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A Simple Card

Mornings have been and always will be, a slow time of day for me. Unlike hubs who can bound around the room at 5 am, singing loudly and handing out bear hugs, I slowly climb down the stairs most mornings in a stupor. After I blindly brew coffee, I sit at the counter stunned that another day has begun. That's why the kiddos get to watch cartoons in the mornings. It's the only time of day I am completely and totally left alone. (Ok, after getting breakfasts of yogurt, milk, cereal, nutrigrain bars, more milk... you get the idea.)

I use the time to read the paper, do a little writing, catch up on client emails. I was in the middle of my morning routine yesterday, diligently typing on my laptop, when my son asked me to look at something. "Just a sec" I said, brow furrowed. (Let me just say I use the phrase so often, one of my 2 year old's first sentences was "jesec".)

"MooooommmmMMM..." came his reply. "Come look at what I drew." "uh huh", I said distractedly. For heaven's sake, kid, can you pull the umbilical chord out of my belly button for a pithy hour? I thought. "MOM!" came the reply.

Knowing I wasn't going to win this one, I turned and gave him my full attention. "I made you an 'I love you' card," he beamed. And there, in the middle of the page he was holding, was the most beautiful, lumpy, misshapen hearts I have ever seen. The first one he's ever drawn --- and he drew it for me.

I shut my laptop, gave him a big hug and got down on the floor to draw with my two beautiful kids.

A case of the "whys"

My almost 4 year old son has a condition that we can't seem to break. It came about very suddenly one day and now, I'm afraid, it's here to stay.

It's an unmistakable case of the "whys".

As in, why is the sky blue? Why is dirt called dirt? Why is the ground called ground?Why is your answer I don't know? And the ever-popular, "Why does your armpit have little hairs poking out?" For the record, I do shave, just apparently not close enough for the hawk-like eyes of a preschooler.

Frazzled as I am by the endless questions, I can't help but wonder how the technique would work on my clients. In my mind, it would go something like this:

Client: So, in a nutshell, we need to get on Oprah, pronto.
Me: Why do you need to get on Oprah?
Client: So we can get in front of a national audience.
Me: Why is there a national audience?
Client: (Strange look) Uh.. I guess so they can be sold on products like ours.
Me: Why are there products like yours?
Client: (Blank stare)
...
Me: Exactly.

Wall Street Journal and...potty time

Here is my life in a nutshell: yesterday I was running around my house screaming over the fact that me and my company were named in an article in the Wall Street Journal. The WALL....STREET...JOURNAL! http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124935067214603495.html


But, and here's the catch, as I fielded calls congratulating me over my serious press, I was crawling around on my hands and knees begging my daughter to put on some diapers. She had pulled them off and decided to pee in the middle of our kitchen floor.

And that, my friends, is the beauty of my life. To someone who doesn't know me well, they may be impressed that I landed myself in one of the nation's premier papers. But for those who know the real me, they know it's the practice of trying to act like I'm "the shit" while wiping up the real thing.

Got a Good Slogan?

Seriously! What is it about 4 year olds that make them instantly ready to interrupt phone calls and any conversation that doesn't involve them? It's like my son has a sensor in his head connected to our phone. I pick up the receiver and he comes running - more often than not screaming something only dogs can hear!

Which is how I found myself on a phone call last Friday afternoon, with a laughing client as I tried to speak intelligently above my son's 500 decibel questions about his private parts. Really?

Ok ladies, I think it's high time we have some humor in the mix about our predicament. I'm putting out a call for best slogans for work-from-home moms. Things like, "Mommy Needs a Nap." Or "Where's my Bottle?" with a pic of a bottle of wine.

Give me your best shot and I'll begin posting them. We gotta laugh about it, right? Either that or continually bang our head against the wall. And I don't know about you guys, but I've got enough headaches in my life!

Client Communication in the Service Industry

If you are a freelancer or in the service industry, you have got to watch this video. It will make you laugh (or cry) all day. A friend of mine sent it to me this morning. It's brilliant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2a8TRSgzZY

Running for my life..

Here's a little sneak peek if my life were a movie -- this would be the horror scene.

