Yes you read that right … I got to big for these britches and I’ve moved my blog (and soon to be business website as well) to www.yvonneelmhall.com
So come on over and join in the fun! Each Monday I feature a Mompreneur, and the rest of the week … well I can’t tell you EVERYTHING! you have to come visit and find out sillies!
This great mom and I go back a few years. We were in a MOPS group together when I lived in Highlands Ranch, Neither of us were mompreneurs then … just moms. I felt an instant connection with her and am so glad we met. Although we moved away Kobi and I have stayed in touch with the magic of social media (and our few trips back to CO). I am always happy watching her business grow because I know her integrity as a friend and see her going FAR! Let me introduce you to Kobi Brock!
What is Your Name: Kobi Brock
What is Your Business: It Works! Global
When did you make the decision to stay home with your child (ren): When my oldest, Alana, was born. We didn’t want anyone else raising her and seeing her firsts!
How/Why did you decide to become a Mompreneur/work from home: I’d had my own job and money from the age of 14 and while I work harder than ever before as a mom…I wanted my own money again and to contribute to my family financially. I also needed to get out of the house!
What is your favorite part of being a mompreneur?: My mission in life is to help others discover a healthier lifestyle, whether it’s one of my products or not…plus get to feel like I CAN do it all.
Would you like to share anything about your family with us? We’re an average family of 4. I couldn’t ask for more awesome children than the two, beautiful daughters I have and my husband is my best friend and rock.
How can people connect with you? Cell: 303-718-9299 or https://kobibrock.myitworks.com/Home
I had this great idea in the shower this morning!
Well you can have it too. I just can’t record it for you with MY flipcam. Take a minute right now, get out your video camera or web cam and record your 1 minute business intro and post it as a response to this post on YouTube.
I’m happy to introduce you this week to an inventive mompreneur! Check out this amazing story:
What is Your Name: Erin Kelly
What is Your Business: 
Hulabye—Makers of the Happy Changer. The first product that helps take the stress and struggle out of changing a wiggly baby by preventing all the rolling and scooting.
When did you make the decision to stay home with your child (ren) : That was a decision I made before I was even pregnant with my first daughter. I was a doctor pre-kids. I grew up knowing that was what I wanted to do and I imagined I would continue to work after I had kids. As I went through medical school and residency, however, I realized that I was giving up so much to do something that wasn’t making me happy. I also realized the sacrifice would only get bigger once I had kids. I love medicine but it’s a very difficult lifestyle that doesn’t fit with what I want for my family. I was lucky to have the option to stay home full-time, and as hard as it was during those early days with two small children, it was absolutely worth it… and still is!
How/Why did you decide to become a Mompreneur/work from home: The story of how Hulabye came to be is very similar to many “mompreneur” stories—I had a problem and couldn’t find an available solution. My problem was that my younger daughter had become a wild-child on the changing table. As soon as I’d lay her down, she would immediately flip over and try to escape. It became a huge struggle. Sometimes she’d wait until I was in mid-diaper change, which was very inconvenient…and messy! I searched and searched for a product that could just keep a wiggly baby from rolling over on the changing table long enough to get a new diaper on. I couldn’t find a single product on the market yet I came across countless and similar complaints and pleas for help from other frustrated parents.
Out of pure necessity (and to save my sanity—it really was that frustrating) I sewed something that I thought would work…and it did! Fabulously! I knew from the start that I had a great product, and when I shared the original Happy Changer to two more families who couldn’t imagine how to change a wiggly baby without it, I was convinced I had to take it to market. When my second daughter finally started preschool, I was more than ready to exercise my brain on some non-mommy challenges, so I decided it was time to make the idea of the Happy Changer a reality.
What is your favorite part of being a mompreneur? I love the control I have over my schedule and I love working from home. It gives me so much flexibility to be there for my kids’ school events, take them to doctor appointments, be home with them when they’re sick, or travel when we want to.
