Four Tips for At-Home-Business Call Success

Lauren

Mommy's Helper - Mom's Market Ezine
Issue #122
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006

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Editor's Rambling:
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Note from Anita

Can you smell it? Hear it? Ahh ? It?s the fragrant smell of fresh spring air and the sweet songs of the birds in the morning outside my window. Nah, I?m not a poet by any means but the hint of spring being right around the corner brings it out in me. I so can?t wait!

There?s so many new things happening around here on the business-side, I just wouldn?t know where to start! So, needless to say it?s been crazy-busy and I don?t think I?d have it any other way. I do hope that business is just as good for you!

Don?t forget ? we?re still running our ?Post the Most Topics? contest at Mommy?s Helper?s boards! We have over $200 in prizes just waiting to be given away. If you haven?t yet ? read the details at

http://mommyshelperonline.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3621

Till next week...

~Anita DeFrank
Mommy's Helper

Note from Kara

New projects are rolling at DirectSalesHelpers.com, and I can't barely wait to announce them all. We've got several wonderful moms helping us on several of these projects, so you bet they are going to be big.

Like Anita mentioned, spring is right around the corner and so are the offline events in local areas. We've got two shows scheduled for April, and several more to be at in May. Now is the time to get involved offline! But for those still hanging around online, we've got a $25 gift certificate drawing going on right now for Prairie Soy Candles. Details at: http://www.soy-wax-candles.com/drawing.html

See you next week!

~Kara Kelso~
Mom's Market

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Article
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Four Tips for At-Home-Business Call Success

You know it?s happened to you. Your phone rings and it?s the important business call you?ve been waiting for. As you look at your children wildly circling you, you ask yourself, ?Do I take the call??

It leaves you wondering how other Mom Entrepreneurs handle at-home-business calls. Here are four quick tips:

1. Don?t apologize. On the days my son, Cole (age four) is with me, there ARE times he talks or is noisy when I?m on a business call. I used to say, ?I?m sorry, my son is here?? But thankfully, I?ve changed. I?m grateful to Ponn Sabra, author of Empowering Women to Power Network for setting me straight. She told me to be proud my son is with me. And she is right. Now when I proudly state, ?My son is with me today,? I find callers are gracious. Most reply with, ?Oh, that?s wonderful! Enjoy your time with him.?

2. Be prepared for the unexpected. As a mom, you wear many hats. When on the phone, always smile and project a good attitude. But be prepared to deal with unexpected situations. If children are disruptive during a call, remain calm. This is the time to have a sense of humor and make light of the situation. If the caller hears the background cries and you?re unable to quickly control the situation, offer to call back at a later time. ?Would ten minutes or a half hour be better for you??

3. Give ?silent hellos or goodbyes?. Laurie Hurley of Home Tutoring Business developed a ?silent hello? (or goodbye) she uses when on the phone and her girls walk in or out. Laurie wears a headset to free her hands for a big hug and a quiet kiss. Her girls are trained to be quiet and they understand she can?t hang up just because they?ve arrived. The girls compete to see who can be the quietest, and Laurie doesn?t have to hang up on a client!

4. Leave your children ?reminders?. Melody Spier of Ballyhoo Virtual Services purchased a small stop sign for her office door. It serves as a visual reminder for her kids to stop and listen so they don?t burst in during a business call. Below the sign she posted three questions for them to ask themselves before interrupting.

1. Is someone hurt?

2. Does it concern schoolwork?

3. Would you pay $5 for the answer? ($5 = the 15 minutes it takes to work through the question and get refocused)

This cut the interruptions down to almost zero after about a week.

Terilee Harrison is The Business Mom. Terilee is Mom to Jackie (12) and Cole (4). To receive your free report, ?The Business Mom?s Ultimate Get A Life Guide?, please visit www.TheBusinessMom.com.

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Childcare
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Creative Doughs to Make in Spring! - Or any Time of the Year!

Children love to make things and they love it even more if it's something messy. The ideas in this article do not have to be totally messy, but at least make sure you have a drop cloth under the table because a mess is usually inevitable with some of these doughs. One of these is even edible which adds to the fun!

White Bread Dough
2 Slices of White Bread
1 Tablespoon of Elmer's Glue

Tear the bread into crumbs. Mix in the glue. Use a fork to mix until all the bread is moistened. Knead until pliable. Dip your fingers into the water to make it more moldable. Dries in 3 days. Wet dough keeps for a month in an air-tight container in the fridge.