Imagine a conference call for a new client, needed at 3 pm -- officially the time between when our nanny is off for the day and hubs comes home from work. Otherwise known as - the dead zone. I set up the video, popcorn and juice for the kids. All is ready. They're watching a moive quietly as I dial into the line. When SUDDENLY...dun...dun...dun...

A chubby hand knocks on the office door. OH NO! I put the phone on mute and direct her back out to the living room. Unmute. And then.... chubby hand. Mute. Direct her back. Unmute. This is not working...

I run upstairs to our bedroom and close the door. Unmute. I can hear my daughter milling around the door outside. Mute. She finally gives up. Unmute. Hmmm... it's a bit too quiet. I peek out. She sees me and comes running. Mute. Mute. Mute.

This is the chase scene part of the movie. I literally run from my two kids and try to find a quiet place, wildly hitting mute and unmute while answering questions with a quick yes. mute. no. mute.

I bust into the bathroom, running for my life, close the door and sit on the floor. Awww - quiet. Unmute. ----- Only to have my cell phone die.

(Mute)

Back from a little va-kay

It's been awhile since the last post. In that time we've taken gorgeous family photos by a ridiculously gifted photographer by the name of Nicole Ishida, who owns Lyrebird Images (http://www.lyrebirdimages.com/). The photo above was taken during a rare down moment for my otherwise BUSY one and a half year old daughter.

We then visited some family in NM. My sister-in-law is the multi-talented mind behind Sweet Bitty Bows (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7037667), the cutest and best quality clippies and bows you'll find for your little princesses.

Both of these women are so inpsiring. They have multiple children and choose to chase their passion while juggling full families and schedules. Nicole does her photo sessions on weekends, Denise has her laptop propped at the kitchen table to ensure she doesn't miss upcoming orders. In fact, she's been known to stay up until 2 a.m. putting bows together, after the kids have gone to bed.

I always feel so guilty about owning a business while raising my kids - am I doing enough? Am I spending the right amount of time with them? Are their imaginary cell phones and laptops crying out, "stop working and pay attention to me!" ...

And then... I have the privilege of hanging out with women like Denise and Nicole and am reminded that we all are beautiful and unique. We have dreams. We have goals. We are... still women in addition to being mothers, wives and daughters. And that's worth something. We moms talk a lot about never giving up on our kids. These women have taught me something else - the pure beauty of not giving up on ourselves.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Every now and then a moment comes along that makes you stop and realize the blessings you have in life. Recently that "moment" for me was encapsulated in a day. Father's Day in the Halter household, to be exact. If you couldn't already tell from my blog, I'm a bit of a "go-getter" if people are being kind and a "hyper, pain-in-the-ass" if they're being realistic. So for Father's Day I had a huge amount of things planned that I just knew hubs would like. Maybe we'd rent a boat for the afternoon? Perhaps a picnic at the lake? No, I know -- we'd go bowling! I would ask Tim what he wanted to do and he'd tell me exactly what he wanted - he wanted to do nothing. Just relax..... ahem.... What? Who does that anymore?

The day came and I settled down enough to actually take Tim's wishes into account ( Crazy, I know.) Me, Tim and the kids stayed in our pajamas until almost 2 pm and did... nothing. And you know what? It was fantastic! Ethan and I made a father's day breakfast and later made rice krispy squares, Tim watched the US Open, Emi played with her toys... After awhile I realized my kids were the most happy and relaxed I'd seen them all week. When I took enough time to slow down from the business of making things "fun" (aka running around like a chicken with my head cut off) Guess what? We actually started having fun. In our jammies. At 2 pm.

Later we did manage to scrape ourselves off the couch and go bike shopping. We were supposed to be looking for a bike for Tim (being Father's day and all), but ended up getting one for Ethan instead. So my darling husband spent his father's day assembling a bike for our son.

And that's the thing about dads - they're so busy taking care of us and teaching us how to relax - they can often get overlooked. But every now and then the veil is pulled from my eyes. As I watched Tim sweat over assembling our son's bike on what was supposed to be "his day" I fell in love with the father of my children all over again.

Dealing with a load of crap...

