"How It's Done" - with Lyn Pollard from Chalkydoodles

This week, I'm kicking off our new Blog Series "How It's Done" where we'll get to know a lot of different types of working moms (and grandmoms) and see what they are all doing to keep it all together!

We're going to take a unique peek into these women's "worlds" with a behind-the-scenes approach to how they run their businesses, but at the same time thrive in their roles as mothers, wives and friends.

I couldn't ask all of my featured guests to answer these tough questions without first answering them myself. So, our first featured Mom is - me!

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When people ask you what you “Do” how do you respond? I’m a stay-at-home mom, and I have a small business making oilcloth & chalkcloth items for home décor like aprons, splat mats, chalkboard labels, etc. I have an online shop on Etsy.com and have wholesale clients in several states.

How old are your kids? I have a five-year-old and a three-year-old.

What are your top goals for your business or blog? My business goals are to continue to develop a market presence for Chalkydoodles and expand my new Teen line and furniture line.

My goals for the Chalkydoodles Blog are to share a little about my life as a business woman and mom, and to share about my struggles and triumphs as I seek to maintain the “balance” we are all looking for! Also, I would love for my Blog to become a forum where other moms with similar goals for their businesses and families can share their knowledge and experience as well as be encouraged.

What are your top goals for your family and marriage? To always feel like I’m giving the amount of time and love to my family that I really want and need to first, and then to make Chalkydoodles work with the time and energy that’s left over. I do a great job at this sometimes and a terrible job at others. This is where I would love to learn from other moms about what they do to make everything work!

Also, something I do as a Mom is to try to live each day with my kids as if it is the very best day we've ever had. I'm constantly taking pictures of our family, because I try to see every day as a special occasion that we are celebrating. I think this helps to teach my kids to appreciate even the smallest things in life (like a beautiful sunset or getting to scoop up yogurt pretzels on the bulk food aisle) and to see them as little pieces of a puzzle that fit together to create a good and happy life.

What are the top 1 or 2 things you do to keep your life in “balance” while you work toward these goals? I let (or sometimes make) myself stop working or sewing every day for as long as I can and do nothing except piddle around the house - picking up random things, organizing a drawer, straightening a picture, pulling a few weeds in the garden, putting the books neatly on the shelf in the kid’s rooms, etc. This is something that I used to take for granted before I started Chalkydoodles. I just wasn't super-excited about the daily routine of just keeping things in order.

Now, I look at it as a treat to be able to take time to just “be” a mom and housewife and not have to sew or be on the computer taking orders, emailing, etc. Making the beds is actually fun now. This little ritual totally helps me keep things in balance and reminds me – I’m a mom and wife first, and a business-woman second. Also, I keep up a Family Blog. Just posting pictures and writing about my kids and life on a regular basis makes me feel like I am doing something to record and tell our story and to share about just the simple every day things that make life good.

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That's it for now! Be sure to check back tomorrow for Part 2 of the "How It's Done" interview with our first guest Mom - Me!