Forcing balance . . . it doesn´t sound like a very balanced balance, does it? Unfortunately, working from home often means that it´s hard to stop after working hours. Your desk is right there . . . work is waiting to be done . . . it just makes sense to do that instead of watching TV or doing dishes once the kids are in bed, right?

All work and no play can actually be very bad for you. We all need down time and many work at home moms just don´t get any. Being a mom is hard enough. You tend to lose bits of yourself as you transition into the role of caregiver and parent. Maybe you used to paint before your children came along. Or perhaps you´d love to take up crochet, but just don´t have the time. Every mom struggles with maintaining her own identity and when you add working at home on top of that, it just becomes harder to remember the relaxed you!

Forcing yourself to have time to do things that you used to enjoy is important. It will help you be a better mom AND a better businesswoman. You´ll be happier and won´t resent the time given over to other pursuits if you know that you´ll have a chance to do something you want to do, too.

So, how do you force yourself to be balanced? It depends on what you´re missing, really. For myself, I turn off the computer at 7:30 and go watch television or a movie with my husband . . . while I craft or embroider or even sand a chair for painting. The temptation to write just one more article is still there, but since the computer is off, it´s a little more difficult. You can also ask your husband or kids to remind you to step away from work, or even make a point of just leaving the house so you won´t be able to do anything. I personally like to watch television or movies because it helps keep my mind off of what I could be doing.

How do you force yourself to be balanced?

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There are a lot of perks to working at home and one of them is being able to spend time with your kids. But there are definitely days when that just isn´t in the books and you need some time to get your work done . . . without the help of grubby little fingers and cute giggling mini-yous. So, with that in mind, here are 15 activities that won´t take you long to set up but will keep your kids busy for a while.

1. Playdough. Salt dough is something that really works for any age. Older kids will enjoy making actual items out of it, while little ones just smoosh it around for fun. My boys, 1 and 2, love it. Mix it in a Ziploc bag and you don´t even have to wash a bowl later!

Recipe: Dump 4 cups of flour and a cup of salt into a bag. Pour in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and about 1/2 c. of water. Seal bag and squish around until it forms a dough. Add more flour or water as needed. Use food coloring to color, if desired. Shapes to keep can be air-dried or baked.

2. Tents. Get out some old sheets, drape them over a couple of chairs or bushes to make a tent and give your kids some snacks to eat in their new tent. They can haul some blankets and stuffies in there, too and turn it into a hiding place.

3. Mazes. Print out some mazes from this site and let your little ones have at it. There are mazes for all ages, so this works for anyone from preschool on up.

4. Water. Kids love water for some reason. And, as the days get warmer, this can be the perfect way to keep them busy. All you need are a few bowls, a plastic tub (a baby bath works well) and some cups and spoons. Fill the tub half way with water and let the kids play in it with the utensils. Older kids might want to bathe dolls or wash doll clothing in the tub. Add some bubble bath for more fun. I´d suggest doing this outside, in a place where you can keep an eye on the kids. Though, really, if water gets all over the floor . . . it´s just water and can be mopped pretty easily!

5. Rubbings. Older kids can really get into this fun activity. Get out some crayons and peel off the paper wrapping. Then start handing out sheets of paper. The kids need to find stuff with a raised texture, like a wooden alphabet block or a heavily veined leaf. Lay the object on a hard surface, put the paper over it and then rub the long edge of the crayon over the paper above the design. The color will only appear on the raise parts of the design. Trust me, once they have done this once, they´ll be running everywhere looking for things to try rubbing.

6. Stilt cans. Remember these from when you were a kid? You´ll need two sturdy cans (paint cans work well) and some string, plus a nail and hammer. Punch a hole in either side of the can and thread the string through, tying a big enough knot that it won´t pull back out, to form a loop like a handle. The string should be long enough that your child can stand on the cans and hold the string comfortably just above their waist.  Then have them practice walking around, lifting the cans with the loop of string.

7. Appliances. No, you´re not going to electricute your kids, though that might keep them quiet for a bit. Give them an old phone or mixer that no longer works and is sitting in the junk pile. Along with a screwdriver, you´ll find that this can keep curious children busy for a good long time taking the object apart and seeing how it works. Heck, you might even get a fixed appliance out of the mix!

8. Bubbles. Bubbles are always a good way to keep kids busy, but I´ve found that they tend to be time consuming since they usually want YOU to blow them. So here´s a better way to go. Take a jar and pour about half a cup of water into it. Add 2 tablespoons of dishsoap and give kids a straw. Have them blow into the mixture to create a jar of bubbles. These can then be scooped out and more can be made. Just make sure that you child is old enough not to suck the soap mixture in.

9. Newspaper. Depending on the age of your children, they might just want to rip the newspaper into shreds and laugh about it, or they can make balls out of it and have a “snowball” fight, try their hand at newspaper origami or make their own butterfly wings.

