youngmompreneur

Right now I’m typing with my 4 month old in my lap.  This time is usually her naptime, but she refuses to go to sleep right now.  I didn’t wake up early to try to get work done, so I’m trying to catch up during my son’s naptime, which is her naptime too. 

But, not today.  She’s getting fussy, and I’ve been holding her for the past hour or so, and she is showing no signs of going to sleep. 

It’s so important for me to wake up early in the mornings before the kids do to blog and write, or else I feel frustrated throughout the day, because I try to fit it in throughout naptimes and downtimes.  It never goes the way I plan, though.  Like right now.

Oh, well.  I’m trying to think of something related to working from home to share, but my mind is drawing a blank right now.  Well, this is part of working from home; dealing with children who wil not let you get work done.  And, why you should try to work when they are asleep.  Scheduling and time management is soooo important!!

A great book that I discovered this past summer, was “All The Way Home” by Mary Pride.  I really enjoyed reading this book.  It provided great encouragement to me as a mother, wife, and homemaker.  Mary Pride has another book, published before this one, called “The Way Home.”  I haven’t read that one yet, but I’m sure that it’s good too.

One of my favorite parts of the book is her section on figuring out how to earn money from home.  She says that when you do the little things faithfully and well, that your calling emerges.  She encourages women to ask themselves three questions, 1. What do you like to do best? 2.  What are you best at?  and 3. What bothers you the most?  Answering these three questions will help you discover your calling.  

Check out your local library or bookstore so you can read a copy of the book.  It’s a great read. 

Today I got out to do bit of shopping, and I enjoyed myself.  I realize that I really don’t get out much since I’ve had the baby.  Lack of transportation, and my daughter’s refusal to take a bottle have contributed to that.  But, I ventured out tonight, as my mom baby-sat my kids for me. 

As a stay and work at home mom, sometimes it can be difficult to get out and mingle with the rest of the world.  But, it’s necessary for a good sense of well being.  Even if you’re with the kids.  I need to make it a weekly thing to get out with the kids to go to the mall or a friends house or something.  Lately, my outings have consisted of going to friends’ baby showers.  In fact, I’m going to my cousin’s baby shower tomorrow.  But, I enjoy them, as it gives me a chance to catch up with friends and relatives that I haven’t talked to in a while.

So, keep writing, and continue working from home.  But, don’t forget to enjoy socializing with others. 

Last Wednesday, September 3rd, I welcomed my daughter into the world.  She was due the 17th, but came early, via C-section.  I’m so excited.  I’m nursing right now as I write this post.  I now have a son and a daughter, and I feel so blessed.

Now, more than ever, I am committed to being a work from home mom, because I have two little people who need me to be there for them.  I do feel somewhat comfortable working part time outside of the home if I have to, because I have a wonderful mother who would take excellent care of my children while I worked.

But, the best thing for all of us, would be me continuing to work from home and be diligent in increasing my sources of revenue.  There is no greater joy to me than having a loving family.  I grew up in one, and now I have one of my own, and I am so thankful.

I was inspired to write about the work from home balance after reading  two posts, one at bookpublishing.today.com  and the other at sierraexotic.today.com.  Both posts talk about balancing working at home with being a stay at home mother.  I must admit that I have truly struggled with this.  Before becoming a work at home mother, I naively assumed that life would be a blissful day of completing writing assignments, and spending time with my son, and completing household chores.

Then reality set in. 

My son is 10 months old, so I try to work before he wakes up in the morning, which is rare, because I wake up usually upon hearing him cry to get out of his crib.  My most successful time to get work done is during his nap, which, on a good day, is two hours long.  Not exactly a lot of time to write.  But, I squeeze as much as I can within the time frame that his nap provides. 

After that, I squeeze in time to write while he plays in his playpen.  I have found that it is virtually impossible to get anything accomplished with him outside of his playpen.  When outside of his playpen he is usually caught trying to turn off mommy’s computer, getting into things that he shouldn’t, pulling on my clothes and eventually whining for attention.  He does good for about 30 minutes or so playing by himself, but then he’s ready for some different action.

 I’ve quickly realized that most work at home opportunities work well for stay at home moms who have school age children.  Trying to work with a toddler and an infant seems like a hopeless dream, if you don’t have a babysitter to watch them.  When working from home with small children, you basically have to have someone else watch the children at some point.  With alpineaccess and educateonline, you have to work in a noise free environment during your shift.  Which means I would have to find someone to babysit my kids while I’m working.  That’s not exactly what I’m looking for in an at home job.

For now, writing is the best work at home job for me during this season of my life.  I can write when I have the discipline enough to arise early, and throughout the day, whenever I carve out time.  I’m setting my schedule, and that’s what I need.  I would love to hear from work at home moms with small children, and know how they manage to balance working from home with caring for young children.

Well, I was offered employment with Alpine Acess.  I start training in about two weeks.  So, hopefully, I really like it.  Even if I don’t, I’m still excited because I’ll be working from home, earning a steady paycheck.  I enjoy freelance writing, but, I don’t have steady clients yet, so my pay is up and down, which is ok, but I need something steady. 

I’ll share in the coming weeks about how it’s going. 

In other news:  I’m 33 weeks pregnant, and I feel it!!!  Baby girl is due Sept. 17th, and I’m so excited.  Right now I’m in the midst of helping my mom and sister plan the shower, and I’m loving it.  I have thought about party planning as a business, so this opportunity is giving me an idea of how much I would enjoy it.  So far, I’m loving it.  From choosing invitations, choosing location and decorations, I’m truly delighted.  Well, I’ll write back tomorrow!

I’ve wanted to be a work from home mom since I was a little girl.  I hated going to daycare, and I was so glad when my mom decided to quit her job and stay at home with us.  I made a pledge to myself that when I had children I would stay at home with them, which is why I am so committed to earning money from home.

 Because, I still have bills to pay.  It’s so wise to not involve yourself in credit card debt if it’s not an emergency.  Which, most times, people’s purchases are not emergencies, they are just wants that they want right now, even though they cannot afford it.  If I could turn back the hands of time . . . but I can’t.  All I can do is deal with where I am now.  And, I have an infant and another on the way.  I’m stubbornly and diligently working everyday to discover ways of earning money from home.  So far, tutoring and writing have been my best bets.  I’m looking to expand my options and have multiple streams of income from home. 

 Yes, it’s a sacrifice and hard work, but that comes with the territory when you decide to have children and you’re committed to raising them yourself.  For those mothers who are doing the same, I applaud you.  May your efforts be blessed.