The idea is to get some idea juices flowing around a different topic each week – first here on the Sparkplugging blogs, then blossoming out in the blogosphere.

We kicked things off this week with this topic:

Spark an Idea to Entertain the Kids While You Work

Check out what the creative Sparkplugging Author’s have had to say so far today:

• Eight Ideas to Keep the Kids Busy
• Entertain the Kids While You Work on eBay
• Entertain Your Kids While You Run an Online Store
• And Idea that Entertains the Kids While You Work
• Entertaing Your Kids While You Work
• Entertaining Older Kids While You Work
• Working in the Home Office

Now, if you’ve got an idea about entertainging kids while you get your work done that hasn’t been shared before – please jump in with a post of your own and link back to us so we know that you’re participating.

You can grab the Meme Graphic right here.

We hope you gain some great ideas from this and will look forward to next week’s topic!

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. Spark an Idea Thursday: Showing Appreciation
2. Spark an Idea Thursday: Finishing What You Start
3. Spark an Idea Thursday: Goal Setting

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year from Staples via @BarbaraJones.

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. MVPs for Friday December 1st
2. 6 Great Business Gifts Anytime of the Year
3. What is the First Year of Freelancing Like?

Think about it. With a home office, there’s no commuting – which saves time, stress and money. Working from home means you can have lunch with your kids every day. It means you can take a half-hour and roll around with them in the yard. And if you’ve had a late night, no worries. You can roll out of bed minutes before your first appointment and still make it on time. The advantages go on and on.

But, there’s also some major challenges with working from home.

For instance, if you were working in an office building, it probably wouldn’t take your 15 minutes to use the bathroom because your kids are jumping all over you the minute you leave your office. Or, in our case with my wife being a stay-at-home-mom, your spouse thinking that it’s all right to interrupt you 67 times a day. Okay, it’s actually closer to 68.

Before my wife and I married and had kids, I’d worked from my home office for seven years. When we got married, I had no idea the challenges I would face. I figured she just understood that when I closed the door to my office I was unavailable. Nope. Same with the kids.

Now, 6 years later, we’ve worked out a pretty good system for making sure everyone’s needs get met in the family and in my business. All we had to do was create a few boundaries and establish a few rhythms:

• Set office hours – AND KEEP THEM.
  When your office is just down the hall, it can be difficult to set work aside and have ‘off time.’ Yet, it’s really unfair to both you and your family if you’re bouncing in and out of your office at all hours. Establish specific hours on specific days where you’re working. Make this time as though you’re out of house. This is foundational to effectively working at home so I can’t stress it enough.
• Remember your family has rhythms & schedules – AND HONOR THEM.
  One issue we had in our family is that I would need a breather a few times in the middle of the day and so I’d come out of my office and spend time with the wife and kids. This was always on my terms because I decided when I came out and when I went back. And since there was no specific time set each day for me to take these little breaks, my wife and kids would never know when I was coming out of my office. Such, this would interrupt their daily flow and their rhythms. So while fun for me, it wasn’t fun for my wife to deal with after I’d go back to work. So talk to your spouse, if they stay at home, and ask them how your mid-day breaks affect the family.
• Set specific break times – AND KEEP THEM.
  One thing all of us look forward too is eating lunch together. I used to just come out for lunch when I could, which just created chaos. Now, we schedule lunch – as well as those mid-day breaks – so that all of know what to expect. My wife can plan her day and the kids know what to expect – both when the break begins and ends. It’s made our lives much easier.
• Communicate your needs with your spouse – OFTEN.
  It’s highly unlikely your work’s exactly the same every day. Deadlines and problems can lead to all sorts of business turmoil. Or maybe you’re taking on large project that may require extra time. This may change your work rhythms – maybe you need to work a bit more, or maybe there’s going to be more stress. Talk with your spouse about this BEFORE it becomes an issue. If you’re going to take away from family time, be sure that your spouse agrees it’s a good idea, is supportive and has an idea how it’s going to change their life. Sometimes not taking a project that interrupts your life and hurts your family can be the best choice.
• Put a lock on your door – AND USE IT.
  Seems elementary, but it’s wholly necessary. Sure, it’s cute when you’re on the phone with a prospect and your 3 year-old waddles into your office for a kiss. But it’s not so cute when they come running into your office crying while you’re on a conference call with decision makers at a company you’re doing business for. Lock your door and keep it locked when you’re ‘in your office.’ Make it habit.
• Don’t unlock or open  your door during business hours – UNLESS YOU NEED TOO.
  The point of putting a lock on your office door – and using it – is so that your inaccessible just as you’d be if you were working out of the home. That means when your kids or spouse see your door locked, they don’t bother you. If the kids come knocking – and they do – you simply don’t answer. You resist the temptation to open the door. In short order, they’ll get it that when your door’s closed, you’re unavailable. Addendum: You’re also at home and always a parent. So, if you hear your 4 year-old telling your 2 year-old not to touch the hot stove, you quickly go out and deal with it – then return to your office and lock your door.
• Have family meetings before work – DO THIS!
  Inevitably you and your spouse will need to talk about things throughout the day. Of course, if your spouse believes (s)he should interrupt you at every moment there’s a question – just because you’re at home – you’re productivity will suffer – as well as your patience. So create a time in the morning or in the evening – off from work – where you can talk about daily family business. This is the time to make plans, talk about money, pay bills, make decisions on kid’s classes, schedule doctor’s appointments, talk about dinner, remind you to get a hair cut, etc, etc, etc. Then, whatever needs to be talked about has a space and time so that it doesn’t have to be talked about during business hours.
• Use the telephone to communicate during business hours.
  Just as if you were working 30 miles away, ask your spouse – and kids – to use the telephone to reach you if there’s something pressing. My wife and I do this and it works great – even though sometimes I can hear her voice through the door. And the kids can talk to me this way as well. It honors all of our needs while I’m working while allowing her a chance to get questions answered – or to just say ‘I love you.’ (okay, I’m a sap). BTW, IM and email works fine too.

There certainly are other things you can do to establish a home/work environment. The most important things is that you and your family set boundaries that work for everyone. Boundaries that allow you to get your work done while honoring your family’s needs and your responsibilities to them.

Just remember that it’s not all about you getting your work done. You have an impact on them as well. So honor their needs, their rhythm and the ‘work’ they’re doing in and for the family.

As I always say, a peaceful home provides a peaceful home office.

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. Business Schools Target Stay-At-Home Moms
2. Work Life Balance for the Work at Home Mom
3. The Snow Day Toolbox for the Work at Home Parent

So in the spirit of giving our brains a break, please leave a comment and share with us what you are going to do today (or sometime in the next few days) to walk away from your desk & get some fresh air. I’d also be curious to hear about what problem, challenge, or question you have been pondering lately that just might get resolved when you go have some fun!

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. Work from Home, Stay Sane & Get Work Done
2. Work Life Balance for the Work at Home Mom
3. The Top Ten Distractions for the Work at Home Mom and Dad

Now, I’m not much of a TV kind of gal, but when I do watch, it’s usually TLC. With this new show they are finally shining a spotlight on one of the biggest under-served issues in motherhood :: leaving and re-entering the workforce (hello, why did it take so #$^& long?!). In fact, it’s such a strong need with women in their 30’s and 40’s, Shannon Hutton and I are going to be launching a blog soon dedicated to helping moms work through these difficult transitions.

I have to firstly give TLC and show host Tracey Gold a standing ovation for putting this show on the air in the first place. Interestingly, some moms that I consider some of my best blogging buddies in the industry aren’t so thrilled with the idea, and are being quite vocal about their concerns.

OOoooooohhh, controversy. Gotta love it.

