Work at Home Moms Articles – WAHM Articles

Depending on where you live, your kids are on summer vacation. For about two months your kids will be home with you and you may be happy or freakin’ out over it. Don’t worry. Just go with the flow. I’m kidding, well, not really because I’m the type of person to play it by ear, but I understand too it doesn’t work well for others.

The key to success in any given situation is to plan. Plan your child’s summer vacation.

You know your kids best. If your kids like structure and like routine, then keep that routine going throughout summer vacation. Of course, you can give leeway like bedtime at 10:00 instead of 9:00; lunch time doesn’t have to be at noon, but make sure they do have a healthy lunch break. Going with a routine will help younger kids know what’s coming up next.

You can adjust their schedules to incorporate a variety of activities each day or week. You can use a whiteboard or spreadsheet where they can check off the tasks or activities they have completed. If there is a specific job you want them to do, pencil it in the mornings where they are more likely to be motivated to do it. Include down time tasks each day such as reading and writing. Sticking to a routine will make life much easier when it’s time to get ready for back to school.

A side note: When you’re planning their schedules, as a work at home Mom, you have to modify your work schedule too. It’s common for Moms with younger kids, to get up several hours earlier when their kids are still asleep to sneak in some productive time. Find what works for you and plan accordingly. This way you don’t feel like you’ve wasted hours being unproductive.

To get your kids off the couch or get them to unplug from social media and the Internet, get them outside. You can’t tell me texting their friends is more fun than meeting up with friends, right? For younger kids, play dates at the park, at your house or at a friend’s house.

Summer vacation is a time for parents and their kids to reconnect and continue to build strong family bonds. Don’t wait to plan and spend quality time with your kids. Do it now because your work and your business can wait, but you can’t stop your kids from growing up too fast.

Sophia McIntyre is a Freelance Writer, Ghostwriter, Internet Marketer, and founder of WorkAtHomeSpace.com a free resource focusing on work at home jobs, home businesses, ghostwriting services, money making opportunities, and more.

Spring is a time of renewal, and for many of us, a time for cleaning and organizing our homes. The melting of winter into spring is a great time to bring order to your abode after the inevitable chaos the hibernation season brings. But spring cleaning can be a daunting task, particularly if you tackle it alone. Simplify and speed your organizing day by enlisting your family to help. Don’t think your kids will participate? Make it a fun event and you’ll have volunteers you will enjoy spending the day with.

Like many organizing activities the key to success is to plan ahead. Pick a date you can dedicate the whole day to both the work and fun. Make certain you have the supplies you need, including handy snacks and drinks. Work in teams of 2 or 3 and then switch halfway through the day. Don’t forget to choose some up-tempo music to keep the energy levels up, and make certain each member of the family enjoys listening to their favourite CD during the day.

Most kids have four basic possessions – clothing, toys, books and school related papers. These items are forever changing and accumulating. The change of season is a great opportunity to sort through the excess taking up valuable space in your home. To keep your kids interest in check during your spring organizing day, give one or two of the following ideas a try.

Let’s begin with making room in the closets. Tell the kids you’re having a fashion show and let them try on all of their clothes (no, not all at once!). What doesn’t fit gets handed down to a sibling or packed into a box for donation. Sort what does fit into outfits and stack in drawers. Have your child make a list of new clothing needs for the next shopping excursion.

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My life has been busy with raising a teen, writing and more writing. I feel blessed to be able to work at home and I can’t think of myself being anywhere else. Sometimes life just gets in the way and other priorities get pushed to the back burner. I know that’s okay because life and family take precedence over my work life.

I have to admit it’s hard raising a teen. I’m grateful I have a teen that is mature for her age and more mature than her peers. It has always been that way since she was just a wee one, but like any normal teen, she has her thing…mornings aren’t really her thing nor is breakfast (sometimes) or going to bed at a certain time or cleaning up her room. Yeah, typical teen things. I’m grateful. She’s a great kid and an honour roll student.

We have a good relationship; we communicate and she tells me a lot of things about school, course planning, friends and boys. All those boys! She has a good head on her shoulders, she’s intelligent and she makes good life choices.

As a Mom, I feel for other kids. They blaze, cut themselves, skip school, get poor grades, hang with the wrong people and get bullied online. They lack self-esteem and confidence and have tons of insecurities. Where are the parents? I know they are both working because they have to. It’s not easy to live on one income in my area. I’m not preaching to anyone on how to raise their kids especially teens, but parents have to be involved in their kids lives. They have to lay down boundaries of what is acceptable and what is not and there has to be consequences if those expectations aren’t met. They have to help boost their kids’ self-esteem and confidence levels. They need to be loved and supported in these difficult years of being a teenager. Forget YOLO (You Only Live Once) and swag right now because that can come later. Getting your kid to understand that is another thing, but when you give them guidance, you’ll get better results than telling them what to do.

