Monday’s Cute Kid #8
Meet Hayden our newest Monday’s Cute Kid. Five month old Hayden loves applesauce and making funny noises with his tongue. Recently he started eating rice cereal, and he’s learning to pronounce some of his vowel sounds.
A special Thanks to Hayden’s Mom for sending in his photo.
You can have your child featured here as our Monday’s Cute Kid. Just go here for details on Monday’s Cute Kid
*I’d like to remind everyone that Monday’s Cute baby/kid is NOT a contest. It’s just something fun we like to do on Mondays. Our free baby photo contest is here
9 Easy Ways For Moms To Relax
Nine different ways for moms to relax
Mothers tend to unconsciously step into a super hero role, caring for family members and pushing their own needs aside. Research tells us that women’s health depends on laughter, playing, exercising, relaxing and enjoying pleasurable fun times. As mothers, we should take this information seriously and look at how we live our lives.
Guilt often plays a huge role in a mother’s decision-making process. If a mother feels guilty about leaving her child in the care of someone else for an hour while she goes to the gym to exercise, chances are she’ll stop going to the gym.
The truth is, instead of feeling guilty about doing something for ourselves, we should actually make it mandatory to take special time for ourselves on a regular basis. Making time to relax and recharge our batteries will make us better mothers. Replenishing on a regular basis will ensure that we have something to give back to our families.
Here are a few simple and quick ways for mothers to relax at home:
Light a candle. Lavender, vanilla, sandalwood and spearmint are soothing scents to look for when purchasing special candles.
Deep breathe. Inhale deeply through your nostrils then exhale slowly through your mouth. Repeat several times until you begin to feel calm.
Five minutes of quiet time. Retreat to a room alone and close the door behind you. Sit comfortably in a chair, on a bed, or cross-legged on the floor and practice deep-breathing.
Simply taking five minutes to retreat to your own space can provide a calming effect.
Play relaxing music. There are many different kinds of CDs available today with soothing music and sounds. Try a couple of different ones, playing one during the day and one at night to relax you just before bedtime.
Read a book. Escape into a different world with a good book.
Paint with watercolors. Painting is a great way to relax. Watercolors are especially recommended because there is no “right” way to use them. Allow your mind to relax as you move the brush over the paper and paint away your stress.
Go for a 10-minute walk. Nature is extremely relaxing. Put on your walking shoes and enjoy the scenery. Keep your chin up as you walk and remember to breathe deep and take in the scenery around you.
Keep a daily journal. Journaling has long been a way for people to “dump” their problems. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just grab a notebook and start writing. Taking ten or fifteen minutes at the end of the day to write out your thoughts can be helpful in releasing stress.
Use your imagination. Close your eyes and think about some place or thing that makes you feel calm. Hold that picture in your mind as you practice deep breathing. You might also try using imagery to relax while your scented candles burn and soothing music plays in the background.
About the author:The WAHM Ghostwriter creates unique articles for online business owners.
Other Articles & Posts About Ways for Moms To Relax:
Working Moms Hurry Up and Relax at MommyTrack’d
Real Life Solutions Ways To Relax
Mommy Guilt
I actually wrote about this mommy guilt subject on my mom blog some time ago, and wanted to write about it again here as an article. Mommy guilt is something that so many of us moms experience on a daily basis. After writing this and reading some more about mommy guilt, I think I’m finally going beyond that guilty feeling and realizing that to be a better me, a better mom, a better friend, and a better wife I have to have time for me.
Mommy Guilt and How To Let Go
It’s not something that is explained in books or by other seasoned moms. When life is growing inside of you, the “what to expect” series is more often than not by your nightstand and when the baby is born, the “what to expect the first year” is next in line. No where in those books is mommy guilt explained. It’s also not one of those things that other mothers often talk about even though it is in the back of all our minds and it consumes us.
No one tells us it’s ok to feel guilty and no one tells us that we really shouldn’t feel guilty over taking time for ourselves. We find out on our own that we are most likely going to feel guilty over everything we do or don’t do if we don’t think we are doing it right.
