Tips for WAHMS

Hi there and welcome back to Tips 4 WAHMs. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and had some time to catch up on some rest.

Today we are back to the quick tip of the day for WAHMs and I have a great tip that I often need to remember myself.

Today's quick tip of the day is this: Get Out of the House!!!!!

When you are a work at home mom, you live at home and you work at home as well. Now while this comes along with many advantages, it can also have a few drawbacks. If you don't get out enough, soon you are going to feel like the walls are closing in - yes…cabin fever.

I know I deal with this a lot and I'm really happy to have a husband who does his best to make sure I get out of the house. He's probably better about remembering it than I am.

Sometimes I get so buried in my work and everything that comes along with running a home and having a family, that I totally forget to take time to get out. In fact, just a personal example, a couple weeks ago I had enough. I told my husband I needed to get out, left the house, and went out for the afternoon.

While I was out, I didn't do anything to exciting. Went shopping, didn't find anything I liked, ordered Chinese food for the family, and came home and didn't have to cook. Later that night I shut myself in the master suite, did some hair care and nail care, took a nice bath, and by the end of the day I felt like a new person.

My husband is great about surprising me and taking me out for lunch or we plan an early afternoon movie date to get out of the house. I think he's found that getting me out of the house is good for HIS sanity. LOL!

If you work at home or you are a stay at home mom, try to get out. Even if it's just for a cup of coffee, a trip to the library, or a walk to the mailbox. Remember there is a big world out there. Don't let yourself get closed in or you'll begin to feel restless, frustrated, and irritated.

Spring is here and so is cold season. As you may have noticed, Tips 4 WAHMs hasn't been around for a few days, and that is all due to cold season. Let's just say that the kiddies like to share, and unfortunately left with a case of bronchial pneumonia I've been on an unplanned hiatus.

As a work at home mom, this is something you are probably going to end up dealing with. Some how the kids always like to share. So, for today's quick tip of the day for WAHMs I'd like to share a few good tips for avoiding these colds when you work at home.

1. Have hand sanitizer on hand. This is invaluable when you are a work at home mom. Even when the kids get the sniffles, you can try to avoid it by using hand sanitizer after each time you touch them. Have your kids use it to, to cut down on them getting colds at school. Put some in their backpack and it may help them to avoid the colds.

2. Get rest. Yes, as a work at home mom, I know this is tough, but especially if your kids are sick, try to get a bit of extra rest yourself. Unfortunately many of us work even harder taking care of work and a sick family, and then end up getting a double dose of the nasty bug.

3. Push water like crazy. I'm a big fan of water all the time and I think many people forget to get enough water. However, this is most important when you are trying to avoid getting sick. During cold season and especially if the kiddies are already fighting colds, start drinking a LOT of water. Eight 8oz glasses is the normal recommendation. When you want to boost your body's immunity you need even more water. Go for 10+ glasses when you are trying to fight off a bug.

These are just a couple of quick tips to help you out as a work at home mom. Inevitably the kids are going to catch something, and you may too. Hopefully with these tips you'll avoid the illness or cut back on the time down.

Hi there again, and thanks for dropping by Tips 4 WAHMs! I'm back with another quick tip of the day for WAHMs. Today I want to give you work at home moms a tip that can save you a lot of time and frustration.

Get and use caller ID. If you work at home, this is a lifesaver! When you're trying to work, unless it's important, you probably don't have time to stop and talk on the phone every 15 minutes. This is where caller ID comes in handy.

When you have caller ID, you can decide whether to answer the phone or whether you should allow it to go to voice mail. If it's an important client, then you may want to take the time to talk. However, if it's that gabby neighbor calling again who enjoys talking for an hour before she hangs up, you may want to let that one go for another time.

Accomplishing your work during the day is difficult enough without having to play secretary and answering the phone all day. With caller ID, you can decide if you need to answer the phone. After all, they created voice mail for a reason!

First of all, whether you are a mom who has a job (ie. Writing, transcription, virtual assistant or other home business) that you do at home or you are a stay at home mom, I believe you fall under the category of "work at home moms." After all, even if you don't have another job, being a mom is a full time job. So, if you are a stay at home mom, this article is for you too!

Sometimes when you are a work at home mom, it's easy to feel overwhelmed with everything that's going on in your life. After all, you are asked to fill many roles. More than likely you do some cooking, some "taxi driving," cleaning, laundry, child care, and so much more. If you have a job at home as well, you also have to fill different roles for your clients or employers. With all of these other roles you end up playing, it's easy to let your role as a wife slide by. However, this is the most important role you have - after all, if you are having marital problems, everything else is probably going to suffer.

Even though you have a thousand other things on your plate, taking time to nurture your relationship and to keep the romance alive in your marriage is important. You must take the time off from being employee and mom to being a sexy woman in love with her man. Now I realize a few of you may be a bit shocked here at what I have to say, but one of the main things that work at home moms complain about is not feeling sexy any more. Well, while your husband needs to take the initiative to make you feel beautiful and sexy in his eyes, some of this is your responsibility. YOU need to take the time to feel sexy and to build up that intimate relationship with your husband. Don't let the kids or your work at home job get in the way.

