Sunday Jambalaya

- My heel is killing me again! Running injury from about 6 years ago that flares up every so often.
- I did a ton of laundry today.
- Got a new keyboard so I am no longer stuttttteeeerrrrinnnng when I type.
- Also nabbed some new headphones to listen to my downloaded music while I work. They are $25 headphones, but Best Buy had them marked incorrectly as $11.99! Got them at a steal!
- Today it was not so cold and kids played outside all day and are in bed beat!
- Hubby got garden lights installed in front flower garden around pond/fountain. Looks good.
- Got a good bike ride in today. I pull the kids in one of those trailers and let me tell you it is a challenge to go uphill!
- Busy week ahead. My to do list is long!
- The Saints won again. New Orleans was losing faith, but I wasn't.
Later.

I stutter when I type

Sommething is wronng with mmy keybboard. As you cann see,, as I type this it doubbles up somme of mmy letters and punnctuationn.. Really,, I do knnonw how to spell.. This is getting worse annd inntolerabble. It is really a probblemm whennn I try to logginng inn to a site and mmy password is hiddenn bby dots and I cann't see that I typed two nn's.. Typing emmails to a cliennt is nnno fun and takes too mmuch time whenn I have to fix it alonng the way.

I amm off to figure out the probblemm annd fix it fast!

Fun with voting!

I voted today! Yup, for the first time ever I actually did my research on every issue on the ballot! And if anyone cares, I voted for both Reps and Dems this election.

In my research I stumbled across some pretty funny things that I have to share! You gotta love Louisiana Politics!

Royal Alexander (R) Running for Attorney General
Found on his campaign website:
-"Download high res image of Royal here." What? Who wants a high res photo of this guy?
- Site says he is “running to end the good ole’ boy politics of the past.” However, I see he was Chief of Staff to US Congressman Rodney Alexander. Don’t know who that is, but suspicous that they share the same last name . . .

John Georges (I) running for Governor
Found on his campaign website:
- “In the summers John was sent to Greece to help on his Father’s family farm. From this experience, he speaks fluent Greek and he gained respect for the role Louisiana plays in the world.” How does the fact that he speaks Greek have anything to do with the role LA plays in the world. It is not like he has previously held a public office for the state? This has to be the worst marketing fluff I've ever read!

- "Under Georges leadership, AMA Distribution, the 50 year old amusement company, he purchased from Mrs. Nims in 2000, has consolidated smaller competitors into one company that distributes video games, Brunswick pool tables and other machines. AMA has a gaming license. " First of all, who the hell is Mrs. Nims? Are we supposed to know who she is? This was the last paragraph on a page about his career. I reread the page to see if there was a previous mention of Mrs. Nims that I missed. NONE! Also, I guess that last sentence was thrown in there when it came out his association with the gaming industry.

Sammy Kershaw (R) Running for Lt. Governor
Found on Wikipedia:
- “Kershaw's bankruptcy application stems from financial losses from a failed restaurant known as Hotchickens.com” - Is this who we want to elect to be our Governor?

- I also found out ole' Sammy is a country music star married to country music star Lorrie Morgan. I didn't recognize his name as I don't really follow country music. I thought his teeth looked too perfect and white for LA.

Mike Strain (R) running for Commissioner of Agriculture
Found on his campaign website:
- “I’m Mike Strain, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) for 24 years, a conservative Republican State Representative who has served the people of St. Tammany Parish for the past 7 years, and I’m determined to reform Louisiana from top to bottom.” How are you going to reform LA from top to bottom as the Commissioner of Agriculture?

Walter Boassso (D) running for Governor
Found on his campaign website:
– Under a long list of Awards I found these two entries: 2006 King- Knights of Nemisis Mardi Gras Parade and 1990 Our Lady of Lourdes – King Mardi Gras Parade. Only in New Orleans would being a king of a Mardi Gras parade be considered an Award!

Bobby Jindal (R) for Governor
Found on Wikipedia:
- According to family lore, Jindal adopted the name Bobby after watching The Brady Bunch television program, at age four and has been known by that name ever since, as a civil servant, politician, student, and writer. Legally though his name remains Piyush Jindal. We have quite a Brady Brunch running for public offices this election. See below.

On the ballot the nicknames or rather the names the candidates are publically known as are put in quotes.(i.e "Bobby" instead of Piyush) Here are a few good ones I found on my ballot: “Tony G., Vinny, Spanky, Buddy, Ace. ”

Only in Louisiana ...

