What’s Going on at Nix9to5

// September 2nd, 2011 // No Comments » // Children and Babies, Life in General, Money Matters, Work at Home

It seems like everyone I know has already sent their kids back to school or back to Mother’s Day Out already, but Bear doesn’t start back for another week.  This has been good, because it means the sprayground, the park, the bounce house, etc. are not so crowded when we go.  However, it also means scheduled work time is harder to come by.

One problem with freelancing is that work (and pay) can be very inconsistent.  We’re coming off my lowest paying month coupled with a replaced roof and a tripled electric bill (from all of this triple degree heat).  It has concerned me that, if we aren’t careful, I’ll have to return to working outside the home next year, and I’ll be honest–now that I’ve been home for a year, I’m not seeing how I can go back and still be a decent human being.  Fortunately, this next month has lots of extra projects lined up, and with these projects in line and Bear returning to Mother’s Day Out, it should mean a higher paying month.  I’ll be looking at ways to budget and save for these feast or famine months.

As for Mother’s Day Out, last night was Bear’s “Meet the Teacher” night.  I was pretty worried about how Bear would do going back to school after being home and playing with Mommy and Daddy all summer.  I’ve been trying to talk it up, but he keeps saying, “I’d rather stay home with you, Mommy.”  Oh, heavens.  He’s already a master of guilt.

I also worry because I’m a mom last year, his teachers told me how quiet and reserved Bear is.  This is SO not the Bear we know.  Of course, my Bear is a genius, and I’m blown away by his vocabulary, how clearly he speaks, and his ability to have an actual conversation.  I mean, he uses adverbs correctly and everything (how that warms my little English major heart).  To hear that Mr. Live Streaming Newscast is quiet and shy concerns me.

When we showed up for Meet the Teacher last night, Bear shrunk against my legs and refused to talk to his teachers . . . until one of them about his Cowboy Woody that he insisted on bringing.  Well, Bear launched into a monologue explaining where he got Woody (from Maddie’s house), who Maddie is (his cousin), where Woody’s hat was (left in the car in his carseat), and whether or not Woody could still be a cowboy without a hat.  Then his teacher showed him a bag of treats.  WHAT?!  There’s chocolate at Mother’s Day Out?  Bear was sold.  Well, almost sold.  What really convinced him that the Sea Creatures class is the place to be was the POTTY.  ”It’s just my size!!”  Yep.  There’s a tiny little potty adjoining their class, and Bear told me on the way home, “I wanted to pee pee in that potty in the Sea Creatures class.”  Well, of course, you do, baby.  Of course.

Next week, as Bear is playing with his friends; learning about letters, numbers, colors, and shapes; hearing Bible stories and learning new songs; and peeing in a potty that’s just his size, I’ll be here working away uninterrupted.  In the meantime, we’re looking forward to a long weekend and perhaps a “drive-in movie night at home.”  If we do the drive-in night, I’ll post pics and details and let you know of its success/failure.

Happy Friday, everyone.

Nix9to5 is Back in Action!

// September 1st, 2011 // No Comments » // Life in General, Money Matters, Work at Home

I always think that the summer is going to be my time to get caught up on things, to stay ahead on work, and to get my house completely spotless. During the summer, Hot Husband is home during the day, and I think that he will be able to play with the Bear while I work like a madwoman to get caught up.

Alas, when Hot Husband is home, I don’t want to work while he and Bear play. I want to play with my boys! And so despite my best intentions, I end up further and further behind during the summer.

In about a week, Bear will be starting back to Mother’s Day Out, and I will be back into a somewhat more regulated routine. I’ve learned a lot over the last year about what works and what doesn’t in trying to balance my time as a Work at Home Mom (Works: Crockpot. Doesn’t Work: Addiction to Pinterest.).

