My little guy turned five this weekend. Now I am in a cupcake-frosting-and-multiple-celebration-induced hangover. I just took two Advil. I hope they help. I don’t know if I can keep up with all the partying that goes on in the five-year-old circuit, but I love every minute of it. Today we are going to do our best to recover, and I’m also going to come to terms with the fact that I am now the mom of a five year old. They say the days are long but the years are short and that certainly is the case in our house. Is it the same for you?
Digging for Dinosaurs
My little guy has been studying dinosaurs in school for the past few weeks, so we made up a bunch of treasure stones with dinosaurs hidden inside for his class. Each of the kids got to take a stone home from school and unearth the dinosaur.
Evan loved breaking his apart.
Evan loved breaking his apart.
The stones were easy (but messy) to make.
Here’s the recipe:
2 cups flour
1 cup coffee grounds
1/2 cup salt
1/4 cup sand
1/2 cup water
Mix it all up, shape into a ball and insert a dinosaur (or other treasure). I let mine dry for several days, but you can also put them in the oven on low for a few hours. I had to make five batches of dough to get 20 treasure stones, but I made my stones a little big because of the dinosaurs I bought.
Also, I’m not a coffee drinker, so I called up one of my seven local Starbucks and asked if I could have some used coffee grounds. They were more than happy to share them with me. The stones did smell a bit like coffee, but Evan didn’t seem to mind.
Loving Hibernation Station
My sister-in-law is a teacher and is always giving my kiddos awesome books. One of our latest favorites is Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows and illustrated by Kurt Cyrus.
The first time I read it to Madelyn, Evan was taking a bath and overheard the story. He hopped out of the bathtub and hurried into Madelyn’s room (dripping water on the hardwood floors) so he wouldn’t miss anything. He loves that it is a rhyming book. Madelyn loves it, too. She recently selected it as one of the books she wanted to read to Minnie.
The story and the illustrations keeps keep both of my kiddos engaged to the end and Madelyn always asks for more and we read it again and again. The best part for me is that it is one of those books that I don’t mind reading over and over and over! I highly recommend it.
The Squirrel Channel
Lately when I need to entertain my kids for a a bit in the mornings, all I have to do is open up the front door so they can watch what I call the squirrel channel. After we made our bird feeders, we had some bird seed left. Evan sprinkled it across the front porch and squirrels stop by for breakfast each morning.
They’ve gotten quite friendly and spend as much time watching us as we do them. Opening the front door is so much better than flipping on the t.v.
Five Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started Freelancing
1. Reaching out to those you know for work isn’t as scary as it seems. The first time I drafted an email to colleagues and former co-workers letting them know I was hanging my own shingle and that I’d love to work for them, I was a nervous wreck. I didn’t know how they’d react and somehow asking for work felt desperate. Luckily, within minutes I had several replies offering congratulations and opportunities to work together. That was about four years ago and I am still working with all of the people who responded to my initial email.
2. Don’t be afraid to turn down work. When you’re livelihood depends on making a sale, it can be tempting to take on any project that comes your way. But, the truth is, you can do more harm than good when taking on work that doesn’t suit you. As a freelancer, your reputation is crucial, so taking on a project that doesn’t draw on your strengths or doesn’t match with your standards is a bad idea. You might be interested in this short post I wrote a few years ago after turning down a big project.
3. Build in time for office tasks. When I first started freelancing, I underestimated how much time it would take to deal with invoicing and routine home-office chores. I’m still finding ways to streamline running my business, but now I know to factor in office work into my weekly routine.
4. Work within your designated workspace. While I could cart my laptop to any room in my house or work from a coffee shop down the street, I do better when I’m at my desk in my home office. Having my phone and files at my fingertips saves me time and being at my desk puts me in my work mode, so I am less likely to spend time surfing the web or catching up with friends on Facebook. Utilizing my home office space also helps keep my work space and family space separate (see this related post).
5. Make time for writing events, coffee meetings or meet ups with other writers. When you have a full plate, heading off for a lunch date or devoting an entire saturday to a workshop can seem like a poor use of time. However, those meetings can leave you walking away feeling more energized and enthused about your own work. When you sit back down to write, the chances are you’ll have a little more spring in your step, which I swear can show through in the written word.
How about you? What do you know now that you wish you’d known then, be it about writing, motherhood or anything else?
Friday Favorites
Here are a few of my favorite reads and online stops from this week:
If you’re a writer, you have to read Robert Lee Brewster’s blog My Name is Not Bob. Every week I have a favorite post from him. This week it is on branding and it is a great read for established writers and newbies alike.
As someone who loves Pinterest, I found this article on the site and its copyright violations interesting.
Dr. Seuss’s birthday is coming up. How are you going to celebrate? Find some inspiration here. If you’re up to it, you could try out the Lorax cake pops featured on Bakerella this week.
I hope you enjoy your weekend. My hubby is heading to a conference, and the kiddos and I are going to clean some baby items out of the attic and prep for my little guy’s birthday, which is coming up soon. I am also going to wrap up a couple of newsletter articles and a full-length feature during my little ones’ naps and after bedtime. What is on your agenda?
Batman + Phonics = Fun
My little guy is in love with the Batman Phonics Fun box set of books. It is awesome! Each book outlines a different sound and highlights the words in the book that use that sound.
Plus, it combines easy-to-read words and superheroes. Yeah! That short ‘a’ sound is so much more fun when it is in the word Batman and don’t even get me started on the long ‘o’ in Joker. Evan gets so excited when he hears the featured vowel sound and he always shouts, “I heard it!” We have had to stop reading the books at bedtime because he gets so into it.
