WAHM of Note - Emma Cook of 'Wired to the Moon'

This is a guest post from Emma Cook, founder of the wonderfully named photography business 'Wired to the Moon'
Emma, a newbie flying soloist, has a business that allows her to juggle kids & family life, definitely the envy of most WAHM's & GTWM's




 Whilst Emma has turned her passion into a business, like many new solo businesses, she has done so with some learning, discovering, hurdles & triumphs in between the good & the bad days, along the way.
As Emma says, its all very exciting and daunting at the same time.

I've been doing photography as a hobby on and off for around 10 years. And started taking it seriously 3 years ago just after my daughter was born. I am completely self taught, and everything just clicked and I started with just taking LOTS of photos of my kids, and in February I decided that I wanted to take my passion, and start a business. I realised life is too short to be doing something you don't love.

I love taking my camera and creating beautiful images. Portraits are what I love doing, I love capturing those moments when a child is playing and exploring, and just doing what they naturally do.  I steer towards doing natural light and outdoors sessions as I find I capture the persons true essence as they are not posed as such in a studio. I specialise in portraits - children, families, couples and adults. Working in western Sydney and the locations I shoot at are good for people who live closer to the city or north west and also people who live in the Western Suburbs.

I worked in customer service before I had kids, then when I had kids I found I lost myself to being a mum, which I love, but I also needed something for myself, to get my creative juices flowing and photography is the perfect thing for me.

The struggles I have come across is getting my name out there, and getting clients. I learnt very early on that marketing is a huge part of being a photographer, which led me to designing flyer's and business cards, and actually branding my product so that it is a distinctive Wired to the Moon Photography product. 
This includes my site http://www.wiredtothemoonphotography.com>  my flyer's, business cards, CD presentation etc. So I'm proud of how my brand looks, as an artist, how I present my work is very important, and I did it all myself so that has been a triumph in itself!

I guess some unexpected things have been that there is a lot of help out there if you know where to look and who to ask, I was always really apprehensive about contacting other photographers but I have found them to be really friendly and helpful and encouraging which has been lovely.

The thing I recommend about being in business are:

 - Start from the beginning. Figure out what you want your business to be, who your target market are and know your product or service before you start charging for it. Be confident in yourself, and your abilities and as a photographer I know that every photo I take is for my portfolio.

My worst day since being in business is when I've had a challenging session and I come away from it feeling deflated and the best day is when I do have an awesome session and I click with the clients and we have a great time shooting, and the images the come from the session are gorgeous!

I do most shoots on weekends so that dad can have the kids, and I have a lot of late nights of editing so that I get the most out of the day with the kids. But so far I haven't found the work/life balance to be a challenge, and because I love my job, I don't find it hard to balance it!

My clients have found me through word of mouth and my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/wiredtothemoonphotography <http://www.facebook.com/wiredtothemoonphotography> ) and a few through the flyer's.


Emma

Moe Tie- just like a Mei Tai but with a twist of Aussie Simplicity.

When I designed the Moe Tie years ago, it was with my friend Rachel in mind.

Rachel had a serious car accident when # 2 baby was just 3 months old. Having loved the Bubba Moe sling she used for her older daughter Brooke, she couldn't use it because of injuries from the accident, but more than anything else she needed help to carry very large & heavy Declan.


 15 different ideas and prototypes were made till we settled on the current version. Moe Tie, which Rachey aptly named became a god send for her as she recuperated and until Declan had grown out of it at 3 years old. A few of her friends that, ahem, mistakenly bought parachute style carriers came knocking on the door as well, so will forgive them that.

By the time most babies are around 9 months, carrying their weight from the shoulder causes pain, stress and damage to the parent's body, then there's the standard issue hardened plastic cross brace that digs in unforgiveningly. As the designs seemed to have copied each other.
I wonder what some designers were thinking with this approach.
Golden rule! never buy a carrier of any sort that has any hard plastic parts located on the back!! Even if it professes to have "lumbar support".

Upright carriers with a hip band offer far more support but if the sashes are too thin, they will ride up into the waist and dig in further, causing loose flesh to bulge out, usually referred to as muffin top, and not offering any support at all if anything increase the downdrag even further.
A well balanced and and correctly curved sash will stay put and help support the lower back, where it is needed the most.