I’ve missed blogging at Nix9to5, and I’m adding it back into my “work” schedule.  During the course of the next year, I think that Nix9to5 is going to change its focus somewhat.  I’m still going to write about what works and what doesn’t work in trying to be a WAHM, but I’m definitely going to give it a more personal perspective.  I’ll be writing about not only how I spend the Work part of Work at Home, but also the Mom part.  Just like any working mom–at home or at the office–I struggle with guilt about not spending enough time with my child while I work.  I’ll share with you some of the things Bear and I are doing together so I don’t feel so awful when push comes to shove and I have to pop in a DVD for the Bear to watch while I try to meet a deadline (or fold laundry, or start dinner, or clean the toilets, or . . .).

For those of you who have stuck with me since the beginning and have tolerated my disappearances, thank you.  For those newcomers who are just now finding Nix9to5, take a minute to read about me, and then join me on the newest leg of my journey.  It’s been a whirlwind!

Things I’m Trying to Accomplish This Week:

// June 13th, 2011 // No Comments » // Balance, Children and Babies, Life in General, Organization, Time Management, Work at Home

1. Potty Training
2. Clean House
3. Start Working Out Again
4. Eat Healthier
5. Reorganize Drawers, Closets, Pantry, etc.
6. Write Many, Many Articles, Blog Posts, Web Pages, and Product Descriptions
7. Do Some Fun Summertime Stuff

Score for Two Days:

1. Three potty stickers Sunday, three so far Monday, and several pair of wet underwear
2. Two and a half loads of laundry (getting the last load out of the dryer in just a minute)
3. Two “Couch to 5K” runs, one “Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred” workout
4. Grilled veggies, fresh strawberries and pineapples, egg whites, lowfat cottage cheese, turkey bacon . . . so far so good
5. Four of my clothing drawers organized, two of Bear’s clothing drawers organized, and some progress made on Bear’s closet
6. Two blog posts (three if you count this one) and three product descriptions written (still woefully behind)
7. Pool inflated and filled, but not yet played in

Well, I thought I wasn’t getting anything accomplished, but looking at this list makes me feel a little better.  Even though I am woefully behind, I am making progress, I guess.

Missing in Action–Again

// June 8th, 2011 // No Comments » // Work at Home

I am going to have to disappear from Nix9to5 for a while, because I just got a HUGE project list from one of my clients.  This is a good thing, because it means I will make money that is sorely needed for the deductible on the new roof we are buying in the next couple of weeks.  However, it means that I do not have much–if any–time to devote to Nix9to5 right now.

I apologize for the Williams matchups teaser, but I don’t think there is any way I’ll be able to get to it for a while.  It takes a lot of time, and right now, that time has to be spent on things that actually earn me money.  I do hope to be able to get to them again soon, but for now, please don’t count on it.  In the meantime, you need to check out Simple Saving Savvy or Consumer Queen for Homeland matchups–this week there are some GREAT deals!!

Hope to talk to you again soon.  For now, I’m signing off and getting to work!

Isn’t Summer Supposed to be Relaxing?

// June 3rd, 2011 // No Comments » // Couponing, Life in General, Work at Home

Summer is finally here at the Nix9to5 household, and I have been eagerly awaiting its arrival.  Lazy days, playing with Bear and Hot Husband, plus a little time to catch up on some house projects.

Alas, the relaxing part is not yet to be.

We’ve spent the last two weeks without a dishwasher, and when it finally arrived the day after Memorial Day, the “installers” refused to install it because our pipes aren’t like their pipes.   He said ours “weren’t uncommon,” so I’m trying to figure out why they wouldn’t install it.  Thanks for nothin’, Home Depot.

We decided to figure it out ourselves, because we’re smart people, but . . . not that smart, apparently.  After working on it late into the night, we called in reinforcements the following day in the form of my amazing brother Uncle Awesome.  Uncle Awesome came and–after numerous trips to Home Depot, repairing a leaky pipe under the sink, and several hours–installed our dishwasher.  Hot Husband was leaving town, so had it not been for Uncle Awesome, I would have spent the entire weekend with a sink full of dishes and no hot water in which to wash them.  I had visions of putting a large pot of water on the stove to heat up, and washing dishes in that.  Not.  Fun.

