Pit Bulls as Nanny's?

I stumbles across this article this morning on a forum. Since the pit bull is hands down my favorite dog breed, it was heartwarming to read an article that wasn't focused on negativity.

I have a "nanny" pit bull who is a treasured member of our family. And before I get blasted by anyone, let me state that I never leave my children unsupervised with any animal. But our pit, Dixie, watches over the kids with as much care as I do. While they are playing, she is never more than a few feet away and she is super protective. She is no guard dog, preferring to greet any stranger with kisses and a wagging tail, but if she thinks you intend harm towards her babies you are in trouble. Visiting friends and relatives know that you must exercise caution when playing with the kids. My youngest is a rough and tumble little boy who loves to be picked up and thrown in the air, or to wrestle with anyone willing. Dixie will get right in the middle and push her baby away from the person who is playing with him. She isn't aggressive about it, she just wants your hands off her kid. :)

We are blessed to live in the country, outside of the city limits, since a nearby city has breed specific legislation. I don't understand these laws, since we have experienced bites from two different small breeds of dogs. No one has outlawed chihuahuas, and they bite too! To me, it's like saying that a certain race of people is evil. It just makes no sense! Our Dixie is an ambassador for her breed, we take her with us to many places and she has changed quite a few minds about pit bulls. With the exception of a serious case of separation anxiety, she is very well behaved, follows commands well, and loves everyone.

What are your feelings on pits and other breeds that are labeled as vicious? Feel free to debate, but do so nicely! :)

Meals For Lazy Evenings

I enjoy cooking for my family, and rarely ever buy pre-made convenience foods since I would rather know exactly what I am feeding them. But some nights I would love to have a frozen pizza or lasagna in the freezer so that I can take a break from the cooking and the kitchen clean up that comes after! Over the years, I have managed to come up with a few meals that I can throw together with a minimum of mess and preparation so that I can use the time saved to hang out with the kids.

Spaghetti is one, of course. It's versatile since I can add all my own veggies or make my own sauce if I want to, or I can just throw in some ground beef and canned sauce and call it a meal. I always make a huge pot either way, so lunch is taken care of the next day too.

Our own version of black bean tacos always feels like a break from cooking to me, but to the kids it's a treat since they absolutely love them. All I do is throw two or three cans of black beans, with juice, into a pot and add a can of corn. Stir in a pack of what ever taco seasoning I have on hand and let it all simmer. Once the juice has all simmered away, I put the mixture in soft taco shells and top with cheese, sour cream, guacamole....just what ever we have on hand.

Macaroni and cheese is another big favorite around here and throwing in some kind of meat makes it a meal. Tuna, leftover chicken, pork or hamburger can be mixed into the macaroni after you add the cheese. Veggies can be mixed in as well, or served on the side. My kids particularly love apple sauce along side the mac and cheese. We almost always have a box of macaroni and some shredded cheese, so it's an easy thing to throw together.

What are your go to recipes on the nights when cooking is the last thing you want to do?

Time drainers

You only get so many hours in a day to accomplish what you need to. A lot of these hours are spent earning money, whether you are a freelancer or work outside the home as an employee. When I worked outside the home, it was easier to focus on work because my home life stayed at home. Now, my home and my work lives are intertwined and it's often hard to separate the two. There are several things competing for my attention at any given moment and that makes it easy to find myself at the end of the day having worked for 8 hours to accomplish the work I could easily do in 3 if I had an office.

I know my fellow freelancers know exactly what I am talking about. If you don't, this example should explain it all! :) I woke up this morning at 3 am because our foster puppies were making a racket that you would never expect from such small creatures. When they want food, they mean now! So I drug myself from my nice comfy bed and made bottles, fed the little monsters and changed their bedding. I then made a pot of coffee and played on facebook until I was awake enough to focus. I wrote one article and then it was time to get kids up. Now the kids morning routine is my hubbys job, since I normally write late at night. But since I was already up, I let him sleep in. We live in the middle of 5 acres, and our driveway is looonnnggg :) Normally I would have enjoyed the stroll to the road with my 5 year old chattering away next to me. But at 6:30 am it is dark in the middle of the woods...and I do mean dark! I don't like dark, or rather I don't like what could be in the dark. That was the first time in years that I have wished we lived in town!

Once I get back to the house my little guy was awake, so I made him breakfast and got some kisses. He still has those fat little baby cheeks at 3 years old, so his kisses are extra sweet! Sat down to write another article, but the pups decided they didn't get enough to eat the last time. Back to making bottles and feeding squirmy little furballs. Once I got that done, my hubby made his appearance, so I was ready to get to work....

Yeah, right. Little man has a lot to say this morning, and he only wants to say it to mommy. Try writing a factual, well researched article while pondering the questions that a 3 year old can come up with. I dare you. My second article sits there with only the first few words written.

By the time I remember that I promised to fix my friends computer and bake a cake for my 5 year old and actually accomplish both, it is 3 pm. I have been up for 12 hours and have only finished two articles. I am actually amazed that I got that much done! Now I have an hour before the school bus stops at the end of the driveway and the noise level around here hits headache inducing levels.

This is why it is 1 am, I have been up for forever and I just finally finished all my work 30 minutes ago. I am capable of writing at lightening speeds when I find quiet with no distractions. The problem is, I only find that about once a year. And I am tired. Days like today make me want to go get a job somewhere that isn't here. Or at the very least to rent an office somewhere to do my writing in. What a nice dream that is. I think I will go find my pillow and dream about that....right after I feed the puppies.

What is freelancing?

The dictionary defines a freelancer as a person who works as a writer, designer, performer, or the like, selling work or services by the hour, day, job, etc., rather than working on a regular salary basis for one employer.

Any freelancer will tell you that it is so much more than that. A successful freelancer must be very disciplined with time because it is extremely easy to get sidetracked when you do not have a boss watching out to make sure you are doing your job. And if you are a parent as well as a freelancer, that becomes twice as hard. Kids don't understand deadlines! I once attempted to explain to my three year old that we could not go outside to play because I had to meet a deadline. That went over really well.....it ended with my sweet baby having a complete melt down and me feeling like the worst mom in the world. The poor little guy was bored, he is here alone with no other kids all day. Mom looks like a perfect substitute, but mom won't leave the computer and go push him on the swing. A deadline means nothing in the face of boredom.

Organization is another key. If you have multiple clients, you have to keep very close track of what you are doing for each one, as well as when it needs to be done. As a writer, I have let a client slip my mind, only to find that five articles are due....tonight. It's not a nice feeling to know that I will be burning the midnight oil once again.

I cannot tell you how many people have come to me and said, : I want to work at home too, hook me up!" Yeah, right.....a few weeks later I hear about how you can't make money working at home, it's all a scam. I do not help anyone get started freelancing any longer. This so called "scam" work pays my bills quite well. It has even kept us living the way we are used to when my husband has been out of work for over 6 months. But I work hard for the money I make. I not only put in a lot of hours producing quality work to ensure that my clients will continue to want my services, I also balance this around my home and my family. It would be so much easier to go to a quiet office each day, work my 8 hours and go home at the end of the day. Freelancing is not easy, not even close. But last week when the school called because one of my children was running a high fever, I didn't have to clear it with a boss, or worry about missed hours on my paycheck. I just simply saved what I was working on and headed out the door. For me, that makes it all worth it.