WHY DID WE BUILD THIS BLOG AGAIN?

Every so often, I have to remind myself why Melissa and I started this blog. Oh yeah, it was to help us get the word out about our book! Well, obviously the blog has taken on a life of its own, and we don’t do a lot of book promoting here, but occasionally I need to get back to basics, so here I go!

In 2010, we are totally rebranding our book. This is a HUGE job. We are redoing our website (and eventually this blog also), renaming our book, redesigning our cover, and generally redefining who Karmel Publishing is and what our mission is.

No small job, right? Right! But necessary. And believe it or not, fun!

So far, we have renamed our book and redesigned our cover, and I wanted to share it with you, our faithful blog readers!

So, what do you think? Pretty awesome, right?

Also, I’ve set up a Fan Page on Facebook and would love it if you’d join. You can get there at http://www.facebook.com/thecaregiverorganizer, or by simply clicking on the badge to the right. (I’m getting pretty tech-savvy, aren’t I?) This fan page will keep you updated on how our progress is going with our rebranding effort, and will let you know when we have sales, etc. It’s still a work in progress, so let me know if you have any suggestions!

Oh, and be on the lookout for new books to be rolled out soon, too!

Karen

MY GOOF IS YOUR GAIN!!!

Last week I told you about a 50% off sale we are having on our book, By The Book: How To Take Care of MY Kids, and I was very specific in saying that it was a ONE WEEK ONLY promotion, right? And I really meant it! But then I asked my AWESOME Facebook business associates to help me spread the word about it (I love social media!), and when I told them the end date, I told them it was December 20th, instead of December 13th. (I swear I was looking right at the calendar when I typed this. I guess I didn’t know what day it was or something!)

So, I certainly can’t go back and tell all those people, and everyone they told, that I goofed and the promotion ended already (obviously!), so… drum roll, please…

BY THE BOOK IS 50% OFF FOR ONE MORE WEEK!!!

USE COUPON CODE BTBKHOLIDAY AT WWW.BYTHEBOOKKIDS.COM!!!

TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS!!!

Okay, now just so you don’t think I’m going all salesy on you, I have a cute story, sent in by my sister, Margee about her daughter, Emma. (Well, “sent in” might be an over-statement. Actually, she emailed it to me and I am taking the liberty of repeating it to all of you. Is that wrong?)

This morning while Emma was in the pantry looking for a snack to pack, she asked me what ‘virgin’ means. I was a little surprised, but proceeded to tell her the most common meaning of the word. She looked thoughtful, re-entered the pantry, and asked, “Then what is extra virgin olive oil?”

Next time I’ll ask her to use the word in a sentence first.

Karen

SHAMELESS PLUG FOR BY THE BOOK!

Macaroni and Chicken Fingers was originally developed to help us sell our book, By The Book: How To Take Care of MY Kids. But, like most children do, it eventually took on a life of its own. So while it can be time consuming, it’s the “fun” side of our business! We get to vent, joke, ponder, and basically talk about whatever we want to here.

Every so often, though, we need to come back to the basics of why it began, right? (Yes, that’s the business side of me coming out, sorry!) But now is a perfect time to bring it up, with gift giving on everyone’s mind.

So basically, here’s what By The Book is all about:

By The Book is a workbook that parents fill out for their caregivers, whether it's for a nanny, grandparent, occasional babysitter, or anyone watching their kids. It's the most complete and comprehensive book of its kind out there, and it's packaged in a 3-ring binder so parents can update the pages as necessary. By The Book includes everything from basic schedules, to likes and dislikes, to emergency information, to household information, such as how to work the remote control.

Simply put, it’s a binder filled with pages that you fill out for your babysitter with information all about your little, or not so little, bundles of joy.

And bottom line: IT MAKES A GREAT GIFT FOR ANYONE WITH KIDS, but especially for new parents or parents-to-be. Anyone like that on your gift list this year?

So… THIS WEEK ONLY you can get 50% OFF a hardbound book (either cover) of By The Book by using coupon code BTBKHOLIDAY at checkout on our website.

So hop to it, and spread the word!

Karen

YOU FINALLY HIRED A SITTER: NOW WHAT?

I love guest blogging! Isn’t that funny, because when Melissa and I started this adventure 4 years ago, she was the writer and I was the “business-person.” Now our roles have definitely blurred into each other’s, and I’m loving it!