Madisonville Wooden Boat Festival

Thought I would share these pics from last weekend. This is probably my favorite festival.

My great find at the Consign Sale!

I picked up these BRAND NEW (tag still on them) Skecher kicks for my boy at the LaPetite Exchange Consignment sale for $2.00!!!! Aren't they cute? Every year I find a jewel of a deal like this one in quite literally a haystack of stuff!

My boy loves them! He literally took off running and likes to stomp his feet in them. They must be super comfy!

Poem about New Orleans

My friend Bev sent this to me. She no longer lives here but did for most of her life. Although she is a fellow native of Ohio you get to say you are from here when you move here when you are a teenager! If you haven't yet, read my post "Why I Stay".

give me a king cake baby
give me a beignet kiss
give me a french quarter morning that looks like this

give me the endymion krewe
give me the times-picayune
give me a drunk and lazy crawfish boil in muggy sticky june

give me a six pack of Dixie
give me some assorted abita beers
give me a city where it only snows once every 10 years

give me a green neutral ground
give me a mardi gras ball
give me a medium rare burger at my grand old Port of Call

give me a glittery drag show
give me the streetcar line
give me House of the Rising Sun
give me a Tchoupitoulas sign

give me a shrimp and oyster poboy
give me lovebug season in May
give me my New Orleans -
I will definitely stay.

Consignment Sale is On!

Don't forget La Petite Exchange is having the Fall/Winter consignment sale. Going on now!

Thursday 10a-2p & 6p-8p
Friday 10a-2pm
Saturday 8a-1pm (HALF PRICE SALE!)

For more info and location go to: Lapetiteexchange.com

I was voted most likely to become President.

Yup. You read that right. In high school, I was voted most likely to become President along with my buddy Rick Hubler.

I was thumbing through my senior yearbook. (Ok. I admit, I had it out to identify people on MySpace.com that I can't seem to remember!) As I am flipping I see a picture of Rick and I standing there and read the caption and laugh out loud! I had forgotten all about that. I show it to hubby and he gets a good laugh too. Me, the person who has had to learn all about politics from my hubby since we've been married. Me, the person who never knows who to vote for and struggles to educate herself every election. Me, the stay-at-home mom living in Louisiana. How did I win that vote?

Looking back, I was very involved in just about everything in high school - sports, clubs, musicals, plays, committees, class vice-president (Rick was president) etc, etc. I was also. . . um, well . . . a nerd, I guess. Not a super geeky nerd and at the time I didn't think I was a nerd, but in retrospect, I was. (I already admitted in an earlier post that I hung out a lot at the library as a teen.)My hubby says I had the "homework gene" which he claims he was born without and hopefully our kids will inherit it from me. I also graduated #7 in my class of 140. I was in all the advanced college prep classes. But, if you asked me back then, I thought I was pretty popular. I also thought I was popular enough to be on the homecoming court, but I wasn't. All my close friends made it up there, but I didn't. I was disappointed. But, I also had my first lesson on how others perceived me. And that was not the way I perceived myself.

I guess my point is that it is interesting how you see yourself and how others see you. I guess I was quite a leader back then. I remember I also was told I smiled a lot. I don't get that comment anymore. Hmm. Do we really change all that much as we become adults? Why don't I smile as much? Maybe I am just not as naive. Maybe I know too much about the world and people and have much more stress. Was I happier then? I mean, I fell happy now. Maybe I am taking life too seriously! My mom even told me once I didn't have fun as easily as I did before. Man, did that stick with me. I think I am a fun person. I also think I am funny. I mean at times. I like to be a smart ass sometimes and do silly faces to make my kids laugh and tell funny stories about my life or things that have happened in the past. I mean, I do have a lot of them to tell . . .

I look at old classmates on MySpace and think they seem the same to me. But are they? Do they think I am the same? I think I have changed a lot since high school, but maybe they don't think so. Maybe they look at my pics and read my profile and say, "Yup, there she is just as I would expect."

One of the benefits of moving away from your hometown is that you can reinvent yourself so to speak. You can start fresh - blank slate. No one knows you or has any preconceived ideas about you. So you get to make yourself who you want to be. I did this in college. I was so ready to leave high school and all of its drama that I chopped off my hair after graduation and decided I was starting over. I went to college and refused to become involved in any sports, clubs, etc. I wanted everything to be my choice, my time, my terms, my call. I was ditching all commitments. Commitments meant stress, time away from what I really wanted to be doing and lots of crap from other people. And you know what? College was AWESOME!

