I drank Mountain Dew when I was pregnant.

I was chatting with a friend who happened to be very pregnant. She also happened to be drinking a can of Mountain Dew and we happened to be attending a local mom's group. We didn't really know anyone else as this was the first meeting, so it was to our surprise that someone walked up to us and criticised her for drinking Mountain Dew while pregnant (as if the 2 cups of coffee and glazed donut the pregnant stranger had been eating fulfilled her daily health goals).

We all have things we could do better and her daily mid-morning routine of one 12oz can of Mountain Dew is hardly a big deal - or anyone else's business for that matter. This was a routine we both had - a quick dose of sugar and caffeine in a convenient 12oz can. Neither one of us like sweets and for the most part drink water the rest of the day, so if that's the worst thing we did while pregnant, the world should be pleased. My friend politely thanked the stranger for her advice and we continued our conversation.

Okay, so we were a little disturbed by the comment so the next day we went to the mall with our 2 yr olds. They each had a mountain dew bottle (no Dew, just water), a jumbo box of Milk Duds (with the duds replaced with raisins) and a very large candy necklace (okay, that was real, but the kids didn't know it was edible). For the very pregnant moms, we each found the largest name brand disposable coffee cup we could find (filled with ice water). We then proceeded to walk throughout our local mall. Interestingly enough, no one said a word - lots of stares - but no comments. I guess we looked a little too crazy to be confronted.

You're probably thinking: they're just trying to help - it takes a village to raise a child. I do see your point and overall I agree. However, I am always looking for an excuse to relive my rebellious days and that's not easy when you're hauling around a 2 yr old and 12 months pregnant. Don't test me!

My Child - My Pet?

While researching something else, I stumbled upon a couple of "child-free" websites. No, I don't mean something x-rated or anything of that nature. These were online communities that have decided - some at ages as early as 19 - that they never, ever wanted children. Some reasons included trying to avoid passing on genetic problems and being too emotionally unstable. I was dumbfounded, however, that the majority of posts compared children to pets. And in these cases, pets were held in higher regard.

When I came upon the site, the 2006 Holiday season was soon approaching and there was a lot of chatter regarding bringing their pets along. "If my sister can bring her annoying kids to Thanksgiving dinner, why can't I bring Fido." This was brought up several times and the literally meant "bring Fido to dinner." That is, set him a place at the table. Someone else would chime in and complain that her two Labrador retrievers had to be put outside during dinner while her brother's food-throwing, milk-spilling, sneeze-on-my-food toddler sat next to her.

Now, I can certainly understand wanting some "adult only" time at some point and an out of control child shouldn't ruin dinner. However, we're talking about a family gathering and children who are "the future" of our families and nation. Will Fido help support their future economy and future retirement years?

I guess we should be grateful that Fido's human parents are not reproducing. And for the record, I love the Fidos of the world. I would just rather play a game of fetch after dinner versus help him slurp his apple cider at the Thanksgiving table.

WAHParents, keep up the good work.

Blue Monday

"Researchers in England, citing unpaid holiday bills, rotten weather and people's realization that they likely won't live up to their New Year's resolutions, say Jan. 22 is the unhappiest day of 2007." This is from an article that flashed on my screen when I first opened one of my internet browsers this morning. I guess if a person wasn't feeling depressed already, the writers of this articl wanted to make sure you know that you should be? That way, the only direction to go is up, right?

England's weather is a something like what were have here in Minnesota, so all kidding aside, I think folks here can relate. In fact, in regards to the weather, it's been rather stinkier here than any other time I can remember. It seems that everyone in the midwest has received snow other than us and the lack of snow hasn't extended our 8 hours of winter daylight. To those of you that live in states that don't see snow, you may think this is a good thing. However, if you're going to freeze your tongue to a pole, there better also be a way to make a snow angel afterwards. Saying something like, "Okay kids, go outside and play in the cold" just doesn't seem right.

Whether you are in Minnesota or in sunny Florida, I hope your 'winter blues' don't last long.

Can I Blame You?

When you run your own business and with few exceptions serve every role in the company, who do you blame when something goes wrong?

When I leave town for the weekend (typicallywith the kids), I always bring my laptop in the hopes of getting a little extra work done. This past weekend, we made our little trip and while packing up ton leave in the midst chaos, I neglected to pack up the power supply to the laptop.

Okay, no big deal, things could be a lot worse in life. Overall, the power supply could be mailed and be in my hands in 2-3 days, but there was the possibility that I could find one and have a spare right away. Also, we have 2 other computers in the house that could be used if I transferred all the data over, but that would take 1-2 hours of time I didn't really have. So, I proceeded to find one in town. It was going to cost me over $80, but considering the time I'd save, I decided it was worth it. The only problem was, no one had it in stock. So, after wasting a good hour, it was time to spend another 2 hours or so getting another computer set up.

In situations like these, I only wish I was back at the large corporate office where a technician would take care of this for me while I worked on something else. I am certainly glad that I can take care of everything that needs to be done for the business, but just like with parenting, I only have 2 hands and my sanity tank is usually running on empty.

So, I ended up forfeiting over 3 hours of time (of which I don't have much of to begin with) so that I could have a functioning computer. When I get my original power-house-of-a-computer back, I will need to synchronize my data again. In the grand scheme of things, this really isn't a big deal, but it can be extremely frustrating. The worst part is that there is no one else to blame but myself. And the ironic thing is, when things go correctly, money is coming in and miraculously there is equal time for everything in our humble family life, the WAHP doesn't get all the credit - it's just life as usual. Sounds a little like Motherhood to me.

2007 News Years Resolution?

Many have asked what my New Year's Resolution is for 2007 both personally and for my business. Quite honestly, I never make such resolutions. I don't think there is a need. For example, I probably ate way to much during the holidays, was too busy with the business to even think about exercising or anything else other than taking care of the basic necessities for that matter. So the way I see it, if I can get back to some normalcy by the first week of January, a separate resolution isn't necessary. It fits: I won't be eating as much junk, I have the time to exercise and the house gets a thorough and continuous cleaning. It's what I call my built-in personal resolution.

As far as a resolution (or goals) for the business in 2007, I can only hope that things progress and continue on exactly how they were in 2006. Now I'm not saying that I don't want the business to grow in various ways (there are monthly goals already in place for that), but as a WAH Parent, I can only hope that in 2007 I can continue to spend quality time with my children that I would otherwise not have if I was working outside the home. I want to continue to be able to let the phone temporarily go to voicemail on a moments notice if a child is ill, needs a hug after a fall, or if they need to be picked up early from school because their pants split an important seam in a lost fight with the monkey bars on the playground.

I have read many times that to be successful working from home, there needs to be separation between work and your personal life. I can see how that would be necessary for some, but I would never change the fact that for me the two are nearly seamlessly melded together.

So overall my resolution for 2007 is to strive for another 2006 [with a few more sales thrown in ;-)].