This Is Why. . .

This is why I call this blog "Of Cheerios and Conference Calls", a perfect example. I don't use my checkbooks much. Most bill paying and balancing I do on the internet, so I don't write out a lot of checks. Because of this my checkbook is usually in one of two places - my purse or my desk drawer. Well, this morning I was pretty frantic for about an hour. I couldn't find the house checkbook anywhere. Husband's business checkbook - check. My business checkbook - check. Line of credit checkbook - check. House checkbook - no check. I have no idea where it went. Double checked the car to see if it might have fallen out when I went to the bank last week. Not there. Tore the kitchen apart in case someone (um, Husband) took it out of my purse. Not there. Tore my desk apart in case I missed it in the first look. Not there. Went through Buddha's diaper bag - you never know. Not there. OMG - Husband is going to pitch a fit if I really lost it. Let me check one more place, my laptop bags. Not in the first one. Okay - don't panic, look in the second one. Oh, wait, what's in this outside pocket? The checkbook! Gee I wonder who put it in there. Oh, and look what else is in here - a handful of cheerios. I attempt to reprimand her for taking Mommy's checkbook. But come on, how much can you really reprimand a 17 month old especially when she keeps saying "Momma" over and over and making a kissy face to you.

Goggling Yourself

Have you ever Goggled yourself? It's pretty cool and a little unnerving that you can just type your name into a search engine and actually get results. The power of the world wide web! I expected to find stuff under my husband's name because of articles he's been in the past for Rock Crawling. He competed for a few years. I never imagined to find myself, but there I was, just a few hits, but there just the same. It was kind of cool because what I found related to one of my "freelance" gigs, and was just a few days old. It was a post with my name in it on a WAHM forum. The timing was perfect because the woman who wrote the post was actually on my list of people to try to call today. Was that fate or what?
Still when I read some of the responses on the forum people had mixed feelings and I think someone even responded, "Run" when talking about the job opportunity. We've all been there. Working from home is an experience of trials and tribulations. Sometimes you get involved in the wrong things; and sometimes you hit on something really good. This particular freelance gig has been good for me. I've been doing it for two years now; I've gotten to know the owner. And I kind of take offense at someone insinuating that's it's a shady deal. The whole issue was because the e-mail server went down for a day, unknown to the owner, so an e-mail to me was returned as undeliverable. Well, I guess that's the downside of being out there on the world wide web - parts of your life are open for all to see and comment on. So it's kind of like reading the paper or hearing the news - take everything with a grain of salt and get on with your life.

So Frustrating

Budha only goes to daycare 1 day a week - 6 hours to be exact. That's all. I work at a client's office that one day and she makes the commute with me. Part of me is glad that she's there beginning to socialize with other babies, and learning to adapt to her surroundings. But a bigger part of me is so frustrated because she's been getting sick since starting in late January. She's had the stomach flu - that took about two weeks to get over. Now she has an ear infection. She went all winter without getting sick - little sniffles here and there - but nothing major, no fevers. Even with Bug in school, he didn't bring anything home over the winter. What's even more frustrating is that I feel like I'm paying daycare for her to get sick, and I have to pay if she misses because she's sick. So let me get this straight, I'm bringing her to a daycare center and paying them; she picks something up there and gets sick, misses a day because she's sick and I still have to pay. What's wrong with this system?! Between having to pay the cost for daycare that's not being used and then the doctor visit and medicine, it's not really cost effective for me to work for this client.

I'm So Excited

Okay- so not only has Spring officially arrived on the calendar, the temperatures are even rising to the point I can open the windows, but I started writing on a group blog! Check out the Jobs Online Community Blog - http://justonlinejobs.com/blog/ - joining others that work from home. I'm excited about writing more about working from home - something I've been doing full-time since August 2006 and something I'm passionate about. For me working from home has been the best way I've found to balance family and work. There's a great group of bloggers there so be sure to check it out.

And since I forgot to post yesterday, here's a sweet pic of my kiddos that I did mean to post for Wordless Wednesday.

Too Much To Do

I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately. Some people think it's so easy being a WAHM - you can do laundry while you're working, do things with your kids when you want, not worry about dressing up, or even getting dressed if you don't want to. I don't know about other WAHMs but some days I miss the routine of dropping the kids off at daycare and going to a traditional job. At least I got to "leave" or "forget" about things for a while. I didn't have to stare at the laundry piling up because I'm trying to catch up and not miss deadlines for work. Or obsess about the dirt trail every time someone walks into house because we're doing construction. Or, God help me - and please no one take this the wrong way - get a break from a baby who has cholic and reflux, and just never seems to be content, even in her sleep she fusses most of the time. I love my kids - I can't imagine my world without them. But I just want a break every now and then. It's not easy being home. Between the baby and work the only time I really get out of the house is the drive to and from school for my son. And there's always someone crying, or asking me for help with homework, or asking me when dinner's going to be ready, or double checking me that I paid all the bills that need to be paid, or telling me that the baby's crying and I need to take care of her.

I know I'm just overtired and venting. I'm truly not on the verge of doing anything drastic. I think tomorrow weather permitting I'll bundle the baby up and we'll go over to the park for a walk. If not the park, maybe we'll just go to the mall and walk around, window shop, exchange a few outfits that she got - just something to get out of this house, and away from the usual routine, just a break.

Thoughts on Freelancing/Working from Home

Let me just get it right out in the open. The biggest hurdle I've found to being self-employed/working from home is that people in general think that just because you're home you're not working. Not true my friends! In fact, it's the exact opposite. Between working with Adrian, doing freelance work, managing my Avon business and normal, taking care of a newborn and a 5 year old, and just everyday work with the family and house, I don't remember ever being so busy. I may go to bed at 9:00 p.m. , but I don't fall fast asleep. I take a "nap" until 12:00 for a feeding. Then another nap until 3:00, and then if I'm lucky another one until 6:00 or so. Then my day begins.
The difference now is I choose how much I want to work, when I want to work, etc. So if I want to chaperone a preschool field trip, or have a sick child, or want to go visit family, I don't feel as guilty as I did when I worked a traditional job. I know I have to answer ultimately to people I have contracts with but I have more freedom and flexibility to work as I want to work. I decide when I work and how much I want/need to work. It's working out for me and my family and I'm loving it!