Making it All Work

We all have families and we all have to figure out how to make our lives work.  In the past this was something that I found terribly challenging and something that was hard for me.  As I have gotten into my new routine I am learning how to make my life work for me.  Of course there are things that I wish that I could make different but I am really learning to let them go and to move on with my life, focusing strongly on all of the positive that is around me.

I am trying hard to remember all of the things that I am thankful for each day.  I have had some problems in the recent past with my computer that prevented me from being on here and posting as regularly as I should have been and for that I sincerely apologize. I love blogging and writing about my life and how I make things work for me.

I have four of the world's most amazing children and an amazing man to share my life with.  I try with every ounce of my being to be a positive person  and to enjoy life as it is.

In my house we have reached a stage where things can be hectic.  There are days that I feel like a horrible mommy because I just do not handle things with as much grace as I'd like to.  Today was one of those days that would be counted as a mom fail.  :( 

For me it is hard to try and be it all.  My biggest goal in life is to be the best mommy possible and then it is to be the best wife (or pseudo wife at this point since Shane has not popped the question).  One of my biggest challenges is trying to be the best at everything.  I attempt to do it all and to be perfect as I am doing so.  Sometimes this just does not work out but other times it does and those times are great. 

Today my children seemed to be into everything.  I had a headache and was stressed about my final night of training at my new job.  I just started working part time, for a while a lot more hours but once things slow down I will just work every other weekend.  I work for a Marriott branded hotel that is owned by a separate hospitality group.  The job is fairly easy and something that I actually enjoy.  As a third shift night audit it does not take too much away from my family and I love that.  It also is basically audit paperwork so I enjoy that as well.

I am planning on returning to school but am not sure when I want to start.  I know that now is the perfect time in some ways, during my down time at work I would be able to do my homework and then I would be completed with school around the time that my youngest would be starting kindergarten.  I would then be able to get a full or even just a part time job that would utilize a bigger skill set and help me to be able to earn more income for our family.

I love being a stay at home mom so this transition is hard on me.  The hardest part for me has been all of the extra hours in training which has meant that I have had to spend more hours away from my family.  The only thing that has worked out well with this is that I am going to be able to have the best of both worlds when this time is over.  Plus I am getting the opportunity to make more money during this time which is sure helping us out for Christmas.

I have so many "Christmas" related bills to pay for and a weekend away planned with my children in Indianapolis.  I am excited but a bit stressed that we will be traveling so much in December and that we have so much going on up until then.

Work From Home, How I Make My Money

So I have seen a ton of posts lately on Facebook from mom friends and family who are wanting to work from home.  I thought that I would share my experience of working from home.

First of all I started writing and freelancing to make additional income and have since worked for a variety of online writing companies.  I have ended up in a position where I got screwed out of a significant amount of money and treated poorly with some of these companies.  Of course the ones that treat you bad are the ones that seem to pay you a considerable amount more.

With the basic freelance writing that I do now I make an okay income and I get treated well.  So this is important to me.  The best part is that I am constantly expanding my network, meeting new clients and learning new infomration about the business.  It is all working out well for me.

If you want the same experiences then you can just register at Freelancer for free and start working and earning an income almost immediatley.  If you are not a writer, do not fear there are all different types of work available on this website.

Review Big Sister Designs

Big Sister Designs is a fabulous find if you want eco friendly children's clothing.  They offer some amazingly beautiful products that are created from upcycled fabrics.

When I contacted the fabulous owner of Big Sister Designs, Maria I was pleasantly surprised to be able to review one of the items from her shop.  There were so many that I loved that it was hard to find one that I wanted to review.  With two daughters the only thing that made it easy was at the time that I contacted her I was only looking for clothes for my oldest because I had gotten a few offers for products to review for my youngest. 

This is the adorable skirt that I chose.  It was listed as $15 so the value of these skirts is great too since they are such a steal.  Unfortunately it was a bit too big for my daughter but I am sure that it will fit one day so it is just put up in her tote of too big clothes for now.

I love the detail of the flower.  I that the flowers are all so cute and this one adds a perfect accent to this little skirt.

 

 

There are a whole slew of other skirts that I found that I loved in the Big Sister Designs Etsy shop.  Some of my favorites that are currently available include the following.

