I’m proud to announce the launch of our newest blog:

Mommy Blogger .me!

Fall is always a busy time for us, during which we roll out our new websites before holiday season starts up.  This year is no exception, as you may remember we launched a new site 2 weeks ago called And Freebies For All.

We get so many questions about blogging from readers and bloggers that we figured it was about time to start making blogging how to information available to the public. I’ll be writing at MommyBlogger.me, giving away tons of my secrets and helpful hints for how to get the edge in this growing new media world.

You may be familiar with the sites on blogging that are available now, and all the top ones are run by – you guessed it – men!  Now they are my blogging counterparts and some are even my friends, but I felt it was about time there was a blogging site specifically for women.  Hence, MommyBlogger.me was born!

What Qualifies Me to Write about How to be a Problogger?

I’ve been a problogger and new media publisher for several years, right since blogging was starting to catch on.  I’ve been involved with some pretty high-profile companies, such as Oscar Mayer, Walmart, Purex, Macy’s, and many more, and have built a moderate blogging empire which continues to grow.

I’m a modest person which is why I make our site statistics and analytics private.   While I won’t hand out specific numbers, I will tell you that our sites rank very well for our keywords in SERPS and they rank fast.  We have incredible reach in Twitter (recently surpassing Sarah Palin in Twitter rank for Alaskans), our SEO is up there with the best of the best, and our site launches show what we can do very quickly. 

For example, our freebies site, which is now only 14 days old, hit the 1st page of Google today for one of our keywords.  That’s pretty amazing to me, and I’m grateful for the success, but I also believe that anyone can do what I do if they know my helpful blogging tips.

Whether you’re a beginner at blogging or if you’d just like to take your blogging to a new level, you owe it to yourself to visit our new problogging site, MommyBlogger.me.  It offers help with social media, blogging best practices, how to monetize your blog, and more. 

I hope some of what I’ve learned the hard way, through good old trial and error, will come to you more easily by reading all the free information on our site!

You can subscribe to MommyBlogger.me now to get the articles daily:

get the RSS feed here or the email subscription here (both are free).

Related Articles:

• Responsibilities That Come with Mommy Blogging
• Computer Time and Family Life: Crystal Paine Pt 2
• Blogging During the Summer: Are You Cutting Back?
• Mom I’d Like to Tweet – MILT Shirts
• I’m at the Oscar Mayer Test Kitchens Today

The good news is that there are plenty of probloggers you can model as you learn to cultivate your thick skin, and plenty of support from bloggers who have been there and experienced the downside (myself included). Here’s a quick excerpt from the article The Responsibility of Being a Blogger:

• “As a blogger, you are now a public figure. 
• People will expect more from you than they do of themselves or their friends. 
• People will feel you owe them explanations for your actions, blog posts, even the choices you make in your personal life.
• People will say negative things sometimes.  Never believe what people say about you. YOU decide what you are, no one else has that right.”

Read the rest of The Responsibility of Being a Blogger here.

Related Articles:

• Blogging During the Summer: Are You Cutting Back?
• Computer Time and Family Life: Crystal Paine Pt 2
• Announcing Our New Blogging How To Site: Mommy Blogger .me
• Watercooler: The Almost Easter 2009 Edition
• Mom I’d Like to Tweet – MILT Shirts

Whether it’s to enjoy the warm weather and do outdoor activities, or to spend more time with your kids since school is out for summer vacation, it seems a lot of mommy bloggers are scaling back.

Blogging is a multi-faceted business and we’re always busy: reading, writing, networking, guest posting, commenting, Mr. Linky-ing, and more.  It’s time consuming and sometimes it seems that entire days pass by and we wonder where they went! 

Many of you who know me have heard me talk about opening my RSS feed reader to upwards of 7,000 unread posts a day.  I just don’t have time to read all the blogs I would like to, because my family does come first and I have to really streamline my days with a tight schedule to make time for both my business and my family.  We have a wonderful 3-part series of interviews we did with super blogger Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom about cutting back computer time which I think you’ll enjoy.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on scaling back blogging for the summer.  Let us know in the comments!

Related Articles:

• Top 5 Cheap Kids’ Snacks for Summer Vacation
• Responsibilities That Come with Mommy Blogging
• Recession-Proofing: It’s Not About How Much You Make
• Kitchen Tip: Make Single Serving Ice Cream Bowls
• How to Make Frozen Grapes

“Danelle Ice is a Mom I’d Like to Tweet (MILT)” – Thanks for the compliment!

