Mommies can have happy hour in DC!

So after The Today show piece on "Do playgroups and happy hour mix"? our various moms message groups went crazy. The most unfortunate thing to come out of this segment with Meridith Vieira, is that it pitts moms, against moms. Those who drink, V's those who are tee-totallers. One is a good mom, one is not.

My mother drank all the time while raising me. She took me to bars during the afternoon with her friends and their children. She would stop by the "off license" after grocery shopping for a 6 pack of Tennants Pilsner Lager. I remember thinking when I got older that the only thing I thought was a little dysfunctional was that back in the 80's they had these super sexy models on the cans of beer. In bikinis.

By the time I was 14 she was paying me to stay at home and babysit my brother by offering me bottles of Peach Schnapps. Delicious with freshly squeezed orange juice, and a shot of vodka. It was totally normal... In Ireland.

I grew up in a country where we didn't designate a certain time "Happy Hour". Anytime is an alright time to have a drink.

When I moved to the states at 18, I was shocked to find out that I could no longer go into a bar legally and get a drink. Here I was an adult, who had travelled thousands of miles away from home by herself to a foreign country, but now I couldn't go out for a vodka and coke. It was surreal. It also meant that I wanted it more, and went to extreme lengths to get it.

Growing up in Europe it was considered completely normal for teens (you know like 14/15/16 years old) to have a beer or glass of wine with dinner, and with their parents present. A 16 year old would never have to "ask for" or worse "sneak" a bottle of beer while he's chilling out playing Xbox.

I have had to check myself on more than one occasion from offering a friend's teenager to help himself to a beer from the fridge. For one thing, my husband, who doesn't drink and is American, would be horrified. My friend, who also drinks, would definitely freak out.

I'm sure 46% of you are thinking with this kinda upbringing I must be a complete alcoholic. You'd be wrong. Sometimes after spending 13 hours a day with two toddlers, I do feel like having a glass of wine. I love having a margarita or two when my husband and I take the kids and go out for tex mex food. I've also had weekend bar-b-ques where most of the adults are drinking some kind of adult beverage, while the children are splashing around in a paddling pool, next to our inground swimming pool, which we're usually floating around in - with those floaty devices that keep your drinks cold on a hot summer day.

Many many weeks ago the Washington Post had an article on Happy Hour places for you to take your children in the DC area. I made sure our moms group knew about them, and we'll try to experience all of them. In no particular order:

WONDERLAND BALLROOM . Once a week, the popular Columbia Heights dive bar with booths made from minivan seats gives itself over to those typically strapped into the back of a minivan. From 5-8 p.m. on Wednesdays, the upstairs bar at Wonderland features Baby Happy Hour. The room is toy-cluttered and baby-proofed -- a safety gate at the top of the stairs keeps the toddlers from tumbling. As is typical when this crowd gets together, the parents set up play dates and the kids roam free, but now it's all done over pints.

http://www.thewonderlandballroom.com/

NICK'S RIVERSIDE GRILLE. This restaurant along Georgetown's waterfront offers up a relaxed outdoor bar with a more low-key atmosphere than the see-and-be-seen attitude of neighboring Sequoia. And through the end of September 2007, Nick's will be slinging more than burgers and fries. On Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m., the restaurant will offer kids 12 and younger free craft kits: junior can make a sun visor, or other arts project, while mom gets together with friends for a Cosmo!

http://www.dcseafood.com/nicks/

INDIGO LANDING - has amazing views of Washington's skyline, the restaurant dishes up carrot sticks and apple slices as soon as kids sit down. The restaurant also serves kids' takes on adult cocktails: While moms kick back on the expansive deck with a Cool Plantation ($9), a cocktail made with mango-flavored rum, buckwheat honey, bananas and lime juice, kids can slurp down a Banana Split ($2.50), a drink made with buckwheat honey, bananas, lime juice and crushed ice. Our moms can sip on a Charleston Bog ($9), a thirst-quencher made with Maker's Mark bourbon, smashed raspberries, white cranberry juice, crushed lime and mint, while the junior set can sample the Charleston Cooler ($2.50), which swaps the bourbon for red cranberry juice.

http://www.indigolanding.com/


ARLINGTON CINEMA N DRAFTHOUSE. Converted from a 1930s Art Deco theater shows family-friendly flicks regularly on the schedule, so moms can have an ice cold one while watching "Ice Age" or "Over the Hedge." Typically the $5.50 films are scheduled in the afternoons, but at least once a month they are shown during happy hour. The theater also regularly offers live entertainment (doors open at 11:30 a.m).

http://www.arlingtondrafthouse.com/

Parents & Kids Happy Hour - Calvert House Inn - Riverdale, MD. A chance to hang out responsibly with other local parents in a smoke free environment. The Inn provides some toys and activities (and the occasional live music show), but feel free to bring the kid's favorite toys and CDs as well. A buffet of kid-friendly foods is available, as is the rest of the dinner menu - and with a 20% discount! [301.864.5220; http://www.calverthouseinn.com] On going Each Wed; check with location for exceptions.

UPDATED ARTICLE ON WEEKEND ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS AT ARLINGTON CINEMA N DRAFTHOUSE. CLICK HERE!

How do most Stay at home moms make extra money?

Many women who are stay at home mommies (SAHM) want to make money from the comfort of their own homes, while raising their very young children. I've found (just through our group) that these women are intelligent, highly motivated, organized (you have to be with kids) and really need to bolster their families income.

