Tips For Buying Childrens School Shoes: Back to School Shopping –

School Days

Back to School Shopping – Childrens School Shoes

One of my designated duties as a grandmom is to pick up the grandkids after daycare I’m grateful that I get to seem them on a daily basis.  My charming son-in-law is from Vermont, so the grandkids don’t get to see his parents as frequently.

My own mother-in-law lived just around the block from us, and was over visiting everyday, so my girls, ages 22 and 26, were fortunate that they got to visit with their grandmom often.

One of my fondest memories is that from the time the girls were little, Gram always would take them out for back-to-school shopping and buy a pair of shoes for school each year.  Gram didn’t like to see the little ones go barefoot at all.  We all know how quickly kids feet grow – the average pair of shoes lasts about three months.

Well, now the “shoe is on the other foot” and my husband and I are the ones buying shoes for the grandkids.  It makes us feel good to be helping out my daughter and her husband, and my daughter has fond memories of her gram doing the same thing for her.

If you’re a mom or grandmom looking for some parenting advice on baby’s first pair of shoes, Start-Rite just launched a new social community. It has some really neat articles about what to look for in first shoes, walking, along with videos on how to measure a child’s foot for a proper fit.

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Secret To Getting Kids To Respect Your WAHM Office Time

Disciplining yourself when working from home is difficult enough without the added responsibility of caring for young children.  Add into the equation distraction from neighbors, routine household chores and extra-sensory stimulation (read, just your day-to-day usual household excessive decibel level noise) and you get the picture.  The most challenging of the above is how to deal with getting your progeny to respect your office time.  Here’s a few secrets:

1. Establish a Work Schedule. Often it helps to establish a schedule that works well for you and your family.  Before you begin your workday, first spend quality time with the kids.  They’ll be more willing to entertain themselves for awhile after they feel they were listened to and their immediate needs were met.

2.  Choose Your Work Location Carefully. If you have the option, exercise care in where you choose to set up your office space.  Choose an area you can close the door if your children will need to be under supervision.  If that’s not a workable option, use a screen to set up a designated work area to signify that the area is your “private space.”

3.  Establish Boundaries. Hold a family conference to let them know that this is your job and that is how Mom or Grandmom makes money.  Explain that it isn’t a hobby, and that they need to understand that this is how you make money for their clothing, food, toys, gifts and keeping the utilities on.  Your spouse or significant other must also be understanding in order to offer support in keeping the kiddos occupied when they’re home and you’re working.

4.  Dress for Success. Maintaining a professional demeanor and attitude while you’re working is important and your children will notice the difference.  They’ll be able to recognize the “working mommy” versus the “at-home mommy” mode.  Be consistent and eliminate confusion by avoiding chatting on the telephone in a conversational tone that they’ll recognize as your “at-home” mommy voice when you’ve told them you’re working.  Oftentimes it helps to dress up in casual office attire when planning your work-at-home schedule.

5. Create A Signal System. If a responsible sitter or adult is home to watch the kids, it always helps to develop a signal system to let others know you’re working.  One possibility is to hang a cute sign clock with movable hands on your closed door or screened-in area set to the time when you’ll be available again.  Have the kids make one for you!

6.  Eliminate Distractions. Background noise such as workers or animals can frequently become a distraction or source of procrastination and can easily be remedied by using a noise-canceling headset.  Using this will also signal to the kids to respect your privacy and need for quiet time.

7.  Keep The Kids Occupied. As a Grandmom I know full well that children have short attention spans so in order to let them know you have to work, head the kids off at the pass.  Set up a project for them to do so you can be busy together.  They can work independently while you work at home on your blog post, virtual assistant project or ecommerce site.  Keeping the kids occupied will allow you to catch up on writing more articles for e-How.

Undoubtedly it’s sometimes hard to get any work accomplished at home with the kids under foot, but it can be done.  Remember, pay attention to them first while explaining to them in their own language that everyone has a “job” and theirs is to let you do your “job.”