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about doing a photo shoot for MILT shirts (Mom I’d Like to Tweet).  You can click that link to go watch the video I made about the photo shoot.  MILT is a reference to all the cool mommy bloggers using Twitter now.

The 3 ads are finally ready and our readers are the first to see them – they haven’t even been released yet!  The photos came out better than I even could have hoped.  There’s one at left and the other 2 are below in this article. 

I model their shirts because:

• The MILT shirts are funny and cute.
• Pink shirts rule (it’s my signature color).
• I love original ideas, and this one is pretty bodacious.
• Their line is available in maternity sizes/styles. How’s that for a rockin’ mommy-friendly company?!

You can buy your MILT shirt at MILTshirts.com.  The Mom I’d like to Tweet shirts do come in colors other than pink (they also have men’s shirts). 

@HomemakerBarbi is a proud part of the MILT Mafia!  You can follow @miltmafia or @momidliketotweet on twitter.  Want to join the club?  Go buy your Mom I’d Like to Tweet shirt, snap some photos of you wearing it, and send them a message on twitter. 

What do you guys think of the photos?

Related Articles:

• Twitter – Mom I’d Like to Tweet (MILT) Shirts
• Computer Time and Family Life: Crystal Paine Pt 2
• Unexpected Guests? How to Stretch a Meal at the Last Minute
• Responsibilities That Come with Mommy Blogging
• Printable: Kids’ Getting Dressed to Leave the House Checklist

If you missed part 1 or part 2 of Balancing Computer Time and Family Life, go read them first.

Homemaker Barbi asked: Some people, especially bloggers, might find that limiting their computer time makes them feel rushed or is if they don’t have enough time to accomplish what they need to do.  What advice do you have for people who would like to start using a schedule to limit their computer time that might help them avoid this “rushed” feeling? 

Crystal Paine said:  “First off, if you’ve never had any sort of schedule for your computer time and are used to spending hours on it a day, don’t expect to set computer boundaries overnight. It will take time and effort to develop self-discipline. Think about what your ideal would be for computer time- when you’d like to be on the computer, how long you’d like to be on, and specific times you’d like to stay off the computer.

“Then, take these ideal goals, and think of smaller steps you could take to reach these. Perhaps if you are used to being on the computer at all hours of the day, all throughout the day, you could start by choosing one or two hours in the middle of the day when you will not- under any circumstance- turn your computer on. If it helps, go so far as to shut the entire computer down and off during these times. Once you’ve mastered this, then move on to going for longer periods with the computer off. Then learn the art of using a timer to stick to your daily designated computer times.”

Homemaker Barbi:  Since setting up computer-free times might be a very difficult task for some people in the beginning, try this tip.  Choose a weekend day to cut back on your computer time, and go somewhere out of the house with your family (make sure the computer won’t be going with you.)  Try an activity or place where you’ll be so busy doing something fun with your spouse and kids that you don’t even notice being away from the computer – think bowling, a family adventure walk, movie theater, a picnic at the park, fishing, watching a live sporting event, etc. 

After a few weekends in a row spending time out of the house without your computer, it won’t feel as foreign to stay at home during your selected day and do activities not computer-related.

Crystal Paine said:  “At the same time, you also need to consider areas where you might need to cut back or eliminate  things when it comes to spending time online. Are there certain websites or online activities which are taking large amounts of your time? Would your time be spent more wisely doing something else? Perhaps you need to stop visiting certain websites or set up specific boundaries for yourself in order to spend less time online.

“I personally have found I can easily waste large amounts of time chatting online or by being involved in message forums. So I have actually disabled all chat features on my computer and have a rule of thumb to never comment in message forums. This has saved countless hours for me.”

Homemaker Barbi:  I have performed this time-wasting audit myself, and found that certain activities take up way too much of my blogging time.  

A perfect example is the applications in Facebook.  There are lots of fun goodies, like sending Facebook presents, plants, playing games, memes, birthday calendars, etc., but all those Facebook applications (and every invitation to take part in one) takes more and more of your time. 

Are they helping you create relationships with fellow bloggers or individuals online?  Maybe not.  Perhaps that time would be better spent reading the same individuals’ blogs and leaving meaningful comments.  I found the apps took so much of my computer time that I have blocked all Facebook applications.  Drastic measure, I know, but I value my family time enough to know that I need limits.

