Photography Props for Newborns: The Nest

The Nest-- adorable, ain't it? I have been working on this for a week or so. Now, it just needs a happy lil home to go to!



The set is a soft flannel blanket, a handmade knitted cocoon and a few lovely array of fall flowers with berries. This one is ready to go! I am going to list it in my Etsy shop for $80.00 but, if you want this ONE it is $60! Email me info@theposhparent.com and it can ship out tomorrow morning! :)

Here's the Thing

Here's the thing: there isn't a shortage of ideas. There's a shortage of execution. --Seth Godin

I'm a mover and a shaker...if you keep up with my blog you already know that. I've always been a go-getter and a goal oriented person. I can't help but try something new all the time. I like to say that I thrive on chaos...

So, what does it take to make something happen? The execution of an idea is often the hardest part. That is usually the part when most people say "Ugh, it's too hard--nevermind" and they give up. Do you ever wonder what would happen if you just tried?

One of my favorite parts of a Kanye West song called "Champion" says "For me, giving up is way harder than trying" and I am pretty sure I have stated those lyrics here on my blog before because that is probably the best way to describe me. I'd much rather try than give up.

My goal of writing a book is something I see happening in the next 2-3 years. It is going to take some time and a lot of practice as far as my writing skills. I applied to be the Baby and Toddler Gear Expert for the Albany Examiner...low and behold--I'm IN! I am the Albany NY expert! I am stoked that I now have this outlet to practice and hone my talents. I will post my link so you all can come over and read me more "professionally" although I'm sure you enjoy the randomocity that is Clarissa...I CAN be structured :)

Now, go on and EXECUTE something y'all!!

10 Ways to Monetize "Mommy Blogger"

You can check out my MomTV show playback below for the live web show and be sure to come back next week as I discuss my take on "Disclosure Policies"

Here are my 10 tips on ways to monetize your mommy blogger status!

1) Contextual Ads/Ad Networks- As I mentioned on my show, this is easy as pie however, don't expect to be making big bucks if you don't have lots of traffic. This is something that I would still recommend you add to your blog as a newbie or a more advanced blogger. The little bit extra will add up!

2) Affiliate Programs- Find brands and companies that you love and that fit with your image and vibe. Ask about their affiliate programs and join! Lots of them also offer review programs such as Land of Nod!

3) Banner Ads- Another no brainer and an easy $20.00 a month! I would suggest no more than 4-5 sidebar 125x125 sized ads or it looks junked up. If you have open ad space {like I do} then try adding banners of companies you have done reviews for! Banner swap with a few bloggy friends! This will get the attention of a potential ad client better than the empty space.

4) Sponsored Posts, Sponsored Tweets and Advertorials- www.sponsoredtweets.com is AWESOME and they make it uber easy to join and to start making money pronto! You can set your price and write your OWN tweets so you don't sound like a spammy tweeter! I will probably be able to pay for BlogHer 10 with this money in a few months here...yeah, for real!

5) Tutorials & EBooks- What are you good at? Come on, there is SOMETHING you are good at and that people come to you for! Write an ebook or a tutorial! Places like Etsy are perfect for crafty mamas and places like Ebay, Forums, your BLOG and Twitter are also places you can promote your knowledge! You don't need to share your "trade secrets" or anything totally valuable to you {I would never sell my instructions on how to make some of my signature outfits} but, sharing what you can will really pay off!

6) Review Networks/Blog Networks {ie" Mom Bloggers Club, 360PR Mom Squad, Mom Select}- To me, getting an awesome product to review is just as good as cash! Especially if it is something that I wanted to look into more or that I need to purchase anyway. For example, as a member of the MomSquad, I was able to land an opportunity to review the newest car seat from Safety First. With baby #3 on the way, and living in the snow crazy area of upstate, I was already very intrigued by the newest features in the Safety First car seat such as the side impact protection of the Air Protect. I am gladly reviewing the product in exchange for the seat.

7) Write for others- Sites like TextBroker offer various smaller paying jobs but, if you can write a few in a day you are making $10-$20 or even $30 for a few hours of work! Better yet, some of the companies will pitch YOU to write more for them! {at better pay!}

8) Offer Your Services- Sort of relates to the Tutorials thing but, maybe you are great at designing banners and want to see the ones you have made. Are you a Wordpress Guru? Make a list of the things you can offer to do for others who just don't have the time {like ME!} such as Twitter, Facebook and Blog poster.

9) Social Media Jobs- Hire My Mom, and Mom Force are filled with all sorts of social media jobs and a few of the opportunities, for me, have led into on going relationships with these companies.

10) Network & Share- You meet mommy bloggers every day. Maybe an opportunity comes into your mailbox that you wouldn't be ideal to cover--why not pass it along to a friend?! Chances are that when that same friend gets an opportunity that they aren't the right fit for and you are--they will pay it forward to you!

