National Work At Home Week

Did you know that this week is National Work at Home Week? Recently I partnered up with Making Work at Home Work as a blogger. Author, Speaker Mary Byer’s created this program after the release of her book, Making Work at Home Work: Successfully growing a business and a family under one roof,  to help other Work at Home Moms (WAHM) conquer some of the struggles that she herself has been through. Mary says, “I feel really privileged that I was able to write this book. I wrote it with Work at Home Moms in mind. There are so many unique challenges about working at home that only another work-at-homer can understand!” I would like to encourage you to explore their website for some great advice and some much-needed encouragement. If you would like to become a Making Work at Home Work blogger, go here.

Why are you working?

Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who don’t know why they are working. Most assume that they are working for money. But when I talk to people about the topic, I hear a lot of different reasons for work. Some work for the mental stimulation. Some to keep their skills up to date. Others work to support their scrapbooking habit or to be able to purchase cosmetics at a discount.

There’s a big difference between working to put food on the table vs. working for the “extras” such as summer camp or a vacation. Both are legitimate but it’s essential to be honest about your motivation. Knowing what drives you will help you keep your priorities in order.

Understanding why you are working makes it easier to make tough work-related decisions. Will you work on the weekends? Stay up late to get it all done? If you’re working to put food on the table, the answer will more likely be yes. But if you’re working for the fun of it, you may choose not to compromise family time by late night or weekend work. When you know why you are working, it gets easier to decide what kind of boundaries you’ll adhere to.

My biggest priority is my children and family. I have been so blessed to be able to stay-at-home and to learn to take care of my household. At times it seemed that it would be easier to just go to work than have to change diapers, smell like puke, wipe butts, diffuse tantrums and still have all meals made nutritiously and served hot! Despite all of that I really wouldn’t have traded the time I have had to nurture, laugh, and learn with my children.

If you would have asked me a few months ago if I was a WAHM or SAHM I probably would’ve said just SAHM, even though I have a  blogging job. I work blog because it’s fun to me. I enjoy reading other blogs, connecting with other Mother’s and educating and influencing other people’s lives.

My husband has given me “the talk” to make me really understand the kind of reach a Mom blogger can have and that it is a business. I have a hard time calling myself a WAHM because I don’t put work or blogging first. I don’t blog in a business suit, I don’t have a cell phone with Internet access. I am only on the computer at certain times and usually no longer than an hour or two. I write when I feel I have something to say and when the inspiration strikes me, usually during nap time.  Blogging for UV Skinz ha allowed me to really learn the blogging in an entirely different way than what Reneca and I envisioned it to be like.

It’s fun for me, but it is definitely a business. I’m on the road to acceptance. I am a WAHM, but I know that title won’t change the most precious title to me. Mommy.  I love giving my girl’s my undivided attention; playing Lego’s on the floor, dressing Barbie for the ball, or drawing silly faces with markers. It’s really amazing to have the freedom to maintain my family lifestyle, flexibility in my daily schedule and still bring home some of the bacon.

In Memory of Sterling

Journey, Daddy, and Sterling

April ’00-May ’09

Sterling Beck aka Bubba,Turtle, Love of our lives!…

Yesterday we sent our 10-year-old Great Dane, Sterling, to Doggy Heaven. We found out Easter weekend that he was in the late stages of stomach and liver cancer. The vet suggested that we put him down immediately and that he only had five days to live.

I began to explain to Journey and Faith that Sterling was very old and sick (he had become very skinny and would barely eat) and that we needed to help Sterling get to Doggy Heaven. Days after our talk I started to notice Journey and Faith giving Sterling extra hugs and attention.

It has always been a rule that he wasn’t allowed in the playroom or the girl’s bedroom. Selfish on my part because I didn’t want to clean dog hair from two more rooms in the house. But towards the end there were times when he laid in their room and I didn’t stop him. I just wanted him to rest and be comfortable where ever he wanted. One day Journey came to me and said that Sterling’s feet were cold and she covered him up. When I saw this I was so touched!

There were only two times when Sterling broke my “no-going-in-the-girl’s-room-rule”, when Journey was a baby and another time when Faith was born. He refused to leave and even growled at me, which he never done before. Each time there were reports of tremors and an earthquake on the news. We couldn’t believe it!

