Silly SAHM Times

So last night we had our first round of thunderstorms of the spring. Nothing too crazy, but some thunder, lightening and a lot of rain. The thunder really started as the kids were headed to bed and they at least acted like they were scared.

At that point I decided it was time to break out the magic. This is something I do from time to time to relieve some fear the kids are having. I make up a magic spell and make the bad stuff go away. Tonight's spell went something like this:

Abra-cabunder
Abra-cadunder (a shout-out to the top micro-cap regional paper company this side of Stamford)
Why don't you just go away
You silly thunder!

And, of course, it worked like a charm. Never heard another peep out of the kids. So what kinds of silly things do you do to entertain/assuage/calm your little ones? I know I can't be the only one that does this.

A Croc Giveaway for SAHMs

Check out this giveaway going on now at Deal Seeking Mom. They are giving away 10 vouchers for one pair of Crocs worth up to $50.

If your kids are into Crocs like our kids, this $50 voucher is better than gold. Seriously, we have to fight with our kids to wear anything other than Crocs. We have fur-lined Crocs. We have Minnie Mouse Crocs. We have Croc boots. We even have Croc flip-flops. My daughter is getting like 5 pairs of Crocs for her birthday that we bought slightly used on E-Bay. It's like an obsession in our house.

Of course, there is nothing that says you have to spend your $50 voucher on your kids. It could be one of your SAHM Confessions. I promise I won't tell anyone.

An Online Coupon Resource for SAHMs

I found a new website resource for coupons called WeUseCoupons.com. The website claims to be "an online community full of people who use coupons and discuss when and where to use them." The goal of the forum is to "provide a platform for you to learn how to use coupons as well as post deals you find anywhere and everywhere." Sounds like a good thing to me.

There are a number of interesting features on the site. One section divides deals and coupons by grocery store. So you can search for your favorite store and see what that store is offering by way of deals. There is also a similar section for drug stores.

They have a coupon database that allows you to search for hundreds of coupons by product (as well as a number of other characteristics). The problem is, I can't figure out how to use the coupons you find. I'm sure there is an explanation somewhere, but I sure couldn't figure it out.

For those new to the coupon game, they also have "virtual classes" that are essentially how-to articles. They cover a number of topics like "Saving Without Coupons," "Double Coupons," and "Why The Value Size Isn't Really A Value." Interesting stuff.

What Do You Do All Day?

So this is my first attempt to join the Fatherhood Friday party over at Dad Blogs. I found this the other day and thought you all would like it. I new from a very early stage that this was not an acceptable question.

What Do You Do All Day?

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.

Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rugwas wadded against one wall.In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a Cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?'

She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world do I do all day?''Yes,' was his incredulous reply.She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'

Guys, if I have one piece of advice for you as you start the SAHM journey, it's this: NEVER ask what your SAHM does all day!

A Blog For SAHMs Who Like To Decorate & Entertain

I thought I would share a friend's blog today. Holly is a good friend from college that is like a little Martha Stewart in training (without the insider trading, of course). She has created a blog where she discusses all kinds of things. Instead of me butchering her ideas, I'll just let you read what she has to say:

The gifted life is a lifestyle resource dedicated to sharing tips and tricks on
entertaining, gifts, dining, decorating, gardening, travel, cocktails,
beauty, and organization. All passions of mine!

She is very talented. You should check it out.
http://thegiftedlife.blogspot.com/

SAHM Confessions

I don't know if any of you have watched ABC's new show called "In The Motherhood," but it's fairly funny. What I find interesting about the concept is that they have a spot on their website where real moms can share their experiences as mothers. The show will then use the best ideas as story lines for the show. It's either a great concept or the brain child of lazy writers. Regardless, if you have a great story, you can submit it here.

I thought it might be interesting to see if any SAHMs that read this blog have some deep, dark secret about being a SAHM they would like to share. Every parent has something they do or have done that they may not be proud of or wouldn't ever tell someone. But this is a safe place where no one can judge you. So, what do you want to confess? Enter my confessional booth and lay it on me.

I'll even start. A couple of nights ago my wife walked by the bathroom and stopped in her tracks. I was standing at the toilet doing what guys do when they stand in front of the toilet. That, itself is nothing weird. Sure the door was open, but we're that family, so whatever.

The strange part was that I was holding my 3 week old son at the time. While peeing. With the door open. And I have to say, I'm not even the least bit ashamed. I just chalk up to another thing I can do with one hand. Alright, I confessed. Now it's your turn.

Staying Professional While Working At Home

I saw this article the other day and it got me thinking. How hard is it to be professional while working from home with your kids running around the house?

The title kinda threw me off at first, though. "Moms: Can You Really Work at Home?" is a very strange title for an article about professionalism. Still, the basis for the article is valid. How do you maintain a professional attitude while working at home? The article says you are either a segregator, meaning you completely separate your work space from your family space, or you are an integrator that does everything at the same time.