Here’s the TLC show description:

Being a stay at home mother is an all consuming career – and while most moms are wonderfully fulfilled by this choice, other women may wonder about the dreams they left behind. TLC’s new series The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom takes a stay-at-home mom and gives her a chance to secretly live the life she gave up to raise her family. Each hour-long episode profiles the story of a mom as she experiences what her life could have been like if she had chosen to juggle career and family. Guided by Tracey Gol, Mom spends one week outside of the carpool lane and back in the fast lane. The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom gives moms a chance to get back into the careers they left behind.

Episode I :: Adrian Stark

Without telling her family, stay-at-home mom Adrian Stark secretly goes back to work as a high-end fashion designer, while her doctor husband tends to their three girls.

Let me start out by agreeing with Char and Elizabeth on the one thing I just don’t get – why does the premise of the show entail these moms being secretive about this week in career nirvana? Nobody likes to see family members lying – even on reality TV. I guess it serves up a ‘dramatic twist’, but I think it is both unnecessary and undermines the great intentions of the show – to help women pursue a dream they put on hold. And I have to say the Mr. Mom segments were a little cliche – it’s an old joke that reinforces stereotypes.

But that’s all the negative things I have to say about it – the rest of the show was exciting, uplifting, and it even almost made me cry a couple of times. Adrian left the fashion industry 10 years prior to the making of this show, and she was crystal clear about the fact that she enjoyed every minute of the privilege of being a stay at home mom for such a long period of time. There were moments in the fashion designer’s office in which she was freaking out, wondering if she could pull it all off – and when she not only earned the respect of her coworkers, but they wanted to include her designs in a prestigious fashion show, she had one of those brilliantly beautiful moments where she realized that she was not only living her dream but succeeding at it… ah, it brings a tear to my eye again just thinking about it!

Honestly, I think the show started off well, and I can only hope they touch more mom’s lives as they move forward. Will it reignite the infamous Mommy Wars? I guess we can only wait and see about that one, but I give the show creators kudos for respecting both sides of motherhood in this episode.

Want to get on the show?

From the looks of their preliminary TV schedule, they have filmed 5 pilot episodes. Makes me think that there’s plenty of room for one (or ten!) of you to jump on this opportunity and hopefully experience a life-career-changing week yourselves!

From the Get on TLC page:

Celebrating Stay-at-Home Moms!
Are you or is someone you know a stay-at-home mom? Is your life filled with driving the kids from soccer practice, piano lessons, dance classes and back home with barely enough time to get food on the table? Do you feel like everyday is for someone else with no time left for you? If your answer is yes, TLC is looking for you to be a part of a wonderful new show celebrating “soccer moms”.

If you’ve put your needs on the backburner to run a world of diapers, dishes and laundry, we want you! E-mail us your information at: soccermomcasting9@gmail.com

If any of you want me to put in a good word for you, I’ve got your back.

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. The Secret to Successful Work Life Balance
2. Join me in NYC on the Today Show, Tuesday March 10!
3. Work Life Balance – An Exhaustive Post!

It is so funny how they can suddenly be so self sufficient on a Snow Day. While they usually need me to help get them dressed, eat breakfast, and go through the bathroom routine, they have done ALL of this themselves before 9:00am today because they are so anxious to get out into that snow. I know that snowmen and snowforts are fun and all, but it won’t occupy them all day. Luckily I’ve been doing this for a really long time and I know how to keep them busy while I have to work… and I also know how to manage my work so that I can have a little fun with them today, too.

The post I wrote at the beginning of last summer 94 Ways to Keep Kids Busy for the Work at Home Parent is to this day one of the most visited posts on this blog. I wrote it to get me through the summer, so it can definitely get you through one measly snow day.

Seeing I was onto something with that article, I hired Shannon Hutton to write our Seasonal Kids’ Activities Blog to continually provide simple, fun projects that you can do with your kids. She was also just featured today on 5 Minutes for Mom with a set of Super-Simple Valentines Day Projects.

Char Polanosky writes 2 kid-friendly blogs that have been a hit with both parents and kids. Printables4Kids offers just that, lots of free downloadable worksheets and coloring pages. And Doll Diaries is a blog dedicated to the girly fun of dolls, especially the American Girl dolls.

Derek over at Dad Balance has written a post or two to help you out on a snow day as well. Check out his archives in the Hobbies & Interests and Family Time categories.

And Supermom in NY sent me a link I wanted to add, she’s got recommendations for 5 sites for kids I hadn’t heard of before, and they look awesome.

Most of all – put down the laptop or your mouse and go have some fun today. Even if you aren’t sitting on a foot of snow, it’s Friday, so take advantage of the fact that you work at home and get some extra time with your kids today!

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. 94 Ways to Keep Kids Busy for the Work at Home Parent
2. Surviving Summer Holidays as a Work at Home Mom
3. Work from Home, Stay Sane & Get Work Done

Take a look at a few facts from the movie:

• The top 10 jobs we will have in 2010 did not exist in 2004 (as in, we are currently educating our children for jobs that don’t exist yet)
• In 2004, Nintendo invested more than $140 million dollars in research and development, yet the US Government spent less than half that much on research and innovation in education
• A week’s worth of content from the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.

One of the driving forces behind the content on this site is to encourage and push more people to go into business for themselves rather than depend on a company for income, which in my mind is more risky than being an entrepreneur.

And I think it is critical that we find ways to teach our children the same – there is no way we can teach them to truly prepare for what they will face 10-15 years from now – but we can teach them to innovate, think for themselves, and give them the skills necessary to make a living no matter what the world is like in 2017.

So this holiday season, give your children a gift that will teach them a thing or two about business. I promise you they will love it if you find them one that fits their interests – my kids are particularly fond of Zoo Tycoon – see below!

