I searched my catalog of pictures and couldn’t find one good picture of either of my kids in their birhday hats. In fact, they don’t like hats period. Since BP’s birthday is this month, I decided for this weeks challenge I would enter a picture taken on her first birthday. Boy does time fly, we will be celebrating her FOURTH BIRTHDAY in a couple of weeks.

This past memorial day weekend we drove over to Las Vegas to visit the in-laws and relax. My husband decided to plug in to his SEO audio books so I was stuck listening to kids tunes all the way there. So on the way back I decided to download some podcasts to listen to for myself. Here are some great entrepreneur podcasts that I found.

Mom Entrepreneur Podcasts

Urban Moms
Jen Maier, Founder of urbanmoms.ca, gives us an inside look into the world of a mom entrepreneur balancing family as well as her successful online community for moms.

Work at Home Moms Talk Radio
Moms who want to find a  way to work at home. Internet marketing, direct sales, auctions, affiliate marketing and more.

Moms Making Money
Want to become a work at home mom? Moms Making Money provides women entrepreneurs tips, articles, and ideas from marketing and accounting to how to get your husband on board. Subscribe todayu and start living your dreams of having a successful home-based business and raising your kids.

MommyFest
Where they share marketing tips for work at home moms and features a “mom” each week.

Mommy Masterminds Podcast
The Mommy Mastermind Podcast is for the scores of work-at-home moms and stay-at-homes who want inspiration for their hectic lives. The podcast offers real-world solutions for creating more order and progress for your at-home lifestyle.

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As a mother, as an African-American mother I am proud to witness the election of President Obama, as an adult we all know how historically important this past election was. But how do you express that importance to a child. My daughter is turning four next month and throughout the election process I introduced her to President Obama. She recognizes his face whenever she seems him on television or in pictures. She knows he’s the president of the Unites States.

On Election Day we had her walking around telling everyone, “Obama for President!”

But she doesn’t really understand how amazing it is to be able to say “President Obama,” in fact, President Obama will probably be out of office by the time she really understand the significance.

However, the New York Times has created a young reader’s edition of their book Obama: The Historic Journey. My daughter is still too young to read but I love just flipping through the book and talking to her about it.

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This guest post was written by Denise Hart, aka The Motivation Mama!

To often mom’s lose themselves when they get into mommy/mother/wife mode. And most of the time neither son/daughter nor husband is going to pull them up and say hey, don’t forget about you. So who does that leave it up to? Well, yes, you’re right: You!

I’ve been an attentive, loving mother for 16 years and one thing I’ve learned the hard way is to be mindful of (gasp) self care. But, honestly you have to take care of you if there’s going to be any real degree of controlled chaos in your household.

Over the next several weeks I’ll be offering my insights, solutions and self care tips to help mom’s maintain their motivation mojo.  Here’s two more:

PLAN
Create a flexible schedule.  Bear in mind what you pondered on and get out your calendar and write out what you think can happen.  Remember, being able to adjust is essential.  Practice organizing your life.

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From the Bump to the Tot Mommy Dinner

Last night, I spent the evening with a room full of mom’s and mom-to-be’s and it almost made me want to have another baby. The fresh new babies are so cute and adorable. Ah. But I’m so glad to be out of that stage.

Anyway, I spent the evening at From the Bump to the Tot Mommy Dinner at Giggles N Hugs. If you live and LA and have little ones, then you have to check out Giggles N Hugs, it is the cleanest play area with REAL FOOD in town.

The Dinner was hosted by Baby Lifestyle Expert Jayneoni Moore with special guest Celebrity Mommy Ali Landry. Jayneoni has the coolest job ever, helping moms-to-be pick out the best baby products for their needs and gifting celebrity mommies. There were several other celebrities at the event like Constance Marie (George Lopez Show), Tisha Cambell-Martin, Molly Ringwald, and a host of others.  Jayneoni’s goal of the event was to make everyday moms feel special and “celebrity-like” for the evening. She gifted every mom/mom-to-be with an amazing gift and baby gift overflowing with all sorts of baby necessities. The food was GREAT, which is what I expected from Giggles N Hugs. I even ran into my favorite Balloon Character Designer.

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I took this picture a couple of weeks ago when we were all sick. I wanted to make sure he didn’t get another fever. Of course he was fine and just played the entire day. Just another reason why I could use a ticket to BlogHer!

People always ask me how do I BALANCE it all and what my secret is. I have been juggling a full-time job out of the home, an online retail store, this blog, another blog, two children, a husband and a household for almost a year now and I still don’t know the secret to BALANCE. Every day it’s a constant struggle, if I take on one task another is neglected, which is usually the house work.

Luckily last night I ran into a great article on The Life Uncommon, where they list 18 Tips to Improve your Productive.

1. Set your alarm for early - I have been doing this already. I try and get up at least 2-3 hours early to get work done because I’m more productive in the morning. In the article they are suggesting just a couple of minutes, but do whatever works best for your schedule.
2. Batch your emails - This is probably the best way to handle email, set certain times in the day where you will check and answer email instead of checking as they come in. When I’m at work I used to keep my email open all day, but now I find it easier to check once in the morning, during lunch and then when I get home.
3. Be inspiration ready - Keep a pad of paper and a pen next to your desk while you are working. I carry my moleskin and pen everywhere I go, it fits nicely in my purse, so when an idea sparks I jot it down so I can review it later
4. Add some tunes - They always say listening to classical, instrumental music helps when you are working. I personally listen to Pandora Radio while working. I don’t listen to instrumental music because it makes me sleepy.

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Ironically this is the only silhouette picture I could find in my collection.

Mom Entrepreneur: Brandy Tanner
Business: Brandy Ellen’s Business Solutions
Website: www.brandyellen.com

Brandy Ellen’s Business Solutions is a virtual assistant and unique marketing business! We can help you with your basic office tasks to more detailed marketing plans. We are basically your virtual secretary and can handle any size project! Having over 10 years of “real world” office work, most recently being an Administrative Assistant, Brandy Tanner DBA Brandy Ellen’s Business Solutions is more than capable of handling anything you give to her!

What inspired you start your business?
I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur. My inspiration to have my own business has always come from my heart. Since then I married my soul mate a couple years back and he works in a job that is just so stressful. Being a home business owner, will allow me to eventually bring my husband home to a place where we can work together!

How long have you been in business?
Providing services since January 2009, however, founded the business name in March 2009.

What did you do in your past work life?
I have been an office clerk, bank teller, administrative assistant, a cashier, and many other things. My most favorite job was being an Administrative Assistant for nearly 3 years for a small one man owned company that provided corporate employee benefits, due to having that position I learned a lot about corporate employee benefits such as health & dental insurance and short & long term disability.

Describe your ideal workday.
My ideal work day starts when I wake up and have breakfast with my children and see my oldest off to school. Then my sister comes to work for me by providing “nanny” type services which allows me to work in my private office without interruption. I usually try to have all work completed by 4pm or 5pm EST, however, I have been known to work all hours of the night!

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Congratulation Caryn @ Rockinmama.net!You won the free ticket to from the bump to the tot mommy dinner. Have a great time!

There is still time to purchase your ticket to the event. Go to www.breakfastclubmommies.com for $45.00.