This is not, as you might expect, a post about a hard client. No. no... this is a situation that will go down in Halter history and lore. My almost four year old has become completely obsessed with all of the different ways he can pee. This is a kid who learned instantly how to go potty as soon as he realized he could do it standing up.



So it came as no shock to me when I found him one warm, sunny day showing his goods to the world as he peed off of the side of our backyard deck. I asked him why he did it and he informed me daddy taught him how. Ahem.



As you ladies know, you've got to pick your battles. He was in our backyard and wasn't peeing directly on his sister, so I figured what could it hurt? "Let the sun shine in."



....You know what's coming, right?



Yesterday we're out in the yard playing when I see a huge load of dog poo by our deck. Here's the kicker - we don't have a dog. I pull Ethan aside and as quietly I can muster, ask him if he poo'd off of the side of the deck. The answer was an absolute yes. You've gotta give the kiddo points for honesty.



Needless to say, after a long coversation, poor Ethan is no longer able to pee as nature intended. Man, talk about a crappy week...

Check out the power of mom bloggers!!!

Go Moms!

See video by AdAge in regard to the power of mom bloggers!
http://adage.com/aboutdigital/article?article_id=137117

The Balancing Act

A close friend of mine and business associate recently decided to try to stay at home with his newborn while continuing to work from home. (And yes, I said "his" - it's a guy - how cool is that?) As all of us work from home moms can attest, it's been a bit... um... difficult for him. After about two weeks he's decided he needs to bring a sitter in at least two days a week so he can get some time to concentrate on work and work only.

I did the same thing after my first was born. Thought I could work while also watching the baby. That's how I got puked on during a business meeting, but that's a story for another post....

I eventually got a nanny. At first for 12 hours a week and shortly thereafter upped it to 20 hours. After all, not many Editors think it's "quaint" to hear, "Mom, I need you to wipe me!" at 300 decibels.

Interested in hearing how you solved the dilemma. Weigh in.

Introducing Darry Miller...

In addition to my PR agency, I've been working on a side project helping promote a wonderful up and coming musician named Darry Miller. We recently posted his new single, Everly, to YouTube. Check him and Everly out when you have a chance - you'll be glad you did!

Help - I'm Addicted to Jon and Kate Plus 8!!

I seriously love this show. I love the 8 kids and up until this season I loved Jon and Kate. They were in Hell, but damnit, they were in it together and even more amazing, could laugh about the exploits of their crazy life. What was there not to like?

This season's opener - for starters. It was like being a fly on the wall in a marriage counselor's office. Could Kate be any more flippant? And John - help decorate your damn kid's party, man! It couldn't have been more awkward as the couple sat as far away from each other in the chair as possible.

I feel bad for the family - and oddly connected to Kate. While I may not believe in the tactics she's using - I connect with her need to try to balance family life and a fulfilling career. Is this proof that we can't have it all? Or maybe we just need to each individually determine what "it all" means to us. Interested in your thoughts on this matter...

Throw Her in "the Hole"

I've been in the hole the last few days... its been dark, scary and devoid of any communication. I haven't truly been in jail, but its a prison of its own making. This last Monday I plunged myself into darkness when my coffee spilled and fried my Blackberry. How one of the great loves of my life (coffee) could create so much pain defies logic... but I digress...

I was never a person who had to have a cell. In fact, just a few short years ago friends would ask why I even owned a cell phone. I never carried it. But that all changed when a seemingly innocent fruit came into my life, dun... dun... dun... the Blackberry...

I marveled at its charms. It was a working moms dream come to life. I would check emails from the zoo. Text about "business meetings" while downing glazed donuts, even chat with friends while playing yet another round of Whack a mole.

Fast forward to a year later and I was hooked faster than a trout with no peripheral vision. I could now text without looking at the pad, make calls with voice activation, even update Facebook. And then came the morning it all ended. I was frantic. I felt like the corporate rug had been pulled out from under me. Actually, more like spit on and then yanked, leaving me falling behind. Some suggested using my work phone. Hmm- an unworthy competitor. Go back to my old cell? Ridiculous!! And that's why I found myself running into the nearest Verizon store, two kids in tow, desperate for another hit. I felt feverish and hot until they placed the new, shiny communication powerhouse into my sweaty palm. And only then did my heart returned to normal.

