I have to shut it down and pack it up…

I’ll be off line for the  day but hope to be back up and running later tonight

Talk soon,

Expect the Best,

Whats on my Mind?

It’s the start of a new week and so I thought just to take a minute to tell you what’s happening…

Current Projects

1. My First ebook project - Well actually I’m not writing the whole book, but I’ve been asked by Ian Fernando to be a contributor in his latest book project. It should be ready for release very soon. I will keep you updated and write a post about it very soon.
2. We’re Having Babies - Bulldog babies that is… If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I just love American Bulldogs. I have one Takara, a female who is 16 months old. A friend of mine has two, a male and a female. Her female is about to deliver some babies within the next week or so. I want to create a blog devoted to our bulldogs and showing the progress and pictures of the pups. Even if you’re not interested in bulldogs, there will be some VERY CUTE pictures coming up. I’ll keep you informed with this project, as I get the blog up and running.
3. Renovation - It kicks into high gear tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. I will be ripping out more carpet, bathroom and kitchen cabinets. I love doing this kind of stuff. My contractors are getting started on cabinets and putting things back in order. For the next 3-5 weeks, my life will be in a bit of upheaval so please bare with me as I do my best to keep great content coming at you

Articles I’m working on for Home with Heather…

• My first real writing project
• What’s your reason for blogging
• Effective ways to gain more links
• Headlines that kick ass
• Branding yourself both online and off
• Where have all the great memes gone?

These are just a few of the articles that I’m hoping to get finished for you this week.

October is my 12th official month on Home with Heather, and I really want to kick it up before I hit the first year anniversary on October 30.

Expect the Best,

Whats on my Mind?

I woke up this morning, ready to get busy. I wanted to prepare a few posts for over the weekend.

I go to log in and check my stats and what do I see… NOTHING!!

I can’t log in my account has been suspended by hostgator. Totally my fault, I’ve been so busy I forgot to pay the invoice. OH *#@%^!!

I’ve been with HostGator for a year and really like everything about their hosting plan. My website has never been down, the cpanel is easy to manage, they have a lot of great features, I can unlimited pretty much everything through this account… It’s a really great plan.

This is the one thing that has always bothered me. I am on the “baby” plan. It’s kind of the middle of the road, I could go smaller, I could go bigger. However on this plan, they don’t do auto billing. I don’t like when people don’t do auto billing. I mean really, are we back in the ’80’s?

You’d think it would be way easier for them to autobill as well. Then they wouldn’t have to worry about dummies like me forgetting to pay the invoice. It’s only ten bucks a month. Not a big deal.

But when I woke up to a screen that says “This Account Has Been Suspended” and so did everyone else wanting to view Home with Heather, I have to say I’m not too happy!

So of course I logged in right away and paid the invoice. Then I sat here and waited, and waited. One cup of coffee… two…three… OK I’m on my fourth cup of coffee and my account is still locked. This is not a good thing.

I will be checking into how I can get my billing plan made easier with them so this doesn’t happen in the future. What if I was away on vacation, like I will be next month. My account and all my blogs would be frozen until I got home to correct the problem. I won’t be taking that chance again.

Alright, I’m done complaining… and I feel better. Thanks Michael for getting me back up and running.

Sorry if you tried to view HWH this morning to find that it wasn’t there, it’s back and life is good.

AND It’s Friday, so smile

Expect the Best,

account suspended, billing, hostgator, manual invoices, Whats on my Mind?

I know it’s only been a week since I posted “Sometimes It’s All About Priorities“, but it sure feels like a lot longer than that.

I have taken the time that was needed to get things running smoothly again in Heather’s world. I wrote that post at my busiest point, and I’m glad I did…

Today is the last of 4 out of town trips to the Provincial Children’s Hospital with my boys, in the last two weeks. Everything is good for now, so for that I’m grateful. Those trips are never easy to make, you never know what the outcome will be. Makes for really long days though, and the next day I am exhausted… another mom and I joke about the “Calgary Hangover” because you can’t seem to get your head around anything for the day.

I’ve had appointments coming out my ears. I’ve been ripping out carpets, packing boxes, moving furniture, and getting contractors started. But all that has made me feel really good about what’s coming.
I did take some time this past weekend to rest, and enjoy reading a book on the Law of Attraction. Very Helpful information. What I really found was that it put things back into perspective for me. If you’re needing something to help you get in a “positive vibe” you should pick it up. The book is called “The Law of Attraction the Basics of the Teachings of Abraham”. I got it from Costco.

Man - I sure missed being here. Posting, chatting, networking, and reading my favorite blogs. Speaking of which, I think that alone will take me a few days to catch up on… You guys have sure been busy.

Do you know that I was really worried about taking that break and the time that was needed. But what I realized is that we have to do what feels good for our own selves. I felt like I needed that break and I did. I’m sure I’ve lost a few readers, and that is what it is. I can bust my rump trying to post the best for y’all, and still lose a few readers on any given day.

I’m grateful that those of you who are reading this stuck it out with me. The break will make Home with Heather stronger, bigger and better. I can’t promise you that I’ll be posting everyday, but I can promise you that I’ll do my best to provide you with quality info as I have in the past.

Anyhow, I just wanted to say thanks for being here. Thanks for all the great comments and well wishes. And that it’s really feeling good to be back home.

Expect the Best,

balance, Blogging, Home with Heather, HWH, priorities, stress, taking a break, WAHM, Whats on my Mind?, work at home

Today is Bloggers Against Abuse.

