by Michelle Shaeffer

Two things that are difficult for me as a work at home mom during summertime are finding enough time to keep up with business marketing and staying focused during the time I do manage to squeeze in.  So I thought I’d share some strategies that help me stay sane when there’s sunshine, blue skies, and kids begging to go for a walk.

First, let’s talk about staying focused in the summer time.  Lots of small online businesses find themselves in a bit of a summer time lull with slower sales.  It could be because it’s harder to stay focused and on track with our marketing plans when that beach is calling for us and the kids are voting on the beach’s side.

So, what can we do?  Accept that it’s summer time and give up?  No!  Just shift strategies a bit.  Realize that it IS summer time and it is okay to let go and have some fun.  If you work to stay focused and learn to automate more of your tasks, you’ll find you can get things completed quicker and enjoy your time without feeling guilty.

If you don’t have a business coach, accountability partner or mastermind group, get one.  Right now.  Seriously, go sign up for one and then come back and finish this article.  Okay, finish reading and then go sign up.  I don’t want you to forget to return.  But you need someone to help you stay on track.  If you know you’ll have to admit to someone whether you took smart steps in your business this week, you’re more likely to take those steps. Read the rest of this entry »

by Candi Wingate

There are many reasons that families have nannies.  Most reasons are something similar to ensuring proper, nurturing supervision of the children while the parents are otherwise occupied.  However, there is another benefit.  Did you know that nannies can help parents be better parents?

Nannies As Stress Relievers

If you delegate your routine household chores (light housekeeping, laundry, washing dishes, grocery shopping, errand running, etc.) to the nanny, then more of the time that you have at home with your children can be quality time (time reserved for interaction with your children).  Additionally, if the nanny’s relieving you of these tasks makes you feel less stress on a day-to-day basis, you will be a more relaxed, patient, nurturing parent.  Finally, there are times when parents simply need more than two hands to accomplish all that needs to be accomplished at any given time in the home (for example, what does a parent do if both of the twins are crying . . . in different rooms . . . and no other adult is at home to help?).  By having a nanny, parents have another set of hands to help them attend to concurrent issues.  In sum, by enabling more time to be spent in quality parent-child interaction, increasing a parent’s ability to be patient and nurturing, and providing an additional set of hands in times where multiple time demands are concurrent, nannies can help you be a better parent. Read the rest of this entry »

How developing a “Take Charge” attitude can help you keep your sanity, maintain your budget and make this the best summer ever for you and your family.

By Lisa Nishimura

It is 1:30 AM and our dog Mookie wakes me from a sound sleep by putting his cold, wet nose on me to let me know he needs a potty break.  Since my husband is away on business all week, I can’t ignore the dog because one of 3 things will happen; I will wake in the morning to a mess, he will choose to let me know of his urgency by hoisting all 90 pounds of himself on top of me, or, worst of all, he will go wake the kids! As I lumber through the kitchen in my semi-comatose state a passing glance at the calendar on the refrigerator jolts me fully conscious.  MY KIDS ONLY HAVE 2 MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL!  Of course, I knew it was coming.  But as is usual for me, everything spells impending doom in the middle of the night.

Some families welcome the end of the school year and the lazy, unstructured days that come with summer break.  Our family consists of a dad with OCD, a mom with ADD and anxiety disorder, one kid with ADHD and sensory integration dysfunction and two other kids who can blow through a room faster than a cyclone. So while we welcome the beginning of summer, in our home structure, order and balance are even more important in the summer than during the school year.  I’ve identified three areas of our lives where I can “Take Charge” before school is out so I don’t spend the entire summer counting down the days until school starts again. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kathleen Wilson

Valentine’s Day is a special day in my household, and I try to share the feeling of love and romance with all my family! One of the best ways to do that is to set a holiday table, and spend time enjoying good food and drink with your loved ones. (Include your kids in dinner, and save a special after dinner and dessert for romance!) Here are some great ideas for setting the stage for a romantic dining experience, without breaking your budget.

* Set a background for your Valentine’s Day dinner. Layer your table with fabrics to invoke the sense of a luxurious hotel. Use sheets, quilts, tablecloths and placemats in coordinating colors. Pink, red and white are all indicative of love, but so are deep jewel tones. Look around your linen closet to find what you may already own! Flat sheets can be found at the discount shop for $3!

* Invest in a roll of wire edged ribbon from the discount store. Tie bows around chair backs, glass stems, and silverware bundles for that extra touch. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kathleen Wilson

So you just got all the holiday decorations put away (or maybe you didn’t!) and here comes another holiday… Valentines! Never fear, I have some great budget friendly ideas for quick and easy decorations you can use to dress up any room of your home and show all your loved ones how much you care!