So I moved down here to LA and got involved. And you know what? I soon discovered it was time to drop the damn clubs and commitments. My life was becoming cluttered with stress caused by other people. I hated the "Politics" of clubs and committees. It took me a few trys to learn my lesson, but I finally got out. And now it is my time, my terms, my call. And any stress in my life is only going to be caused by myself and my family. (Mostly by my family - He He! - that includes hubby, kids, parents and siblings on both sides. So don't any of you go getting your britches in a tizzy!) But, my family is MY family and I love them. So they can cause stress. Other people causing me stress can take a hike. I don't need them!

Ok. So what the hell does all this have to do with me being voted "Most likely to become president." Well, good question, because it appears I am rambling . . .

What I am getting at is there is no way in hell I would ever run for political office. (ok. I've learned to Never say Never.) I mean, it is highly unlikely. As I grow older I am becoming more and more of a private person. I want to hold those that are important to me close and hide from the rest.I have no desire to be involved in any sort of political committee no matter how small or non-political. I have no desire to air my dirty laundry for the benefit of holding a public office.

I mean does the whole world need to know that I once skinny-dipped in broad daylight with my best friend in a man-made lake in the middle of a condominum complex?

I think not . . .

More on Working Mom Flexibility

If you missed my post "My Thoughts On W-O-R-K" read it now. The following is more related articles.

ABC is running a bunch of specials entitled Take Control of Your Life. See the articles and videos here:
Take Control of Your Life

I saved at Sav-A-Center

The Sav-A-Center is going out of business and they have housewares, general merchandise and Health and Beauty products at 60% off - among other discounts. I spent $40 and got the following:

Bull Frog Sunscreen
John Frieda Shampoo
John Frieda Conditioner
Garnier Fructis Shampoo
2 Lady Speed Stick Deoderants
1 Right Guard Deoderant
A 3pk of Zest soap
Crest toothpaste
Crest mouthwash
Children's Mouthwash
Dove moisturizer
8pk of AA energizer batteries
8pk of AAA energizer batteries
2 6pks of IBC Black Cherry Soda
2 Ghiradelli Chocolate bars
Doublemint Mints
Eclipse Gum
A Remington nose trimmer (not for me!)
1 pk of EAS Protein Shakes
A 2 pk of some fancy spaghetti sauce

Now that is saving!

Local Lagniappe

Lucy's Retired Surfer's Bar & Restaurant is now reopened and ready for you to go and hang out there! Great outside deck to dine on and of course the games are always on and the beer is always cold! During game days they have a bucket of beer for $9! It is basically 5 Domestic bottles of your choice in an ice bucket. Food is good (including healthy choices) and reasonably priced.

Covington Food Bank needs your donations! If you live in the Greater Covington Area, please try to help out. They are low on food to donate and need canned goods (including juices), non perishables (boxed foods, dried beans, etc) And if I am not mistaken, they may even accept baked goods. But I would call first about that one.

La Petite Exchange will be having their fall consignment sale next week. If you want to participate in the sale you must drop your Sunday - Tuesday. Sale starts Wednesday. See the website for more details on drop off times and sale times. This is a great time to clean out the kid's rooms and stock up on clothes for school or toys for the holidays!

See you at the Madisonville Wooden Boat Festival! If you've never been, you must go!

Infant Cough/Cold meds taken off shelves!

Warning to all parents who have infant cough and/or cold meds in their houses. It has been removed from the market and you need to throw them out and quit using them.

See this article (has list of meds withdrawn)

Big Top Circus!

The circus is in town. It will be in the greater New Orleans area for a few days at different venues so check out the schedule if you are interested. BTW, how come they all claim to be the "World's Largest Under The Big Top"? It really wasn't all that big to me?

Anyway, it was not the Ringling Bros. by no means which is why they are giving out a lot of free child passes. It cost us $37 (with our free kid passes) and that included upgrading to VIP seats (2nd row), a pony ride and 1 serving of cotton candy. We left after one hour at intermission because it was hot in that tent and it was 6:00pm. Kids were antsy and hungry! They didn't know the difference. They thought it was over cuz everyone was leaving the tent.

This was the like the circus you would see on "Follow that Bird". Grass/dirt floors, low budget, cheezy outfits, etc. However, the kids thought it was grand and hubby and I just rolled our eyes at each other a lot. My youngest kept tapping the shoulder of the lady next to us and pointing up and saying, "OH!" Kinda funny.