I also love the challenge that each new phase of this venture presents. The experience of accomplishing something because I’ve decided to do it, with the responsibility of making all the decisions and dealing with the consequences, is far more satisfying than anything I accomplished when working for someone else.
Would you like to share anything about your family with us? I have two amazing daughters, ages 5 and 7, who keep me laughing, learning and sometimes yelling, but make everything worthwhile. I’m also lucky to have an incredibly supportive husband who I have been thankful for every day of last 10 years. My girls are also incredibly supportive of this venture. This is particularly special to me since I’ve struggled with a little guilt over having them stay longer days at school so that I can work. When I left for a week to go to my first trade show, after weeks of working non-stop, instead of begging me not to go, or asking why I had to go, like they do when I’m just going out to dinner, they said “Good luck Mommy!” They really get how important this is to me. That’s the stuff that melts my heart.
How can people connect with you?
Email: erin@hulabye.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hulabye
Twitter: @hulabye
Website: http://www.hulabye.com
I’m a lead by example kind of girl. Mainly because I’m not good at keeping things straight … just easier to be ME.
My daughter is 5 (and a 1/2 according to her) and I want to make sure she’s learning about the true meaning of this season. SO on Thanksgiving day this is what we did …
We are starting something new here on the blog … A day dedicated to Mompreneurs and their stories. An uplifting, supportive post to inspire all of us trying to juggle the business journey that we are on with the family journey that has created this opportunity for us.
For our 1st Mompreneur Monday I’m excited to introduce you to Pat Zahn; Someone that I met via Facebook and my SNCC circles and one who has become a shining light and creator of laughter in my social media space.
What is Your Name: Pat Zahn
What is Your Business: Photo Solutions Superhero – I connect people to their stories with photos and words – helping them to make sense of and enjoy the piles of pictures and pixels.
When did you make the decision to stay home with your child (ren) : 3 months after she was born (I think the decision was forming as soon as I saw her…)
How/Why did you decide to become a Mompreneur/work from home: I had consulted in my former line of work (Electronics Engineer) and found that there wasn’t enough flexibility and I couldn’t separate my work/life. I stopped and concentrated on being a Mom for a while. Then, we bought a new house and I started to worry that my tradition/hobby would no longer be affordable. So, I took the plunge and became an Independent Consultant for Creative Memories (the products I had been using for about 7 years.) I have now been a Consultant for 14 years.
What is your favorite part of being a mompreneur? I like the control over my schedule allowing me to be present for my daughter’s activities (you still need to be available when they are in high school…)
Would you like to share anything about your family with us? If you get me started here, I might turn this into several blog posts, so I’ll just give you the facts: I have a tremendously loving and supportive husband and a beautiful, talented and caring daughter (yep, those are facts, not opinions.) No pets at present and I don’t intend to change that any time soon (I love animals, but I don’t love cleaning up after or worrying about what to do with them when I travel.)
How can people connect with you? Pat Zahn – Photo Solutions Superhero Facebook Profile Facebook Biz Page Twitter
I’m so thankful for all your support and business this year. Buying from small business owners mean you are directly impacting the local families. And because I’m feeling thankful … YOU GET A SPECIAL!!!!!
In order to receive these specials you MUST email or call in your order no later than 6pm Sunday, November 27th, 2011. Monthly customer specials are available in addition to either of the above specials. Culinary Club member discounts are NOT applicable with any of these specials.
Contact me at wildforwildtree AT gmail DOT com or 310-850-6443 to place your order.
And now your mind can be at ease that for these 17+ meals your family is FREE from HFCS, MSG, food dyes and preservatives! Now that is something to be thankful for!
When hubby and I first started dating he called me the casserole queen. I LOVE casseroles! I was raised on them, I like them, they are quick to make, usually there is only 1 or 2 dirty dishes and they are great for re-purposing leftovers! What is NOT to like about casseroles????
