The Balancing Act....

I haven't written in a while and I have been in the throws of work, home, and the business. Some days balancing all of these items are more difficult and discouraging. Other days I feel like I have it all under control. Nonetheless its really hard to find time to write as much as I would like to. 

So like I said balancing act makes rethink everything including my time management. After spending much of my time thinking about my "time", I realized that I am highly inefficient:

• I don't prepare my clothes the night before
• I didn't prepare bottles the night before
• I could not find one item per day on way to work i.e car keys, ID badge etc
• I wake up and peruse the internet for at least 15 mins
• I hit snooze three times at least
• I daydream

All these things were resulting in me doing a mad dash for the door on the way to work and then only getting more chaotic from there. So I had to take a step back and do the upset of what I was doing and it doesn't work everyday. I have read some great time management tips and decided what if I could do the opposite of what I did. So two weeks in and here is what I do

• Wake up 15 minutes earlier each week, my target time is to wake up at 5:45 a.m. to give me more time in the morning to workout  and eat breakfast etc.
• Write the day care check and make labels the night before.
• Make a family calendar and use a task list.
• Reevaluate my performance each week.

Its a work in progress, but I am trying to control the balance. How do you stay organized? What are your best time management tips?

Income divided by two

Here we go again.

Anyone who works in Corporate America or for someone else knows the constant fear of being let go. Well my household as experienced this for the second time in 9 mos. This has made me the primary breadwinner for a family of three. We did all the right things as we had an initial warning of this but have had to make some changes.

I am fortunate my salary can cover expenses with some "breathing" room, that my job is in career services/recruiting and we live frugally. There will be no major lifestyle changes but nonetheless all variable costs and excessive spending will be cut. Here are some changes :

• Packing Lunch, Coffee and Snacks- I am notorious for eating out, drive thru but know that I need to cut back and save that money for when we have team lunches.
• Limiting Driving
• Cutting back on entertainment expenses 
• Using groupon/livingsocial to have some "planned fun"
• Meal Planning

What I learned is that it can be tough but knowing that better opportunities are out there will get you through tough times. Also enjoy spending time with family and using this time to do free activities like parks, beaches and exercising.

Do you have any frugal ideas to help during this transition?

I'mma (wannabe) side hustla'

Sometimes I feel like there is more to life than the 9-5. Once, I had my daughter I became even more conscientious of living frugal, earning money and investing. It's to the point that I am constantly pulling out my calculator and thinking about how I can earn more pennies. I know where I want to be by 30 but coming up and following the plan is the problem.

Therefore, I need to pursue a side hustle or multiple side hustle. For those not familiar with side hustle to it means earning income from something other than your main job. To see some real life side hustlers check out  http://www.blackenterprise.com/tag/side-hustle/. I have been thinking about ideas that can bring my side hustle into fruition.

The first step is now that I have a tangible idea is to get organized. I will need to create a list of things that I need to do, such as website, plan of how to run the business, time management for client turnaround, certification etc. All while working my full time job (40-50 hours), caring for my infant daughter and trying to enjoy some of life. I know that its a sacrifice and will all be worth it. 

I have been studying what successful people do each day. So in the words of my husband, I am prepared to shut myself in, give up reality TV and dedicate those hours to my craft. I know that I must start small and work my way. 

Some questions, I have asked myself

• Am I willing to give up friends, tv?
• How will I cope with being tired?
• Is it worth, actively pursuing a side business and sacrificing time with my daughter?
• Can I do this?

In times of doubt, I am going to remember that everything I do is for the 6lb 6oz baby I gave birth to. I want her to have the stability and life that I did not have. That will remain my motivation when I get tired. I can't wait to reveal more as time goes by.

My Name is Alexis and I have commitment issues.

Hi my name is Alexis and I start projects but never finish them. I want to talk about a problem that I have struggled with my whole life and that is follow through. They say the first step is to admit there is a problem and its true, I am an idea woman but when it comes to doing it I struggle. Some days I feel like I am all over the place and that my divided attention has me so fragmented.

In my professional career when you admit to a weakness you must say what you are doing to fix the problems. I love that I have a million and one ideas but I do see that it sidetracks me into doing none. So my focus or refocus will be on committing to this blog and my social media presence.

