic!

  I am going to be posting a few blogs on blogging — sounds funny I know, but we at Motherhood Incorporated know how powerful our blog is for our readers and we want to share what we know with you.  Any questions, please email me at shannon@motherhoodincorporated.com.

• 28Apr

  The Best Things in Life…..Cost a Buck!

  Children, Shannon's Story No Comments

  by Shannon Penrod

  I’m a working Mom. I am forever trying to pinch a penny, nickel, dime or quarter.  At the same time I want my child to feel as if the possibilities are endless, that money is never an issue.  It’s the Mommy magic trick!  Yesterday we had the most wonderful experience and a dream come true for only one dollar! 

  Every year the Shriners have their circus perform at The Shrine Auditorium.  The performances serve two purposes, to raise money for children who are disabled and need medical care and to also offer free circus tickets to children with disabilities.  Because our son has autism we were offered free tickets.  What a wonderful thing for our son! He was so excited that words tumbled out of his mouth! An autism mom’s dream!

  AND! For one dollar he got to conduct The Shriner’s Band – with his light saber. If you don’t have a Star Wars obsessed son, the importance may escape you – but trust me – it was a very big deal.

  Watch the video and know that dreams do come true, for working moms, for kids with disabilities, and for fabulous Shriners who want to make kids get better!  Thank you Shriners!

  Tags: Autism, Shannon Penrod, Shriners, Star Wars

• 28Apr

  My Movable Office

  Being a Mom, Home Office, Jennifer's Story, Organization, Working from Home 1 Comment

  I love working from home and being at home with my son. I’m a fairly organized person so my “office” is usually well kept. But where is my office? It’s everywhere.

  I work from my laptop. Therefore I can carry my “office” around the house. It makes working and being a mom easier. As any mom knows, you must be mobile. Able to get from one place to another, often relocating yourself in your home for the convenience of being were the baby is. So, when he plays in his room, my laptop and I go there. When he’s in the living room, my laptop and I sit at the kitchen table. When we want some fresh air, we all go out into the yard.

  My laptop isn’t the only tool I must have with me to work from home. I have my trusty folder. I’m not talking the electronic type but the old school type. In my folder I have all my passwords to different hotmail accounts and websites. I have contact phone numbers I’ve jotted down. I have notes and thoughts that I write down when my computer is off. I have my folder ready and waiting so I can take it with me when necessary.

  I do have an office space. It’s a huge desk my husband and I share where we keep all the office necessities. We also have a large file cabinet. But I rarely work from just my desk. I’m always moving my office around.

  At first I wasn’t sure if this constant movement of my office would make me feel less organized and together. But quickly I became used to it. Now I can maneuver here and there as long as I have my laptop, and when needed, my folder. This ability to move around actually makes me feel less pressure and stress to be only in one place when I work. I can multi-task, as all moms do, and feel I’m being a good mom and contributing as a working woman, too!

• 28Apr

  Kim Hadley of Imaginations Everything Joins the Motherhood Incorporated Blog

  Imaginations Everything, Kim's Story, Web/Graphic Design 1 Comment

  Today, Motherhood Incorporated is pleased to announce that Kim Hadley of Imaginations Everything is joining our team as a regular blogger.  Kim is a single mother of 3 wonderful sons and is building her business www.imaginationseverything.com while raising her family.  If you want to see a really exciting site, then head to her website. It’s really something! And she too has a fantastic blog about web sites.

  Kim is a web and graphic designer and she is going to be adding her tips, tricks and techniques regarding getting your first site done or improving your current site.  She has loads of helpful information that she will be sharing with you over the next few months.

  We look forward to interesting and informative blogs which will be organized under our three new categories, Kim’s story, Imaginations Everything and Web/Graphic Design.  And thank you to those who have written in and asked for information about websites and graphic design.

  Welcome Kim!

• 27Apr

  Working Mom Finds Stress Relief by Sandra Beck

  Being a Mom, Entertaining, Husbands, Sandra's Story, Tips and Tricks 1 Comment

   by Sandra Beck

  Last night, I had had it with my job. I just couldn’t do one thing right. I know I should be grateful for my opporunity to work from home, but this week it meant — run to the grocery — return calls on the way — pick up repaired shoes — email from the store parking lot — race home and start dinner while reading email — then as I tossed the meat on the grill I looked at the calendar and realizes that we had my son’s pre-school friend and his mother coming over for a swim, I nearly lost it. I was so overloaded I thought I was going to scream or cry. And this was a Saturday…

  I rolled back the pool cover to a musty smell that told me the automatic chlorinator was clogged again. I turned on the filter and ran around like a lunatic looking for shock to clean the pool…finding none — my ownly choice was to use the chlorine tablets. They were too big to dissolve quickly and get the chlorine into the pool fast enough.

  I actually beat some chlorine tablets to death with my husband’s expensive softball bat. I pounded up in little pieces in order to throw them into the skimmer – as the dogs ran for cover…the meat burned while I smashed the little white tablets into smithereens and you know what? It felt good.

