Good Information Articles

"Work From Home Mothers – Family Strategy"

I am typing on the computer, trying to keep up with the flood of emails and programs that require my attention, when my 19 month old comes to me for the fourth time this morning calling 'potty!' I rush upstairs to the bathroom when I here the doorbell... my friends children have arrived as usual, since I care for them four days a week while their mother takes off for an adult world I hardly recognize. It is 7:20 am.

Breakfast follows, I set them up and dash to the computer again to finish what I started, but then the four year olds are fighting and the one year old has dumped her applesauce on the carpet. I determine that office environments were created for a reason. It's 7:35 am.

Since I am paid to care for these children, I cannot devote much time to my other business during the days they are in my home. But that does not stop me from feeding my own children peanut buttered bread for breakfast and sitting them in front of the TV from 6:00am until 12:00 on my 'day off'.

As you can see, or know from experience, working from home in any capacity is a change to your family's life no matter what the business. But as much as I would love to dote on my own children and spend hours baking and coloring and folding laundry (RIGHT!), I, like many mothers, have been faced with the choice of returning to the typical 'working world' and passing my children into someone else's care, or juggling to bring in an income while caring for them myself.

Our strategy has been for me to develop an online business while maintaining an income we can survive on by babysitting. The babysitting is temporary, and not my first choice, but I do love the children I care for, and now that we've all adjusted I am going to miss them terribly when we move on.

However, I knew the babysitting was not the long term solution, and I ache for the independence I read about with internet based business. So I plug away early morning, nap times and evenings after the children are in bed. This is how we move towards a simpler life. Eventually, my kids and my husband will have me pretty much to themselves. I know that working will always interfere with living, but this is a solution that I can accept.

My main learning, or coping strategy, is to do things in blocks. Writing an article is one block. Reading and responding to emails is another. Feeding the children, taking them for a walk, or planning an afternoon out (which is what I do with mine every day off), all combine to make this work-from-home mother's work day move forward.

Should my children be classified as part of my work? No, absolutely I do not view it that way. This is the fabulousness of working from home. Stressful as it may be at times, I am choosing a life that allows me to step out of my office (so to speak) and cuddle on the couch with four little darlings (well, some of the time!). I can shake off the frustration of figuring out HTML code by having coffee with my neighbor. This is a life worth choosing.

So to all you work-from-home mothers (and fathers too), perhaps balance isn't always possible, but keeping priorities is. You can decide that the children must quietly watch a video while you make a phone call or finish your project, and know that you are not putting them in second place. Why? Because you are there. And as long as you know when to put the office 'away' and be there for your children, you are giving them a life that, while busy and not always easy, it is a life that you are a bigger part of.

To all of you who take on the important task of raising your children, while making a living, my congratulations and encouragement!

---

This article is free to reprint as long as all links and authors credits remain intact. Courtesy copy of publication would be appreciated.

Shannon Emmanuel operates Your Virtual Assistant, providing valuable services to small businesses while staying home with her two young daughters. Can she help you? http://www.assistant-for-hire.com

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

MORE ARTICLES:

When Mental Illness Hits Too Close to Home -- J. Gail's New Book STOP LOOKING AT ME! is Released
It might be your brother, sister, aunt, cousin, or daughter. Everyone, you included, is trying to ignore the 8,000 pound elephant in the room. This person is mentally ill, and needs help badly--help that they may resist. As author J.Gail's new book STOP LOOKING AT ME! demonstrates, pretending like the problem doesn't exist just makes things worse.

High School Students Use Internet Connection at School to Play Online Games
According to PlayedOnline.com, a free online games site, top visitors to the site include Lincoln Public Schools and Montgomery Public Schools. Colleges and State departments are also amongst the site's frequent visitor list.

