Monthly Archives: January 2012

I’m Looking Forward to the 2012 Kenmore Blogger Summit in Chicago, IL!

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I love appliances.  I use them every day.  Don’t you?  Well, join me as I embark on a journey during which we go to Chicago where we will experience Kenmore products first hand and learn about Kenmore’s 2012 initiatives.

2012 Kenmore Blogger Summit

The Kenmore Blogger Summit will be held at the Kenmore Live Studios  in Chicago, IL January 20th and 21st and I’ll be one happy girl the entire time.

I’m going to pack comfortable shoes, good listening ears, a camera (I really should buy one first), and probably some clothes.  Then I’m off to Chicago to enjoy the weekend with about 40 other parenting bloggers and Kenmore products.  Makes me giddy just thinking about it.

I’m planning on idyllic weather, thank you very much.  I would appreciate it if Mother Nature would go along with my plan.  Remember.. it’s the 20-21st.. but I’m coming home on the 22nd so if you could extend the idyllic weather one day, that would be fabulous!

I hope to meet some bloggers who I haven’t already met and look forward seeing some bloggers who I have met before.

There looks to be a great line-up of exciting activities, acclaimed presenters from Google+ and Wired, and scrumptious treats.  What better way to spend a weekend?

Of course I’ll be sharing all of the great things I learn with my readers right here on TheMommyInsider.com and be sure to follow me on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date on my Kenmore Blogger Summit experience.

Start a Blog Series > Part 2: Blog Writing and Time Management

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This is the second in a series of posts I’ll be featuring about blogging and social media here on TheMommyInsider.com.  Follow me on Twitter and Facebook and subscribe to my RSS feed to be notified when the next post in the series is added.

Read part 1: Want to Start a Blog? Here are Five Things to Think About When Starting a Blog.

blogger time management
Photo credit: Stuart Miles

A lot of people (moms and dads specifically!) want to be able to publish their own masterpieces. The Internet serves as a great avenue to do just that.  Through blogging, anyone can write about what inspires them whether it’s their kids, their job, volunteering, a hobby, travels, products, or services. I’ve learned in the last 10 years I’ve worked online, that to be successful in blogging, you must manage your time well.  Managing your time is even more important than being able to write well, in my opinion.

Here are several time management tips to consider when starting your blog.

Plan your Posts

If you are maintaining a niche blog, it is highly necessary to schedule your blog posts unless you have a sort of breaking news content. Planning or scheduling your posts gives you enough time to research and consolidate ideas.

File your Ideas

Whenever something pops in your head, write it down and if possible, record an audio blog. This way, impromptu ideas will not be wasted as you may forget them later in the day. Incorporate your filed ideas with your blog post plan.

Write Several Blog Posts at a Time

All writers would agree that there are days when you cannot just force yourself to write. Thus, when you have the urge and time to write, take advantage of it and write several blog posts that follow your blog schedule.

Set Perfectionism Aside

It is true that you must always strive to provide quality content. However, it would be best to let go of minor grammatical and typo errors especially if you are running out of time. After all, blogs take its appeal from its ‘home-made’ feel.
Blogging will only prove to be time-consuming if you fail to manage your time well. This is especially true for parents, full-time employees and those who have something else to attend to aside from blogging.
Try following the tips above and I think you’ll find that blogging is very rewarding and fun!
This is part 2 in my Start a Blog series.
Read part 1: Want to Start a Blog? Here are Five Things to Think About When Starting a Blog.
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Please share your favorite blog writing and time management tips and resources in the comments below.

As I continue on this series about blogging, please feel free to ask me any questions you might have from the most basic to more complex questions in the comments below.

Alicia Hagan, Editor

Something that Bothers the Daylights out of me! When is a Child too Sick to go to School?

