Work At Home Mom Interviews

For today's Work from home Wednesday post, I wanted to share a great website filled with interviews with Work at home moms. It's called The Work At Home Mom Spot, and you can go to it here..

I love reading about other work from home mothers who are following their passions, and earning money from home to help make ends meet.

Fyi: If you are still interested in writing for about.com, there are some great new topics to choose from. Go here for the topics that they need guides for.

Have a happy Wednesday!

Grandmother

My grandmother is a lady that I truly love, adore, and admire. I would like to be like her as a homemaker and woman. She is such an inspiration. I went to visit her over the weekend, and I realize that I need to do that much more often. She's 83 years old, but she looks like she's in her sixties. She has smooth skin, and a beautiful spirit. Everyone loves my grandmother because she is so sweet and kind, and always looking to give to others.

My mother told me that growing up my grandmother was involved in various clubs and organizations for women, and they would have meetings at different members' homes monthly, or however often they met. And, she said that the women were always so delighted when their meetings were at my grandmother's home, because they knew that they had wonderful, tasty food awaiting them. My grandmother's cooking is legendary in the town that my mother grew up in. Everyone knows how well my grandmother can cook and bake.

Even more so, the ladies loved what an excellent homemaker my grandmother was. They would say that she was so neat and clean that they could eat off of her floors. Now, that's a compliment! Grandmother was and is always hospitable. She always has a fresh pitcher of sweet tea in the refrigerator and a delicious cake on the countertop that beckons to be eaten, no matter what diet you may be on.

My grandmother is beautiful on the inside and out, and she inspires and encourages people around her everywhere she goes. She's such a positive and loving person. And, she's quick to share the good news of the gospel to those who will listen.

She has often talked proudly of the fact that she inspired my late grandfather to change. He was a rough and tough manly man, who was not a Christian, and she fondly told of how she firmly laid down the law with him at the beginning of their marriage, and told him that she would not tolerate disrespect and mistreatment from him. Gradually, as the years passed, he grew stronger and stronger in his walk with the Lord. My grandfather was a highly respected man who was known for his integrity and excellent work ethic. He was a great provider, and he treated my grandmother with respect and love.

They were married for more than fifty years, and she is always encouraging me to love my husband, and be a good wife. She always says, "Married life is a good life. It's what you make it." I just wanted to share a bit about my grandmother, because I love her so, and she inspires me in so many ways. I hope to one day be the excellent homemaker and woman that she is, and inspire and uplift as many people as she has. She is a true Titus 2 lady!

Work From Home Wednesdays: Another Online Writing Opportunity

Today I want to share another online writing opportunity. It is Demand Studios. Demand Studios is a company that pays freelance writers, copywriters, transcribers, title proofers, and filmmakers to contribute to their site.

I applied for the freelance writing section. There are a ton of topics to choose from. Each month you have a limit of 15 articles that you can write in the beginning. As time progresses, you have the ability to write more articles. The upfront payment for most articles is $15.

Now, the sad thing about it is that I applied to write for Demand Studios months ago, and waited for an email from them letting me know that I was accepted. Today, I just happened to go to their website and check the status of my application, and I was accepted. I don't know how long I've been accepted. I just happened to check. That's money that I could have been earning! Oh, well. I've heard some great things about Demand Studios. Check it out and see if it's something that you would be interested in.

Have a happy Wednesday!!

Getting Tough as a Parent

My son is doing much better at church. I have continued to work on disciplining him consistently, and at the first offense. When I taught school it made me not want to have sons, because I thought that boys were just a huge headache!! Almost all of the boys that I taught were so unruly and overactive.

When I was a kid growing up I surmised that the kids who behaved the best seemed to have mean parents, and the ones that were disrespectful had parents that were really nice. I wondered about that, and figured out that only mean parents had good kids. When I say mean, I mean parents that did not take any stuff from their kids, and the kids had to do what the parents said, or else.