  It felt really good.  I would suggest any working mother pool owner to take a bat to a tablet any day any time she needs relief.

  The meat sucked and the pool was still a little smelly, but thanks to my stress relief, I actually relaxed enough to have a  good time. Now I just have to explain all the dents in the cement walkway…

  www.motherhoodincorporated.com

  www.sandrabeck.com

• 25Apr

  Motherhood Incorporated Tribute Pages to Mothers

  Being a Mom, Sandra's Story No Comments

  We thought it would be fun on mother’s day to honor our mothers- who are our own, our friends, our sisters and our inspiration in our own unique way.  Since this is a public blog, where better to honor our mothers!

  We will post any blog that is respectfully written. Please for privacy issues, please only list the mother as name and initial: like Gloria B. or Susan H.   We think this would be a fun way to honor our mothers in cyberspace.  Please keep the blog under 150 words and tell us either a funny story, a great example or a tribute to this special mom.  No pictures please.

  Send your Motherhood Tribute Blog to: amazingmom@motherhoodincorporated.com

  On mother’s day, email your special mother and tell her to check out her own blog!  Tell her friends and family to expect it and it will be there. We think this will be a blast – we hope you do to!

  Tags: Moms, Motherhood, Mothers

• 25Apr

  Our Family Portrait at Sears by Sandra Beck

  Being a Mom, Children, Household, Keeping Kids Busy, Sandra's Story, Working Away from Home, Working from Home No Comments

  While I was working today, I looked at my notes and realized the last time I had the kids photographed was eighteen months ago.  Where had the time gone?  I quickly called the Sears Portrait Studio near our home and headed over with the kids in their nice clean clothes.

  Two hours later, they had kicked each other and I separated one biting episode.  My business clothes that I had selected so carefully in a pipe dream of getting a new headshot at the same time were crammed in the bottom of the stroller that I used to contain my screaming spawn.

  To be fair, the camera broke and we lost the first set of photos. We had to reshoot them all which by this time my toddler had scratched his face and smeared his clothes with dirt from the studio.  My other son, now four, lay sullenly on the floor — apparently too tired to smile.

  Bribes of ice cream fell flat. Bribes of candy worked only temporarily when I realized I only had one small roll of candy to last two hours with two hungry boys. The photographer was a lovely young woman with more patience than a person has a right to have at that age. 

  At the end of the boys session, I hopped in for a quick snap and even though my hair wasn’t done and my makeup was ruined – my favorite blue sweater still held up for this photo. After working in an enviroment in Beverly Hills for a long time where you only took your kids to the best private photographer I was happily surprised at how good the photos looked, how nice the people were — and hey! a broken camera could happen to anyone.  At the end of the day, I got what I wanted.  Nice pictures of the boys and the one I jumped in a the end will grace my desk for years to come.

  I am going to go back next week for a headshot and see how that goes. But for now, if you have been working like me and haven’t dropped into Sears or Walmart or any of the local portrait studies — run down and take a few snaps.  I am thrilled that I have them and despite the effort it took to get us all there clean, neat and fuss free…it was worth it!  And I promised myself that I won’t let another year and a half slip by….

   by Sandra Beck

  www.sandrabeck.com

  www.motherhoodincorporated.com

• 25Apr

  Rose Kennedy – Words of Wisdom – By Nicole Perkins

  Being a Mom, Home Office, Keeping Kids Busy, Nicole's Story, Working from Home 2 Comments

  By Nicole Perkins

  Back in my cubicle days, I had a very specific lineup of things to help inspire me on my desk, a handful of which remain with me today. There’s a mini-print of Monet’s “Wisteria” which brought me to tears when I saw it in person at the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris.

   

  I also have a photo of “The Dude,” from the movie The Big Lebowski. That movie kills me – and helps remind me to be more laid back.

   

  We also had a Barbie we would dress up and award weekly to someone on our team who went the extra mile – and I was honored to be presented with it when I left to become a mom.

  Another item that has made it with me this far is a little flipbook of quotes and inspirational phrases. I love these kind of things – universal quips that help snap you back to reality, especially as a writer. There’s only so much inspiration you can get staring at a blank computer screen!

  Before I was a mom, the quote on display was,

  “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” Katharine Hepburn.

  You can see where my priorities were! But from the time I found out I was pregnant, and still, to this day, it has remained on,

  “I looked on child rearing not only as a work of love and duty, but as a profession that was fully as interesting and challenging as any honorable profession in the world and one that demanded the best that I could bring to it.” Rose Kennedy.

  It helps remind me to not just react to my kids and their behavior, but to try and be proactive in their development, which is hard sometimes when you are trying to get so many other things done in a day. There’s only so long we can expect our children to occupy themselves with only our partial attention.