Health, New posts, Parenting Articles, School,
sick child
Photo source: Stuart Miles

My daughter had a holiday party at school before Christmas break and I couldn’t believe what I saw in her classroom.  Sick kids. Several of them.  Coughing, red-faced, snotty nosed 5 and 6 year olds.  I was beside myself.   Why had these kids parents sent their kids to school sick.  One girl was coughing so much she had to go to the nurse while I was there and several more kids had garbage cans right next to them to throw their snotty tissues in because they were blowing their noses so much.  My daughter had just gotten over a cold and I kept her home for 3 out of 5 days the week prior because I (a) wanted her to recover and (b) didn’t want her to get anyone else sick.  Why don’t all parents have the same consideration?  I guess there can be extenuating circumstances such as not having anyone to care for the child while the parent is at work but still, kids need to stay healthy and not pass these nasty bugs/viruses around so please keep your child home if they are not feeling well.

I understand that when a child is sick, it is sometimes tempting to send them to school anyway.  With many parents working either outside the home or from home,  household chores and other tasks are often accomplished while children are at school.   There are times, however, that a child is considered too sick to attend school, I believe.  There are a number of reasons, both for the child and the other students, why a sick child should stay home.

Here are four reasons why a child not feeling well should stay home from school:

  • Cough – Excessive coughing would not necessarily include the symptoms caused by asthma. Although asthma with excessive symptoms should be checked by a doctor.
  • Fever – A child with low grade fever should be kept home from school as well. Fevers are transmittable whether they are low or high.
  • Diarrhea
  • Vomiting

A few more things to consider before sending a sick child to school:

The child may be contagious.
By sending a child to school if he or she has a cough, fever, or has had diarrhea or has vomited in the last 24 hours, the risk of other children catching the same illness whether it’s a cold, flu, or other illness, is substantially higher than keeping the child home.

It is well known that to get better, lots of rest is needed.
If a child is at school and maintaining a regular schedule of activities, his/her body is not getting the extra rest required to heal. When a person, especially a younger elementary age child, does not feel well, they often times want to spend extra time cuddling with their parent. It is important that parents spend extra time with our kids when they are feeling under the weather.
A common rule that should be followed is that a child should be completely fever free for a full twenty-four hours before they should return to the classroom.
Nobody knows a child better than their parent. It is essential that the parent or guardian take the time to determine if the sickness is bad enough to keep a child home from the classroom. It is in the best interest of both your child and other children to keep your child home from the classroom if they are ill.
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What are your thoughts on keeping kids home when they aren’t feeling well or sending them on to school anyway?  Tell us in the comments below.
Alicia Hagan, Editor

Five Things to Think About when Starting a Blog

Blogger Resources,

This is the first in a series of posts I’ll be featuring about blogging and social media here on TheMommyInsider.com.  Follow me on Twitter and Facebook and subscribe to my RSS feed to be notified when the next post in the series is added.

How to start a blog

I have been working online for over 10 years. I started AtlantaMoms.com in 2001 and TheMommyInsider.com in 2005.   I have earned a full time income from home for 10 years.  I never thought I’d be able to say that.  The kids and my husband love that I work from home as do I.   I am the first to admit that, working from home is a huge challenge and can be frustrating for the entire family since they sometimes don’t understand what I am doing (blogging, tweeting, marketing, talking to advertisers, brand ambassadorships – what the heck is all of that, they ask?).  I am proud that I am a small business owner and blogger and have been since 2001.  I couldn’t have done it without having a supportive husband, kids, family, and friends.

At first glance blogging may seem intimidating or complicated, but it is actually quite easy. Hera a few things to think about and keep in mind, especially as a mom blogger.

Writing

Anyone can be a writer. You don’t have to be a professional writer to blog.  I am not a professional writer.  All you need are the language skills to convey your ideas. Avoid poor grammar and spelling.

  • Don’t worry about not having anything interesting to say.
  • The antics of children, a new recipe, a craft project you’ve been working on — all of these are common topics and excellent choices for blog posts.

Social Media (Twitter and Facebook)

Don’t discount the importance of social media when you’re establishing a blog. Twitter and Facebook can be excellent means of sharing your updates, advertising and gaining new readers.

  • There’s no cost to using either of them, and they can have a huge impact on your blog traffic.
  • You can even interact more directly with your readers and take ideas for future blog posts by being active on Twitter and Facebook.
  • You can follow me on Twitter here and Facebook here.

