We are looking at purchasing another apartment building (the rental market here is booming!) and I’ve been working on financing options that tie up the least amount of our own money.

I think I finally figured out what I want to do with myself…and it ain’t slaving over Cisco equipment the rest of my days!   I started a “niche” info website a few months back and it is finally earning enough money to pay for my hosting fees and then some.  I am excited to see my traffic grow every month and I am trying to add a few pages a week.

I love it.  I really enjoy building my website and can see myself doing a few more.  The best part is that I can work at home in my spare time.  It may take me a few years to build up enough income from my sites to be able to quit my “work at home” day job, but I am not going to let that discourage me!  I am trying to take it slow (my day job is stressful enough, thank you!) and learn as much as I can about information publishing.

My first site is a guide about Naperville, IL.  I know there are other “travel guide” sites on Naperville, but they are just generic directories that lack a personal touch.  I want to offer my visitors a taste of what Naperville is like through my personal experiences and photos.

I encourage you to check out my site at: http:\\www.naperville-guide.com

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Joni Ang from E.Webscapes did all the hard work for me, as well as create Mom Coming Home’s vibrant design!

So…Wordpress 2.5 came out and to be honest, I let the task to upgrade sit on the back-burner for a while.  This was due to my laziness…some days after working “IT” all day, I don’t feel like doing anything techie.

Anyway, I found this amazing Plugin that takes all the guess work out of how to upgrade.  After I took a backup of my website, I installed the plugin and the upgrade was complete in less than 2 minutes!  It was safe and easy!

• Install Instant Upgrade Plugin for Wordpress from Zirona –> Click here to Download
• Upload and unzip to you WordPress Plugins folder
• Activate the Instant Upgrade plugin from your Admin Panel
• Go to the Options tab, Click InstantUpgrade and choose an upgrade method.  Pick either FTP or HTTP. I went with HTTP, and it worked with my web host.
• Next, the plugin notifies that it’s ready to upgrade.  Go to Manage, InstantUpgrade, and start the Wordpress 2.5.1 upgrade process.  It installs the 2.5.1 Upgrade in less than 1 minute.
• That’s it!  Your blog is upgraded to the latest greatest version of WordPress!

A big thank you to Alex at Zirona Open Source Consulting for making my upgrade a breeze!  The Instant Upgrade Plugin is free, but please consider donating if you use the plugin so these guys can keep creating excellent code!

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I’ve been battling cold/flu symptoms this past week, but I’ve had fun reading through your “first blog post” posts!  I’m also happy to find new and interesting blogs to read!

Here is the list of contest participants (and a link to their post) so far:

• Bloggingcontest.com - Win a $20 Amazon Gift Certificate…
• Trina
• Kathylynn
• aBookworm -  Win an Amazon GC
• Erz – Mom Coming Home’s Blog Birthday Giveaway
• Mr Prizes - http://www.mrprizes.com/individual/listingID_0685.htm
• Doreen – Your First Blog Post
• Bebemiqui - I Like This Contest
• Stacey - You Knew Me When
• Laura - My First Ever Blog Post
• Tanyetta -  My Very First Post –Inspiration and a Giveaway! 
• Lynn Anne – Back in the Bloggy Day
• Laura K
• Sheila - Beginnings: My First Blog Post
• Kristie - What was your First Post
• Erin M
• Mama Zen
• Pamela Kramer – My First Blog Post
• Amanda – My First Blog Post
• Marisa
• Andrea - Waaaay Back When…
• Linda

If you haven’t entered the contest, you have until November 29th!  C’mon and join the fun and your chance to win a $20 Amazon Gift Certificate!

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It’s actually my Blog’s Birthday…3 years. I know it’s only 3 months since I started blogging regularly, but I needed a reason to celebrate!

I love looking through old photographs and journals. It’s interesting to see “how things were” at a given point in time, and to compare how things are now.

