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The Lessons a WAHM learned from the “Internet Marketing Gurus” Part One

April 29, 2008 | 1 Comment

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It seemed simple, have a product, make a web page, throw a few banners up, and sit back to collect the money while the orders roll in. Well, okay, that is oversimplified but generally speaking when I started on my mompreneur journey a few years ago I thought that the production of a website was my biggest challenge.

Then the reality hits, you have your website just where you want it, you have the product stocked & ready, you put up your banners and….

wait…for that little web stat to blip and a customer to hit that “BUY NOW” button. Back to the books and forums you go. Read more

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Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Small Business Blogging, Work at Home MOM 

Life Twist: Tribute to the Bunny

April 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment

My last post was about the small things the kids did to make me smile before it was even 9:30 in the morning. To show you how quickly things turn and change and show you just how unpredictable life is by 10:30 the house was in a pure state of chaos. The rabbit died.

A Little Life Gone

Not a pretty, go to slip him a carrot and he is quietly sleeping…. the frantic “MOM the rabbit is screaming and flipping all over his cage”. I don’t know what happened but poor bun bun had a series of seizures that he just didn’t recover from. Read more

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life 

Parenting Moments to Remember

April 23, 2008 | 1 Comment

This is a random post of appreciating the small things in life that make you smile.  It is only 9:30 in the morning and this has been the day of smiles for me:

First, I awoke before the kids. This might not sound great waking up at 6 a.m. but really, it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to wake up and start my day when my body is ready and not when I have someone kicking the side of the bed ready to go downstairs and have their breakfast as I pry my eyes open.  Best yet, I was able to take an shower without being a referee of shouting matches.

Second, I went to get the check on the baby again before going downstairs and I could hear her cooing and babbling from the hallway. I found her lying in bed with Taylor having cuddle time with her big sister and singing to each other. Soo sweet, maybe the eight year difference will lead to a very special relationship.

Next, the kids made their own pink pancakes and sausage. I told them I would clean the kitchen - if you can imagine what it looked like after three kids make pancakes..:))) IF they fed the animals.  The priceless comment, they wanted me to pay them $20.00 to feed the animals!  Serious?? I would feed all the animals in the neighborhood if they paid me that! Needless, to say, I fed the animals.

Finally, the icing on the cake at 9:30 this morning was watching all four kids hang out on the floor as we try to teach Drew (who is 6) to blow bubbles with his bubble gum. I know.. why would I want to teach my kids to blow bubbles? Especially at 9 in the morning? I don’t know, I went with the flow and everyone is happy and giggling and we are just enjoying down time. Taylor keeps blowing bubbles for the baby who is fascinated and watches so intense while licking her lips then leans forward and tries to lean forward and eat the bubble.

It’s the small things.

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life 

Blog Ping List

April 12, 2008 | 3 Comments

In my post earlier regarding upgrading my Wordpress Blog I mentioned that I lost my ping list….well, I found it! For anyone else that wants an easy copy and past ping list select the links below, enter your Wordpress admin page and paste the list below in the appropriate ping box.

I just ask that you use this list the smart way, like mom always says “it only takes a couple bad apples to ruin the bunch”- please don’t be a ping spammer…. Read more

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Small Business Blogging 

YES YES YES.. The OFFICE is back on!

April 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I am so excited that the Office is back on.. it’s been way too long! OK, the tripod on the bed and the plasma t.v. with the joke of him “standing there and watching for hours” or the taste of “afterbirth” from the wine are so classic.

Wait, you say you haven’t seen the Office??? Read more

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Uncategorized 

Work At Home Job Sites

April 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I keep finding links to companies that hire home based workers and write them on a piece of paper or in my resource notebook and lose it before I can pass it along to someone that can actually use it.

Since this really doesn’t benefit anyone and there are so many people that are desperate to find a position in such a company as a home based worker I’m starting my list here, where I know I can easily find and update it.

