My faithful readers know I keep singing the praises of Twitter and all the wonderful, resourceful Mompreneurs and Mommy Bloggers that I’ve met through that new Social Media phenomena. I’ve also made some terrific contacts through the other social networking sites I belong to.

Dara Blaker, President of Helpful Hallie’s has contacted me to review a new product called Mighty Miracle Mist.

When my youngest daughter was a toddler, her bedroom was over the garage. We live in an old New England town, and our house has quite a bit of … character. Each night in order to get Pumpkin to get to sleep, we had to spray the half closets with “closet monster spray.” I guess we were ahead of the curve ~ even then!

Mighty Miracle Mist takes that thought one step further, and improves on it by offering a product that:

…[P]uts the principal of redirection into action. Redirection means, “to send in a new direction or course.” When working with children, instead of always saying “No” or “Don’t Do That or offering a threat of punishment, children are given an instruction in order to change their behavior pattern.

Children can be positively redirected to behave appropriately using Mighty Miracle Mist.

I received four 2-oz. Spray bottles entitled “Good Thinking & Pay Attention; Good Night; Cooperation & Sharing and; Kind Voice & Good Manners.”

Each bottle has a different color identifier, adorned with a cute Teddy Bear.

Ingredients are identified as: Purified Water, Safe and Non-Toxic Plastic Confetti. One can see the plastic confetti in the bottle which makes it look attractive.  Instructions caution to “spray the air, not the child” to reinforce the expected behavior.  However, once sprayed in the air, we weren’t able to see the confetti, but mentioned it was like “fairy dust, and magical.”

The product is recommended for children ages 3-6.

Made in the U.S.A.

The product is useful for for parents, teachers, homeschooling and caregivers ~ as a Grandmom, that means me too!

Visit http://www.mightymiraclemist.com for more information.

Moomettesgram’s Musings is hosting a Giveaway Contest!  For a chance to win Mighty Miracle Mist:

Leave a Comment on this post after visiting http://www.mightymiraclemist.com and let me know why you’d like to win Mighty Miracle Mist.

Now for extra entries (each task will get you 1 extra entry):
~Subscribe to my blog through my feedburner link (on the top of my left column)
~Add my button to your sidebar or add me to your blog roll.
~Blog about the contest on your blog, linking back to my blog and the post.
~Go favorite or fan me on Technorati, Digg, or Stumble  (the link is on my left column if you scroll down) or both.

~Tweet about this contest.

Make sure you comment separately for each task after the required entry task so you will get credit for each one ~ and leave your e-mail where you can be contacted.

This contest will run until November 26 at approximately 11:00 pm.  Winners to be chosen at random. US & Canada Residents only.

Awhile back when I first started I opened a Facebook account for public relation purposes to promote my eBay store, blogs, virtual assistant business as well as Shoppes.  I’d heard that it was advantageous to use for PR and social networking purposes.

It took me quite some time to put together a page, understand the mechanics of how it worked; join groups and make friends.  However, I didn’t visit it very often.  When I did log on one day I found my account was disabled.  At that point I was so exasperated, I decided not to bother with it any longer.  Apparently what happens is if one doesn’t log into their Facebook account often enough, it will become disabled.

However, the more I networked online, dropped Entrecards and saw that many of my Twitter friends were on Facbook, I decided to create another account.

Commentary now shows that President-Elect Obama ran a successful campaign by using Facbook.

We hear about people creating Facebook pages and that someone found someone else on Facebook. But what exactly is Facebook all about and does it have any benefits for us?

Read on to find out about Facebook and if it indeed does something more than enhance your social life.

Facebook is one of the top ten Web 2.0 applications and social networking sites in the world. Started as a social experiment, Facebook was originally designed as a way for friends to keep in touch and create interesting profiles and pages for others to look at.

Many kids and college students latched on to Facebook. My two daughters are constantly on FB, keeping up with their friends from high school and college.  Members can upload pictures, leave messages on the profiles of others, and search for friends who have profiles. The problem with Facebook was the type of information people were uploading. College students uploading inappropriate videos at wild parties and such have caught on virally. This spoke to the poor judgment of the students as those videos would still be around when they grew out of the drinking phase and realized that it was no longer the “cool” thing to do.

Facebook is not just for the young teenagers and college students however. It is also a networking tool for business owners. It’s a great way to connect with other business owners and targeted potential customers. A plus for new businesses is that becoming a Facebook member is free. Every registered member gets a home page where they can then create a profile and add applications to their page for friends and other trusted users they designate to use.