Here’s my first post at Mom Coming Home (my how things have changed):

November 6, 2004: “Beginnings”

Welcome! The purpose of this blog is for me to have a webspace to record my thoughts about becoming a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) or possibly a WAHM (work-at-home-mom).

Over the past thirteen years, I have worked outside the home. Some years full-time, some years part-time, and some lean years self-employed. As of November 4, 2004 I have worked two consecutive years full-time. Before that I was self-employed for four years as a network engineer. Networking, as in “LAN/WAN” not the marketing variety.

To sum things up, I work outside the home while my self-employed husband is at home with our five children. We are both completely ready for a role reversal….or would that be a role re-reversal? Anyway, my goal is to be AT HOME next year.

Stay tuned for more details on how I’m getting there.

Wow. 3 years ago, I worked full-time outside of the home and dreamed of the day when I could quit my job. Now I work at home for that same company. And with the addition of Baby A we have six kids! It’s funny how things work out.

To celebrate my birthday, I’m holding my first blog contest for the month of November.

The Contest is about “Your First Blog Post”

Each comment left on this post will count as an entry. To receive an additional two entries, write a post on your blog about your first blog post and link back to Mom Coming Home…I would love to read about how things have changed for you over the months or years.

To show my appreciation, I will post a list of participants each week linking to both your main blog page and your specific blog entry (if you wrote a post).

The Prizes:

On November 30, 2007 – Three random participants will win a $20 gift certificate to Amazon!

Mom’s Rules:

• The three prize winners will be selected at random and receive their $20 Amazon Gift Certificate via e-mail, so please provide a valid e-mail address.
• My kids read my blog, so please keep it clean.
• Let me know you’ve entered the contest via my Contact page
• All entries must be posted no later than Thursday, November 29th.

Have fun reminiscing and thanks for celebrating with me!

~Maura

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First the “Bloggy Stuff”

• Mom Coming Home hit an all-time record of traffic this month, and I hope that November and December do even better!
• I know the big “G” slapped many of the “big” people…but my little blog went up to PR 2. 
• My new blog design was put in place and it puts a smile on my face! ←Rhyme intended!
• Not only did Liz from Successful-Blog name me a S.O.B. she also held
  a magnificent birthday party in honor of her blog’s 2nd Birthday and I had a blast!  Thank you Liz!
• YC from Internet Marketing Mind wrote a great two-part article that you must check out: 
  Make Money Online – Excuses Part 1 and Make Money Online – Excuses Part 2 
  His articles motivated me to start on a website project that I’ve neglected for over a year.  I’m making good progress on writing the content and hope to share results soon.  Thank you YC
  for the kick this mom badly needed!

October was a month of great work accomplishment

My team completed a work project that’s been in the making for almost five years (seriously).  Due to a number of issues, mainly budget cuts, this project was always put on the backburner…until this year. 

I derive deep satisfaction from knowing it’s done and seeing the many ways our company will benefit from it.

We kicked the Starbucks Habit!

Last month, I wrote about the Starbucks breakup and as promised here is the update on how we’re doing.
In 28 days, we went twice.  We saved $230 this past month by breaking the daily foo-foo coffee habit!  WOW!

Dad and I are examining other areas of spending to see where else we can cut back.

November is promising to be a great month!

My workload will be heavy as another big project gets underway, but I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and spending time with family.  I hope everyone reading can take time this month to spend with their loved ones.

What are you looking forward to?

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I am thrilled to welcome you to the new Mom Coming Home design.

When I recently re-dedicated myself to blogging, I decided I needed a new look…something fresh and different, and not an “out of the box” template.  Something that reflects MY personality.  Seeing as I do not have talent for design, I knew I required help to get the look I was after.

After much research, I found E.Webscapes Blog Design Studio and was paired with Joni Ang.  Joni is an amazing and talented designer!  I am so thankful she took my sad little blah blog and transformed it into this fun and vibrant nook on the web.