	Monopoly The grandfather of all money & investment games, and also one of the best. My kids LOVE playing Monopoly (except when I win!!). These days you can find a version of the game to please anyone, like the Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition, Horse-Opoly, or even the Monopoly® SpongeBob SquarePants™ Edition
The “Official” Product Description In 1934, in the midst of the Great Depression, an unemployed heating engineer from Pennsylvania created the game of Monopoly. Realizing that his get-rich theme might appeal to other Americans, he had the game printed and distributed in a Philadelphia department store. When he couldn’t keep up with the overwhelming requests for more sets, he arranged for Parker Brothers to take over the game. And the rest, as they say, is history.
	KidsWealth Money Kit This isn’t just a game, but a way to teach your children to track and manage their own real-life money in a fun way. Where were these things when I was a kid?!
The “Official” Product Description This unique, tested, and proven program uses a practical hands-on approach to teach kids to manage real money in a safe, structured, and supported manner. Kids learn the value of money, how to build smart money habits, and develop a mindset for personal and financial success. Incorporating powerful psychology and advanced learning methods, the award-winning KidsWealth Money Kit makes it easy for parents to open positive, healthy discussions about money.
	The Sims 2: Open for Business The Sims is one of the most popular PC games of all time, and with this expansion pack, you can build businesses with the characters you have created. I like this one because you can build just about any business, whereas many of the other games are limited to one area of interest.
The “Official” Product Description In Sims 2: Open For Business you’ll get to design your own clothing boutique, beauty salon, florist, high-end electronics shop, bustling restaurant chain, or virtually any other type of business. Hire your staff as the business grows and put talented Sims to work making toys, running the register, crafting floral bouquets, giving sales pitches, or manufacturing robots. But watch out for slacker employees and be prepared to fire them on the spot. Will you build a thriving business empire or become an eccentric entrepreneurs designing the next big thing?
	Stock Rush Game Although I haven’t played this one, I love the idea of teaching children to invest and to risk wisely.
The “Official” Product Description Stock Rush is a fun and exciting board game that includes all the basic principles of trading used in the real world. The object of the game is to become the wealthiest player through trading (buying and selling) Stocks, Commodities, and Franchises.
	Zoo Tycoon I LOVE this game – my daughter has it and she plays it all of the time (and the other kids beg to get their turn!). It teaches kids what it is really like to run a business, from cash flow to inventory, marketing to fundamental business planning. But it’s all done while they are in an open and engaged environment. If your child has an interest in animals, I can’t recommend this game more highly to teach your children how to think like an entrepreneur.
The “Official” Product Description Zoo Tycoon allows players to create their own completely free-form zoo. Start with fences for exhibits, then pick animals and give them toys, foliage, and anything else you want. For customers, you can lay down paths to lead them around, then add food stands, amusement rides, even maps and trash cans.
	Roller Coaster Tycoon I have to say ditto on this – my kids have this one too. Since they have a stronger interest in animals, they play Zoo Tycoon more than Roller Coaster Tycoon. But the principles are the same in this and the following “tycoon style” games.
The “Official” Product Description Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 is a brilliant reworking of the classic management strategy game. An unlimited combination of roller coaster designs and landscapes to help you build the coolest park imaginable!
	Fairy Godmother Tycoon This has GOT to be the most creative spin on the Tycoon-style games ever. Learn business by setting up a potion shop?! Brilliant!!
The “Official” Product DescriptionFairy Godmother Tycoon gives you the chance to the power behind the world of fairy tales. Climb the ranks of the Fairy Godmother’s operation, then set up shop in different villages across the land. Check the weather forecast each day to find out which curses will strike the peasant village. Buy supplies and upgrades to create magic potions, set your prices, manage your inventory and hire contractors to help move your product.
	My Horse Farm Another cute spin on the same game concept – you would think this one would be geared at really young children, but according to the reviews on Amazon, your child has to be at least 8 or so, because there is a lot of reading involved.
The “Official” Product DescriptionTake good care of your horses and build your business as you breed champions. Outfit your riders, from head to toe, by choosing from an array of clothes, accessories and hairstyles! Spend your money wisely, make good decisions, and train your horses to become world-class champions.
	Restaurant Empire I am seriously considering getting this for my husband, even though it is targeted at a younger audience. Hubby has always wanted to open a restaurant, and I can’t think of a more fun way to “fulfill a dream” than in the virtual world (unless, of course, you can do it in real life!!).
The “Official” Product DescriptionRestaurant Empire is the first game that faithfully recreates all the challenges of building and operating a restaurant franchise through a unique blend of business-simulation and RPG gameplay. Starting with nothing except some cash and a passion for food, build a restaurant from the bottom up–hire waiters, decorate, even cook the meals! Buy, build, outsell and, underprice your competition.
	Lemonade Tycoon 2 I believe this is the second version of one of the earliest ‘tycoon’ style games – what’s cool about this one is that your kids can play it on the computer then take what they learn and start applying it in real life… as in, see below!
The “Official” Product DescriptionLemonade Tycoon 2 juices up business simulation and takes to the streets of NYC! It’s jam-packed with awesome graphics, tons of customer types, loads of equipment upgrades, and tons of equipment upgrades, and 19 different locations.
	David Kirk’s Happy Giddy Lemonade Stand & Presto Homemade Electric Lemonade Maker SOOoooooo cute – and so affordable! The lemonade stand is less than $25 – and really encourages your kids to get out there and take a shot at running a business for a day. Make it easy for them to make lemonade that people actually want to drink with this nifty lemonade maker (also for less than $25).
The “Un-Official” Product DescriptionThe Happy Giddy Lemonade Stand is built from fiberglass (PVC-style) pipes and polyester fabric, measuring 47 3/4″ Height, 23 3/4″ wide, 11 1/2″ Deep. It can be used indoors and outdoors.
	Learning Resources Pretend & Play Snack Shop It’s a little hard to teach younger children the more complex strategies of money management and business – but give them the opportunity to get interested in business early by encouraging role playing business games with products like these.
The “Official” Product DescriptionThis convenience store is truly convenient. Simply set it up on a table whenever your child wants to play. The tri-fold board comes with more than 104 pieces including snacks, play money, write and wipe board for daily specials and many more shop items, all in a convenient and sturdy tri-fold board with carrying handle.
	Learning Resources Supermarket Checkout & Pretend and Play Supermarket Set Call me old-fashioned, but I really don’t like to see the new toys that have been coming out in the last few years with play credit cards. I don’t think it’s wise at all to teach our kids at a young age to spend on credit – good god, we do a good enough job at that on our own as adults. The last thing our kids need is learn to spend without learning what really happens in a transaction. That’s why I like these playsets – they have “real” play money that teaches kids the basics – including that money indeed changes hands when you buy something!
The “Official” Product DescriptionYour child will love “checking out” the Supermarket Checkout Set. Young supermarket checkers can simply slide food items across the working conveyor belt as the scanner light flashes. The register will beep when it’s ringing up the sale. Set includes working produce scale, swivel price display, nine plastic food items, plastic credit card and shopping basket. The Pretend and Play Supermarket Set has everything kids need to open a pretend store. This 93 piece set includes a durable cotton apron with nametag, a colorful shopping basket, groceries, assorted dry-erasable sale signs, coupons, assorted play money and more.

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2. 94 Ways to Keep Kids Busy for the Work at Home Parent
3. 25 Parent Productivity Tools for Busy Moms, Dads and Kids

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When’s the last time you actually sat and enjoyed watching your kids play?

I’m busy, and like you I work hard. My business is booming. And what’s on the horizon is bigger than I can see right now. Which is fine. I’m patient. I’ve been through the pressures of working from behind – both financially and with my deadlines. And I thank God daily that we’re on the other side of that.

Yet even when things were difficult, I often thought about why I wanted to be a business owner. What was the big draw for me. I don’t mind working in teams and I’ve never really had any issues with bosses at any of my jobs in the past.

I wanted to work for myself really for one reason – freedom.

I want to be able to come and go as I like – within reason, of course. I wanted the freedom to take a day off when the weather is nice, or leave on a Thursday morning to go camping. Or even work a weekend while I took Tuesday and Wednesday off to spend with wife and kids.

Freedom, which I mostly define as a flexible schedule, is my main reason for being self-employed.

So when I up before dawn for a phone call with a client in Europe, I try to watch the sun rise. And when I step outside for a breath of fresh air, I immediate look up to the sky and bask in the warm sun. My favorite is the kiss of a cool autumn breeze while the sun warms my face. What a treat. Almost as good as ice cream.

What I’ve come to realize over the years is that being self-employed has given far more little opportunities for freedom then it does large ones. Sure, I can take that long weekend camping or work from the hotel in Montana a couple of a few hours a week during a family vacation. That’s great and I wouldn’t change it.

But it’s the sweetness of slowing down during the work day. Letting all the concerns float away while I spend 10 minutes watching my daughter learn to jump rope by her self. Or when my son decided he wanted to walk – which truly happened in his own time.

And while sometimes their timing is bad, I love that my kids knock on the door at 9am asking me when I’ll be done with work. Or that my daughter brings me lunch that she and mom prepared for me. The look on her face is priceless when I open the door and she’s carrying a plate of food that she’s so careful with no to drop.

All these little moments are why I’m self-employed. It just took me a while before I realized it. And it probably took me longer to remember that those moments are not interruptions, but opportunities. They’re opportunities to slow down for moment, catch my breath, be present, and remember why I’m doing all this in the first place.