Photo Credit: Mom & Kids StockXpert

Related Reading:

5 Ways to Manage Your Time While Working at Home Online

Learn How To Recognize Your Procrastination Triggers When Working At Home

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Why You Should Use Social Bookmarking as a Business Tool For Your Blog

Whether you’ve been following my journal on becoming a WAHM Baby Boomer all along, or are new to blogging, there’s always something new to learn about online business strategies.  The Web 2.0 field is evolving constantly, and there are many things you should be aware of.

Along with social networking sites, there are now a number of social bookmarking sites on the Internet. While social networking sites build upon relationships between members social bookmarking sites create connections through the types of content generated by members. It is these connections that make social bookmarking such an effective business tool for Internet entrepreneurs especially.

Maybe you have read a blog post or article on someone’s website. At the end of each of my articles or blog posts, you’ll see that I have a host of different words that will enable you to favor the article to different sites.  Run your cursor over them and names like Technorati, Digg, Furl, and Delicious pop up.  Some blogs have characters that represent the same social bookmarking sites.  What are these characters and what do the names mean?

These are links to social bookmarking sites. Social bookmarking is much like what you would do with an actual bookmark. Physical bookmarks are used to mark a page or a passage that you want to find again at some point. This goes for social bookmarking icons as well. If someone wants to find that particular article again or let others know about it, they can bookmark the address on a site and mark it with keywords for future reference.

Not all social bookmarking sites are the same. The principle is the same across the board, but some social bookmarking sites specialize in different media.

Squidoo specializes in creating lenses that showcase an area of expertise of the lens owner. On my right sidebar, you’ll see that I’m a Squidoo Lensmaster and have created many different Squidoo Lenses in my areas of expertise.

Flickr concentrates on photos, and many of the photography blog authors that I visit will upload their photos to that site.  Some bookmarking sites deal with movie or music reviews in contrast.

Before choosing a bookmarking site, find one that caters to the content or type of business that you conduct. That will draw the most traffic to your business. If there is more than one, then join all that apply. One thing to remember is to create content that people will be interested in and use to track back to your business website. Remember that your site readers will mark your pages and posts on these sites because they find them informative and useful and think others will too.

Through quality content, a business owner can easily create a nice following of readers and possibly higher search engine rankings with the use of social bookmarking sites. For the purpose of content, look around the more popular bookmarking sites and see what others are viewing and find interesting and useful. That is the type of content you want to focus on with your websites. Investigating the more popular social bookmarking sites will make it easy to track down competitors and find out what your target market deems as useful information. Using these bookmarking sites will increase the visibility of your content and make it easier to market to your specific target customer or reader.

You’ll also be able to see that I’ve added on my right and left sidebars links to various blog directories.

Social bookmarking is a simple, but effective way to bring traffic to a business website. Add bookmarking icons to your blog or website to help increase the chances of someone adding it to their favorite list of content.

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Steps to Prepare Your Older Child for the Birth of a Sibling

Many of you are aware that the birth of Slugger, my No-Name-Yet-Until-It’s-Time-To-Fill-Out-The-Birth-Certificate grandson is drawing closer. I’ll be blogging about a birth announcement soon! My 21 mo. old granddaughter, ‘Lil Moomette, is certainly going to be in for a rude awakening. Up until now, she’s been everyone’s darling, and enjoys being the center of attention. Slugger is going to be the first grandson for Charming Son-In-Law’s parents.

Charming Son-In-Law is a twin, and originally from Vermont. However, CSIL and the “Bonus” son-in-law have both moved away from Vermont, much to the consternation of their Dad. So when Slugger pays his first visit to the Green Mountain State to visit his grandparents, I’m sure he’s going to get a good, hearty, Yankee welcome!

Here’s an article that I’m recommending to my DD to ease the transition for ‘Lil Moomette. You can find other valuable information like this at Moms United in Business. Join Today!

Preparing Your Older Child for the Birth of a Sibling
By Jennifer Rogers, Founder and Owner Moms United in Business, LLC

One of my biggest concerns while pregnant with my second baby was how to prepare my nine year old daughter for the birth of her sister. She had been my one and only for so long. I wanted her to feel a part of the whole experience and not feel abandoned or replaced.

