When is working outside of the home, just not worth it??

Since we were recently faced with this question, I thought I would bring it up here. A while back I decided to take a part time job outside of the home. It seemed like a great idea at first, even with paying for the babysitter I would still profit a little, and then came reality.

The first babysitter started out great, the kids loved her, and she was always on time. She seemed very responsible, UNTIL, she just did not show up one day and would not return my calls. Then came sitter number 2. She was great at the beginning as well, however she only lasted about a month.

You can probably imagine how stressful it was wondering if the sitter was going to show up every morning that I was scheduled to work. It was crazy, then going through two in three months was even worse.

I have to say that I enjoyed working for a while, but the stress of finding sitters and missing work due to sitter "no-shows" was terrible, not to mention that I was not profiting all that much anyway.

So, although it seemed like a great idea at first, it turned out not to be so great. Oh well, you live and learn, right. I have definitely learned that it is a little too crazy with all the kids in this house at their current ages, to work outside of the home, unless I find something super flexible.

Free Christmas Gifts!!

Okay, so we all know that the Christmas season is approaching very quickly and it is time to start shopping. I am super excited to tell you about a fun way to earn some free Christmas presents. I am a new Thirty-One Consultant, and love it. The company is great, and by hosting a show, catalog or home show, you can earn tons of free products. This is perfect, and just in time for Christmas!!  So, if you are interested in a show, but we are not located close to each other you can host a catalog show.  It is super simple, and the products will be mailed directly to you.

I am currently holding an open house show, and would love for you to stop by and take a look.  You can view the catalog here.  There is an awesome customer special going on in the month of October.  For every $31 you spend you can order an All-In-One organizing tote for only $5.00.  That is a great deal, and would be a fabulous Christmas present. 

If you want to earn some extra money before Christmas, you may want to consider signing up to be a Thirty-One Consultant.  It is a super fun job, and you get discounted products.  It only costs $99 to start, and you can start earning money as soon as your kit arrives.  If you would like more information about starting your own business, please email me, or you can sign up directly from my company website.  I would love to share this wonderful opportunity with you.

A day in the life of....

Continuing with the A Day In The Life Of..., you have to stop by themamalady and check out her typical day.

A day in the life of ....

Hi everyone, I will be joining forces with Susan of themamalady.com, and Whitney of themeadefeed.com this week to share a day in the life of, well, us!!  I am a stay at home/work at home mother of five children.  Susan is a mother of two, who works outside of the home, and Whitney is an expecting mother.  We thought it would be neat to share our typical days with you all.  I will be posting my day today, Whitney will post her day tomorrow, and Susan will post her day on Friday.

I don't know if I have ever shared photos of my entire family with you all, but here is my CRAZY crew!!

Okay, so I will be honest with you all about how my days usually go.

6:00 AM  Wake up to children running up and down the hall, and most of the time there is at least one who is screaming about something.

6:05  Start the coffee, that's right, I cannot live without it!!

6:10 Drink my first enormous cup of coffee loaded with sweetener and French Vanilla Creamer, did I mention how much I LOVE coffee, and prepare breakfast.

6:30 Breakfast time, this is when I release the hungry mob!!

7:00 to 8:00  This is when I blog and check thousands of emails, haha!!  The kids have play time.

8:00 to 10:00 During the school year this is when we homeschool, however since we are out for the summer there has been lots of cleaning going on.  I must admit that my children get their daily dose of cartoons at this time.  I know that several moms are against too much TV, but sometimes you've just got to do what you've got to do!!

8:30 MORE COFFEE!!

11:00 This is when we have lunch, and after lunch is nap time, WOOOHOOO!!  Love me some nap time, LOL.  I take advantage of this time to work (yes I also do freelance writing) and check more emails.

2:00 Nap time is over and snack must be served, or my children are convinced that they will starve to death, but if you have ever seen my children you would beg to differ.  They are very healthy!!

MORE COFFEE, I told you I have to have it!!

Between 2:00 and 4:00 I do more cleaning or work on home projects.  We also play a lot during this time.

4:00 I start dinner, I know this is really early for some folks, but we eat at 5:00 in this house!!

5:00 Dinner time, during which I spend most of my time cleaning up spills and refilling plates and cups.

6:00 This is bath time, other than eating this is my children's favorite time of the day!!

7:30 This for my children is bed time, and for me it is a sanity break!!

Even MORE COFFEE!!

From 7:30 until whenever I catch up on blogging, check email, work on freelance projects, and occasionally read a book or two.  I also like to sew during this time, I make pillowcase dresses.

That is the normal routine here, I spend lots of time changing poop, wiping noses, and breaking up disagreements between my five children.  Oh, and let's not forget the occasional trip to the ER, like last week.  They are all close in age, so you can imagine all of the "disagreements" that they have. 