  When it feels like I am spending my whole day telling them to be good and NOT do things so I can get something done, it helps me realize why I stayed home in the first place and that maybe it’s time I showed my kids the things they CAN do. The laundry isn’t going anywhere!

• 24Apr

  Understanding the Way you Work in Your Home Office By Sandra Beck

  Beth's Story, Home Office, Organization, Running Your Own Company, Starting a Company, Tips and Tricks, Working from Home No Comments

  by Sandra Beck 

  Last week, I mentioned that I am a messy office owner. I am disorganized and no one is allowed to clean in there but me. And after 40 years on this planet I own that part of myself.  I am proud of it. It is me. I will never be neat. There I said it.

  I am however an organizing professional so I understand fully that it takes all kinds.  When you set up your home office, you need to get real with yourself .   You need to make your office work with you — not work with your office. I find this too stressful. I am sloppy and successful. All that matters at the end of the day is I can get my work done and I can collect my money so I can live my life with my family. Period.

  If you are the type of person who bounces from project to project, has tons of ideas, and wants to accomplish everything but rarely has time to do anything, you are the Messmaster Elite.  Contrary to most of the home office books I have read, you need to have lots of bulletin boards, places to stick postit and bins to hold research, junk and papers.  Be proud of being a Messmaster Elite Member. Its the way you work. So go with it.

  If you have polished and dusted your desk since you have read the last paragraph then you are the Perfect Organizer.  Again, contrary to most of the home office and organization books I have read, you need to invest in pretty boxes, file drawers, a label maker and Pledge.  I live with a Perfect Organizer and work with one who is delightful in her own neat and tidy way.  Trying to initiate a Perfect Organizer into the Messmaster Elite is like getting a cat to swim.

  Most of us fall in between the two groups…there is The Stasher, the Stacker, the Re-Organizer, the Paper Chaser.  The whole point is to set up your home office space to serve you – your work habits and how you work. Tell the others to go jump in a lake if they don’t like it. Your home office is about you, not them.   And if your family gets on, just post your a copy of your first check on the wall and point to it when they comment.

• 24Apr

  First Time Air Travel

  Children, Jennifer's Story, Organization, Tips and Tricks, Travel No Comments

  Do you have worries about flying for the first time with your baby? I did. Not anxiety worry, just general worry. Will his ears plug? Will he cry the entire time? Will he poop all over his outfit? Will he become restless and bored? All these questions and more filled my mind as I prepared for our journey.

  Worrying about what might happen was not something I wanted to be doing. I decided to take it as it came and to just prepare the best I could.

  I did the basics. The diaper bag was full of diapers, wipes, a bottle full of filtered water, books (two to read and a soft one for him to chew on), burp cloths, a change of clothes, saline nose drops, gas drops, a couple toys, a light blanket, anti-baccterial wipes and a few other odds and ends. He nurses so I fed him on take off and landing. I didn’t have him nap before our flight so he slept like a “baby” for most of the two flights that we took. On top of that, he smiled and charmed those around us.

  Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to sound like the mom of the year. He is not mobile and still quite young so he’s easier to wrangle and soothe. I know full well that once he gets a bit older, he will be more demanding and harder to appease. But I must say, I was pleased. On our flight back, their was a couple with there two year old across from us. He was restless and fussy most of the flight. I said to my husband, “We must enjoy this time because that could very well be us next.”

  So all went well. We have three more trips planned this year. I might be singing a different tune. But I’m not going to worry. I’m just going to prepare. .

• 23Apr

  Ally’s Jewelry Business

  Ally's Story, Marketing Your Own Company, Our Milk Money, Running Your Own Company, Starting a Company, Working from Home 2 Comments

  I started making jewelry. It was relaxing and fun, and I did my best thinking while working quietly with my hands. One day, while trying to copy an expensive necklace I’d seen in a magazine, I started thinking about the value of the jewelry I was creating. The one in the magazine was probably
  over $200, and reproduced many times over so that many would enjoy purchasing and then wearing it.

  Mine looked exactly the same, and cost me no more that $3 to make. I could sell it for $50 and still feel that I was over
  charging. I started dreaming about actually selling my necklace and what that $50 would mean to me and my family. At that point, we were beginning to feel for the first time what it was like to be poor. Now that we were being deprived
  of my previous salary, we had begun to experience a real financial shock to our once- comfortable lives.

  We’d recently become conscious of every dollar spent in order to survive. So, an extra $50 would be such a nice bonus. I
  wondered what $50 would mean to the department store that sold their expensive necklace. Pure pocket change, I imagined.
  My thoughts took me to another place- would people buy my necklace over the store’s necklace if they knew I was a mom? What if they knew that I’d be able to buy milk and warm clothes for my son? I had to believe that if presented that way, and my jewelry was made as easily accessible to them,
  they’d choose to support me and my family…all for just purchasing a necklace that they would have bought anyway.

  Next week, see how Ally turns her business into an online business — not just for jewelry but for all work at home parents!

  Check out her site at www.ourmilkmoney.com

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