So, you're probably wondering, how in the world can you add one more thing to your day? Well, first of all, you have to want to do this. You have to determine that this is IMPORTANT to you. Once you have decided you are willing to take time for this and you want to work on your relationship, here are some top tips to keep the romance alive.

Tip #1 - Talk to Each Other - Sometimes married couples spend a lot of time talking "at" each other, instead of "to" each other. You know how it goes. "Honey, can you get the kids from school." "Pick up some take out on the way home." "I really need some help here with the laundry." It's easy to get into a mode where you simply talk "at" each other. However, it's important that every day you take some time to sit down and really talk "to" each other. Communication is imperative to a great relationship. If you stop talking, the rest of the relationship is going to suffer. It don't have to be for hours, but even 20 minutes if just spending time talking can be a huge help.

Tip #2 - Keep Dating - With kids, jobs, and everything else going on in your life, it's easy to stop dating and courting like you used to. Sometimes you need a break to go out and enjoy each other's company. It's something that you can look forward to. Plan one time during the week that you'll have a "date." It can be an evening when you are able to find a babysitter or even while your kids are in school. Even if it ends up being a date after the kids are in bed with pizza and a movie, make sure you do it.

Tip #3 - Protect Your Time Together - Finding time together with your husband can be tough. Maybe he works during the day and you're at home working. When you are home at the same time, there are kids and other duties that take up your time. Then at the end of the day, often you are so exhausted that you both just fall into bed. Well, don't allow the rest of life to get in the way of spending quality time together each day. Set aside some time that is just for you. Perhaps it's right after the kids are in bed and you spend some time watching your favorite shows together. Maybe you get up before the kids do and have coffee together. No matter how you do it, protect that time together. It's very important.

(to be continued next time…check back for part 2 of this series.)

Interested in becoming a work at home mom or perhaps you already are one and you sometimes find yourself wondering how to make it all work? Well, having your own home business can definitely take up a lot of time and have your life going 100mph or faster, but it definitely can be done. No doubt you want to be a successful work at home mom, and while it can seem impossible to take care of kids, run a home, and have your own home business, it can be done. Here are some of the top secret tips that can help you become successful with your own work at home business without losing your mind.

Secret #1 - Create a Schedule...But Don't Always Follow It - Organization is going to be important if you are going to work at home, so you will want to create a schedule, whether it is on paper or in your head. However, it's important to remember that you don't always have to follow the schedule. Just because you plan to work for certain hours on your schedule doesn't mean you'll actually get to do so without interruptions, especially if you have kids at home. Sometimes your life seems to have a life of its' own, so if you don't always follow that schedule exactly, don't stress over it.

Secret #2 - Make Menus - While it may sound simple, another top secret tip for being successful as a work at home mom is to make sure you plan out menus. You'll spend far more time figuring out what to have for dinner and then cooking it if you don't already have a menu planned out. Of course if you want to know more about making a menu, grocery shopping, and saving money, you should read my previous post, "Take 30 Minutes and Save $100."

Secret #3 - Learn How to Say NO! - In order to be successful, one of the most important words you need to learn is "NO!" Many people are going to want to take advantage of your time. Your brother may want you to babysit, or the school may ask you to bake 6 dozen cupcakes for a bake sale, or perhaps your mom wants you to go get her dry cleaning, since you're at home. Well, remember, you're working, and time is money. You need to make sure that you meet your deadlines and get your top priorities taken care of. It's important that you become excellent at saying NO to the people who want to distract you from your work and you need to do it without guilt.

Secret #4 - Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help - Asking for help is important as well when you're a work at home mom running a home business. After all, you're not Superwoman, even if you'd like to be. Your family is there to support and help you and remember to assign tasks to everyone. The children are capable of taking care of chores and you may even want to ask your husband to help as well. When everyone works together, the work will get done and just asking for a bit of help can provide you with great rewards.

Secret #5 - Take Care of Yourself - Taking care of yourself is imperative if you want to be a successful work at home mom. You take care of the kids, the house, the laundry, your work, and more all day long, but it's important to take some time to take care of yourself as well. If you are not at your best, things can get pretty dicey. So, take the time to enjoy a few chapters of a book, a good movie, taking a walk, a nice warm bubble bath, or just a trip out for some time alone.

Secret #6 - Establish Goals - The last top secret tip that will help you become successful with your home business is to make sure that you establish goals. Visualize the goals you want to meet. Where do you want to be in 6 months or a year? Do you have goals to make more money? If so, don't just have the goal to make more money, but figure out how you want to spend it and how having that money will change your life. When you have goals and you visualize how your life can change when you meet those goals, you'll be far more motivated to achieve them.