Speaking of outfits . . . the trapeze artist (minus two girls in bright green - see pic below) were a little hoochy for a family event. When they walked out I leaned over to my hubby and said, "Wow, didn't know we were going to a strip joint today." I mean, seriously, could they get shorts that cover their A$$!

Finally, some butt coverage on the girls!



Doesn't it look like this drink guy is going to pick her up?


The drive home. My girl gets a hold of the camera. Best entertainment ever - $0!

Crawfish Pie Recipe

My good friend Monica gave me her chicken pot pie recipe that I have made over and over again. I am not much of a cook and am not good a straying from recipes. (Hubby takes care of that area!) So for me to alter a recipe my self, well, that is like getting a wild hair up your ass. So here is the chicken pot pie recipe altered to be a Crawfish Pie. If you are not from the south, down here, we eat A LOT of crawfish. I never had it before moving here. And it is good!

AMY'S CRAWFISH PIE
1 box of Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts - softened if frozen
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup of each - onion, greenpepper, celery chopped (The Holy Trinity)
1/2 cup of mushrooms chopped
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp black pepperTony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (Season to your liking - I just sprinkled a bit across the top of the pie mixture and stirred in.)
1 (14oz.) can of chicken broth
1/2 cup of milk
2 1/2 cups of crawfish tails (or one bag of the frozen tails)

Preheat 425. In saucepan (2qt. or larger) melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook 2 minutes until tender. Add flour, salt and pepper. Stir until well blended. Gradually stir in green peppers, broth and milk. Cook and stir until bubbly. In a different pan, add a tab of butter and saute/heat crawfish tails until warm. Remove from heat. Spoon crawfish tails into mixture in saucepan trying not to get all the liquid with it. Add mushrooms to mixture in saucepan and stir. Prepare glass pie pan according to directions on crust box. Spoon crawfish mixture into crust-lined pie pan. Top with second crust. Seal edges by pinching. Cut slits in top of crust to let air release. (I like to draw my kid's initials) Bake 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. If edges of crust start to burn, cover with foil. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving. I suggest slicing it so it will thicken quicker while cooling. It will be runny when served.

There it is! It was the yummiest throw together recipe I've ever made. It really doesn't take a lot of time to prepare. Enjoy!

How did you meet daddy?

Yup! My girl popped that question tonight at dinner. A mere 4 years old and already I have to answer such questions. After I explained how I met him she followed my reply with this:

"So then you played with him, sang songs, went to the park, danced around, played games, and then told each other your names? Oh no, you are suppose to tell each other your names first!"

Ugh. Well, it sorta went like that . . .

For more laughs you have to read this article that arrived in my inbox recently! It will crack you up!

How to decide who to marry- by kids

There are good people in this world.

Ok. So the bad day of yesterday continues today. I wake up and am motivated. I quickly feed and dress the kids. We are going to be productive I said to myself. I packed them in the car again . . . and the battery was dead. The day before we thought it was because an interior light was left on. I guess we were wrong.

So I ask my neighbor AGAIN to jump my car. I shouldn't say my car. It is my hubby's vehicle. He was out of town until today and he was using my car. And of course this stuff always happens when the hubby is out of town. Anyway, I decide this is it. I am taking this bad boy to get a battery as soon as I get it started. My neighbor suggests the new OReilly Auto Parts. I pull up and there are no cars in the parking lot. Good sign. I have the kids in the car and don't want to get them both out so I pull right up to the front door, jump out and yell in the door for the guy behind the counter to come out and bring his battery tester. He comes out, tests it and thankfully it was just the battery - not the alternator! Two minutes later another guy comes out with a new battery and his tools. He pops out the old and pops in the new in like 5 minutes. $79 and I am out the door. Thank you to the speedy and nice guys at OReilly Auto Parts!

So, now that the car is fixed, I then decide to stop by a neighborhood garage sale. I borrow a friend's wagon (fellow blogger who lives in the neighborhood) and pull my kids from house to house. Along the way, my son gets ahold of my wallet and starts pulling things out. I grab the wallet and put it all back together. After that I decide he is tired and we better hit Wal-mart before a meltdown occurs.

We hurry in and out of the madness that Walmart was today sticking only to the things on my list. We get home and unload and I get a phone call and can't find the damn phone anywhere. I pick up the kitchen wall phone that screeches and howls when you use it and can barely speak to the person on the other end. I ask her to hold and search the house for the cordless. Meanwhile my daughter picks up the kitchen phone and repeats "Hello. Who's there?" like a hundred times to the unknown woman on the other end while it screeches and howls in the woman's ear. I find the phone and speak to the woman and find out she has found part of my wallet on the street in front of her house. Apparently, my son ripped out the part with my pictures and insurance cards and threw it in the street! She looked up my name in the phone book and tracked me down. Thank You, you kind woman!

