The school year is finally coming to an end in the part of NH where I live. Due to a nasty ice storm in December, the school year was extended by several days.

Thanks to the economy, I have been very fortunate to be able to spend the last 10 weeks with my youngest son. I pulled him out of preschool in April to home school and save an additional $150/week.

This week is our last week together.

Unfortunately, the 10 weeks did not go as planned. I was not able to do any homeschooling. Business has been increasing since the spring. I have turned prospects away so that I could maintain some normality to my schedule.

I have tried to stick to taking Fridays off. My son and I have gone to the Children’s Museum, Seacoast Science Center, lunch with daddy, trips to the mall to play on the sea creature playground, etc. These days have been so special. Just me and him spending quality time together.

Our 10 weeks are over, he is going to summer camp and starting Kindergarten in the fall. He is my last baby…….Thinking about it last night after a long day and night was too much for me.

I will never take for granted the good fortune I have experienced being a mom entrepreneur. The precious time I have been given to spend with my children – attend every school play, assembly, sporting event, school field trip, graduation, etc. – is truly a gift.

Traci Bisson has been a mom since February 2000 and an entrepreneur since August 2000. Eight weeks after she returned from maternity leave, the company where she had been employed for five years went out of business. She decided to try doing her own thing and failed miserably. After another year of working for two different companies (the first laid off the department she worked in and the other was showing signs of going under), she decided to try entrepreneurship again. Raising her two children and growing her company, Bisson Barcelona, has been both challenging and rewarding. Her story has been told in dozens of publications, including the Associated Press, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB.com), Plan Ahead Get Ahead (cover story), Union Leader, The Portsmouth Herald, Our Times and Seacoast Ventures.

I have a feeling this is going to be a long day…

First, I overslept by 45 minutes. I couldn’t sleep during the night because my mind was racing with a new business concept. I was up at 2:00am answering emails and creating an outline of ideas for the new business. Finally after two hours of clearing my head, I was able to go back to sleep.

Because I overslept, the kids overslept – since I did not wake them up on time. So you can see the domino effect that is occurring.

While running around the house trying to get the kids ready for school, I did not notice my puppy whining to go outside. So she decides to leave me a surprise on the dining room floor…a very large pile of poop. How can something that small produce something so big?

I clean up the poop, finish feeding the kids (no time for me to eat), get kids to brush their teeth and rush out the door.

Cat runs out the door, puppy runs after the cat, oldest son runs after the puppy who is chasing the cat around the yard. As son runs out, he locks the door behind him. I find emergency key, get the puppy in the house/crate, get the kids in the car and head off to school.

Run a bunch of errands. Good thing I had a yellow sticky note to remind me of what errands I had to do. Errands go smoothly.

Arrive back home, let puppy out to run…she finds a dead mouse that cat she chased left for her. She starts eating it, I extract dead mouse from mouth and throw in woods……

And this all took place by 9:30am. Calgon take me away!

Traci Bisson has been a mom since February 2000 and an entrepreneur since August 2000. Eight weeks after she returned from maternity leave, the company where she had been employed for five years went out of business. She decided to try doing her own thing and failed miserably. After another year of working for two different companies (the first laid off the department she worked in and the other was showing signs of going under), she decided to try entrepreneurship again. Raising her two children and growing her company, Bisson Barcelona, has been both challenging and rewarding. Her story has been told in dozens of publications, including the Associated Press, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB.com), Plan Ahead Get Ahead (cover story), Union Leader, The Portsmouth Herald, Our Times and Seacoast Ventures.

As I inch closer and closer to the big 4…0, I am searching for resources for connecting with other women online who are the same age.

Wednesday marks my first official week on the new Weight Watchers Momentum plan. The first week is always the hardest. I went from eating anything I wanted, cleaning my kids plates if they did not finish and late, late night eating.

” It has been great getting to know you. Just wanted to say you are doing an amazing job with the group. Thanks for all your help and suggestions.”

These kind words were written in a card that accompanied a box of chocolate brownies. They arrived from Diane Walker who is a senior executive for Send Out Cards.

Diane is a member of The Mom Entrepreneur Online Support Group. Lately, I have been receiving testimonials, phone calls and emails from members expressing their gratitude for creating this online support group.

One member commented that she belongs to many other online mom entrepreneur groups, but that “most of them have fizzled out…but not this one”.

It is refreshing to hear the feedback from these women.

The Mom Entrepreneur was created back in April 2008 after I took my son out of daycare and retreated to my home office to save employees’ jobs at my other company Bisson Barcelona. A few clients owed us in excess of $12,000. About $6,000 we never collected.

My exploration into social media, while working out of my home office, eventually led to the formation of an online support group. I have a lot of respect and admiration for the women in this group who have shared their innermost fears and desires with me.

I am dedicated to this group of mom entrepreneurs and will continue to do everything that I can to support them and help them succeed.

If you are a mom entrepreneur, join me and over 400 other women in the most productive and supportive group you will ever be a part of – The Mom Entrepreneur Online Support Group.

Traci Bisson has been a mom since February 2000 and an entrepreneur since August 2000. Eight weeks after she returned from maternity leave, the company where she had been employed for five years went out of business. She decided to try doing her own thing and failed miserably. After another year of working for two different companies (the first laid off the department she worked in and the other was showing signs of going under), she decided to try entrepreneurship again. Raising her two children and growing her company, Bisson Barcelona, has been both challenging and rewarding. Her story has been told in dozens of publications, including the Associated Press, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB.com), Plan Ahead Get Ahead (cover story), Union Leader, The Portsmouth Herald, Our Times and Seacoast Ventures.