Bookmark this list and I’ll continue to update as I find more links. Please note that I am not responsible for these sites, they are just links that I found that other people have recommended into one consolidated list. Read more

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Make Money Online 

My Secret to a Successful Wordpress Upgrade

April 8, 2008 | 2 Comments

Just when I start to feel “techie”, something has to come along and blow my confidence.  I’ve been starting to feel more and more technically savvy lately adding widgets here and code there.  Understanding more html and css then ever before and reading the webmaster forums for tips and tricks and not feeling like I was dumped overboard in the middle of the ocean.

However, I have been putting off upgrading my Wordpress blogs because, well, I’m afraid of clicking one wrong button and taking the entire site down.  When I worked in Corporate America, I didn’t have these fears, I would just call the IT department and someone would come along, laugh at my dumb mistake and have me up and running again by the time I got back with coffee.

Now, as a home based business, there is no support when something goes wrong.  I can sound off to my three year old but he will offer little assistance and my husbands’ extent of computer knowledge is turning it on and that’s it. For this reason, I take my big risks with a bottle of wine to calm my anxiety.

With that said, my worst fear happened, I did it wrong and I took the entire site down.  However, I survived, re-traced my steps, didn’t panic and actually fixed it myself within an hour.

For anyone that has not upgraded yet, I think I’m one of the last ones, but for your benefit I’ll tell you the secret I found to help the non-techie me, get the job done.

I started with reading all the Wordpress documents and watched a couple YouTube videos. However, it was hard finding directions that exactly matched my circumstances when it comes to hosting/cpanel/initial installation… and I just got more and more confused. Maybe overwhelmed is the better word. Well, I tried a couple different things, took my site down once or twice, then undid what I did to get it back up again.

After about 4 hours of this and in my desperation, I started my Google searches again and that’s when tada.. my moment of clarity showed and I found this website about an Artist…hmmm…Wordpress Upgrade…Artist…wasn’t sure I should trust this source… but desperation…

I read through all the directions and they were so straightforward and spoken in such a great tone, no techie garbage.. Let me tell you, this was my secret to getting both blogs switched over- no problem, and within a half an hour. Boom!

Thank you Leannes Upgrade Wordpress Post for such a simple set of instructions but one that helped me focus and get the project done.  The SmartFTP was a great addition to my tools and made the transfer and upload of files easy.

Now that I have switched over, I have to say that I don’t think I’m all that crazy about the new admin interface. Maybe it’s just because it is so new that it will grow on me.

I like that I can modify my Permalink structure but I really don’t like that I can’t seem to bulk moderate comments like before.  It looks easier to add various media content, so I’ll have to test that out in the near future.

One disappointment I had, was I created a huge list of sites for my “ping” list and I should have copied and saved it because that was deleted….I was so proud of that ping list….sadness… anyone want to share?

Overall, it will take me a few days of posting and playing to get everything tweaked to where I know it works again- bear with me :)

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Small Business Blogging 

Parents Guide to School

April 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment

People often think that when it comes to kids, the “baby stage” is the one of the most challenging.  While, I know I have only been a parent for 9 years now and I do have four kids that range from 9 yrs to 7 months I must disagree.

Yes, parts of the baby stage are challenging… lack of sleep… colic…diapers and formula, and more diapers and formula.. but overall I find the baby stage is the easiest for these reasons.

  1. They stay where you put them, you don’t need to follow them wondering where they are and what they are getting into.
  2. As long as they are fed, changed, and comfortable for the most part they are content just hanging with you and are thrilled just to exchange glances with you.
  3. They are quiet..besides the occasional crying… they can’t scream “You are the worst mommy ever!”
  4. OK, since this sentence usually follows “If you want a play date, please clean your room first” that brings me to the#4 since they are babies, you automatically clean up after them and don’t need to constantly tell them to clean their room or pick up their shoes

Those are just a few, any parent knows you can go on and on about the joys and challenges of babyhood.

