After my first children’s picture book, Mommy Thinks She’s a Monster, I discovered a company called Amuse. You see, I had all these crazy songs that I would “sing” to my kids when they were babies, and they were all recorded on my phone. They were all comical and made the kids laugh. What would happen if I released an album of them? Well, I would soon find out.
Amuse is great, and allows people to release their music and keep 100% of their royalties. Being as into passive income streams as I am, it was the perfect match for me.
Mommy’s Gone Mad! was born!
You can listen to it on Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Napster and more! It’s everywhere!
I surprised my husband with it for Christmas and I’m sure he was horrified. With tracks like I See Your Boogie and Pee On The Potty, it’s sure to be relatable to anyone who spends time with small children. As I see it, if it entertains just one child, or makes one frazzled parent laugh, I have done my job. Plus, my kids love it – they still play the songs and crack up every time.
And, I didn’t stop there. I also released Mommy’s Gone Mad! The Lost Tracks and three music singles that go along with some of my CIA-themed books.
One thing is for sure, my kids will be able to look back on their crazy Mom and laugh, plus receive royalties for the rest of their lives – as they should – after all, they inspired the lunacy.
What does a former CIA officer do once she’s no longer a CIA officer and has a family of her own? She writes multiple CIA-inspired books, invents a baby product, goes crazy with a music album (followed by releasing singles), builds an app and writes children’s picture books, of course!
BurpMitt® products consist of super-absorbent, organic cotton products for baby and home. Mommy’s Gone Mad! is a comical music album for small children and parents of small children. The children’s album led to working on some more adult music singles. Cooking in the CIA is an app with recipes learned from years of entertaining and world travel.
If you would like to purchase a BurpMitt® product, you can find them on Amazon.
Mommy’s Gone Mad! The Lost Tracks – Album Just Dropped!
Laugh along with this sequel to the original Mommy’s Gone Mad! Streaming now on Spotify, Amazon Music, Napster, Shazam, Tidal, Deezer, YouTube Music, Google Play and more!
Over the past few months I’ve become a rockstar! I now have three singles out – in addition to my children’s music album released last year. Each of my songs goes along with one of my books — see if you can figure out which book goes with which song!
These songs are streaming on Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Napster, Apple Music/iTunes and more!
I’ve been trying to think of ways I could help someone during this time…. Then it dawned on me that I have taken dozens, if not hundreds, of classes online over the years. I’ve compiled a list of resources for online learning – from resources for teachers and parents to use with homeschooling, to adult-themed subjects – from great sources.
Futurelearn.com – This is a great place to find free classes on just about anything you can imagine. They offer a diverse selection of courses from leading universities and cultural institutions from around the world. These are delivered one step at a time, and are accessible on mobile, tablet and desktop. They have hundreds of partners from around the world. These include many of the best UK and international universities, as well as institutions with a huge archive of cultural and educational material, such as the British Council, the British Library, the British Museum, and the National Film and Television School. They also work with a range of internationally renowned organizations – from professional bodies such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), to businesses like the BBC and Marks & Spencer, to the UK Government. I have taken everything from a class on Infant CPR given by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to World War 1: A History in 100 Stories, to one I’m currently taking on Rome.
Edx.org – Free college classes. I have taken everything from Harvard classes titled China’s Political and Intellectual Foundations and Buddhism and Its Scriptures to a class on The Spain of Don Quixote given by the University of Madrid, to the Medieval Icelandic Sagas given by the University of Iceland. They have just about anything you can imagine from some of the best schools in the world.
Udemy.com – They have a wide range of classes in subjects ranging from game development to mobile apps to IT certification, to marketing and business. They have Python, ethical hacking, you name it. These have a small price usually, but I see lots of sales going at all times.
*** Update: Udemy.com now has a free resource center. FREE classes!
NASA/Kennedy Space Center – Initially it was announced by some media outlets that they would be having Facebook Live events, but it appears they have been canceled for now. You can still access their online learning links though.