New Series on MomTV from The POSHpreneur: How to Make Money as a Mommy Blogger

Today I am starting a series for my MomTV show called "How to Make Money as a Mommy Blogger" and here is my disclosure:

No, I am not the end all and be all of mommy bloggers, no I am not the bestest writer in the blogosphere and no I am not making a million dollars a year doing this.

Here is what I am-- I am a go-getter, an entrepreneur, a hard worker and one lucky girl to have been able to work with great and well known brands like Keurig, Dyson, Glamour Magazine, Glam Media, Nashville Wraps, Womb to Bloom, Belly Bar, Stokke and Due Maternity to name a few, and get PAID in some form.

I feel that there is lots of knowledge that I can share with you through my various experiences. I hope that you will join me on MONDAYS at 1pm EST only on MomTV!

What a Week!

It has been quite a week here...the weekend was terrible, I was sick. Had blood work done on Monday and just felt icky all week. Oh happy day, Wednesday came when my Kenmore washer and dryer were delivered and installed. Oh happy day turned to Oh crappy day quickly after the novelty of doing laundry with a NEW set wore off and there were just piles of clothes to fold and put away. :P

Haven't posted much this week because I have been doing a lot of "behind the blog" work and have a few new clients to announce that I am excited to work with. Parent owned companies just excite me!

More to come on that soon, I promise because you all can totally benefit from one of my new clients if you are expecting or are a new parent or if you like to BBQ! lol Yeah, the 2 newbies are THAT different from one another but, they have something fabulous in common--ME! ;)

Have a blessed weekend everyone!

{CLOSED} Contest for a Sam's Club Annual Membership!

Image via Wikipedia

I have ONE MORE MEMBERSHIP to giveaway! Let's make it a fun contest to help pass the morning hours when we are all trying to get motivated to WORK! :P lol

Here is how to enter to WIN!

Vote for me HERE Comment once you have voted! ;)

Follow my blog here ----> on the right sidebar under My Friends! If you are already one, and after you start to follow me, leave a comment!

Tweet it out and leave a comment

Follow my internet BFF's Trisha @momdotrocks and Kadi @kadiprescott They are a HOOT and you will not be disappointed at their tweets, trust me! They are fun and smart and cool {remind you of someone??!?} Comment once you are following

While you are on Twitter-- follow @duematernity because I have some AWESOME GIVEAWAYS coming from them, too! Comment

THAT'S IT! Lots of ways to enter--plenty of time to do it in--we will shut this puppy down at 12 noon EST and ONE WINNER WILL BE PICKED AT RANDOM!

Have fun guys! I will send the winner the card TODAY!

************WINNER IS BETH @simplybudgeted*******************

Write text here...

Love Me, Hate Me, Say What You Want About Me...

but,this is hott and you know it ;)



I sometimes love that I can be obnoxious as heck and then other times I am a tad bit embarrassed at myself like "omg I am shameless!" LOL Oh well, either way it's ME!

Wordful Wednesday: OH Happy Day!

There are NO pictures to show yet but, today is one of the happiest days of my home life in a long time...we are receiving the shipment of our new washer & dryer from Sears!

I will update the post with the pictures once the appliances are installed so you can see how beautiful they are and how great the laundry room looks!

So, as you know there was a small house fire here at the Nassar residence a few weeks ago. We are still buried in paperwork with the house insurance company but, Sears stepped up BIG TIME and helped! From the friendly and professional and highly efficient staff of Sears Hometown Stores Director, Multi-Channel Integration, Shaunak and Amanda at Sears Cares to the numerous times we have been called to follow up on the status of the clean up, we are very pleased with the outcome of the situation.

It has been a tough past few weeks with having to lug the laundry and the kids to the Laundromat and having to have laundry pile up, the laundry room {which is off the kitchen} a mess and the actual burnt dryer in our backyard under an ugly bright blue tarp just waiting for who knows what will come of filing a complaint with Frigidaire, it just us stressful. This very kind and generous offer to replace the set from Sears is a huge relief. I just have to say THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU who helped me get the word out via Twitter, blogging and your comments of support! It is so amazing to know that when we as a community need each other, we can come out and say it and get what we need--support, encouragement and friendship! Thank you also to Shaunak and Amanda with Sears who have been a tremendous breath of fresh air when it comes to Customer Service, I was really bummed and feeling defeated until they came along and listened, cared and helped out!

Motherhood & Baby Bjorn Contest

Baby Bjorn, a well trusted brand, has teamed with the makers of a new Uma Thurman movie called Motherhood. They are asking the question "What shaped your definition of being a parent?" One lucky winner will fly to NYC for the premier of the movie on October 14th, 2009! You can enter your essay on what your defining moment was HERE

Yet another way to win is to Tweet is out! You all love Twitter, I know you do! So check this out if you are better at the 140 character or less writing.