10. Cleaning. Give each kid a spray bottle with some watered down soap (or even just water) and a rag and let them clean the doors, walls, fridge, etc. They´ll have fun doing it, you´ll get a slightly cleaner house and some time to work.

11. Lily pads. Cut a bunch of random shapes out of construction paper and toss them on the floor. Add numbers or letters if you like. Then have the kids take turns standing on the color and number that is called out. If you must, this can be done by you as you work. It´s not too distracting to call out “Red 2!” every few seconds.

12.  Memory. Put 20 items on a tray (anything you can grab from paperclips to spoons) and show it to your kids for 1 min. Cover it up and let them write down as many items as they can remember in 5 minutes. Then they can uncover the tray and check their answers. Having a few trays made up ahead of time makes this super easy and very quick.

13. Circus. Get your kids playing circus, indoors or out. You´ll need a hula hoop, a board and two pieces of wood or bricks. Lay the bricks on the ground and place the board on top so it´s a couple of inches off the ground. Have kids practice walking on it. They can also pretend to be circus lions and “jump” through the hoop, held by a sibling, or do a dance inside the hoop laid on the floor.

14. Board game. The board games in your cupboard might not be as exciting anymore, but that doesn´t mean you can´t have a new one. Give kids a piece of cardboard or an old game board covered with paper and let them create their own board game. This can take quite a while as they work out the design and rules and make cards for the game.

15. Scavenger hunt. Make a list of random things that can be found around your home outside. Make some of them a bit harder, such as “a piece of blue plastic”. You´ll want at least 15 items, more if you want them to stay busy for longer. If you have 2 or more kids, divide them into teams. Non-readers can be paired with readers. Set a time limit and send them off to find everything on the list. This could easily buy you 30-60 min. of peace! And they´ll have a lot of fun.

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Today we have Lisa Nelson joining us. Lisa runs eNutritionServices, a business that aims to help people take control of their health. Not only is she a work at home mom, she also offers a service that many of us could use!

1. What is your business?

eNutritionServices helps you make small changes that lead to long term weight loss, lower cholesterol levels, and high blood pressure control. Professional nutrition education and coaching provided by your own personal registered dietitian.

2. How did you get started?

This whole idea to start a business came in a roundabout way. I was not actively seeking to work, but I was toying with the idea. I left a great position with a state health department at a time that I wanted to stay home and care for my daughter. While being able to stay home with my daughter is a blessing, I found that I wasn’t satisfied and missed being part of the working world. I came across a site that provided nutrition advice via phone that got me thinking. I did not start with a big plan. I just wanted to keep my foot in the nutrition door and maintain my sanity while caring for a soon-to-be two year-old.!

My business evolved gradually. If I had thought about what I was trying to tackle at the beginning I would have been overwhelmed and afraid of failure. Taking on a little at a time was much less stressful and has worked well.

3. What mistakes did you make when you were starting out? What did you learn from them?

Hmmm. . . . .I cannot really say I made mistakes. My biggest learning curve has been marketing, something I knew very little about prior to starting this venture. My business has benefited as my marketing knowledge has improved. I have learned that the traditional routes (MD’s and health clubs) are not necessarily the best ways to market my services. I am turning more to publishing articles, participating in social networking services, search engine optimization, and launching my own ezine. Also, switching to core programs has allowed me to niche my services so potential clients can better understand what I can do for them.

4. How long have you been working from home? (was this your first business or have you had others where you worked from home?)

This is my first business. I have been working from home since July 2007 – coming up on 1 year this summer!

5. What are your tricks for balancing work, kids and household chores?

This is one juggling act that does not end. I am able to do a little work almost everyday. Usually a couple hours in the morning while my oldest daughter plays and a couple hours in the afternoon during naptime. I enjoy taking a break mid-day to play with the girls and get outside. I find this break actually benefits the work I do. My best ideas seem to pop up randomly when I am doing something else (then I am in a mad rush to get them wrote down before I forget)! I have found the days I do not make time for a break to be less productive. The girls need mommy time and I need downtime to get rejuvenated. I try to remember that the reason I choose not to work outside the home was so I would have more time with my family. Spending hours sitting at a computer was not the goal!

6. How many children do you have? How old are they?

I have two little girls. Katelyn is 2 ½ years-old and Keira is 4 ½ months-old. If you can do the math I was about 6 months pregnant when I got the idea to start my own business. Maybe I should thank the pregnancy hormones for the crazy turn my life has taken!

7. When do you usually work?

I usually work on a laptop computer from my kitchen counter. I had to give up my half of my daughter’s room, which I previously used as an office, when baby number 2 came along. One of these days we will get around to moving to a larger home. . . . . .

8. What is the best part of being a mompreneur? And the worst?

Deciding what I do. If I do not want to work in a certain area I do not have to. For example, I am focusing on the areas I am especially interested in – weight loss and heart health. I am able to develop my own programs that I feel will benefit clients the most.

The worst is the juggling act – family versus work.

