Issue 15, Vol. 2 September 15th, 2009
Good Morning,
Have you recovered yet from the back to school frenzy? It has been a whirlwind of nerves, getting used to new faces in the mix and saying hello to old acquaintances and friends as well. I hope this letter finds you well and that you are taking it one day at a time. For those of you who are first time parents of kindergarteners, welcome:). It is such a priceless gift to be there for you children in their first 5 years of life. But even if you are not able to, know that the times you spend with your children are precious and priceless. Don't take that foregranted. I will get off of my soap box and get on with it. Hope you had a great weekend and will have an even greater weekend.
Make it Memorable!
Sincerely,
Mandu
Aspiring WAHM, Wife and Blogger
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Topic of the Month
BACK TO SCHOOL! How to deal with it? What to do with it? We are going to be sharing the many ways we can make this transition easier for you in: cooking,weekly planning, business related activities, crafts, stress busters and always a little inspiration to keep your head above water. Enjoy!
Article of the Month
Mom, Want to Know How You Can Find Balance Between Your Work And Family Life? Click Here To Learn How.
Back To School Tips From a Mom
What It Takes to Be Successful Year after Year
Being a sahm can be one of the most satisfying things you will ever do in your lifetime, but also the most challenging too. Back to school means new faces, new teachers and yes some 'mama drama' as well. When my daughter started Kindergarten, it was so exciting and I loved to be able to volunteer when I could. Since we have a little one at home as well, who just turned 3, most of the school projects for teachers was done from home.
I enjoyed this time and still do, but there was a time that I dreaded dealing with high strung moms who have nothing better to do than compare how much better their child is doing than yours and so on and so forth. Huge pet peeve of mine, so in order to keep a cool head and not embarass my daughter I have learned to be cordial and be on my way. In my opinion, the moms who I have clicked with are those same moms that I still talk to today, since my daughter's first day of school 2 years ago;-). So eventually you will find your 'clique', which I hate to say but in my personal experience still exist in most elementary, highschool and playdate environments today.
Tip #1: Help the teachers as much as you can in any way you can, even if it is an occasional home project here and there and/or volunteering in the classroom one to three days a week.
Tip #2: "Mama Drama" is to be expected in most any school situation, so to keep the peace and avoid any confrontations, keep it simple and cordial. If a mom or dad, continue to say or do things that either make you uncomfortable or upset you, then it is time to confront the situation head on. This would be especially significant as well, if a mom's/dad's son or daughter are in the same class as your own child's. I would personally not pursue the situation, if you don't talk to this mom or dad very often or see him/her everyday at school. It just isn't worth it. You can't change a person, but you can let them know when they are out of line.
Tip #3: Get to Know your Neighbors & Neighbhorhood Introduce yourselves to your neighbors as soon as possible, so you can get a feel of who they are and if you can get along or otherwise. We learned this recently after moving from a very urban neighborhood to an upper middle class neighborhood where the elementary schools are better and there seems to be more funding that is allocated to these upper middle class neighborhoods. Not to say that lower income neighborhoods don't get any funding for their public schools, but in our experience this seems to be the case where we live. We also realized that most of the neighborhoods where we live have an HOA, so there are strict rules and regulations to the maintenance of the front yards and otherwise. So do your homework and get to know where you live, so that even if it isn't a very good fit, you have a plan b.
Tip #4: Find a church home To piggy back on my last tip, it was a difficult transition for me to move from such an urban environment to this suburban atmosphere, so when people around you aren't very warm and tolerant it is so very important to find a place where you are accepted no matter where you come from. It doesn't mean you have to join the church, but you can attend and be surrounded by people who care about your well being. This is what helps keep me grounded.
~Mandu Usoro, aspiring WAHM, SAHM, Wife and WAH Consultant. To find out what I do and how I can inform you of what work from home employment is available to you visit me here.
Parenting Humor
My daughter's fifth-grade class had been studying astronomy.
One morning at breakfast she announced, "On Friday we're having a quiz on the moon."
That's when her little brother piped up, "Are you gonna let her go, Mom?"
