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Filed under Home & Garden
In today’s day and age, a two income family is not just a choice, but a necessity in many cases. With so many women in the corporate workforce full-time, we must address the issue of trying to balance work and family life. Some days we can find ourselves questioning if we truly can achieve a healthy balance. If you are stressed out and looking for help, the tips below may help restore some sanity to your hectic life.
Don’t Be Afraid to Delegate
Managing your home includes many different tasks. Keeping your home clean and organized should not fall solely on your shoulders. Every member of the household should be sharing in that responsibility. If you have divided up the household chores, but still feel like you are having to hound others to stay on task, it can really make things stressful.
You might want to make use of professional home cleaning services or hiring a housekeeper on a weekly basis. Another helpful option is to consider renting a storage vault if you need a place to store your off-season decorations and other things you don’t currently need at home. The less stuff you have around, the easier it will be to organize what’s left. You will be amazed at how much more efficiently things will run with all that extra space.
Delegating responsibilities to others will give you more time to do the things that matter, like spending quality time with your family and friends.
Make Preparations
If you don’t want to be rushing to work in the morning, get in the habit of making sure everyone lays out their clothing the night before. Prepare lunches at night too, and plan your meals for the week so, you can shop more effectively. Electric pressure cookers let you cook delicious meals that used to take hours in about 30 minutes. Create a family message center so that everyone is aware of upcoming events, school meetings and activities.
Create A Family Message Center
Create a family message center with a calendar, cork board and white erase board or chalkboard. This will help keep important dates of events, appointments, school meetings and activities where everyone can see them. Enter dates in your smart phone or planner. Knowing what is coming up will help you from being caught off guard and missing important events or appointments. Don’t forget to schedule in some family fun time!
Celebrate Your Child
Sometimes it simply isn’t possible for us to be physically present at our child’s special event. While it is upsetting to have to miss your child’s concert or soccer game, sometimes there is no other choice. If you do have to miss an important event, show your child you love them and wish you could be there with a special note or little gift. While it is not a substitute for you being there, it will let them know how much you love them and how you wish you were there. You might be surprised at how much emotional support your child can gain from a small note.
Make Use of Technology
If you have to be away on business or are working late, you can record a video of yourself singing or reading a favorite bedtime story for your kids to watch. A phone call to catch up or even a Facetime video can really help you stay connected. Make use of the technology at your fingertips. Something as simple as hearing your voice can be so comforting to your child.
This is a collaborative guest post, the views expressed do not necessarily represent those of Mommy Ramblings.
Filed under Family, Health, Home & Garden
Today is my mother’s birthday and she is celebrating in Heaven. Loss and grief are hard, the loss of a mother is profound. The other weekend I was talking with a friend about loss. The loss of our mothers. I told her about the way my mother died a few days after having a massive brain stem stroke. I spoke about the suddenness of it all and how my life changed forever with her passing. I told her there were so many things I still needed to ask her and so many questions I have that only she knows the answers to. She told me that it really was best she went that way for her but it is hard on those left behind. She is right. My mother and I were very close and every day I think of things that I want to ask her, a recipe, a memory, a question about something we did and yet I can’t.
Ramona Richard’s book, My Mother’s Quilts is about her mother who was a master quilter. Quilting was her mother’s passion and the quilts all had a story. Ramona’s mom did not die unexpectedly and she was able to tell her daughter that she wanted the quilt she made with her mother’s handkerchiefs on her coffin instead of flowers. She was able to share the stories behind the quilts and now Ramona is passing them on in this book. This book is made up of the stories of the quilts and a matching devotion that shares the message of God’s grace and faithfulness. Every chapter begins with a Bible verse and ends with a prayer starter. The lessons of the quilts are applicable to anyone’s life. There are fundamental lessons of honoring the lives of those that have gone before us, accepting the flaws in the people we love, accepting one another and so many more.
At the end of the book Ramona shares that she is finishing a quilt that her mother worked on until her eyesight and stamina started to wane a couple of years before her death. She found the bow tie quilt in a white sack on the top of her mother’s closet. The quilt was almost finished, it just need the last few squares to be quilted and the binding attached. Ramona sat with the quilt and knew she wanted it finished. Her first thoughts were to ask someone to finish it but then she realized that she needed to do that.