*Dress up your everyday dining area with heart shaped placemats. Pick up some large red or pink craft foam sheets from your craft store and trace and cut a large heart shape from each one with a pair of sharp scissors. Use a gold paint pen and write a one word romantic sentiment in the center of each one, just like the “message heart” candies of our youth! Edge the hearts with squiggles and swirls, or perhaps personalize each placemat with a name of a family member. These will wipe clean with a damp cloth, and add loving style to each meal!

*Pick up four or six silk flowers and a small roll of wire edged ribbon (white, red, or pink) from your discount store and tie one flower each to the back of each of your dining chairs. Make the bow larger than you normally would for drama. The wire edge will allow you to shape the bow into a full, romantic style. Use leftover ribbon to add some romance to your front door wreath, your mailbox, or a big bow on the headboard of your bed! Read the rest of this entry »

by Rachel Paxton

Last year our family tried out a new way to preserve Thanksgiving memories, and the result was truly a treasured keepsake.

A day or two before Thanksgiving, my daughter and I used a turkey rubber stamp to make place cards for all of our family members. We colored the place cards with colored pencils and wrote people’s names on them with a metallic gold pen.

We then cut up strips of paper to put into a small basket to distribute before Thanksgiving dinner. The day of Thanksgiving, after all of the guests had arrived, we handed out the slips of paper and asked everyone to write down something they were thankful for.

Now you should have seen the looks I got! Keep in mind that there were family members of all ages, from young teenagers to adults. Most of them looked at me like I was crazy (because this memory-making stuff is all new to them), but I told them they had to do it before they could eat. Read the rest of this entry »

by Shelly Hill

For the majority of Americans, it is a tradition to serve a roasted turkey dinner for the Thanksgiving holiday…however, once the dinner is over, we are faced with a lot of turkey left-overs.

I like to freeze my left over turkey in freezer-safe 2-3 cup plastic containers. During the next few weeks, I can defrost my turkey in the microwave and make some delicious dinner recipes for my family.

Tip: You will want to remove the skin and bones from your turkey before placing it into the freezer.

The following recipes are the ones that my family enjoys the most after the Thanksgiving holiday is over.

Stir-Fry Turkey with Cranberry Glaze

1 fully cooked turkey breast, cut into strips
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons ginger
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries Read the rest of this entry »

by O Quinn

Thanksgiving dinner can be a very expensive meal. But you can take steps to reduce the costs this year using a few of these ideas.

One of the easiest and best ideas when trying to save money on Thanksgiving is to make it a potluck. Have all the parties coming to dinner provide a dish. We do this EVERY year and it cuts down on costs considerably. Make a chart listing categories such as main dish, vegetables, starch, dessert, drinks, etc and note who will provide what in each category.

Another idea is to not cook more than everyone will eat. My mother loves to cook many different dishes “just in case” but this “just in case” has often turned into a waste. Do your calculations on serving sizes and don’t over feed your guests.

Shop in advance. Things like butter, canned cranberry sauce, and soup stocks (unless you make your own) tend to go on sale during holiday time. Make sure you get yours before they run out. Pick up these storable items (butter can be frozen) a week or two in advance. Search brand websites and your newspaper for coupons for even larger savings. Read the rest of this entry »

by Shelly Hill

When our daughter was around 8 years old, she invited over a few friends for the day to do some crafting with us. Since it was the beginning of November, we decided to make a Thanksgiving holiday garland.

This project can be done in one afternoon. If you are doing several of them at a time (group project), I suggest precutting all of the fabric strips ahead of time.

1 roll of sisal twine (2 or 3 ply for durability)
scraps of homespun fabrics
all-purpose craft glue (or glue gun with adult supervision)
acorns, twigs, pinecones, dried pods
scissors

Step 1: Measure out the length of sisal twine that you will need to make your garland. We usually do 3 to 4 feet. Cut it from the roll. Tie each end into a loop, this way when you hang it up, you can easily do it via the loops. Read the rest of this entry »

by Corrie Petersen

Business owners need to grow their business all the time. They don’t stop for the holidays. Sometimes it can be hard to work for growth at this time of year, but it needs to be done.

Right after Thanksgiving people start preparing for Christmas. This is the perfect time to get your business noticed or to get your products out there for people to purchase. Here are some tips and tricks that will help you grow with ease.

• Prepare ahead of time

When you plan ahead, you will accomplish more. Plan your online and offline advertising in advance. Write your ads and save all the sites you will post them to in one place so you don’t have to search. Print out your flyers ahead of time and have them ready to go so you can hand them out without a flaw.

• Blog posts

Write your blog posts and schedule them for the dates they are to go out. When you do this, you won’t even have to think about it. You will have the time to think when you do it ahead of time and you won’t make mistakes. Read the rest of this entry »