So this has absolutely nothing to do with the title of this post, does it? (Ha, great writing, Karen!) So here it is: I was invited to write a blog post on a great blog, which is an extension of the website Momologie. If you’ve never been there, please check it out (and not just saying that because I’m on there!). The best way I can describe it is that it’s “grown up family stuff.” (I know, another sterling example of how my writing skills have developed!) They have wonderful family tips, but with class and style and maturity. If you like what you see, sign up for their daily newsletter. It’s free, of course! (Okay, I admit that sometimes it’s a bit too classy and mature for me, but probably not for you!)

You can find my article here.  And it’s not just a blatant sales piece to get you to buy my book, (although if you want to buy it, you can go to www.bythebookkids.com!), but it actually gives helpful advice how to really enjoy your time away from your kids so you can come home refreshed and relaxed.

So take a look. It will be like getting 2 blog posts for the price of 1 today!

 

Karen

MY DIRTY LITTLE SECRET

I have a confession: I am absolutely, without a doubt, one of the MOST disorganized people ever. This is my dirty little secret, which hopefully my cub scout pack will never figure out, or they may wonder why I volunteered to be the pack treasurer. (Okay, I use the term “volunteer” VERY loosely since nobody else was volunteering and everyone was staring at me. I mean, really? What was I to do?)

But even worse than that, Melissa and I are writing a series of books to help folks organize different areas of their lives. How bizarre is that? I know what you’re wondering… Did Melissa know this little secret of mine before we went into business together? Well, not exactly. Okay, NO, not at all. But I don’t think it took her too long to figure it out!

Our first book is By The Book: How To Take Care of MY Kids. It’s a workbook for parents to complete with information about THEIR kids for their caregivers. It is chock full of forms to fill out, information to document, schedules to update, etc. It is the BEST way to keep all this stuff organized for your babysitter, whomever that might be. (Yes, of COURSE I use it for my own personal use. Well, okay, I use it sometimes. Um, every so often? Sigh!)

So you see my dilemma. In the business world, I give the appearance of an organized, confident business owner. But in real life, I’m really a disorganized business owner and a very confused mom!

Shhhhh, don’t tell anyone, okay?

Karen

BY THE BOOK IS ON SALE!!! TODAY ONLY!!!

How many times have you left tons of notes for the sitter, only to realize halfway through dinner that you forgot to tell her that ONE most important thing? You should be relaxed when you get time away from the kiddos.

Melissa and I want to help every parent out there get more organized when it comes to childcare so that you CAN be relaxed, whether you get away from your kids everyday or once a year! (Oh, but if it’s only once a year, you need to get out more, girlfriend!)

By The Book: How To Take Care of MY Kids is a workbook for parents to fill out with information about THEIR children to give to their caregiver. This could be a full time nanny, occasional babysitter or even Grandma. (Okay, let’s be honest. It could even help Daddy, right?) Having everything organized will give you peace of mind when somebody else is watching your children.

TODAY ONLY we will be selling the hardbound book at HALF PRICE! Only $9.95 plus s/h. Just go to http://www.bythebookkids.com/ and use coupon code OCTSALE for your 50% discount!

And if you don’t have small children, do you know anyone who does? Or do you know anybody who is about to be a mom for the first time? This makes a GREAT gift!

Karen

Monday Minute – Summer is ending!

School starts tomorrow. Am I excited? Yes, in some ways. Am I sad? Yes, in other ways. Am I confused? Yes, always!

I’m craving to get my life back, with order and schedules and above all, time alone! I feel like everything has taken a back burner to my kids for the past three months. And while that is not a bad thing at all, I’m way behind on stuff, like closing the books out for my cub scout pack (yes, I’m the treasurer – don’t laugh!), bill paying, coupon clipping, and especially on selling my book. In the retail world, Christmas comes in July, and I haven’t done a thing yet to promote By The Book into Holiday Gift Guides. Oh, and look, IT’S PAST JULY!

Yet, when I think about the fun I’ve had this summer with the kids, I get a bit wistful. Of course, none of us were perfectly behaved over the past 3 months, but all has been forgiven. They tolerated going with me to gym a few days a week, and I tolerated listening to Lego Star Wars on the Wii for an hour a day. We spent a lot of time relaxing at the pool and just hanging out, so all in all, we had a great summer.

And we had a whole list of places to go and things to do this summer, which, of course, we just started on last week. It was a really busy week! (Am I the only one who waits until the last minute to work on that list?)