There are also activities that I say no to on certain days.  I sometimes cut out Twitter completely on Saturday and don’t even log in, because I know tweeting can take a lot of my blogging time.  On Fridays, I do no other computer work but writing, which I can usually do without logging into any social media sites.  I call it Post-Only Friday, and look forward to a relaxing day of writing for my blogs without other computer responsibilities.  Because of this clear boundary, I usually finish my posting early in the day and have lots of time to spend Friday night on fun family activities.

Crystal Paine said:  “The most helpful thing of all for me has been to set aside one day per week to keep the computer off–for the entire day. It might seem impossible at first for you to consider doing something like this and I’m not saying everyone needs to, but I actually look forward to the quietness of my completely-computer-free Sundays. And I don’t think I really have ever missed anything life-changing as a result from not turning on my computer!”

Thank you so much to Crystal Paine for doing this interview with us and sharing such life-altering information!  Time is the great equalizer; we all have the same amount of time in a day no matter what.  How we choose to spend the minutes of our life is, after all, how we spend our life.  Looking back on our time on this Earth, will we be proud that we created the lives we wanted for ourselves and our families?

Let us know how you limit computer time and balance family life in the comments below!  If you enjoyed this series and found it useful, please pass it on by posting about it on your blog, favorite forum, twitter, emailing to a friend, or bookmarking on your favorite social site.  Thank you! 

• Balancing Computer Time and Family Life, part 1
• Balancing Computer Time and Family Life, part 2
• Balancing Computer Time and Family Life, part 3

Yellow walls photo by CarbonNYC.  Woman lying down photo by Channah.

Related Articles:

• Computer Time and Family Life: Crystal Paine Pt 2
• Balancing Computer Time and Family Life: Crystal Paine Interview
• Why Get Organized?
• Teaching Our Kids that Being Happy Comes From Inside
• Safeguard Your Menu Plan System When Life Happens

If you missed part 1, Balancing Computer Time and Family Life: Crystal Paine Interview, go read it first.

In our never-ending quest to streamline computer use and productivity to have more family time, we sought out power mommy blogger Crystal Paine.  This young mom of (almost) 3 children runs 3 successful blogs while spending extremely limited time online.  And when we say successful blogs, we mean by mainstream standards: Money Saving Mom gets over 1 million page views a month! 

We had to know Crystal’s secrets to productivity and were delighted that she offered to share her expertise with us and our readers.  Below are two more questions we asked Crystal about limiting computer time to increase productivity, and her responses.

Homemaker Barbi asked: Is your computer time more productive because you have less time to spend on online distractions?

Crystal Paine said: “Absolutely! When I don’t have time to waste, I’m not only much more efficient, but I find I’m much more selective in what online commitments I’ll make. If I had all day to blog and answer emails, I probably could pretty much blog and answer emails all day–because there’s always more work to be done online!

“By limiting my online time, though, I have to pick and choose which things are the most important and productive. For instance, I’ve found that social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) can be a great way to interact on a more personal level with friends, but it can also be a huge time-sucker. Because of this, I try to stay off of social networking sites unless I’ve finished my more pressing online responsibilities and have extra time online still.”

Homemaker Barbi:  When it comes to computer time or work time, we know guilt can be a major factor for many people.  Some feel guilty that they have to spend time working outside the home instead of being home with their families.  Yet others who work from home don’t escape the guilt either.  Being at home with your family but having to spend time on the computer instead of doing activities together can take its toll on your morale. 

Work at home moms (WAHMs) and mommy bloggers especially can feel strong guilt in this department.  The common mindset is the more time you work the more money you’ll make, and they often feel compelled to spend more time on the computer to make a successful business or blog.  While there are many tips and strategies to help us strike a balance between family time and work time, the right amount of time dedication to each activity will vary greatly from person to person.  We asked Crystal about this dilemma to get her perspective.

Homemaker Barbi asked: Do you have any helpful hints or words of encouragement for our readers?

Crystal Paine said: “If there is one thing I could encourage every mommy blogger or work-at-home mom out there to remember, it is this: anyone can be a pretty good blogger or pretty good business owner, but there is only person who is mommy to your children and wife to your husband. Don’t let all the good things out there take precedence over the best things. You only have one life to live–make it count!”

Sage advice for all parents and spouses to consider, to be sure!  Stay tuned for the conclusion of our interview with Crystal Paine (part 3) next Saturday, April 25th.  Part 3 of Computer Time and Family Life addresses how to get started setting up a computer time schedule, and which online activities to cut out to gain more time.

