birth

Thank you CPR STUDIOS for designing this beautiful graphic for me. I really love this design. This collaborative effort between "Papas" and his close friend, cpr is one that I hold near and dear because it represents so much. This was originally designed as a baby shower invitation to celebrate the coming of our daughter.

Even though we had these beautiful shower invites delivered and arrangements in place we never had an official baby shower. Marley was six weeks early and she arrived the week our engagement.

I wanted to have this design made into a wall decal for my daughter’s room, but it was too expensive and having it printed on fabric was also beaucoup bucks!

So, I hope to get some good use out of this design because it gives me warm and fuzzy feelings.

The very hungry caterpillar

I knew making baby food came with perks, but insects are not one of them! There was a caterpillar in my squash. I was screaming and jumping around in my kitchen, but had to take this photo before attempting to exterminate the creature!

Ways to earn SAHM

After winning my prize it got me to thinking, how could win more contests and make more money!!! My imagination was running wild. I could pay off my student loans, send my daughter to the preschool I have been dreaming about, pay off my mortgage, and invest in another property. All of these imaginative dreams happen during my daughters morning nap. It’s the first moment of the day I have an hour or two to myself. I just go wild! I try not to spend all of this valuable time on the internet, but I usually do!

I came across this article 10 Legitimate Ways Stay-at-Home Moms Can Make Their Own Money. It took me about two days to fill out all of the questionnaires needed to even be considered for focus groups. That was tiring. I have not tried to be a secret shopper yet, but it could be fun! Any how take a look at the article the suggestions are worth noting.

When I got into the car on my way to my baby fingers class I heard a great interview on Oprah & Friends XM Radio. The Jean Chatzky Show featured a mom who started a business called Mom Corps. They find work for people who have been out of the workforce for a while, primarily homemakers who want to enter the work force again. They also find flexible employers for stay at home parents who want to work part time or need flexible schedules that work with their parenting or personal responsibilities. The universe is definitely trying to tell me something…

i won

I was surfing online after putting my daughter to sleep when the bell rang. It was fed ex. I assumed the package was for my partner, but it had my name on it. I wasn’t sure what it could be. I opened it and there was another fed ex return envelope inside. “Is this a chain letter?” not sure what made me think that. When I finally pulled out the few sheets inside fastened by a paper clip the letter read, Congratulations you are a second prize winner…$1000 gift card and 2 complimentary round trip tickets …on October 2006 you were automatically entered to win…I have never won anything before. It’s pretty exciting!

Before and After

I finished crocheting my scarf. When I began my creation started to take on a triangular shape. I decided to start over, pull the entire thing apart and stayed up all night to complete my masterpiece. I was completely obsessed, but in the end this small scarf gave me a great sense of accomplishment!

Harlem Mom in Tennessee

Clarksville is a military town. I have never been on an army base or seen so many people in fatigues. It’s very different from being in Harlem. Fort Campbell lies on the Kentucky- Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, KY and Clarksville, TN where I was visiting.

I asked various people what it was like having a family member serve in the Iraq war. I wanted to know what the media doesn’t convey about being a soldier and being separated from family. Our country is so involved in the politics of war; I wanted to understand the people fighting in the war. I was connecting with people just like me, but they weren’t stay at home moms. Here is some of what I learned.

One person I spoke with expressed to me that the world cannot understand the sacrifice of serving in the military. Another said “…it’s unexplainable, imagine carrying an eight year old blown to pieces in your arms. How can you even start to make sense of that….”

“…and what about the mom with three kids whose husband is away. She cannot afford daycare for all three kids so she has to stay at home. They should make a reality show about that! People in the military do not make that much money. People still have to struggle.”

The resonating theme among most of the people I spoke with was that entering the army provided an opportunity for a job, to pay off debt, learn a skill and serve their country of course. The reality of being sent into combat was not as apparent as some may think. When most entered the army they did not think they would be called to war or asked to provide services outside of their expertise.

A mechanic for army vehicles said “…all of the sudden you are killing people and trying to keep yourself from being killed…you cannot prepare yourself for that reality…it’s frightening and I hated it…when I came back home I thought I was ok, but I am not. I am not the same person I was when I left.”

Tennessee Mom

I learned to crochet from friend Lara. During my stay in Tennessee I watched Lara crochet a blanket for her daughter. She seemed at peace. She showed me a beautiful scarf she made for her 2 year old daughter and the blanket she brought her home from the hospital in. I was inspired. We sat on Sunday having coffee, talking and crocheting. Lara said she never would have imaged getting so much peace from crocheting. “If I was twenty I could never spend an afternoon this…” I am so glad we are not twenty anymore. Only the Lord knows what trouble I would be getting myself into not knowing I would spend the rest of my life trying to reconcile that very moment. Crocheting is much safer and emotionally stabilizing than anything I would have been up to on a given afternoon at age twenty.