Free education resources from the Nordic countries: Here you have 40+ remote learning solutions from Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden that you are welcome to use. For kids, preschool as well as K – 12, great resources to include ones for other languages, from all over the world. Don’t let the 99math throw you off – there are resources from ALPA Kids – a mobile application where children can learn colors, numbers, the alphabet by playing with examples of their own culture and local nature, to the Future Astronauts Program – a 12-week program with activities connected to life skills of astronauts. Consists of inspirational Space material and easy-to-introduce activities to support STEM learning. Teachers have curated NASA materials that are relevant and interesting for young children, to Finland Math and it’s digital exercise platform Eduten Playground – an excellent resource for remote teaching and learning. It’s the most popular math learning tool among Finnish teachers, and one reason is that it is very easy to assign exercises for the students, and set and track goals, to resources specifically for teachers’ management of students – I could go on and on this one has so many different resources – all the way through higher education.
Pat Flynn – Smart Passive Income: Online business toolkit. Mr. Flynn is a master of passive income. He offers all sorts of training, lots of it free, on how to successfully work from home, how to create passive income streams that really make money, and more. Ever wondered how to set up and make money with affiliate links? This guy is a master at it.
Graduate School USA (used to be Grad School USDA): Long ago, I took classes on HTML through Grad School USDA. Now, it looks like it is more geared toward the federal workforce, specifically management and human resources. And it looks like they cost a bit to take. But still might be a valuable resource for someone.
Tonya Leigh of French Kiss Life: Ms. Leigh runs a lifestyle brand and global movement called French Kiss Life. She teaches people how to manage their own minds and bring joie de vivre into their daily lives. She does blog posts, podcasts and YouTube videos.
My Life Suckers: A comical YouTube channel and blog run by a mom who used to be a Senior Editor for Nickelodeon’s parenting website for 6 years where she wrote about snot and ear infections. They have put together a great blog post full of resources. Resources ranging from Khan Academy: Excellent free tutorials for all ages in math, science, computing, humanities and more. They have courses from preschool math all the way to AP Calculus to Hike Find Draw: A hiker takes you along with him as he photographs what he finds. He then chooses a photograph and teaches his audience how to sketch what he has found on his hike, there are so many different options.
In true tired-mommy fashion, I fell asleep before I could continue on with the Mommy’s Gone Mad! listening party. But, not to worry, we can listen all year round! I hope everyone has a fun-filled, healthy, laughter-filled year!
Some background on Mommy’s Gone Mad!:
So…. I had all these songs recorded from as far back as 2013 when my first child was born.
Since that time I guess you could say that we’ve lived in some very remote locations. One foot in the rubber room? Why yes, yes I am.
The kids and I have had fun making these songs – and they truly think these are hysterical.
Those of you who really know me know that I have a horrendous voice and
zero musical talent. As any parent knows, kids love repetition (some
more than others) and sometimes putting something on that a kid really
likes (though it could be maddening) can give you time to do something
you need to do, or give you a laugh yourself if you can find humor in
the moment.
So, I made this album – the kids do backup on some
of the tracks – and it will bring us laughs for life! (And a nice
passive income stream which any parent can appreciate).
Mommy’s
Gone Mad! is available on Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, Google Play Music,
Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Napster and more! It’s everywhere! I don’t
know whether to be horrified or excited…. With tracks like I See Your
Boogie and Pee On The Potty, it’s sure to be relatable to anyone who
spends time with small children. If it entertains just one child, or
makes one frazzled parent laugh, I have done my job.
We’re getting ready for the listening party beginning at 8pm! Join us on all social media channels (and here) to have some appetizers, get some fun background on the album and listen to some songs!! Ring in the new year with Mommy’s Gone Mad!
Join us for a 2020 celebration and the release of my first album! That’s right – Mommy’s Gone Mad! has dropped!
Listen to it on Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Napster and more! It’s everywhere! I don’t know whether to be horrified or excited…. With tracks like I See Your Boogie and Pee On The Potty, it’s sure to be relatable to anyone who spends time with small children. If it entertains just one child, or makes one frazzled parent laugh, I have done my job.
Many thanks to the record company Amuse, Will.i.am and all involved, for the chance to get my release – my own particular brand of lunacy, out to the public – worldwide!
Join us for a listening party – December 31st 8pm to 1am!
