Like many mothers today, I can no longer afford the exciting life of a Stay At Home Mom. While I tremendously enjoyed each and every day I had with my son … waking up when we wanted, breastfeeding when he was ready, giggling, reading, and playing all day … life must now adjust.

I must admit, while I am excited to return to the world outside of my small home, ready to meet new friends and have an office to go to, I am also really nervous. This change has happened all so sudden for me and there are a few things I would like to get in order in the next … ooh … 10 hours.

Many mothers have walked this path before, and many more will continue to do it in the weeks/months/years to come, each having their own fears, worries, concerns, and dreams. These are just a few of the topics on my heart today as I begin to weed through my wardrobe searching for work clothes that fit my new motherly figure:

Childcare: How well will my child be taken care of while I am away? I am fortunate enough to be one of the lucky moms who live very close to their child’s ever-loving grandparents. My mother has lovingly offered to hang out with my son while I am at work (don’t want to say babysit – seems so impersonal). All I have to do is provide her with the cloth diapers, some pumped breast milk, extra clothes, some burp cloths, and a few toys. If I didn’t have her, I don’t think it would be worth it for me to return to work. Seems like the costs wouldn’t really justify it.

Continue to fully breastfeed: I am determined to not let anything come in between my goal of breastfeeding my son until he is ready to stop and weans himself. That means whatever job I have must allow me to take the necessary time and space to pump during his normal feeding time. From my close friends and social networks, I have learned that this is the time many breastfeeding mamas are put in the position to end their feedings early and turn to formula. For me and my son, no job is worth it. He is now only four and a half months old, so pretty soon I will also introduce home-made solid foods to him. Maybe we can work it out so that the solids meals are provided when I am at work. We’ll have to play with that one.

Providing good quality contact time with my baby: Okay, I may be overreacting a little bit. I am only returning to work part-time – in the mornings from 9am – 1pm – but for me, right now, that feels like an eternity. Those first morning giggles and wiggles are the best. I want to try my hardest to ensure that when I come home, I am dedicating some good quality time to him and filling our moments with heart-filled memories.

Maintaining a healthy amount of sleep: Ahhh sleep. I vaguely remember what that word means. I think it was something that used to occur between the hours of 10pm and 6am. Not any more. We have just recently established a fairly regular routine pattern of sleep which is now going to be thrown off just a little. I will basically be losing 3 hours of sleep until I can get little man to bed 3 hours earlier. No more staying up and partying until midnight.

Valuable performance at work: While most of my fears involve leaving the home, I do have one fear about life outside … will I be a good employee? Before I became pregnant, I believe I was a fairly good administrative assistant. I have grown over the years and established a pretty good work ethic. However, at that time I didn’t have the world’s cutest, sweetest, baby on my mind. Will I be able to focus and perform my duties to the best of my abilities? I don’t like to disappoint.

Managing house work: And lastly (purposely last), will I be able to keep up with the house work? My honest answer – I would just very well throw in the towel and say…”who cares…really.” So the laundry piled up a bit, the dirty dishes were not cleaned tonight, life will go on. But I vow not to allow that to be a habit.

What fears, challenges, obstacles and changes do you (or did) face when you head out to work? What have you done to overcome them and make each day work? Was finding that happy balance hard for your family?

I really want to know how I can stay at home and not have to be scrambling to buy groceries.

I need to hear from those that are successful at doing so.

I see plenty of you moms out there that are able to stay home with your kids and survive on one income.

I see some of you doing this in places like California and New York, where the cost of living is pretty high.

How do you do it?

Are you always coupon clipping and having to second-guess your purchases?

Or are you able to do so comfortably and be able to go shopping every once in a while?

I mean, currently I bring in 50% of our household income, but being home with the monkey for two days (even if I was in pain and recovering from the wisdom tooth fiasco), REALLY made me want to turn in my resignation and stay home.

But, of course, things aren’t so simple.

To lose my income would put a HUGE dent in our lifestyle and budget. I don’t really think we can afford to live off just one income.

So, help me out here.

How do you do it?

Who’s Got the Time? Five Ways to Save Hours in Less Than a Minute
By: Christine Louise Hohlbaum

Time is a democratic commodity. Everyone has the same amount of it. Yet most people you talk to will tell you they don’t have any. Don’t buy it. Everyone has twenty-four hours a day. What your boss, spouse, neighbor, teacher, contractor or vendor is really telling you is something completely different. They are telling you they have other priorities: such as servicing another client, watching the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy or attending their child’s soccer game. It just sounds nicer to say you are out of time than that you are out of luck.

If you’ve fallen into the trap of saying you have no time, you’re not alone. Most Americans value their time more than their retirement funds. The question is what is time for?

Most would answer by closely linking their quality of life with how they spend their time. The real question is how much time do we actually spend doing the things we love? Goal-setting is integral to answering that question. To paraphrase Jack Canfield in The Success Principles, knowing where you want to go will get you there faster than if you don’t. Oftentimes we waste our time, however, on things that do not serve our ultimate needs and desires.

Juggling our commitments in this fast-paced world is not easy. It warrants, however, taking a step back to review how we might apply better use of our time. Test these five time-saving techniques on your own. You may find yourself saying yes to actions that will ultimately give you what you want out of life.

1.) Get a calendar. You might use an electronic or paper one. It does not matter as long as it contains the right amount of days in a month. Map out your must-dos first. Your child’s orthodontist appointment or that annual pap smear apply. Dedicate one day a month to scheduling important doctor’s appointments. Plan one day to scheduling “me time”. It needn’t be all day, but a little time invested in yourself will yield more time overall.