Encourage your kids to get involved in school sports or clubs where they will find like-minded peers who are striving for the same goals. Being good at something and getting compliments from it will help your kids gain confidence and self-worth.

A parent’s job is never done. My lap is too small for my daughter now, but my heart is always big enough to wrap around her while she still has room to breathe.

Sophia McIntyre is offering two free eBooks on raising teens titled “Raising Teens: Dealing with Bumps in the Road” and “Talking the Talk: Communicating with your Teens”. You can grab them both on her website at www.workathomespace.com/ebooks.php.

If you are expecting a new baby or if you are already a parent, it is extremely important that you take time out of your busy schedule to childproof your home. When it comes to purchasing safety items to make your home child-safe, most parents just think about outlet covers, cabinet and drawer locks. However, there is a lot more that you need to be doing!

Before I get started with giving you my checklist of items that you will need, I first want to remind you to invest in a good infant and child first aid kit and a few up-to-date fire extinguishers. It is always better to prepare ahead of time for an emergency than to have an emergency you are not prepared for.

Childproofing Items Every Home Should Have

Door Alarms – These are great for all doors leading to the outside and for doors that lead to a flight of stairs such as your basement entry door.

Window Guards – These will help to prevent accidental falls out of the windows. All windows that children have access to should have window guards and/or alarms on them.

Safety Gates – You should use safety gates to prevent falls from stairs or to block off entryways to rooms that you don’t want your children to wander in to. When it comes to purchasing a gate, always look for updated new models so that you avoid outdated or possibly recalled baby gates.

Toilet Locks – These are pretty inexpensive and can be found in most department stores. You will want to place one on each toilet in your home to prevent accidental drowning’s or expensive plumbing costs should your child try flushing something they shouldn’t!

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It is so easy to get in a rut within your marriage. You have kids, work, church, health issues, money, (and the lack of) other family member drama and the list goes on and on. You are dog tired when you get home. Most times you don’t even want to be bothered.

I have seen far too often how two people living under the same roof can go separate ways while still living together. They have grown apart because they’re never together. They don’t like each other anymore and can’t wait to be apart.

Don’t let this happen to you.

It’s great that you love one another but do you like him or her? I like my husband. If we were not married he’d be someone I could hang out with because when we’re together we have a lot of fun. We laugh and we do that often.

Take a break from your day to day routine and rediscover what you like about each other. What made you fall in love with him or her? What do the both of you enjoy doing together? Once you find that out, DO IT!!

You won’t like everything they like but the things you do enjoy make it a habit of doing it together (without the kids).

My husband always reminds me that our kids are going to be gone one day. When they do leave we must be able to enjoy one another.

Write down 3 things the both of you enjoy doing. Now implement those things monthly or weekly in your marriage. The love you have for your spouse will increase and you’ll look forward to the dedicated “fun” times with each other.

Motivational Speaker, Minister, Workshop Leader, Radio Host, and Author, Nicole Cleveland lives her life on purpose. Her mission is to ensure that women are not suffering in silence, as she once was. People are on the verge of giving up all over this world. They are waiting for someone to stand up and say, “I have been where you are … but this is how I made it.” Visit her online at www.nicoleconline.com. She is also the founder of www.breatheagainmagazine.org.

Being a work-at-home-mom (WAHM) is a tough job. You have so many responsibilities, so many different roles, and only so many hours during the day. It can be difficult to fit in all that needs to be done, let alone have any time left for relaxation or simply breathing. The trick to finding time for yourself is to create mini-moments for mommy. These moments will lift your spirits and lighten your load. Try some of the ideas below to create your own moments of relaxation.

Cheerful Chocolate
It is rare to find a woman who does not like some sort of chocolate. The key to creating a mini-moment for mommy is to always have that type of chocolate on hand. Keep it hidden in a high cabinet or on the top shelf of the refrigerator where small hands cannot reach it. When you need a moment to recharge and calm down, sneak off to the kitchen and have a small bite of chocolate. Even if you are on a diet and concerned with healthy eating, a small piece of dark chocolate can make a huge difference in your mood. Beside, dark chocolate is good for you! If chocolate is not your thing, use whatever works for you.