 

 

This adorable Mei Tai baby carrier with a vintage sheet fabric panel.  (On a side note, the sheet is one that I think that my mom had when I was a little kid.)...plus it is only $50 which is a very reasonable price for a mei tai.

 

 

The custom sized flour sack skirt is adorable as well and something that I might purchase in the future.  The size range for skirts is between 18 mos and 5T so if your child is not in one of these sizes you would want to email Maria and see if she can work something out for you.  She is lovely to deal with so you definitely should talk to her.  This skirt is just $15 as well.

 

 

 

Since I loved the flower on the skirt, I love that you can purchase flower pins.  They are so cute and just $5.

 

 

Big Sister Designs also features some cute striped upcycled skirts that are just $12.  I am tempted to buy them all for my girls especially since my oldest daughter refuses to wear anything but skirts and leggings or dresses 90% of the time.  I got her in jeans yesterday and felt like it was a miracle.

 



One additional great thing about Big Sister Designs is that most of the product are truly one of a kind and not something that you will ever see on another child.  This is a big hit for me because I like for my kids' clothes to be unique and cute.

You can also check out the Big Sister Designs facebook fan page and like them!

 

Review ecoSTORE

I contacted ecoSTORE when I was looking for new bath and body products for my family.  I have been very pleasantly surprised by the products and really love the two that I was able to review.

ecoSTORE has a wide range of bath and body products that appropriate for the entire family.  I found that I wanted to try the baby shampoo and the body wash in the patchouli orange scent.  I love patchouli so this was naturally a scent that I thought that I would enjoy.  There are so many great things that I have to say about the products that I received.

First off the Orange and Patchouli Body Wash is amazing.  The texture is great when it is lathered up.  It lathers really well which kind of shocked me the first time that I used it because it was not very thick.  It makes my skin smell and feel great.  I have been using this during the weather change and have noticed that my skin is not drying out like it normally does this time of the year.  I always use the same lotion and frankly with four kids lately I have not been using much lotion at all and still I am not experiencing the dry and itchy skin that I typically have once we turn our heat on.  Since all of my other products are the same, I can state that this body wash is truly something that I plan on using in the future.  Plus at just $4.75 for the body wash it is a steal.  I typically spend almost as much money on crappy body wash from Wal Mart and with that I end up with a number of other issues like the dry skin. 



The second product that I was generously offered for review was the Baby Shampoo.  This is another product that I will stand behind and one that is probably going to become a regularly used product in our home.  I have been looking for the perfect bath products and all too often I end up finding products that are either riddiculously expensive or products that just do not work for us.  Well, with this choice I have found a product that is affordable, just $4.40 and one that works great.  There is not much of a scent so if you want a smelly baby this might not offer you that but I can tell that my little ones are getting clean.  I even used this shampoo on my four year old's thin hair and my three year old's thick hair and I found that it cleaned them both well too.

I must apologize to ecoSTORE for using their website photographs for these two products.  I basically have lost my camera and my iPhone is not letting me take more pictures because I need to clean some off.  Our computer with iTunes is down so until this one gets fixed or I find my camera I am not able to take the pictures of products.  So again, ecoSTORE I am sorry for using the pictures that you have and not using my own.

 

Since I loved these products so much I have my own little ecoSTORE shopping list put together.

 

ecoSTORE offers a lot of household cleaning products and there are some that I would like to try as I use up the high in chemical products that I currently have.

 

The toilet cleaner is just $3 and natural without chemicals.  I would love to test this out in our bathroom.

 

The cream cleanser is just $3.95 and safe enough to use on glass cook tops but strong enough to clean your bathroom to perfection.  This is something that would be nice to test out as well since I love a nice lemon fresh scent.  There are a number of other household products offered that include a pure oxygen laundry whitener (think chemical free oxyclean), laundry detergent, dish soap, glass cleaner and all purpose cleaner.

 

There are a number of bath and body products including bars of soap, handwash and the amazing body wash that I got to test out.  The prices are very reasonable and the bars of soap are just $1.80 each.  I plan on trying out their shampoo and conditioner the next time that I need to purchase some.  If they work as well for me as the body wash has then I am going to be one happy lady.  They offer a few different varieties which include pear, honey and almond, or cucumber.  They also feature a full line of products for your baby and your fur babies too.