Most mums end up with lower back problems because of the constant over emphasis of placing baby on the hip. For Rachey, the hip sash supporting the lower back was such a comfort she sometimes wore her Moe Tie even without Declan in it.
This is why the Moe Tie is popular in its own right without marketing, without support. A lot of parents who find themselves with an out grown parachute carrier, but not an outgrown baby often buy the Moe Tie. Frugal parents that purchased a sling in the first place, won't have this problem, because the sling is a great hip carrier and piggyback carrier.
There is also the trend amongst parents to have more than one type of carrier to suit the need or occasion, which I think is quite intelligent. Why be bored?
Having a few different types of carriers, increases the longevity of baby wearing which is a bonus to everyone.
Also when siblings arrive close together, the Moe Tie for the oldest & the sling for the youngest with both parents carrying on a trip out is so sweet to see.
In Japan, sales of the Moe Tie outstrip any other carrier over there, even our slings. Keiko, our Japanese distributor, self sourced and engineered the packaging specifically for her Japanese clients. Really she is all too blame why we never seem to have enough time to work on finishing the marketing of the product here in Australia.
I have been charged with neglect over this fabulous product according to our retailer's when they ask "Is it ready yet".

18 months ago after going through so many various new packaging designs, we finally settled on one. After 3 long months of waiting for 10,000 units of packaging to arrive, the sizing was all wrong. Talking about lost in translation literally. I threw my hands up in despair and went 'mweh'.  I'll get around to it when the next Epiphany strikes.

OK! 2 months ago I decided it was time to 'reinvent' the Moe Tie, still gearing for 3 months of age and upwards (the correct physical age for upright carry). Being a very big supporter of WAHM/D's (no bias on some fab dads) I found the fabulous Bec Marr from Ruby Ruby designs  who we have commissioned, is working earnestly on all things marketing and packaging for the Moe Tie and another fantastic product that we cant mention as of yet....but soon.
I and the Crew as I call my staff are very excited and the staff think its about time that this brilliant carrier had it's time to shine. I've been busy working on some real design improvements and about to source a control group of local mums to get the final product on the shelves everywhere!.


There are still some original Moe Ties left at a great price, down $30 from original price, yet if you type in Moove the Moe in the promo code section at the checkout you will get an extra 15% on top.
 The new ones will be much more expensive than the original but still a very compatible price in comparison to others on the market, yet remarkably better when it comes to comfort and ease......

Bullies & Gangs not to be invited on a night out

Adult bullying – thuggery at its worst

I’m a Thrifty Thursday kind of gal, so out comes the slow cooker to ease my pain. Thursday afternoons like any other parent on the planet, is an afternoon carting kids to various after school activities, so the slow cooker rules supreme. The very best of fast food.

Yesterday it was Chicken Noodle Soup, a dish I can actually cook without epic fail or mass voluntary eviction of my homes’ other occupants- the hubby, the kids and the guard cat.

Racing inside the cold dark home before anyone else arrives from work or uni,  The Troll,  Little Miss Mischief and I were greeted by the wonderful aroma of the soup. A deep breath in, I start every mother’s daily rite of passage- extracting the obnoxious bra from one’s body!

The kids never fail to complain at this process as the boobs fall from their support a few feet southbound and with the quick ripping off the jeans to replace them with my flanney pants, my transformation into ‘comfort mum’ is complete. These pants are so comfortable, so well worn, that they have become embarrassingly ‘holy’. I find my two other trusty apparel friends, Ugg Boots and the dressing gown, wrapping that around me just as the others start to filter in from their day.

“YUM” as they breathe in the mouth watering aroma. Zip has a crusty cob loaf with her and we just cant wait to dig in.

Yep, life is incredibly normal in our daggy household.

There are always people dropping in, usually the kids friends, who are completely comfortable with seeing me in complete comfy dag state because their mums are the same.

2 mouthfuls in and a chomp on the delicious bread, conversation is flowing and Zip is just about to tell us her ‘great news’, there’s a strong knock at the door. Zip was expecting Jade to pop in, but she’s more of a little tap and ‘hello’ as she walks right on in. Quick glances around to each other and no one is volunteering to leave their dinner unattended. “OK I’ll go” as expected. Saunter away towards the front door, I almost do my dramatic pull open door and bellow with arms outstretched ‘HELLO THERE BABY”, but I have been caught out lately, scaring the bejesus out of the poor unsuspecting person on the other side of the door.

Really glad I didn’t do that this time either; it would’ve have looked bad.

2 rather tall imposing policemen are standing there looking very official and I am suddenly very conscious of my attire.

They want to speak to #2 son and for once I am grateful that the office is the first room in the house. I am very grateful that I actually cleaned the office thoroughly on the previous wet long weekend; it was looking good.

September last year, the very first of my son’s friends is getting married. Like all males the bachelor’s party is something the blokes look forward to. Thursday before the wedding they all went into the city for the big pub-crawl. My son staggered in at 4am the following morning, past the office straight to his room. I thought he was staggering because of the alcohol consumption as I hear the taxi pull away from the house.

