LIL' BUDDY'S BLOG: What's a Mom Worth? Latest Estimate - About $117,000!
THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG! 
Good Morning, You Dogs! Here I am last summer with Grandma Felice, Team Leader Dean's Real Mom, and one of my Human Grandmas.
You know, I get a little teary eyed when I think about my mom. The sacrifices she made for me, and my five lil' siblings, when I was just a pup. She made sure we all got to eat. If we mis-behaved, she would grab us by the scruff of our necks and through us in the pile - and I'll NEVER forget THAT LOOK! Woof, scary!
Heard from my mom, Misty, a few weeks ago! She still lives in Joliet, IL, with my daddy, Max - that's where I was born and raised, you know. Last I heard, I have a whole bunch of other lil' brothers and sisters, scattered out across Chicago and the suburbs. Mom, I love you, and I miss you!
Most think their mothers are priceless! However, according to a study released today by Salary.com, she's actually worth something - nearly $117,000 per year. (I believe that estimate is for Human Moms - we all know Doggie Moms are worth quite a bit more, in terms of number of children raised alone!)
The Waltham MA based company has added up a mother's market value for eight years. They study levels of pay for ten separate jobs a typical human mom performs. Her typical tasks - a driver, teacher, housekeeper, cook, psychologist, nurse, book keeper, referee, and executive officer.
Mom's estimated salary in 2008 - $116,805 for a mom who stays at home, and $68,405 for a mom who also works outside the home, in addition to carrying on her motherly role.
Hey, you moms - is this right, or is it low?
"I think a lot of people think we sit and home and have a lot of fun and don't do a lot of work," said Samantha Russell, a Fremont, N.H., mother who left her job as pastry chef to raise two boys, ages 2 and 4. "But they should try cleaning their house with little kids running around and messing it up right after them."
"You should try cleaning up the house with six little fluffy dogs, and 24 little soft paws, tossing and playing underfoot all day," says Buddy's Mom, Misty, from Joliet IL.
Why is mom's theoretical salary so high? It has a lot to do with the amount of overtime pay she would receive for working over 40 hours in a week! Salary.com interviewed over 18 thousand moms for their survey, and found the average mom work week to be 94.4 hours. If they were working outside the home, more than half their working hours would be payable in overtime!
Working moms didn't get much of a break - they worked 54.6 hours being a mom, besides the time spent at their outside jobs.
Most moms interviewed agreed the benefits are more than just monetary. A family's love is a big part of the equation, too!
(BTW - you know I love my Human Mom, Sue, from Dean's Team. She puts in a lot of hours, too - many of them spent keeping me on my paws, so to speak!)
See Mark Jewel's article in Thursday's Chicago Tribune.
Whether you have four paws, or only two - Happy Mother's Day!
YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,
BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