I set out on a mission. I was determined to find out how I could prepare her for life with a baby sister. I searched for any information that could help me make this transition easier for both my first born and for the family as a whole. I was disappointed to find that most books and articles focused more on younger children who were closer together in age.

I was on my own. However, by taking the following steps I was able to help my oldest daughter made the transition more smoothly. She has taken an active interest in her new sister without resentment or extreme jealousy.

Steps to Prepare Your Older Child for the Birth of a Sibling

1. From the very beginning talk with your child about the upcoming birth. Initiate conversations often, answering questions and concerns honestly. Allow your child to express his or her feelings without judgment.

2. Allow your child to attend at least one doctor’s appointment. By hearing the baby’s heartbeat or seeing the baby on the ultrasound monitor your older child will feel a part of the experience and the baby will become more of a reality to him or her.

3. Make the most of the time you have left. Is there a special place you have been meaning to go? A favorite activity your child enjoys? Go to the library, a local museum, the park or a movie. Play a game together. Bake some homemade cookies. It does not matter what you do, it is the time you spend together one on one that counts. It is equally important to continue these activities after the new baby’s birth.

4. Write a love letter to your child and mail it. Children love getting their own mail! Be specific. Let your child know why you love them, what makes him or her so special. Praise any recent accomplishments, such as a good grade on a spelling test, or hitting a home run at a ballgame. Leaving random notes in lunch boxes and around the house are another sure way to make your child feel special.

5. Take a stroll down memory lane. Pull out photo albums, videos, scrapbooks and any other mementos you may have from your child’s babyhood.

6. When decorating your baby’s nursery, make some changes to your older child’s room as well. It could be anything from rearranging the furniture, adding some new posters or pictures on the wall, to redoing the room all together.

7. If you have a baby shower, have a couple of gifts for your older child to open. My daughter loved the “Big Sister” t-shirt she received and could not wait to put it on. Do not forget to keep a gift for him or her to open on the baby’s “birth” day as well.

8. Do not cancel. If your child is involved in sports, extracurricular activities or if there is a special event coming up, enlist the help of others. This is especially important once the baby arrives. Keep your older child’s schedule as normal as possible and make his or her activities a priority, even if you are unavailable.

9. Make holidays extra special during your pregnancy. This will be the last holidays you celebrate with your firstborn. Make homemade cookies and Christmas ornaments. Attend holiday programs together in your community. Go caroling. Go on a picnic to celebrate Independence Day. Attend an Easter Egg Hunt. Do something, anything, you and your child have never done before. In the process you will make memories that last a lifetime.

10. If you have a blended family, have your first born spend one on one time with his or her step parent. My oldest daughter was upset that the baby was going to live with both her mom and dad. Be sure to address these issues from the beginning. She was also afraid that that her step dad would love the new baby more. By spending quality time with her step dad she was assured of his love for her and that she was not being replaced by his “real” child. Again, this is especially important after your baby’s birth.

Preparing your older child for the birth of a sibling will not only benefit him or her, but will also help make the transition smoother for the entire family. This is a new experience for both of you, and there will be many challenges along the way. Be patient with yourself and your child. It may take time, but before you know it your child will be an eager participant in caring for the new baby!

Jennifer Rogers is the Founder and Owner of Moms United in Business, LLC. MUIB is an organization dedicated to supporting you as a Mom and Business Professional. To learn more about MUIB visit www.MomsUnitedInBusiness.com.
Article Source: MUIB Article Directory, http://muib-article-directory.blogspot.com
Sponsored By: Moms United in Business, http://www.momsunitedinbusiness.com

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‘Contest! Prize Package worth OVER $2000.00′ ~ Mom’s United in Business

‘Contest! Prize Package worth OVER $2000.00′ ~ Mom’s United in Business

Mom’s United in Business is holding a contest!

Contest Deadline: Friday August 15, 2008 11:59pm EST
Winner will be chosen via random drawing and announced Monday August 18, 2008

Prizes have been generously donated by members of Moms United in Business.

The super Prize Package is worth over $2,000.00 !

