We are taking a coffee break today (ha ha ha) with my friends over at Happy Wives Club!
Grab a cup of your favorite brew, and check out my article 3 Ways to Love Your Man When You Don’t Have 3 Minutes to Spare.
Tomorrow we’ll get back to our Coffee Series.
In the meantime, what are your favorite ways to show your man you love him in the midst of crazy times?
Hi Friends,
I recently received the message below from a reader and I thought as a community we could offer some constructive ideas on how to teach our children help out around the house.
I am greatly struggling with chores and responsibility with my 3 kids.
My 3 year old son is hot and cold with behavior and attitude so one never knows if he will help or fight.
My 6 year old daughter flat out refuses to clean anything “that’s not my mess” yet won’t even cleanup her own room.
My 9 year old son reluctantly helps me out in picking up the slack.
I am a worn out mom in need of new routines and rewards. What kind of charts, rewards and chores can you offer for a challenging group of kids that tend to walk all over an overwhelmed and exhausted mom. Please help.
Need help keeping your kids on task? Download these free chore charts for your kids! In addition, I’ve created a Pinterest board full of ideas on making chores fun for all ages.
Plus, leave a positive idea about how you successfully get your kids to help with chores and you could win a copy of my book, 21 Ways to Connect with Your Kids.
Lean In
The much buzzed-about book by the COO of Facebook, Sheryl forces you to look at your role as a woman in the workplace through research and case studies. Sounds dry, but trust me, it’s a fascinating read and will make each of us reevaluate our own thoughts on women in leadership – ourselves and those around us.
The Christian Mama’s Guide to Parenting a Toddler
OK so I’m so past this stage – I was reading this book for exactly two reasons:
1. I’m doing research for a book that I’m writing
2. I find Erin to be an entertaining, been-there-survived-the-
Erin has released four books all at the same time on the ages and stages of parenting and I find them fun, real and smart. Totally fun read (especially since I’m not in that stage anymore…)
Death Comes to Pemberly
Because Pride and Prejudice ended a whole book too early. Because I can’t get enough of Mr. Darcy. Because I have to wait until 2014 for more Downton Abbey. Jane Austin and Agatha Christie all rolled into one. Delish.
Thrift Store Saints Meeting Jesus Twenty-Five Cents at a Time
“The spirituality of the St. Vincent de Paul Society is that the poor are our teachers and we are their students.” This is from Jane Knuth, the reluctant thrift store volunteer and author of Thrift Store Saints. A collection of stories about the clients she encountered and how they changed her and the rest of the workers. Funny, smart and hopeful. I finished this book in one sitting.
Wild
I almost didn’t pick this up because it is an Oprah Pick – most of her Picks are books without a lot of hope or redemption. But this story about a woman who decides she is going to hike the west coast is smart, funny, and redeeming in parts. Anyone who has ever come to the end of herself will identify with this woman’s journey.
Those are my picks! Tell me what books I should be reading this month – if I see a trend I’ll make sure I get them read!
I have a giant purse. Huge.
I was even given the cocktail napkins at a retreat after people heard me talk about my undying devotion for oversized bags.
I remember one time telling Roger that I needed a purse with wheels to lug around all my stuff.
Roger told me, “That’s called a suitcase and you have a problem.”
I will always have a giant purse (because I love them and see the napkin above…) but I don’t need to have the back and shoulder pain that go with an overstuffed purse.
So once a week I do my three step method (I use this all over the house, but here it will apply to handbags,) to keeping my bag from overflowing.
1. CLEAR IT OUT I simple take my purse and dump it out in a grocery bag.
2. PUT IT BACK Anything that belongs in the purse, stays in the purse. This includes
Wallet (I like the kind that has a place for a checkbook because I still have to write a couple of checks a month, plus, it keeps my business receipts better organized.
Make-up bag
Sunglasses case
Cell phone
Keys
Emergency kit
3. KEEP IT UP If I do it once a week, it really is easy to stay on top of it.
Also, have a small bag for makeup, and an emergency bag, it makes it easy to transfer the contents of the purse into my computer bag.
So tell me – do you have any fab tips for keeping your bag clean and light?
Birthdays, Mother’s Day, and Valentines Day – the Holy Trinity of potential dooms days…
Every other commercial is setting up half the planet’s population for a disappointment in less than a week. The overriding theme? If someone doesn’t get you bling next Monday, you must not be loved.
Most men are not great at the whole “Huge expectations without any guidance” kind of days. (This is not to dis Roger, but I will say there have been a couple of times where I have just gone to bed until the day is over.”)
I want to make sure that you – and I – have a great day next Monday. Whether or not you have a grand love in your life. Whether or not that person pulls through this holiday.
Even the best of husbands can have a really hard time in the holiday department – and for many of the best women in the world there is no husband by their side to celebrate them.
Married or single, make sure you make some of your own plans for the day. Here are just a few of the ways you can celebrate you on this very special day.
I just did some toy shopping. I ordered a big plush version of Dory from Finding Nemo.
And I bought it for myself. (And maybe, just maybe, I will let my two toddler friends play with it if they promise to be really, really careful.) Let me tell you why I had the sudden need to have a giant stuffed fish on my desk.
Last year, I made a huge list of all the things I wanted to get accomplished in 2010. And you know what? There weren’t a lot of checkmarks.
I started to get really depressed around June. Why wasn’t I getting things done? Why was I working so hard and I wasn’t getting the checkmarks I wanted – ney! – deserved?!?
Until I realized, even though I wasn’t getting the list done, I was getting other things done. God was taking me in new and unexpected directions – it wasn’t what I’d planned on, it was better.
I love how Dory just keeps telling herself, “Just keep swimming”. Don’t get distracted.
That’s my resolution for the year – to just keep swimming. Even if I’m not heading in the direction I though, I need to keep swimming.
So Dory and I are going to be doing 2011 together. I have some things I want to get accomplished (we already made our first Goodwill and dump runs this year – talk about a cleansing ritual…) but I am also going to just keep moving – not get bogged down when things don’t go the way I want them to. I’m going to keep learning, keep seeking God, and keep discovering His plan for me.
So tell me – what is your 2011 resolution this year?