Evan is also learning to recognize words in the books. I love that he is learning to read simply from having fun with the books he likes. As both an avid reader and a writer, I want my kids to associate reading with something that’s enjoyable. That’s what its all about, isn’t it?
Five Tips for Traveling Without Kids
Tomorrow my friend Sarah heads off to the blogging conference BlissDom child free. Last year I had my first opportunity in four years to travel sans kids, so I thought I’d share a few of the things I learned with Sarah and any other mommas who are heading off without their kiddos this week.
1) When you step onto an elevator, you don’t have to ask in a high-pitched voice, “Who wants to push the button?!?”
2) Going to the restroom will be faster and easier than you could ever imagine. That is especially true if you have ever tried to fit yourself, an infant and a toddler into an airplane lavatory. Enjoy it!
3) While flipping through the channels at night, you might catch yourself stopping on Sesame Street, Super Why or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. You do not have to watch. Quickly move on to something more worthwhile, i.e. Law and Order, Ellen or Chelsea Lately.
4) Food tastes totally different when its hot—in a good way. Savor every bite, but don’t get too used to it.
5) Taking off in an airplane is loads more fun when you have a wide-eyed toddler sitting on your lap (I mean that). In honor of your little ones (and Orville and Wilbur Wright), take a moment to soak in the wonder of taking flight. Then ask the flight attendant for a pair of wings or two for you to take home for your kiddos.
While I’ve never been to a blogging conference, I am a big fan of writing conferences. I know I always come away inspired and bursting with new ideas. I’m also a fan of spending a day or two away from your little ones. You’ll realize how much you miss them and appreciate those sweet hugs and kisses even more.
To all of you who are off on an exciting adventure this week, enjoy!
The Joy of Blogging
My blogging-turned-real-life friend Sarah wrote a post several weeks ago about the role blogging plays in her life. It made me think about my own reasons for blogging. When I first joined the blogosphere, it was simply because I wanted to write. I liked telling stories about my work and my kids and used my blog as a way to share ideas and keep in touch with real-world and internet friends.
Then I went to writing conferences and read articles that said writers should blog, need to blog to build a platform. I went from wanting to write to feeling overwhelmed by what others might expect to see in this space. Somewhere in there, I lost sight of my blogging goal: To build a little community where I can connect with, learn from and laugh with others. I also hope to share some things that work for me and maybe (just maybe) inspire others along the way.
I recently wrote a keynote speech for a client. In the speech, he wanted to relay a story he read about why animal trainers rely on stools to tame lions. When a trainer enters a lion’s cage with the four legs of a stool pointing towards the lion’s face, the lion tries to focus on all four legs at once. It can’t and a kind of paralysis overwhelms it. The lion becomes tame and weak because its attention is fragmented.
In worrying about what others expected to see in this space, my attention became fragmented. More often than not, posting became something I felt like I should do and I worried I wasn’t doing it right. But it has become fun again. I am going to continue blogging about freelancing and my kiddos because that is my little world right now, but I’m going to worry less about the ratio of writing posts to family posts and focus more on the joy I get from being a part of the blogosphere. I hope you’ll continue to come along on the journey!
Gaining Control
The freelance life comes with uncertainties. I can’t always predict how much work I’ll have or when, clients’ needs may change, last-minute projects arise and sources may be hard to line up.
The very nature of this lifestyle means I lack a certain amount of control. I don’t mind the ebbs and flows that come with freelancing, but there are a few things that help me maintain my sanity. Here are four ways to help keep (or gain) control as freelancer.
1. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can get done today. When you have a deadline that is six weeks away, it might be tempting to put off interviews for a few more weeks. But I’ve found that you never know what might happen. A great project with a pressing deadline may come your way or you might come down with the flu. The freelance lifestyle doesn’t come with sick days or anyone else to pick up the slack, so it is important to stay on top of things. That means you should line up those interviews and start researching stories as soon as you get the assignment, even if you have to flip over the calendar to write down the deadline.
The same holds true with family to-dos. Evan’s birthday party is still a few weeks away, but his fully assembled goody bags and paper goods have been sitting in my guest closet for well over a month now. I took care of it when I had some spare time and I am so happy I did because the last few weeks have been crazy for me. In addition to a busy work schedule, I’ve had sick kids that have needed some extra love and care. It is nice to know I have one less thing on my to-do list.
2. Utilize lists. And speaking of to-do lists, I really do use pen and paper to make them. My to-do lists seem less overwhelming when I actually take the time to write them down instead of stressing about them in my mind. More often than not, seeing my to-dos in black and white brings a sense of relief and let’s me focus on the most important items first. Plus I feel oh-so-good when I can start checking things off of those lists.
3. Keep projects front and center. Right now I have a handful of primary clients. To stay organized, I have clipboards for three of my clients that hang above my desk. Each clipboard holds information about my latest assignment, the deadline, sources and the status of those I’ve talked to. I love having an at-a-glance overview of my assignments. For my other clients, I have file folders with key project information. I find a certain amount of comfort in having hard copies of assignments and research at my fingertips.
4. Determine how long you think a project should take and try to stick to the schedule. I try to determine how much time I should spend on a project based on a) how long it will take to produce the results I want and b) what my rate is. Once I get that number, I try to be as efficient as possible to come in on target. It really helps cut out the amount of time I spend surfing the web or completing other non-work tasks during work time.
That’s what works for me, but I’d love to learn from you. What tips do you have on maintaining control of your life?
Image by Gary Mcinnes courtesy of Stock Exchange.