Woman with laptop black and white photo by mangpages. 

Related Articles:

• Computer Time & Family Life Pt 3: Setting Up a Computer Schedule
• How to Get Things Done When You Have a Baby: The Practical Parent’s Guide
• Responsibilities That Come with Mommy Blogging
• Moms – Join me for Oscar Mayer Breakroom Chat Tonight
• Mom I’d Like to Tweet – MILT Shirts

Why pay for anything you don’t have to?  Software can be expensive, so always do your research before buying to find out if there is a free alternative available.  Below are some tips for finding free software online that will save you tons.

Free AntiVirus Software

• Some anti-virus companies have a free version of antivirus software. Here’s one – AVG Free.
• Avast – the home user edition is free.

Cloud Computing Services

If you want to take advantage of some “cloud computing” and domain services, try these:

• Microsoft Office Live – You bring the domain name, you can get a free website hosted there.
• Google Apps – Free email, word processing, spreadsheets, group calendars, group chat, and more.

Operating Systems

Picked up an old computer and can’t see spending the money to put Windows on it?  Try Linux. Some people love it, some people don’t understand it or are afraid of it, and some people just like what they’re already using. But nobody complains about the price tag of Ubuntu, one of the best “linux flavors” for a home pc or laptop.

Other Open Source

• More open source options include Open Office instead of paying for Microsoft Office.
• For a free, web-based Photoshop replacement I suggest Aviary (super-cool site, too!).
• And finally, if you find you’re getting a whetted appetite for open-source software, give Osalt a try, where you can find open-source alternatives to popular programs like Adobe Photoshop and Acrobat Pro.

I’ve personally tried a lot of open source software.  Usually I find it’s not as good and harder to support than the mainstream, paid-for software. But what do you expect for free, right? And did I mention it’s free?!

What free software have you come across?  Let us know (with links) in the comments!

Related Articles:

• Load Up on Freebies and Free Samples!
• How to Save Money by Getting Almost Everything for Free
• Have a Bumble Bee Tuna House Party with Free Stuff!
• Freebies and Free Samples: Bomshell Fight Like a Girl & More
• Freebies and Free Samples: 4th of July Weekend

One of Homemaker Barbi’s core values as a company is to help people have it all through balancing their lives.  We started the Mommy Tech department to focus on how technology can help make moms’ lives easier.  In this series we’re exploring how to keep work life/computer life and personal life/family life in check.

Last November, I read an article from superstar blogger Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom and Biblical Womanhood.  It was one of those articles that sits in the back of your mind and rolls around, comes up in your dreams and pops back into your thoughts when you least expect it.  The article was called Keeping Computer Time in Balance (I suggest you read it first if you haven’t already). 

The very idea of setting limits with the computer was one that intrigued me, and as I read the blog post and re-read it, I realized that I had to interview Crystal Paine to find out more.  It was absolutely necessary to pass this novel system on to other parents and bloggers immediately, as we all struggle to find balance between our work life and family life at times.

Crystal is a young wife and mom, but carries in her words the authority and experience of someone at least twice her age.  Women of all ages and stations in life relate to her advice and encouragement, which is why her knowledge was something we just had to get.  When I read Keeping Computer Time in Balance, I was very interested in the schedule Crystal had setup for times during which she uses the computer.  Since this system can benefit a lot of other bloggers (especially moms), we asked her 4 questions and got answers far more detailed than we dreamed!

Why Did You Start Limiting Your Computer Time?

Homemaker Barbi asked:  In the article, you mention limiting your online times to when your children are sleeping and during afternoon quiet time, so that you can put caring for your kids during the day and spending time with your husband in the evenings as your main priorities.  How has this worked for you so far?

Crystal Paine said:  “A few years ago, I was doing at-home contract work for another company, in addition to blogging and running a business from home. I was often spending 60 hours a week working from home. My husband was in law school at the time, we were living in an unfamiliar town, we only had one car, and we only had one little one, so I had a lot more time to devote to online work. However, I still carried around a lot of guilt. When I wasn’t doing online work and was doing something for our family, I’d feel guilty because I knew I was letting business responsibilities pile up. When I was working on the computer, I would feel guilty that I wasn’t doing enough for our home and family.