So take a moment to slow down. Listen to your breath. Let the sun warm your face. Feel the cool fall breeze. Get down on the floor and play with your kids. Hug your spouse a few moments longer. Watch the clouds float by. Live…present…in the moment.

Isn’t that why you’re working from home?

Hi, I’m Dawud Miracle. Professionally, I’m a blog and marketing consultant, business coach, educator and web developer who helps people use their websites to grow their business. I’m also a devoted husband and father to two, soon to be three, children. Please let me know if I can help you in any way.

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This guest post was submitted by the most excellent and patient eMoms reader, Joe Staples.

It’s true: working at home has a number of benefits. I telecommute 2 days per week, saving about $30 weekly on gas, or $7.50 on bus and train fare, depending on my mode of transportation that week. I don’t have to fight with traffic, which does wonders for my mood, and there’s a well-stocked refrigerator just steps away (one of those double-edged benefits).

There are also challenges, as anyone who’s tried it can tell you, and as Wendy has documented so well here. Distractions are a constant threat, and only very proactive distraction blockers will save you. In fact, sometimes I think it would be cool to be able to turn off my hearing altogether. Then these things that float from the household into my home workspace wouldn’t be such a problem.

My main challenges come from the TV and in packages of varying size, from 15 yrs to 18 months, and there are five of them. Count them! Five. My gorgeous wife is with them all day now that it’s summer. I don’t know how she does it. Maybe she’s read Wendy’s 94 sanity-retaining tips, or maybe stay-at-home moms simply have superpowers that I’ll never understand. All I know is that if I were working at home 5 days a week like many of you, I’d have a much longer list than the one below and I’d buy my meds in bulk. Not all the challenges are kid-related, so the “overheard” principle applies even if you don’t share your home or workspace with cubs.  ”Come on down!” There’s nothing worse than being fully focused on a post or on servicing a client and getting distrac.. Did you hear Drew Carey is replacing Bob Barker as the new host of The Price is Right? I find that Drew is a much better choice than Rosie O’Donnell. He’s a lot more charismatic and I feel he has the necessary experience. Wait, hold on. What was the question again?

“Dad! The lawn mower’s on fire!” Jackson (12) was mowing the lawn and had stopped to put gas in the tank. He left the cap off, and when he restarted it, gasoline splashed all over the hot motor and ignited. By the time I left my desk and dashed outside, he had already put it out (with the garden hose!). The plastic housing over the motor was a bit melted, but otherwise no damage done. It still runs today.

“We don’t smear peanut butter on our sister.” Kim calmly explained to Luke (3) as she wiped peanut butter off of Maya’s head (18 months) that peanut butter is for bread, and sisters are for loving, not finger painting. I could tell what Luke was thinking: “If you say so, Mom. But the peanut butter went on pretty smooth. I think I’ll try ketchup next time.” My solution would have been faster, louder, and probably less effective.

“It won’t hurt, I promise.” Jackson regularly makes such promises to Eric (7), and Eric regularly falls for them. The only thing that gets me out of my seat faster than that line is this one, which I’ve also heard: “Just put it in and see if it flushes.” It was a Shrek gingerbread man toy from a McDonald’s happy meal (“Not the gumdrop buttons!”), and we never got to see if it would go down. I move pretty fast when highly motivated.

And then there are things I haven’t yet heard, but for which I am fully braced and expect at any moment: -”I don’t know how the cat got shaved.” -”How much do new windshields cost?” -”Paris Hilton pledges voluntary community service teaching kindergarten”

Sometimes I look back on the day and think it’s a wonder I got anything done at all. But I wouldn’t trade my at-home days for anything, not even the most sterile, distraction-free office anywhere. What fun would that be?

Joe Staples is a technical and marketing writer from Utah, and is a father of five and a husband of one with varying rates of success. He blogs at I’ve Tried That and Fathered Five.

 

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3. Does Working from Home Get You Out of Daycare Costs?

If you currently face challenges with managing work, time with your family, and daycare, or if you will be in that situation soon, this article will introduce some routines that will help you rise above the chaos and strike a balance that is manageable.

Interview with Working Parent Efficiency Expert

In part one, I interviewed my sister, a working mom, about how she manages to get so much done while keeping her sanity. She described her Morning, Daytime, and Nighttime Routines and tips. In Part 2 we’ll cover Non-Routine Events, Weekends and General Time Saving Tips.

Best Practices for Balancing Family and Work

These are time management practices that work for my sister’s family. I’m not advocating that you should follow all of them or that following them to the letter is easy or necessary, but rather, this guide is presented here so that you can pick and choose the tips that will work best for you.

Fitting in Non-Routine Events into Your Routine

1. Schedule doctor visits and such for Friday afternoons. This will accomplish three things. 1) You’ll get to leave work early on a Friday afternoon, which is always nice at the end of the week. 2) There are often other people leaving work early on Fridays so you won’t stand out out as much as far as your teamwork goes. 3) You won’t need to go back into work afterwards.

2. Unexpected Events:

• Don’t apologize for needing to handle emergencies or when child is sick.
• Recognize that the event is something that is out of your control use it as an opportunity to slow down for a day.
• Have your emergency backup support in place before an emergency happens. (i.e. who would pick up your child from day care and babysit in the case of an emergency?)
• Have the ability to work from home set up ahead of time for those times when you need to be home with a sick child. You won’t be able to get as much done obviously, but you may be able to get something done if your child is sleeping.

Weekends

Here are several tips designed to minimize errands/chores time and maximize family time together.

1. Try to keep errands and chores to a minimum by getting as many done during the week as possible.

2. Make family time together the top priority. Planning ahead is helpful and it gives you something to look forward to during the week.

3. Groceries: Order 2 weeks of groceries online for delivery during the week. Remember you can get most pharmacy type items from the grocery store too.Try to avoid spending the weekend on this major task. Quick trips, however, don’t take too much time when necessary and can be made fun.

4. Shopping: things you can’t get from the grocery delivery, try to order online to avoid spending time in stores and also to save money that might have been spent on impulse purchases.

5. Laundry, Monday lunches, weekly planning: set aside 2 hours at the end of Sunday to for these tasks so that they don’t eat up your whole Sunday. Work will fill the time available, so make that time short so that the bulk of your weekend is spent doing fun and relaxing things!

General Tips

1. Savings Tip: Amazon.com has by far the cheapest bulk diaper and baby wipes prices. And orders over $25 are free with Super Saver Shipping. You might want to compare their prices on other similar bulk items.

2. Meal Planning: use the planning tools of your online grocery service if available. My sister has 20 lists based on complete meals. All you have to do is click on the meals you want to plan and then all those items are added to your list. It’s a little work up front that pays off big time down the line. And remember, if you’re following the dinner routine above, you only need to order 4 meals to cook, and 4 frozen dinner meals (times the number of people in your family) for those two weeks.

3. Use Online Banking. Use the mail and direct deposit so you never need to go into the bank.

4. Buy postage online so you don’t have to go to the post office. Even packages can be paid for and scheduled for pick up by your mail carrier.

5. Schedule eyeglass appointments at doctor that is in the mall so that it can be a fun event instead of just a chore. Maybe you can eat at the food court and combine it with trips to other stores you need to visit.

What are your efficiency tips? Please share!

K. Stone is author of Life Learning Today, a blog about daily life improvements. A few of her most popular articles are How to Stop Being “Busy” and Live Your Dream Life, Your Most Productive Week Ever!, Should You Start Your Own Work at Home Business?, Set Yourself Up for Diet Success, and How to Be a Great Salesperson.