While you are at the Baby Bjorn Motherhood site, you can also get your Motherhood ID with the quick little Q&A and also see what local promotions are going on near you!

You can find out more about the movie, Motherhood HERE!

Doing Me and it's Going Just Fine

Image by Chris Gin via Flickr

“I find that doing the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plans.” - George MacDonald (1824-1905)

I haven't posted much this week, I haven't been feeling well to be honest. Tooth ache--not to get into too may gross details but a filling came out and OUCH! Anyway, I have had a headache everyday since the dentist fixed it. I'm sure I will feel better soon. :)

Having said that, it is amazing how much work I have been able to get done this week in spite of that. I started the week thinking "Oh man, how am I going to get X, Y and Z done this week when I feel like this?" and I quickly was reminded that I don't need to worry...and trust in God to help me figure it out. He did. My hubby was gone most of the week so I had to get our daughter ready for school, breakfast fed, dishes washed and house cleaned all week all while getting work done and taking care of the insurance issues from the fire {yes, still dealing with that}. Again, going through all this in my mind the question was till "How?"

I felt like God was telling me to ask him "Who?" not "How" and it was then that I realized...with who? GOD! If I just trust that in all this busyness of my life, come rain or shine HE is the one who gets me through it all. His strength, his confidence and his will for my life--to be a successful WAHM. I got it all done this week and then some! I landed a few cool gigs and made a few wonderful sales in my shops.

I know that this may seen all so cheesy to some, and I get that--I read some blogs and think "Oh geesh....blah blah blah you are sooooo blessed-ick" That's being honest--sometimes God posts drive me up the wall. So, I understand if some of you may read this and think similar to how I sometimes think. I guess you never really understand until you are there. Now, when I read a post about how God got someone through a tough week or situation similar to mine, I will smile :)

I guess my point {yes, I have one!} is that if you are sure that you are doing what you are meant to do, you can trust that God will see you through and give you the strength mentally, physically and emotionally to get it done.

I'm an Official Sam's Club Blogger

Ain't that something!? Well, I mentioned it a few weeks ago but, I wasn't supposed to! Whoopsy, my bad! Anyway, I am now free to share the wonderful news with you and also offer something that will surely help you out-- a FREE 1 year membership to Sam's Club for 3 lucky readers!

I was literally finished posting a blog about how I am never a part of anything and blah blah blah and then BAM! an email from Joe over at Rockfish and he asked me to be a part of the fabulous 15!

Here they are...drumroll, please:

Tanya from Mommy Goggles
Cat from 3 Kids and Us
Trisha from MomDot
Kim from What’s That Smell?
Clarissa from The Diary of a Poshprenuer {that's ME--duhh!}
Shynea from Penny Pinching Diva
Rhea from Mommy23Monkeys
Melissa from Outnumbered 3 to 1
Brandy from Not So Average Mama
Jacquie from Blessings Abound
Courtney & Adam from The Art of Being Mom and The Science of Being Dad
Stacie from The Divine Miss Mommy
Victoria from Life Starring the Kids & Me
Danielle from Haute Cowgirl

A great group of mamas and a dad! ;) We are going to be annoucing some terrific initiatives from Sam's Club and will also all be offering FREE memberships so, be sure to follow the other bloggers if you do not already!

If you don't win one of these initial 3 memberships, no worries--I have more! ;) So, here is how to WIN ONE OF THE 3 SAM'S CLUB $100 VALUED MEMBERSHIPS:

-Comment here on why you would want this membership?
-Tweet it out! Be sure to post a comment here with a link to your tweet
-Follow me! Here on the right side you can follow my blog--leave a comment!

ENDS THIS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18th!

In a World of My Own

Image by Brandon Christopher Warren via Flickr

I saw this picture and thought "OMG that is how I feel right now, like Alice in Wonderland!" lol Is it seriously just the pregnancy that is to blame for the cloud above my head and the fog in my brain?

Busy is an understatement at this point I am overbooked. I try not to complain that I have a lot of work...in this economy and given the blogger phenomenon of the last year, I am grateful to have a "place" in all this mess. Tracking clients info, Google Alerts have been absolutely bananas and orders are coming in for the holidays...it leave me wondering...when do you actually get to the point where you are not in the middle of struggling and growing enough to expand your business? Right now I am definitely not in the beginning stages and yet I am not huge enough to expand to hire an assistant...I am dead in the middle...one woman show.

Today I was driving, my Dad came into town, and as I happened to get lost--only me--I totally utterly FORGET about my MomTV show today! Who does that? Oh, and I lost my Vado...yeah, the Vado that I used to record HOURS of footage for an assignment from Mom Select, a paid assignment--lost it! I seriously for the life of me can not find it. UGH!

