The Search for Solitude

Like most moms of busy families, solitude is pretty hard to come by around my house. Even though my kids technically have “two homes” and they spend time at both mom’s and dad’s house, and as teenagers, they have reasonably busy lives, it is a rare day or night that I don’t have at least one other body in my house. Often, even if only one of my kids is “in the house,” they’ve got a friend or two over as well. So, solitude…let’s just say my life is an underlying search for a little solitude. I do count my … Continue reading →

Feeling Out of Balance–Make a Chart

Remember drawing pie charts in school? It starts with a big round circle that represents the whole of something, then you divide the whole up into sections that represent the “pieces” of the whole. I’ve found that when my life is feeling really crazy and out of balance, sketching out a pie chart of how things stand can help me to see what is out of whack and where there’s room to level things out. I assign pieces of the pie in proportion to how it feels they are actually functioning in my life–by size and percentage. For me, the … Continue reading →

Sleep When The Baby Sleeps

When I was a new mom I received a lot of parenting advice. One piece of advice that I received over and over again was, “sleep when the baby sleeps.” Unfortunately, I didn’t heed this sage advice and ran myself ragged most days. Instead of sleeping while Tyler slept I used a lot of that time to do household chores and to work on getting more writing assignments or finishing up assignments that I had. When I finally decided that perhaps it was time for me to start sleeping when he slept it was too late. His sleeping pattern was … Continue reading →

The Three R’s of Parenting

We’re all familiar with the three R’s as it relates to learning- reading, ’riting and ’arithmetic. But have you heard about the three R’s for parents? Dr. Rachel Bryant, a licensed psychologist, has identified three R’s that she says are the foundation for successful parenting. They are: rest, reflect and refuel. Rest In order for parents to function at their best they must not shortchange themselves when it comes to getting enough sleep. Most of us get far fewer than the recommended eight hours of sleep a night. I know personally I average about 5 hours most nights. I rationalize … Continue reading →

Going To Bed Happy

You’ve likely heard the old adage that couples shouldn’t go to bed angry, or in the midst of a dispute—but, as a single parent, I like to take it a step further. How about going to bed happy? When my kids were little, I used to ask them to tell me the best things that had happened to them during the day as I was tucking them in at night. I hoped that by focusing on the good, happy, pleasant thoughts as they drifted off to sleep they would be more likely to have pleasant dreams and climb out of … Continue reading →

Consulting the Dream Book

For several years, we have had a family “Dream Book”–it has become a worn, oft-consulted manual with soft, slack binding. I’m certain I picked it up off one of the clearance stacks at a book store and brought it home to add to our already overflowing shelves of books. I thought it might be a fun book to have around. For once, I was right. Consulting the book of dream symbols has become a common activity and a great conversation starter–even on those grumpy, hormonal and stressed mornings that occur far too often around here. As a family who likes … Continue reading →

Age Appropriate Kids Board Games

In a previous blog I talked about the Million Family Challenge and its goal of encouraging families to play board games together. Tyler and I signed up for the challenge and have had fun playing games and logging our minutes. Although we play games all the time, I’ve had to find new games to keep things interesting. One of the biggest challenges when selecting games is choosing the right game for your child’s age. In the February/March 2005 issue of Scholastic Parent and Child, some of the guesswork has been done for you. They offer a list of some of … Continue reading →

Girls Night

In a previous blog I wrote about how moms can stay connected to their girlfriends by having a movie-themed girls night in. The October 2006 issue of Parenting offers additional girls night ideas. One idea is to have a wine tasting party. The hostess decides on the type of wine and then everyone brings a bottle. Each girlfriend also brings along cheese and crackers. A clothing swap is another great idea, providing you and your girlfriends have the same taste in clothes and wear about the same size. Everyone should bring a bag of clothes (in good condition) that they … Continue reading →

5-Minute Retreats Finale

This is the last installment of the 5-Minute Retreats. I hope you have enjoyed them and most importantly that you are using the tips. If you can get the book, please do so, because it is chock-full of many more tips and general inspiration for moms. In the meantime, the next time you need a retreat try one of these great ideas: Take a short break from counting calories, grams of fat and carbohydrates and delight in comfort foods, just do so in moderation. Do something out of character— sign up for a line dancing, woodworking or other class, for … Continue reading →

More 5-Minute Retreats

It’s time for more 5-Minute Retreats. Today’s first retreat is to do nothing. I know you’re thinking that you’re too busy to do nothing. As mothers we always have something that needs doing—- a load of laundry, clothes that need mending, grocery shopping— the list goes on and on. But we should not push ourselves to the point of exhaustion. The author offers several times when we can take a break and do nothing. It does not have to be a long period of time either. Examples include: when the baby is napping, right before the kids come home from … Continue reading →