Biggest Parenting Challenge So Far

When they told me that parenting issues just got bigger as they got older, I couldn't imagine.

Then my son started to drive (insert dripping font!)

I don't know that there is any feeling comparable to sitting in a moving vehicle, with none of my hands or feet on the controls, with my child at the wheel, who up until a few years ago wasn't allowed to ride his bike on the road.

I was just having that conversation with a friend of mine the day before yesterday.

Then yesterday it happened. We had to go to the mall, a 45 minute drive from here, the roads where worse than I thought, and you guessed it. In the ditch we went.

It was a scary experience but thankfully no one was hurt. It gave my son a lot more respect for careful winter driving, and just how fast and easy it is to loose control even when it looks ok.

For me, I thought I had gratitude for my family and my life before.

It has been magnified to infinity!

I am so grateful that nothing major happened except for a lesson in winter driving that will hopefully stick with him for the rest of his life.

I can't imagine what I could have been thinking this morning. I don't even want to try.

Once again, I have to urge you all to remember that our time is limited, like it or not. Your babies are going to grow older, (next time you get in your van with a bunch of kids, have a look at that car seat and be thankful that they are buckled in there instead of the drivers seat :0))

Some day all that we know and take for granted will be dust.

Your alive. And in the drivers seat. Enjoy it!

Christmas Ponderings

This morning I was making breakfast (we have chickens so I just ran out to the coop, collected a few eggs and presto, had the makings for a good breakfast - store bought eggs do not compare - raising chickens for eggs is easy - if you live out of town with a bit of property I highly recommend it)

Anyway, as I was making breakfast my youngest daughter came down the stairs looking all cute and sleepy eyed in her (actually mine) flannel nightgown.

I was right just turning to flip the eggs but in a split second decided to go give her a hug and tell her how much I loved "my beautiful girl".

It made me think that when she grows up, she will have some great mommy moments to remember and how precious that is. And all it took was a moment and a concious decision.

Then a few moments later I heard a funky song on the radio that went

"I just want to celebrate another day of living,
I just want to celebrate another day of life.
Yeah, Yeah."

And that reminded me of a thought I was having yesterday about how we should take more time (and some do this naturally, especially our grandparents generation) to honour the people in our lives, bottom line is that the people in our lives are who make our lives what they are and we sorely notice it when they are gone.

When they are gone, or when we are gone, we will never have this opportunity or experience again to be here with them. How rich we are at this very moment.

And that got me thinking of how we are all the same in spirit truly - some good, some bad and somewhere in the middle, nobody is perfect and we all want to love, even if we don't show it.

And for some reason the saying "turn the other cheek" popped into my head and I wondered, maybe Jesus meant not (or only) to turn the other cheek to those who hurt you - not worry or waste time on revenge as it only hurts ourselves in the long run - but to turn the other cheek literally - look the other way to the positive side of your life. In my own life, many times I spend far too much time dwelling on the negative instead of celebrating the so many great things that I have to enjoy. Most of us have plenty to be happy about if we just "turned the other cheek" and looked that way.

I think the greeting Namaste (the spirit in me meets and honours the spirit in you) sums it up very nicely (there are many literal translations)

Namaste and Have a Happy Christmas

Support Work At Home Mom's and Home Biz when Xmas Shopping this year!

Hi

It occurs to me every year that if the work at home market could get a fraction of the department store business, just how much it would mean to them, personally and financially.

But we don't seem to be out there as we could or should be.

So I'd like to provide this opportunity for any of you to list your site under the comments section if you have a work at home business that provides Christmas gift giving solutions.

I need to specify that any links posted here are not personally tested by me, but that is no reason not to check them out for yourself.

Merry Christmas!

Note: If you would like to read my full article on Beating the Christmas Crunch for a lot of Christmas ideas, you can see it in the WHAM Time Tips Archives

Don't forget to use the comments link to add your url and sign up to get other urls sent to your email using the email link or RSS feed.

Honey - Slow as Mollasses!

As a miraculous result of having a clean fridge, I accidently put our jug of honey in there yesterday (it never would have fit before!).

It pours and as a result was very slow coming out of the bottle. I almost gave up when it was about 3/4 of the way out.

Then I thought, if I did that, all of the time I've stood here waiting would have been a waste of time.

Then I had a guilty moment, thinking of all of the projects I have half started, never finished.

The times that I had my house looking great and was at the point that I was going to start painting/decorating etc, but went off my schedule and had to start from 0 again.

Do you do that?

Take a moment to make a list of everything that may fall into this catagory for you.

If you will see big results from finishing it, put it on your project list (more on what to do with your project list later)

If it is something that you have started but will never finish, get rid of it. It is taking up space in your house, on your computer or in your brain and preventing you from having a "blank canvas" to work from.

If it is your daily circuit in keeping your house clean, if you've gotten behind, get back in there pronto! Every day that you fall behind makes the load that much heavier.

Don't rush or over do, just get back to your routine and the rest will take care of itself in short order.

Have a Great Day!
Janice

More on Getting It Done

If you received my newsletter , I had meant to add that I also did a quick clean up of my silverware drawer this morning as it was beyond being functional.