That's the kind of parents that I had. We didn't question what they said, we just did it. Because we had enough sense to know that there would be major consequences if we stepped out of line. My parents gave us lots of love and attention, but they commanded respect, and did not tolerate any ounce of disobedience or disrespect. I remember my mom telling me about teachers asking her about how she raised her kids, because they were so well behaved. I thought that was interesting until I became a teacher myself. I had one male student in particular who was very nice, well mannered, never disrespected me or any other adult, was kind to others, and on top of that he was a handsome, popular, football player! All of those qualities together was just unheard of at the school that I taught. It was kind of a rough school.

Anyways, I kept thinking, wow, I would like to meet his mother, and ask her what she did to raise him the way he is. I did meet his mother, and she had the sweetest disposition. She was a pretty, soft-spoken, and very feminine lady. I complimemented her on how well behaved her son was, but never asked her about her parenting techniques, but I sure did want to, I just wasn't in the position at the time to ask her.

Right now as a parent, I'm learning to continue to be firm and command obedience the first time. It can be quite exasperating, but, I know that it will pay off. I'm determined not to spoil him, and give him everything that he wants. From what I've seen all that does is lead to heartache for parents later on. Lots of love, and enough discipline to make him obedient to me the first time asked, are my focuses right now.

Work From Home Wednesdays: Utilizing Craigslist

Many people talk about how great using Ebay is to sell unwanted stuff from around your home, but I think that Craigslist is better, mainly because it's FREE!!! I tried using Ebay to sell a few items, and I had to pay a $4 listing fee, and it didn't even sell within the time frame that I was given. I would have had to continue to pay $4 to list it until it sold, and who knows how long that would have taken.

I think Craigslist is much better, because it's free, and usually, local. You can find a public place to meet up to exchange the goods, or mail it off. I was able to sell my son's shoes that he had outgrown for $25 a pair on Craigslist. A local kid's consignment store only offered $2 for the same shoes. So, I'm a big fan of Craigslist, because you can sell quickly if it's a hot item, not worry about shipping things off if you don't want to, and get the best price for the item. Not bad, for something that's just collecting dust around your home anyways!

Going The Extra Mile

Happy Monday to everyone! It's the beginning of the week and I am determined to go above and beyond this week to be the most excellent homemaker that I can be, with a strong focus on cleaning and organizing. Today is one of those days where the inspiration to clean and declutter is not quite there. So, I want to share an inspirational post from fascinatingwomanhood.net, about Helen Andlin's mother-in-law. For some reason, this article about her really inspires me to go the extra mile, and put forth as much love and care toward caring for my family and home. Here's a snippet:

My mother-in-law was a Real Domestic Goddess. Not only was she an excellent housekeeper, she was a devoted homemaker in all areas of endeavor. She managed her house like it was a five star hotel. The most noticeable thing about her was that she seemed to enjoy it. She usually arose about 4:00 am, not because she had to, but because she was anxious to begin her day. She reminded me of a little girl anxious to begin playing house. To her it was a career – her career in the home.

In the afternoon her husband urged her to take a nap. She earnestly tried to but she enjoyed working more than sleeping. Finally he resorted to paying her for each nap.

My husband told me much about his mother during his childhood. When he was six years old and ready to begin first grade he put up such a fuss to stay home that he got his way. He began school when he was seven. Home, he thought, was the very best place to be. When he was in school he described how great it was to go home. As he and his brother walked home in the snow they were thinking of home. Soon they smelled fresh bread baking. When they arrived they never had to raid the refrigerator for a snack. She had freshly baked bread and homemade jam waiting for them.

To read the rest of this wonderfully inspiring article, go here. I encourage you to read it and be inspired to give 100% to your families and homes. It always blesses me to read this, and I hope that it does the same for you.

Choose Your Husband Wisely

I have heard reports that Rihanna and Chris Brown have gotten married. It's already been established that they have gotten back together, which seems ludicrous, but now it's circulating that they have gotten married. All I can think of, is why set yourself up for further heartache?

When I was in college, I heard a powerful abstinence educator and speaker, Lakita Garth, speak at the church that I attended. And, she said that after choosing who you are going to serve ( God), who you choose to marry is the second most important decision that you can make in your life. And, I COMPLETELY AGREE with her! Marriage is not to be taken lightly, and it can change your entire life, if you choose incorrectly. Choosing wrongly not only affects you, but affects any children that you may have together, your parents, and other family members.

