Space

“I don’t need this anymore Mum, can you put this on Ebay?” Morgan hands me an intricately drawn and written note and a unidentified plastic thing he had discovered in his room. Its his ad to sell the item. Very carefully he has copied the shape of the item and put a price with lots of ‘0s’ in it. That-a-Boy!

I smile. Entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in this household and I openly encourage, support and try to develop it.

A few weeks ago I went to a one day seminar on internet marketing. The presenters offered a range of strategies and opportunities. Although there were bigger and more indepth courses that I could have chosen to enroll in, I got enough to sink my teeth into from this day and have been excited ever since. Some strategies outlined ways to assist me in collecting data and interest in upcoming books I am planning to write. Others details how to start of small with a niche idea and grow it from there. I was particularly attracted to Ebay. It just made so much sense – people who browse Ebay are already looking to buy. With a normal website – people who go and look at it may only be looking for information. Huge difference – and lightbulbs went off in my head.

So – I am starting of nice and small. The kids and I have gone through wardrobes to clear out all clothes that don’t fit and am sorting it into charity shop piles and piles to sell. Toys and other items are under the same scrutiny. I feel refreshed, excited and clean.. You know when you have had a hard day out wither in physical labour or exercise and you go and have a shower? How good do you feel when you step out of the shower? That’s how I am feeling.. tingly and fresh.

I read a few articles and a book on how to sell successfully on ebay and did the tutorials on line. I am attempting not to fall into the traps I have heard others do – overpricing and not enough info etc. I have strated off with small items and all beginning at 99c. I mean the stuff hasn’t cost me anything – I would give it away anyway – so might as well get some grounding work in it and keep polishing my approach.

I haven’t set up a shop on ebay. Its tempting – but I will wait a while yet. I rather like the idea of on selling small quirky Ikea stuff – a lady in the US does it and to be honest it’s a big market. Unless you physically go into an IKEA you can’t buy the items. I know from personal experience trying to get an end of line item in May a few years back – there were three of the thing I needed dotted around Australia. I called the stores and they don’t do inter store deliveries at all. You physically have to go to that store and buy it. So what was frustrating and down-right annoying, has perhaps swung in my favour.

I have also started to learn how to design a website. A long painful affair I am afraid but one I am a bit proud of. I am so non techy. However, HTML is my friends –well – cut and past from a cheat sheet is anyway. I can’t tell you how excited I was when I finally saw my three page website up on the web – and it all linked together! Sadly, I am still struggling with the photos and graphics side of it and there are big boxes on the live website with nothing in them. The files just didn’t get transferred or something… well back to a tutorial or something. I am sure there is info on it on the net. ( I love the internet!)

Well – must be off. Have some photos to take of my next batch of things to upload on Ebay… and will try not to get stressed that there are no bids on them yet….and will attempt not to keep an eye on them all day…pathetic really.

Time is of the essence

Time.

I have just arrived home from dropping Morgan off at school. My stress levels are peaking at red level as I am breathing deeply and making myself a strong coffee. We were late. Again. I hate being late. For anything. Am I being completely insane and out of control thinking that I can instill timeliness and punctuality into a 5 year old?

We have always made Morgan and Lilly realize that they are responsible for certain things – having rules like being only able to play with one thing at a time and then it needs to be put away before another is taken out to play with or used. Morgan is desperate to have his room transformed into a jungle and was given the challenge of absolute tidiness for a full month before Adrian would discuss it. I thought it a bit much, but Morgan worked really hard in keeping rubbish off the floor and keeping shoes and toys in their right places. He was responsible for putting clothes away and vacuuming his room. All credit to the lad – he has just made his month and he and Age are pouring over paint charts and furniture brochures to choose new items. Of course Lilly wants in on the action – I have already got her paint and ideas on her fairy princess room. Her challenge in order for us to start decorating her room is that she must keep all her toys in place and put away her shoes for a month.

Anyway – back to timeliness. Being late to me shows a lack of discipline. It tells others who are waiting on you or for you - that you don’t regard their time as valuable. It shouts a lack of manners. It screams a deficiency of decency. No wonder I get stressed with 5 mins.

At the start of the year, I used to set a timer with a loud beeper for Morgan to let him know that he needed to do a certain thing by then (i.e finish his breakfast , or get dressed or time to get in the car to go) I felt like some Nazi and kept thinking about Pavlovs dog – so stopped it. I think that’s where we started to get unstuck. I hate to shout or nag, but the last few mornings have really worn thin on me. I tried a new ( unsuccessful) tactic this morning, at 8 am I set out breaky and told Morgan he needed to organize himself to go after finishing. At 8.30 he was still in PJs and chasing Lilly round the table. He had put his lunchbox in his bag I guess. At 8.45 Lilly and I went and sat in the car while Morgan sat in his room – naked – and obsessed with his lego truck. Up till then I had asked nicely, let him know the time and that I was waiting it the car. At 8.53 I told him to get in the car and either go to school with no clothes on or dress in the car. Morgan just looked at me with his big blue eyes and told me to stop shouting at him.

I think I might put some whisky in my coffee….

Getting sucked in

“Your son can’t hop or skip. Its really holding him back” I feel like a failure. Somehow I have neglected to teach Morgan this valuable skill and now he is facing ridicule and lack of success at school... forever.......

Hang on. Morgan is just 5. This is Prep we are talking about – not some sports institution getting him ready for the Olympics.

I am being sucked into the mindless depression that grips any parent with children at school. Comparing them with the achievements of others, trying to reach some sort of benchmark.

The little boy the teachers are describing to me bears little resemblance to the lad who occupies Morgans room. I have been getting notes home about how he pulled someones hair, hit another with his hat and spat at another. Have aliens possessed Morgans body during school hours?

Then I get the big guilt about me

1. sending him to a school in the first place – something that I really thought I would not do – I had planned to home school but was so overcome and impressed by the new school within mins of our new house, changed my mind.

2. sending him to school too early. I had the option of keeping him back till next year as he is amongst the youngest in his group. He is in a Prep and year 1 vertically integrated class – so there are kids there nearly 3 years older than him.

Morgan is so mature, kind hearted and sensible and dare I say - smart at home. What in blue blazers has turned his head to mush when he walks through those gates?

I had resisted doing homework or revision of any work he may be doing at school – at home. Now with reports that his letter formation is not up to standard ( his name can take up an entire A 4 sheet) I am rethinking this strategy. We have always read at home and I had started to do word recognition and letters at home – sending him off to prep able to write his name, recite the alphabet and count to 20. I thought that was a bit over the top and felt a little smug. However to my horror, I am realizing that this is not enough and he is lagging behind. And as the unsaid words hang in the air – once you are behind its very difficult to catchup. How can I have that responsibility hanging over me throughout his school life – that I didn’t do something about it at Prep…!! How ridiculous is all this education stuff getting anyway… for goodness sake – hes only JUST 5.

Isn’t a 5 year old supposed to stick crayons up their nose and do finger painting?

Sigh… well that’s my rant for today…resisting putting on some subliminal French Language course in his room while he sleeps…. Now as for Miss Lilly… oh boy… do I have enough time between now and Jan 2010 to get her reading War and Peace and prepare her arguments on global warming?