He was more than just a dog. He was my Brett’s life-saver. Our protector. Journey and Faith’s playmate and my teacher. Sterling showed so much patience, strength, understanding, and always showed unconditional love.

Sterling had always had a big appetite; even after wolfing down his dog food he would always sit and wait for someone to share their dinner with him. That was one of the first reasons we knew something was wrong because he just stopped eating as regularly, but whenever Journey had a cookie to share he wouldn’t turn it down.He always enjoyed cookies, doughnuts, popsicles, and his all time favorite was pizza crusts!

He was always admired everywhere he went, mostly being mistaken for a huge Dalmatian or a small pony. Sterling loved to play hide and seek, ran like a stallion, and was always gentle. He never picked a fight with other dogs, unless he felt they were a threat to us. He loved small dogs and children so much that I feel he never knew just how big he was.

Saying Good-bye to Sterling was hard. When Journey and Faith gave him hugs and kisses Brett saw that Sterling had begun to cry. It made him too emotional and he had to leave the room. I looked Sterling in the eye and told him that I always loved him, that he had a been an amazing dog and we would see him again someday.

Our family will always miss Sterling, but we know he will always be in our hearts. The house feels really quiet now, even with two crazy girl’s running around. We miss the sound of his bark and the clickity-clack of his feet. We miss him, but I feel comforted knowing that his suffering is over. I imagine that Sterling is healthy, happy, and young again; running and chasing after frogs and squirrels in the creek where he grew up.

We will always love you Sterling! This is for you…

We had pizza and it felt so weird to not have Sterling to give the crust to. 😦

Always in our hearts! Love, Kalisha, Brett, Journey and Faith

Help Save a Baby!

I want you to read about and participate in the “I Saved A Baby’s Skin Today” Skin Cancer Awareness Month Campaign! I am so excited for May to begin because my goal is wrangle all of the bloggers I know (and the one’s you know!) to make this a huge success for UV Skinz and all of the lucky babies out there who have the chance to receive a FREE Baby UV Swim Shirt!

Read on to find out the scoop!…

In honor of Skin Cancer Awareness Month, UV Skinz is promoting awareness of sun protection and skin cancer prevention by donating up to 3000 Baby Skinz swim shirts; UV Skinz will ship a free Baby Skinz swim shirt with every order placed in May.

“The intent is for customers to ‘pay it forward,’” says Rhonda Sparks. “We hope clients will donate the Baby Skinz to a charitable cause of their choice such as a women’s shelter, YMCA or even a neighbor in need. We want to get as many children covered as we can and with each donation, we hope to raise the level of awareness that much more.” Each May shipment will contain a free UV Baby Skinz along with a flyer encouraging customers to pass along the Baby Skinz to a chosen cause. UV Skinz was able to give away about 1,850 swim shirts for the May 2008 Skin Cancer Awareness promotion. The company’s goal this year is to nearly double that as supplies allow.

Babies under age six months should not be in the sun at all. Most pediatricians recommend no direct sunlight exposure for infants within the first few years. However, most infants older than six months regularly spend some time outdoors, even if just for walks in a stroller, and should be sun protected from head to toe. Protecting babies’ skin, regardless of the season, is essential to good skin health and safe sun exposure into adulthood.

The National Cancer Institute reports that many common cancer rates are falling, but melanoma rates within the U.S. continue to grow at an alarming rate. Sparks implores parents to cover their children to prevent them from becoming the one in five Americans who will develop skin cancer. “I am doing all that I can to protect my children from suffering the same fate their Father suffered when we lost him to melanoma. I hope our Baby Skinz donation program will prevent more families from being impacted by this devastating disease.”

An important part of skin cancer prevention is creating awareness. Creating awareness is all about saving our children’s lives in the future. Over 90% of skin cancers are preventable with the right education and awareness. We need you to help us spread the word about Skin Cancer Awareness Month and the “I Saved a Baby’s Skin Today” UV Skinz blog campaign!

As a blogger and an influential part of the blog o’ sphere…How can you help spread the word?