I think the segregator model is a little unrealistic for your typical SAHM. First of all, your typical SAHM cannot afford to get a babysitter just to get a little work done. The cost of daycare is one of the most common reasons for families to make the stay-at-home decision. Plus, if your kids are young, creating too many boundaries and rules just isn't going to work. I guarantee you a rule about not talking while mom is on the phone would never fly in my house.

The article did mention a couple of resources for moms that work at home. The website The Entrepreneurial Parent looks like a good source of information and ideas for parents looking to balance work and family under one roof. The article also mentioned a book that could be a good resource for SAHMs looking to start an at home business: How to Raise a Family and a Career Under One Roof: A Parent's Guide to Home Business.

Any thoughts on how to stay professional while working at home?

Blogging SAHMs

So I was wondering how many SAHMs out there have their own blogs. I figure there are plenty of blogging SAHMs, but I haven't found many yet. So let me know about your blog, I'd love to check it out. Even if you don't blog, let me know if there are other SAHM blogs out there that you like to read.

Also, for you blogging SAHMS, I have found a cool website that can be used to draw traffic to your blog. It's called AlphaInventions.com, and it allows you to read a number of different blogs as soon as they update without surfing all over the internet to find them. Check it out and let me know what you think.

I Survived My Weekend As A SAHM

OK, so it was barely more than 24 hours. And it was only 1 of 3 kids. But it was the 4 week old baby, so that's gotta count for something.

Regardless, it was my own little SAHM experience. It was just me and a baby. I changed all the diapers, made all the bottles and got up every time he got up during the night. I guess I had forgotten just how much work newborns are. It's been less than 2 years since my little girl was a baby, but it seems like decades.

If your husband ever asks what you do all day (which I have and will NEVER do), just leave them with your kid(s) for a day. Take a girl's weekend and see how well you are recieved on Sunday afternoon. I'll be honest, I can't wait for my wife to get home. I need a break.

Dr. Laura's Book on SAHMs: "In Praise of Stay-At-Home Moms"

I'll admit, as a guy, I have never listened to Dr. Laura Schlessinger's radio show. I'm not really her target audience. But she did release a new book last week that is pretty pertinent to this blog: "In Praise of Stay-At-Home Moms." The book essentially talks about how all moms should be stay at home moms. Now, that's not feasible, but she does make a good case.

Here is an interview from the Wall Street Journal with a lot of good information. She talks about actually making the decision to stay home and the decision to return to work. I do sort of take issue with this part:

WSJ: Where do stay-at-home dads fit into the picture?
Dr. Schlessinger: I
recommend that during the first three years, the mom should be at home because
all of the research shows that the person whose body you come out of and whose
breast you suck at, at that stage, really needs to be the mom -- unless she's
incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial. After that, flip a coin.

I think it's probably pretty obvious that I am also a fan of stay-at-home dads, so this comment seems to discount a man's ability to adequately care for a kid until the age of three. That's just silly. Regardless, it's a good interview and a very intriguing book. Let me know if any of you have read or plan to read. I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

I've also included a link to a thread on the Baby Center forums with a TON of responses to this book. Needless to say, there are more than a few working moms out there not exactly thrilled with Dr. Laura's message.

http://blogs.babycenter.com/celebrities/2009/04/12/dr-laura-says-all-moms-should-stay-at-home/?scid=momsbaby_20090414:2&pe=2Uvqt1h

SAHMs Sanity Saving Techniques

So my wife did something last night that I can only describe as a sanity-saving moment of madness. The kids were in bed, and I was picking up the random socks, toys and books strewn about the house. I also picked up a couple of things that needed to be thrown away.

After putting a few things in the kitchen trash can, I smashed down the trash to make more room in the can. A very common task with a very uncommon result. All of a sudden I heard a police car siren coming from the bottom of the trash can. But this was no ordinary siren. It was the high-pitched shrill of possibly the most annoying toy ever created by the parent-hating noisy toy industry. I mean, this thing could make dogs howl.

After finishing my trash duties, I politely asked my wife a simple question, "Did you throw away M's police car?" A tiny, non-invasive 7 word question lead to a 15 minute diatribe on how annoying the car was, how it would go off without provocation, etc. At that point I realized that the car needed to be sacrificed to save my darling SAHM's sanity.

And let's be clear, this was not a favorite toy or anything. It's one of about 47 cars we have in our house, and it's not even really one of the favorite cars. So it's not like we threw away something that will be missed. It was simply a casualty of it's own making.

This whole episode got me thinking about other sanity-saving techniques SAHMs have that they may not be totally proud to say out loud. I'm sure every SAHM has done something that just had to be done to avoid complete meltdown. And I gotta say, I think you've earned it!