We are not merely a business community, promoting women and their businesses. We are an organization of motivated and energetic women offering inspiration and support not only as a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and/or friend, but as a woman in your own right!

We believe that by following our own dreams, listening to the whispers of our hearts and by nurturing ourselves we are then able to give more abundantly to our families and our businesses.

We are dedicated to supporting you as both a Mom and a Business Professional. As we all know, the key to a successful business is networking and to a successful life is balance!

If you’re serious about your business ~ Join MUIB today!  It’s FREE!

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Want Website Traffic? Start A Free Blog! Tips for Promoting your eBiz through Internet Marketing

In an earlier post, I spoke of how I recommended to a fellow forum member the benefits of how I started several blogs to promote my Shoppes site, eBay store and affiliates. Here’s additional tips to support that suggestion.

Want Website Traffic? Start A Free Blog!

Blogging has become increasingly popular in the past couple of years. There are more and more blogs created everyday on a vast array of topics. Both personal and business.

If you own a website, then you know how difficult it is to get exposure to it. Creating a blog is one of the best resources there is today for receiving that exposure.

Like anything else…it takes hard work on creating interesting content on a new blog and getting traffic to it. Focus on your website or business when creating new posts and always try and add something new everyday. Try and connect with your creative side…we all possess some level of creativity! Give it a try…you just may surprise yourself at what you manage to conjure up.

Topics:

Concentrate on what people may be searching for today on the Internet. A lot of people are searching for content for their existing websites, marketing advice, and/or finding work at home jobs and home businesses.

While some people may be just searching for friendship and are interested in simply having a good time…getting to know others, conversing about current events, funny jokes, and the like. Some people are interested in infant clothing, toys, various baby items, and parenting tips or advice.

For example: If your website focuses on women’s interests…then center your blog around women’s interests, support groups, parenting issues, bargain shopping, household items, recipes, or whatever your website content may be. Try and make your blog posts as interesting as possible to try and keep people coming back for more.

Tips On Getting Comments:

1) Simply invite people to join in on the conversations and encourage them to comment on the various posts within your blog description.
2) If you own a website and message board, and you have advertising space available for other webmasters or business owners…announce a contest on your message board offering free advertising for the person that posts the most comments on your blog. ( I have a good friend that has done this very thing and it’s working great for her.)
3) Give people a chance to self promote their websites or businesses through their comments.
4) Offer something free…for example, a free ebook or some kind of software.
5) Participate in message boards, announcing your blog, and request their opinion. Ask them to place a comment post and share their thoughts and opinions about your blog.

Promoting Your Blog:

1) Advertise your blog on various message forums.
2) Include your blog link in your signature within message forums and emails.
3) Submit your blog in blog directories.
4) Exchange links with other bloggers.
5) Write articles relating to blogging and submit them to article directories.
6) Advertise your blog in various newsletters and ezines.
7) Include your blog link on any websites you may have.

One Last Thought:

Have fun with your blog. If there is something (off the wall) that you want to share or you think is really amusing…share it in your blog. Write about anything you feel like writing. The possibilities are endless!

You can create a free blog at http://www.blogger.com. Or, you can search for free blog sites at your favorite search engine.

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Article written by: Tammy Embrich
Tammy Embrich is an Internet Marketer and is the
Owner of: WAH Opportunities, Owner of: Real WAH Jobs, and owner of Cookin At Home

Tammy’s two WAH websites focus on free telecommute job leads and more.

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How to Increase Blog Traffic & Exposure – Sign up for Entrecard

I was posting announcements about my grand opening of my Shoppes site to Stumble Upon Exchange the other day, and came across a really great blog singing the praises of Entrecard. Wow, if you want exposure for your blog, Entrecard is the next best thing to sliced bread…or in my case, preferably, chocolate!

It’s a virtual “drop your business card,” or in this case, “ebiz card” onto someone’s blog and introduce yourself! It also offers the opportunity to purchase 125 x 125 banner “advertisements” or ‘adverts’ for 24 hours via credits…no cash is exchanged. If accepted by the blogger, your advertisement stays on the front page for 24 hours!

Here’s more information, directly from Entrecard’s site:

“What is an Entrecard?