Recipe of the Season: Back to School Menu Planning
Dinner Planning For School Days
Another summer has quickly passed us by. The kids have reluctantly gone back to school. It stands to reason that life should be a little less hectic, right? Unfortunately, that’s usually not the case. Between all of your daily ‘Mom obligations’, helping with homework and providing transportation to every extra-curricular activity under the sun, you probably have little time to devote to dinner planning.
Many times busy parents resort to hot dogs and macaroni and cheese, frozen pizza or frequent trips to a fast-food restaurant. That’s not healthy for you or the kids – not to mention its pretty rough on the family grocery budget.
Kitchen time savers
There are things you can do to cut down on time spent in the kitchen. Pick one day a week and prepare several freezer friendly meals. You can even go the extra mile and package them in individual serving size containers. Doing so will provide your family with a larger variety of entrée choices, on any given day.
Do you have friends that are intrigued with the idea of a one-day a week cooking spree or a meal planning service? Get together with 2 or 3 of them. Each of you decides on 2 main dishes you want to prepare. Buy enough ingredients to make the entrees for each family.
You need to plan ahead
One simple thing that you can do is keep an ample supply of fresh fruits, salad ingredients, soups and fresh sandwich fixings, on hand. Quick meals such as this are nutritious and don’t require a great deal of preparation time.
If you take on the task of meal planning and want to get in the habit of consistently putting together weekly menus yourself, you may be surprised at how much time it involves. Did you know that the typical family meal planner spends roughly 3 hours per week combing through cookbooks, choosing recipes and compiling a grocery list? That translates into 156 hours, per year. Yikes!
A menu service can help
You can say goodbye to last minute thrown together meals and eliminate the stress of dinner planning for your family by subscribing to a meal planning service. This type of service is very affordable, usually costing only a few cents per day. Menus are often designed to be family friendly and easily adaptable.
When you purchase a subscription to a service such as this, your membership will typically feature a weekly menu emailed right to your inbox. This includes seven main dish recipes, side dish suggestions and dessert ideas. As an added benefit, you receive a detailed shopping list, categorized by aisle, which makes your trip to the grocery store that much easier. Simply cross off items already in your pantry, add any other products you may be in need of and you’re off!
If you enjoy planning your own menu, you may want to consider a dinner planning service, in addition to your own choices. Why? It will still save you time, in the long run. Use the membership menu as a base. Then, search for recipes that will deliciously compliment that weekly plan.
Remember, nothing is more important than family time. Don’t let dinner planning get you down. Consider the suggestions we’ve made and you’ll spend less time
slaving over hot stove and more time with the people you love.
For a free one week trial of a family friendly meal planning service, visit http://www.momurl.com/BackToSchoolMenu/
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Back to School Craft Activity for Kids
*Note if you enjoy crafting with your children, I highly recommend Chris's Book about crafts for kids. We always have fun doing the crafts, which are imaginative, not boring and keep the children's attention span long enough to get things done around the house as well. Most crafts can be done with the option of using glue or a staple(with adult supervision of course;).
Business Joke of the Month
Two friends, who had lost contact for many years, were catching up with each other. One asked, "So, you've got your own company, huh? How lucky!" The other replied, "Just a small one, nothing to be proud of."
Disbelieving, the first queried, "Small? How many people work in your company?"
The other sadly answered, "About half of them."
Inspiration of the Month
The power to change your world
Your thoughts can change in an instant. And because of that, your whole outlook can change just as quickly.
Have you ever been feeling down and then suddenly encountered a wonderful, positive surprise? Just like that, the world around you changed from dismal to beautiful.
The only thing that really changed, however, was your thinking. Yet it was more than enough to completely transform the situation.
You have the power to change your world because you have the power to choose your thoughts. Though it may feel difficult, and even impossible, as soon as you do make a change in your thinking you realize how quick and easy and effective it can be.
The most important thing about any situation is the way you decide to think of it. Your thoughts can turn any occurrence into an opportunity, any experience into fulfillment.
At any given moment, what you think of your life determines what you will do with it. Always think the very best, and be it.
-- Ralph Marston
Read more: http://www.greatday.com/#ixzz0QxYLhSNy
Closing
Thanks for allowing me to share your day and being my subscriber, if only for a moment. If you have any questions or comments about my newsletter, please feel free to contact me. Have a great day.
Sincerely,
Mandu U.
Owner of EMDIAU
http://www.emdiau.com/