I admit, I was sidetracked while doing it as I had originally been getting something to make breakfast, but it's one of those things!

I found using the small organizing baskets that you can get 3/$1 at the store to be very helpful. I am using them to both divide and store like objects (measuring spoons and mini whisks for instance) and also as a holding spot for a bunch of lids that I need to check to see if I have bottoms for, we often save bottles that we buy to use for water bottles later, especially if they have the fancy lids that you can twist open.

Just wanted to throw that in there, hope it helps!

Clean Out Your Purse in No Time!

My purse had been out of hand for quite some time, it somehow seems to slip by the regular sessions around the house. I had to start digging for my debit card in plenty of time before I checked through the grocery line! Not cool!

Meantime I have regularly been driving to town with my son , he recently got his G1 driver's license which is a whole other story :0)

Anyway, I was sitting in our van waiting for him and it occured to me to just go ahead and do my purse right there and then.

When I was finished I had an unbelievable pile of garbage to take to the house , but my purse is manageable and it took NO TIME out of my day to do it.

The moral of the story? Just Do It Now!

My inspiration? Carole's "Whole Life Make Over" ecourse. She advocates "wearing it away" - getting it done a little at a time. The funny thing is that often I seem to get it done a lot at a time in less time than I think.

A lot of this stuff really is a game we play in our heads. I am becoming convinced that much of the overwhelm in my life is due to me turning molehills into mountains, therefore avoiding them until they are mountains. One reason why the ecourse works so well, she gives it to us in bite sized, doable pieces so that it's easy to get to the top.

A Dream Come True

I dream of getting up extremely early to get an amazing head start on my day.

I dream of waking up to a clean kitchen so that I can start my day with a smile.

I dream of waking up to a clean bathroom so that I can start my day with a sparkle.

I dream of waking up to the washing machine on with a full load of clothes in it.

Guess what?

Today my dream came true.

I was lucky enough to stumble on an ebook called "Secret Confessions of a Neat Freak" and ecourse - "Whole Life Overhaul" by Carole Pagan last week.

To be honest, I haven't even been following the course or read the entire ebook yet. But through skimming I have already found a few gold nuggets that have made a huge change in the way I've been doing things.

It even works beautifully with my BOOST Circuit, making it even easier.

The first nugget is to make having the dishes done/counters wipe a non negotiable every night by bedtime.

That seems to be the general concensus of every "clean freak" I have ever known, and it really does change things. The first few nights I found myself propping my eyelids open to finish up before I went to bed. Guess What? Now I make sure they are done after supper, or at least early evening. It's already becomong a habit.

She also spoke of wiping down the bathroom as well. I thought - no way - dishes at bedtime is enough for me. But Guess What? After I started getting the dishes finished earlier, I had time to give the bathroom a quick wipe. It takes less than 5 minutes. The bathroom looks great. And it gives me another BOOST so that when I am in there during my cleaning time, I can do other things like pick up clutter that seems to collect there.

And, for the first time I tried out the timer feature on my washing machine. If you are lucky enough to have one, I highly recommend it! What a great feeling to get up in the morning to the washer washing and I didn't have to groggily touch a thing!

And it's done in plenty of time to dry if the kids are out of something too.

It kind of makes you WANT to get up in the morning!

If you are tired of buying books that you don't use, check out either one, I recommend both of them.

They are full of practical information, written by a real, live, Clean Freak.

Now we can find out the real, inside secrets to how they do it, which I have personally always wondered about!

And Guess What. It really is as easy as they make it look.

Use The Time Change to Your BIG Advantage

Do you want to know an easy way to get a whole extra hour of quality work time every morning?

Tonight when it is time to set the clock back, leave your alarm clock as it is.

Prepare by finishing your evening chores a little early, maybe allow for a nap tomorrow.

Use that time for your most pressing and results oriented project and watch the results pour in after using this bonus hour for a week.

Try it! You'll like it!

You can read more about in my WAHM Time Tips Ezine

Don't forget to subscribe for even more WAHM Time Tips.

What About Sunday?

In the last post, I mentioned Saturday and how fresh I feel on Mondays - but I didn't mention Sundays. Sunday also has an important place in the "grand scheme of things".

Sunday is for meal planning and kitchen organization - cupboards, fridge etc if they need it. Sometimes is for make ahead mixes, freezer stuff - that kind of thing.

Sunday is my true 'Set Myself Up" for the week day. Saturday is catch up, Sunday is LEAP Ahead day.

This is a true gift when Monday comes along. If I don't do this on the weekend -not only do I feel that there wasn't a weekend - but I often have to spend Monday doing the catch up and then the rest of the week running because I had no LEAP day to keep me ahead of things like meals for the week.

There is nothing like thinking ahead (and doing) to Set Yourself Up for Success! And this is fun and allows you to spend time doing good things for your family, and being a family.

Speaking of, another thing that Sundays are good for are family meetings.

They can go a long way in getting the help you need to do your own thing!