I piled everyone back into the car and drove straight over to her house to retrieve the other part of my wallet. Daughter asks if she needs shoes when we are leaving. I say, no, we are going there and coming straight back. You will not need to get out of the car.

I retrieve my cards and once back in my car (ya know, the one with the new battery) I reached inside my bag for my wallet to put the cards back in and lo and behold, my wallet was missing! I calmly (barely calm) backtracked in my mind and figured the only place it could be is Walmart. (NOT GOOD!) In fact, I remembered checking out and holding my son in my arms and my wallet in one hand and having to toss my wallet in the cart (bag was covered with groceries) in order to push the cart to the car. Apparently, I left the wallet in the cart when I unloaded. I tried desperately to call Wal-Mart to ask them, but everytime the operator transferred me to customer service (lost and found) the lady who answered couldn't hear me at all. She just kept saying, "Hello? Hello?"

So by the time I reach Wal-mart, both kids are asleep in their car seats! Great! Now I have to wake them up and drag them inside with me! So I go to get my daughter out first and realize she has no shoes! I certainly can't carry both of them and she is the one who has to walk! AHHHHHHHHHHH!

I calmly think of plan B. Drive home and get shoes? Nah. Waste of time. I see some employees over to the side of Wal-mart eating their lunches on picnic tables. I drive over, roll down my window and summon over one of the employees. I tell her my ordeal and ask her to just check and see if they have it. If they do, I will take the kids in and get it. She asked my name and for a description of the wallet and then said she would go in and check for me. (Remember she was on her break.)

I was not optimistic that she would return with good news. About 5 minutes later she knocked on my car window and held up my wallet! I couldn't believe someone actually turned it in! I thanked her for her help and drove home relieved. I checked my wallet and even the cash (less than $20) was still in there.

On the way home I had two thoughts:

1. There are a lot of honest and helpful people in this world.
2. I either cashed in on alot of my past pay it forwards or I have a lot of pay it forwarding to do!

It rained on my bad day!

Today did not start well. Anyone who called me this morning got an earful of my complaining (sorry mom and liz). I was miserable. My son was miserable and my girl was bored. She wanted to go to school but there was no school today. My son is teething something fierce and just followed me around all day moaning, whining, wailing, crying, eh-ing and literally holding onto the leg of my shorts so I could barely walk. I needed caffeine and had zero in the house. I wasn't about to pack up all the whiners (myself included) to run to the store. I needed a shower really bad. My son's morning nap that is usually 2 hours was 20 minutes. I was ready to throw the towel in. I took a shower and decided I was taking the kids to the parish fair and getting us out of the house! I even blow dryed my hair! I was packing up the diaper bag when suddenly it started to pour down rain! And that is when the day took a turn . . .

My daughter screamed with excitement at the sudden loud and hard rain. She pleaded with me to go out in her rain boots and slicker to play in it. Well, since it was not thundering or lightening I said, sure. Brother and I watched from inside the patio doors. Then I realized, what the heck why can't he go too. So in only his diaper I sent him out and watched from under the carport (I would normally go to, but I did my hair for the first time this week!) as they ran, stomped, splashed and fell into the large puddles in our driveway. It was raining very hard and they didn't care. They were having a ball.

No more screaming, no more crying, no more whining. Just laughter and smiles. I was smiling too.

After that things got better once back inside. My son slept for 3.5 hours and my girl colored quietly and watched a movie. I got some things done around the house.

It was all good. When brother woke up we packed up everyone in the car and decided to head out for some dinner out. A good meal somewhere. Everyone filed into their car seats nicely. I hopped in started the car . . . and the battery was dead.

My boy made me cry today

My son (a mere 14 months) made me tear up today. One of his newest things is to smack his lips in a kissing sound at us and then try to kiss us on the lips. It is cute. It is really precious when he does it to his sissy.

Well, today at naptime, I was holding him like you do an infant because his teeth were really bothering him and he couldn't get to sleep. He was all snuggled up to me and dozing off to sleep when he suddenly sat up, eyes half open and gave me the standard two lip smack notice and then planted one right on my lips. He then snuggled back down and went right to sleep.

It was as if he understands now that you kiss your loved ones before going to sleep.

* sniff sniff *

My thoughts on W-O-R-K.