Business Valuation Firm Highland Global Announces the Release of the 2nd Quarter 2007 Update to "Discount Statistics of Closed-End Funds"
Highland Global Business Valuation principal Robert M. Clinger III is pleased to announce the release of its 2nd Quarter 2007 Update to its quarterly research on "Discount Statistics of Closed-End Funds." Selecting an appropriate discount applicable to minority interests in family limited partnerships is a challenge for financial analysts and business appraisers. The assumptions that the analyst makes are particularly important and may come under intense scrutiny should the value conclusions be challenged by the IRS or the Tax Courts. Given that the selection of the appropriate discount is based on the reasoned, informed judgment of the analyst, supporting the discount with appropriate comparable data or empirical evidence is necessary to a...

Home Equity Loans Based On A 2nd Mortgage
If you are looking to take advantage of the money accrued in your home, 2nd mortgage home equity loans are worth looking into. You can use the equity in your home to do some home improvements, take a vacation, or pay off some of your other debts. Getting a 2nd mortgage home equity loan can be a great way to get a little extra breathing space financially, and take advantage of your most valuable asset.

Diet Food Home Delivery - Benefits Of Using A Diet Delivery Service To Lose Weight
Diet food home delivery is exploding all over North America Having experts prepare diet meals for you gives you the edge both in time and weight loss

Small Business Research Board Industry Study: Owners of Food Industry Businesses Showing Improved Outlook Despite Concerns About Economy, Revenue Dur
Plans for increased hiring drive improved food industry confidence index says SBRB report prepared in conjunction with International Profit Associates.

The Importance of Bedroom Design in a Home Decoration Project.
A home is a place where we live, spend most of our lives, with family members and our loved ones.A bedroom design project includes a careful study of the surrounding of the entire home.

Admissions Directors of the World's Top Business Schools Come to Seattle
The QS World MBA Tour, which visits Seattle on Thursday, October 4, is again bringing future MBAs what they want -- the opportunity to meet face-to-face with over 60 business school decision-makers from around the world. They can register and find more information at www.topmba.com.

Choosing A Home Based Business!
If you are one of those who are in a quandary about which home based business to choose, take heart, here is some sound advice.

Key to Success in a Home Based Business: Communication
Communication is key to achieving success in a home based business.

Trident Systems Inc. Awarded a $2.8M Contract to Develop and Fly a Family of UAV-mounted Payloads for the Global War on Terror and Force Protection
Drawing on its expertise in signal processing and small electronics, Trident Systems -- www.tridsys.com -- has been selected to develop a family of interoperable sensor and communications payloads. These will support ground operations in the Global War on Terror by giving the ability to see through darkness, bad weather and tree canopies to find threats on the ground; to communicate across broad geographic distances; and to support the real-time fusion of multi-sensor data in ways typically available only to larger unmanned platforms.

Kipling & Clark Introduces a New Luxury Private Family Expedition to China Featuring a Cruise on the Newly-Inaugurated 5-Star Yangzi Explorer
Kipling & Clark, the Leading Luxury Travel Provider to Asia, Introduces a New Luxury Private Family Expedition to China Featuring a Cruise on the Newly-Inaugurated 5-Star Yangzi Explorer Kipling & Clark Also Chooses China as its New Featured Destination

Engraved Business Cards: Stylish Cards Symbolizing Etiquette
If your company is very much in touch with the business and scientific worlds, this means that you may be doing business agreements and meetings with business professionals from a variety of countries. Some of these countries could be Russia, Japan, France, and China. The catch, however, when doing business deals with people from these countries is that there is zero percent tolerance for informality, such as calling people by their first names.

Amplifier-Loudspeaker Matching Formula in a home theater system
Amplifier-Loudspeaker Matching Formula in a home theater system Ozhan Atalay

Sun Microsystems Discusses High Performance Computing and Business Innovation on BlogTalkRadio
This week's Innovation Insider, Sun's Internet Radio show, will feature Tony Warner, HPC Initiative Marketing Manager and Rich Brueckner, Community Manager for HPC Systems at Sun Microsystems.