Showing posts with label work at home mom
Happy Spring everybody! Oh, how I’ve longed for this season to arrive. Truthfully, I long for spring to arrive every year because it is the season of renewal- from our gardens to our homes. This post was supposed to be part of my new series WAHM Tip Wedneday, but I decided to wait until spring, the season of renewal had arrived to share it!  We are all ready to open up the windows, chase some dust bunnies, do some gardening and welcome in this beautiful season. Before we do that, why not take a day or two right now when spring is fresh and brand new to refresh our soul? 


Spring Soul Refresh #wahm #blogger #selfcare

Welcome to WAHM Tip Wednesday

in , , , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Hello and happy fourth Wednesday of January!  If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know I normally like to post a Wordless Wednesday post featuring some of my nature pics like last week’s post here. I’ve done that for years and honestly, it’s high time I shook things up here on My WAHM Plan, so once a month I'm going to share a WAHM Tip!

 I want to offer helpful content for busy work at home Moms (or Moms who would like to be), so I brainstormed ideas and one kept rising to the top. Go back to basics of this blog and start sharing work at home tips  I've learned in my almost 19 year’s experience as a WAHM. I feel this year is the perfect time to start sharing my knowledge with more and more Moms look for ways to add additional income.

New Blog Series: WAHM Tip Wednesday



WAHM planner


Busy. Our teens are busy kids! Which usually means parents are busy with our teens activities too. For instance, both my daughters are in choir and both enjoy doing theater when their schedules allow it. Both girls are involved in clubs, fundraisers, attending school related events (football games, etc.),  so free time during the week to just sit and chat is hard to come by. Today, I’m sharing three easy ways I’ve found I can still feel connected with my teens during the busy times.



Books and CD's help you connect with your teens



1. Read their books:

Young Adult, or YA books, are written with your 15+ teen in mind, but don’t let that stop you from reading them! Some of THE best books I’ve read this year came directly from my teen daughter. When you see your teen engrossed in a book, take notice. Better yet, ask if you can read it when they are done,  and then talk with them about the plot and characters as you read.  

Not sure where to start? Popular picks are: The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, The Selection series by Kiera Cass- (start my daughter’s reviews here). The much anticipated Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and two by J.K. Rowling and our personal pick and hands-down favorite , The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.




teens and earbuds, this is what they do!



2. Listen to their music:

Most parents know this time all too well: You’re in the car with your teen, taking them to their after-school activity again.  They make small talk with you for five minutes, and then in go the ear buds and you’ve been tuned out. The same thing can happen when you take them out to eat. 

Keep the conversation and the fun going by inviting them to keep some of their Cd's in the car, then pop one in while you are driving them to their destination. Once you get to your destination, if you see those ear buds come out again, ask them who they are listening too. 

The point is to engage and connect in their world often!  Some of the best and funniest conversations I’ve had with my girls is talking about the lyrics to some of their favorite songs. Our top pick right now is “25” by Adele, followed closely by "Blurry face" by 21 Pilots. 




my teen helping me with work photos for a brand



3. Include them in your work:

I have the privilege of working from home. Both my businesses- blogging and Avon are businesses I work mainly from home, so my teens have gotten used to seeing me work on a daily basis. I’m inviting them in and keeping this part of my day open to connecting possibilities. They respect what I do and actually look for ways to help me.

Teens are plugged in to what’s in, what’s trendy and relevant to them which is invaluable to anyone in a marketing field. Which is why my oldest daughter didn’t mind helping me with a recent photo shoot at Toys “R” Us for a brand I was working with.

Asking your teen for their opinion on a related topic to your industry can be a great way to connect with them as well.  My teens know it's not all fun and lip gloss in my businesses because they see me doing the back office work too. We bounce ideas off each other often and they have opened up my eyes to a newer, fresher way of seeing the world. Why not show your teens what you so all day as well? Bring home an assignment to work on after dinner and ask them to check it out. 


There you have it! Three easy ways to stay connected with your teens. Try one or all three over the next week and you may see your teens in a whole new way, you may even score some cool parents points!


Please share in comments: How do you connect with your teen?  Do you use one or more of my strategies? 