So today is the last day of summer vacation. I’ll take tomorrow to celebrate/cry, and then life will get back to normal. How about you? Sad? Happy? Please let me know I’m normal!

Karen

By The Book Contest Winners!

Okay, so on our first review, I was a day late announcing the winners. But here they are:

Congratulations to ladytink_534 and Margee for winning eBooks of By The Book: Caring For MY Kids!

We hope you enjoy the book!

By The Book: Caring For MY Kids

REVIEW:

I was sitting in the publisher’s office, nervously wading through the questions. Six hours from home, away for the third day, and my cell phone starts to ring. I check the ID. “I’m sorry, I need to take this. It’s home.”

“Dance clothes? Yes, it’s in the book. Directions to class? In there, too. And YES you have to wait for her. Check the DAILY ROUTINE Section.”

***************************************************************************

I had just put my feet into the hot, swirling bath. I had waited for a long time for this pedicure and not much was going to spoil it, except a phone call from my sitter. Thinking the worst, I answer the call.

“How do you get the DVD player to work? Remember, it’s in the book. Look under HOUSEHOLD ODDS AND ENDS.”

***************************************************************************

I had fifteen minutes before our big date. In those fifteen minutes, I had to pull up my hair, throw on some make-up and leave notes for the sitter. “One down,” I thought. “I finished updating the book yesterday. Now on to hair and make-up.”

***************************************************************************

Some days it seems like I’m the only one who knows what’s going on with my kids. Don’t get me wrong. I love them beyond all reason, but 24/7 for 365 days a year? I don’t know that even Mother Theresa could do that! I need that time away. And sometimes I’m working outside the home and just can’t be reached. So where is that “Lost Manual” that never came with our kids the day they were born?

I finally found it! By The Book: Caring for MY Kids is the instruction book that YOU fill out about YOUR kids. It has EVERYTHING. Fill out all the information about your kids and you won’t need to be bothered for a thing. It’s win-win for you, the caregiver and the kids! The book is divided into five sections and takes only minutes to fill out. There is a place for the kids’ routines, school information, important phone numbers, household rules and whatnot, emergency contact and procedures and even a place to organize all of your sitter information. My most used section is the Sitter Notes. Every time I use a sitter, I pull out a page from sitter notes. The nice thing is she knows exactly what to look for when she lets herself and the kids into the house.

This book has made organizing my kids’ information a snap. Now I can do what I need to do without worrying about leaving the sitter or significant other all the information they need. After all, it’s in the book!


GIVEAWAY:

We are giving away an eBook of By The Book: Caring For MY Kids to TWO lucky winners, chosen at random. The contest will end at midnight on June 17, 2009.

HOW TO ENTER:

Primary Entry: Go to http://bythebookkids.com/insidethebook.aspx to view the different sections of the book, then come back here and tell me what part of By The Book would be most useful to you and why.

*This entry is mandatory to allow additional entries!

Additional Entries (be sure to leave a comment for each entry):

• Subscribe & Follow my blog via email = ONE ENTRY
• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway = ONE ENTRY (remember to use @karmelpub when tweeting)
• Blog about this giveaway and provide a link back to here = ONE ENTRY
• Grab our button and place on your blog = ONE ENTRY

GOOD LUCK!

I Need a Wife, I Mean a Nanny!

Let me tell you from personal experience, having a full-time nanny was AWESOME! Honestly, it was like having my own wife!

So if you’re trying to decide whether a nanny is the way to go, or if you have already decided and now need to start searching, let me give you the benefit of what I’ve learned. There are a few key things to keep in mind

1. The nanny will be in your home, all day, with your kids and your things, while you are gone. I know you know this, but have you REALLY thought about it?
2. She will know things about your kids and see things your babies do BEFORE YOU.
3. You MUST have a back-up plan in case she is sick at the last minute. This is VERY important, and I should know, because I never had a back-up plan!
4. She can make your life 100% easier if you hire the right person and agree completely on her duties.
   

So, you still want to hire a nanny, right? There are many local and on-line services to help you with this. They are wonderful, because they do all the background screening and initial interviews. And they will only pair you up with nannies that fit your profile. However, they can be quite costly.

So if you go at it on your own, here are a couple of suggestions. Make sure you watch them interact with your kids. Always, always, always do background checks on them. This includes a county, state and national criminal check, driving record and a check on the Child Abuse and Neglect Database. You can probably do these online or even through a detective agency.

