A New Found Friendship and Inspiration

We have been keeping busy lately, with planning the East Valley Bridal Affair, regular group activities and our own families, but last week we had an opportunity we felt we could not pass up, and we are glad that we didn't!

Ally Loprete from Our Milk Money came to Phoenix to speak with our group. We were excited to have the opportunity to meet with her. We met Ally for dinner at P.F. Chengs in Scottsdale and it was soooo much fun! Angie, Tamara, me and little Jasmine (my three month old), had a great time! We instantly felt comfortable with her, as Ally said "we are her people". We talked about everything, our husbands, our businesses, the time just flew by and I think we could have easily chatted for much longer. Ally had soooo much to share and her story is truly amazing and inspiring. The idea for OMM was born in January, and the site was just launched in April. They now have 3000+ businesses listed! How cool is that! The concept is great, which is why it is catching on. Ally also talked about the importance of shopping with parent-owned companies, and how we can revolutionize the economy. A dollar goes so much further for many of us, then it would if we were part of a corporation. What's $50 to them? Now, what's $50 to you? That's diapers for a month, a tank of gas, tickets to a game, a movie night with the family....Ally talked about a lot of different topics that really got me thinking. One thing that really hit home with us was scheduling your time. There is so much that can be done in a day, but what is really important is taking time for yourself and your family. It's not that we don't enjoy what we do, but many of us who have work from home businesses tend to pile the workload on just as if we were still in corporate America. Let's revolutionize this thinking. Stop apologizing for being a parent. If someone calls and my three year old is in the background asking me to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Optimus Prime, well, that's OK. Doing business with me is good for you and for me. I can give you personal service that you wont get from a large corporation, my products are just as good, and your dollar will be re-circulated in the local economy.

This is the start of something big, I can just feel it! It is exciting to be involved with OMM, and if you haven't checked out their site yet, then please do! http://www.ourmilkmoney.com/

Thank you, Ally. You have truly inspired us!

-Laura W.

Our Milk Money in the News!

Web site aids stay-at-home parents
Their businesses are promoted on Our Milk Money

By Tammy Marashlian
Signal Staff Writer

tmarashlian@the-signal.com
661-259-1234 x525

With the cost of living continuing to rise, Ally Loprete and Kelly Shand want to make sure the money paid to a business goes into the right pocket.

The Stevenson Ranch residents have started a online business directory (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001sn5_TjdGfY7ss9dBda4sTDkyrs3aUajQzUK-TITxyvAoJRWkK2Q7itExESqomorT91D_zV7BxGz0EMAJaP2xgbiS8L8hSVhLCzOPnSZRq6QLTEMQ1Tz3wA==) that lists hundreds of business owners across the country who are all self-employed parents.

As self-employed parents themselves, the founders believe that while their idea is a new concept still taking shape, it offers numerous benefits to not other working parents, but also to the everyday consumer.

How it works
Our Milk Money was launched at the end of March after months of planning between Loprete and Shand. (The two got the idea after organizing a playdate for their kids.)

The directory currently has around 1,500 listings and represents nearly 80 industries, ranging from party planning services to clothing stores. Businesses from all over America and even Canada are posted.

Locally, nearly 30 businesses run by self-employed parents in the Santa Clarita Valley are listed.

In order for a business to be listed, its owners need to pay $25, which Loprete said goes toward funding the Web site.

The founders hope that at some point, every self-employed parent's business will be available for users to browse.

"I want it to be a household name," said Shand, a mother of two with another baby on the way. "I see it as a Craigslist for parents."

After users find the businesses they are looking for, they are able to read a brief description of the services offered and can connect to the business person via the company's Web site or e-mail.

Because every business listed supports its owner's family, users can find out more about the families behind the business as they learn about what the "milk money" goes toward.

Why 'Our Milk Money?'
Loprete said a service like Our Milk Money is necessary, especially with the cost of living on the increase.
"It takes two incomes to support a family," said Loprete, who is the mother of a 2-year-old son.

