Thursday, October 29, 2009

DIY Washing Machine Repair = Fail

One day I was doing laundry and noticed there was water on the floor. Truthfully I was not doing laundry but when my husband pointed it out there was indeed water on the floor. The washing machine was also full of water and wet clothes. Judging by the sticker it was only around five years old so I was determined to fix it.

Thank you to Tsu Dho Nimh for helping me diagnose the problem.

I am pretty sure that the tube is loose or there is a problem with the pump. I have repaired computers numerous times. I had no doubt that I could repair a washing machine. I took every screw out of that washing machine and the thing would not open.

I refused to read the manual so my husband put the screws back in after we spent over forty dollars at the laundry mat. My DIY Washing Machine Repair equals fail. (=

Monday, October 12, 2009

Prime Color Lesson plus Bath Incentive

I have found an ingenious way to teach my son his prime colors while encouraging him to take a bath. My four year old son hates taking baths. He does not like water and fights us at most bath times. I actually got him excited to get into the bath by taking out the food coloring. After a quick correction, he should not eat the water just because it had food coloring in it, he jumped right in the bath. He did an experiment and saw hands on that blue and red make purple. I told him we would combine red, blue, and yellow in subsequent baths. My fingers are crossed that this can keep his interest and help him become more comfortable in the bath!

What have I done? Back to school rap.

There is less than one month before I start my part-time MBA program. I am so excited and nervous at the same time. One day I will record my raps but for now you will just have to imagine a smurf sounding voice busting out these rhymes, yo.

Little boy you have to realize that mommy has to work and go to school.
Managing my employees, signing up for soccer mom, yes I am a fool.

Our lives will be disrupted but it will be less than three years.
Work hard to improve your life and we must both ignore our fears.

No name brands, cable is gone, we have to watch our budget closely.
This is character development son, I really believe that - mostly.

Stop asking for a little sister sweetie, there is no way in hell.
Unless you can magically come up with thousands of dollars worth of things to sell.

I know you are only four years old but please try your best to be supportive of me.
The guilt is already killing me, but in the end I am sure you will see,
I promise it will all work out and this is the best thing for our family.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

AYSO soccer verses ICP Hatchetman

I have a delimma. Recently I traded in my fast, stick shift, cute, little red sports car for a mom-mobile. That was so hard. Now I am faced with how to decorate the ugly hatchback that gets good miles per gallon and has enough room for sports equipment.

My baby sports car had no decorations as none were needed. A young redhead with a hot red car said enough. Man, I loved that car.

I do feel that my new car needs something. It is so plain and I cannot keep trying to unlock other people's cars. This brings me to my delimma.

I have narrowed the decoratation to two choices. I could accept my fate and put the AYSO soccer sticker on it. It might even make the people that know me smile. The other choice is the ICP hatchetman. I could settle for a Tool or NIN sticker, or even make my own design but I am torn between the two extremes.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

My introduction to the world of freelance writing.

My introduction to the world of freelance writing. Stay with me, I do get to the topic! (=

I was not planning on having my wonderful son so soon so I did not have a lot of money saved up before his birth. I work very hard so that he can attend a Montessori preschool. He is under responsive to proprioceptive input so I feel this is the best environment for him. You can read some articles I've written about it on Associated Content.

This is the story of how we learned he had some sensory issues.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1614275/underresponsive_to_proprioceptive_input.html

I had never heard of this before so I wrote an article explaining some of the signs and symptoms of proprioceptive dysfunction. All of the information is based on research and my personal observations.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1681720/signs_and_symptoms_of_proprioceptive.html

For other moms that are going through this I published a list of exercises that we do with our son to help minimize the symptoms.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1695308/ways_to_help_children_that_are_under.html

In his Montessori school they are able to help him manage his condition while teaching him the appropriate outlets for when he is having sensory problems. This comes with a hefty price tag though. In my opinion it is totally worth it.

I am going back to school to get my MBA so in essence we are adding two college tuitions to our lives right now. I tried many side jobs to avoid going into debt. When I found freelance writing I knew I had found something special. I make a little extra money while enjoying a creative outlet.
I am not a professional writer but I like to think that I have been and will continue to improve. I have found many great resources through Associated Content.

Here are some very helpful links that I've found along the way.


Barefoot Scribbles - http://thebarefoot.wordpress.com/

Web Writers - http://webwriters.ning.com/

Accentuate Writers Forum - http://www.accentuatewritersforum.com/files/


LM (=