Bathroom Breaks
One of those secrets that moms do not let out very often is that we sometimes hide in the bathroom. If you are having a rough day or just need a breather, escape to the bathroom for two or three minutes to recharge. Wash your face, brush your hair or just sit and breathe. It may not be a fancy spa, but when you are a busy WAHM, those tiny escapes, even to the bathroom by yourself, feel luxurious. Keep a new magazine and a pretty scented candle in the bathroom, so that you can take advantage of them when you have a few extra moments of quiet.

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When you have a child with an IEP it can be a struggle. Everyday can be a struggle depending on what type of problems your child has and the reason for the IEP. Without it your child might fail, but if not used properly he may fail. Now in my opinion, failure isn’t an option which is the main reason I work so hard with my son and his school. I don’t want to see him fail because it’s heart breaking to both him and me.

I could go into detail as to why I have come to the conclusion IEP’s are important and work well, but only if you, as the parent control them. I could go into detail and tell you why my son’s 4th and 5th grade years were a waste and how that put him behind when he went to middle school, but I won’t do that because all it does it make me angry to think about it. What I want to do with this post is to help you to understand why you need to be involved and how to make it happen. When you do this, it may be hard for your child’s school to grasp at first, but you must put your foot down in order for them to know you’re series.

The first thing you must do is make sure that you attend the meeting and you have a complete understanding of what the goals are for your child. You need to make sure you ask if you don’t understand something and if they don’t go into detail about how they plan to achieve the goals, you need to ask them to clarify what they mean and how they’re going to achieve it. When you understand how things will work you’ll be able to help your child reach those goals.

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For Mothers of Infants

Thank you Lord,
For my baby’s sweet smile,
It fills my heart with joy.

Thank you Lord,
For her tiny fingers,
They warm my heart with love.

Thank you Lord,
For my babies cries,
That I might fill their every need.

Thank you Lord,
For being with me,
All night, as well as through the day.

For helping me,
To be the mom,
You both have faith in me to be.

.Amen
————————————————————————–

For Mothers of Toddlers

Help me Lord to lend a hand,
That guides my baby’s way.
That each new word and each new step,
Will enrich my baby’s day.

Help me Lord to teach my son,
Right from wrong your way.
With a loving voice and gentle hand,
That will encourage his every day.

Help me Lord to share your name,
With him every night and day.
So he will know your love from the start,
And grow closer to you every day.

Amen

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We are all busy, but parents with children that are in extracurricular activities may be even busier than the people that don’t have that. We seem to be running all the time. If we’re not running one child to an event we’re running the other one.

My boys are very busy with sports and school functions. We barely have time to eat together as a family. So we must plan carefully so the family meals are able to happen. There are several ways to make this work, but you must have the right supplies and you must be willing to work to make it happen.

My two parenting tips for this work center around family meals.

1. Preparing your meals in advance

There are two ways to make this step happen. One thing you can do is plan your meals for the week. Sit down and decide what you’re going to have and then prepare a grocery list that contains everything you’ll need to make those meals. When you have everything you need you won’t have to make trips to the grocery store and you won’t have to order out.

The other option is to use freezer cooking. Freezer cooking gives you the ability to make meals quickly and easily. You take the time each weekend or one day a week and you cook everything you’ll need for your meals. Once that’s done everything goes in the freezer. Each day you pull the meals and you’re ready to eat in a short about of time.

2. Crockpot Meals

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Growing up, my mom was one of my best friends. The best part about this was she was the only person I knew, the only friend I had that I knew I could count on, that I knew when I told her something in secret it wouldn’t go any further. My secrets were always safe with her.

Do you have an open door policy? Are you ears open to your daughter, to her thoughts, feelings, worries and cares that she needs to share with someone? Then, when she shares are your lips sealed? Where she knows she can trust you with her fears?

Knowing I could trust someone with my secrets and fears was comforting. It is important that we provide a comfortable place for our daughters, a safe place to come to, which will strengthen your relationship and provide a special bond for you that can last a lifetime.

Giving her this safety net with help her in other ares of her life as well, boosting her confidence, self-esteem and arming her with the tools she needs to face the world, because she knows you’ve got her back. This does not mean she will never disappoint you, that’s why it’s important to keep the same policy even when the news she shares isn’t exactly what you as a mom want to hear. That is when it is even more important that you are there for her to listen when she shares.

We must remember how it felt to be a young person, the roller coaster ride that life can be and then provide a place for our daughters that is a little less scary and more secure. Otherwise she will find someone to talk to, and unfortunately that person may not be a person that she can trust nor one that you would want her to go to to obtain the advice and guidance that she is so desperately seeking.

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