I encourage any young unmarried woman to pray, pray, pray before they choose to marry someone. Search his character, his work ethic, what his views are on certain things. Check out his friends. Seek the advice of your parents, and other wise, loving adults and see what their opinion is of the person that you are interested in marrying.

It doesn't matter if you are 30, 35, or 40, and still single. It is much better to be happily single, than miserably married! Once married, you have to submit to your husband, and follow and support his vision. You will build a family, etc. I encourage ladies to not allow anything, not a ticking biological clock, family pressure, or anything, influence them to marry someone who is not suitable for them. Doing so only leads to greater heartache down the road.

Hold out, ladies. Hold out for the man who cherishes you, is kind and loving to you, is considerate of your time and feelings, who wants to provide for you and any future children that you may have, whose heart is committed to God, who has a teachable spirit, who seeks to live a Godly lifestyle, whose life goals line up with yours. Waiting for someone who loves and adores you is worth waiting for. Don't give your treasure(you) to someone who doesn't even understand your value. Because when someone doesn't understand the value of something, they are much more likely to abuse it, and not take proper care of it.

Work From Home Wednesdays: Entrepreneur Spotlight

It's a beautiful Wednesday, and it's time for another work from home Wednesday post. Today, I want to spotlight two businesses that are run by work from home mothers. Maybe their stories will inspire you, if they are doing something that you have a passion for. I love reading stories of work at home moms, and I hope that you will too.

First is Pink Taffy Designs. It is an online baby boutique run by two sisters, Aimee Pool and Rebecca Stocker, who are both stay at home moms. They sell beautiful baby bedding, furniture, and other baby items. The two sisters were inspired to start the business because they wanted to stay home and raise their children.

The other business is Fruition Designs. It is an online graphic design business run by a stay at home mother of four. She designs blogs, invitations, announcements, and other types of stationery. She started out as a part-time graphic designer, and after the birth of her first child, she began graphic designing from home full-time, and her business was born.

Those are my two entrepreneur spotlights for the week. I hope that they have provided a bit of inspiration for you on this Wednesday to follow your passions, and use it to earn money from home!!

Looking for a paid blogging job? Check out http://jobs.problogger.net for a listing of blogging jobs.

Happy Wednesday!

Training Our Children

I have been working for the past few weeks with training my son to obey like he should. It's been a work in progress. He's 17 months old, and he is quite stubborn, and I had been looking for ways to discipline a young toddler. I started this search a little bit before he turned one, because I wanted to prepare myself for training him properly.

I must admit that I had not been consistent in my training with him. My husband thinks I'm too soft with him, and maybe I am. . . or was. I am changing now. What prompted this was going to church. Although it has improved a bit with time, my son continues to be quite disruptive in church. I could kind of understand it as a baby, but now as a toddler, there is no reason for him to keep acting up. Simply spanking him didn't solve the problem. Consequences have to be consistent in order to have any lasting effect.

I fell guilty to thinking that some of his stubborness was cute, instead of nipping things in the bud at the first sign of rebelliousness. Two great resources for training children is Raising Godly Tomatoes and Teaching Your Children To Obey by Kelly Crawford from Generation Cedar. Both resources have provided good, detailed instruction on how to teach children to obey you.

The earlier the training, the easier your job is as parents. Last week I became really serious about training my son to sit still and be quiet, to practice for church. And, it's great to teach him to obey me when I tell him to stay seated and be quiet. Oh, the rebellion and tears that came out! But, as the training has progressed, he has gotten better at obeying me the first time. And, he seems to take greater delight in pleasing me and waiting for me to tell him what a good job he does when he obeys me the first time. He is quite proud of himself!



I was also inspired by this post by Terry at Breathing Grace. Her points were right on, and encouraged me greatly, because I was reminded how important it is to be home TRAINING our children. And, when we do our jobs, we will reap the fruit thereof.