This SAHM (Stay-At-Home-Mom) of 4 years has been somewhat unwillingly forced back into the land of real work. Ok. Sounds harsh. Let me re-state. In order to help supplement the family income while my husband forges forward with his new business I have decided to find a real job. Sound better?

So let me get to the point of this blog. In addition to my experience trying to find a job, a few other things have gotten me thinking about work in general. The first is that Nolanotes recently posted a top ten list of what she doesn't like about work. She is a new mom returning part-time to her career as an attorney after maternity leave. The second is some articles that BusinessWeek printed in their Aug. 20&27th edition about "The Future of Work".

So here are my 5 thoughts on W-O-R-K:

1. Priorities change when you become a mom
Full-time, 9-5, with a commute – not working for this mom. I interviewed for a few places to start that were full-time on-site jobs. After the first offer I quickly discovered it wasn’t my gig anymore. Daycare for 2 kids (1 part-time) averaged $1000 a month! While considering the jobs, my daughter started pre-school and the school calendar they sent home for the year had all these days that there would be no school – so I immediately thought “So what do I do with her on those days?” My husband has some flexibility, but what if he is out of town? It started a flurry of “what-ifs” and with no family around to have as backup I decided it was time to change my game plan.

2. Telecommuting
I have nine years of experience in my field and a resume and references to back it up. Do you really need me in your office? My industry is web design/development/usability. Do you really need to watch me work? Many potential employers said they were ok with telecommuting, but when it came down to it they wanted me in their office a few days a week. That created more scheduling conflicts and planning as well as still paying for daycare. Especially after reading NolaNotes top ten list I am convinced that woman needs to telecommute. To me it seems an Attorney should be able to do that. And right here at MyBayouVieux I am calling for all industries to lose the suits!

Bottom line on telecommuting: Who cares when I do it or from where or what I am wearing when I am working – if the work doesn’t get done, fire me!

3. Work rules are changing
BusinessWeek tells a story about an executive assistant to the SVP at Cisco in Silicon Valley. She moved to Dallas with hubby and they kept her on. Now when visiting the SVP you see “Virtual Margaret” and she can see you. She sits at her desk in Dallas and you see her on a 65 inch plasma. She can communicate with you real-time and see all activity in the office. She can even overhear her boss’s phone conversations to anticipate his needs. Now, that’s what I am talking about!

Work is global and highly technical now. BusinessWeek did a poll that predicates that over 28% of US workers will be on first name basis with someone in India in the next 10 years. Not surprising to me. No longer is work about putting in your 30 years at a good stable company and retiring with a fat retirement provided by the company and getting that social security check. Work is about making it for yourself. Pick something you enjoy and make your money you need to pay for yourself in retirement. There is no one to depend on anymore but you!

4. Loyalty and Job Satisfaction
Businesses need to understand that in order to be successful they need to create loyal employees and job satisfaction. If you aren’t doing that you are missing the boat and will be lucky if you can remain afloat. People make your business no matter what it is. Treat them right. Give them flexibility. Meet their home life needs first and then the businesses needs second. Praise them. Make them feel special and owners of your company even if they technically are not. Give them perks. Share the wealth! If you do that, you will get loyalty to the end!

5. You better pay me!
Part of building loyalty is paying people what they are worth and making working for you worth their time. Keep their bills paid and they will keep yours paid! Simple as that. Get stingy and well . . . ya know. I am a mom now. My time is valuable so ya better make it worth my time to work for you! Part of my frustration reentering the workforce was that I found it difficult to go back to the pay I was receiving when I left my career. I thought I might not start out as strong, but I thought I would get close. Part of the problem might be what BusinessWeek pointed out. They said that rising incomes for educated workers have come to a hault since 2000. We are temporarily experiencing a wage stagnation yet college prices are up 60%. Craziness.

Bottom line: If it doesn't work for me, I can't work for you.

I am calling for all moms who are returning to the workforce to call your own shots. Decide exactly what you want to do, what times, what days, what pay and don't stop until you get it. And by all means, don't be afraid to ask for it!

Anyway, I am happy to say I have found a telecommuting job with a local company that is paying me well and seems very flexible. On my first day of training a fresh out of college kid who started there in June was showing me his new laptop that the owner gave to him. The owner got it as a freebie from a vendor and didn’t want it. So in true cool boss fashion he slips it to the new college graduate and throws in a wireless anywhere card. Now, that is building employee loyalty!

UPDATE:
I have found the following blog post that relates to my words above:
http://hodesqtrac.com/2007/10/03/worklife-balance-builds-loyalty/