9. What are your plans for the future of your business?

This May I launched an ezine – The Heart of Health. I will be using this as my main marketing tool from here on out. I will be sharing with readers a little about what is going on in my life, an article related to cholesterol, blood pressure, and weight loss, and program highlights. I am really excited about starting this ezine and the regular interaction with individuals that are looking for nutrition help. If you are interested in subscribing, go to http://eNutritionServices.com/ezine.html.

I also just released a new program – Lower Cholesterol Levels 2.0. I am very pleased with this program. It will take clients step-by-step through the changes necessary to lower their cholesterol levels. I almost have the updated blood pressure program ready for release this June.

10. What advice would you give new work at home moms?

Patience and Passion. Make sure what you are doing is something you believe in and will make you happy whether you make a substantial income or not, because most likely things will be pretty dismal on the income side for awhile! Be ready to learn more about marketing than you ever dreamed and remain patient that your hard work will pay off. Good luck!

There are two main types of businesses, whether you start at home or out of it. Some people are better suited to one or the other, or you may find that your situation or budget dictates which you choose. Here is a brief look at each type of business.

 Service-based Business

Service include things that you do for other people. Your product is what you do rather than something physical. Some good examples of a service-based business include dog walking, personal assistant, tailoring, computer repair and house cleaning.

Service-based businesses:

• Often (but not always) charge by time, minutes, hours, month, etc.
• Tend to be less flexible, since you have deadlines and possibly even a schedule to keep.
• Allow you to work on more than one project at a time.
• Exchange time for money, meaning that in order to earn more, you´ll need to raise prices or hire more people.
• Usually deal with either menial tasks that no one wants to do or tasks that are highly specialized and few people can do.

Product-based Business

With a product, you are selling something that actually exists in the physical world. This is something that you make or purchase to resell. Some examples of product-based businesses include soapmaking, crafting to sell, baking, and electronics.

Product-based businesses:

• Charge by product, your profit is the price of the item minus the cost to you to create or buy it.
• Tend to be more flexible. For example, you can work on making candles while the kids are in bed or spend a weekend creating baby bibs to sell.
• It´s easy to stock up on products, so you can rest sometimes, too.
• Startup costs are usually higher because you need not only equipment but materials.

There are also cross-over businesses, like restaurants, that offer both service and products, but since these are not usually home-based businesses, we´ll leave those out for now.

Which business type is for you? Do you have a product-based business or a service-based one? Leave a comment and let me know!

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It´s quite easy to get caught up in working, looking after and playing with kids and the daily hustle and bustle that keeps us so busy these days. But it´s important to remember that not everyone is so fortunate. Often, just a few minutes of your time can do wonders to lift the spirits of someone else who is dire need of it.

There are plenty of ways to do something for someone in need and you´ll find that you benefit from it as well. Taking a moment to pull off a selfless act is probably the best thing you can do to make your life that much more meaningful. And, it can be seriously motivational knowing that your life isn´t as bad as you thought!

• Write a letter to a sick kid. Make a Child Smile lets you send a postcard, note or small gift to a child who is struggling with a health issue. You can also write their siblings or parents. Let me tell you, reading the stories on this site will make you so grateful that your own family is healthy!

• Donate some toys. Many towns and cities hold toy drives to collect gifts that will be given to families on Christmas Day. You can also donate toys to your local battered women´s shelter or the fire department where they will be used to comfort children who are going through a tough time.

• Sponsor a child. There are literally dozens of programs available that let you sponsor a child in a foreign country. For just a few dollars a month, you can send a kid to school and make sure that he or she is properly nourished.

• Help a girl go to school. Girls worldwide have a far lower graduation rate than boys, but if you want to help a girl make it through, there is a very neat project in Africa that provides adolescent girls with cloth menstrual pads. Since many of these girls are too poor or simply have no access to hygiene products, they tend to miss school every month thanks to menstruation. This project lets you donate pads that could change their lives.

• Donate food. There are always food banks that could use some extra food. Pick up a can of beans or a bag of pasta next time you´re doing your shopping and stick it in a box to take to a food bank. It costs very little and once the box is full, donate it.

• Give some soap. Homeless shelters are the perfect place to do some good. Even donating a box of hotel size soaps is a big help, or buy some toothbrushes and travel size tubes of toothpaste for them to give out.

• Make a quilt. Got a bit of extra time in the evenings? Then why not chip in to make a quilt for someone who really needs it? Ugly Quilts makes blankets for homeless people. Love Quilts creates cross-stitch quilts for sick children, you just donate one square. Heavenly Angels in Need uses baby quilts to cover NICU isolettes.

• Help a mom. Donate formula, bottles, and baby toys to a women´s shelter or your local free clinic. These can be used to help moms who just don´t have the means to give their baby what they need.

There are plenty more options out there to help someone. It doesn´t need to take much time or energy and can make a huge difference in someone else´s life. We sometimes forget in between holidays that these people still need a helping hand.

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