Thursday, September 23, 2010

School's In Again!

The school year has started again and there's is a lot of NEW excitement!
New clothes and supplies to buy; new teachers to meet; new friends to meet; new schedules to learn; and sometimes even a new school to go with all that.

Give yourself a couple of weeks to recover from the frenzy and then settle into the new structure of it all. Speaking of structure, I'll share a few tips that will make your child/ren's morning & evening routine go smoother.
  • Put a list of "Morning & Evening Routines" on your child/ren's wall (you can also use a large calendar) to prevent any confusion about what they should be doing before school and what they should be doing after school.
  • Morning routines are things like - wash face, brush teeth, comb hair, make bed, eat breakfast.
  • Some evening routines include - do homework, do chores, playtime/tv, bathtime, bedtime.
  • For younger children, you need to lay out their clothes for the next school day.
  • And if you make lunches, doing it the night before is less hectic.

As you settle into the school year routine, you can also begin to think about extra-curricular activities. Yes, all those sign up slips will be coming at you very soon. But go ahead, relax for a moment in your new found structure and we'll talk about extra curriculars in the next post!!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

End of Summer Activities

Wow, August is Almost Over!!!
No matter what part of the country you live in these last days of Summer are long and sunny and the temperature is consistently hot.

Have you run out of ideas to keep your child/ren entertained? After all, they still have a few more days of Summer vacation left.

Well, it's not too late for your girl(s) to plan a pre-school backyard Tea Party complete with dress up make-overs and snacks. And, your son(s) can pull out the tent and plan a backyard camping adventure or build a go cart from scratch.

Whatever you decide that they can do, keep it simple, make sure they are careful, and let them have loads of fun doing it!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Summer Sizzle

Put some sizzle into your Summer!
Use your endless imagination this Summer; Create some great ways to entertain your child/ren and save money in the process.

  • Hint: Many stores have already put their summer merchandise on clearance.
  • Now's the time to shop smart and load up inexpensive water toys and other outdoor gear for a fraction of their normal cost.
  • That's right, you can purchase summer items for as much as 25%-75% off the regular price.
  • Encourage your child/ren to learn to sew doll clothes, knit or crochet a scarf, build a model airplane or model car, have a water balloon fight, build a treehouse, or plant a flower garden using seeds.
The possibilities are endless; as endless as your and your child/ren's imagination.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Summer Success Tips

Memorial Day and Independence Day are just around the corner so that means we need to get ready for some really Hot Fun In The Summer Time!!

It's officially Summer so plan enough activities to keep your child/ren busy for the next few weeks. If you're not sure how or where to start, let me give you a few ideas.
Ranked at the top of my list of things to do are:
  • Hours of swimming in the pool or ocean; playing tennis; roller skating in the park or ice skating at the rink; mix in summer camp and vacation bible school; before you know it the entire summer will be crammed full with a very long list of things to do.
  • Don't forget to check amusement parks for summer discount specials; as well as your local park & recreation programs.
  • Shorts, sandals, and enough SPF-30 sunblock should be considered essential as you prepare to settle into the season of heat.

Springing Right Along

The New Year has settled in nicely & Spring is now beginning to look like Summer.
Well, it's true... Easter and Mother's Day have both already occurred and at this time we find ourselves springing into the middle of May.
  • The economic strain is still affecting most of us and that means summer camps and other programs may not be doable this year. How are you planning to keep your child/ren occupied and entertained once school is out?
  • What is the plan for childcare, if you still require it? And, with children getting out of school in a few short weeks you will definitely need to have extra food on hand, especially if your child/ren will be home all day. Where will the surplus come from?
  • Get out your pen and paper and, start to develop a game plan NOW.
  • Don't get caught springing forward unprepared!

Share your Summer Survival Tips with us... we would love to hear your comments!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Break into Spring!!

Ms. Single Mom, doesn't it seem like January was just here? And now, we're already into the second quarter of this new year. For many of you, the Spring holidays seem to hit all at once.
It's April and that means April Fool's Day, Easter and Spring Break happening in the same month. Who's bright idea was that anyway? Doesn't that usually mean your children want new clothes, and trips to the amusement park, and snacks ALL DAY long?

Okay, so how and where are you supposed to find extra money to make these things happen for your children? GET CREATIVE!