SAHMs Around The World

So this blog has gotten visitors from some crazy places around the world. For example, last week I had a visitor from the Isle of Man. I've got to be honest, I had to google Isle of Man to even figure out where it was (it is a small island between Ireland & Great Britain). I've also had visitors from the Cayman Islands, New Zealand, Ukraine and Switzerland among others.

So that got me to thinking about SAHMs around the world. Are SAHMs looked at in the same way in Europe, for instance, as they are in the US? Are moms more likely to stay home with their kids in foreign countries?

I don't really have any answers to these questions, but I thought they were at least worth asking. Maybe this is something I should do a little research on in the future. I think it would be interesting to see the attitudes toward staying home in different cultures. Or maybe I'm the only person who thinks that would be interesting.

Any thoughts from our non-US visitors on this topic? Is there a large population of stay-at-home moms in your country? How do people react when you say you are a SAHM?

Happy Easter SAHMs!!!

Happy Easter to all you SAHMs out there. Hope everyone is having a fun and safe holiday.

Potential SAHM Money Making Idea: Retail Sales Marketing

So I ran across a new idea to make a little money on the side as a SAHM. Retail sales marketing/merchandising is essentially going to local businesses (think grocery store or Wal-Mart) and filling up displays. It could be anything from magazines to greeting cards to candy displays. Apparently it's a job that really lends itself to SAHMs because it can be done at off hours (like when dad comes home from work).

I even found a website that seems to list a number of these jobs: http://www.narms.com/jobbank.html. Here's a link to an application for a greeting card company:

http://corporate.americangreetings.com/careers/joinourteam_ptm.html.

Pays seems to usually start at about $8/hour, so you're not going to get rich doing this. But it does seem to be a way to make a few extra dollars while still staying home with the kids.

Anybody ever done anything like this? I mentioned it to my SAHM, and she was fairly excited about it.

My Own Personal SAHM Moment

So by definition I can never be a SAHM. But, just like husbands that have sympathy labor pains, I had some sympathy SAHM pains this morning.

Today is my first day back to work since my son was born on March 20th. I've been off work for more than 2 weeks and have spent a ton of time with my wife and 3 kids during that span. I've been to the park more times than I can remember, I've cuddled with my newborn son multiple times a day and I have absolutely turned my daughter into a full-fledged "Daddy's girl."

But that all came to a crashing halt today. And I'm not happy about it! It's not simply a matter of me not wanting to go back to work. Everyone has that feeling after a long "vacation." This is completely different. I not only don't want to be at work, but I REALLY want to be home with my wife and kids. I want those mornings where we all sit around watching the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

It's funny that I've never had this feeling before. At least not this intensely. I have a new and profound understanding of the emotional draw of staying at home now. Now I just need to figure out how I can stay home too.

Crafty SAHMs Should Check Out Etsy.com

If you are into crafts, you should really check out etsy.com. It seems like an Ebay for handmade crafty items. They sell all kinds of homemade products like clothes, art, purses, etc. If it's something you can make at home, they sell it.

More importantly for SAHMs looking to make a little money on the side, you can actually sell your own homemade goods on Etsy. There are 3 categories of goods that can be sold: goods handmade by you, commercial and handmade crafting supplies, and vintage items 20 years or older.

It is free to sign up for an account, but it does cost you $.20 to list an item for 4 months. When the item sells, you pay a 3.5% commission (or "transaction fee") to Etsy.

We're not really a crafty family, so this isn't something we'll be doing any time soon. But I was wondering if anyone has ever sold anything on Etsy.

SAHMs and Facebook

How many of you are on Facebook? I think it's a great tool for staying in touch with people that you wouldn't normally talk to. Sure it has its downfalls (I have a few "friends" from high school that I don't think I ever actually talked to in high school), but it is a lot of fun.

I was curious if anyone used Facebook as a resource for SAHMs. I actually have a Facebook group for the blog that I'm hoping people will use as another place to congregate and share ideas. Check it out and let me know what you think.

The Power of One Hand

So we added child #3 to our clan just over a week ago. Henry Boone is a very health, handsome baby boy. He has a great demeanor and is eating like a horse. But he is reminding me of a lot things I had forgotten about newborns.

The number one thing I had forgotten was just how many things I can do with one hand. In just 10 days I have done laundry, checked e-mail and gotten dressed with one hand. And I have to say that getting dressed with one hand is not easy.

All of this speaks to the resourcefulness of parents in general and SAHMs in particular. People in the business world always talk about multi-tasking. You know, being on a conference call while checking e-mail and signing some documents. Wow, quite impressive!

But I think SAHMs have the concept of mutli-tasking down to an art. It amazes me all of things that my wife can do at the same time. We're talking about cleaning up the toys scattered throughout the living room, while entertaining 2 toddlers, soothing a newborn and enjoying a nice cup of coffee at the same time. And that's just a week and half removed from her 3rd c-section in 3.5 years. I can't wait to see what she can accomplish when she is actually healthy.