** This is a great dough to make little creatures out of. My children love to make little snowmen for my Mom's Christmas village. They also like to make polar bears, penguins and mice with this. It can be painted when it's dry and because of the glue, it doesn't stink or mold. Maybe your child can make beads and then string them together for a nice Grandmother's Day gift! Make sure you are the one holding the stringing needle though unless your child is old enough. Another great idea for this dough is to make little things for dollhouses such as food pieces and decorative things.

No Cook Dough
1 Cup of Flour
3/8 Cup of Hot Water
3/8 Cup of Salt
Food Coloring (optional)

Combine the flour and salt. Add water and stir. Knead for about 5 minutes. If you are adding food coloring, do it now and work it in. Plastic gloves are also optional but great if you are using a dark color. Dries in 5 days. Stores for 1 week in an air-tight container in the fridge.

** This is a great dough and has a lot of uses! As long as the things made aren't too thick, it'll keep for a long time. Sometimes the thicker pieces tend to dry with bubbles and will crack eventually. This is a wonderful dough to use cookie cutters with. Maybe you could use an Angel cookie cutter. Make sure if you are going to hang them that you put a small hole in the top. How about doggie bone shapes? What a wonderful addition that would make on a holiday tree! Or you could even cut out some hearts to put atop Valentine's gifts. There are so many great uses for this dough! It can even be painted if you don't want to use food coloring. Trying smooshing several colors together to make a kaleidescope blend!

Play Clay
1 Cup of Flour
1/2 Cup of Salt
1/2 Teaspoon of Cream of Tartar
1 Cup of Water
1 Teaspoon of Oil
Food Coloring (optional)

Mix all ingredients together over medium heat. Stir constantly until it holds together. Dries in 3 days. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to four weeks.

** This is almost exactly like Play-Doh. It's awesome to use in so many ways! We usually make up one big batch and then separate it to add colors. If you have a lot of little clear air-tight containers your child can see the colors. Talk to your child about what colors could be used to make things. Usually the back of the food coloring boxes will show you how to mix colors to get other colors. This could be used as a wonderful color lesson! This is a great pliable dough that can be used for a lot of things and it's totally re-usable for up to a month! If you are going to dry your children's creations, be careful that they are not too thick. They will crack if they aren't able to dry inside all the way.

Kool-Aid Dough
2 Cups of Flour
1/4 Cup of Salt
1 Tablespoon of Alum
1 Package of Kool-Aid (unsweetened)
1 Tablespoon of Oil
1 Cup of Water

Mix it all together. Dries in 4 days. Stores in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to four weeks.

** This is one of the easiest ones to make but it gets messy depending on what color Kool-Aid you are using. My kids like to use the "Magic" Kool-Aid because it actually changes colors as they mix it in. You can make a lot of colors with all the different flavors out there! This is a great dough to make decorations out of! Is your child attending a special birthday party? What a great gift he/she can make! Form the dough into flowers and poke a hole to put a string through! Make lots of beads and string them together for a beautiful one of a kind necklace! Make sure you ask your child what they want to make! You should make a special something for your child also.

Cornstarch Clay
1 Cup of Salt
1/2 Cup of Cornstarch
1/3 Cup of Water
1/4 Cup of Cold Water
Food Coloring (optional)

Heat salt and the 1/3 Cup of Water over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Stir until disolved. Remove from heat and add cornstarch and the cold water. You want to keep stirring until it has the consistency of mashed potatoes. Knead for a minute and then let cool. If it's sticky, work in more cornstarch. Add food coloring if you'd like. Dries in 4 days. Stores in an air-tight container for 2 weeks in the fridge.

** This is an awesome dough! It's great if you are going to use cookie cutters! Without food coloring, this dries perfectly white so it's wonderful to make all kinds of things with! You can even color the creations with markers when dry.

Play Clay Ornaments
2 Cups Baking Soda
1 Cup Cornstarch
1 1/4 Cup Water

Mix and cook over medium heat until it's like mashed potatoes. Put on a plate and cover with a damp cloth until cool. Roll out flat and cut out with cookie cutters. Put a hole in each for hanging later. Let them dry overnight. These can then be painted or colored.