With so many people feeling like they are "slaves to their jobs," Loprete said, working and having a family becomes difficult.

"It's just a very stressful situation for many people," she said.

With that, Loprete said Our Milk Money gives families a way to understand where their dollar actually goes.
Shand added that the site is beneficial for parents, too.

"It gives parents some hope that other people care and know what they're going through," she said, adding the site also gives them a voice.

Shand said supporting a self-employed parent makes her feel different than when she goes to big-box stores.

"When I go to a mega store, it doesn't feel personal, I just don't know where my money is going," she said, adding that she wants consumers to feel good about the purchases they make.

Self-employed parent Sandra Beck has listed her two businesses on Our Milk Money.

"It is a way for work-at-home parents to network with other work-at-home parents and share services," said Beck, who owns Motherhood Incorporated and a real estate Web library.

The Acton resident said the difference for a consumer browsing the Web site is that he or she supports an "alternative lifestyle" when making a purchases.

"A parent's directory is vital because there's no other way to know which kind of service is a parent-at-home business versus a traditional (business)," she said. "It allows the consumer to make a choice."

In June BizEMoms Helps Finding Fido

Many of the organizations BizEMoms is working with this year are from member recommendations. Someone has either donated to that organization before, or is directly affiliated with them, in that they have received some type of service from that organization before. In this case, Finding Fido has helped me.

I am usually hesitant to share this story, but I think that it might help give a better understanding of just how caring and wonderful this organization truly is. In November of 2004, just a week before my son was born, my husband and I happened upon a lost dog wandering near the apartment complex we lived in. It was cold and raining. He had no collar on, and looked pretty miserable. We took him home with us, shot a few pictures on our camera and posted signs around that we had found a missing dog. I had no idea what type of dog Charlie was, only that underneath that bad hair-do he was super cute and just a sweet little guy. I asked my husband if we could just keep him, knowing full well his answer would be no. It just didn't make sense. I was very pregnant, and our son was due to be born in one week. We had a scheduled induction in Tucson-what would we do with the dog? The next day, Charlie was licking his paws non-stop and just seemed down right miserable. We had gone to the pets store and picked up some food and let him sleep with us in the bed. Since no one had responded to our posters yet, I suggested we take him to the vet. My husband said OK and gave me a $100 limit to spend on him since we did not plan to keep him. I called around and Banfield was able to get him in that day, so off we went.

The vet had a whole list of concerns about Charlie, besides the licking which was caused by allergies. She was quickly able to see that his eyes were cloudy, and determined that he was going blind, and at that point had only peripheral vision. He also had a heart murmur, teeth that needed to be cleaned and treated, he needed shots (who knew when he had them last if he ever had?) and treatment for an upset stomach. She didn't feel a microchip under his skin, but did identify him as a Maltese. He weighed a whopping 7.2 pounds.

My heart broke for Charlie, I couldn't believe anyone would treat their dog this way. Perhaps he had ran away? But, if that were the case, he have to be lost for a while to justify being in such poor shape. The very least of his issues was that he desperately needed to be groomed.

I knew that the $100 I was allowed to spend would not cover the cost of his treatment, and I also felt angry, so angry that anyone would treat their dog this way. I called my husband and explained our dilemma: here was this very sweet dog that we had found who really needed a lot of help and a loving home. Could we please, please keep him? He said yes, and I used the $100 as my money down on the health plan that Banfield offered. It was a bargain considering the costs of all of the treatment Charlie would need. No one ever called to claim Charlie, and if they had I would have been heartbroken about giving him up.

The week after Charlie came home with us, we went to Tucson to deliver our son. Charlie stayed at my mom's ranch and loved it. He met his new friends, Clyde a terrier, and Princess, a Shih Tzu. He came back to Phoenix with us and our new two-legged baby boy, Taylor. Over the next few years, we went in to the vet several times. Each of the three rounds of shots that Charlie got each year were divided up into two visits. He was so small the vet didn't want to give them to him all at once. He received antibiotics for his stomach, we also went through many different allergy treatments, including one prescription called into a compound pharmacy. He also received an x-ray to determine if his heart murmur would prevent him from being put to sleep for his teeth treatment. At that time, they found pins in three of his four shoulders, which made his history even more mysterious. Something pretty bad must have happened to cause him to need surgery to place pins, which could not have been cheap. If someone loved him enough to do that, why was he in such bad shape when we found him?

