When you’re home with the kids all day, they get to know all your habits, good and bad. Children are very observant and even if you think you’re pretty sneaky about some of your bad habits, they probably know about them.

Sure, you try some of those foods that you really don’t like but want your children to experience. I do that when it’s something my husband likes but I don’t. It can be challenging at times, and some of my food preferences my kids do know about, but I do the best I can.

And while there are ways you can sneak vegetables into your children’s food, better yet is to teach them how to enjoy them. You may find only a few at first that the kids like to eat, but it’s a start. It doesn’t matter if they only want to eat frozen corn or peas, they’re vegetables and a much better part of a snack or meal than many other foods. If you’re dealing with a picky eater you take what you can get and set the example for something better.

Some of what you can do may be very subtle. Things like using olive oil instead of vegetable oil in cooking so that you’re using a healthier kind of oil when you need it. Young children won’t get it. But as they learn to cook it will be something to talk about.

Being healthy is about more than teaching good eating habits, of course. Healthy eating matters quite a bit, but so does exercise and making other good choices.

In our family, formal exercise isn’t really a priority. However, we’re currently taking daily walks. We found some hiking trails just a couple blocks from our house. The kids enjoy them even more than the local playgrounds. We all come home dusty and a bit tired from these hikes, but we’re all getting exercise just as a matter of routine and the kids are learning about nature.

Now if I could just convince my son that they are “ladybugs” and not “potato bugs!”

The idea is to just make physical activity routine. We set the expectation and try to live up to it ourselves. We don’t do everything we expect of the kids; they’re often sent out to play in the back yard while I work on my computer. They learn to spend time away from any electronic entertainment and I get peace and quiet to work.

Your own bad habits can be a bit of a challenge. I can explain away my computer time because it’s necessary to how I earn a living. But actual bad habits can be more problematic.

Think about any parents you know who smoke. It’s much less common than it used to be; I don’t think any of my close mom friends smoke at all. But if you have a bad habit such as smoking or even biting your nails, children do notice and it’s harder to explain why they shouldn’t.

While it may not stop your child from picking up the habit in question, simply admitting that yes, you have a bad habit can be helpful. You’re being honest and it gives you a chance to explain why it’s a bad habit in an age-appropriate way. Sometimes kids will cheerfully try to get you to stop.

No one is a perfect parent, and I wouldn’t suggest trying to be one. But you can work out ways to set the examples you want to, and try to break out of the old routines that aren’t teaching your kids what you really want them to learn.

Sometimes working at home doesn’t always go as you plan. Something happens and the money your family needs just isn’t coming in fast enough. How do you decide when it’s time to look at an outside the home job?

This is a painful decision for any at home parent. You generally want to be at home. Working outside it probably doesn’t appeal to you the way the work you do at home does. But when your family needs the money it’s an option you need to consider.

Perhaps one of the biggest causes for this can be the layoff of your spouse. There’s some of that going around right now. I should know; my husband was laid off earlier this year, and the financial hit was huge to our family, even with unemployment. After all, there’s the COBRA coverage for our health insurance to consider.

It can be a challenge making this kind of decision, but there are some ways to do it. One is to look at finding a job in the evening, so that you can always be sure that one parent is at home with the kids still. It makes quite the mess of your time together, but when money is tight you do have to look at the sacrifices necessary to keep your family going.

The other option, if your children are in school, is to work outside the home during school hours. This gives you a bit more time with your spouse, which is a nice benefit.

The trouble with these options that is that you will probably have to sacrifice a big piece of your at home work time. As a rule I do not recommend giving up entirely on working from home. Taking on an outside the home job may slow your progress at home, but giving up stops it.

Never give up if you think you can do it. Find a way to make it work.

There are options to working outside the home, of course. You can expand what you do to earn money from home. Take on more clients. Start freelancing if you aren’t already. Look at a new work at home job. Figure out ways to expand your current business.

None of that is easy, of course. There’s a lot you have to do in order to succeed. Work at home jobs take time to find. Clients may be hard to find. You may not have the time in your schedule to expand your efforts.

But if it comes down to it, work outside the home. That your family has a place to live and enough to eat should always be your first priority, not your pride in being able to be there for your family by working at home. You can come back to it when things get better.

Do not forget to take the expenses of working outside the home into consideration. How’s your work wardrobe? How far do you want to drive? Will you need daycare?

The early days can set your finances back a little, but so long as working outside the home is a sufficient net benefit you can do it.

It’s easier to fail working at home than it is to succeed. All you have to do is fail to try, or try in the wrong areas. Here are some of the ways I came up with to make a real mess of your own attempts to work at home.

