Surviving At Home

This past May I became a work at home mom (WAHM). I was thrilled to join the ranks after following so many other well-known WAHMs on various forums during the last two years and I am dreaming of the day when I can acutally make a profit doing something that I love.

Working from home can be a dream for many women, especially those with small children, but did you ever give any thought as to how to make the most of your profits? Do you struggle through the tax forms yourself each year or do you hire a professional? Do you have any idea what kind of exemptions you can take as a WAHM?

On Friday, October 26th at 12 noon CST, certified financial planner Kristine McKinley is hosting a free teleseminar to discuss exactly those topics…how to maximize your profits and how to minimize your taxes as a work at home mom.

I enjoy reading Kristine’s blog and emails because she provides very simple answers for topics that could get very complicated. I am no math genius and the idea of working with numbers all day sounds like torture, but even I can understand the basic principles of what she’s teaching. And she must be good if she was part of a feature in a local newspaper, right?

To get the call information, simply register here. I’ll see you on Friday!

 It’s a fact of life…Kids love to have parties. As parents, we have a tendency to go a little overboard when we throw parties for our kids. Who hasn’t been to a baptism or a First Holy Communion party that resembles a wedding? Who hasn’t read the stories of the big, blow-out bashes some sweet 16’s throw that cost thousands of dollars?  

If you’re a creatively-challenged parent who gets short of breathe at the idea of planning a big party for your kids, come visit the Bashed! event on Sunday, October 28th in New York City. This is a party planning event just for parents, to introduce party vendors for every occasion and to give parents some hand-holding to alleviate all their stress and angst.

Parents can even attend seminars on various topics, from how to have healthy food at a party to how to shop for environmentally-friendly party items. If you have any party planning questions, there will be hundreds of exhibitors at the event to ask and find your answer.

Here are the details:

Sunday October 28, 10AM-6 PM
The Altman Building
135 West 18th Street (bet. 6th + 7th Avenues)
www.altmanbldg.com

Adults: $25/person
Children: 16 & under free
For more information: info@bashednyc.com
Click here for tickets

What’s a child’s favorite part of Halloween? Going trick-or-treating, of course. What could be more fun than dressing up, and then walking from door to door collecting plenty of candy along the way? Best of all, this fun tradition takes place at night. Make this the most fun trick-or-treating experience for your child with these simple tips.

Location, Location, Location
Pick a good neighborhood with plenty of people who are prepared for and welcome trick-or-treaters. If you are new in the area, talk to other parents in your neighborhood about where to go trick-or-treating. Usually neighborhoods or subdivisions that decorate a lot are a good choice as well.

Chaperone
You may be tempted to send older children out on their own to Trick-or-Treat, but unless you know everyone on the street they are walking on, and have them go in a group, it’s just not a safe option. Instead, send at least one adult along with them. Having an adult will make sure the trick-or-treating stays a fun experience for your children.

Trick-or-Treat in a Group
Kids have even more fun trick-or-treating if they get to run around in a group. Get a few families in the neighborhood together, or ask the cousins over to go trick-or-treating with you and your kids. Just make sure you bring several adults, especially if the kids are young, to keep up with everyone.

Don’t Overdo It
Start early, right at or even before dusk and don’t overdo the trick-or-treating. How long you end up trick-or-treating will of course depend on the age of your children. Just keep an eye on how they are doing and take them home when they start getting tired. The whole evening will be more memorable if you end it on a good note.

Article by:
Would you like to quickly make creative Halloween costumes that you and your children will be proud of — for a fraction of the price of store-bought? Susanne Myers has co-authored a book to show you how — no sewing involved. Visit www.ILoveHalloweenCostumes.com to learn more.

Halloween inspires all kinds of activities to do with your toddler, especially pumpkin fun! Visiting the pumpkin patch together, shopping for (or making) Halloween costumes, and decorating the house. But one of the best Halloween activities is doing art projects together.

Here are two very simple pumpkin activities that every toddler can enjoy. Prepare for the activity in advance, so your little ball of energy can dive right in.

Pumpkin Painting
Oftentimes younger children miss out on the fun of jack-o-lanterns, because they obviously are too young to handle a knife. A toddler can scoop pumpkin guts, and draw a face onto a pumpkin, but then the rest must be handed over to an adult for the actual carving.

Here’s an option. Pumpkin Painting. Think of how much fun your toddler or preschooler would have designing a pumpkin from beginning to end. And, don’t stop with pumpkins. Paint gourds, too. Simply put an old t-shirt on your toddler, get out non-toxic paints and he’ll go to town.

Simple Paper Jack-o-Lantern
There’s nothing at all fancy about this idea. Simply cut a few pumpkins out of orange construction paper. Then, cut several triangles and a few big goofy grins out of either black or yellow paper. Lastly, cut a stem out of green or brown paper.

Present the pieces to your toddler along with a glue stick and watch his creativity. You’ll treasure those three-eyed jack-o-lanterns years from now.

Spending time with your toddler is not difficult and doesn’t need to be challenging. Just give him the tools, grab your camera, and relax. Your child will feel cherished, and you’ll begin a tradition of making memories together.

Watch out Picasso. There’s a new artist in town.

Article by:
Would you like to quickly make creative Halloween costumes that you and your children will be proud of — for a fraction of the price of store-bought? Nicole Dean has co-authored a book to show you how — no sewing involved. Visit www.ILoveHalloweenCostumes.com to learn more.