In By The Book: Caring For MY Kids, we discuss hiring a nanny in a bit more detail. Also, there are outlines for a nanny application, interview sheet, and even a nanny agreement. While the agreement is not a legally binding contract, it is very specific on what your nanny’s duties will be and will not be. It also outlines pay structure, holidays, vacations, sick days, hours, etc. Make this as detailed as possible.

Good luck on your journey to find the perfect nanny!

Karen

Paradise Is Only 6 Days Away!

SIX MORE DAYS! SIX MORE DAYS! WOO-HOO!!!!!

In six days, I will be leaving for Mexico with (pay close attention here) my sisters! NO KIDS! NO HUSBAND! NO DOG! NO CAT! JUST ME AND MY SISTERS!

(Are you jealous yet?)

Now don't get me wrong, you all know I LOVE my boys, the two 8 year olds and the 40-something year old. But, can you even imagine 5 days of Mexican sunshine, rolling waves, snoozing on the beach and eating everything in sight? And no "Mommy, watch this..." or "Mommy, he did ______ to me" or "Honey, where's the ________?"

This is the third year in a row that my sisters and I have gone away together. We go to all-inclusive, adults-only (if my kids aren't going to be there, I don't really want to put up with anyone else's kids!), beach-front resorts. Do we spend too much money? YES! Do we eat too much? YES! Do we work out? NO! And most importantly, do we feel guilty for leaving our families? NO, NO, NO!!!

Okay, all kidding aside, I think this is the best thing I do for myself and for my family all year. I come back refreshed, relaxed and a better wife and mommy. And the boys get some great quality time together. It's not going to kill them to have 5 days of constant fast food, TV and Wii. As long as my husband remembers to get them to school, I'm fine with everything else!

Did you read Melissa's post "How Long Does It Take To Do That" back in January? If not, go back and read it. It is SO TRUE. The basic premise of her post is that when the husband travels, he packs and says, "so long honey." When the mom travels, we have to write long and involved notes explaining what needs to be done each day for school and where the sports games are over the weekend. We need to find babysitters for the time between the end of school and the time he gets home. We need to put notes out to remind everyone that the dog and cat need to eat and drink also. We send emails to the teachers so they know that if something isn't done on time, it's NOT OUR FAULT! We need to have neighbors come in to let the dog out, who isn't used to being in the house all day. And other neighbors to ask the husband in the morning at the bus stop if the boys have their backpacks, homework, snack, lunch, etc. We need to do laundry, so they have clothes to wear while we're gone. We need to go grocery shopping, just for the off-chance that they might eat a meal at home. Like frozen pizza or cereal.

(Oh my gosh, as I write this, I'm realizing all the things that I still have to do! Thank goodness a lot of this, like the schedules, are in THE BOOK!)

Anyway, you get the idea. But the main point I want to make is it's all worth it! We all need to take a little time for ourselves. Whether it's a trip to Mexico or just lunch with a girlfriend, you need to take care of YOU. I know, you've heard it before. But are you doing it? I am, and I think I'm a much better person for it.

So take a deep breath and plan something for yourself... by yourself. And think of me in 6 days while I lay on the beach and don't think of anything!

Karen

CAN YOU PLEASE BABYSIT SATURDAY NIGHT?

Do you remember when you used to babysit? Okay, besides the fact that we got LESS THAN $1.00 per hour (oops, am I showing my age?), we tried to get away with as much as possible, right? Whether it was eating every bit of junk food they had in the house or (gasp!) sneaking the boyfriend in after the kids were asleep. We were, after all, teenagers!

But now we’re the PARENTS, and we know what they are up to (eek!). But, when looking for a babysitter most of us just ask our friends and neighbors who they use, then we call them, right? But shouldn’t we use the same thought and effort when hiring the 3 hour babysitter as we would use if hiring a full time nanny? We are still trusting somebody with our children, our home, our lives for those 3 hours that we are gone.

In our book, “By The Book: Caring For MY Kids,” we’ve included a section just for parents. It has interview questions for the potential sitter, as well as forms to fill out with your sitter’s information once you hire him or her. It even lets you “rate” the sitter and lets your child do the same. Hmmm, interesting differences in those ratings, don’t you think? J

What we’d love to do is look the potential sitter in the eyes and demand answers to “Do you have a boyfriend?” or “Have you ever tried illegal drugs?” or even “Are you going to pay attention to my kids and play with them?” But, it’s probably not the best approach! Don’t forget, they are checking YOU out, too!

