Newest tricks

Little A has recently learned a couple new tricks:

1) using her superpowers to do . . . something

Untitled from Vimeo.

2) playing harmonica

Untitled from Vimeo.

3) being super cute (okay this trick is not new)

applesauce from Vimeo.

No illustrations

I am a really inconsistent photographer. Which is probably not fair since I have the cutest child on the planet. But LCD took some photos (still on his phone) and so did other family members.

Anyway we just got back from vacation and had a great time. Little A got so much attention from her 4 girl cousins and she took it in stride. She's like, of course I deserve lots of attention. I mean, I am REALLY cool. We went to the beach and Little A ran into the ocean like a bat out of hell repeatedly. It is a lot of work keeping that child alive, I tell you. Sometimes I'm proud of her for being so fearless but in the moment it often scares the crap out of me. She's learned to tease me by pretending to get ready to jump off the highest point on the playground. Awesome. It was interesting to see her in comparison to her cousins and realize that I am not just some frazzled first time mom (though that may be part of it). She really is more active and fearless than any of her cousins ever were/are (confirmed by Grandpa). Oh, but how I love her.

It's boring to have someone tell you about their vacation with no pictures, so I will summarize:
beach
swamp
history
seafood
family

Then after we got back, LCD's side of the family came over for Memorial Day BBQ.

What a week.

Wisdom

Have I mentioned my brother's advice column? It's often informative and sometimes even sensible, but always awesome. He's a nurse, so basically he knows everything.

Also, speaking of wisdom (mack-truck-no-breakssssuh), we got ourselves a new recording device that you don't need a degree in sound engineering to run. You do need the independent study course, though. Anyway, the music will not be kept down by (my) apathy. It rolleth forth.

p.s., we could use a babysitter in three hours. anyone?

Freelancing/working from home

So it occurs to me that I might actually be able to make this blog useful to someone out there. After all, there are probably quite a few women (or men) that would like to be able to stay home with their babies (at least MOST of the time) but still need to make some money. I can tell you that it is certainly possible to do, but that it is also most definitely not for everybody. Only you know how that statement applies to you--just go with your gut. Also, I have no idea how you would do it without any specialized skills to start with. So, if you're looking for someone to tell you how to make gobs of money mysteriously from the internetz or become an e-bay tycoon from scratch or something of that ilk, I am not your gal. I am a freelance editor and writer because I used to be a full-time employed technical editor and writer. Which is not to say that you have to be a writer/editor to work from home freelance-style (maybe you make a killer wedding cake, who knows?), but since that's what I know best I might talk a little about that.

Anyway . . .

Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to interview myself as if I were myself a few years ago.

Is it worth it? Meaning: is it worth it to sometimes be stressed out staying up late at night working on some piddly project to get the so-called "privilege" to spend all day with a cromagnon being?

For me the answer is a "hell yes." For you? Who knows, we're all different. But here's the thing: three month post-partum me--had she the brain power to answer such a question with anything but "buhhh whaaaa?"--would likely offer an emphatic "hell no." It takes time to get used to such an arrangement. But now, today, I adore the fact that if Little A wants to spend an hour some morning just going through all the books on her shelf we have time to do that. And if one day it takes us two hours to walk to the grocery store and back, since there are so many wonderful things to stop and smell on the way, then why not?

Ok, so how did you get started freelancing?

Hooo boy. Well, firstly I had a master plan. And item number one was amass lots of diverse experience and keep relationships after each experience ends. Three years ago me should actually know this, but maybe she wants some reassurance? By the way, some of my experience was regular employment stuff and some of it was volunteering for non-profits. Also I was lucky enough to have a good chunk of savings due to several years working prior to having the baby and my pretty relentless frugality. This allowed me to be pretty lazy about the whole thing for a while, which was great because I know myself and sometimes I enjoy being lazy. So know yourself and try and get the savings to compensate.

Next, I started contacting all those people I had maintained relationships with. "Hey, I had a baby and am interested in some contract work" with some nice pleasantries in-between. And, I mentioned it to some friends, too. Not in a slimy "want to buy some knives?" sort of way, but just in a "hey, this is what I am trying to do with my life" sort of way.

And so then the work and dough started rolling in?

Sort of-kind of. I got lazy for a while and then got a reality wake-up call as we were looking at out budget and realized I needed to get more serious and more professional. So I created a business website. I took my time and sold myself pretty well on it, I think. Since I was selling my writing, the language had to be pretty much perfect and I needed to come up with a compelling hook. I also gathered all my portfolio materials together, did some more research on standard rates and came up with some, and registered my business. Then, I started contacting people again and directed them to my website.

So how much work do you get?

Not a ton, but that is not my point. And I could probably get more if I wanted to. I just need enough to meet our desired budget and it turns out I can get there in 10 hours a week, or even a little less. Right now I fluctuate (A LOT) but that is my average. And when you consider that I am paying almost nothing for child care (sometimes I drop her at the neighbor's home daycare for a couple hours), it's as if I were working at least twice that (with daycare). We are by no means "rolling in it" but we will be able to replace my car when it dies (with a nice used car) and save a little bit.

What about your relationship with the hubs?

Oh man I sure love him. But, yes, I have to make spending time with him a priority. I will occasionally have serious deadlines that require working late hours and handing off the baby when LCD gets home. That is lame-tastic, but it is rare, thankfully. If that were the general rule, I guarantee you I would get a part-time job so fast. But, most of the time I make nap-time plus his one late night at work my work-time. At some point when the babe starts to get more and more unreliable with nap-time I will have to schedule a more permanent part-time care situation. I am currently looking into swapping with another mom 1-2 X a week to ensure I have time to work and time to hang with my loves.

Well it sounds like everything is wrapped up into a neat little package then.

Sure, until the next dry spell. Or the next kid messes up my schedule. Or this one stops taking naps. But yeah, in general I think we will survive.

Year Two: Rocks, Sticks, and Flowers

Do you remember when I said I was going to rock year two of parenting? Well, I don't know if it's me that's rocking it necessarily but I am loving this second year.

Little A is pretty much non-stop fun. Well, until she breaks something. Which happens pretty much every day. But, hey, it's just stuff.

All day long she labels everything we see with a level of enthusiasm I have rarely had in my life. (Well, actually, in most of my childhood pictures I do have crazy eyes and a wide-open mouth, so the enthusiasm must still live in me somewhere. For now it is expressed through my daughter.) A rock! A stick! Look, a flower! A plane! A train! Eyes, nose, mouth, ear, hair! The playground! Seriously, the playground!!!! (Pronounced "ba-pow.") Daddy! Daddy's shoe! Wow, Daddy's tie! A dog! A bunny! My bear! All day long.

For mother's day she learned to pronounce "mommy" correctly, which was cute and sad simultaneously (b/c "mimi" WAS rather adorable).

That did not go so well

Just got off a conference call a few minutes ago with a bunch of guys I was meeting for the first time who were all talking specialized technical stuff I only have a rather generic background in. Oh, and at the same time, someone was picking up a bunch of casseroles from my house to take to the homeless services center place I usually go to monthly (just my lucky timing). Also my neighbor canceled on me for watching the babe, so she was being occupied somewhat by Curious George, though she came by often to shout at me. The best part of all is that I could not figure out how to make the mute button work on my phone. Gotta love working from home.

On another note, happy 17 months Little A!

So my mile was not exactly a mile

It was more like 2 miles according to mapmyrun.com. The pedometer app I used was apparently for crap.

The good news is I've been running 2 miles. Phew. After that first time I was worried maybe I would be dead soon. Turns out I'm just normal out-of-shape.