The poor dog, horse snot, and Meetup.com

My daughter and my dog have had what I'd call an on-again-off-again relationship since she was born 13 months ago. At first my dog loved her..couldn't get enough...as is evident from this early picture. But once my dog figured out this little thing could get around, she realized the baby's not quite as cool any more! So at the moment they're taking a break...more like my dog keeps walking away, and my daughter is chasing after her.

So the other day I figured I'd have some mercy on the poor dog by giving her a (much deserved) break. I took my daughter to meet some new animals at a local farm and petting zoo. Now she wants a horse!


Seriously though Olivia had a ball at the farm. There was a pig which she couldn't really get a good look at because of the position of the fence. There were a half dozen or so billy goats which she thought were the best thing since...breastmilk and nilla wafers, and there were the horses. Which she adored, so much so that she put her little hand right up one of their nostrils. I guess she figured she had enough of her own snot, why not get some of his. Whatever, she loved it, giggled the entire time so it was totally worth it!

The farm is only a few minutes from my house and I never even realized it was there. I joined a mom and kids group on Meetup.com and this was one of the events. Joining the group is hands down the best thing I've done since staying home full time. Not only does my daughter get to meet and play with other kids, I've met lots of other local moms, all the activities are planned for us (I just RSVP) and most of them are free! There are meetup groups all over the country, so if you've over-done the library, the local park, and the playground at the local elementary school join a meetup group (and maybe you'll find yourself some horse slobber!).

How do you meet other SAHMs? Share your tips by leaving a comment below. But before you do...here are a few pictures from our farm adventure. Enjoy!

Move Over, Honey...There's a New Breadwinner

Well, not exactly...at least not yet. But yes, I'm taking on even more freelance writing work (but hopefully not more than I can chew). After a few months as the Baltimore SAHMs Examiner for Examiner.com I've learned a few inside secrets. Armed with that knowledge I applied for a new spot...National Celebrity Kids Examiner.


Well, I'm three hours in and let me tell you my little plan is working out very nicely. I wanted to tell you all first, but my husband came home early today so I spilled the beans to him first (sorry, ladies!). But here it is...becoming a National Examiner is the way to go. At least that's my experience in my first few hours on the job. Why? you ask. Well for one, there's clearly a bigger audience. Second, my topic lends itself nicely to topical (or timely, if you will) events and headlines, and thirdly what I'm writing about appears to be highly searched. What's nice about that is since Examiner pays by the page view, I'm getting lots and lots of hits and my paycheck is going up, up, up. I've always thought Examiner.com was a great gig for SAHMs who want to earn extra money or just keep their hand in freelance writing, but it's actually turning into a very lucrative freelance writing gig. Who knows "Breadwinner" may be in my near future!

Interested in becoming an Examiner so you can make money writing what you know? Sign up!

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Step Away From the Wipes

CRASH! That's all I heard over the monitor when my daughter was supposed to be sleeping. Well, that's what I heard when the 10 minutes of babbling, giggling, and what I realized later was pure one-year-old-joy, suddenly stopped. What I realized later was that crash was the exclamation mark at the end of the "Now, look who's laughing Mommy!"


I ran up the steps followed by two or three others only to find my daughter reaching desperately over the side of her pack 'n play for the plastic wipe container now sitting squarely on the floor. We were staying at my in-law's beach house and like I always do I set the pack 'n play up right next to the bed. Apparently it was a little too close as she was able to somehow reach the wipes container. I threw the container (feeling lighter than normal) on the far side of the bed and then went to lay my sweet girl back down. Only then did I realize she'd ripped every last wipe out of the container and they now created a nice top sheet, if you will. The fitted sheet was soaked with wipe juice. I looked at her "Olivia Marie!" I said through the worst serious face I could muster. She looked up at me and just smiled. Afterall...she knows the rule for the wipe container: only one. I guess she got the last laugh that time. I went back down stairs laughing to myself and thinking about how much enjoyment she must have gotten out of pulling every last wipe out.

First it was the diapers, this time it was the wipes. I hope it's not the diapers' contents next!