However, I have found that once the kids move into the school age that is when you start to find the bigger challenges that aren’t as cut and dry. Answers aren’t as easy to find as opening a Dr.Spock book and see that Green Poop IS normal after they start cereal….

The Introduction of School 

You start to leave them at school and have less control and knowledge of their day. You start to have teacher conferences and want to know if your child is meeting the same milestones as the rest of their classmates, or tips on teaching them to read at home, or what you can do to get them ready for Kindergarten.

That’s where a new website, http://www.education.com comes in and becomes a great one stop shop resource of information.  It’s a new website that I expect due to the quality of information on the site now, will continue to grow. It covers topics related to all ages of the school process- from Preschool to High School and includes information on preparing your child for Kindergarten, the Parent-School connection, Activities, Life Skills, Special Needs and thinking about College.

I personally enjoyed the simple Guide to Phonics and Is my Child on Track articles.  The Phonics guide was a quick read and a good refresher of some key points.

There is even an active forum that have several groups including parents on autism, parent/kid book clubs and one of my favorites, Tween Parenting.

What   makes This Website Different?

There are a majority of articles that are submitted by Teachers. They also have a Free Trial of a phonics reading program that we found fun.

The program summary from the website states:

Headsprout grows young readers by guiding them through a series of Web-based, animated lessons. The Headsprout program captures kids’ imaginations, as they follow the adventures of a cast of animated characters through the far reaches of outer space, the wilds of the jungle, under the sea, or back to the time of the dinosaurs.

I enjoyed the “fun learning” factor of this online program especially since I have a 6 year old son that doesn’t always find learning “fun”.

Are Kids Being Pushed Too Far Too Fast?

While on the playground last summer I overheard a conversation between two teachers (they were at the playground with their own kids) and they were talking about a few of the negative effects they are seeing in their students since the curriculum’s are so reading/writing/math heavy now.

One teacher stated that she has third grade students that can’t properly cut and paste because they removed so many activities/crafts and focus on actually writing sentence after sentence in First Grade instead of the Activity Based Learning styles that used to be popular.

I, as a parent just getting into the school stage, never really thought about, I just thought this was the way it always was. Although I do admit, I don’t remember learning fractions in first grade.

The articles on Education.com, “Are Kids Getting Too Much Math and Reading?” and “Turn Your Street into a Classroom” struck a cord with me.  I’m an avid walker, and the kids and I walk a great deal when it’s warm. I often play games with the kids like adding up the numbers on the mailboxes, or “I spy” for letters, numbers, colors, shapes and spelling games of  “find something you can spell like TREE or CAR”.

I appreciate all the ways we can get lessons into our everyday activities and the kids are learning without being forced to sit at a desk and “come up with 7 sentences and write them” that leads to the heels digging in and fighting.  At this early stage of the game, learning should be fun and interactive, not a chore- that comes soon enough!

Overall, every stage of kids is different and just when we think we’ve survived one, up comes the next. But with good resources and the ability to learn from other parents that have been there and done that, we can continue to make informed decisions, learn new lessons and do our best to figure it all out.

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Resources, Reviews 

Quiet Please

April 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment

School vacation is wrapping up here, and while I love having the kids home and the activity, I have to admit, my ears have a constant ring to them.

Between kids yelling, fighting, laughing while they play (the best sound!), video games, Hanna Montana ringing out her tunes, the toys that make noise long after the kids have stopped playing with them, the dogs barking, the calls for “MOM”, the phone ringing, the IM chiming, the people walking in and out of the house I can’t even hear myself think.

I’m not pleading innocent my own voice that feels like it’s working over time with the “who left…, pick this up, move this, keep your hands to yourself, be nice, if you don’t have something nice to say…”.

The little ones will go into withdrawal tomorrow when there isn’t as much activity.
I can’t seem to get away from noise and even after I put the kids to bed I find my husband putting on the T.V. in every room, even when he is not in it.

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life 


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