So, if you're looking for success as a work at home mom, these six top secret tips can help. Remember, being a work at home mom is a powerful thing and you're probably the envy of all the moms on the block. You have a great career that is stimulating mentally and you have time with your family as well. So, yes, it really does appear that you are "Super Mom."

If you're like me, most of you other work at home moms probably love finding a way to save money! No matter how much you're making from home, you're probably feeling a bit of a crunch right now, with gas prices soaring and food prices not to far behind them. In fact, within the past few weeks I've seen general grocery merchandise take a quick leap in price that's been making grocery shopping more like a brain teaser than a Saturday afternoon run to the store.

Since I'm pretty sure you are feeling the same way, I'd love to share with you how I have learned to take about 30 minutes and save $100 each week. It may sound small, but it's $400 or more a month, and $5200 each year, so listen up.

I'm always very busy with my job, kids, and a husband, so it's really tempting to just run to the store without a thought to get that grocery shopping done, but when I go I want to make sure that I get good deals. I want my family to eat well while spending the least amount possible.

So, what I do every Friday night is sit down with my husband and we go through all the local fliers from grocery stores, take stock of what we have, what we need, and then we plan a menu and make a grocery list. It takes about 30 minutes or so, but it's so worth it. We look at the deals, and try to plan meals around them. If you begin to do this, I can just about promise you that you'll begin to save about $100 a week, or maybe even more.

When I go grocery shopping, I have a list already with me for ever store I plan to visit, and usually I already know about what I'm going to spend. When I walk out of the store, my receipts show me that I've saved 30%, 40%, 50%, and a few times I've saved more than 60% in a store. All this by taking time to go over the best deals and planning out a good menu.

We eat amazing meals each evening, from Shrimp fettuccini, to Ravioli with Meat Sauce, Blackened Pork Chops, and a variety of great veggies as well, including corn on the cob, fresh broccoli and cauliflower, tomatoes, squash and zucchini, asparagus, peas, carrots, red potatoes, and more. Our diet is much healthier when we shop this way, and the great part is that we save a minimum of $100 a week.

Saving money is important, so I just wanted to share with you a way that I'm able to save an extra $100 every single week, just by taking about 30 minutes of time. It's definitely worth it!

Ever notice how most people get sick days? Me too! I've been noticing lately that in working at home I'm missing sick days, personal days, vacation days, and more. Sure, I get time off to watch my favorite dance show if I want to, but I don't get to call in sick and I definitely don't get sick pay.

This is just one thing that work at home moms are dealing with all the time - the absence of the sick day. Who knew the ability to call off sick could be so important. LOL.

So, today instead of staying in bed, here I am working at my computer, dreaming of my pillow as I type and imagining what my family would do if I gave them a call.... "Hi honey, I'm calling off sick today..."

Hmmm....something tells me it's not happening...but so goes another day in the life of a work at home mom. I've gotta admit though, in the end, it's all worth it, even without the sick days. (we'll have to work on getting those as work at home moms!!!)

Ever had those days when you felt like you were SOOOOOO busy but nothing got done? Yeah, that was my day. I got out of bed and was instantly busy, but somehow I never really did start getting serious about working today until after 10 pm tonight.

It was get up, shower, deal with the kids (who are here all the time since it's summer), start dinner preparations so we actually eat at a decent time tonight, and then I get sidetracked by the mail. Actually, it was the electric bill that got my attention - almost $300 for this months' electric! After I came to...lol...I stared at the bill in disbelief, then ranted and raved to my husband about how horrible it was that they would charge so much.

Of course you have to understand, where I live in Arizona, we've been dealing with heat over 110F and sometimes going over 115F, which is insane. The house never even gets cool. Last months' bill was a killer so, we cut back the air a little, and the bill is even worse, not to mention we've been living in misery.........but I digress....lol....

After recovering from the bill, I finally got one piece of work done, and then I had to run out to the store. Came home, and by that time it was dinner time, so I'm finishing dinner, looking mournfully at my computer and wishing I would have done a little more work by this time. Once dinner is over, it's time to start getting the kiddies ready for bed, making sure they get showers and all that good stuff......and here it is now, 10:46 pm, and I'm just starting on the work I need to get done today. I was so busy, and I really didn't even accomplish much.

I must say, this is one of the most frustrating things that happens when you work on home. You work and run around all day long, but you never get to the work you're supposed to be doing. So, now that I'm exhausted after a long day...it's off to work. Anyone feeling me out there???????

After my share of frustrating moments as a work at home mom, I decided that there have got to be other mothers out there dealing with the same exact thing. If you're reading this, you probably know what I mean...the people who always think you have an endless amount of time since you work at home and that you do nothing by take naps and watch Soaps all day long. (rightttttttt)

Most of you know that being a mom and working at home isn't always so easy - in fact, it's usually downright hectic. So, I decided to create my own blog where I can vent and hopefully meet a whole lot of other "Mums" out there who also "embrace" the work at home mom title.

So, here's the place to vent, get a laugh, share your stories, and even find some tips that will help you out. After all, we "Mums" need to stick together right.......