Blog about the “I Saved a Baby’s Skin Today” campaign.You can see the full press release here. Feel free to include links to UV Skinz, the press release and/or UV Skinz blog! Remember the campaign starts May 1st.
Once you’ve posted come back to the UV Skinz blog and add your url link to our Mr. Linky–Let the blog o’sphere know you support Skin Cancer Awareness!
Add our button and/or banner to your blog! Let everyone know you support this campaign and encourage others to do the same!
• Follow UV Skinz on Twitter and join in on the discussion by following the progress of “I Saved a Baby’s Skin Today” campaign with twitter hashtag #UVSKINZ (Remember to use a “z” and not an “s”)
• The official “I Saved a Baby’s Skin Today!” Post will be live May 1st!

What can I do if I don’t have a blog?

• Print out the official “I Saved A Baby’s Skin Today” Button and post it to your bulletin board at your home, home-office, or work.
• Follow UV Skinz on Twitter!
  

So, what’s in it for you?!

Besides the warm feeling you get by helping to save a baby from potential skin cancer, UV Skinz is giving all bloggers a special discount code to use at our online store! At checkout enter the code: MOMBLOGS15 and  SAVE 15% through August 31, 2009 (as long as you are a participating blogger it doesn’t matter if you aren’t a Mom )

Disturbing Satisfaction!

A special treat from Daddy…

The other day Brett brought a couple of those lollipops with the bug inside for Journey and Faith. Gross! I protested, but he said it was harmless and lucky for Journey she was awake when he brought them home. Faith wasn’t awake and doesn’t know she even got one of these nasty things! (BTW, nobody mention it!)

As you can see in the picture the sucker has a baby scorpion inside (minus the stinger)!

I let Journey have the rest of her lollipop while Faith was napping. She got some kind of disturbing satisfaction from trying to get me to take a lick, and then an even “bigger lick”  and  she basically tried to shove the lollipop down my throat! YUCK! It even has the nerve to taste like sweet strawberries too.

Yes. That is the look of disturbing satisfaction. And the exact look she had when she ruthlessly forced the lollipop into my mouth!

Luckily, I wasn’t scarred by the incident, but I have this great black mail picture! HA! Mommy loves you, Journey!

A Big Birthday Surprise!

My firecracker Faith turned 2 on March 27! I have decided that this nursery rhyme best describes my sweet Faith…

There was a little girl,
Who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good,
She was very, very good,
But when she was bad, she was horrid.

This nursery rhyme is really about Faith! She can be the sweetest thing and I just melt when she tells me that she loves me, but when she is frustrated or mad–you better watch out! Besides her fiery temper, I feel really blessed to be Faith’s Mommy because she really does give me faith in joy, love and family. She keeps us all on our toes and always gets so excited over the simplest things–including the jumping up and down! Ever since her birthday she has sang me the Birthday song at least once a day and it is so amazing to watch her blossom into a beautiful child.

Faith finally got her ears pierced and now won’t let me go near them to clean. I have to squirt the solution incognito onto her ears in the bath. It is really so bad that Brett was looking at me like I had lost my mind! HA! Oh well, a Mom’s gotta do what a Mom’s gotta do!

I really can’t believe how fast the time has gone, but what makes it even more special is that we all had a surprise visit from my Mom and brother. The really crazy thing is that I haven’t seen them in about two years and they had never met Faith in person!

Basically, I got tricked. I was kind of an emotional wreck for about three days after I found out that my Mom and brother were not going to be visiting for Faith’s birthday or spring break (part of their mean and evil trick to throw me off their trail!) I felt kind of heartbroken because I hadn’t seen them in so long. It has just been finances that have kept us apart and that in itself really sucks. So, when I found out they were not coming I was just bummed. Then on the Wednesday before Faith’s birthday we were getting ready to go on a walk after dinner when suddenly I saw my Mom and brother standing in my backyard! I screamed and cried all at the same time, so loud that Brett got freaked out because he thought Sterling had died or something. It was a great surprise to say the least. I was just so thankful that Journey and Faith really got to spend some quality time with both my Mom and brother. Here are some pictures…

Journey and Faith really loved their time with Uncle JJ and GiGi (stands for Greatest Grandmother!) Now I realize that I didn’t get any pictures with them! I was too busy behind the camera.

Tru Kid Healthy Habits Giveaway!

I am really excited to tell you about this amazing all-natural children’s skincare. Tru Kid. All of Tru Kid’s products are made from essential oils and natural ingredients (all ingredients are non-toxic and gluten-free!) in bright, eye-catching packaging with REALLY fun names! Tru Kid is “built on a philosophy to encourage kids to form healthy habits that last a lifetime.” What I love is that they do it in such a fun, encouraging, and very positive way. It is such a great concept. We can all agree that healthy habits, good manners, and responsibility are learned at an early age. To help children learn how to care for themselves and have fun doing it, Tru Kid provides printable songs, rhymes, and Healthy Habits checklists.