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. Working Parent Survival Tips – Part 1
2. 25 Parent Productivity Tools for Busy Moms, Dads and Kids
3. The Snow Day Toolbox for the Work at Home Parent

Interview with Working Parent Efficiency Expert

My sister is a working mom and she amazes me all the time with how efficient she is. I interviewed her recently to learn how she gets so many things done while remaining so calm, cool and collected most of the time. She’s never read Getting Things Done, but she is one of those people who is gifted at being organized. It’s second nature to her. So I asked her to share some of her efficiency tips for working parents of young children. Her tips here can be modified if your children are older by involving them more with the tasks that need to be completed.

If you currently face challenges with managing work, time with your family, and daycare, or if you will be in that situation soon, this article will introduce some routines that will help you rise above the chaos and strike a balance that is manageable.

Best Practices for Balancing Family and Work

These are practices that work for my sister’s family. I’m not advocating that you should follow all of them or that following them to the letter is easy or necessary, but rather this guide is presented here so that you can pick and choose the tips that will work best for you.

Morning Routine

This routine minimizes the amount of time it takes to get ready and out the door in the morning.

1. Parent gets ready before children wake. Shower, dressed, etc.
2. Pack your bag for work including lunch that was packed last night and breakfast that you can eat at work.
3. Pack child’s daycare bag that includes lunch packed from last night and their breakfast that they will eat at daycare.
4. Line up bags at the door, ready to go when you leave.
5. Grab outfit(s) (and diaper) socks, shoes and coat.
6. Start getting baby/child dressed as you gently wake them up, perhaps with a little song.
7. You, child, and bags get into the car and head to daycare and work.
8. Enjoy your time together in the car, talking about the upcoming day, singing songs, or even story telling if it’s not too distracting while you drive.

Daytime Tips for Weekdays

These are some tips for minimizing your child’s time at daycare, your time at work, while also remaining a productive member of your work team.

1. Bring your lunch to work and so you can shorten your lunch. The amount of time you shave off your lunch, for example 30 minutes can be used to either leave work 30 minutes early or to put in the overtime that is expected from so many of us at work.
2. If it’s possible, stagger both parents’ workdays to cut down on daycare time for your child. The parent who goes into work later will drop off the child and the parent who get out of work earlier picks up the child from daycare. By doing this you can save 5 or more hours of daycare time.

Night Routine

This routine makes the most of your evening time.

1. When child and parent arrive home, the shoes, jacket, hat, etc always go in the same place (out of reach of child) so they can be found easily in the morning.
2. Dinner:

• 2 times per week: Cook simple dinners.
• 2 times per week: frozen dinners plus veg or salad.
• 2 times per week: get take out.
• 1 time per week: eat out at a restaurant.

3. Make parent and child’s lunch after dinner. Depending on what you are packing you can make lunches for a couple days to save time the following night. Keep it simple.
4. Time together with child. Playing, talking, singing, or a little game.
5. Bedtime Routine:

• Put toys away together both child and parent.
• Brush teeth, clean up, bed clothes, potty or diaper change.
• Read couple books.
• Sleepy time for baby/child.

6. After kids go to sleep take 5-15 minutes to do a quick tidying session to put things away. This will make you feel like you are on top of things instead of being lost in the chaos of the week.
7. Parent time. You can use this time to spend time together, relax, read, or when needed pay the monthly bills, order groceries online.

Subscribe to stay tuned for Part 2 of Working Parent Efficiency tips which will include tips for Weekends, Non-Routine Events, and General Time Saving Tips.

What are your efficiency tips? Please share!

K. Stone is author of Life Learning Today, a blog about daily life improvements. A few of her most popular articles are How to Write a Book in 60 Days or Less, How Much Do I Need to Save for Retirement?, 78 Parent Child Activities – FREE DOWNLOAD, Involve Your Kids in Housework for Major Benefits, and Maximum Energy in 10 Simple Steps.

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. Working Parent Survival Tips – Part 2
2. Does Working from Home Get You Out of Daycare Costs?
3. Working at Home is a Love Hate Thing…

Without further ado, here are 25 tools, products, services, downloads, and freebies that will help you do what you really want to do – have time to play with your family!

Household Help

1. Thunderbird Grocery List Generator - Free Thunderbird Add-On
   The GLG (Grocery List Generator) is a helpful little tool to store your recipe-ingredients and other groceries you need regularly. It creates a well-organized grocery list to help make your grocery shopping as easy as possible.
2. Amazon Grocery - New “Subscribe & Save” Program
   Amazon has a new subscription service for non-perishable groceries, in which you can have an ongoing order of your regular products delivered for free and for a discount on a monthly basis (or whatever schedule you would like).
3. Sittercity.com – Find a Babysitter, Nanny, Petsitter or Housesitter
   The largest sitter-matching site, offering sitters with background checks and parents’ sitter ratings. (US only)
4. Pet Management - From Download.com
   This can help pet owners with many of the responsibilities that go along with owning a pet. It helps you organize pet records, reminds you of vaccinations and important dates, and prints many useful pages such as pet sitter instructions, greeting cards, missing posters
5. DoMyStuff.com – Outsource the Crappy Stuff
   Chores, errands, anything on your to-do list that can be done by someone else can be posted on this site. Assistants bid on projects and they offer an escrow service to facilitate payment. Free to post tasks and bid on projects.

Family Communications

1. Voicemail Bling
   Vonage offers free email delivery of voicemails with their regular plans, or
   GotVoice offers the same plus voicemail blasts to multiple numbers, plus text messaging via cell or desktop widgets.
2. Earth Class Mail - Snail Mail Delivered via Email
   View scanned images of your sealed envelopes online, and with a few mouse clicks have your mail securely scanned into a PDF document, recycled, shredded or mailed to you or someone else. I’m terrible with paper – this is a dream for every filing-challenged parent like me!

Scheduling & Organization

1. Amy Knapp’s Family Organizer - Home Day Planner
   A fairly inexpensive daily organizer for the at-home parent, with several other products to help all family members stay organized.
2. MomAgenda - Mom Organizer
   They sell pretty and sleek day planners for moms with a free downloadable program to create and print your own pages.
3. Household Notebook - Free Downloadable Planner
   A free semi-comparable version of the above planners.
4. Custody Tool/Scheduler – from Download.com
   Whether you’re in a difficult custody battle or a harmonious custody sharing situation, Custody Toolbox can help. It features a color-coded calendar, a searchable journal, a child info database, an address book with birthday and anniversary reminders, and password protection. The latest version has a schedule wizard, computes parenting time percentages, and multiple daily categorized searchable journal entries.
5. HomeWise Software - from Download.com
   HOMEwise is the most comprehensive yet easy-to-use home and family organizer and personal assistant on the market. HOMEwise includes over 170 features and functions including home inventory, garden and building project planners and trackers, bank account records, ‘to-do’ lists, personal collection databases, calendars, phone books, diaries, shopping lists, recipes, snack and meal planners, and travel planners and organizer.

Parent Helpers

1. ChipIn - Online Fundraising
   Help to collect money for a personal cause, group purchase, or fundraiser using your own custom ChipIn page. They also have blog and Facebook widgets to promote and track money raised.
2. Pregnancy Calendar - from Download.com
   A pregnancy calendar program that keeps the mother-to-be aware with a week-by-week information about every change happens in her body and for his baby. Tips are put there for every week for the mother’s health.
3. Ovulation Calendar - from Download.com
   Calculates fertility period based on menstrual cycle and luteal phase. Also predicts highest probability of conceiving a boy or a girl (don’t ask me how – I have no clue).

