Mom 4 Biz

When “What Not to Wear” becomes the only television show you watch on television, it’s time to take a stroll through a local mall or contact the Personal Clothing Valet Duo to see what you can do about your after-the-fact wardrobe. It doesn’t really matter what the “fact” was… Any fact will do, but when it’s gone and your wardrobe needs repairing, what do you do?

Some Mom’s write an article and pray for income from their writing efforts – it does work – sometimes.

Others take the credit card and charge it to the max at a local dress shop. My daughters and I both like to head for the local mall and Victoria’s Secret. There’s nothing like sexy, well fitting underwear to make a girl feel special.

Next stop – Lerners – for a wardrobe of pretty sweaters, skirts and slacks to wear during the rest of winter.

Brenna’s Mary Kay Make Over Party will follow with a whole selection of new make up, hair styling and fun trying on clothes with friends. Can this party be beat? No way, and all the girls feel particularly special with a new wardrobe and a fresh, easy make up routine.

I remember those early days of being pregnant as furthering the emotional reliance of needing romance. I so desperately wanted to feel loved during those early days. When my, now ex-husband would shove me away or cut me down by telling me I wasn’t attractive to him, I felt sad and disillusioned by the process, but I still wanted romance. In fact, I still felt that being pregnant was romantic.

Then came the days when I began to feel “big and ugly” even though others told me how lovely I was, because my body didn’t fit into the pretty clothing in my closet any more. I was fine being pregnant even then, but I wanted someone to tell me I looked amazing. The baby growing inside was enough for me, but I really needed to hear that I was still attractive.

Then along came the bruising last days of pregnancy and I wasn’t feeling romantic anymore, I didn’t feel as if I was doing anything important, I just felt the abuse of my intestines and internal organs. The suffering was definitely overpowering the romantic feelings of creating a miracle. I was ready to be done with being pregnant… But, being pregnant wasn’t exactly done with me.

Those were my issues, way back when I was pregnant with my  youngest son. Now, watching my daughters endure the rigors of pregnancy, I’ve noticed similar feelings among their days. Good and bad days happen and both trivialize the consummate awareness of giving birth to the next generation.

As Jr. and/or Mini-me push  toward their goal of arrival, bruising ribs, shredding skin tone, and frustrating new mommies to tears frequently, I’m fully aware of the delicate balance between romance and “NO ROMANCE HERE.”

“Who’s picking up the kids?”

The catch phrase of most any conversation I’ve had with a family member in recent weeks has had that question in the middle. Somebody is working at a full time job, another is working part time and the rest are off to whatever event they’ve chosen to fill their time with… but then there’s the stay at home, work from home mom in the midst. Call her. Read the rest of this entry »

Moms everywhere have figured out that getting up at midnight to change the bedding is a pain in the sleep pattern. Bedwetting ends a perfect night’s rest, and it should be stopped if possible. Here’s a solution!

By using a bedwetting alarm, you not only alert the child to the fact that s/he wet the bed immediately, but you’re getting up immediately to change the bed, and prevent the child from getting comfortable again – with the problem. While you still have to get up for a few nights, within a week or so, your child will be waking up and going to the potty instead of remaining in a wet bed. Once the comfort zone is broken, new habits can be formed to make a better night’s sleep possible.

Of course, you’d give up a week of rest for a lifetime of better sleeping habits. Any parent would! This alert gives you quick and easy means of breaking those bad habits fast, before they become a settled fact of life.

An easy way to make those changes is to talk to your child and explain what’s going to happen before the big night. Once your child understands, place the warning alarm in the room and show your child the functional parts. Explain and sound off the alarm, so your child knows what to expect. S/he may actually get up and go potty from the first time the alarm goes off – without the added disruption of having to change the bedding.

Need some tools to make those late night bed changes a snap? These cotton liners speed up the process by making it easy to change just the part of the bed that is wet. Your little dumplin will be back in bed faster, and you’ll be done with the wet night sheets, in a flash. Grab a package of these incredible, quick change cotton bed liners. They will make your life easier – by multiples.

Mom Innovations offers a whole spectrum of wet protection solutions. Just click on the link and find your toddler solution – all in one simple, easy to order online location. No messing with car seats, products will be delivered to your door.

The best part is, you’ll be eliminating the smelly wet sheet problem fast with this easy bedwetting solution and your little dumplin will be able to get a good night’s rest fast!

“Mommy, I forgot my water.” The words of an innocent two year old brought laughter for days after.

In the darkness of the midnight hour, the realization of what life must have been like a seventy years ago, in a two room sod hut on the prairies of Colorado when my grandparents shared their home with a married daughter, her husband and their four younger children, comes to life. As young couples across the United States seek to cut the outrageous costs of living, many choose to co-mingle households with other family members.

Privacy issues?

The topic often comes up. How do you get around the privacy issues? Then we chatter about the options. “There are options you know…” my son-in-law laughs at the idea of conception. “I’m pretty sure we conceived behind the tennis courts,” he shrugs. “It was dark, we took a walk, and um…”

I raise an eye brow and suggest that I probably don’t need details, but the discussion reminds me again of my grandparents two room stone and sod hut on the prairies. How did they have any privacy? There were no extra rooms. Nobody spent the night at a motel back then. And, I can assure you, they weren’t making out in the cozy comfort of the back seat of a 1957 Chevrolet in 1940. Married couples didn’t always have their own rooms for the wedding night even.

In one case, I remember a young couple talking about spending their wedding night in the lean-to attached to her parents home, because it would be their home in the coming months, until her husband had earned enough to build a home of their own on the back forty acres of her father’s ranch. Others had less privacy.