Time Management

Time management is important, especially if you’re a mom with kids. Writing a blog takes a time commitment just like any other hobby. Regular updates are an important sign that you’re taking your blog seriously. There are tons of distractions to keep you from writing.

  • Keep a list of topics near your computer.
  • Schedule writing time during your child’s nap or school hours.
  • If your child *needs* your attention, give it to her.  It’s not worth trying to write with a whining child in your lap.

Photography

Nearly every blog is covered in photography created by the blog owner. If you’re writing about daily events, carry a camera. Pictures can go a long way towards bringing and keeping readers.

  • You can upload and edit photographs for free online at a site like picnik.com
  •  If you don’t have the right kind of pictures for a particular blog post you’re working on you can find free stock photos from stock photo websites.

Hosting

Setting up a blog is a job of its own, but is well worth the effort. If you’re into web development you can purchase hosting for yourself, but that takes significant time and effort.

  • Consider using a free resource such as WordPress.org or WordPress.com, which is a simple and easy to set up blog software.
  • Register a domain name for your blog at a registrar such as Godaddy.com.

 

Making and updating a blog is a fun and potentially profitable activity, and it costs nothing to set up and start. If you’re interested, give it a shot! There’s nothing to lose.

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Please share your favorite blogging tips and resources in the comments below.  Let’s make this is a great resource for beginning and seasoned bloggers!

As I embark on this series about blogging, please feel free to ask me any questions you might have from the most basic to more complex questions in the comments below.

 

Alicia Hagan, Editor

This Blogger is Down and Out (Temporarily). I’ll be Announcing Contest Winners Soon – I Promise!

Health, New posts, Personal

It’s been a rough 2012 so far.  It could be worse, but I have felt like a muddy shoelace that’s been trampled on for weeks without being tied and put into the safe keeping of the little lacing eyelet.  Not sure where that came from but it sounds about right.

This is my daughter but is how I feel.
This is my daughter but is exactly how I feel.

It all started when my 5 year old daughter had a cough and runny nose and I had a major sinus thing going on, a couple of weeks ago. We were due to go to Florida to visit my Dad and step-mom right after Christmas so I took myself and my daughter to urgent care the day before our departure date, to get checked out.  After waiting at urgent care for three hours, I got two shots (steroid and anti-biotic) and antibiotic meds and she got antibiotic meds to take for five days.  I was told I had a sinus infection and that it was a good thing that I came in because my eustachian tubes looked like they were about to burst.  This all happened after a 2.5 hour wait and upon seeing the actual dr for less than 4 minutes tops.

Anyway, the kids and I drove on to Florida the next day and silly me, I thought that my daughter and I would be all cleared up of our illnesses within 24 hours of taking the antibiotics but here I am almost two weeks later, still sick with a cough, wheezing, and now abdominal pain.

I have been resting a lot. I hate resting.  I hate sleeping.  Both seem like a waste of time. I like to be busy.  I like to feel like I’m always accomplishing something.  There’s always something to accomplish, right?

Resting isn’t for me.  It’s a form of torture.  I think my husband likes it when I rest though.  He doesn’t have to watch me clean, work, organize, do laundry, brush tangles out of hair, mark the calendar up, create lists, etc.

Why isn’t this darn sickness going away? I’m resting, taking steroids, using cough syrup, drinking straight honey, using my inhaler, and drinking plenty of clear fluids gosh darn it!

On that note, I know I am behind on chosing winners for my December contests and will get to that as soon as I have the mental energy to commit to what it takes to choose winners.  I use random.org to choose winners randomly and that’s the easy part.  It’s the contacting the winner’s, writing the email with all the contest specs, contacting the PR representative/company about shipping the prizes, etc that is time consuming.  I love what I do though and that’s why I’ve been doing it for ten years now and will keep it up!

I feel bad for not having chosen winners for my most recent contests and for not keeping up with the 21,867 emails in my inbox but I have to take care of my self or I’m never going to get over this.

Thanks for your patience and support!

Alicia Hagan, Editor