Love to fly? Good at game shows? These enterprising women prove that if you play your cards right, you just might achieve the career of your dreams. We moms know that raising children is a wonderful calling that should never be taken for granted. But what about all of that down time between breakfast and dinner? While most of us count our blessings to have nice-but-blah jobs in concrete office buildings, it’s now time to read wistfully about a couple dozen moms who somehow scored the killer career. These women inspire us to think that our turn might be just around the corner.

Julie Ludwick | Aerial Dancer

She swings through the air with the greatest of ease/That daring young mom on the flying trapeze…. Modern dancer Julie Ludwick found great joy in the freedom of combining movement with lifts using a low-flying trapeze, and founded Fly-by-Night Dance Theatre in New York City in 1999. “I really appreciated the feeling of freedom it brings; who needs a male partner to get up in the air when you can do it yourself?” Julie says. Julie’s struggles to balance time with her son, choreograph performances and run a non-profit company means that everything takes longer than it should. But being a mom, Julie says, has matured her art. “My artistic vision has grown,” she maintains. “I believe mothers need to keep their voices going; we can’t become silent just when we are beginning to see the whole picture.”

Michele Lewis | Professional Poker Player

There are oodles of food critics out there, analyzing everything from The French Laundry to the Chinese takeout next to the Laundromat. But Cynthia Hacinli, food and wine critic for The Washingtonian, does it the old-fashioned way. “I dine anonymously and I travel extensively. When you travel you are assaulted by tastes and traditions you don’t have here, giving you a frame of reference,” she says. After years of covering politics and education, Cynthia moved to Maine and broke into restaurant reviewing with The Maine Times. “I got here by luck and hard work,” she says. Appreciating good food spans at least three generations in Cynthia’s family. Her mother scours the Dining section of The New York Times and notes the hottest new restaurants for the family to try. Cynthia’s 8-yearold daughter often comes out to dine with her, even if she has to bring a little homework along.

Heather Armstrong | Celebrity Blogger

“Do I consider my website a mommy blog? Not really, no. When I sit down to update my website I don’t think to myself, ‘What will I say today on my mommy blog?’ The first thing I think is, ‘how can I give my father a heart attack?’ And then I back up a second and go, nah, I’d miss him too much.” This is just one snippet of Heather’s hilarious writings on Dooce , a site she started in 2001 that is now successful enough to support her family. Husband Jon, daughter Leta and the poop-eating dog Coco are familiar topics that never run dry. Trust us, it’s hilarious and has helped coalesce the exciting realm of mommy bloggers. Heather’s secret to success? A passion and huge talent for writing. “Even when I have writer’s block I still look forward to taking pictures and writing and sharing,” Heather says.

Nina Sutton | Founder, DealsforDivas.com

DealsforDivas specializes in doing the bargain hunting for fabulous pieces so you don’t have to. Nina’s background in the beauty industry and retail as well as her longtime penchant for fashion (she put clothes and makeup on her Barbies), earns her the Diva title in our book. Nina has learned a few important lessons while building DealsforDivas into a very popular shopping site: A BlackBerry is your friend. Don’t let your child get used to staying up late—EVER. And if you redo your website, they (the advertisers) will come. “They actually started calling me instead of the other way around!” Nina says. She also attributes some bookings on radio stations in driving lots of traffic to her site.

Consuelo Bova | eTailer for Short Guys

When the love of her life lamented the lack of greatlooking (and fitting) clothing for smaller men, Consuelo Bova heard the lightbulb click on. “There are so many women married to handsome, wonderful men who hide behind ill-fitting clothing,” says the former product marketing manager and mother of 18-month-old Jack. “I had never done anything in retailing before, but since I’ve started I’ve become quite adept!” Launching forthefit.com in 2005, Consuelo spends a great deal of time searching hard for designers and manufacturers who will create shorter lengths and rises on pants, and smaller overall proportions on shirts. The effort has paid off handsomely, and Consuelo loves hearing from grateful customers all over the world. “I save their messages and look at them every morning; they motivate me!”

Hope Toliver | Model

Once a model, always a model, right? Not with Hope Toliver. The gorgeous mother of two always wanted to be a model but never quite got there. Until a chance encounter with TV Land landed her a role on She’s Got the Look, and a chance to be America’s next favorite model this past summer. “I had many opportunities come my way, but it was never the right time,” Hope says. “This big break with She’s Got the Look gave me the strength and hope that I was looking for.” With a difficult childhood and years of raising her children as a single parent, Hope is now “hoping” that this is her time to shine. “My children are my life and are the reason that I could never let this chance just fade away,” she says. Stay tuned!

Lisa Anderson | Professional Surfer Lisa Anderson fell in love with surfing when she was 15. Her parents weren’t as enthusiastic. So the Florida native ran away to Huntington Beach, California and soon began to surf competitively. First as an amateur and then as a pro, Lisa went on to win the World Championship Tour four years in a row. Just months after her first child was born, Lisa got right back in, reaching the finals in a competition in Japan. “Children keep you grounded and they keep you focused,” Lisa says. Raising two children now, the woman that has been called one of the two surfing icons of the past 15 years (along with male surfer Kelly Slater) is an inspiration for female surfers around the world. Still, it’s a little tougher now that Lisa, who directs special events with Roxy America/ Quiksilver, is staying put. “I can’t follow the sun anymore,” she laughs. “It’s hard to motivate myself to go out there and freeze.”

Michele Lewis | Professional Poker Player

How can a smart mom combine math, human relations and a talent for gambling into one cool business? Michele Lewis does it as a professional poker player, taking part in the WSOP (World Series of Poker) every year and writing about her experiences on her blog, www.michelelewis.typepad.com. “I started playing in college with a bunch of friends and then went back to it professionally in 2003,” says Michele, who became a mom in 2002. Often Michele is sponsored, which means she is gambling other people’s money. “When I play with other people’s money I tend to play better,” she says, bringing home winnings of $80,000 in 2006. Michele took some time off in 2007 to focus on her two children. The lucky bugs went with her this past summer to WSOP in Las Vegas.

Dayna Steele | Voiceover 

ArtistOn any given Monday, Dayna Steele gets up, packs lunches for her two sons, then heads into her home studio to record her voice for a radio spot audition. “I tell everyone to ‘keep it down, mom has a voiceover,’” Dayna says, smiling. “Used to be I had to drive two hours for an audition; now I just e-mail it to my agent.” A former rock DJ who wrote a successful book called Rock to the Top: What I Learned from the World’s Biggest Rock Stars, Dayna now provides voice talent for advertising agencies and pretty much anyone who will pay her fee. “I tell prospective clients that my voice is my product,” Dayna says. “Branding is importantin this business.” She advises other moms who think they have the gift of the gab to find a good agent, invest in the right equipment and have a great demo.

Michele O’Callaghan | Makeup Artist

Whoops, is that a small blemish on Gwyneth Paltrow? Only Michele O’Callaghan knows for sure. As a makeup artist for major film studios and television networks, Michele has the enviable job of making the beautiful people look beautiful…or like someone else entirely. “I never know what the day is going to throw at me,” says Michele, who on this particular day was busy making an actor look like Abraham Lincoln. A wigmaking neighbor encouraged Michele to study special effects makeup in London. After that she spent five months pestering the NBC booker until she got hired. “The hours can suck,” she admits, “but usually I’m home in the mornings to see my kids off to school. I’ve been in it long enough so that I can pick and choose the majority of my work.”

Look for the full list of moms and the amazing ways they make money in the fall 2008 issue of Hybrid Mom magazine.