Tru Kid is giving away a Healthy Habits Pack too! Go to the UV Skinz blog to find out more!

Changes…

Hi Everyone! This is Kalisha writing you from my new home in the Valley! So much has been happening and Reneca and I never meant to fall off the bloggy map. So, I guess I will fill you in…

It isn’t as bad as I thought it would be…I guess I became kind of a beach snob (and now I really miss just how close we were to the ocean!), but things are definitely making a change–for the better! Now that we have moved the burden of paying over-priced rent for a house that didn’t feel like a home is gone. We are settling in very nicely; we have an amazing bike path behind our house and lots of our own private space within our very own backyard. I know I sound a little crazy right now, but I haven’t had a backyard in over 4 years! We have been spending our time getting to know where everything is, taking walks to the park (which is huge!) and spending more time together as a family.

That is the most important thing–time together as a family.

Journey and Faith have handled the changes quite well since the “egg incident.” It is amazing how children take change like a breeze in the wind–they just go with it–never fighting it. I know I have fought change before and it has never ended nicely. Motherhood kind of changes you to really accept the changes and go with the flow. At least that is how it has affected me.  There is really no way that any Mom could survive the first year of their babies life if they didn’t give in to the many changes that happen.  Part of my mothering philosophy is to go with the flow, but there does have to be some action to go along with it.

Action requires a bit of Faith and a lot of confidence in yourself. That is the biggest milestone that Reneca and I have come to face. And I can speak for her because we just had this conversation yesterday.We both don’t just want things to happen to us–we want to make it happen! This goes a little deeper than just making changes, but realizing that the changes we make are what we want–not what anyone else wants for us. Sometimes we depend so much on what other people might think or how they will accept us for the changes we make or the action we take. (Am I talking in circles?) I just don’t want to name names–so let me just say this. All people want is for someone to be proud of them. We just need to accept that the most important person that should be proud of us is ourselves.

Having that confidence in ourselves is what can make change manageable. Taking every opportunity or hardship and turning it into a positive to benefit myself is what I am changing.  Sometimes I find myself being sucked into the Mother role and losing sight of who Kalisha really is. And I’m not the same person I was 5 or 10 years ago, but I know I am much smarter and stronger. I mean come on! I’m a Mother! There is no other greater force out there! LOL

I just want to know how you deal with changes? Do you find it harder to accept or make a change since becoming a Mom?

I would love to hear your thoughts…

It’s lovey scrubby time!

If you are like us, cleaning is not one of your favorite activities. We pull out our bright neon sponge to clean our dishes and counter tops.    Aside from the lack of eye appeal, these sponges also leave a huge footprint in our landfills. Well, we have found the solution to getting out of the cleaning doldrums.  It’s lovey scrubby time!

This phrase could not be any truer. Now thanks to TWIST we lovey to scrubby too!

Why is Twist better?

TWIST is Eco-friendly.  The products are made from cellulose which is source from renewable tree farms.  On top of that, TWIST makes sure that most of its waste is reused in production.  What do you usually do with the packaging of your bright neon sponges…throw them out, right?    Well the paperboard packaging of TWIST products can be turned into a bird feeder. How cool is that?

TWIST products are durable, biodegradable and stylish.  They offer a new approach to kitchen and bathroom cleaning through innovative and effective designs.  For example, our favorite, TWIST’s Loofah Sponge is the only sponge on the market with one side absorbent sponge and one side natural loofah. Its like having a cup of coffee and and a Krispy Kream doughnut in one. Not to mention, that it offers safer and more effective scouring and scrubbing power for scratch-prone pans.

Just about every home across the country uses paper towels regularly to clean up spills and messes.  One Twist European Sponge Cloth is equivalent to approximately 17 rolls of paper towels. Check out this video!

TWIST is an environmentally responsible, functional, and fun alternative to normal house hold cleaning products that sit in our land fills today.

