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Save Time, Save Money & Save Your Sanity! www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com October 3, 2008 Volume 2 Issue 6 http://www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com In This Issue * Want Good Kids? Eat Dinner Together! * Homemaking is Not About Perfection * Just for Fun * Important Info. "There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it." Chinese Proverb ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Happy Friday! With so much depressing information in the news I decided to included articles on topics that were more positive, uplifting and more importantly don't cost any money. My first article is about how to help raise good kids. Well at least try! We all know kids have a mind and personality of their own, and there is just so much you can do for them. The rest they have to do for themselves. This article might also help you save some money by eating at home more often. Do you strive to be everything to everyone in your life? Does your home need to be spotless all the time? The second articles shows how you don't need to be everything to everyone. Homemaking isn't about being perfect - especially when the kids are young. There will be plenty of time to clean when the kids are older and have moved out. Enjoy the time you have with them now and don't sweat the small stuff. Enjoy the articles and have a wonderful weekend! Kim ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Featured Sponsors Don't Think You Have TIME for Coupons? Learn How I Saved $18,000 Using Them Wisely! Get 101 tips to help you save at the store including where to find them and when NOT to use them. All for only $12.95 Order now and get bonus ebooks free. http://shavattk.brpublish.hop.clickbank.net/ Living on a Dime ebook series. Incredible ebooks that give real life examples on how to live frugally. Dining On A Dime Cookbook: Eat Better, Spend Less!, Penny Pinchin' Mama: 500 ways I lived on $500 a month, and Dig Out of Debt: Over 1000 of the Best Ideas From LivingOnADime.com which I have personally read and highly recommend! http://shavattk.livingonad.hop.clickbank.net/ To Advertise Here visit www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Want Good Kids? Eat Dinner Together! Most American families are coping with long workdays, after-school activities, and an otherwise extremely hectic schedule. All too often, family meals are the first thing to get squeezed out of the schedule. Just one or two generations ago, it was the norm to see family members sit together, bow their heads in prayer, say "please" and "thank you", and ask about the day each family member has had. But now, the family dinner is more out of Norman Rockwell than in American reality. If you want to raise well adjusted, caring, and achievement oriented children, bringing back the family meal is imperative. The Bureau of Labor statistics reports that the average American family spends more than $2000 per year on dinners away from home, with 10 percent of those dinners coming from McDonalds. More than half of the dinners eaten by overweight American children are consumed in front of the television. But meals eaten with family consist about 50% more fruits and vegetables than meals consumed alone. Family meals are three times more likely to include low-fat choices and that 40 percent less soda is consumed at family meals. Eating dinner as a family instills the importance of good nutrition for our children. A Harvard University study of 16,000 nine-year olds found that those who ate dinner with their parents regularly are more likely to have higher intakes of essential nutrients and vitamins. A parent who commits to a healthy diet will encourage their children to recognize the importance of good nutrition. Mealtime is also an excellent time to teach your children proper behavior as well as good nutrition. Sitting down for a family meal is a symbol of love, connections, and communications. Family meals reflect involved parents, who want the opportunity both to talk and to listen to what their kids have to say. Mealtimes can provide quality time for the whole household, fostering family unity and trust, and providing a setting for moral and intellectual discussions that reflect family values. Chatting around the dinner table encourages children to talk to their parents about sensitive issues. This is also a great time to reinforce family traditions and cultural heritage. Family meals may actually enhance the well-being of teens. A study reported in the 2003 Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that adolescents who frequently sat down to family meals had better grades, less depression, and were less likely to drink alcohol, smoke, or use marijuana than kids who ate with their families less than twice a week. Picking up take-out, ordering pizza. or going out to eat still counts as a family meal. Even when you don't cook at home, take uninterrupted time to eat and enjoy one another's company. Families that eat together more than likely stay strong and well balanced together. I realize that our crazy, commute fueled, long work hours lifestyle makes it quite hard to find the strength and energy to sit down and have a formal meal together. Start slowly, and build up to a number that works with everyone's schedule. Your children will thank you for it (probably later, much later)! ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Allen Wheeler. I am the editor of a website devoted to all aspects of food and the creation of great food. You can find real recipes by real people, articles, cooking terms, and numerous other food related topics by directing yourself to my website, www.FoodCreate.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Allen_Wheeler http://EzineArticles.com/?Want-Good-Kids?-Eat-Dinner-Together!&id=1417158 ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Homemaking is Not About Perfection Homemaking is not about perfection. Homemaking is a calling, a blessing and an art. Raising a family and taking care of your home is NOT easy! Be kind to yourself. The Home Remember that the home is also where you "live". Things are constantly changing. Things are being used. People sleep, eat and breathe at home. Most family members are home more than they are outside of it as a general rule. Your family enjoys life in the home. To do this, they must use the bathrooms, the kitchens, the bedrooms and relax and play in the living areas. They are living their lives in the home, and just daily living can cause frequent messes. Patience and hard work are what are required to keep a home in order. However, this is not just your job as homemaker or your only job. Your job as homemaker is also to teach, train and delegate. Family The homemaker with a family is not the only one living in the home. You share your home with your spouse, and/or your family, pets, as well as friends and visitors who visit. Everyone who