Entrecard is your business card 2.0. It’s a 125×125 image which represents you and your blog. Its part advertisement, part business card.

Entrecard is the first and only free exchange network for 125×125 ads. Through this revolutionary platform, you can advertise your own 125×125 Entrecard on any blog in the network, for free, for a number of days. You pay for this advertising with Entrecard Credits, that you earn for free by networking … Entrecards are exchanged via a widget that you place on your blog. Other members with an Entrecard can leave their card for you by dropping it in your widget, and you can leave your card for others by dropping it in their widget.”

If you look at the top left corner of my blog, under the American Flag, you’ll see I’ve posted “Drop your Entrecard Here”. A member who’s searched through the various categories offered, finds my blog, reads it, can comment on it, and “drop” their card by clicking the “drop” link. You can use one of their images as your banner if you don’t have one, or upload your own. How cool is that?

Run, don’t think about it…if you blog ~ it’s like a 24-hour link exchange for your WAHM biz. Sign up! It’s FREE!

Be sure to drop me a line or comment to let me know that you’ve signed up so I can “drop-in” on you & say ‘hello’!

Need a banner made for Entrecard?  Check out this Post or my tabs for more resources!

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WAHM eBiz Tip # 1 ~Giving Your Home Based Business a Boost with Blogging

So many things to do! Sometimes don’t you feel like you don’t know what to do first? I have a list that I’ve put together of all the suggested things I should be doing to in order to get all my ebiz’s up & running smoothly. But my plate is getting so full ~~ between trying to roll out fantastic new Spring Inventory for my eBay Store (you just have to see it all!) at Moomette’s Magnificents and changing over the host site for my
Moomette’s Magnificents Olde Towne Shoppes site.

Additionally, I’ve been entertaining the thought of starting another blog …where I can banter about daily trials & tribulations of family life, thereby separating it from my WAHM eBiz tips blog. In the meantime, here’s a heads-up for newbie WAHMs who have an Internet eBiz or Direct Sales Home Party Business and would like to gain more exposure for it:

Giving Your Home Based Business a Boost with Blogging by Tamara

Blogs are like ripe apples hanging on the tree ready to be picked, beautiful and oh so delicious. Indulging to it will never be a poison. . It can also be likened to a virus but the difference is the benefits blogs give and also because they are vastly and fast spreading around the globe.

That’s for the giants of the arena of business, but how about those smaller enterprises? Does blogs suit them? By all means, yes.

Small businesses or home based ones needs more blog than any other business. Since their business place is far off from the central marketplace, people need to be informed and be aware of the existence of these smaller enterprises through blogging. By means of blogging, these types of businesses are given chance to be known and be noticed.

To add to that, let us take these advantages of blogs for home based businesses:

»Blogs are all-you-need package. HTML is hard to learn and a little time consuming. By using blogs you will no longer problem the appearance since it is preset for convenience purposes.

»You can post anything on blogs without any hassle at all. Plus you can post anytime. Nonetheless, posting is not a problem.

»Since basically blogs are not e-mail communication, spam has no place in it.

With these entire advantages all for free means a business with high profits.

Remember you must update your blog every now and then. New updates mean another to look forward to on the side of your audience. In as often as possible, you may update your blog at least twice every week. It will let your audience ask for more. Never overlook all current information and issues that will surely catch their attention.

Your blog should have a place for comments, reactions and suggestions. It will help you reach the audiences tastes and desires through their own feedbacks. Criticisms are very essential tool for your websites growth. Just take every criticism positively.

Do not forget to link your blogs to other resources. It will help not just you and your business but also your customers.

Simplicity is not ugly. Complicated layout and color will attract customers easily and also can shoo them easily too. Always keep in mind that content is more important than anything else in your blog.

The entire earth is waiting for your business to be known. Take that mouse and make your own blog.

Tamara works from home and enjoys helping others do the same. For More tips and ideas on home businesses visit My Work at Home Business besure to sign up for the newsletter for great tips and ideas to work from home and a free chance at some great advertising.

Article Source: The WAHM Shack Article

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