Reneca and Kalisha

Double + Trouble = Stress

Written by: Kalisha

For the time being I’m changing Journey’s name to Double and Faith’s name to Trouble. Because lately they have been getting into a whole lot of trouble together. I’m not quite sure who is the mastermind, but they have both been taking advantage of the fact that I have been really preoccupied with a lot of household matters. I have a feeling it is my wild-haired 22 mo. old. She came out sweet, but has become a little bit sneaky.  And I’ve noticed that Journey plays the helpful-big-sister-role to a T.  Journey will gladly help Faith unroll the toilet paper from the roll, or help her to climb up on the table to get on the laptop and “update our blog” (well, I guess if we aren’t–someone has to!) So, amidst all of this I have learned my lesson. NEVER ever leave Double and Trouble alone when they are armed with paint brushes and paints! (And it is a whole other story on the reason Journey is naked. Seems to be an everyday thing. Kind of like the dress-up-like-a-princess phase she went through–except now she’s moved on to just taking her clothes completely off. I was worried, but the doctor said it is normal three-year-old behavior. To each his own.)

 

I usually keep a close eye on them, but life has been so crazy around here…I have been on the phone, computer or filling out paper work non-stop. Which is something I’m not used to because my main role is to take care of Journey and Faith, play with them, clean up after them, take care of the pets, and clean and maintain the house. Doing extra things makes it all so complicated. I’m beating myself up over it because I feel so out of control. I know that this won’t last forever and by this I mean the mess that we are calling “the move.” I hope you don’t feel like I’m exaggerating, but moving happens to be one of the most stressful situations that a person can go through. I think it is just below a death in the family.  Moving has brought me to tears once in my life and not because I was sad to move, but just so over-whelmed. This time I will not cry and I know it will all pass with no problem.

I know the reason why I am upset with myself. I am a very hands-on-type-of-mom. I enjoy just being with Journey and Faith, but lately I haven’t been fully there, in the moment with them (reason they have been named Double and Trouble). I feel like my mind is always someplace else, worrying about everything. We do have times when I feel in the moment with them–like when we go to the park, read books, tell stories, dance, and just play silly…(sigh) It’s hard managing stress and caring for children. I don’t think I’m handling it very well right now and maybe I’m being too hard on myself. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels the stress of motherhood on top of daily stress, but the very act of being-too-hard-on-yourself actually creates more stress. Geez!

Well, I suppose I will have to add that to the top of the list on how to cope with Motherhood and Stress:

1. Don’t be too hard on yourself!
2. Ask for help if you feel overwhelmed
3. Take time out for yourself on a daily basis
4. Talk with someone who will listen and provide the support you need
5. Laugh at any chance you get
6. Eat more chocolate (wink)
7. Find peace in your Faith

I will stop there because 7 is my favorite and lucky number. I can also end this post on a high note. Today we found out that we were accepted into the house that we wanted. I will let you know more once we are all moved in! It is about half an hour from where we live now and we will all have to meet new people and learn a new neighborhood, but this will a good move for us and I won’t let the latest adventure of Double and Trouble get me stressed out…where’s the chocolate?!

And the Winner is…

Thanks to everyone who entered in our Build-A-Bear Giveaway!It was really fun and interesting to see all of the New Year’s Resolutions. It seems like we all need to work on de-cluttering, smiling more, stressing less, eating healthier and spending more time with our families. If we all accomplish all of those things then 2009 will be a good year for sure!

We had 70 entries and guess who had the honor of typing all of those names into random.org? (Me. As in Kalisha. I feel like I should get an award for that!) Well, I guess I did get a small reward this morning when I shared my ice cream sandwhich with Journey and Faith–giving Journey the “biggest” piece, as requested by my outspoken 3-year-old.  Alright, enough about that and on to our winners!

Grand Prize: Soha Molina…Her resolution is to have patience and tolerance towards her Mother-In-Law once she moves in. We wish her a lot of good wishes with that transition. It can be very stressful to have someone come into your space–hope everything goes smoothly.

1st Prize: We had to pick a new 1st Prize winner because we haven’t heard anything from Marilyn. We feel bad for taking her prize away, but a rule is a rule (dang rules!) So, our new winner is Rhiannon! Congratulations!

 Marilyn…Her resolution was to excersise everyday to maintain her health. Easy ways to exercise daily without really thinking about are to find ways to walk more. Even though I was made to walk everywhere (not really by choice) I found that daily and long walks have helped shed those post-baby pounds.

Congratulations to our winners!