lives in your home should be required to do their share. Even toddlers can help clean a room or dust furniture while wearing socks on their hands. Be creative! Don't be a workhorse, but have them do their fair share. A good rule of thumb when it comes to chores for children is that they should do as many main jobs as their age. So, if your child is 6, your child should have 6 things to do around the house. Don't make all of them major- only 2. My rule is 2 major chores and other small ones to add to the child's age. Major chores can include: dishes, folding a load of laundry, putting away folded laundry, vacuuming or sweeping...you get the idea. The smaller chores can include things such as: set the table, clean a window, water the front garden, pull 20 weeds, and wipe down a sink. Remember that children need patience and reminders. NEVER redo a chore that your child has done. If it is done satisfactory then leave it alone. If it is done in a sloppy and unacceptable manner then they need to redo their work and then have it re-inspected. In my home, if they have to redo it more than once then another chore is added. This encourages them to get it done the right way the first time. Relax There is a difference between a NASTY dirty house and a lived in, sometimes cluttered home. To be honest, some of the most comfortable homes and enjoyable to be in are the ones that are NOT perfect. This includes small messes such as: toys left out from a day of play, or even laundry piled on the couch. People have to live; people have many things going on in their lives. Homes should not be like this on a regular basis and attempts should be made to clean up. Everyone has a bad week and sometimes you just can't do everything. RELAX and give yourself a break. Be conscious about the fact that you are not perfect and everything does not have to be perfect! You have to live in your home. You don't have to live in filth, but getting behind is acceptable and forgivable. When it comes to doing your house cleaning and you get behind and overwhelmed, remember 70% done is better than doing nothing! I have been a geographically single mother many times over the years while my husband provides for the family as a US Soldier. With seven young children, I have been overworked, over-stressed, and at times have had a generally difficult time keeping up. I have adopted the motto: 70% is better than nothing. When it comes to things my kids have done or not done, or things that I cannot do perfectly, I remind myself of this motto often. One day, I had a friend come over to the house while I was mopping the floor. I was stressing about my house being messy and the floor being so sticky and dirty. I had swept the floor that morning with the intention of mopping right afterwards, but many interruptions kept it from getting done. Situations like running errands, taking care of children, etc. Later in the afternoon, when all the chaos died down, I was able to get back to finishing the floor. I looked the floor over. It could have used a little more sweeping, but I just needed to get it mopped at this point so I could cook dinner and start the bedtime routine for the kids. As I mopped, I was beating myself up for the half done job. I had to keep reminding myself that 70% is better than nothing. It was at this point that my friend came over to visit. This friend watched me mop and push around a few crumbs here and there. I realized this person was probably wondering what was wrong with me and why I didn't just stop and do it perfectly. Without my friend saying a word, I explained my motto. This friend then said, "I was wondering what you were doing, because you didn't even sweep before you mopped!" I knew I had swept earlier, but that wasn't important to me at that time. I knew what was important at the time and that was just to remove the stickiness from the floor. Strive to do your best, but if it just isn't feasible at the moment, then do the best you can with the time and energy that you do have. Ask for help, if you need it. Go out for a walk to clear your mind and you might find that it will help you feel more energetic and ready to work, or go to sleep and know that tomorrow is the day to start over. Homemakers have more responsibility than most people give them credit for. The home must be swept and clean, but do not become a slave to your home. As Margaret Mitchell's protagonist Scarlett O'Hara said, "I'll think of it tomorrow.... I can stand it then. After all, tomorrow is another day." ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shiloah Baker is a homeschooling mother of seven living in North Carolina. She is the owner of a large homemaking website/business. Join us at The Homemaking Cottage Deluxe Edition for 817 ways to improve your home and family! http://www.Homemaking-Cottage.com/login.htm And don't forget to join our ezine for free ideas. http://www.Homemaking-Cottage.com/newsletter.htm Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shiloah_Baker http://EzineArticles.com/?Homemaking-is-Not-About-Perfection&id=1160289 ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Just For Fun Word for Word Necklace Cut out words from your favorite magazines, newspapers, etc. Create a really neat necklace using words that excite and inspire you. This is a perfect project to do with your kids or get creative using scrap booking techniques. Do your kids love the Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana, or High School Musical - make a theme necklace. Great for birthday party favors or just for fun. http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=10426 Tips for Success Start planning now for Christmas. Start thinking of what you will buy for each person on your list. This will give you time to find a gift that's special and that fits your budget. Also, it gives you more time to come up with the money. Great Site http://www.VoteHelp.org/ is a wonderful site for those of you who haven't decided who you are going to vote for. With the presidential elections quickly approaching, this site provides a survey that will help match your concerns and ideals with those of the two candidates. It is nonpartisan site - meaning they don�t favor one candidate over another. They just want you to get out and vote in November. What's Ahead More articles, printables and generally more little changes to the site. Next newsletter will be out November 7, 2008. Important Information Please feel free to forward this issue in it's entirety to friends and associates. Anyone can subscribe for free: To contact us: Kimberly Shavatt HelpingMomsAtHome HelpingMomsAtHome@hotmail.com 449 Maryland Avenue Pasadena, MD 21122 To subscribe, change your information or unsubscribe please complete the form below or visit www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com To advertise in this newsletter visit http://www.HelpingMomsAtHome.com/advertising.html |
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