About.com Work-at-Home Moms

Quality Time vs. Quantity of Time and the Realities of Getting Work Done

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 05:12:48 +0000

Most work-at-home moms are blessed with a greater quantity of time with our children than moms in the traditional workplace. However, as with all blessings, with this one comes a responsibility too. All that quantity--coupled with a need get things accomplished--can mean a decline in quality.

And though it is impossible--and, frankly, not healthy--to have play time with your kids all the time, finding the right balance is an important goal for work-at-home moms. This piece by Detroit News parenting columnist Alyssa Martina explores "mindfulness" -- an important concept for work-at-home moms to take to heart. She explains:

"Mindfulness is a way of focusing your attention on the present moment and accepting that moment, without resistance or fighting or yielding to the temptation of letting your thoughts stray....By giving your full and complete present attention to your children, you can fully experience each moment as a parent. You not only can parent your children better, you can more richly enjoy the fleeting moments of each stage of their development."

I know exactly what she is talking about. When you give children your full attention, you can just see them blossom. But as a work-at-home parent, I know I cannot be "mindful" all the time. Actually no parent can be, but work-at-home parents have specific duties that pull their attention away.

But what I can do is clearly lay out the ground rules about my work, so children know when to expect me to be mindful of them. They must understand that simply because I have a physical presence in the house doesn't mean I am available to them for everything that pops into their head. And on the flip side, they should feel confident that when I am playing with them, my work will not frequently pull me away. I admit this is much easier now that my kids are elementary school age.

But just as important and something that can, and should, start at a very young age is teaching children to think and play independently. So they can feel happy to be on their own, even when my attention is far away from them.

Quality Time vs. Quantity of Time and the Realities of Getting Work Done originally appeared on About.com Work-at-Home Moms on Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at 05:12:48.

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Books for the Work-at-Home Family

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:44:03 +0000

"Mommy, can you read me a story?"

It breaks a mom's heart to say no, but sometimes work-at-home moms can't put aside work to read. So every WAHM and her kids can use a stash of books that kids, even non- and new readers, can "read" on their own.

While there's no substitute for parent-child reading time, these wordless or almost wordless books keep kids--ranging from those just learning to the flashlight-in-bed types--engrossed. Using vivid illustrations, they cleverly tell stories or engage the mind, while building a child's repertoire of independent play activities. And when mom is not working, she'll enjoy them too!

Compiled over the years with the help of recommendations from Ms. Gloria, our neighborhood librarian, our family's list of favorite
books that keep kids busy interest kids from preschool to middle school.

Keeping Kids Busy While You Work:

_Pricegrabber

Books for the Work-at-Home Family originally appeared on About.com Work-at-Home Moms on Friday, November 27th, 2009 at 16:44:03.

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Andy Williams Was Right Even If He Didn't Foresee Black Friday & Cyber Monday

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:24:16 +0000

"It's the most wonderful time of the year...." crooned Andy Williams about a half century or so ago. And it's still true today.

Really.

OK, people don't sing about "holiday greetings and gay happy meetings" like they used to, but we do have online shopping now--one of my favorite ways to reduce holiday stress. But with Black Friday coming up and Cyber Monday right on its heels, if you like saving money, these days are even more wonderful.

How did he know????

So for the modern holiday shopper, make the most of your holiday season by kicking it off by saving some dough by shopping online. Start by figuring who's on your Christmas list and warming up your mouse. Then check out this a round up of gift lists by About.com's Parenting Guides.

Now, if you shop online, you're not out in the stores where everyone is telling you "Be of good cheer." Of course, depending on your point-of-view about holiday shopping, that might be a good thing.

Andy Williams Was Right Even If He Didn't Foresee Black Friday & Cyber Monday originally appeared on About.com Work-at-Home Moms on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 17:24:16.

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Telltale Signs of a Work-at-Home Scam

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:26:33 +0000

When something just doesn't seem right, we might want a second opinion to confirm our suspicions. This week a reader emailed me about her doubts about a work at home job opportunity. She writes:

I found this work at home job on Craigslist (Ontario, Canada). They want $15 sent to their Paypal account to cover material they need to send me about the work they want me to do--they say, to weed out people who are not serious. Have you ever heard about them?

vrdataservices@gmail.com

Thanks for your help. I really need to work--from my home--any one's home--any location--just don't know whom to trust.