• I will post on this blog at least 4x per week for the entire month of June.
• I will follow at least 10 people with similar content.
• I will use social media to promote my blog for better readership.
• Benchmark successful bloggers 

With my work schedule, baby schedule and other responsibilities, I know its going to be hard but I need to challenge myself. My goal is to be the best me and give 100 percent effort in all things that I do. So expect to see a range of topics from me, including student loans, budgets and quick recipes.

Road trip with baby...SOLO

With Kennedy now being 7 mos old, I feel that I have this parenting thing down but every now and then I get nervous to do something on my own. Well we are going on a road trip by ourselves. I am nervous and several questions are popping into my head:

• What if she gets hungry mid trip?
• What if I run into traffic?
• Will she be okay in the car seat?

To put my mind at ease, I am putting together a checklist of things to bring, logistics etc.

Items for Baby

• Car Seat
• Diaper bags
• Microwavable bottle sanitizer
• Stroller
• Infant Carrier
• 6 outfits 
• Socks
• Diapers
• bathtub
• Playmat
• Monitor
• Baby bullet
• Thermometer
• Toys
• Bathing Suit
• Baby Sunblock

Am I missing anything?  I know the list is going to grow but my plan is to start compiling all of this next week. What was helpful on your road trip with baby?

Homemade Baby Food

As a parent, I could not wait until we got to the solid food stage. I couldn't wait for my baby to experience taste, textures and flavors. I felt like I was reliving this experience through baby K. I decided after thorough research to make her baby food from scratch and well that is exactly what I done.

I realized that making baby food is fast, easy and frugal.

1. Every Sunday, I get enough produce for baby and this is what my shopping list looks like

• Bunch of bananas
•  2 sweet potatoes
• 2 Pears
• 2 Apples
• avocado
• 1 peach

2. I bring home produce and wash it thoroughly to remove any dirt and impurities. The next step is to peel of all skins and then wash each fruit or veggie again.

3. Steam all veggies and fruits (banana and avocado are good to go with out cooking). I use my rice cooker and steam all fruits and veggies until they are tender.

4. Blend steamed veggies/fruits and water to make purees.

5. Freeze veggies in ice tray and store.

I have gotten into the habit of making sweet potato my go to food because I can make a bunch on Sunday and heat them throughout the week. I make fruits every 2-3 days and rotate the fruits or blend them together.

It seems like it may be more work but it is cost effective and I know that she is not getting unneeded fillers and sugars.

I know that she may not keep the health lifestyle up forever but its the least I can do.

I found this site that is quiet helpful wholesomebabyfood.com

What types of baby food do you make?

Mommy Groups- Are they worth it?

Since I found out I was expecting a child, I could not wait to get involved in Mommy groups and dreamed of having all these mommy friends. Flash forward about 15 months and I have been to a couple mommy meets up but I am not so sure. So here is my take on the pros and cons.

Pros

It's great to talk to people who get it. Having a baby changes everything and I mean everything, from the length of time it takes to go to a grocery store to the constant worrying you do about your little one. This is a great place to bounce ideas, best practices (sorry work lingo) and swap stories. Generally, these mommy meetup groups are low cost or free and potential life long friends can be made. Thanks to a particular group I belong to, I have learned about several others on FB.

CONS

Generally the times of the meetups are not friendly for Working Moms. Most members are stay at home moms and thus available to meet at the park in the middle of the day. For us working Mommas this can be a barrier to being an active participant. Also be prepared for some strong opinions ranging from staying at home to people who formula feed. I do formula feed and sometimes I feel that people act as if I give my child powdered poison. (Another story  for another time but if your child does not eat in the hospital for over 36 hrs, you too wouldn't care that they were eating formula) Also, for those Mommas that are single this too may make the stay at home crowd seem unreliable.

All in all, I do not write these groups off because I do want to find friends for myself and Baby K. I would be lying if I said, I feel these groups are not inclusive of all types of people and opinions. I think for each new Momma its a personal choice. Perhaps one day I can set up my own diverse group that can accomodate the SAHM and the Working Mom.

For those looking to find a group in your neighborhood:

• Facebook
• Meetup
• Network - Go to local library story times, swim lessons and other community activities to meet moms.

Are you a member of a Mommy Group? How do you feel about Mom groups are they worth it?