2.) Have several baby or petsitters on back-up. You’re planning to go out of town and your planned sitter has canceled last-minute. Hang up flyers in your local library or resource center beforehand. Interview five solid candidates in case of emergency to have within reach when you need them most.

3.) Cancel your cable. Sound harsh? Set a timer each night for a week while you sit in front of the tube. If you spend an average of three hours a night watching television, you are wasting precious time when you could be pursuing the things that truly make you happy. According to Dr. Martin Seligman’s book Authentic Happiness, watching TV puts people in a mildly depressed state of mind. Try setting priorities in that mindframe! So ditch the cable and gain back over 21 hours a week!

4.) Stretch in the morning. Starting the day off right by doing a few morning stretches will activate your mind more quickly than any cup of java could. Exercise in general has been proven to contribute to longevity in the elderly. You’re not only saving time by becoming more alert more quickly; you’re also tacking on a few good years to your lifetime.

5.) Keep a journal. Writing is an extremely cathartic activity. Note how you are feeling before you go to bed at night. Jot down keywords or sentences to download your day. It does not have to be Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism. The more honest you are the better. It will help put you in the right frame of mind for a great night’s sleep and, ultimately, give you a higher quality of life.

Getting a handle on your relationship to time can improve your life greatly. What will you do with those twenty-four hours for the rest of your life?

Article Source: http://www.thewahmshack.com/articledirectory

About The Author:  Christine Louise Hohlbaum, author of DIARY OF A MOTHER and SAHM I Am: TALES OF A STAY-AT-HOME MOM IN EUROPE, is a parenting humorist, motivational speaker and overall curious person who can’t stop asking questions of other people and the Universe. Subscribe to her newsletter at www.diaryofamother.com.

Moms United in Business has a good post up today about writing to make money online.

As told by Jenn, MUIB founder:

I make money by writing articles. I write what I know. I get paid. It is as simple as that.

Read the entire post

AOL’s consumer advisor provides six ways you can make money online in the article titled, “Delete your commute with new internet jobs.”

The article lists the following six online jobs and links:

1. Become a virtual juror – www.ejury.com
2. Become a virtual assistant – www.virtualassistantjobs.com
3. Become a virtual concierge – www.vipdesk.com
4. Blog for money – payperpost.com
5. Help others search the web – www.chacha.com
6. Get paid for your videos – www.revver.com

Read full article on MSNBC 

The only one I’ve had experience with is PayPerPost. I’ve been experimenting a bit on my other blog, Modern Mami Reviews, and have had a good outcome so far.

Have you had success with any of these sites? Let me know in the comments.

I came across this article on ABC written by Tory Johnson which details work from home tips and links to various resources where you can search for a job.

Straight from the article:

Whether you’re looking to contribute to your family’s finances or earn some cash to cover special or unexpected expenses, many people want more ways to make money at home.

From freelance to full-time gigs, we have a range of fields and resources below to help guide you in discovering the options that exist. Only you can decide if an opportunity is right for you.

I haven’t had a chance to fully explore the article and the resources listed, but it looks promising.

You can also check out the main Take Control of Your Life site, which covers work from home scams, getting paid to lose weight, and asking for flex time, among many other topics.

Be sure to let me know in the comments if you have ever worked with any of the companies listed.

I found a new site that looks to be pretty promising.

eMomsAtHome is both a great resource and blog for motivation, networking, and work at home ideas.

There’s a lot of content on both the main site and the blog and I’m just starting to peruse it, but I think you’ll find some useful information.

For my curiosity only, do you find sites like these useful?

technorati: eMoms at home, motivation, networking, work at home, wahm

We’re all used to the articles stating that children do better if mom doesn’t work and instead stays home with her kids.

Well it seems that now dads need to quit their day jobs also.

The Guardian recently posted an article about a new study which found that babies do better when dad stays home and spends more time with them. Titled, “Baby does best with dad off work, study finds“, the article begins by saying:

Children are more likely to suffer development problems if their fathers do not take paternity leave or spend enough time with them when they are very young, according to an analysis of thousands of babies born around the turn of the millennium.

How’s that for a guilt trip?

While all of us are going “Duh! Of course it’s better if we stay home and spend more time with our children!”, apparently, this is the “…first study to confirm that the close involvement of a father also has a significant impact on a child’s future.” – the word also referring to the fact that they already know a mother’s involvement has a huge impact on children.

If you wish to read the full article, you can do so at The Guardian’s site.

My question to you is, if both moms and dads stay home with the kids and don’t work, won’t you still be causing developmental problems in your children since you won’t be able to afford to feed them?

technorati: parenting, the guardian, stay home, motherhood

Take a break from your daily activities and watch this cute video of work at home tips. You’ll be sure to get a good laugh. After watching the video, my first thought was, she doesn’t even have kids around her! That would definitely be even more distracting!

Enjoy and have a great Monday!

technorati: WAHM tips, work from home

I’m definitely excited, honored, and just blushing, because I am now a contributor for the Moms United in Business Blog!

The Moms United site explains their concept best:

We are not merely a business community, promoting WAHMs and their
businesses. We are a community offering inspiration and support not only as
a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and/or friend, but as a woman in your own
right!

Go on over and check out my introduction to their community and my first post. The blog has a lot of good topics – business advice, inspirational posts, and parenting – just to name a few.

technorati: moms united in business, wahm, motherhood, business, women