Hmm...looks fishy to me. I say keep looking. Maybe try some of these legitimate work-at-home companies.

This exhibits many of the telltale signs of a scam. First and foremost, do not send money! Legitimate work at home companies do not "weed out" people who don't send money. That's what con artists do. Real companies weed out people who aren't serious or a good match for the job through interviewing and testing. Any company that asks you for money to prove your seriousness is very likely a scam.

These are the same tactics that some Google work-at-home scams use, asking people for a small payment "to weed out" people then continuing to charge their credit cards for a worthless membership.

And then there's the email address. While having a company email address is no guarantee of legitimacy, an operation using a gmail or other free address (like yahoo or hotmail) is suspicious. Think about how easy it is to get a free email account. If you've ever signed up for one, then you know that no one checks your true identity. So if, after you've forked over your money, everything isn't as promised how will you contact the company if all you have is a gmail address?

And finally there's Craigslist. While I won't go so far as to say every work-at-home job listed on Craigslist is a scam, the online bulletin board is rife with scams. So be very careful. I tried to look up the ad the readers mail came from but it had been removed.

More:

Telltale Signs of a Work-at-Home Scam originally appeared on About.com Work-at-Home Moms on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 17:26:33.

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Thrifty Thursday: Get Ready for Black Friday 2009

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:15:46 +0000

Is nothing sacred? Walmart's Black Friday deals are posted all over the Internet more than a week before Thanksgiving. Apparently several parties privy to the information in the Walmart ad circular blabbed until there was just no point in keeping it a secret anymore.

If I were one of Walmart's lawyers I might not be too happy, but as a consumer I think it's great, especially because the Target Black Friday ad and Toys R Us ad are all public now too. Of course, these ads are always leaked a little before Black Friday, but this is quite early. While some have posited that this could spell the end of Black Friday, I don't think that's likely.

I am always looking to save money, but I value my sanity, so I have mixed feelings about Black Friday. Last year I did venture out, and I did OK, but I just don't have those killer Black Friday competitive instincts. I prefer to shop online or at off-hours during the Christmas season and keep the holiday stress at a minimum. So I usually stake out the online Black Friday deals or better yet wait for Cyber Monday.

Do you hit the Black Friday sales? If you plan to shop on Black Friday, shop prepared. Check out these sites first.

BFads.net
iBlackFriday.com
BlackFriday.info

More on Thrifty Thursday:

Thrifty Thursday: Get Ready for Black Friday 2009 originally appeared on About.com Work-at-Home Moms on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 06:15:46.

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Can Couples Attain Work-at-Home Harmony?

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:51:47 +0000

When I've mentioned that my husband and I work at home together, more than a few people have unequivocally stated: "That would never work for us."

I never say much of anything to that comment. Who am I to looking inside the workings of their marriage?

But I do sometimes think that people underestimate themselves and their partners. Working at home is not for everyone. It definitely takes a certain personality to work at home. And the same is likely true of couples working together. But if you really want to work at home, you will find a way to get over all those annoying things your spouse does. I know my husband has managed to!

This article from the Salt Lake City Tribune gives some good advice for couples working at home. Though, I would definitely take exception with the idea that laundry should wait until after 5 p.m. In fact, I recommend integrating little home tasks throughout your daily movements. But the couple featured in the article emphasized the need to avoid all those things you wouldn't do in an office, so as to "maintain the integrity of the workday." Um, I'm thinking these people don't have kids.

So what about you? Could you work at home with your spouse? Why or why not? Post comments below.

Can Couples Attain Work-at-Home Harmony? originally appeared on About.com Work-at-Home Moms on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 17:51:47.

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Making Plans for Thanksgiving Dinner

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:47:56 +0000

Thanksgiving is sneaking up on us. I realized this weekend, as I finally nailed down the Turkey Day guest list at our house, that I probably should have ordered the Thanksgiving turkey already. Oh well. But since we only have two guests for Thanksgiving this year, it will all work out I'm sure.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving because I really enjoy cooking...most of the time. Yes, there are days when I feel like saying "Dinner again! Didn't I just feed everyone yesterday? They want dinner again!"