Many moms are in constant fear that what they are doing could harm their children in the long run. I am one of those moms who constantly worries what if I said the wrong thing to my children, what if we didn’t spend enough time outside today, or what if I didn’t involve them in enough activities and on and on…
So in the hopes that I will help myself feel better and lift some mommy guilt, I am here to tell you that it’s ok to take time for yourself and not feel guilty about it. We will all be better mothers because of it.
It’s ok to take an hour for yourself and just lie around and watch TV.
It’s ok to have a night out alone with your husband without the kids.
It’s ok to have a night out alone without the husband or the kids (um, seriously). LOL.
It’s ok to splurge on yourself every now and then.
It’s ok if you don’t feel like reading the book for the tenth time or don’t feel like playing the game this time around.
And, the list could go on and on…
I feel like if I am feeling particularly guilty then I am giving more of myself than ever to my kids by overextending myself and by lavishing them with unnecessary gifts. This could possibly do more harm than good to my kids because it isn’t realistic. I feel like I need to do this to get rid of the guilt. If I just take time for me in the first place then this won’t be an issue and everything would be more in balance.
Either way, we all know it is easier said than done but I’m trying to be ok with being me and to take time for me.
Most of all I want my kids to grow up and not need a therapist. Who doesn’t? Even though it sounds weird saying that, it is a valid fear. I want my kids to feel like they can come to me for anything and I want them to really know that I love them with everything inside of me and I would do anything for them.
Do you experience Mommy guilt?
A Back To School Guide With Affordable Product Picks!
It’
s that time again..time for kids to go back to school or settle into a new home school routine. Either way, we all have to buy products for back to school. And we have put together a great back to school guide for you over at A Mom’s Review -Stuff We Like for Moms
Back To School Dinner Plans For Busy Moms
Dinner Planning for School Days…
Another summer has quickly passed us by. The kids have reluctantly gone back to school. It stands to reason that life should be a little less hectic, right? Unfortunately, that’s usually not the case. Between all of your daily ‘Mom obligations’, helping with homework and providing transportation to every extra-curricular activity under the sun, you probably have little time to devote to dinner planning.
Many times busy parents resort to hot dogs and macaroni and cheese, frozen pizza or frequent trips to a fast-food restaurant. That’s not healthy for you or the kids – not to mention its pretty rough on the family grocery budget.
Kitchen time savers
There are things you can do to cut down on time spent in the kitchen. Pick one day a week and prepare several freezer friendly meals. You can even go the extra mile and package them in individual serving size containers. Doing so will provide your family with a larger variety of entrée choices, on any given day.
Do you have friends that are intrigued with the idea of a one-day a week cooking spree or a meal planning service? Get together with 2 or 3 of them. Each of you decides on 2 main dishes you want to prepare. Buy enough ingredients to make the entrees for each family.
You need to plan ahead
One simple thing that you can do is keep an ample supply of fresh fruits, salad ingredients, soups and fresh sandwich fixings, on hand. Quick meals such as this are nutritious and don’t require a great deal of preparation time.
If you take on the task of meal planning and want to get in the habit of consistently putting together weekly menus yourself, you may be surprised at how much time it involves. Did you know that the typical family meal planner spends roughly 3 hours per week combing through cookbooks, choosing recipes and compiling a grocery list? That translates into 156 hours, per year. Yikes!
A menu service can help
You can say goodbye to last minute thrown together meals and eliminate the stress of dinner planning for your family by subscribing to a meal planning service. This type of service is very affordable, usually costing only a few cents per day. Menus are often designed to be family friendly and easily adaptable.
When you purchase a subscription to a service such as this, your membership will typically feature a weekly menu emailed right to your inbox. This includes seven main dish recipes, side dish suggestions and dessert ideas. As an added benefit, you receive a detailed shopping list, categorized by aisle, which makes your trip to the grocery store that much easier. Simply cross off items already in your pantry, add any other products you may be in need of and you’re off!
If you enjoy planning your own menu, you may want to consider a dinner planning service, in addition to your own choices. Why? It will still save you time, in the long run. Use the membership menu as a base. Then, search for recipes that will deliciously compliment that weekly plan.
Remember, nothing is more important than family time. Don’t let dinner planning get you down. Consider the suggestions we’ve made and you’ll spend less time slaving over hot stove and more time with the people you love.
For a free weekly trial of a family friendly menu planning service, visit Dine Without Whine - A Family Friendly Weeky Menu Planner
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