Stay at home mom wants income.

I love to be home with my kids.  I have been a stay at home mom for over a year now and I really do like it.  It has been a very hard transition for me, I am still not comfortable with having no money of my very own.  So, I have done a lot of thinking, reading and talking to people about ways a stay at home mom can make some money. 

First, I decided to take a couple of kids one day a week.  The kids are very close in age to my kids and they are very good.  So, not only do I make a little money of my own, but it also gives my kids something to look forward to.

The second thing I do is I work very part time at a local ski & snowboard resort.  I have to work around my husbands crazy work schedule.  He works very long hours in the Spring and Fall.  So it works well for me to work evenings and weekends in the Winter and Summer.  It may seem obvious that in the winter a ski & snowboard resort would be busy, but summer?  Yes, we cater weddings and other events.  It has turned out to be an excellent fit for our simple life.

Third, I have been making a few items to sell at craft fairs, etsy and have a website in the works.  I have been making baby shoes, play blankets, tutu's and bags.  I just recently partnered up with a local embroidery shop so that I can offer custom embroidery on my bags.  Sweet huh?  I purchased a business name.  I will be doing business under the name "B.H. Grace Designs".   I am nervous and yet oh so excited to get this company off the ground. 

Fourth- Who knew?  My husband had me order some books.  I have read through the small Extreme Coupons, and Free Stuff books.  After reading them, I ran to the gas station and bought 4 Sunday papers.  I clipped coupons until I fell asleep covered in news papers.  I went to Target.com and started printing out their coupons and then I ran out of ink.  Ofcourse I ran out of ink.  This is the kind of stumbling block that I have come to expect.  Everytime I get all excited about something and I take off like a motived runner- I always get tripped up by something.  It may have made me slow down this time, but I will buy more ink today.  I am even thinking about making myself the three ring binder with baseball card holders organizer for the coupons.  That would be so smart.  As a result of reading those books  I have also signed up to get paid for taking surveys.  We shall see how it goes.

It may seem like a lot of effort to make a few dollars.  To me, having my own money gives me some feeling of independence and self worth.  I am a grown woman and I don't want to have to ask my husband for money.