Here is a sample of the questions you will find in the book:

1. Are you certified in Infant or Child CPR? How about First Aid?
2. Have you completed the Red Cross Babysitter Certification Course, or similar course offered at school?
3. What grade are you in at school and what are your grades?
4. What are your extra-curricular activities and hobbies? (This can tell you a TON about what kind of person she is.)
5. What age children are you most comfortable with and why?

These are just a few of the questions you might consider asking a potential sitter.

Depending on the person’s age, you might even want to have her parent there with you during the interview. Not only do you want to be comfortable with her, but you want her to be comfortable with you, and sometimes that means having the parent at ease also. And don’t forget, if she runs into problems, she’s probably going to call her own mother first, before bothering you while you’re out. Soooo… yes, you’re checking out the mom, too!

Next week, we’ll discuss how to hire a nanny. And VERY SOON we will have a giveaway for a FREE book, so keep checking back!

Karen

Names I Wish I Didn't Know

(Warning. . . I'm going beyond my humor . . but please keep reading). . .

We've heard them so many times. Over and Over, especially if you watch any sort of news program. My husband and I were watching the news last night and we were reminded of the world we live in.

Casey Anthony.

Shawn Hornbeck.

Ben Ownby.

Natalee Holloway.

And the latest, Haleigh Cummings.

Every time I hear one of those names, my gut simply wrenches for the child, for the parents, for anyone who knows that person. I can't even start to imagine what it would feel like, the questions that would go through my mind, how I would react, what I would do. Would I be capable of doing anything at all? Yet the simple fact is that thousands of children go missing every day.

My son, Z1, being the fearless adventurer he is, has gotten separated from us several times in highly populated places. The zoo. The waterpark. The mall. And each time, the terror that rose up inside of me was unbearable. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see straight. And that was for all of 30 seconds to twenty minutes.

When Karen and I started By The Book, we knew we wanted to include a section where you could keep all of the emergency information in one spot. We call it,"The section we hope you NEVER have to use." It includes all of your child's stats- height, weight, birthmarks, recent photos, fingerprints, the works.

We don't like to think about this kind of stuff. After all, we're safe, right? It only takes one moment, five seconds of averting your eyes, ten seconds of getting distracted with something else. If I had to give my child's information, what would I remember? Would I think about the gap between his teeth? The location of his birthmarks? Do I know his weight, height off the top of my head? Can I remember what he was wearing? Do I have his fingerprints? Pictures?

Click here to see what is in the book. You can find the table of contents and look through the emergency section.

Whether or not you buy the book, just do something today to put all of your child(ren)'s information in one, safe, accessible place. ANd give them an extra hug tonight.

Yours, grateful to know mine are asleep in their beds,

Melissa

Pay It Forward

I just have to tell you all about having my faith in human nature restored. Having previously been in the corporate world, I must admit that I got a bit jaded. Okay, a lot! But what can you expect, I was in SALES!

Since Melissa and I have started By The Book: Caring For MY Kids and more recently, this blog, I have "met" the nicest people. I put "met" in quotations, because most of these folks have been through email and/or phone contacts. I'd love to REALLY meet them someday and give them a big hug!

Writing, publishing, and marketing our book has been a HUGE learning experience for us. Every time I think I've got it down, I get thrown another curve ball. But I love it! One of the first mentors I found was Stacey Kannenberg, an author, consultant, motivator and all round great person. She helped us in so many ways, I don't know how I would have gotten such a jump start without her. And since then, I have met dozens of retailers, wholesalers, authors, manufacturers, PR experts and so many others who have helped us. And I don't mean just an idea here or a price quote there, I mean REALLY HELPED.

So we're starting to get more comfortable in our business and we figured, why not start a blog? Melissa can do most of the writing, and I'm technical enough to figure out the internal workings of it. Right? Um, in a word, NO! But once again, somebody who was once a total stranger, came to my rescue. Nicole Ibarrondo has been FABULOUS, making sense of computer lingo that looks like greek to me!

So I've come to a conclusion: People really like helping other people. I know, you've heard it before. But now, I really, truly believe it. No, I really, truly KNOW it.

So here's a hug and a high-five to Stacey and Nicole and everyone else who has helped us on this journey. Thanks, girlfriends!