Shopping Helpers

1. Upromise.com - Rewards Program
   A free rewards service for eligible purchases on groceries, gasoline, online shopping, etc. at over 40,000 participating retail stores and services. A percentage of every purchase goes into a college savings account.
2. iKobo.com - Prepaid Debit Cards
   Help kids learn to spend on credit or give them a protected way to carry larger amounts of money.
3. BabyToBee.com - Free Baby Stuff
   Take advantage of the fact that you are one of the most coveted demographics on the planet – marketers fall over themselves for new parents and give away free stuff all of the time to you!

Educational Tools, Downloads and Services

1. Tutor.com - On Demand Tutoring
   7 days a week during after-school hours, Tutor.com offers live tutors on call to help kids with homework from 4th – 12th grades. You can try it out for $5 and purchase a subscription or pay-as-you-go. And they also hire work at home parents to do the tutoring (*bonus*)!
2. School Organizer - from Download.com
   Helps kids organize everyday life with an automatic school schedule, event and task calendar, sticky notes, sound reminders, and friend’s information.
3. SmartBaby Flashcards - from Download.com
   This flash cards program helps teach infants, toddlers, and preschoolers so that they have enhanced reading abilities, in speed and comprehension.
4. Kid Browser - from Download.com
   Kid-safe Internet browser made just for kids. Designed to be simple for parents to install and to use. Protects children from pornography and Internet predators. Uses a white-list technology so parents can decide what is suitable for their children and what isn’t.
5. Kids Chore Chart/Point system – from Download.com
   Point System - Your teenagers have to earn points in order to gain privileges. There is also a consequence section to subtract points if you chose to do so.
   MyRewardBoard – Geared toward younger kids with reward coupons, fun animations and achievement certificates; this unique program turns chores and goals into fun and games.
6. Toddler Keys - from Download.com
   This is a useful tool for parents that allows you to lock your computer keyboard, CD drive doors, and power-off button. When the keyboard is used it will display images and play sounds every time a key is pressed, thereby preventing access to the desktop and applications.
7. Family Bank - from Download.com
   Kid’s allowance program. Teaches children to spend wisely, save regularly and avoid debt. Includes auto-deposit, savings, loans and chores modules. Register tracks spending and displays pie charts.

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. 94 Ways to Keep Kids Busy for the Work at Home Parent
2. 8 Tools For The Productivity Junkie
3. Working Parent Survival Tips – Part 2

Recently I found myself juggling my baby, my husband, my at-home job, and my online community activities. Typing one-handed, I had a laptop balancing on the couch and a baby toy in the other. My husband walked in from work and I was literally short handed.

I needed to reassess my schedule so I could maintain a well-run household and business. Working from home can wreak havoc on family life and family life can upend an otherwise promising career.

The key to balancing a work at home job and your family is to establish a clear schedule, delineating between personal and professional time. First, consider your business, individual, and family needs. Decide how many hours you would like to realistically devote to each every day.

I started with my freelance jobs, clearly communicating how many hours I could work each week and what jobs I could or could not take. Before I had a baby, I could work 40 hours one week, and 10 or fewer the next. With a baby, I needed to even out my hours and turn down work that would result in late-night deadline cramming sessions.

Then I got out pen and paper and drafted my schedule. Here are my tips:

Begin by adding fixed events, such as weekly teleconferences, children’s nap times, or professional or social meetings.

Now, consider your family’s highest need times. Leave yourself free to greet your partner, welcome your children home from school, or take the dog out for his walk.

Identify your most productive work times and schedule yourself to work during those times. Write in your goals for working in terms of hours or other benchmarks. Cross off each task as you complete the work so you can see your progress. Break larger projects into discreet pieces so that you complete your work in a steady fashion, rather than scrambling to meet deadlines.

Do not forget to schedule in time every day, even a few minutes, for activities you find enjoyable and fulfilling. Although it may not seem like you have the time, taking ten or fifteen minutes out to unhurriedly enjoy your tea, read a magazine article, or stretch will make you more productive with work and more emotionally available for your family later.

If you are having trouble finding enough hours in your day, start with a blank slate. Write down the essentials you must complete. Then, write a list of what you would consider important, but not vital to your well-being. Temporarily suspend everything else. Sure, you may want to make a little extra each month, but can you live without it? Possibly you enjoy your message board, but is it as invigorating as your yoga? Pare down for two weeks. You can always add items back onto your schedule if you find you really miss them.

Still too busy? Consider hiring some of your to do list out. Divide your tasks into lists of chores that must be done by you, chores you enjoy, chores you do not like. Look at the last category. Calculate how much it would cost to pay someone to do these duties and how much you can make if you work during that time. If you would end up ahead, let your fingers do the walking through the yellow pages and find someone to help you out.

Pledge to stick to this schedule for at least a week, then revise as necessary. If you are like me, you’ll need to repeat this process every once in a while. Your tendency to over-extend and volunteer is admirable, but you are not helping anyone if you crash and burn. Remember, if momma ain’t happy, ain’t no one happy.

–
Candace is a former teacher, part time freelance writer and educational consultant, and a full time wife and mother who blogs on Mamanista! and Mama Saga as Mama Luxe.

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1. Work from Home, Stay Sane & Get Work Done
2. The Top Ten Distractions for the Work at Home Mom and Dad
3. Surviving Summer Holidays as a Work at Home Mom

I work from home. And I am a mom. But I am not a work-from-home-mom. My son goes to daycare while I work.

There. I said it.

In this world of accessibility, a trend has developed of mothers working from home so that they can spend time with their children. It may work for some, but not for me. My son is two, which means that he is the center of his world, and doesn’t let me get anything done if he is at home with me. It’s hard to run a marketing firm when Elmo and Dora are my biggest (non-paying) clients.

So I send him to school. We’re both happier for it. He’s learning three languages and developing social skills I couldn’t provide him, and I am able to focus 100% on growing my business. The perk comes when I am able to quit work at 3 and pick him up for a fun afternoon, or attend his school parties. I don’t have to ask off work when he has unidentified bumps all over his body for a week.

But I don’t keep him at home, which is a common misconception to people I meet. When I say I run a marketing firm out of my home, the inevitable response is, “Oh, that’s great! So you get to stay home with your son?”

And this question has made me feel guilty every time. Until now. I am certain there are other mothers out there, for whom being a parent and running a business are mutually exclusive. It’s time to be proud of your situation and stop cowering from mothers who choose to work and keep their children at home. Your situation is unique, and there is nothing to be ashamed of. If you are able to devote all of your energy to one project at a time, everyone will be happier.

Find the situation that works for you. If you have an infant, you will probably find it easier to get work done, as they tend to be in immobile mode most of the time. If you have a toddler as I do, don’t feel guilty if you send them off to school. They will learn more than you can teach them there, and you can make your schedule fit around their activities so that you can be more involved.

My situation works for me, and yours should work for you. Be at peace with the decision you make, and know that your child is happy too.

Author Susan Payton is a Managing Partner of Egg Marketing and Public Relations, and also is the author of the book 101 Entrepreneur Tips.

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. Working at Home is a Love Hate Thing…
2. Keeping the Marriage Healthy when Working from Home

Craft Jr.
Crafts for Kids, Paper Crafts, Easy Crafts & Craft Ideas

Animal Jr.
Animal Coloring Pages, Printable Masks, Games and Teacher Worksheets

Fantasy Jr.
Princess and Fairy Coloring Pages, Mythical Creatures, Printables, Games and Puzzles

Space Jr.
Space facts, Teacher Resources, Coloring Pages, and Science Fiction for kids

Read 94 Ways to Keep Kids Busy for the Work at Home Parent on Woo! Jr.

I’ve had a couple of readers bemoan the fact that summer break is coming soon. I must admit that though I love my children dearly, I’m not exactly jumping for joy that I will have 3 rambunctious, screaming kids + a friend posse running around my house for the next three months.