Needless to say our days are filled with fun, but I would not trade them for the world.  I love my family, and the craziness that is my home.  It makes me who I am, and they make me want to be the best person that I can possibly be.  It means a lot when you know that you have five small sets of eyes watching your every move, and knowing that they will imitate your actions and words. 

The life of a SAHM may be boring to some, but I LOVE IT!!

Be sure to check out Whitney tomorrow at themeadefeed, and Susan on Friday at themamalady.com.

Earn While You Search!!

If you are anything like me, you probably spend a good bit of time on the computer. Why not earn points while you work, or search. By signing up for Swag Bucks you can earn points while you search on the internet. The points can then be traded in for tons of things, including giftcards. If you are interested click the box above to get started.

$10 Amazon Gift Card!!

Join Viewpoints Let's Review, write 10 reviews, and get a $10.00 Amazon Gift Card.

Savin' Some on Facebook!!

Savin' Some finally has a page on Facebook. You can become a fan by clicking on the "Become A Fan" box at the bottom left of the blog.

Earn while you search!!

Do you spend a lot of time on the net? Why not earn rewards while you search. You can sign up for swag bucks and earn points and prizes for searching the internet. To sign up click the banner below and register. Sign into your swag bucks account and use it when you are searching the internet. It is just that simple.

Where you can find me!!

For the past few months I have been working with Alyssa, a wonderful lady, over at A Writer For Hire. She runs a great writing business that provides services for all of your writing needs. Below is a list of some of the services she offers:

• blog posts
• e-books
• articles

She really cares about her work and clients, and has something for every budget need. If you get a chance, please stop by and check it out.

Garden Season Is Here!!

I am not sure about the weather where you are, but garden season has started here. For the past two days it has been over 80 degrees here. I am so excited. Last year we did a couple of plants, but this year I am going all out. I bought my seeds yesterday, and am getting ready to plant.

Some tips on how to start your garden for less are:

Shop yard sales for pots, planters, garden tools, and water buckets.

Use clean, old milk jugs to water your plants with.

Collect rain water in a large container and use that water for flowers and plants in your garden.

Buy your seeds on sale. At this time of year, almost every store is putting their seeds on sale.

Look for freebies where ever they may be. Check Craig's List under the free section, you would be surprised at what you can find on there.

When your garden has bloomed and you have more than you need, share it with others in need. I think it is always important to try to help others, and if your extra is not going to be eaten, you may as well share the love. There are several people who are in need.

Photo Source: Steve Wilhelm

CPSIA!!

I posted earlier about the legislation that will make selling second hand children's items illegal. Here are some very interesting videos about that, and ways you can get involved.

Just a warning fellow mommy bloggers, the spokesperson for the CPSC insults you during this clip.

This is the interview with a spokesperson for the CPSC.
http://www.wbaltv.com/video/18479590/index.html

This is the response from Trish @ Mom Dot.
http://www.momdot.com/cpsia-insults-mommy-bloggers/

How can you get involved?

There are some great suggestions here.

Email, call, write letters, inform everyone you know. This is a huge deal for small business owners, and for parents in general.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!! Along with the new year also come the new years resolutions. This is my list of resolutions for 2009.

Personal
1. Loose 15 pounds (really going to do it this year).
2. Study my Bible more.
3. Save $20,000 for a down payment on a house (This is a big one, but I believe that I can do it).
4. Organize my coupon binder, and keep it organized.
5. Complete my Home Management Binder.
6. Take a date night once a month with hubby.

Blogg Related
7. Grow my subscribers to 1,000, hopefully more.
8. Increase my page views to 50,000 per month (this is a really big one too).

Well there is my list. I know I have some big things on there, but if I stay focused I truly believe I can do it. To help me reach my #3 goal, I have added a new widget on the right side of my blog, (My top spots). If anyone would like to be in my top spot, simply click on the widget. It is a great way to advertise, and my rates are very low. I am also in the process of adding another new widget, so keep your eye out. You may have noticed that I have posted a few reviews lately, these have not been paid reviews. The products I review are things that I think are neat, and that you would enjoy. There are many bloggers who do paid posting, I have not tried that yet, but if the right opportunity arises I may give it a try. However, I will only post things that are relevant to my blog, and products that I have tried. You can rest assured that I value my readers tremendously and will never post anything that is untrue, or that I do not believe in. Thank you so much for visiting my little blog, and I look forward to a new year with you. If there are certain things that you would like to see more of, please leave me a comment and let me know about it.

Well, those are my resolutions, have you made out your list yet? Leave a comment and let us know all about your goals for the future.

Question For You!

I have a question for all of you Work At Home Moms, What do you do? I wanted to see what type of work at home jobs you ladies had. Thanks for helping.