Joni is a delight to work with.  She truly took the time to understand what I wanted for my blog design.  She also handled the conversion from Movable Type to WordPress…whew!  That alone makes this busy mama skip with satisfaction!

If you’re looking for a blog or website designer, be sure to check out Joni and E.Webscapes.  I know Dad and I will be using them for our future web design needs!

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“Take the conversation to their readers, contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger”

I appreciate Liz’s acknowledgement because even though Mom Coming Home has been around a while, my effort to blog consistently and to build community is new.

Please take some time to check out Liz’s blog, a great place to start is her Popular Posts. Liz’s place has a cozy atmosphere, so make sure to grab something to drink and put your feet up while you learn ways to improve your business and your life.

Thank you again Liz. I am humbled to be included among such powerful and inspirational bloggers!

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Over 30 days ago, I decided to get serious about blogging. Click here to read my post about re-starting.

How have I done this past month?

Well, in 37 days I have posted 23 times. Considering this mom posted twice in the previous year, I think my small success deserves a pat on the back from me.

My biggest accomplishment is that I’ve connected with other bloggers. I am slowly emerging out into the blogging community and creating relationships.

I am applying what I’ve learned from others to grow my blog.

• Darren Rowse at ProBlogger taught me that First Impressions Matter when it comes to how readers perceive ME upon first seeing my blog. I am working with a designer who not only has unbelievable design skill and vision, but is also helping with my migration to Word Press. I cannot wait to show you the “big reveal” next month.
• I’m developing a passion for writing again, thanks to Liz Strauss at Successful Blog. She also reminded me to take time out to be Awe Inspired. Her timely post made me close my eyes and remember the beauty and power witnessed on my family’s recent trip to Niagara Falls
• Dana Wallert was kind enough to stumble one of my posts and led me to the wonderful user community of StumbleUpon. I’ve been having fun stumbling new sites and meeting other bloggers. Dana also taught me to not let my perfectionism get in the way of my blogging.

I am excited that I started over and planted the seeds of my new blogging habit. Stand back and watch my blog grow!

Think small.
Planting tiny seeds in the small space given you
Can change the whole world or,
At the very least, your view of it.
- Linus Mundy

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I honestly do not have the time or technical fortitude to continue on with MT4, so I’ve decided to convert to WordPress.

This will be happening in the next few weeks as I work with a designer and launch a new look for Mom Coming Home.

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Seriously, I have contemplated whether to ditch the blog on momcominghome.com and after a few days of going back and forth I decided to try again. I enjoy writing. The few posts I’ve written in the past still receive traffic from search engines. Instead of just jumping back into this willy-nilly, I wrote down on paper what I needed done here in order to make blogging a habit.

At the top of my list was to upgrade Movable Type. The IT geek in me, relished this task and I just finished a few hours ago. I love it so far! Next, is a re-design of the site. I don’t know the first thing about design. What I have figured out for my basic layout is compliments to Elise at Learning Movable Type…thanks Elise! I need an updated look with some eye-popping graphics, but I won’t let that stop me from writing. I’ll plan the re-design for the Fall. I also need to make this a habit and how I do that is like everything else…schedule it. So I have a task to be back here tomorrow to write. Lastly, I need to find my purpose. What am I writing for, or about.

When I started this in 2004, I was a WOHM and I longed for the day that I could stay home with my babies. Read this entry: My Original Motivation for this Site, I think it explains it all nicely.

Now, I’m a WAHM (Work at Home Mom) and while I’m home and my babies see me more often, I still work for the man! I also dream of working for myself some day. Yes, I know being a network engineer is gloriously satisfying. But there are days (and nights) where the frustration is high and the hours logged on my laptop are long. Baby A must think every mommy has a laptop growing out of them.

So, I feel my purpose here is to write about the things I do best (WAHM, saving money, balancing WAH and raising six kids, etc.) as well as my journey to work at home for ME!

I guess the name still says it all…Mom Coming Home

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