Don't Copy Me

in , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Tuesday, September 13, 2011



As I sat down to my laptop this morning, I had every intention of finishing up the post I'd been working on over the weekend. After visiting so many wonderful blogs over the last few weeks ( many of whom stopped by here first, thank you), I decided that I needed to post here more often AND that it was perfectly okay for me to talk more about family stuff to boot! Afterall, I am a work at home Mom; home is in my title.
So, I was writing a piece all heartwarming and domestic-ey, when I decided to take a break and see how my lil' blog that could was doing this fine morning.

Imagine my surprise when I saw that I've had a boat load of visitors this morning, but only a handful were reading my latest post ( yes, I was looking at my stats) and there were no new comments... so super sleuth that I am followed the yellow brick road of clicks to this post: http://mywahmplan.blogspot.com/2011/07/honey-nut-cheerios-freebie.html

Okay people, there could only be a couple of reasons you are visiting this old post. And I have a sneaking suspicion that getting the freebie wasn't the lure. IF you are doing a review for this brand or IF you are offering this Freebie too, kindly do your own leg work, find your own pictures ( like I did) and write your own review. Don't copy me. Thank you!

Thanks to Miranda over at Moms Book Shelf for having a Copyright Free button on her blog.
I've placed one on my blog now, so I feel somewhat protected.

I'd love to hear from you on this topic. Has your work been used without your knowledge or consent?


As of this morning, my kids have been back at school 3 and one half days.  So far all is going well.  I will stop here and do something necessary and deserved: I will pat myself on the back and proclaim to all who can hear me (the cat) “Way to go Linda”, you’ve got this new schedule down!”

Okay, enough of that, back to reality where I pray most sincerely that we all can keep up the pace needed this year to ensure everybody gets to where they need to be every morning in a calm and orderly fashion.  On  time.  With all supplies needed for the day present and accounted for.  Amen.

All women, especially Moms juggle all day every day; this is a simple fact of life. As a work at home Mom,   I pride myself on my planning and time management skills, but as the title of this post suggests: middle school changes everything!

 Ms. T is in 7th grade this year with a new start time, bus route; dismiss time, dress code, etc. Everything changed because of the dreaded re-zoning that took place last spring. Our small community fought long and hard with the powers that be to stay at our nice K through 8 school, but change came anyway.

So, I do what I always try to do: I find the good in the situation! And, thankfully there is a lot of good to be found at our new schools.

Still, I have to say, the earliness in which we all must get up now is hard to get used to! Even with planning and practicing the new schedule 2 weeks prior to school starting, we all are dragging our collective behinds by 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. ( depending on the age of the draggy)!  

Ms. T’s alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m. She immediately wakes up, turns it off and quietly comes in to see if I’m awake.  I’m smiling as I type this because my girl shows such responsibility and love in doing this. No sooner have we whispered our Good Mornings, than our alarm goes off. Hubby promptly says “ Babe” and hits the snooze.  Then I’m up and at’em with my first born.   Just my first born.

  This has been the gift in all of this. I get alone time with each girl every morning!!

 Ms. T and I talk in hushed voices for those precious 15 to 20 minutes we get every morning before hubby gets up and out of the shower. Her bus comes so early now, that her little sister is just getting up when Ms. T is getting on the bus. They don’t see each other until after school.

 Meanwhile, I’m packing  lunches , making breakfasts, feeding cats,  hugging, laughing, chatting with hubby and  Ms. M.   Simple, family “stuff” that I’m privileged to be able to do as a work at home Mom. I have several working Mom friends and I know their mornings don’t look or feel like this. 

Then, around 7:15 a.m., after hubby has left for his day,  the house gets quite again, and it’s just Ms. M and I.

 I get to spend quality time with her now.  With each daughter getting her own time and space there is no more crazy rush for the bathroom at the same time, no squabbling  putting on shoes or  bonking heads to grab backpacks at the same time, no more sibling interaction equals no more sibling grumpiness in the morning!

 Ah, blissful mornings, full of peace and happy thoughts and hugs all around!  I am blessed and thankful. And to think, I actually fought against this re-zoning! Silly Me.