A two bedroom apartment may offer the simple privacy of two bedrooms, but with children who go to bed early and two families sharing a residence, there may be a question as to who gets the bedroom? One couple in the master, kids in the extra bedroom and the other couple on the couch is a good solution, until someone needs a drink in the middle of the night.

Can we say mood killer?

Sharing that two room mansion on the prairie in the tailwinds of the dirty 30’s, my Aunt and Uncle managed to conceive and deliver two children. I won’t tell you they weren’t slightly brain damaged from the experience, but seriously, none the worse for the wear of their entrance into the world. Both managed to grow up, have children and be productive adults most of their lives. And, I’ve heard plenty of stories about the delightful events, acknowledgments and intrusions that filtered through lives lived in close proximity.

Not even the Coolest Woman on the Planet can top that story!

As for young couples sharing a residence in today’s world – should I suggest you enjoy those moments of uninterrupted pleasures and when you do get interrupted, laugh it off. It’s nothing that hasn’t happened in the past…

Now, about that tennis court situation…

The average Mom has a few minutes a day to accomplish some small task other than Mommy-dom, but not enough to spend 8 hours a day on the job. It takes a lot of time to raise the next generation RIGHT.

Between reading to your kids, adding in some quiet time for yourself, keeping up with the work of preparing meals, cleaning up, and just being a Mom, there really isn’t much time for creating an income. Those of us who are single moms know the value of working from home, because we can spend time with our children and still spend time working to earn money to support our precious children. That’s important too.

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Become a Well-Fed Writer with self-fulfilling goals and achievements that bring your bacon to the table.
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So, what’s a great mom to do about that all-important career while she takes time out to be a mom?

Blog for Money – Mom’s do IT from Home.

For a sampling of blogs from Mommy’s with a Purpose:

Visit Pages of Parenthood where Brenna Verhoeff shares the value of intuitive parenting from the perspective of a single mom. Her laughs and spontaneous communications will bring hours of fun and joy, not to mention the delicious recipes she’s sharing.

Or connect with Shannon Lueck, whose internet business moved her family to Hawaii for an exciting new family adventure.

Either of these ladies would love to share the process of making money online, and help you to attain your own goals by showing you links to helpful tools, suggestions, and other interesting projects you can do to earn your way over the Internet or from your home.

It’s as easy as 1-2-3.

Make Money Blogging

Hey – if you’re looking for a great way to make money from home, I have the solution. Sign up for a weekly newsletter on Blogging by clicking on the link – button to the left. It’s fun!

Just click the button and join Mom4Biz as we blog our way to better economic benefits for our families!

“It is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings.” ~ Ann Landers

Home School – 5 Steps to Leadership in Action with High Value Education

Homeschooling, a sleeping giant of the American Education system, increases leadership ability in children. Using critical thinking options missing in public school arenas, home schoolers have succeeded in bringing leadership to the front in educational options.

1 – Students perform all tasks possible for self care from an early age.

As young as 9 months, babies begin moving around enough to start doing their own thing. Once they begin to move, moms encourage them to pick up their toys. By making this process a game and showing them how it’s done, children begin to learn that picking up is just as much fun as playing and the process becomes a part of their actions. As soon as a child is old enough to perform a task, they begin performing that task regularly. Even a toddler can help with laundry by folding wash cloths.

2 – Reading to children is the first step to education.

Reading all kinds of books to children from the womb to teenagers, improves their interest in reading. Instead of movie night, what about a book night, where the family sits around the living room or dining room table and reads a good book. After children have learned to read, encourage them to read a paragraph or a chapter. The ability to read out loud improves the desire to read. Promote reading by actively participating in it as a family.

3 – Give up the control issues and encourage your children to take responsibility for an activity.

On long trips, hand over the map to a child. Better yet, set a budget and hand over the planning to your child. Require a written budget and details you can check over before you leave, but encourage your children to plan and confirm your family vacation. By checking prices with no credit card in hand, they have to check with you and you will have to actually make reservations, but the price checking is done for you. It’s better than a personal travel agent. This can apply to any event.

4 – Education can be child’s choice.

Is your child interested in the structure and building of dams across America? Why not encourage your child to study them in depth. Building charts, graphs, reports and ultimately if possible a visit to one of the many dams across the continent would be beneficial. Incorporate history, sociology, math, English, science and many other incremental studies. By finding an organization where your child might be welcome to present his findings (Corp. of Engineers might be able to help with this topic), your child gains leadership experience firsthand. Any topic can have diverse learning opportunity, just look for the options.

5 – Become active and involved in community activities.

City Council? Your teen may have remarkable ideas for learning and education. Some teens run for office. Your teen may improve your community. Church and youth interests can be more than fun. A missions trip planned by teens with appropriate leadership can be a skill builder as well as a leadership experience. No matter what your teen is interested in, there is a group or organization somewhere that would welcome his interest and involvement.

Making the right choices for your family may mean home schooling and balancing child centered interests as well as adult influence. Bring the educational system to life by incorporating a learning lifestyle in your home.

Jan Verhoeff promotes a solid foundation of home based education for families who wish to build strong leaders and focused influential adults. Visit her website at http://janverhoeff.com for more information and ideas about home based education and other life matters.

©2009 – Jan Verhoeff

When asked recently how he got to be such a great father, Skyler said, “I just knew I had to be a whole parent, not just a father, but Mommy too.” He sat on the couch holding his one year old daughter and continued, ” She needs more than one parent, she needs two, and even though her Mommy is right here, I believe that I can nurture her because I watched my Mom do both jobs.”

What’s gotten into our children? Read the rest of this entry »