Charlie fit right into the family. He loved hanging out with us at home. He didn't care for dog toys, or the dog park, but slept with us in the bed and had his routine around the house. He would travel with us when possible, and loved going down to Grandma's ranch. Things were going really well and we were all happy. But, there was one big change happening- our sweet little baby boy was growing up and was becoming a rowdy toddler. Charlie was small, and old, and needed to be left alone to do his own thing. Taylor just kept getting bigger and more energetic, and as heartbreaking as it was we realized this was not a good fit. As much as we loved Charlie, being in a family with small kids was not the best placement for him. And, at this point I was pregnant again with our second child. My parents could not take him, and neither could my sister. Charlie needed to be somewhere where his health conditions could be cared for, and somewhere where there were not little children. I was finding my two year old playing way too rough with him, and I felt I was fighting a losing battle. Taylor did not understand that he needed to be gentle, and I couldn't watch Charlie 24/7 to protect him. I could keep him closed in our room all day, but that was no way for his life to be. I put a posting out on a forum I belonged to, but received interest only from other homes with small kids, which I knew wouldn't be the best mix. Then I was referred to Pam with Finding Fido. I hated to do it, I didn't want to give him up. I felt like the worst dog owner in the world, but ultimately came to realize that I was being a good dog owner by realizing my home was not the safest place for Charlie anymore.

Pam was great. We met and sat and talked for an hour about the other dogs she was fostering, and their stories. I knew she would love Charlie just as I had. Before I turned Charlie over to Finding Fido, I noticed an "owie" on his leg. That previous weekend, my son walked out of the room holding Charlie by one leg, and after that I found a red, swollen spot. I thought it was something Taylor had done, and Pam said no problem, she had planned on taking Charlie in to the vet anyway for his teeth. I emailed Pam to check on Charlie and received the news: that spot was more than an "owie", it was a tumor. Charlie would need immediate treatment for the cancer, and no questions asked, Finding Fido provided it. Now I felt really horrible. I had turned my dog in because I could no longer care for him and not only that, he had cancer and I was leaving them to take care of it.

I could make a donation myself, but that hardly seemed to be enough to Finding Fido for all they were doing for me and my Charlie. At this time, BizEMoms began discussing our BizEMoms Helps Program and I knew exactly who I wanted to help.

Finding Fido has been a blessing and I cannot thank them enough for helping me. I am sure many of us know that love that a dog gives. Dogs are truly wonderful, and Finding Fido has done so much for us by helping our Charlie. As much as I wanted to just call them and ask for Charlie back, I really couldn't and, I really shouldn't. They are wonderful people and loved and cared for Charlie just like we would have. They also help many others by helping to find lost dogs. I ask you to please visit their website http://www.findingfido.org/ to learn more and to donate directly to this great organization.

Laura W.

Summer Travel Alert

U.S. State Department Issues Alert on Hurricane SeasonPublished on: June 2, 2008

The State Department issued a Travel Alert to U.S. citizens concerning the Hurricane Season in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico. The official Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June through November. The Travel Alert expires Nov. 30, 2008. According to the Alert, the National Weather Service officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predict a 65 percent chance that activity during the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season will be above normal this year, forecasting 12 to 16 named storms, with six to nine becoming hurricanes. Additional information on hurricanes and storm preparedness may be found on the Hurricane Season 2008 page of the Bureau of Consular Affairs' website at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/hurricane_season/hurricane_season_3795.html. For more information, call 888-407-4747 or visit http://travel.state.gov/.

This article was contributed by Erika Villanueva with Viajes To Go.
480-293-4689
http://www.viajestogo.com/