1.    Tell everyone you want to work at home so you can watch your favorite TV shows.
2.    Treat working at home as a hobby.
3.    Expect instant success.
4.    Expect big earnings with little to no effort.
5.    Expect big earnings immediately.
6.    Just accept it when people expect you to have free time every time they ask.
7.    Fail to set goals.
8.    Don’t tell anyone about your business.
9.    Spend too much time on random surfing.
10.    Spend too much time checking email.
11.    Spend too much time “networking,” by which you mean chatting with friends and not getting anything accomplished.
12.    Fail to network as appropriate.
13.    Fail to complete your work in a reasonable time frame.
14.    Fail to discuss what you need with your family.
15.    Fail to understand what your family needs of you.
16.    Solitaire, Free Cell, Minesweeper, etc.
17.    Work too little.
18.    Work too much.
19.    Lack of focus.
20.    Start too many businesses at once.
21.    Choose the wrong location for your home office.
22.    Don’t worry about quality. Just get it done.
23.    Don’t keep up on your paperwork.
24.    Don’t have at least a partial regular schedule.
25.    Refuse to spend money where it would help and fits in your budget.
26.    Lack motivation.
27.    Lack drive.
28.    Believe in your own failure.
29.    Fail to learn from failure.
30.    Fear failure.
31.    Allow others to convince you that you’ll fail.
32.    Overestimate your own abilities.
33.    Fail to get help when needed, even if you have to pay for it.
34.    Choose an opportunity only because someone else says it can earn big money.
35.    Lack passion for your business.
36.    Fail to research opportunities before getting started.
37.    Jump from business to business in a short period of time.
38.    Fail to keep up on your industry.
39.    Spend excessive time reading about your industry.
40.    Fail to show off your skills.
41.    Be dull.
42.    Skip the business cards.
43.    Fail to pay attention to your market.
44.    Fail to know what your market is.
45.    Fail to consider a range of marketing tactics.
46.    Expect to work less than a regular job.
47.    Participate in illegal opportunities.
48.    Believe all hype.
49.    Lack enthusiasm.
50.    Fail to prioritize.
51.    Fail to separate business and personal finances.
52.    Fail to recognize when you’re spending more than you can afford.
53.    Try to sell something no one wants.
54.    Fail to understand how to appeal to customers.
55.    Try to insist customers like what you like.
56.    Talk down to customers and clients.
57.    Be positive you know more than anyone else.
58.    Pay no attention to your competition.
59.    Fail to have goals.
60.    Have only big goals and no little ones.
61.    Have only little goals and no big ones.
62.    Take rejection personally.
63.    Procrastinate constantly.
64.    Pay no attention to ROI (Return on Investment).
65.    Let yourself be distracted from work excessively.
66.    Dislike challenges.
67.    Prefer predictability.
68.    Ignore the Internet.
69.    Fail to have a unique website related to your business.
70.    Have a negative attitude.

Anyone have more to share?

There was a little surprise waiting for me in my inbox this morning. The CDC contacted me to help get the word out about a recall of a few Total Body supplements that have toxic levels of selenium and high levels of chromium. Guess they’re trying really hard to alert people to the issue.

The products and lot numbers are:

• Total Body Formula Tropical Orange with lot numbers 4016801, 4024801 and 4031801
• Total Body Formula Peach Nectar with lot numbers 4016802 and 4031802
• Total Body Mega Formula Orange/Tangerine with lot number 4031803

The CDC has information on their website about this, but here’s the basics they sent me:

• As of April 22, 2008 there have been 195 cases.
• Those affected range from children to older adults.
• Ten of 16 states where the supplements were distributed have reported cases to their state health departments, including Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
• The supplements were also sold over the Internet.
• Symptoms typically occur within 5 to 10 days after daily ingestion of the product begins.
• After discontinuing use of the product, the symptoms of selenium toxicity may last for several weeks but should improve eventually without treatment.
• Testing also revealed elevated levels of chromium in the supplements, up to 17 times greater than the amount stated on the label. The supplements are considered less likely to cause chromium toxicity because the chromium levels in the supplements are not as elevated.

The recalled products may cause the following severe, adverse reactions:

• significant hair loss
• muscle cramps
• diarrhea
• joint pain
• fatigue
• fingernail changes
• blistering skin

They say to just throw out the bottles if you have them, and consult a doctor if you have symptoms. You can report your symptoms to your local Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) or Department of Health.

If you listen much to the news right now, you’ve probably heard some stories about various Costco and Sam’s Club locations rationing rice, flour or oil purchases. You may have also heard about how bad the food situation is in many countries that are poorer than the United States. It’s getting rough out there.  Some countries are limiting or refusing to export rice.

The big question is: How much should you worry?

If you are in the United States, as I am, you probably don’t have too much to worry about, at least so far. There’s not a shortage here. But people are very naturally concerned, just from looking at the worldwide picture.

My own inclination is to keep an eye on things. I’m not ready to stock up heavily… aw heck, I can’t do that very easily since my husband’s still looking for work. But even if we had a little more financial flexibility, I don’t believe I’d be panicking at this point.

For one thing, we grow so much rice we export a lot of it. Even now.

However, I have told my husband I would like to garden more intensively this year, once we know for sure that we aren’t moving. Rice, flour and oil aren’t the only foods that are subject to increased prices. Fresh produce has gone up in a lot of places, and I rarely see things like tomatoes at prices I’m willing to pay anymore.

It’s also educational for the kids. Mine had a great time last summer going out and picking fresh tomatoes to snack on, and they’ve learned a lot about edible leaves… most especially that they always have to ask first to be sure they have the right plant.

A garden costs some money to get started, especially if you haven’t had one before, but in the long run it has great potential to help you cope with rising food prices.