Folks, I am now, officially, a crackberry citizen. If my old cell could see me now....

It's a cruel, cruel summer...

My agency has been operating almost exclusively in the automotive industry for the past several years and we've been riding the gravy train... but lately the train has become a bus. A broken-down, old school bus on its last leg. As the summer approaches it looks like more dealerships are closing, Chrysler may be gone for good and Fiat is going to rule the world. Interesting times, to be sure. And yet...

Amidst all of the upheaval, I can't help but feel optimistic. Some could say down right inspired. This will cause me to stretch my limits, reach into new industries, learn new PR techniques. This week I've been using Twitter for business, creating a blog for my company, learning how to promote my company on LinkedIn and sharing my thoughts with the world in byline articles and blog guest posts. I'm working harder than I have in the last few years.

I think every now and then we all need a little nudge to get out of the "gravy train" lifestyle and back into the business of being creative. Just happens instead of a nudge, I got an asteroid. An asteroid with the names GM and Chrysler flaming behind...

A Makeup Emergency

I'm on the phone with a client this morning and letting my daughter, Emi, do whatever she pleases so she'll stay quiet. Mind you, I am in the same room, just letting her do her thing, so I can do mine.

I'm not paying much attention until I get off of the phone and turn around. She has taken a makeup "pack" out of my bathroom drawer, dug her nails into the 50 or so eyeshadow, lipsticks and blushes and "applied" the makeup to her face, clothes, tights, the bathroom carpet, and by the looks of the purple smudge on her teeth, has decided to eat some.

This with just 15 minutes to go before we need to scoot out the door to take my son to preschool. I did my best to clean her up so we could go, but some days, a girl's just got to have her "face on" before she presents herself to the world....

Employee Number One

There are certain times as a work-from-home entrepreneur that seem unbearable and one of those times, without question, is the passing of a pet. This week we had to put our beautiful dog Bogey down after a battle with cancer. Bogey was my stalwart companion. When I was on bedrest with my son Ethan, Boge put herself right down beside me and we toughed out the 5 weeks together. Not a day went by without her pawing my office door and once I let her in, laying down with a sigh at my feet. She was always here... until she wasn't.

As I work in my office, I find myself looking to the corner where she always laid and I'm missing her in so many new ways. Her wagging tail when I got home from meetings, her "love barks" in the middle of important conference calls, even her farts, which measured off the charts on the richter scale.

I think I would still miss Bogey just as much if I had a job outside the home, but I don't know that I would miss her as often.

So here's to you, my first and best "employee." You are missed more than you know.

Clean Up in Aisle 5...

As a non-coupon clipper I'm usually the one behind the person with the envelope huffing and puffing for them to hurry up so I can get on with it. But recently I read an article where a woman saved a whopping $75 on her grocery bill using coupons. It was one of those crazy articles where her total was $95 and her final tally was $17. WHAT?

Still stunned by a monthly grocery bill of $1200 per month for four (yes, you read that right), my mind reeled at the thought of saving all of that money. So the next morning I dutifully cut out all of my coupons and headed to the store with my one year old daughter. Each and every item I had clipped out was gone - every one! How could this be? We had just clipped out the coupons that morning.

I wearily made my way to the meat counter and asked the woman to give me the two for one coupon special on lunch meats. She looked at me and then at my overflowing cart and 15 month old. "Honey, that sale doesn't start until tomorrow."

So, with as much bravado as I could muster, I lifted my daughter out of the cart, asked them to restock it all said I'd visit again the next day.

Damn coupons!

Introducing a New Mamapreneur

This Monday's mamapreneur is fabulous Denise Erickson, owner of Sweet Bitty Bows, the cutest custom-made bows and clips for little girls you will ever come across. Denise hand makes the bows and runs her business while also raising three adorable kiddos under the age of 10. Our hats off to Sweet Bitty Bows and to Monday's Mamapreneur, Denise!

Check out her bows at www.SweetBittyBows.com or on Etsy at www.SweetBittyBows.etsy.com and help support fellow mamapreneurs. Congratulations, Denise!