It's Saturday, Another Homey Day

I like to breathe on Saturdays and dedicate the day to puttering around the house. It's the day that I focus on catching up on anything that's gotten out of hand or jobs that I just can't get to through the week.

Not to say that every Saturday is a blank slate, there are still lots of distractions and many times obligations that take much of the day. But in the time that I do have, I don't try to spend time on the computer, pack orders or think about work.

I like to set myself for the week ahead by organizing and spending the day concentrating on the "Home Base" (that seems to be a missing equation in the term "Home Based Business", or home truly is our work base and it needs attention to!)

Do you have a day that you can set aside just to be "homey"? It does wonders for stress relief as well, it's a day that I truly feel "at home". Be in the moment, one moment at a time.

Try it! You'll like the fresh feeling you'll have on Monday!

Strange Euphoria

I ask myself some mornings what is the best way to get motivated to do my daily BOOST Circuit instead of hopping right to the fun stuff at work.

What it comes down to is connecting with the deep feeling of gratitude for everything that I have, and the knowing that if I take care of it, it is even better, by a long shot. Remembering just what I am doing everything else for.

So when the kids go out the door for school, a feeling of deep peace comes over me. Not just because of the obvious!

I look around me and really see everything that I have to be grateful for. I have a home to clean. I have kids to look after. I have lots of things that I enjoy and admire, like a dishwasher (the best investment I have ever made)

I reflect on the fact that this won't always be so. So I want to enjoy it to the fullest today.

And that starts by taking the time to keep it nice.

So I'm off to do my BOOST Circuit - along with an MP3 audio, a timer and a smile. It really does give me a boost for the whole day!

Take a Day To Be a Mom - it's not as easy as it looks!

Upon looking around and feeling stressed because things around the house and some paperwork was getting out of hand, I decided to take the day to "just be a mom".

It took me back to the days when that was "all" I was, the days before my home business took over most of my days and competed relentlessly for my time and attention.

Hectic as they where, I look back on those days as the best of my life, at no time has my life ever been so full of love and adoration, both for my kids... and from my kids. There is no better feeling.

So... Having made the great decision to tie up a few loose ends and spend the rest of the day basking in hominess, enjoying my circuit and getting up to speed on a few things that where lagging, I immediately, before I even had time to write this post, received an email that I had been waiting for.

I deliberated on putting it to the side, but find myself working on it! I can't seem to help myself.

The clock is ticking and I am once again wondering if I am going to get "the day" or not.

Hmmm.... the life of a work at home mom... nothing is cut and dried.

Work/Home, Work/Home, the saga continues :0)

post script: The Good News - The good news is that either way I am having a great day! Hope you are too. The important thing is to do what is important, be it work or home. What's nagging you today? Is there a niggling chore that you have been putting off in favour of checking your email or surfing the web? If so, get to it. You'll feel great! And don't stop there! Use that euphoric feeling to keep you "up" for the next one!

Help Me

This morning the kids are home because the roads are icy. Usually I feed my daughter's puppy in the morning. Since she was home we where looking throught the Regal catalogue for Christmas ideas and I said, when we are finished looking at this, you can help me feed the puppy.

Then it occured to me that it is as easy as that.

Including the kids as a natural step while you are doing something is very powerful. It not only increases your manpower, although while they are young it isn't necessarily faster, it teaches them how so that they will be conditioned and able to do it themselves. And enjoy it, it is a time to spend true quality time. The trick is to do the task with them, they love to have the time and attention from you as well, that in itself will pay dividends in their future, and yours.

This concept is huge. What ever their age, if you are not doing it now, make it a point to "do it with them instead of for them".

Action Tip: Focus and try it this week and see what happens. Write it down on a sticky note and put it where you will see it often to remind yourself.

Easy Car Travel Time Passer for Kids

My husband and I went shopping today and brought along our 9 year old daughter.

I ended up waiting for him for about 1/2 hour outside of the store with my daughter. As luck would have it I had bought a few small dry erase boards for my office (I have lots more to say about that, stay tuned!)

So I pulled one out and started playing an unscramble the word game with her. She loved it so much that we continued all the way home.

It's a great, inexpensive educational toy to keep in your vehicle as long as your kids are old enough not to write on your car (or each other) or eat the marker!

More than one can play at the same time and the number of actual games that can be played are endless. You can purchase coloured dry erase markers with eraser attached as well.

You could get one for each child and keep them really happy!

Just had to share. Dry erase boards are one of my favourite things, now even more so!

I'll have more info on some great things to use your dry erase board for in your office coming up on my newsletter, you can read about it and get free access to the i-Shine membership site too.
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Your Biggest Challenge?

I find that my biggest challenge as a WHAM is to stay focused, there always seems to be something staring me in the face that I need to do, or should do instead of business.

The best way I have found to combat that is to do my BOOST circuit every morning. I often feel that I am wasting good productive work time, but the day is always more pleasant and productive.

What is your biggest WAHM challenge?

More info on the BOOST Circuit can be found at Queen of KAOS.

Welcome

Hi, It's great to be here, hope that you enjoy the resources that I will be putting together for work at home mom's. It's not as easy as it looks! Although some days it's pretty nice!