When you become a mother, you want to spend all your time with your precious newborn. Being the guiding force in your baby’s life is the most important thing! That’s why work at home moms are so happy with their jobs – working at home allows you to spend plenty of time with your children while still contributing to the household income.

Often mothers are expected or encouraged to go back to work as soon as the baby is old enough to be left with a babysitter or daycare. Some companies only allow six weeks of maternity leave, and that means you have, at the most, six weeks with your newborn child. Many mothers are rebelling against that old expectation and are working at home instead.

Being a work at home mom means you have more time for your family. If your child gets sick, you don’t have to take time off work and juggle appointments to take them to the doctor – you are home already, so you can do whatever your chosen business is, all the while holding your sick child close to you. If you need to make a run to the doctor, no problem! You set your own hours when you work at home, so you can shuffle your schedule to keep your child the priority.

Setting your own schedule can be a wonderful thing, as long as you’re organized enough to make it work! Being a work at home mom is not as easy as others might think it is. You have to be your own secretary, manager and accountant. You are handling not only the duties of a full-time parent, but also those of a full-time business owner. That’s a heavy load to carry!

But it’s worth it when you take a break from the work you love and look down to see your lovely little child smiling up at you, happy and content in the knowledge that you are there for them, all the time, no matter what. That’s a feeling that makes all the hard work seem easy, and makes you thankful that you took the steps to become a work at home mom.

Denise Bergeron

The goal of SingleMomFinancialHelp.com is to help women change the world through information and education. We are creating a support structure through which all women of the world can educate one another about where they have been, where they are right now and where they are going. With help from our site and the information and articles we distribute women will be more educated in finance, business, home matters, relationships, career and higher education.

It was once believed that pregnant women were fragile creatures, who should avoid exerting themselves during those 9 months.  However, now many studies have established that exercise actually helps the body deal with the stresses of pregnancy with benefits for the: aerobic system,  respiratory system and cardiovascular system.

That said there are some basic guidelines to keep in mind to keep both mama and baby safe while breaking a sweat.  ALWAYS check with your doctor before beginning (or continuing) a workout program, while pregnant to see if you have any special needs or restrictions.

• Workout with the goal of maintaining fitness, rather than training for competition.
• Avoid exercising in hot, humid environments which challenge the body’s ability to cool itself.  Your body temp should stay below 100 degrees.
• Stay well-hydrated, drink (preferably water) until your urine runs light in color
• Have a light snack before to avoid low blood sugar
• Keep energy bars, fruit and juices on hand in case of low blood sugar
• Do longer warm-ups and cool-downs
• Reduce the frequency, intensity and time of your workouts as your pregnancy progresses
• Try to exercise on flat even surfaces, balance and joint laxity is challenged during pregnancy, increasing the risk of ankle sprains
• Wear supportive footwear
• Work at an intensity you would describe as “somewhat hard”.
• Avoid situations which could result in abdominal trauma (roller-blading, kick-boxing, mountain biking, downhill skiing) especially as the pregnancy progresses
• Avoid breath-holding during exercise
• Avoid rapid changes of position between exercise or prolonged standing as these can result in dizziness or fainting from blood pooling in the legs and feet.
• Avoid lying flat on your back after the first trimester, as the weight of the baby can impair blood flow back to your heart and brain, making you feel dizzy, faint or uncomfortable
• Keep your pelvic floor strong by doing Kegels both during your workout and during the day (some experts recommend as may as 50 reps, 10-20 sets every day — Geez, that’s A LOT of Kegeling!!).  For directions on how to Kegel check out this link to The Mayo Clinic

Again, this list is just a guide and women with certain medical conditions and/or a high-risk pregnancy may need additional modifications.  Unfortunately, in some cases women may not be able to exercise at all.   Be sure to talk to your doctor and make sure he/she is okay with what you are planning to do.

Geralyn Coopersmith is the author of the critically-acclaimed book, Fit + Female, The Perfect Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type. Geralyn served as the exercise consultant for the highly-successful Joy Fit Club Program with Joy Bauer on The Today Show.  She is a contributing reporter and editorial advisor for iVillage.com and a member of the advisory board for Health Magazine.   Geralyn is frequently featured in national magazines and newpapers, including:  Health,Fitness, Self, Fit Pregnancy, Marie Claire, Family Circle, Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, The New York Post, Newsday and many others.

BizzyWomen.com is a web community committed to empowering professional women, career women and business women around the globe.  We’ve recently launched and invite you to check out our great content from a wide variety of contributors: from learning from female entrepreneurs on TV, to a vibrant discussion about our female vice-presidential candidate, to the powerful women leading Generation Y, to insight into maternity leave policy in the U.S., BizzyWomen is focusing on tough issues and addressing them.

It’s an easy step to make for BW to move from merely writing about poignant issues to doing something about them.  I want to recruit you to our lending team, BizzyWomen, on Kiva, a non-profit website that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in the developing world. You choose who to lend to – whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq – and as they repay the loan, you get your money back.

If you join our lending team, we can work together to alleviate poverty. Once you’re a part of the team, you can choose to have a future loan on Kiva “count” towards our team’s impact. The loan is still yours, and repayments still come to you – but you can also choose to have the loan show up in our team’s collective portfolio, so our team’s overall impact will grow!

Check out the BizzyWomen lending team, and learn more about lending teams on Kiva in general, by clicking here: http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=community&action=viewTeam&team_id=703&_isc=e1eef358-ce5c-102b-ac3c-ecd46065da15.

Thanks,
Editors, BizzyWomen