 

So no matter what you are looking for there is a good chance that ecoSTORE has some great products for you to try that are reasonably priced and going to work well enough to impress you as they have me.

Do You Swag?....If Not You Could Be Earning Free Stuff like Amazon Gift Cards for Doing Nothing that You Do Not Alreaedy Do!!!!!

Do you swag? 

If you do, then you know what this means.  If you do not let me explain. 

Swagging is a great way to earn things like Amazon gift cards for free, just for searching or doing other things online that you would already be doing.

It is 100% free to sign up with Swagbucks and you can easily start making money for yourself right away. 

Personally I always choose the Amazon gift cards.  They are just 450 points for a $5 card.  This is what I typically get because I have a Kindle and my son has a Kindle.  Plus I love shopping on Amazon.  Right now I am saving my Swagbucks earned gift cards for some things that we need for the house. 

I have friends who earn tons of money in gift cards on there by watching videos, doing the special offers, etc.  For me I just use the toolbar search engine field instead of using Google like I did in the past.  Even if I know the website's URL I still search for it, that one extra click is adding up big and helping me to be able to earn free money on Amazon. 

So what are you waiting for?  If you have not signed up already with Swagbucks then you need to.  Agian it is completely free and something that you can easily use to be able to earn yourself some money to spend. 


Here are some of the things that you could be earning for FREE.  I get about 700-1000 Swagbucks per month if I use the toolbar all month long.

539 SB--infant medicine dispenser


379 SB--outlet covers, everyone with a baby/toddler is going to need some of these at some point



589 SB--stay put plate (in your choice of different colors)



I just purchased these at Buy Buy Baby!!!  I wish that I had known that I could have gotten them for free, they are such a cool thing!
569 SB Pop Pals (again in your choice of colors)



659 SB Boon Snack Ball (they're $6.49 on Amazon)



14,179 SB Leap Pad Learning System



There are hundreds of other items available.  I just tried to highlight those that moms with kids might want and show that there are actually high quality good items and stuff that you would use and not just items of no interest.

Huge Black Friday Giveaway Update....value at $112.50 and rising!!

I wanted to update you all with the status of the giveaways in progress for the Black Friday blog.

1. Initials Inc (I loved their products so much that I started selling them myself!!) I will be sponsoring this giveaway item and am not yet sure what it will be.
2. Mad K's Creations--hat, valued at $13.50 (w/shipping)*
3. Love1111--$10 GC*
4. Tea Company--(I am super excited about this one because they are my FAVORITE children's clothing!!!)
5. Homespun Soaps--Tummy Rub, Uptown Girl unscented soap, Oatmeal Goat Milk and Honey unscented soap, BeesKnees Lip Balm, Whipped Shea Butter, and Lavendar Basil Shaving Soap for nearly a $40 value*
6. Tupperware (through rep Kristi Boylan)
7. Passions
8. Shabby Girls Boutique (this is another one that I am super excited about
9.  Dapper Lads--12-18 mos boys outfit (adorable dressy outfit for the holidays) valued at $49
 

Where I Have Been

Hello All!

I just wanted to update you a bit as to where I have been.  Our new schedule is in full swing and things have gotten crazy at our house.  Now that I know what to expect and that our routine is down I know that I will be able to post more frequently and on a more regular basis.

That being said I want to apologize to you for seeming to fall off of the grid and for letting things with my blog slide a bit.  I was very ill and just not doing well so I ended up sick and trying to figureo ut what was going on with my health.  At the time we just had no clue what was up.  Thankfully I was finally diagnosed and I am on medications that are there to help me feel better and more like myself. 

The only side effects that I have noticed was that I was so tired in the beginning but it would appear that I am finally coming out of that and that I am starting to feel more like myself and more normal overall.

Thanks for standing by and waiting for my return and please let me know if you have questions/concerns.  I am going to be posting a lot over the next few days including updates to the black Friday giveaway.

I am really happy to be back with you and happy to be able to write and share a bit of my life and some of my favorite things with you on Everything for Modern Moms.

Thanks again!

Amanda