I am SUPER indebted to Uncle Awesome now.

To continue the non-relaxing part of my summer, I’m writing this to the stylin’ beats of a roofers boots on top of my house.  After our baseball sized hail a week and a half ago, we figure we might ought to have the roof inspected.  We called right away, but the evening of my call, the tornado hit town and bumped us down the insurance company’s to-do list.  To that I say . . . Thank God I even have a roof!  Hopefully, he’ll come down and say everything is a-okay up there, but if not, at least we’ll only need roof repair or a new roof.  Not an entirely new house and all of its contents.

One last note:  I’ve had a couple people contact me and ask if I am planning to continue Williams coupon matchups.  I am planning to continue those.  The week after the tornado, I just didn’t have the time to work on it.  This week, I didn’t get my ad for some reason, and so I didn’t even think of it until someone asked.  I may go pick up an ad and get you some matchups, or I may just wait until next week’s ad.  I’m sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused any of you Williams shoppers!

For now, I need to get back to work.  Bear is with his grandparents for the day so I can work, because with HH out of town, my working time is very limited this weekend.  Have a great day!

EDIT:   And guess whose roof is totaled?

Overwhelmed Moms

// May 23rd, 2011 // No Comments » // Balance, Work at Home

Work at home mom, stay at home mom, working mom . . . no matter what you call yourself, there is one title that surely fits most of us:  Overwhelmed Mom.   I’ve been doing a pretty good job of keeping up with the Nix9to5 blog lately, but today I’m just feeling buried beneath a mountain of stresses and To-Dos.  A broken dishwasher has added financial stress and relegated us to *gasp* handwashing dishes for a week.  We’re completely out of cat litter . . . and toilet paper.   We have no fruit, except for some black bananas that need to become banana bread or hit the freezer today.  My work list, thankfully, is growing, but I have a client who is delinquent in payment right now–which brings me back to financial stress.  I’m struggling with a bout of insomnia–I can’t sleep because I’m stressed out, and because I’m exhausted, the littlest things send me over the edge.

So.  I’m cutting today’s post short and letting some Overwhelmed Mommy Experts take over.

From BlogHer is an article called “Overwhelmed Moms Confess.”  It talks about the Real Live Dangers of being overwhelmed and is practically a blogroll of overwhelmed mommies.  I’ll let them take over from here:  Overwhelmed Moms Confess

Perks of Being a WAHM: Flexible Schedule

// May 19th, 2011 // No Comments » // Balance, Children and Babies, Life in General, Organization, Time Management, Work at Home

Being a work at home mom definitely has its challenges.  One of the drawbacks I’ve discovered is a difficulty in compartmentalizing tasks.  When I worked outside the home, “work work” was done between the hours of 7:30-3:30 or so; “house work” was done in the evenings and on weekends.  Of course, there was always “work work” that I could bring home if I wanted to/had to/needed to, but no one ever–EVER–expected me to vacuum the living room or do the laundry from 7:30-3:30 Monday through Friday.  Now, however, all of the work tasks and home tasks collide in one giant, messy, behind-schedule explosion that leaves a noxious cloud of stress that hovers over me like this:
Fortunately, this difficulty in compartmentalizing tasks is really a problem that can be fairly easily remedied.  My plan is to create a schedule for my day and work tasks are to be completed during their scheduled times, and housekeeping/bill paying/laundry folding tasks are to be completed during their scheduled times.  Having a structured schedule like this is really antithetical to the way I typically like to do things, but something’s gotta give.

Of course, the unstructured work day of a work at home mom is one of the blessings of being able to work from home.  If I want to wake up early and finish my work before 8:00 and play the rest of the day, I can! (Okay–that will NEVER happen).  If I want to procrastinate all day long and then work into the wee hours to catch up, I can! (Much more likely.)