If you work at home or are a WAHM or entrepreneur, you can use your Facebook profile to tell others all about yourself. Many times, businesses never really have a chance for potential clients to learn more about the person or people who run the business. More focus is put on advertising, growing the business and promoting its products or services. With a social networking page on social sites like Facebook, customers and other business associates get a chance to find out about the person behind the business.

Anyone can join or create a group on Facebook. These groups bring together like minded people according to business, personal, or other social factors. Groups talk to one another; share business tips and create a useful connection in many different ways.

Businesses use Facebook pages to showcase products or give customers a place to ask questions and record comments about the products they have used. They can talk to each other and compare notes. Big businesses with famous brand names use Facebook to gain insights into consumer trends.  As an example, the RSS feed from my blogs postings, Twitter account and eBay store is uploaded right to my Facebook page.

Facebook can be useful for communities trying to create a closer knit group of families. Homeschooling parents can create a network of support for each other and their kids. Facebook has a variety of uses both for business and personal reasons. So, now that you know more concerning Facebook, what will your page be about?

If you have an existing page, or will be creating a new page, don’t forget to friend request me here!

Mommy Ranks is new and improved ~ come see the new face lift!

If you’d like Free Advertising and see increased traffic to your blog, add your blog posts to Mommy Ranks.  It’s similar to Stumble Upon or Digg.

Mommy Ranks is described (from it’s About page) as:

…web application that allows you to submit an article that will be reviewed by all and will be promoted, based on popularity, to the main page. When a user submits a news article it will be placed in the “unpublished” area until it gains sufficient votes to be promoted to the main page.

You’ll even be able to create your own profile page.

If you do see any of my posts for Moomettesgram’s Musings, the screenshot is captured by Shrink The Web, and is picking up my Shoppes image rather than this blog image.  Hopefully that will be corrected.

Now who doesn’t like more exposure for their blog?  Visit at http://mommyranks.com

Long before I started both of my blogs,  opened my eBay Store and established my Virtual Assistant business,  my sister-in-law was a work-at-home mom.  Always marching to the tune of a different drummer, SIL completed her undergraduate degree in her 30s; then her Master’s, and became a self-employed Graphic Designer.

My sister-in-law’s graphic design business became very successful, and she worked virtually 24-hours a day, and well into the wee hours of the morning.  It was very common for family members and friends to feel it was OK to call her at any time, as she was “usually home.”  It wasn’t until I started working at home that I realized how important it was to convey the message to family and friends that “working at home” is actually just that…Work.  The setting may not be a traditional office setting, but nonetheless, one is still working.  Therefore, it’s important to keep in mind several factors to keep yourself focused rather than distracted.

No matter what type of online business you are in, or how you communicate, you will find there are a number of reasons that you will need to use a telephone. You may need to soothe clients who need to hear a real human voice or you might need to find a way to communicate with your colleagues that is more immediate than that of a simple e-mail or chat session. The problem is, however, that phone use, whether it is through a landline or through a cell phone, can cause you plenty of problems, especially if you let it get out of control.

For many of us, nothing is more simple or instinctive than calling someone up to chat. While we may want to keep it professional, there is a good chance that we will spend a lot longer on the phone than we thought we would, and before we know it, the day has sped by and our efficiency is shot. The work we intended (our intentions are always good in the beginning aren’t they?) to get done is being put off until later. Have you ever experienced this? This may be a sign that you need to think about your phone use and how it is affecting the bottom line in your business.

There are many tell tale signs that your phone calls are distracting you from your real work. One way to determine just how much affect phone usage has on the productivity of your business is to time your phone calls. How long are you spending on the phone? Keep in mind that when you get on the phone, you are breaking up your work. Once you finish the call and head back to the task at hand, time is also spent refocusing on what you were doing prior to the phone call. Put together all the time that is devoted to your phone calls during the course of the day, from getting the number, to talking on the phone, to getting back to work. The time that you spend “on the phone” just might surprise you.

Next, think about how often you actually take calls. Do you feel as though the number of calls that you are taking detracts from your ability to work, or do you feel as though it contributes? You may find that other phones ringing is enough to distract you, or that if the phone stays silent for too long that you get nervous or antsy. Any of these symptoms might be a sign that you need to form a plan to get out of this productivity killing dilemma.

All hope is not lost however, even if you live with your phone what seems like attached at your ear. In order to combat the time wasting telephone and start making your phone calls and in turn your other tasks productive for your business, try putting this practice into place.

Begin by setting up a rough call time limit based on your average call time. You will need to find out just how much time you spend on the phone using the steps mentioned above beforehand.
Next, make sure that you know what topics need to be discussed before you call anyone. This is an important way to make sure that your call is not out of control and lasting longer than it should. This step alone will make planning your time better and get more done during your work time.