Few hours later, he emerged from his room with a blackened swollen face and suspected broken ribs. Apparently the groom and some of the others had fared worse; the night had become more than just a good time for celebration but a near death battle.

#2 son told me that they were waiting outside a nightclub, where a young couple were leaving. The man was quite drunk so his girlfriend had him sit in the gutter as she hailed a taxi.

Along came a gang of youths, out for the night also. What happened next shocked everyone. One of the thugs took a full kick swing at the seated drunk, as if his head was a football. Then the others started kicking  & punching the now unconscious body of the boyfriend.

“Everyone froze, it was supernatural, a twilight moment” My son explained. When the poor girlfriend tried to help, the thugs turned on her without any mercy. My son, his friends and others tried to intervene and protect the girl, an all out brawl ensued. While the fray was happening another bystander called 000, as the boyfriend lay convulsing on the ground.

Arrests were made as the police turned up and several ambulances ferried the injured to hospitals in different directions.

2 days later the makeup artist spends more time on the groom and his entourage than on the bride and her bridesmaids. The photographer has her work cut out post wedding as she uses all available Photoshop skills to erase any evidence of the many war wounds. Stiff and sore they all try and enjoy the wedding that was 18 long months in the planning.

Its now June, and the legal process of that night is now in full swing. The officer’s are in the process of building the case naturally. After half an hour they ask my son to come into the station to make a formal statement, as the other members of the party will be doing as well. We oblige naturally.

I drive as my son sits quietly in the passenger seat. His father is waiting at the station already as we arrive; some of the others are there with the support of girlfriends and parents. All of them are immediately placed under arrest, which sends a wave of panic amongst us. None of us have ever been involved in any incidence like this before; we are unaware of the protocols & procedures.

An officer with extremely good communication skills quickly explains with empathy why the boys are being arrested. They are all herded into separate interview rooms with family allowed to sit with them.

In the course of the next 2 and half hours, we hear the full story of that night. Where the boys come into the picture was at the tail end of a 5-hour rampage of terror by 5 youths aged from 17 to 24 on a bender fuelled by alcohol and drugs.

The boyfriend had proposed to his girlfriend that night. He has permanent head injuries and is still residing in rehab, his girlfriend had to have a plate put in her head and is suffering from a severe case of post traumatic stress syndrome. The newly engaged couple were fresh out of university and embarking on promising careers.  Not any longer.

None of the injured knew their assailants. The couple were only 2 of 5 very seriously injured people from that night.

 Most of the thugs had already notched up prior convictions. One of them a mere 18 yr-old, had already 22 prior charges and the mind boggles how these children were raised.  Having the mindset to randomly attack another human being with such ferocious force just because they sat in their path is beyond comprehension, beyond any form of normality.

3 hours earlier my family was living a completely normal life, as it should be. I thought of the young couple whose lives have now changed from their original plans through no fault or design of their own. No amount of ‘bully-proofing’ could have repaired or even change that couples fate. I thought of their parents, family & friends, whose relationships and own lifestyles have changed, caring & attending to a loved but damaged young person.

If it had been my own child I would have wanted to kill.

This is the sad part, the fatality, the destruction caused at the hands of violent bullying.

 “It takes a couple to make a child, but the whole village to raise a child” as the saying often goes, has left me with the question; have these children, damaged goods themselves, ever had love or empathy in their lives at all?  Where were their ‘village’ if not their parents to give them at least that? A few precious lives might have been allowed the right to live a full and happy life

 “Love the whole world and the whole world will love you”

Good Sleeping Habits starts by not being conned by controlled crying.

On any night, anywhere around the world, you're guaranteed to find an adult grappling with insomnia. Find a Doctor, a  Chemist, a herbalist, a naturopath and you'll also find a patient desperately seeking sleep.
Each will ask the same uniform question, "Are you stressed? anxious? are there worries and concerns that need to be addressed?"or the likes there of.
A person doesn't even need to be the brightest candle on the chandelier to know that a troubled anxious mind scares away sleep, that a mind needs to be calm & relaxed to have healthy sleep.



So why the heck would anyone think letting a baby scream itself into exhaustion is a good thing?
If it doesn't work for the adults, how the hell will it work for babies.......

Oh! the celebrity 'baby whisperer' said so and she has sold millions of books, appeared on Oprah, GMA and such other programs. But doesn't the fact that she, has never had a baby herself or has even been in charge of a baby overnight, worry anyone just a little bit?