They don't want to open up "daycare" centers in their homes, and take on more kids ~ although for sure, there is money to be made in this. Most of the sahm's I know wanted to devote themselves to their children, not other peoples children.

There are many of them who have signed up for MLM business ideas (they used to be tupperware, cleaning products and kitchen gadgets) but more and more have gotten into makeup, perfume and cleansers, Passion Parties, Candles, Books, Kids Toys and more... They have to actively find customers, advertise, do home shows, and really "hustle" for a living. This is a lot of work, and quite frankly, to be successful in it, you have to spend a lot more hours on it than you would if you just went back to work full time!

Some of the smarter ideas that stay at home moms have come up with are web based, involve very little investment up front, or take them away from the kids and the house.

Most of these women have taken to selling off their used baby gear, clothing and accessories online at sites like Craigs List (which is free to use and involves no fees for selling), or setting up online auctions at Ebay. The nice thing about these ideas are that they can do them anytime of the day, or night, during naptime or on weekends! They do have to be fairly organized to stay on top of their listings, and shipping.

Some stay at home moms start setting up websites on various topics that are valuable to others. The easiest ways for them to make money at this point is to have some kind of advertising or affiliate program on them.

The majority of website owners have implemented Google Adsense on their sites. AdSense is simple to join. It's easy to paste a bit of code into your pages and it's free to join. Google provides well written, highly relevant ads - chosen to closely match the content on your pages.
It allows the blogger to be free to concentrate on providing good content and Google does the work of finding the best ads for your pages from 100,000 AdWords advertisers.

Others choose to use Amazon's Honor System. This is a safe and easy way for anyone to support their favorite Web sites. Amazon.com has successfully completed hundreds of millions of online transactions and has more than 25 million customers. Now, the Amazon Honor System lets you use Amazon.com payment technology to make payments to Web sites as small as $1.00.

Web sites and blogs use the Amazon Honor System to collect voluntary payments from their readers. In many cases, the Honor System is the only way a Web site can economically collect small payments. In others, the Honor System allows the Web site to raise money for continued operations without resorting to intrusive banner advertisements.

Going from two incomes to one income means that many stay at home moms choose to live "frugally" - although for most of us, this is not a nice word. They clip coupons, cut their cable, shop on sale, buy at consignment stores, and know which restaurants offer "kids eat free" meals. By doing this they can save thousands of dollars a year (which is then counted as their income)..

Other moms with a creative flair have been able to make money with: Gift Baskets, Painting & Stenciling furniture or even murals, becoming event/party planners and interior designers.

Some moms who are great at staying organized and on top of everything have turned that into life coaching, running errands, organizing or cleaning other peoples' homes, dog walking, dog daycare (and even pooper scooping)!

Perhaps you're always being told that you make the best cakes around -- you could start making them for birthday parties. Maybe you're a gym nut, who could start some personal training amongst girlfriends to get going? Next thing you know you have your own clientelle whose homes you go to daily to work out.

You've probably already "baby proofed" your own home - how about being paid to do other mom's to be? How about becoming an inventor? Look at the mom who created the snack cup lids so the cheerios don't fall out! More recently, what about the owner of Baby Einstein who sold her invention to Disney for 25 million dollars!

A lot of being a stay at home mom requires quick thinking, and I know that if you toss around a few ideas on our group, or with your friends, you'll come up with a great idea of your own, that fits your schedule, and brings in some extra money on the side!!

Internet Scams on stay at home moms...

When you do a search for stay at home mommies + jobs, or part time work from home, the first few hundred responses are basically all scams & are at the top of the Internet Fraud schemes. Talk about frustrating for those of us who are smart, hip, and looking to make a part time income while raising our children.

If it sounds too good to be true - it is! If you've read ads that say - Make $2,000 - $4,000 a week, working from home.... it's a rip off. If they ask you to send them money - it's a rip off! Some of these are turnstyle websites, start up "kits", brochure and ebook "how to's".. (Send us your money, and we'll tell you how to get up and running in 2 days kinda things). None of the information is worth the paper it's printed on, much less whatever they want you to pay for it.

If the business is very vague about what it is they do on their website, or in their ad, and want you to "call for more info" - it's a scam! If you're asked to go to an "informational" meeting, but they can't tell you what it's about - it's a scam. Other internet fraud scams include envelope stuffing, data entry, Taking Surveys, being paid to surf, becoming a secret or myster shopper, craft assembly, medical billing, and email processing.

It's frustrating as a woman, and as a stay at home mom, trying to figure out just how you can make a few extra bucks for your family, or what you are actually qualified to do.

If you previously worked full time and think that some of what you did do at your old job could be done from home as a telecommuter you should start there. You obviously already have internet access if you're reading this!! Perhaps your boss can bring you back 1 day a week, and as he sees that you ARE ABLE to juggle the demands of motherhood, and work, he may then agree to more hours.

Starting your own business can become one of the best decisions you've ever made. There are lots of great resources online, but you won't receive them via spam, nor are they going to be top of your internet search results!!

Label Clouds & Templates

I loved web weavers world so much so that I had to copy her template, and follow her advice and links and get my very own label cloud. I'm not quite sure how labels or tags work inside of blogs, besides making you go a little crazy trying to remember the previous tags you've set up! I am "new" to the whole blogging thing, but find it absolutely fascinating! Anyway - the label cloud looked really cool! Phydeaux3 explained everything so well that even a moron (i.e me) could follow it, and make it work, first time around! Thanks to both of you so much!!

I've bookmarked both sites, so I will definitely be poking around again soon!