Although it’s not always easy to determine when someone else will call, you can implement these same strategies for calls you receive. Screening calls will also help reduce or even diminish wasted talk time. Remember that your time is valuable and your business is important, so don’t let the telephone distract you anymore than you have to.

If you’re a work at home mom like me, you may also have struggled with finding reliable web hosting. Well, over the years (and many headaches later), I’ve come up with a checklist of essentials that your web host must have before you even consider working with them.

1. Excellent Reliability.
There is nothing more frustrating than finding out your website is down, and has been for hours. Although no time is a good time to have your site down, the timing can be just terrible. That sinking feeling when you’ve purchased advertising and you know the ad is about to be sent out and you go to your website for last minute touches and … it’s down.

That is not cool. That is not acceptable. You must make sure that the web host you select not only has good reliability, but superior reliability. This is your business on the line, not some hobby site. Treat it as such and get hosting that works for you when you need it. But, you can’t just trust a website that says they are reliable. Make sure they can prove it.

2. Superior Customer Support.
When you do need help, make sure that your hosting will provide it. One thing I recommend is to contact support to ask a simple question about the hosting, before buying. That will give you an idea of what the customer service is like before you make a commitment. Yes, customer service has a difficult job – making sure they do not confuse less-experienced customers, yet, at the same time, also making sure not to talk down to the geek types. However, you should never feel like you are a “bother” or that your question is not as important as anyone else’s.. or worse, dumb. You should find a web host with superior customer support.

3. The Stats You Need.
Several of the most popular hosts do not offer the web stats that every online business needs. You may not think that you need stats, but, how else are you going to know what is working – and what is not? You need stats that tell you where your visitors are coming from, how long they are staying, and which pages they are coming in and going from. Does your web host offer that? If they have a CPanel as their control panel, they do. Find a web host that uses a standard CPanel.

4. Affordable.
Why spend more if you don’t have to? When looking for a web host, price is always a factor. So, shop around and make sure that the web host you decide upon offers a great price.

5. Room to Grow.
The web host you choose should offer unlimited hosting. This means, that, if you add more websites to your package down the road, the price does not increase drastically for each one. Many online businesses start with one site and grow over time. Can your host grow with you?

6. Bandwidth and Disk Space.
Also, make sure that the host you choose is in the ballpark for bandwidth and disk space. Most programs offer approximately the same amount, but, especially if you plan to add a lot of audio or video, be sure to look into this, as well.

7. A History of Happy Customers.
New hosting companies are popping up daily. Some are being run by a couple of teenagers in their garage. Obviously, that’s not who I want to entrust my business to. Do you? I want to know that the company I’m choosing has been around a few years, and has a history of happy customers to show for it. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, and you shouldn’t either.

Those are the key features that any web host should offer before you consider doing business with them. Choosing a web host can be more important than any other decision you make in your online business – if you choose wrong. So, take the time and find a web host that will work with you, and help you to succeed.

Nicole Dean is co-owner of Mom Webs Hosting -  where you’ll find the host that offers everything a work at home mom needs – reliability, unlimited hosting, and customer service that never makes you feel intimidated — all at a price you can afford.

I’m lamenting that I started this week out with very good intentions, as I’m sure so many of us do.  I had the whole week planned for creating an upcoming Blogoversary Post, downsizing and offering sales at my Moomette’s Magnificents eBay store, and somewhat belated fall housecleaning.

However, family responsibilities and visiting family and grandkiddos seemed to take over and my good intentions got side-blinded.  Not to mention that I got a flu-shot, and appear to have come down with the blah’s from whatever illnesses are going around.  The perils of working at home!

There are many ways to manage time while working online. The computer, Internet, and various other types of activities that can be pursued while working may prove to be quite overwhelming when it comes to time restraints or deadlines. If your income is dependent upon the financial success that you achieve online, it is absolutely imperative that you take the time to ensure that you are maximizing each and every minute of your working time.

Productivity is an extremely important element to the overall success of an online business. In order to reach a high level of productivity, time management skills are a must for every home business owner. Here are five ways to help manage your time while working online in turn boosting your productivity and hopefully income.

One of the first methods you can implement to manage your time is reducing the amount of time spent on the telephone. One of the biggest time restraints that individuals experience are telephone calls. It is quite easy to experience a severe time lapse while working due to unexpected calls, long conversations, and even calls that are necessary for the overall functionality of your business.

One way to manage this aspect of your time is to turn off the ringer and purchase an answering machine or subscribe to voice mail. Then, you should set aside a time each day to check your messages and return calls as appropriate.