Extreme Play Date

Well I survived...and so did my poor dog! I don't think she quite knew what she was getting into when we adopted her only four months before my daughter was born. But I remind her, she picked us licking, jumping, even peeing and yes, pooping at our feet on the floor of the shelter. We took her anyway...25 pounds over weight and all. But I digress...because both of us survived our first extreme play date.


Technically, it was our first play group. Six one year olds, six moms, two baby pools, a water and sand table, lunch, and a lack of bathing suits. I have to admit it was pretty stinkin' fun (pun intended...at least three of the babies pooped during the two hour ordeal).

We've only lived in our city for two years and when we moved here we didn't know a soul. Since then we've grown to love it meeting lots of friends, many, I'm sure will be lifelong friends. Some have kids, some don't. Perhaps my dearest friend, Christie, lives just up the block. Olivia and I are so blessed to see them at least once at day. Christie and I have always said it's nice we have each other, and the kids have each other, but we'd like to form a play group. Quite frankly two kids isn't a play group, that's a play date. We've invited other moms we meet to get together, but for one reason or another it never works out. Then about two weeks ago I heard about meetup.com. Turns out it's a great place to meet people with similar interests. I joined a mom and kids group for toddlers. I took Olivia to our first meet up and she had a blast. So did I! We met lots of other moms and babies. Two of the moms expressed interest in starting a play group since our children were all born in the summer of 2008. One of them also knew a few other moms who might be interested and I invited Christie and her son. We planned our first weekly play group for yesterday and I volunteered to host it.

The beauty of it was all the kids are within about 3 months of each other (4 within 2 weeks), all are on the same nap schedule (making planning a time easier), all are walking (that was part of the criteria), three live on my side of town, three on the other side (we'll rotate week to week), most of the moms are SAHMs, one or two work from home part time, none of the moms knew all of the other moms, but everyone knew at least one other mom.

We had two baby pools set up, Olivia's sand and water table, and every toy imaginable displayed in the living room. The kids had a blast and the moms did too! I think we all felt great when we left knowing the kids were all going to take wonderful afternoon naps and being assured that yes, green chunky poop is normal and so is not being able to say "mama and daddy plus 3 words by 13 months" as some baby books set as a milestone.

As for the dog, I put her on crumb clean up duty and she was in her glory...

More Tips on Starting a Play Group
Meetup.com Helps Local Moms Meet
Easy Places to Meet Other SAHMs

Making Money Online: My Most Successful Month as a Mom So Far

Far and away, August has been my most lucrative month in my little side business (aside from being a full time mom, of course) as an online freelance writer. I'm really starting to see some serious money rolling into my PayPal account each month. A full year after my daughter was born, and 10 months after leaving my job as a TV News Producer, my online venture is starting to make a real difference in our monthly budget.


As you read down and look at my sources of income keep the following in mind: I am a fulltime, SAHM. I do not have a babysitter any day of the week. I only write or "work" when my daughter is napping (max 3 hours a day) and I rarely do work after my husband comes home (around 4pm) or on the weekends. Some days I do not write or "work" at all because I have other more pressing things to do such as housecleaning or grocery shopping. That being said - it is possible for moms (yes, even those of walking, curious and on-the-go one year olds) to make $500+ a month in extra cash. Here's how I did it in August.

Ehow Earnings: $252.26
Ehow Article Written in August: 0
Note: 100% passive residual income
Learn more writing how-to articles and earning passive residual income on Ehow.com

Examiner Earnings: $44.24
Examiner Articles Written in August: 23
Learn more about becoming a freelance writer for Examiner.com

Examiner Bonus Earnings From Referrals: $150 ($50 per referral)

eBay Earnings: $33.84
Items Sold on eBay in August: 3

Affiliate Earnings in August: $ 15.07
Commission Junction: $1.25
Amazon: $1.32
E-Junkie: $12.50
Total Products Sold thru Affiliate Programs: 4
Note: 100% Passive Income
Learn more about Affiliate Marketing as a way to earn passive residual income

August Dual-Family Yard Sale: $58
_____________________________

Total Online Earnings in August: $ 495.41
Grand Total for August Earnings: $553.418


Through my Examiner column, which focuses on Baltimore SAHMs I have started a weekly series called Make Money Mondays which offers moms creative and legitimate ways to make money from home.