In all truth be told I can get your baby off to sleep within 5 minutes flat, if sleep is what your babe needs. I use a sling but you can do that too.
A sling is a great tool for effective sleep settling in a far more gentle, emotionally rich manner, but a parent needs to know why a baby cries first.
It sounds a bit absurd needing to know why a baby cries, but people that use the controlled crying technique, really don't know why a baby cries or they wouldn't use it.

Its all about language and communication.

Adults have the advantage of many things, a vocabulary.
Talking through their problems, seeking advice, reading, yoga, meditation, counselor etc. Babies just don't have that luxury, but they do have the best thing possible; their parents, parent or carer.
Babies don't have an established vocabulary so they need to use what they do have, a voice.

Since Newbie parents enter the world of deciphering baby without an instruction manual, they will have to quickly learn a new skill set and take on the role of artful detective. The job could be a lot simpler if they understand what they use their own voice for - to communicate. Uncannily so does a baby.

Babies cry for many reasons, they are always bonafide, because they haven't learned to lie yet. If we could put words to what babies are trying to tell their parents through their cries, they might sound like
1) I am hungry.......feed me
2) I am wet............change me
3) I am cold..........warm me up please
4) I am hot...........take a few layers off
5) nappy wedgie.......quick, its riding up my Khyber pass, please its annoying, irritable
6) Clothing tags are irritating my skin........ouch ouch ouch, its a stinging itchy pain that I cant reach, please take it off
7) I have a wind bubble in my stomach and its so painful but I am flat on my back, you left the room, please pick me up, it hurts, it hurts, pain pain, please come back
8) I have a nose full of bogeys please take them out......please its irritating,
9) my jumpsuit is pinching my toes
10) the elastic around my ankles, waist is digging in
11) Lynx might attract fallen angels dad, but it gives me a headache, I don't like headaches! it hurts my head.
12) Hey don't leave me here by myself, I thought we were just having a good time, snuggled up against you felt really great.
13) hello, hello is anyone there? anyone, anyone at all? someone talk to me, I'm all alone in the world.......
14) I don't feel so good...
15) my ear is really sore. I don't feel so good.
16) My botty is stingy sore
17) I'm lonely, I feel that you aren't around
18) I just slept! you want me to sleep again...... oh come on, I just got here, I'd like to have a look around.
19) Its too quiet here.
20) there's just too much noise around here
21) I want my bath, my nice warm bath

You can add your own reasons, I'm sure there's plenty that I have left out.

When a baby cries they are trying to tell you something, they are not being nasty, vindictive or naughty. They are communicating with you that something is wrong.
Basically a tired happy baby will go to sleep, just not necessarily the time you want them to sleep. The younger the baby is, the more hours of the day the baby sleeps, as they get older it diminishes naturally.

The fact that baby is communicating with you is one thing, but what sort of message do you create when you leave your baby to 'cry it out'. The message is "I am not going to solve your problems, you're on your own here baby. I am not listening, you cant rely on me, I am not here for you".

Eventually the baby starts to figure this out and the first chink in the chain starts to appear. Specialists with years of research have proven that this is how relationships between child & parent break down as early as preschool years, with toddlers becoming unruly and unmanageable or ending with teenagers going on 'benders' becoming authority deviant. When a parent attends to their infants needs the relationship becomes far more stronger with less behavioural problems especially in the teenage years.

There is also the devastating nasty side of SIDS. With some deaths directly attributed to the controlled crying strategy. Babies that get overworked and overstressed by intense crying, tend to vomit. Vomiting is a concern with babies lying on their backs which has become the trend over the last few years instead of on the side.
A friend of mine lost her 8 week old son this way.

Sleep is important not only for baby put for parents too. A safe and sensible approach does take more time & discipline, and far more sacrifice, but the benefits will last a lifetime.

When it comes to helping a baby settle into sleep, one great asset is using a proper baby carrier such as a sling, as they have a sleep inducing reclining position will help with sleep or night settling.
Unfortunately any upright or parachute style carriers are not recommended for good sleep practices because of the absence of this position, actually most specialists recommend that parents not allow their baby to sleep at all in any of these types of carriers due to the lack of support. These carriers are only good for wake time.

A baby can be laid down to sleep within the sling, as the parents 'smell' has bonded on the fabric, giving baby the security to stay asleep longer. Though it is not recommended using ring slings for this purpose as there is far too much fabric around baby, and babies fingers can get entangled in the rings, so a closed end sling like the Bubba Moe is a much safer option as they are lighter and have less fabric.

Death by bombardment and how to be unliked by fans

Blogging used to be the domain of artists, thespians, budding wordsmiths and some unrequited authors, much like 'The Mean Fiddler' a once was, uniquely styled pub, that attracted the likes of same sort of people, has now become over run by the masses.