Yesterday, Bear and I had nothing planned for the day.  I had some work that needed to be done, and I had some laundry that needed to be washed, and a plethora of any other tasks with which any other mom anywhere else is beleaguered.  As Bear ate breakfast, though, I thought, “Eh.  Let’s go to the zoo instead.”

So we did.

I love being a work at home mom.

If You Can’t Say Something Nice . . .

// May 16th, 2011 // No Comments » // Children and Babies, Family, Life in General, Work at Home

Ten Things to Never Say to a Stay at Home Mom or Working Mom

Recently, I encountered two lists in one of my magazines:  “Ten Things to Never Say to a Stay-at-Home-Mom,” and “Ten Things to Never Say to a Working Mom.”  Because both of these lists apply to being a work at home mom, I wanted to share them with you, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember in which magazine I found them, and so I sadly let that brilliant post go by the wayside.

Then I remembered, “Duh.  Google,” and decided to look the lists up for you (Answer:  February Redbook).  You may have already seen these on the blogosphere or in your own issue of Redbook, but if you haven’t, here they are: (more…)

Transitioning to Working from Home

// May 10th, 2011 // No Comments » // Opportunities, Organization, Time Management, Work at Home

In yesterday’s post about the resources available at WAHM.com, I mentioned the difficulty of the transition period between working outside the home and working from home.  Later in the day, I came across an article on Money Saving Mom about that exact topic:  “How to Transition to Working at Home.”

The article was a guest post written by Heather of Work at Home Market, a WAHM resource with which I was unfamiliar until this article, but which I will be checking out in more detail soon.

In “How to Transition to Working at Home,” Heather writes of how, when she got married, she and her husband decided she would quit working outside the home after six months.   Heather’s experience is different from mine in several ways–the most important of which, in my opinion, is that Heather made the transition before she had children.  When I finally decided enough was enough and that I could no longer leave my Bear every day, I had to overlap my “outside job” and my new work at home jobs while caring for an infant (whom I was still nursing!) in the hours between the end of the regular work day and the baby’s bedtime.

For any moms looking to make this change, know this before you start:  It.  Is.  Exhausting. (more…)

WAHM Resource – WAHM.com

// May 9th, 2011 // No Comments » // Opportunities, Organization, Time Management, Work at Home

The other day after Mother’s Day Out, Bear and I stopped by a little playground to enjoy the nice weather and sunshine.  While there, I spent a little time talking to the mother of one of Bear’s classmates.  She is a former teacher who quit work to become a SAHM, but was very interested when I said I work from home.  I think a lot of people are intrigued by the thought of working from home, considering it the best of both worlds–the ability to stay home with your children while still earning a paycheck.

Being a WAHM has a unique set of challenges–just like being a stay at home mom has it’s own benefits and drawbacks, and just like working outside the home has pros and cons.  I do think that, for our family, my being a work at home mom is the best possible solution. We simply can not afford to live on one paycheck, and working outside the home was killing me–I couldn’t stand not being home with my Bear!

For most people–including me–it is difficult to figure out how to find legitimate work you can do from home, or how to find work that pays well enough.  There are, however, several options available, depending on your education and skills.  Not everyone can be a copywriter, not everyone can be an online tutor, not everyone has the magic eBay touch . . . but there is a wealth of opportunity if you are committed to thinking creatively, willing to try new things, and dedicated to the hard work necessary during the transition.

One of the best resources I found for job listings, employment ideas, and even daily living resources for work at home moms (or those striving to become work at home moms) is WAHM.com.  A lot of the resources and articles on this site are good for all mothers,  not just those working from home.  With recipes, parenting tips, job advice, and more, WAHM.com is an excellent resource for time-starved mommies.  Check them out and let me know what you think.