Ramona is not a quilter but she said quilting is in her blood and this is her mother. She thought that we may be quick to let other people do the work we need to, teach our children about life and faith, take care of loved ones and volunteering where we’re needed. Scripture reminds us that we won’t be judged on the earthly things we accomplish. Instead, God looks at our heart and how we lived our beliefs. So while Ramona’s stitches are not as tiny or as straight as her mother’s, finishing the quilt is her way of saying, “You ran a great race. Thank you, Mom. I’ll take it from here.” To learn more about Ramona visit her website.
The last prayer starter asks the Lord to help us remember that one of the best ways we can honor those that came before us is to continue sharing all that they have given to us. Amen
Win A Quilt Contest!
Win one of the quilts featured in #MyMothersQuilts by Ramona Richards. Also up for grabs: loads of other prizes including quilting hand warmers, coloring books, and 25 signed copies of Ramona’s book. Winners will be emailed after the contest ends on June 30, 2016. Click the image to enter!
Filed under Books, Family, Giveaway, Life, Life Stages
As bloggers we have a voice, it can be one that helps or one that hurts. Many times bloggers intentionally create content that will stir controversy. As they say, “any publicity is good publicity.” Blog comments are gold and outrageous posts can go viral and create enormous traffic.
Yesterday, there was a post and I will not reference it with a link, I truly believe it needs no further attention. It created a bit of outrage as the blogger posted how she was so happy she would never have a son. The post was a list of reasons why, from not having to talk about penises to pee on the bathroom floor. At the end there was a call to action for all mothers who were happy to be “son free” to comment.
It was pretty bad and I found zero humor in it. I was not alone judging by the two hundred or so comments that called her out. Many said that since she just has one child, a girl, who has not hit puberty, she has no idea what she is talking about. Most of the people commenting had children of both sexes and still found her post highly offensive. As a mother of both sexes, I found it offensive, a tad bitter, and not at all humorous. I openly pointed this out both on the site and on her personal Facebook page where she posted a link to the article. I just found it to be something totally unnecessary and created to draw attention, albeit negative to herself and her post.
Normally, I ignore this stuff, but could not help commenting on such a derogatory post toward sons. She also has no experience to speak, all she knows is being the mother of a daughter. That’s all she knows, she can “know of boys” but that is not the same as being a mother to a son. When I pointed this out, she responded that having grown up with a brother and being married to a man she was more or less qualified to give her opinion.
I grew up with 3 brothers, I’m married to a man and it’s no way close to holding your newborn son for the first time. It’s an entirely different experience from parenting a daughter and a bond that is nothing at all the same. Not saying one is better or worse, as all children are miracles and I am thankful to be the mother of both sexes. However, being the mother of a son is not all about penises,pee on the bathroom floor or circumcision. Not all parents have to go “round and round” over the cut or uncut issue either. Let me tell you my experience of being the mother of a son.
It is the birth of a protector
It is a handful of dandelions delivered in a dirty hand
It is the little treasures he brings you because he loves you
It is the laughter you share over your adventures
It is the sparkle in his eye when he introduces you to all his preschool friends because you are his world.
It is the way he snuggles when you are reading to him
It is all the times he asks what things were like when you were a kid
It is about his endless collection of super hero costumes that he wears 24/7
It is about how much the younger sons look up to their older brothers
It is about pride so huge when you see them stand up for what they believe in
It is how your heart swells when others tell you what great young men they are or how they helped someone
It is the pride you have when you see the man he is becoming
It is about the ability to build them up to be the best men they can be
It is imagining what it will be like when they become husbands and fathers
It is about hoping you don’t cry but knowing you will when you dance with them at their wedding
It is about holding on and letting go
It is about all of this and so much more.
Thank God I was blessed to be the mother of four sons.
Filed under Baby, Family, Main Page Post, Mommy Ramblings
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Hello, I’m Carolyn! I am a PR Savvy, WAH Mom to 5! I love Photography, Baking, DIY Projects, Crafts, Cooking and making memories with my family. I love sharing reviews and giveaways too!
