Okay so you are reading my tears right now, so heads up…

I had a rather emotional moment this AM I must be transparent about.

Early this AM I went online to craigslist the help a friend find something, while I was there, I happen to log in to my old account. Don’t know why, I just did. It’s kinda surreal how it happened actually but that is another post. The photo attached to this post instantly made me STOP DEAD in my tracks.

That lump swelled up in my throat, my body started to tingle, and tears began to stream down my cheeks. I was paralyzed for a moment.

I was completely overcome. I sat there staring at this pic for a while. Just lost in the raw emotions of my very own life.

What you see here is defining snapshot of my life just 5 short years ago.

It captures the pain of a couple fighting to make a way for their kids, a mom doing anything she could to find the next $10 to help, the struggles, the sleepless nights, the hard work for so little…. I could go on an on here about my emotions.

I am in awe. This was me. This was who I was.

I scraped and fought as a mom for 1000 different reasons but this one shows it so clearly. $5. I literally sold things on Craigslist for $5 to help my family.

What is so strange is I can feel every ounce of the emotion as if it were just yesterday. That $5 was so insignificant in the world, but to me, it meant reprieve and a moment of sanity.

You see, we had not “extra” money to go out to eat with. Our budget was set. So if I wanted to “treat” the kids to McDonalds and myself to 30 min of sanity, I had to sell things on Craigslist. Unreal, and yet so powerfully true.

My life is so changed and my missing is so very clear. I thank GOD from the rooftops that he blessed me with an opportunity to change my life.

I take that blessing as a calling to pass forward a changed life to as many moms out there in the world as I can.

This was me~ a mom struggling for $5 worth of sanity so I could treat my kids to a cheeseburger. A mom living her dream as a SAHM, yet lost in a struggle of life, loneliness, money, and bills.

I pledge to the world to never return to this struggle and to help as many moms out there overcome their struggles too.

Forever grateful and changed,
~Lori Conway

Sounds too good to be true, right?

I mean, no one can have it all.

But let’s just say, in your life right now, you have decisions to make.

You have a daughter in gymnastics from 4-6pm and they are under 7 years of age and 30 minutes away your son is under 9 years old in football that starts at 6pm.

Your husband works until 9pm, so he can’t help.

Time to get creative.

Where is there wiggle room?

You don’t know any parents in the gymnastics class and you kinda know of one of the parents in football.

• You could contact the coach to find out the parents phone number.
• Take your daughter out of gymnastics 30 minutes early.
• Take your son to football 30 minutes late. (Not ideal for teaching your kids the importance of being on time)
• Leave gymnastics at 4:45 so you have time to get your son to football & back before gymnastic class is over.
• If the coach lives close, leave gymnastics and take your son to his house for a ride.
• Ask a friend or family member to help the first time it is a dilemma.

In the future, since this will happen every week, it’s important to set yourself up powerfully.

Go to football and meet the other parents.

Start conversations, get to know them so you can possibly arrange car pooling.

Or interview services like care.com to find someone you trust to drive your kids.

That might seem like a little thing, but it’s something a lot of us deal with when we have more than 1 child in activities.

Here is another example.

You want to take your family on a Disney Cruise.

You have about $2,000 and the cruise is $4,500 plus you have to factor travel to get there to be another $1,200 to fly.

Do you say you don’t have the money and start planning your stay-cation?

Or do you get creative?

You could take that $2,000 and hit the slot machines, BUT the odds are against ya on that one.

Do you have some kids clothes you can sell that have been in storage forever?

Some toys?

Maybe consign some of your own clothes.

Do you have something big you could sell?

You sell everything you can think of and make about $500, you still need another $3200.

Check out Craigslist for some odd jobs?

Start a home-based business that provides something all of your friends are dying to have and throw a party.

You may be thinking, but that takes money to get started.

You are absolutely right and I don’t recommend starting a home-based business unless you are truly ready to get to work and make that $3200 you need for your family’s vacation.

When I started mine, all I wanted was an extra $200/month for my hair & nails.

Once I made the decision, I got busy and made my $99 investment back within the first week!

Then I rinsed and repeated.

A year and a half later I retired my husband from being VP of a local bank.

I’m giving you these examples to empower you.

There are always choices, some of them may seem “far fetched”, but don’t rule them out as options.

The more options you have and the willingness to be uncomfortable and do something out of your norm, the more empowered you will be in life.

When I wanted to make an extra $200, I really didn’t know how I was going to do it.

I was a stay-at-home mom of 4 kids under the age of 6 and no college degree.

It wasn’t until another mom showed me the way, that I saw the option of starting a business.

What we have accomplished could VERY EASILY seem far fetched, but bottom line, it is possible.

If you’ve considered working part-time from home and just haven’t really found what you’re looking for, we invite you to look at our business page and take a couple of minutes to see how we might be able to help you get whatever it is you want!