Time management

This is the end of the first month with this blog. My biggest challenge is time management, with children running up and down and the limited time to actually sit down and try to write, it seems a huge task the possibility of making a living from writing. However, every day I am becoming better at it and more organised.

I have managed to get into the habit of sitting down with a cup of tea, just a few minutes before going to bed, just to write everything I can think of for next day, even for next week. The fact of getting it in writing and out of your mind gives the relief that you can sleep and relax because TOMORROW you will deal with it. I also prioritise everything I plan to do for the next day and the rest I just leave it noted down until I find another gap in the rest of the week.

I have started a few more blogs, they don’t have yet too much traffic but I think that it is the kind of thing that takes time, for people to fall into your blog, to come to know you, to subscribe and to follow, however it is a question of perseverance.

Big thanks to the people that have used my links to join cashcrate and cashle if I can help along the way, great, the more people I can help with my experience and what I am learning the better.

Slings and their benefits

As a natural parent I have always used slings and I can actually recommend their use to anyone, the bond that creates with your baby is unique and the freedom to be out and about is something amazing. Every time I cross in the street someone struggling to get a buggy upstairs or downstairs I feel like saying: “God! Why don’t you get a sling?”

It just makes me feel really frustrated when people get in front of them at the bus stop, sometimes it makes you wonder where is that old habit of the gentleman saying “Oh madam, you first please, do you need help?” No, actually everyone kills himself to get into the bus, then when is your turn you just stay there because the bus is full or there is no more space for a buggy.

With the baby in the sling I can go in the bus, I can shop, I can cook and still do the rest of the house chores. Apart from the hands-free freedom carrying your baby in a sling has a lot of benefits:

It has been proved that babies that are carried regularly cry less, it is of special help with babies suffering from gases and colic.

The physical closeness with the mum creates a special bond, which it has also been proved to reduce stress levels and separation anxiety in newborns.

Increases baby’s emotional and mental development, also mentioned in The Continuum Concept,
baby see the world from their parents level, they become a passive spectator of the daily activities and the life around them until they are ready to become an active part in their community. Research says that this alert state is the optimum for learning and babies carried become more independent and self-confident children.

Increases baby’s physical development, usually babies that have been carried regularly learn to sit up and stand up earlier.

If the information about the benefits of carrying your baby makes you think twice, now there is not even excuse to not find a suitable carrier. The market is full of different types and styles that can suit anyone. I used the Calin Bleu for so many months until the baby grew up and was too heavy to carry, I personally think it is the best for a newborn. Once you try it, you will not want to take it out.

The advantage is that once you have used for ages, the sling can be used for the next child, given away as a gift to a new mum or sold in the market, as second hand they still keep amazingly a big part of their value, so you wouldn't have spend that much after all.

Paid Surveys: Cashle

Cashle together with Cashcrate have been the main websites that have helped me to build some money so far.

Cashle is really good, you can sign up to both like me and when you have time, you do one or another. There are always plenty of offers, so there is always the chance to make some extra cash.

The advantage of cashle is that you don’t need to build any amount, you can just withdraw it at any time no matter how small the amount is. So it is a very good incentive if you want to make money daily. That is why it is one of my favourite programs.

Another good advantage is that it is actually very similar to cashcrate, you have to pay for some offers (if you want), but if you are like me, you don’t need to, just choose the ones that are 100% free.

Cashle also offers the possibility of recommending your friends and family if you are happy. It actually pays up to $1 for any new member that signs up recommended by you and a commission of 15% on any money that your referral makes (like Cashcrate, this commission means a bonus for you, your referral doesn’t get less money paid).

Using both sites and referring friends and family you can make a good regular income, at the end of the day is money that doesn’t take that much effort to build and cash.

If you think of joining them, please consider using my referral link I really appreciate your support.

These two websites are so far the ones that I have found that are actually helping build some income, if you know of any that have been useful to you, feel free to share it with us.

Paid Surveys: Cashcrate

There are around the web some companies that provide legitimate work while others don’t. I have been searching a lot for the serious ones, if I want to build my income online I don’t have the time to waste on schemes that don’t pay enough or are not serious at all. And of course, I wouldn’t like to recommend something that would be a waste of time to other people either.

