Pregnancy Update: 19 Weeks Today with Little Guy…No name yet. But he’s the size of a mango. Potential names for this week: Jacob, Davis, Lincoln, William, Hanks. FYI: we prefer either Biblical names or family names. Since genealogy research has been a hobby of mine for years, I have lots of family names. lol

Ugh. After a relatively healthy 2019, the sickness has descended upon us. I’m thankful it’s only the coughing and runny nose kind and not the one that involves vomitting, but still…it’s been in our house for two whole weeks. And I’m just going to go ahead and say it, I think the abundance of sugar and Halloween candy my children have been eating are one of the main reasons we can’t seem to kick it.

We did manage to knock out one pretty big DIY project around here and that’s hang up a chandelier and do a little painting. If you follow along on IG, you’ll know the chandelier wasn’t just in any old spot…it was two stories high and involved my heights-fearing husband to climb up some really high scaffolding. But he did it and the old ugly builder’s light is gone and pretty sparkly chandelier is up.

I also worked with my first paid collaboration this week. By paid, I mean the company actually paid me to share their products with my followers on my IG stories. I talked about it in my stories beforehand and made it clear that I was being paid and I would be sharing my absolute real thoughts on the rug after having it in the house for a couple of weeks. A couple of thoughts: it was work and it was sorta stressful and influencers definitely deserve to get paid for that work.

I had a list of requirements of talking points and I spent thirty minutes recording and then re-recording the footage for my stories. I then had to submit it to the company for their approval, which they did. And then I had to post it to my IG stories and submit the insights for them. I got paid $62 for that part of the collaboration, plus the free rug.

I also had to take two pictures of the rug, styled in my home, again with lots of stipulations. I was trying to use the kiddos in the rug because the rug is really great for families with kids. It took awhile to get the photos right because I’m dealing with my kids. I submitted them and they asked for me to reshoot them, which I’ve done. I’m now waiting to see if these new pictures are acceptable. I am getting paid $0 for this. I think I made a mistake negotiating this part. Oh well, live and learn.

I share all of this for a few reasons, I like to be transparent and real. I also want people to have realistic expectations if they want to be an influencer. It takes time and a lot of effort to get to the point where you can actually get paid and, as you can see, it’s not like I’m making a fortune. Plus, it is work.

I’m trying to decide if being an influencer is what I really want to pursue. It is of upmost importance to me and my IG and my brand be authentic to who I am and who my family is. I do not want my feed and my stories to feel like constant advertisements and I’ve seen so many accounts I love go in that direction. I’m trying to decide if the compensation is actually worth the work and stress. In the meantime, here are some shots of the kiddos with the new rug that got rejected. lol

Well, hopefully, next week’s wrap up will announce that we are sickness free *crossing fingers*. Until next time, from my porch to yours.

XO,

Sharlie