I’ve decided to write about something that is very dear to me. I’ve worked for many years with special needs children.

One of the “special needs” that I’ve worked with just really makes my heart sad… and then mad. These kids have been abused from before they were even born. While they were still cooking away in mommy’s tummy (where they are suppose to be safe from harm). They didn’t have a choice, and they didn’t stand a chance.

I’m talking about children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). This is an article I had written a few months back on another of my blogs (Our Kids Are Special) explaining what FASD is:

FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) is the “catch all” term used in place of other terminology such as:

• FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome)
• FAE (Fetal Alcohol Effects)
• ARND (Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder)

What does it mean to you?

O.K. now that we have all the technical information out of the way, what does that mean to you as a parent or caregiver and your child?

There is no cure for FASD. Individuals diagnosed with FASD have organic brain damage. Some call it the “Swiss Cheese Effect” or “Holes in the Brain”. This is a disability that is 100% preventable.

Statistics show it as a leading cause of mental retardation and developmental disabilities in both Canada and the United States. The physical characteristics of FASD differ in each child. Your child may have some or all of these features:

Some of the ways that FASD can effect your child are:

Children with FASD are socially immature. They have poor reasoning skills, poor social judgment and are easily influenced by peers.

For example, Suzie’s “friend” can easily talk her into stealing a candy bar from the store. The friend won’t stick around when it’s time for consequences and Suzie will end up getting blamed for the inappropriate behavior.

Consequently, children with FASD require a high level of supervision.

Individuals with FASD often have a difficult time maintaining relationships. They don’t have personal boundaries or feel the need to respect others personal space. It feels like they’re “in your face”. At first, they may seem very engaging and approachable, but then become intrusive. They may have difficulty bonding to caregivers.

Children do not know what a stranger means and will not discriminate. Anyone Suzie meets instantly is her “friend”. Suzie will tell you about her “friend” that she played with at the park one time and not even know the person’s name. You won’t have any details as to who this person was and if they were a friend or stranger. Supervision is needed in this area as kids can so easily be led astray.

These kids can talk the talk but they can’t walk the walk, meaning they can mimic and imitate what is being told to them by parents and professionals, but often have no idea how to carry it out.

These are just some examples of what you may face as the parent or caregiver of a FASD child, and we’ll get into it much further in future posts.

That being said, a mistake often made when working with alcohol affected children is thinking that because they have this disability, they are all the same. Although a lot of the intellectual, social and emotional issues may be similar, it is important to remember that these kids are individuals who have their own unique personalities, strengths and challenges.

What works well for one child may not be effective with another child. As parents (biological, adoptive or foster) and caregivers of FASD children, it is your job to find out what does work well for your child.

The point of blogging today is to talk about “putting an end to some sort of Abuse”.

You would think that putting an end to FASD would be really simple. After all, this is a disease and form of abuse that is 100% preventable. Just don’t drink while you’re pregnant.

No Brainer, Right?

Well it should be, but it’s not. What we need to do is raise awareness of what happens when you drink while you’re pregnant.

Even one drink is not safe. It’s easy to think that way…. “Oh well, I only had a glass of wine with dinner”, or “It was before I even knew I was pregnant, to early to really hurt anything”.

The thing that you need to understand is that whatever day you choose to take a drink is the day that you hurt your babies development. So if you have some drinks before you even know you’re pregnant, guess what is developing then?? The babies brain. If you have a glass of wine with dinner on the day that you’re cookin up your babies short term memory, that’s what is going to get hurt. And so on… get the idea?

Did you know there is NO CURE for FASD?

If a child is exposed to alcohol while they are developing in mom’s tummy, they could end up with holes in their brain. That’s it, they have it for life.

Basically it is a no brainer -

THERE IS NO AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL THAT IS SAFE TO CONSUME WHILE YOU ARE PREGNANT ON ANY DAY - PERIOD!

Pass it on K?

Expect the Best,

ARND, blog against abuse, bloggers unite, Blogging, FAS, FASD, prevention, Whats on my Mind?, worthy cause

I wanted to write a post and explain why Home with Heather will not be updated until the beginning of October. I’m really sorry to all of my readers, but please let me explain….

Sometimes it’s not a time management issue, sometimes it a no time to manage issue.

I was just reading my friend Shaun’s post about how he just sold his site because he cannot manage all that he is doing in his life at the present time. He loves blogging, and is very good at it. But he had to make a decision between a university degree and a blog. Wise decision. He will truly be missed, but I’m really glad he understands the value of prioritizing your life.

Though my situation is of course different than Shaun’s (I finished school MANY years ago), I am faced with no time and if I continue it would be to the melting point.

Read the rest of this entry »

burn out, priority, renovations, special needs kids, taking care of mom, time management, WAHM Work at Home, Whats on my Mind?

I have this conversation on a regular basis with my son. He has some very real anxiety issues, and so pushing him to go further and try new things without going over the edge can sometimes be a tad tricky.

I was talking with him last night about his new school, and of course he has some issues to work through… not having friends, not knowing the routine, not feeling at home at the school. My job as a mom is to try and make him feel comfortable in his own skin, as he embarks on the adventures of his first few weeks in middle school.

After we had done talking, I started to think about me. And I had to ask myself the same question. “What am I so Afraid of Anyway?”

Read the rest of this entry »

anxiety, being afraid, fake it until you make it, make money, starting a blog, starting a business, Whats on my Mind?, working through fear