Well once I figured out that I was having reactions to MSG I stopped my casserole making since I used Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom (I used to buy it by the case from Costco!). I didn;t know how to make them without Campbell’s and so I just stopped. But as much as hubby made fun of my casserole queen status he admitted that he missed them! So I found this Wildtree Cream of Mushroom soup base that is full of flavor and now that we’ve been going gluten free I’ve also found this great Gluten-Free cream of mushroom option.
Regardless what Cream of Mushroom soup you use … you will need it on hand for my Turkey leftover options this year;) Enjoy!
This photo is from http://clharding.blogspot.com/2011/09/tater-tot-casserole.html and is most people’s traditional idea of a tater tot casserole using ground beef (you can go to her site for that recipe as well). My family always used leftover chicken, canned chicken or leftover Turkey.
1 -2 cups leftover turkey, diced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 large bag tater tots, cooked to package directions
Seasoning to taste
1 soup can of milk, plus more to taste
Pre-heat over to 350. In a casserole dish, place a layer of cooked tater tots. sprinkle turkey on top and season. Repeat with another layer leaving enough tater tots to use for the top layer. In a bowl combine Cream of mushroom soup and 1 can of milk and mix until mostly combined. Pour into casserole over layers. Add more milk so that liquid covers all layers. Top with remaining tater tots. Cook for 30 minutes or until liquid is bubbling. Serve with vegetable side or side salad.
I love this option when I have lots of Holiday Meal leftovers, not just turkey left over.
1-2 cups cooked turkey, diced
1-2 cups leftover vegetables (carrots, green beans, peas, mushrooms all work well. you can add frozen veggies if needed as well)
1 cup leftover gravy
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 – 2 cups mashed potatoes
1/2 cup shredded cheese
seasoning to taste
Pre-heat over to 350. Place diced turkey and veggies in bottom of casserole dish. (sometimes I saute 1 onion diced if I have them on hand and add to the mixture as well) Combine gravy, cream of mushroom and milk in bowl. Pour over turkey and veggies. Spread mashed potatoes evenly on top of ingredients to form a top. Sprinkle with cheese. Cook 30 minutes until liquid begins to bubble at edges and cheese is melted.
If you are still looking for other ideas check out my left over turkey recipe post from last year.
I’m not typically a fan of tomato-saucey meatloafs. I grew up with my dad’s meatloaf: 1 lb. ground beef + 1lb. pork sausage + 1 onion chopped + 1 egg. It is a heavenly, protein packed entree and comfort food for me. It is also very far from the traditional tomatoey meatloafs all my friend’s had in their house. Hubby was not happy the 1st time I said I was making meatloaf in fact since he loathes the tomato/ketchup smothered meat dish as well but he was pleasantly surprised when he saw and dug into daddy’s loaf recipe! (he even asked for seconds!)
So you’ll be as surprised as me that I saw this recipe and thought, hey this looks good! But I made it tonight and ya know what? … BBQ sauce meatloaf is WAY better than tomato sauce meatloafs! I paired it with some roasted veggies and it hit the spot!
INGREDIENTS:
* 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
* 1 package Wildtree Just Like Mom’s Meatloaf
* 1 yellow onion, diced
* 1 egg, slightly beaten
* 1 1/2 teaspoon Wildtree Rancher Steak Rub
* 2(8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
* 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
* 3 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons worcesterhire sauce
* 1/2 cup water, to thin sauce if necessary
PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mix together the ground beef, Just Like Mom’s Meatloaf Mix, onion, egg and Rancher Steak rub. Add 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce. Form the mixture into a loaf and place it in a shallow pan. Stir together the remaining tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, mustard, worcestershire and the water if the sauce is too thick. Pour this sauce over the meatloaf. Bake for 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes with the pan juices. Meatloaf is done when center is no longer pink.
Cut seasonal veggies in 1 – 1 1/2″ cubes. Drizzle with 2 TBSP Wildtree Butter grapeseed oil. Add 1-2 TBSP Wildree Rancher Steak Rub. Stir to coat. Put in baking/roasting in single layer. Roast @375 for about 1 hour or until veggies are soft/cooked thru.