But regardless, I have run a home business 3 times now from when my first daughter was 5 months old to today, when she is almost 13 and can do a little babysitting herself.

So here’s the good news:

You CAN run a business from home no matter what age your children are.

The bad news?

The smaller your children are, the smaller your business To Do list should be.

Plain and simple, until your kids are 3-4 years old, don’t expect yourself to be super-mom. Kids this young just need too much attention and the business will have to fit in between nap times and play dates – oh, and get used to starting your most productive work at 10:00pm.

Home Business Productivity Tips for All Ages

1. Get the kids their own computer – when you can get a new CPU and monitor
   for less than $500 total, it’s hard to say no – plus, they will need it for school eventually, anyway!
2. Have high speed internet access – so you waste no time when you actually can get work done.
3. Own a laptop with wireless internet – so that you can move around the house or yard as needed.
4. Get a Blackberry or PDA – so you can stay connected even when you’re at the zoo.
5. Use a Chore Chart – give the kids some structure and responsibility during the day.
6. Schedule play time just like you do your work time – I try to stay off the computer on Fridays to ensure we get to enjoy the summer months together.
7. Use the Future Post option (for bloggers) - you can maintain a regular publishing schedule by future-dating your posts(when you’re likely writing in the middle of the night!!)
8. *Find other parents in the neighborhood and swap play dates* - critical to the sanity of both of you!
9. Make it easy for your kids to be independent – set up an area for them to do their own thing, and keep it well stocked with projects and games.
10. Buy grab food or make healthy snack packages – that way they can feed themselves when they get hungry
11. Set up a schedule for ordering out – both you and the kids can look forward to it!
12. Segment and schedule your days – the younger the kids, the more you want to ‘chunk’ you days into activities, downtime, work time and TV time, but it’s a great productivity tool no matter what the ages of your children.
13. Load up on popsicles – it always keeps them quiet for a few minutes for an important phone call and there are plenty of healthy kinds to choose from (or make your own).
14. Get cheap movie rentals – most older titles can be rented for way less than new releases.
15. Buy a pool pass – you won’t get anything done at the pool, but you’ll wear your kids out and they will nap longer!
16. Download and print ‘78 Parent Child Activites’ – formatted for 3×5 index cards!

Summer Activities for Children Age 1-4

If your kids are in this age bracket – I feel for you! Really, I had a hard time getting anything done without a part time sitter or a “mother’s helper”. If you really want to have a successful home business and you have very little kids, I would really recommend you consider hiring some help.

But for the days that you have to work and the little ones are right there with you, here’s a few ideas:

1. Buy age appropriate computer games – my kids started at the age of 2
2. Set up easy to find bookmarks for kid-friendly sites – I have my kids’ sites set up with the rest of my shortcuts right on my FireFox toolbars:
   
3. Stock up on workbooks and coloring books, along with crayons, markers, stencils, etc. and plenty of plain paper
4. Create an activity ’station’ where the kids can go to make a mess whenever they want
5. Create a baby-proofed room and barricade yourselves in - baby plays while you answer emails!
6. Rotate toys – kids get bored quickly, so once or twice a month, hide the old and bring in the new!
7. Get a baby sling or baby backpack – my kids never made a peep when they could sit in their backpack and watch what mom or dad was doing

Summer Activities for Children Age 4-7

1. Keep the kids moving and active (in my house, I have a harder time keeping them still!!)
2. Take trips to the Library – and do business research while you’re there!
3. Download fun worksheets and sneak in some learning.
4. Make or buy a flower press and let the kids weed the garden for you.
5. Get a sandbox – just make sure you also get a lid so that it doesn’t turn into the neighborhood litter box!
6. Order cheap craft project kits from Oriental Trading (they have great stuff for older kids too)
7. Teach your kids how to make a fortune teller.
8. Buy a cheap digital camera for your budding photographer
   1. Let them create their own scrapbooks
   2. Teach them to create their own PowerPoint presentations
   3. Download a free screen saver maker and let them create their own slideshows
   4. Throw the images into Photoshop and create ink jet t-shirt transfers
9. Keep on hand at ALL TIMES:
   1. Bubbles
   2. Sidewalk chalk
   3. Water balloons
   4. Board games (with all the pieces!!)
   5. Working sprinkler or kiddie pool (preferably both)
   6. Art supplies
10. Bookmark these activity web sites:
    1. Printables4Kids
    2. Animal Printables & Jigsaw Puzzles at AnimalJr.
    3. StarFall Reading Games
    4. DLTK’s Summer Activities
    5. Kaboose.com
    6. KidSites.com
    7. TheKidzPage.com
    8. Kidscom.com
    9. U.S. Fire Administration for Kids
    10. PlayKidsGames.com
    11. Discovery.com School Resources
    12. Internet4Classrooms
    13. CBC Kids
11. Lest I miss stating the obvious:
    1. CartoonNetwork.com
    2. Disney.com
    3. PBSKids.org
    4. Nick.com
    5. NickJr.com
    6. Noggin.com
    7. Yahoo! Kids
    8. Crayola.com
    9. FamilyFun Magazine online
    10. Scholastic.com

Summer Activities for Children Age 8-13

1. Get a metal detector and let the kids explore the yard
2. Cut up some wrapping paper and let your kids loose on this Origami site
3. Keep common ingredients in your pantry for kid friendly cooking projects
4. Bite the bullet and get them their own phone in their room
5. For the brave parents, let the kids do science projects
   
6. Buy a cheap sewing machine and make kid’s sewing projects
7. Turn your junk mail into a recycled pulpy mess and make paper
8. Bookmark these sites
   1. SingShot - online Karaoke
   2. Summer.About.com
   3. National Geographic Kids
   4. NASA Kids Activities
   5. DIY Network Kids Page
   6. The EPA (yes, the Environmental Protection Agency!) Kids Club
   7. Animal Planet
   8. Discovery Kids

Craft Project Resources for All Ages

1. EnchantedLearning.com – extremely comprehensive list sorted by holiday, theme, materials, or topic
2. AllCrafts.net – free crafts listing
3. FamilyCrafts.About.com
4. ChildParenting.About.com – Summer arts and crafts
5. CraftForKids.com
6. The Best Kids Book Site – also has a huge crafting section
7. OneHourCraft – for older kids (and, erm, their moms!)

Craft Supplies

1. Michaels | Store Locator
2. Hobby Lobby | Store Locator
3. JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts | Store Locator
4. Flax Art & Design | Only one store location in SF

Find Local Family Activities

1. ActivitiesForKids.com - National US
2. KidsGuide.co.uk – UK
3. Families with Purpose – National US
4. GoCityKids – all major U.S. metropolitan areas
5. Australia for Kids - For my friends down under
6. Scribbit on her hometown Anchorage, Alaska

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. 25 Parent Productivity Tools for Busy Moms, Dads and Kids
2. The Snow Day Toolbox for the Work at Home Parent
3. Summer, a New Business, and 3 Kids…

I really wanted to interview Jennifer because not only does she write phenomenal content for Search Engine Guide, but she’s also a “famous” work at home mom and blogger. She rose to blogging stardom earlier this year when her blog, The Lactivist, got into a scuffle with The National Pork Board over her pro-breastfeeding t-shirts which cleverly stated at the time, “The Other White Milk”. (My new favorite shirt in her shop is “Breasts: Not Just for Selling Cars Anymore”!! ROFL!!)

Jennifer, you are the Editor of Search Engine Guide – can you tell us a little bit about your background and how it landed you here?