I heard a lot about Cashcrate and after doing my research I decided to join them. Cashcrate is a genuine company with lots of positive feedback. Although they are American, residents from other countries can also participate.

Cashcrate provides an easy way to build online filling up offers and signing up to websites. To sign up all you provide your e-mail and address where you want to receive your payments. In the days I have been doing their offers I found them easy to follow, you can see straight away which ones offer more or less money so you can choose accordingly and the amount builds up quite easily.

Although there are different offers, you can do like me and click only the ones that say “100% free” there are plenty of them and you don’t risk any money.

If you are happy with them you can also recommend your family and friends, they have a nice referral program in which you get 20% commission on whatever they make (this commission doesn’t mean that they take it from their earnings it’s all yours as an added bonus, while they receive theirs).

This program has helped me quite a lot lately in building some steady income.
If you would like to give it a try please consider using my referral link, I appreciate your support.

Getting paid to read E-mails

I have been searching lately on different kinds of schemes on how to earn some money online. I had my eye on some schemes I read about where you register and they send you e-mails. This schemes pay you to read the e-mails or click on links or adverts inside the e-mail. However, doing some research I gave up on the idea.

I have talked to some people with some experience on this kind of earning schemes and they all say that is painfully slow to build some income. Some can make around $0.25 a day after clicking up and down. Although you don’t have to put that much effort into it, it’s good if you don’t have anything else to do. But with children and a house to run and serious bills to pay it is just something I can’t afford.

Feel free to share with us your favourite ways to earn money online. What did you find gives you more income at the end of the month?

The Continuum Concept

I read The Continuum Concept when I was pregnant, I had read so much about it and so many people recommended it to me that I couldn’t wait until I laid my eyes on it. In this book Jean Liedloff wrote about her experiences after spending over two years living among the Yequana Indians in the Amazon jungle. What it was most shocking for her was the way that this tribe was raising their children. She noticed that yequana babies, rarely cried unless they were sick, however their upbringing was something completely different to what she was used to and recommended in our society.

The main idea behind The Continuum concept is that in order to become happy and confident adults, babies expect to have fulfilled their needs in the way nature designed for our species in the process of our evolution.

The main expectations are:

-Babies need to be carried in arms from birth until crawling age. In close contact with their mum they feel protected and they learn about life until they are ready to become active members in their circle.

-Co-sleeping with their parents until they are ready to sleep on their own.

-Breastfeeding on demand, responding to babies’ needs.

Among the Yequana, children are respected and trusted as individuals from a very young age, they follow their parents constantly in their daily activities and are allowed to learn and explore their surrounding freely. They rarely cry and, it is said, that children brought up in this way become more independent and self-confident individuals

The Continuum Concept is in its twenty-sixth printing and has been translated into sixteen languages. If you are interested in natural, instinctive parenting, then this book is a must!

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Natural Parents

We consider ourselves natural parents, we practise attachment parenting, we co-sleep, breastfeed and carry our babies in slings. At home everything is cooked from scratch and most of what we eat is done at home, including bread. We try to keep a healthy lifestyle, we go for long walks and keep fit, we do exercise, yoga and swimming. When is needed, we also try to help our bodies in their recovery through natural remedies, homeopathy, rest and a proper diet, resorting to traditional medicine (NHS) only when there is no other alternative.

In our family every single member is respected and valued just for being that important component of the family. We are going back to basics. We try to keep our family as close to nature as possible.

Our ultimate goal is being able to move to a more peaceful environment where our children can grow more in contact with nature, wrapped by the warmth of our extended family and spending as much time as possible with us. Our plan is to be able to build a regular income online that would allow us to give that big step.

This diary will narrate our journey as a family, our attempts to build our income online, what works and what not, our daily life, books that we read, information that we find interesting, things that we value, recipes and a bit of everything. All small pieces that fill our lives and make us what we are.

We would love your company, your contribution, and your suggestions. Do share our journey. Let’s go back to basics.

Header Photo Credit

Photo Credit: michelleannb

We couldn't find a place in the header to include a link with a credit to the photographer, so we decided to include it here.

The header photo we are presently using in this blog is by michelleannb. You can check this and more photos of this great photographer following the link provided.