The next way that you can manage online work time is to avoid the act of constantly checking email. Just like the phone, this can take up a lot of your time. You should set aside small chunks of time on a daily basis where you can go through your email and respond when needed.

For the average eight hour work day, it’s recommended that you set aside up to four intervals of fifteen minutes a day to handle the task of dealing directly with email. While this may seem like an awful lot of time at first, you will find that it actually saves you time in the end.

Do you work at home? Do you have children or grandchildren? If so, you may consider setting up a schedule in a way that works well with the schedule of your partner. This way, your partner can contend with the kids and you can focus on your work instead of sitting down to work and getting interrupted after 5 or 10 minutes. If this is not possible, you may consider implementing the services of a babysitter, daycare or mommy’s helper a few days a week. This way, you aren’t neglecting your business or your family.

If you want to learn ways to manage your time while working online from home, it’s important to express to family members, friends, and neighbors that you work at certain times and it is important that you are able to maintain a sound level of productivity while working. Come up with times that these individuals may call you to chat or come by for a visit.

Although not always intentional, these friends and family will end up testing you initially and drop by and call anytime. However, if you let them know it is not acceptable and set up appropriate times for these activities, you will find yourself getting more accomplished during these times.

The last way for you to better manage your working time is to take breaks. Believe it or not! You may not believe that by taking a break you can actually increase your overall productivity, but it’s quite true! Why do you think employers allow their employees to take small breaks?

It allows the employee to experience a short time of relaxation and also provides them with the opportunity to refresh! You can experience this too, so be sure to work in those breaks and take them – you can always finish what you started when you get back!

Clearly, there are a number of ways to successfully manage your time while working at home online. Sometimes, all it takes is a little creativity and persistence to come up with successful time management techniques. Here’s to a better organized and more profitable online working environment.

It’s hard to believe, but even though I have one daughter who’s 21, I still get slipped little notes to “Santa” about what’s on her Christmas List. When she was little, I always used to save her lists and put them in her baby book. Its fun to drag out the baby books and reminisce every now and then.

If you haven’t started your holiday shopping yet and are looking for some neat stocking stuffers, Bella Sara is a trading card game that’s complimented by the magical online land of North of North ~ home to the beautiful horses pictured on Bella Sara trading cards. Bell Sara has captured the hearts of young girls across the country, offering positive, inspirational messages.

The Bella Sara family of horses is expanding as they welcome Baby Bella foals, complete with new trading cards featuring gall of the brand-new babies. On November 6th, the website is kicking off a 10-day celebration where kids can qualify for daily prizes, print of babies’ birth certificates, read stories, and get access to special codes and more.

Each card is approximately the size of a playing card, and features an inspiration quote and comes with a checklist.

Whether you’re looking for something unique for your own daughters, nieces or granddaughters, these cute cards are worth checking out!

Baby Bella Card Packs will retail for $2.99 each, and are available at major retail outlets, booksellers and toy, hobby and equestrian shops in North America.

For more information, visit http://www.bellasara.com

Now that we’re officially enjoying a gorgeous fall in Connecticut, one must keep in mind that we’re coming into the cold and flu season.

The crisp New England mornings, frost-on-the-pumpkin and sounds of the heating furnace reminds us that the windows are officially shuttered for the season. One of the things I like best about fall is that first smell of wood-burning stoves waifing through the air.

One of our family members is a fat, lazy, spoiled 11-year old house cat. Occasionally he tries to escape (why, I don’t know ~ he has it so good here.) He became a member of the household when my daughter, now 25, got straight-A’s in 8th grade. We previously had a purebred Black Lab that lived to be 12, and then we were fur-free for awhile. It soon became evident that darling daughter….might be allergic to cats.

I’m pleased to have the opportunity to review Clorox® Anywhere® Anti-Allergen Fabric Spray.

Clorox® Anywhere® Anti-Allergen Fabric Spray helps to reduce common indoor allergens such as cat dander, dog dander and dust mite matter up to 90 percent. This is important to our family since I now have two grandchildren whom I’m fortunate to see almost on a daily basis! Lil Moomette just turned 2, and Slugger, my new grandson, is 2 months old.

When darling daughter was younger she was the typical teenager ~ and we all know how most teenagers are always on the go, and we constantly have to remind them to pick up their rooms. My, how times change. After living away at college, she actually became a changed person! Not to mention that my Charming Son-In-Law has some wonderful qualities in the housekeeping department!

If the pacifer gets dropped on the carpet ~ it’s immediately boiled for 5 minutes!