No longer do artists, writers frequent 'The Mean Fiddler'. Their muse has made way for underage clubbing, pub crawling of the weekend and family bistro on Sundays.
I hear it is now on one of the most violent pubs of Sydney list. ***Sigh***.

It is now mandatory for all businesses to have a social media side whether they are good at it or not. Thankfully there is a new merging business trend on Social Media skills building, which I, like a few thousand others are learning.

One is bombardment, apparently never appropriate.

Take a look at the novice trying to uploads some photos of new products on Facebook. Last week, one could upload to an album then share when finished. Remember those days! life was simple then.
Then it changed, one photo at a time please........
This week the novice, after 3 photo's realises something is different, scratches head, tries again, only to find they are shut out of their page for spamming
Sniff, sniff, sniff..............pouted lips.... I was only trying upload some photos. Enter the 'inadequacy syndrome'.....or DODIFS (Dear Oh Dear I Feel Stupid)

I am in constant trouble from all sorts of people about this blog. Well consistency should be a hallmark of all businesses I agree, so I am consistent about one thing; being in trouble.

OK, so I haven't included much about 'Slinging'  I was under the misguided belief that's what the official website is for? "But a blog will give extra tit bits and info" my Virtual Twitter man emphasises on the phone. Well when it comes to the numbers game he is right, he is winning hands down compared to my efforts on Facebook. Between you and me, I don't know any of those Twitter people. I might know several languages but Japanese isn't one of them. I do know the wonderful people on Facebook though.


To appease my VA, I started an article on Sling safety using a few different types of carriers as well, cant seem, nor do I want to be appear biased.
I came across an American site that is the guru of baby wearing safety, cool beginnings I thought, until I saw some of their photo's. After a few minutes I managed to collect my chin that had fallen down onto the desk and pushed back  my eyeballs before they popped and caused harm..........WHAT THE FRIGGIN F>>>>>>>>> (censored)
Karen Fantastic turned off the heater with a quip  "Its suddenly gotten hot in here?"
Steam was erupting from my ears.
I downloaded the offending 'safe' photo's for this blog and decided to make a photoshop copy of each to show the correct way. After several epic fails on photoshop,  I was trying to reconstruct a babies leg which kept turning out more like a pasty sausage salami looking appendage. ****Sigh****

3.30 am I haven't been to bed yet and its at least an hour after I normally get up (2.32am and I are long standing friends) The first of, what seems to be a few thousand daily inbox drops from a company called www.makeuseof.com  greets me with a large hello via Entourage's distinctive loud chime.

Normally this would irate the bejesus out of anybody, definite breach of social media etiquette and candidate of the year for "bombardment", but inside every single notification is something I can use or entertains me. At some point of the day I peruse each one. At this rate of education I will be a certified geek by years end. Whoo Hoo, get to wear the dusty mortar once again.

I found this site after my most famous DODIFS moment ever in my living history, no one was around to witness this vital crucial moment of epic fail proportions, but I did have the tissue box to help me though.

A project of trying to get a 'live' inventory accessible to our sales reps led me to seek out my brother in law Andy, the computer programmer extraordinaire!! thinking this was a completely logical & safe move.

I can out 'Excel' and database anyone at 10 paces but MySql is language that I don't speak either, but Andy thought I was up for it, confident, even insisting "I am quite confident that you should be able to set up a simple database access within 2 hours live on the Cloud" he left me with that. 6 Hours after that conversation I vowed never to speak to Andy ever again unless I do some serious physical harm first.

The one thing I have learnt in this modern time is that if you have a problem of any kind, then 'google it'. Guaranteed some poor misfortune soul has had that problem before you. Once I set up the Bubba Moe's MySql, which was incredibly easy, the blank black page appeared.......blink, blink, gulp.
Headed straight for Google for any possible life rafts that might have been floating on the sea of despair & humiliation.
I found 'Make Use Of', within an hour I could initiate a simple programme on MySql. Trying to get the programme working on the level I needed it to be was eating at my sanity, while trying to push aside an epiphany that arose somewhere in between.
Being a classic Taurean, the stubbornness meant I couldn't stop till I could do it, then I went for the far more intelligent user friendly system called google doc's which Make Use Of recommends.
What I like about Make Use Of is that its not all serious software & gaming & business solutions & articles but a whole list of seriously funny bits, as picured in this article.
One cartoon all about 'blogging' of all things, managed to surface on my Mac dashboard surrounded by my sticky notes instead of my downloads. So I am off to Goggle again with "How do I get a clip file that has appeared on a dashboard?"
Oh look! there's the answer, some other idiot has done that too!!


OK the Safe Slinging article coming soon