** These are great and we make them several times during the year. Because there are so many wonderful cookie cutter shapes available, you can always find a use for these adorable ornaments. Here are some of our ideas! New Year's - We cut out babies and put in googlie eyes before they are dry. Then we decorate these with glitter glue with whatever year it is and pass them out to friends and family. Valentine's Day - We cut out several different size hearts. We usually personalize these with special friends names and we attach them to little bags of candy. St. Patrick's Day - We cut out various shamrock shapes and decorate them in an assortment of ways. These are great to decorate gift bags for parties. There are so many events, holidays and happenings to use these. These ornaments are great because you can push decorations down into the dough before it dries. You can also paint these or color them with crayons or markers.

Peanut Butter Clay
1 Cup Smooth Peanut Butter
1 1/2 Cups Powdered Milk
3 Tablespoons Honey

Please be careful with this dough and allergies. Some children cannot have the ingredients so please ask before making this dough with someone elses children. Mix it all together in a bowl until smooth. Form into yummy shapes and gobble them up!

** My kids love to make this one. We use carrots, celery and raisins to help decorate. This is really good to make and eat! It's quite pliable but will get sticky after it's played with for a while. You can make mini PB&J's with this too! Just make a ball of the dough and poke a hole in the middle. Drop in a dabble of jelly and munch away.

I hope that you have enjoyed some of the wonderful doughs that you and your children can make together. Make sure that you are letting them do some of the work putting the dough together, depending on their ages. So much fun can be had on an otherwise boring day just by spending some quality time together making a mess

Until next time, stay fun and hug your precious little one...

~Kim

Kimie Bringle - Director
FourPoint Moms
http://kimie.fourpointmoms.com

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Coffee Break
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Counting Blessings

?Lisa Barker

Dear Toddler of Mine,

When you got up at 3AM and took all the books off the shelf, took your diaper off and found the box of cookies in the lower cupboard in the kitchen, you gave new meaning to ?the pitter patter of little feet.? I thank God for those little feet and baby gates and my ability to spring into action when I think there?s a burglar in the house.

When you showed me the pretty picture on the wall that you had made all on your own, you gave new expression to interior decorating. I thank God for your little hands and Mr. Clean?s Magic Eraser.

When you surprised me with an elaborate homemade gift, you left me speechless. I thank God for my imagination so I could praise you for how wonderful it was?even though when you?re 18 I still won?t know what it is.

When you slammed your fist on the table and screeched at the top of your lungs because I did not know that you wanted three cookies, not two, and that I must line them up EXACTLY in a straight line, you cleared up any doubts I had about your self-esteem?and I thank God for your ability to count.

When you pulled the cat?s tail and experimented with static electricity on poor kitty, you made me believe my grandmother was right. You ARE a little professor. I thank God for your clever little mind.

Toddler of mine, there are so many things you say and do every day that make me thankful I am your parent even if I have to think very carefully when I count my blessings. I cannot imagine my life without you.

How dull it would be living in a quiet house??without Big Bird or Mickey Mouse and Kool-Aid on the couch, thank God for Kids.?

How downright boring it would be without having a little one insist I read a favorite bedtime story for the 69th time in a row.

How empty the house with seem without your toys and books strewn everywhere.

How do you do it, Little One? You try my patience, you force me to stretch and grow. You insist I never have time to sit, think, or take a deep breath. You?ve got me cutting MY food into tiny bite-sized pieces and speaking like a Teletubby.

Once upon a time I could never imagine motherhood. Now it?s all I know. And yet, in just a short time, you will spread your wings and leave this nest and leave me with only fond memories of days I could hardly remember as I lived them.

Life is so chaotic now I can?t imagine the solitude that will follow, so I ask God for one more blessing. Grandchildren.

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Jelly Mom? is written by Lisa Barker, author of "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane...Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad Parent!" and syndicated through Martin-Ola Press/Parent To Parent. To publish Jelly Mom, buy the book or leave comments, please visit http://www.jellymom.com.

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Recipes
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CROCKPOT HAMBURGER CASSEROLE

2 lbs. browned ground beef
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 onions, sliced
4 potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 can peas, drained
2 stalks celery, diced
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can water

Place potatoes in bottom of crockpot, top with carrots and other vegetables. Place ground beef on top. Combine soup and water and pour over ground beef. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Do you have a favorite recipe to share?
Post them at Mommy's Helper Community (www.MommysHelperOnline.com/phpBB2)!
Note: Recipes must be quick, easy, healthy, and original. Nothing from a cookbook or a box please.

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