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The
Editor's Desk - From Beneath the Clutter
Feature Article - Keep your kids busy on wintery days
Guest Article - The Competition Bug: a Mom's Sickness
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How is the weather treating you? We're finally getting some rain here, which is almost a treat. Depending on the part of the country you're in, however, I'm sure you're just about sick of the snow and cold.
Have you thought about taking a vacation? If your children are not in school, this is a great time for one, because hotel rates are down. They have more rooms available at this time of year for popular destinations than they do much of the rest of the year, so if you can go, now is the time!
I wish I could go somewhere, but I just got a new client for my website design business. He designs the most incredible cat furniture - too beautiful to be called just a scratching post. He makes them look like trees, a cactus or a pueblo, as well as other styles, and his work has even been in museums. I can hardly wait to get started!
Don't forget, you can contribute your articles or tips anytime for consideration. Just use the contact form.
"Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow nor gloom of night can stay these swift couriers from.," well, they don't have to cope with bored kids on rainy days underfoot. As a parent at home, you do.
Whether you're snowbound or just watching the rain pour down, it's hard to have children stuck inside the house. It seems like no time at all before they're bored with the usual games, drawing, whatever they normally do inside, and you just don't feel like dumping them in front of the TV again. It's time to pull a few tricks out of the hat.
For younger children, it's time to pull out toys they only rarely get to play with. Getting anything done around a toddler in the best of weather can be challenging, so you should have special toys available no matter the time of year. Make sure most of these are things which require minimal supervision, so you can get things done while they play.
As children get older, you have a greater range of options, and they need less direct supervision. They might enjoy the games or crafts at http://www.bubbles.org/ , http://www.paperplane.org/ or, for those interested in science (some supervision required) http://www.scitoys.com/ .
Do you have blank t-shirts and fabric paint or dye available? If you have time to keep half an eye on your kids, why not let them paint or tie-dye their t-shirts? This won't work with younger children who need more direct supervision, but if they're old enough you can turn your back for a few minutes while they're painting and not come back to a mess, it's a fun option.
If crafts and activities aren't working, why not make some rules for indoor hide and seek? Obviously, you can't have kids running wildly around the house, so modify the rules to outlaw running (make time to enforce this one) and make sure that any place you don't want kids is out of bounds. This was one of my favorite games as a kid.
Still can't get any peace and quiet to get things done? If the roads are clear in your area, it might just be time to forget what work isn't urgent, and run out to play, go to the library, just to burn off that extra energy your children have been building up while cooped up in the house. Isn't having fun with your children a big part of what being a stay at home parent is all about?
Stephanie Foster is the owner of Home with the Kids, a resource that knows that there's more to staying home with your family than just business. From money saving tips to parenting and marriage tips, to work at home jobs and businesses, you can get information and support here. You can visit the site at http://www.homewiththekids.com.
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Ah, the thrill of competition. Men in little shorts and big shoes dribbling a ball; beautiful women in flowing gowns vying for that crown; babies in diapers cutting their first teeth...huh?
We all know that men can be competitive to the point of being ridiculous, but they've got nothing on us mothers when it comes to our babies and their development. What is it in us that makes us wish failure upon even our best friends' children if it will make our own children look a little better?
Are you a new mom or a mom with a new baby? Have you found yourself fighting off these feelings of competitiveness yet? Don't worry...you will! The first time another mother tells you about her baby cutting a tooth, sitting up, or magically forming the shape of the state of Texas on the floor with his own drool, you'll feel it, too.
This competitive thing is a surprisingly common, though slightly troubling phenomenon in the mothering community. It often causes strange and disturbing behavior in otherwise sane and rational moms. If you've found yourself doing any of the following, you may be coming down with the dreaded "competition bug."
* When your neighbor tells you that her little girl just had her check-up today and is in the 99th percentile for weight, you are actually jealous. We moms have this weird tendency to brag about our babies' weight...the fatter the better!
* When you go to playgroup, the grocery store, or to church, you spend hours picking out the perfect outfit for your child. This is because there are bound to be other babies out and about and you want yours to be the cutest AND best-dressed.
* You're talking to your friend on the phone and she's giving you the play-by-play as her baby is trying to stand up for the first time ever. You're secretly wishing he would fail miserably and fall flat on his padded little bottom. After all, YOUR baby isn't even crawling yet! Through clenched teeth you manage to eek out an, "Oh, that's so great!" You politely tell her you have to hang up. You then race through the house, find your poor, unsuspecting baby, and spend the next two hours forcing, uh, teaching him to stand (unsuccessfully).
* If, by some miracle, you DO come across a baby that's cuter than yours, you can always find something wrong with him/her: ugly clothes, ugly smell, ugly parents. You get the idea.
* You are able to compliment other people's children, but it makes your stomach hurt.
If you have experienced any of the above symptoms, do not panic. This only means that you are a normal, caring parent who loves her child with an intensity matched only by the noon-day sun in July. The good news is that babies are completely oblivious to these unrealistic pressures that we place on them. The bad news is that the competition bug is a chronic ailment with which we plague our children for a lifetime. That is, of course, until the grandchildren come along and we evolve into the only creature that is more competitive (and annoying) than a doting mom: a proud grandparent. May the best baby - or grand-baby - win!
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By Jacey Reynolds, mother of two and author of the popular eBook which teaches a simple method for helping your baby to sleep through the night. Her baby sleep program comes with a money back guarantee and unlimited email support from her! Visit www.yourhappypbaby.123ts.com for info.
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