But not too often. I have always been one of those folks who likes to curl up with a good cookbook. I cook from scratch whenever possible and create my own recipes (sometimes to the kids' chagrin). To the kids' delight, I have started teaching the kids to cook every week with our tradition of "Kids Make Dinner Night".

But as much as I like cooking, not every day is as much fun to plan dinner as Thanksgiving. And given the number of meals to prepare at my house, every meal is not gourmet, or anything close to it. Like every parent else, work at home moms' cooking sometimes involves a few shortcuts. For me, those shortcuts range from dumping a jar of sauce on spaghetti and pronouncing it dinner to piling stuff in the slow cooker at breakfast and dishing up something delicious at 6 o'clock. I also use my bread machine on a regular basis since I am home during the day to think of it.

Convenience has to go hand in hand with creativity for me or cooking just becomes another boring chore. And we moms need to nurture those things we enjoy because we really don't need any more chores.

Anyway, all this hasn't really got me too far along in planning my Thanksgiving dinner. I'm just going to head over to About.com's Thanksgiving Recipe Round Up for a little inspiration.

Making Plans for Thanksgiving Dinner originally appeared on About.com Work-at-Home Moms on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 17:47:56.

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Seasonal Work-Outside-the-Home Holiday Jobs for the Work-at-Home Mom

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:14:13 +0000

Moms with full- or part-time jobs outside the home often start working from home to make extra cash when times are tight. On the flip side, those of us who are full-time work-at-home moms may look outside the home to supplement our income, especially now as the most expensive, er, wonderful time of the year looms.

I am more or less a full-time, work-at-home mom (I'm not good at tracking hours hence the hedging on full-time), but I do sometimes work outside the home as a substitute teacher. It's not something I set out to do. I began volunteering at school, and somehow it evolved into subbing.

But I can't think of a better part-time job for me. I truly enjoy the kids, and like any WAHM, I appreciate the chance to get out of the house. Plus, subbing gives me a close-up view of what goes on behind the school doors--very educational for a parent. But I am never so happy to work at home as I am after I get home from a substitute teaching job. With the swine flu pandemic, I've been busy this year. I've been putting my substitute pay away into a Christmas fund, so the kids will get a little pay-back for putting up with having their mom embarrass them at school.

I feel very lucky to have this nice little gig because holiday jobs may be scare this year, according to Alison Doyle, About.com's Guide to Job Search. However, she says in her blog not to give up hope because things may still be better than last Christmas season. But if you're hoping to land a holiday job this year, now is the time to be putting in applications.

Seasonal Work-Outside-the-Home Holiday Jobs for the Work-at-Home Mom originally appeared on About.com Work-at-Home Moms on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 19:14:13.

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Holiday Decorating, Christmas Shopping...I'm Just Not Ready Yet!

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:40:11 +0000

Though the retailers would have you believe that when you take down the Halloween decorations it's time to start holiday decorating, I'm really not ready to think about it. Or Christmas shopping either! Though I know that one way to reduce holiday stress is to plan ahead and start early.

But I have enough Mid-November stress as it is. In fact, I'm working on my pre-Thanksgiving paper purge because I know I need to go into December as organized as possible.� Are you starting your holiday preparations?

Holiday Decorating, Christmas Shopping...I'm Just Not Ready Yet! originally appeared on About.com Work-at-Home Moms on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 19:40:11.

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Back to Work After Pregnancy

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:17:51 +0000

Going back to work after pregnancy is a major transition, even when you work at home. Yes, you're not be leaving your baby everyday as those who go back to work in an office. And yet, everything changes.

A baby is a game changer in every way, as is working at home. Try not to begin both new ventures simultaneously. If you don't work at home already, but plan to start working at home after the baby is born, try to begin before the birth in order to get a better idea of what issues and obstacles you'll face. At the very least, lay the foundations for your new venture during pregnancy and maternity leave. Read 6 Tips for a Smooth Transition Back to Work

Back to Work After Pregnancy originally appeared on About.com Work-at-Home Moms on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 18:17:51.

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