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!

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.

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!

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)!!

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!!

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!!!