Now I can use Clorox® Anywhere® Anti-Allergen Fabric Spray for any soft fabric surfaces around the home where indoor allergens can thrive: cushions; upholstered fabrics; curtains; carpets; bedding; stuffed animals and pet bedding. When used as directed, it’s safe to use on virtually all fabric surfaces, and gentle enough to use around the kids and pets ~ it’s dye and fragrance free. When sprayed there were no harsh fumes.

Clorox® Anywhere® Anti-Allergen Fabric Spray has a fine mist trigger that won’t leave behind any harmful residue on fabrics, which is great since ‘Lil Moomette climbs all over, and the kitty likes to get comfy in the winter.

Clorox® Anywhere® Anti-Allergen Fabric Spray retails for approximately $2.99 and is available in home care iaisles of major retailers, or online at www.clorox.com. For further information, you can also call 1-800-277-1860.

Reporting on my work-at-home experience, I can say I’ve finally become more comfortable using Twitter.  I’ve made many friends, developed a sizable following, and have received a Twitter Grade of 97 from Twitter Grader!

Micro-blogging is a good thing and using Twitter makes it even better. However, Twitter will never take the place of a blog. The bottom line is that Twitter is not a full fledge blog. It is simply a way for you to get your words out to the masses in a more expedient manner. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons Twitter will never replace a blog.

The number one reason why Twitter can never replace a blog is because you can only post up to 140 characters at any one time. There’s just no way to squeeze 1,000 words into such a small space. Not to mention, trying to send 7.14 tweets back to back, will not go over well with your followers. There is nothing like a person who tweets excessively. Doing so will cause you to lose followers and your goal with Twitter is to gain a friends not turn people away. You want Twitter to be tool that leads to your platform – your blog – the place where you share your story, product, or business.

Another reason why you can never replace your blog with simple tweets is because you just don’t have the same control to customize. Sure you can create a profile that says something about you but not the way you can with your blog. For example, here’s my About Me page where I go into detail about who I am, and why I blog. With a blog you can also customize the whole kit and caboodle. You can add tools, plug-ins, and even more networking opportunities through your blog.   I have links to the various forums and social networking sites I can be found participating on ~ Mom Bloggers Club, Twittermoms, Mom Masterminds, etc.  You can’t do all that with Twitter alone.

Then we have the website name issue. You can’t attach a domain to twitter. My domain is Moomettesgram’s Musings. I also try to use Moomettesgram as the moniker for all the forums in which I participate.

On Twitter you will always be www.twitter.com/whateveryournameis and that is it. Your username or extension is how people will recognize you on Twitter, but it’s not the same as a domain name for an entire website. In essence, Twitter owns your profile, not you.  But your domain name – now that’s all yours.

If you’re an affiliate marketer or belong to many of the wonderful websites that offer coaching resources, you want to talk about what you are promoting and, as was stated earlier, you only have 140 characters to say what you really want to say. That’s not as effective as a blog post or blog series that can send the message more effectively. That’s just one more reason Twitter can never replace a blog.

Don’t try to replace your own blog or website with twittering. Instead, learn to use Twitter as an effective tool that makes people want to learn more about you. Your blog is where you get down to the nitty-gritty and allow people to become more knowledgeable about your life, your product, service or whatever it is you are promoting.

Want to know what I’m doing?  Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/moomettesgram

I’m fortunate that I get to see my grandchildren almost every day. ‘Lil Moomette is at such a terrific age ~ her little mind soaks up everything like a sponge. What’s fun now is that she’s learning to express her creativity with crayons, coloring books and paper.

Fortunately, I have the opportunity to review the Aquadoodle Draw N’ Doodle Mat from Spin Master.

Aquadoodle Draw N’ Doodle Mat is no mess magic ~ the pictures children draw on the mat magically disappear without any mess to clean up (which usually, is left to Grandma.) With the Aquadoodle Draw N’ Doodle Mat, you just add water to the Aqua Pen and voila ~ watch as the kids have fun drawing pictures that magically appear on the doodle mat!

This unique toy inspires their young imaginations and artistic talents whether they kiddos are playing on their own, or with their friends.

The Draw ‘N Doodle is a large, soft, fabric mat that is great for either individual or group play. Additionally, it’s durable and re-usable ~ the fabric mat can be used over and over again for hours of no-mess magical fun ~ which is great for Grandma too!

What I particularly like about it is that it’s non-toxic, rolls up and is easy to store!

The Aquadoodle Draw N’ Doodle Mat is the perfect creative playtime activity to keep on hand for when the grandchildren come to visit, home schooling, travel, or as a gift for the upcoming holidays!

Age Range 2+ years.
Suggested Price: $24.99
Available at all leading toy retailers.