“After months of carrying around this guilt, I finally realized this wasn’t worth it. And so, I quit working as an  independent contractor for the company I was working for and concentrated my online time solely on my own business and blogging. This contract position paid well and was hard to give up but it was one of the best things I’ve ever done.

“Since then, I’ve slowly cut back more and more on my online responsibilities and sought to streamline things as best as possible–focusing on the areas I am most passionate about and what is the greatest return on my investment of time and effort. In the process, I’ve learned the true freedom that comes from saying “no” and setting some pretty rigid boundaries when it comes to online time and blogging commitments.

“It’s so easy for us mommy-bloggers or work-at-home moms to get so involved, over-committed, and caught up in business and blogging commitments that we lose sight of our more-important priorities as a wife and mom. By setting boundaries for my online time, it guarantees that almost 100% of the time, the majority of my day is spent being a wife and mom–not in front of the computer screen. And instead of feeling guilty and constantly pulled in many different directions, I can rest easy knowing that even if all the online things don’t get done, my day was not at all wasted since most of it was spent with my family.

The computer work can always wait until tomorrow (or next week, or maybe even next year!) but my children are only little once.”

In the next article, we’ll explore Crystal Paine’s tips for setting up a computer time schedule.  Thank you to Crystal for granting us this amazing interview.  For more Works for Me Wednesday, visit We are That Family.  Laptop photo by Mulan5.  Busy schedule photo by flik.

Related Articles:

• Watercooler Roundup: Biblical Womanhood Closes
• Welcome Money Saving Mom Readers!
• Computer Time and Family Life: Crystal Paine Pt 2
• Computer Time & Family Life Pt 3: Setting Up a Computer Schedule
• Why Get Organized?

Our favorite celebrity homemaker, Martha Stewart, has joined the world of social media and is now on Twitter!  She really is one of us Web 2.0 moms; her personal blog is even on WordPress.  If you’re as excited about this as we are, be sure to check her out and connect with her in real time. 

You can follow Martha Stewart on twitter here.

Martha Stewart’s twitter username is @marthastewart

You can find Martha-related tweets by monitoring our #marthastewart hashtag in twitter.  If you’re not connected on Twitter yet, go create an account right now.  Twitter is a fantastic networking tool and micro-blogging outlet, the perfect way for homemakers to make friends with like-minded moms!

Martha Stewart photo by Art Comments.

Related Articles:

• Watercooler: The I’m Pregnant Edition
• Twitter – Mom I’d Like to Tweet (MILT) Shirts
• Take & Make Menu Plan: Martha Stewart Dinner Recipes
• Mom I’d Like to Tweet – MILT Shirts

17 Free Downloads – Personal Finance, Business,

Amazon is offering 17 free downloads throughout the month of February on the topics of investing, business and other related subjects.  If you’re a fan of Forbes magazine, Inc. magazine, Fast Company magazine, or Mental Floss magazine, then you’ll love these free downloads that will be available until the end of February 2009.  Download these brain-vitamin articles by clicking links below.

(Editor’s Note- I am a huge fan of Inc. magazine and incidentally, got hooked on it after receiving a free subscription last year!  It is a goal of mine to appear on the cover of Inc. magazine, following in the recent footsteps of 2 of my  inspirations: Kevin Rose (of Digg) and Markus Frind.)

• Download “The Most Important Questions of 2009: Answered!”
• Download the Forbes Investors’ Guide
• Download Forbes’ “The Big Picture”
• Download Fast Company’s “The Most Influential Women in Technology”  (I’m not on the list this year – but I plan to be next year!)
• Download Inc.’s “The Believer”
• Download Forbes’ “Fantasy Island”
• Download Forbes’ “Supercharged Munis”
• Download Forbes’ “Tapping Your IRA Early”
• Download Forbes’ “Building Boom”
• Download Forbes’ “This Home Boom is Still Alive”
• Download Forbes’ “Home, But Not Alone”
• Download Inc.’s “How I Did It”
• Download Inc.’s “Street Smarts”
• Download Forbes’ “Subtle Shades of Green”
• Download Forbes’ “Pipeline to Profits”
• Download Forbes’ “Inside Track”
• Download Forbes’ “The Government Oil Play”

Related Articles:

• Freebies and Free Downloads on Groundhog Day
• Freebies and Free Samples: Bomshell Fight Like a Girl & More
• Why I Redesigned This Site Myself
• Top Free Software Alternatives Online
• Super Saturday Savings: Free and Cheap Fred Meyer