I'm not complaining...I'm really not...I just have to say...in a world of my own I could juggle all this, make a wonderful dinner, keep a clean home, teach Sunday School and have a social life...I keep wishing it could be that way...because my world would be a Wonderland. :)

Write text here...

September 11th, 2001

Image via Wikipedia

I've never written about this day before, I guess it is a memory I would rather forget. Not that you can actually forget it but, it isn't something that I enjoy talking about and it's not just the tragedy of the day...it is where I was in my life that was hardest to talk about.

As I wrote about last week, I had a tough time as a 19 year old girl growing up in "the real world". In 2001 I was now 21 years old, still lost and dating. The morning of September 11th I was with a guy I had been seeing for a few months and he woke me up to watch what was happening on TV. It was scary to say the least because I had just found out that I was pregnant. At that point I hadn't been to church in a few years, I just quit my job as a waitress and was working at an office as an Administrative Assistant to the VP of sales...stressed out, pregnant and now feeling really nervous and guilty about what my fate would be should I die today.

That night, like many other people, I went to church. I think I cried for days after that. I couldn't believe what I had made of myself. I couldn't believe that I had ignored God for that long, gotten pregnant out of wedlock, and had taken a job where I was totally unhappy but doing it just for the money. I felt like I didn't know who I was and that was disgusting. Had the 9/11 attacks not happened, I don't know how much longer I would have lived my life in total ignorance to who I really was.

I don't know how to say this right but, I thank God that it happened. It opened up my eyes to a lot. It made us as a country stronger and although I get really peeved that my luggage is always the "random bag check" {my last name is Nassar-Arab} I am thankful that we are a safer and wiser country. I am thankful that I found my way out of my funk and most of all...I am thankful that we still have our freedom thanks to the many brave men and women who fight for it every single day.

Write text here...

Guiliana & Bill: The Power Struggle

I will start by saying that I have only watched the show maybe 4 times total. Every episode I have watched has pretty much involved the same issue--he lives & works in Chicago, she lives & works in LA...they BOTH want to throw the blame on one another over who should move where...

Isn't this something that you discuss BEFORE marriage, folks? Now, granted I have been married twice, it doesn't necessarily make me an "expert" but, I can see warning signs earlier...and I don't think this is a good sign people.

She has a successful career, he has a very successful career...now, I am almost certain he makes more than enough to support the both of them comfortably. My husband and I had this conversation "What if it was US?" and I told him, it sorta is. I mean, we don't live in separate states but, I have had to make tons of sacrifices to my career path...and I am glad that I did. For a moment I considered living in California and growing my business there and coming to New York for a few months and back to Cali for a few...it was something that could have potentially made us a lot of money. What is important though? My marriage is, my relationship with my husband and of course the kids have to be with their father. Even if the kids were not a factor, my marriage will always comes before my career.

It seems to always come down to one thing lately with failed marriages--power. Jon & Kate admit that the trouble started really when Kate went on her book tour and Jon was home with the kids. It is just unnatural for the dad to be home...I don't think that is really the way it was intended to be. We as mothers are natural nurturers...not to say that a dad can not be a stay at home dad successfully but, for me it just makes sense that mama is home...daddy is bringing home the big bacon. There are so many women out there trying to be the man, know what I mean? We see it all the time...and maybe it works for some households? I don't know one personally...do you?

I don't get it, I really don't. Let the man be the man...let him be the leader of the home, the bread winner and the final say. If you can't respect your husbands opinion, maybe you should think back to why you married him {sorry to be so blunt} but, really...like I said, married and divorced at 24 taught me a lot about men and women and marriage. If it isn't going to work,, don't force it. Do not expect someone to change for you. Do not think "it will get better" because honey, people don't change...unless they want to. Stop struggling to have the power...marriage is 50/50 and sometimes you have to lose, mama.

Trust me, that is a tough pill to swallow at times for me. I know that I married a man that I trust with my entire life and well being. That was ultimately tested when he came home one day and said "I got a job in upstate New York..we have to move in 2 months" We moved out of my comfort zone and away from all family and friends...but, I never for one moment was angry with him because I trusted that he made the best decision for our family. That is what a wife should do...trust.

No, I am not the perfect wife and I don't claim to be but, I can say this...fighting against your husband, your partner, will get you no where...you have to find either a happy middle ground or let him lead and believe in him. Either way, you will be blessed if you honor your commitment. I am here in New York and have had 10 times the success from home then I could have had working for someone else making a "steady" paycheck. I have freedom of choice to do as much or as little work as I want. I would say that for us, putting our marriage first and careers second turned out to be the biggest success of all.