Do you have school aged kids at home? If so, what time do you get up? Are you a working Woman? What time do you greet the day?



Being Big Bird

in , , , , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Do you remember watching Sesame Street as a kid? How about with your kiddies? Yes and Yes x 2 for me. One of my favorite characters is Big Bird.  For my first born, it was Elmo all the way; she only gave a brief nod to the sage wisdom that is Big Bird, but for my youngest; Big Bird was THE One!

 Maybe it's because he's Yellow and that is her favorite color, or maybe it's because my youngest appreciated that Big Bird wasn’t a know it all and was often asking questions because, "Asking questions is a good way of finding things out!"

Kids are really good about this, at least mine are. They ask me and my hubby questions all the time! So you Moms out there with 3 and 4 year olds thinking there might be an end to the non-stop Q & A, I say maybe not and that is a good thing! Feed their brains with your knowledge and truth first before the world tries to take over.
 So, why am I talking Big Bird this morning? Because I wanted to share an amazing tool with you, one that we all possess but may be underutilizing: the Art Of The Question and the often forgotten art of waiting for an answer.   Ask, listen. Repeat.  Small Talk.
 I have been offered 2 jobs in the last month and I am not even looking for work outside the home! I attribute these offers to my openness and my:  ask, listen, repeat way of interacting with others.
The first offer happened just as I entered the office at my daughter's school, signed the parent visitor log and was greeting the office staff.  I've been chatting with most of these ladies for the better part of 4 years, so when the main secretary asked me how I was, I replied  " great"   and then I stopped what I was doing, looked her in the eye and asked her how she was AND I waited for a response. I was open and in the moment, not three minutes down the hall in my mind and that's when she asked, Linda, would you want to substitute for us this morning?
 Just like that. A job I'd never even thought about doing was presented to me. I was so caught off guard that I told her I'd have to think about it. All the office staff chimed in assuring me they would help, they would make sure I had a trained aid in the class, etc.  I was honored and frightened and happy by turns. I left the office to go to my daughters classroom, telling these nice ladies I would think about it and let them know ASAP.
I told my oldest daughter about it and she said " Go For It", as did her teacher, who said I would be so good as a substitute because I have such positive energy. That had me smiling!
 I happened to run into my youngest daughter on the way back to the office and she was so excited about her Mommy being a sub that I was seriously considering it!
But I had questions, several questions in fact, just like Big Bird.  As soon as I walked back into the office, the secretary asked, Linda can you do it?   All eyes were on me as I asked my most important questions: What about a background check? Don't I need to be cleared by central office before I can sub?
Aha! They hadn't thought of that! They looked at one another and the secretary said " we thought you had already done all that and were cleared to sub, You'd be perfect for it".  Well, what do you know? They think I'd be perfect sub material, cool.
 I left the school with central office contact information, but more importantly I left with a new sense of self because these nice ladies had revealed a facet I didn't know was there. Not only did they think I was qualified to be a substitute teacher, they thought I'd be a good one!

My second job offer came Saturday at Sam's Club.  Did you know the sample ladies and gents don't actually work for Sam's Club but are sub-contractors? I know this because I ask questions and chat with these nice people who give me free food.  Well, I was standing there chatting with the lady who had just given me a sample of an herbal drink ( think super sweet green tea) when I noticed her name tag looked different from the other sample ladies that day, so I asked her what company she was with.
 I was just making small talk as I waited for my hubby to come back around the aisle. The next thing I know I'm being offered a job! Just like that. I asked a question, looked this lady in the eye showing a genuine interest in her and voila!,  I was being told all about the position, the pay, the flexible hours etc. Well, who knew?  I can be a sample lady and make more money than the Sam's Club hourly employees do.  I thanked this nice lady, assuring her I would think it over but I wasn't really looking for a job.  But hey, this WAHM is thinking it sure is nice to know I am employable should my needs change!
  Interesting. Big Bird is right! Asking questions is a good way of finding things out! It may also land you a job, so if you are looking for work outside the home, get out there and start chatting and asking questions. You never know who may be hiring. Don’t discount yourself or overlook a potential position just because you hadn’t thought of it.  You never know until you ask, listen, repeat.  Good luck!
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