Well, I actually started out in SEO forums, like many of today’s industry bloggers. I first began learning about search marketing back in 2000 when I was trying to get the company I worked for listed on DMOZ. I became an active member at Search Engine Forums and went on to become a moderator and then the forum administrator. Around that time, About.com’s Web Search guide position came open and I applied. I got the gig and started writing for them on the side. It wasn’t long after that that Search Engine Guide publisher Robert Clough started email stalking me. About a year later, I came on board at Search Engine Guide as editor-in-chief and have now been there for almost three years.

As far as work in the online marketing industry…I’ve been working on the web since 1996. I actually worked my way through college as a freelance web site developer. I took a full time job with a dot com start-up during my senior year (they paid for me to finish school) and then bounced through a handful of companies before striking out on my own in 2001. I’ve been a freelance consultant ever since…specializing in organic search, viral marketing, link building and now a little bit of social media marketing.

I know that I didn’t really start paying attention to SEO until my blog was 4-5 months old. I found the topic a bit overwhelming at first. What are some of the absolute basic, need-to-know and must-do-now things that new websites should do to make their sites and blogs search engine friendly?

The biggest issue with blogs is that they’re template driven. Many blogs don’t allow the owner to control things as simple as the title tag and that often leaves them unfriendly to search engines. We use Movable Type at Search Engine Guide and Robert has mashed together a pretty powerful content management system with it. It’s not cheap though, so many start-ups will likely avoid it.

Some cheaper options include free web-based sites like Blogger and the free server based program WordPress. I use Blogger for my Lactivist Blog, but I’ve had to do some work with the code to make it more search friendly. Blogger doesn’t really allow you to control the title tag unless you integrate some hacks into the code. WordPress is quite a bit more friendly in terms of search optimization. If I had it to do over again, I’d start with WordPress. (Yes, I know I could switch, but it’s a big process that I just don’t have time for right now…)

Beyond that, it’s the simple things.

1.) Use your keywords in your post title (which often functions as the title tag of the page)

2.) Use keywords in your links

3.) Work on building relationships and links with other bloggers in your topical area.

4.) Start a blogroll and let people know when you add them to it

5.) Comment on other people’s blogs and trust that they’ll follow you back to your site if they like what you say

6.) Consider joining a blog carnival (or starting one)

Good blogging is mostly about being aware of what keywords are, using them when appropriate and then building links and relationships. It’s not difficult, it just takes time.

There are so many ways to promote a web site: content development, link strategy, SEO, viral marketing, promotions, social networking, social bookmarking, PPC, … if you had to place a priority on some of these over others, what would you recommend?

Those are all great ways to build content and I think a lot of it has to do with the focus of your site and how quickly you’d like to grow it. I run two sites of my own and occasionally work on others if I take on a client. My two sites (Search Engine Guide and The Lactivist) have each been built different ways.

Search Engine Guide has mostly been built using good content development, link strategy and online relationship building. Search Engine Guide is nearly 10 years old, so we’ve got a pretty heafty database of articles and blog posts. We’ve also got eleventy billion incoming links. (Ok, maybe not quite that many, but its in the hundreds of thousands…) We’ve done that by taking our time and building up a resource. We pretty much never ask for links, but we freely link to other sites and we often notify them when we do. This has helped us get on the radar of many small business owners as well as other people in the search industry. They now link to us as often as we link to them. We’ve also integrated RSS feeds, discussion forums, brought in guest bloggers and implemented a variety of other plans to give easy access to quality content.

The Lactivist on the other hand is my hobby site and my marketing playground so I’ve been a bit more experimental with it. I did test some PPC in the early days, but dropped it after about a month. (PPC is hard to justify unless you have a distinct call to action.) The Lactivist has grown to more than 40K unique visitors a month in just a 18 months. That’s not bad for a highly niche site. Most of that growth has come via word of mouth and relationships.

I spend a lot of time building relationships in the online mom community. I host a debate board at BabyCenter, I’m a known member on boards like Mothering.com and The Baby Wearer, I read and comment on other blogs in my vertical… Basically, I’ve built up a personal reputation with the breastfeeding community over the last year and that has helped them not only find my blog, but also to recommend it to others.

I’ve tried some new style marketing as well. I joined with four other breastfeeding bloggers to start a “Carnival of breastfeeding” each month. We accept guest submissions each month as well as our own and the results have been a nice traffic boost and easy introduction to new readers. I also took advantage of social bookmarking and social networking when I had my little run-in with the National Pork Board. That works very well for spreading the word about my problem, but it also helped drive a lot of new traffic to the site, many of which stuck around after the furor died down.

I say all that to say that the key is to learn about and understand ALL of those types of marketing, but to realize that no set pattern works for every site. Try them out, take note of what is successful and strategize your future plans from there.

Do you have any favorite posts or content from Search Engine Guide that can help people who are just starting to learn about SEO to understand it better and make some immediate improvements?

Probably the most popular series for people just starting out is the “Zero dollars, a little talent and 30 days series. That one chronicles the first 30 days of the Lactivist. It talks about exactly where I spent my money, what types of marketing I tried, what worked, what failed and so on. It’s a great primer to getting a small business started online.

A few of my favorite individual articles?

The Why Links Matter Series

The How to Win Links and Influence People Series

Search Engine Algorithms: Understanding the Pinocchio Effect

Link Building is Relationship Building

The Number One Rule of Organic Search

The Number One Rule of Paid Search

You’re also a work at home mom with a small baby ‘round the house. How are you balancing baby time, work time, and mom time?

Oh, if I worked on a web cam instead of via email, people would know the secret of that. My house is a wreck. Seriously, a friend showed up out of the blue yesterday and we had to sweep stuff off the couch so that she could find someplace to sit. (Now in my defense, it’s not usually like that, but I’ve just come off a speaking trip, a funeral, the flu and planning the launch party of the Ohio Breastfeeding Coalition…so sometimes housework suffers…LOL)

I actually work from home with my daughter (2 and a half) and my son (7 months) and a very barky dog. I found that all those sites that say “You have to schedule work time” were clearly written by people that weren’t working from home with small children.

I’ve learned how to work in “bursts.” I might get a twenty minute burst or an hour burst, but I never know when those times will come. I’ve had to learn how to immediately shift into work mode rather than taking time to ease into a project because if I ease in, I’d likely never get started!

In reality, I’ve been very blessed. Both of my kids have happy, easy going personalities. They’re good about playing on their own and I’ve learned to type one handed while nursing Emmitt. (In fact, I’m typing this interview one handed…)

Oh, that was just work time and baby time…I don’t think mom time comes back into play until Emmitt is about two, but we’ll see. Working at home means some sacrifices. It’s hard, it’s not for everyone, but I count myself very blessed to be able to do it.

Thanks again for your time on this one, Jennifer!

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So I thought their new WOM campaign was very interesting – they have started a Girl Scouts MySpace page (wise), yet are also releasing their old TV commercials:

I find this stuff fascinating – they’ve found a way to simultaneously bring the Girl Scouts into the social networking space, yet still find a way to be true to their roots.

Personally, I’ve done everything I can to keep my 12 year old off of MySpace – but when the traditional intersects with technology like this, it makes a compelling case to loosen the reigns a bit.

So many of you are parents – what do you let your kids do online? Where do you draw the line?

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Yep – it shows.

Alexa goes up. Home cleanliness goes down.

But today, my 4 year old daughter summed it all up for me. I started cleaning up the kitchen and she said, “Who are you and what have you done with my Mommy?”.

I kid you not.

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Since I didn’t invent blogging nor coaching, I’ll have to pass on this GREAT PR opportunity – but I have my fingers crossed that one of you wonderful readers has a great idea just waiting to be discovered!

Good luck!

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