1. Let your child/ren redecorate last year's Easter hat with buttons, beads & shells to give it a fresh new look. They'll have a load of fun.
2. Let your child/ren use your yard (or a relative's yard) and design their own play area. Children have great imaginations and this is an awesome way to occupy their time for hours on end.
3. Let your child/ren make cupcakes, cookies, or brownies. They can also use their imagination to create new sandwich ideas using the usual ingredients. Encourage their creativity, occupy their time, and save your money in the process.

Break time will be over soon (Laugh Out Loud)!!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Balanced & Stable

Plan your Work, Work your Plan, then Proceed to Succeed.
It's important to have a plan to work from. I suggest that you use a pencil to write your plan instead of a pen. That's because no matter how carefully you plan your work, life seldom goes completely as planned. Periodically, you will have to make some adjustments to your plan in order to remain balanced.

You will be thrown some curve balls when you least expect it but you can handle that. When the curve balls come at you, be sure you have enough flexibility to adjust. Shift your gears, take those curves, bend with the twists and turns... Regain Your Balance & Stabilize.

Check and change your plans accordingly to continue on your Path to Success!!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Balancing Act

Ms. Single Mom, if you take a second to blink your eyes it seems that the day or week will have jumped ahead of you, almost instantly. It's the month of March already!
Are any of you still working to complete your Goals List from January? If that's you, hurry and finish it! As in the life of every single mom, time management requires a careful balancing act. We all fall behind schedule sometime because it's just plain hard to always predict your day and to keep up with your own plans. Trying to manage the day to day activities of life is hectic enough, and now you have to check what you're doing against a list?!
And you do all this just to be sure you're still on the track that know you just fell off of. No worries. Pick yourself up, Shake yourself off, Steady yourself, and Get back on track. Find Your Balance!!!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Priority & Balance

Ms. Single Mom, the year is already off to a flying start!
We are halfway through the 2nd week of February... where is the time going?! In January I talked about goals, you were to make a list of goals to accomplish in 2010, and then we both should have revised our lists.
This month we'll determine and organize priorities.
  1. Focus and decide what's most important when it's ALL important.
  2. Realize that it's only so much time to work with in a day... you have barely 24 hours and your responsibilities usually require double that amount of time!
  3. Work to balance what you have to do for yourself, what you have to do for your child(ren), and what you have to do for your employer (if you work).
I'll share more ideas in the next post... and I always appreciate your feedback!!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Goal Tending pt.3

Ms. Single Mom,

Try this suggestion: Do some really good planning and invest a little hard work so that you can experience prosperty. We all try to find a few extra minutes in the day, or to shave a few minutes off here and there in order to get things done because it doesn't seem to ever be enough time in an hour anymore.



This is the fourth week of our New Year. Revisit your Goals List. Make some changes if needed so that you have a realistic list and give yourself a fair chance to achieve your desired goals. Be careful though because if we take hasty shortcuts that usually leads to poverty in one way or another. Lazy people want much but get little in return.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Goal Tending pt. 2

Single Moms, we are already more than halfway through the first month of this new year. I have decided to use a few minutes today to review my List of 2010 Goals. As I look over my list I am absolutely determined that I will win in 2010.


Ms. Single Mom, I believe that it is critically important for all of you to have that attitude about yourself, and about your life. Your world is going to feed off of your positive and determined energy.

You will succeed this year because You Can!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Goal Tending

Ms.Single Mom, don't be nervous about the idea of starting the New Year off setting goals for yourself. The secret to achieving goals is getting started.


Make a list of five goals and then work on them, one goal at a time or if you're more aggressive then you can work on them all simultaneously. To avoid becoming overwhelmed, keep it simple. Your list can be as simple as:


  1. Have your small child in bed everynight by 8:30p.m.

  2. Find 30 minutes at least 3 times a week to exercise.

  3. Go through your stacks of clutter & throw out old papers that you no longer need.

  4. Return all phone calls within 48 hours.

  5. Ask for help when you need it!

You will score a slam dunk and succeed in accomplishing your goals if you check your list regularly and make sure you're not slipping behind on any one of them.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Are You Ready to Goal?

Happy New Year Single Moms!

I am extremely thankful for our safe passage through 2009, and I have already claimed a victorious 2010!! Are you excited yet? It's a brand new year, so let's get ready to goal.

This is when we should take time to reflect on what was accomplished during the past year. Now, shift your focus to what needs to be accomplished in the year ahead. Create a list of realistic goals for yourself. Begin to adjust your mental, physical, and emotional attitude so that you can achieve. Balance yourself, take one step at a time, stay focused... You Can Do This!