10 Tips To Avoid Work At Home Mom Burnout

by Nell Taliercio

Working from home is a great way to stay home with your kids while still supplementing the family’s income. On the flipside, it can be challenging to be mother and employee at the same time. Your stress level will rise quickly when you have deadlines to keep or phone calls to make while your little ones are acting out. Implement a few of the ideas below to prevent Work at Home Mom Burnout.

1. Don’t work more than you have to. Money isn’t everything. You family needs a happy and sane mom.

2. Create a schedule or to-do list both for work and your personal life. Just realize that you won’t always get everything done and don’t worry if you don’t. There’s always tomorrow.

3. Designate an errand day. Spend one day a week running around town getting everything done for the week. This is when you will grocery shop, drop things off at the drycleaner, go to the post office and anything else you need to do.

4. Enjoy your kids. Take some time to play with them every day. Have a picnic lunch in the yard, take them on a little field trip or just play catch for a while. You’re a work at home mom because you want to spend time with your kids. Work and house chores can wait while you play.

5. Go out on a date with your spouse. Make date night a regular occurrence and connect with your lover.

6. Have lunch with a girlfriend. We need some adult conversation every now and then. Make time to stay in touch with your friends.

7. Call a friend. If you are having a bad day, call a good friend and just talk for a little while. You’ll be relaxed and rejuvenated when you get back.

8. Get some exercise. Go for a walk, join a gym, or try a Pilate’s class. Exercise will not only keep you in shape, it’s also a great de-stressor.

9. Play some upbeat music and dance around the living room. Who cares if your kids and the neighbors think you’ve lost it? You are having fun and are releasing all that build up physical energy.

10. If you own a business, stick to one until it more or less runs itself. Don’t burn yourself out by trying to run several businesses at the same time.

Start implementing a few of these ideas today and watch your stress level go down. You will prevent work at home mom burnout and get to enjoy life more. Your family will appreciate spending time with a fun and relaxed mom. That’s what it’s all about – spending quality time with your family

Nell Taliercio is the owner and founder of http://www.TelecommutingMoms.com – which is a leading resource website with work at home jobs and everything a telecommuting mom would need. Come visit us today!

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/10-Tips-To-Avoid-Work-At-Home-Mom-Burnout/13097

World's Greatest Sugar Cookie Recipe

This is my mom's sugar cookie recipe. It's been in my family for a long time.

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 Tbl. milk
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
various colored sugar sprinkles

Directions: Cook on ungreased cookie sheet. With electric mixer mix sugar, egg, and shortening until blended. Add 1 1/2 cup flour and rest of ingredients and blend well. Mixture should be thick. You can refridgerate the dough for easier rolling. Use additional 1/2 cup flour to roll out dough with rolling pin. Take 1/3 of dough and roll onto counter top sprinkle with flour. Add some flour to rolling pin. Roll to desired thickness about 1/4 inch. Use cookie cutters for desired shapes. Put on cookie sheet. Add colored sugar sprinkles. Bake in oven at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven when lightly browned and let stand for 1 minute before removing from cookie sheet. These cookies taste the best when they are still soft not crispy.

Enjoy!

Christmas and Families Far Away

So many families nowadays live miles, states and even countries apart. This makes it hard for families to really get to know each other and share their lives . Traveling to visit relatives is usually reserved for holidays and special occasions like weddings. So how can you share experiences when you can't visit?

I was reading somewhere of an idea of how to share your holidays with families. Most newer computers come with a web cam built in. If your's does not they can be purchased separately very cheap from any local department store or online. Set up your web cam on Christmas Eve ready to go for Christmas morning. Then turn it on and record all the present opening festivities for family members. You can post the video to a secure site.

If you are not comfortable with posting a video to the web. Upload it to your computer's hard drive and send it to them as an email attachment. They will be able to open it at their leisure.

I thought this was a fun way to share the holidays with family and friends. Feel free to share your thoughts or experiences using a web cam.

No Money - No Christmas

I know some of you are thinking, "How can I have a nice Christmas when I have no money?" Believe me I understand I'm thinking the same thing. The thought of no presents under the Christmas tree for my kids is so depressing!

I come up with a couple ways you can relatively quickly save your Christmas.

First of all, go through your stuff and the stuff of your family. Find toys, clothes, or anything your family has outgrown but is still works. Now list them on eBay, Craigslist, take them to a pawn shop, or hold a yard sale.

If you don't have anything to sell; go door to door offering to rake leaves, cut grass, put up Christmas decorations, or anything else you can do for others. Charge them a reasonable amount.

Once you've made some money, now you need to stretch that money as far as you can. Your first stop should be your local thrift stores. Shop a couple different ones if you have more than one store in your area. Some have a better selection than others. I've found Monday's the best day to shop, because people are more likely to drop off their donated goods over the weekend. Thrift stores are a good place to find toys, shoes, etc.

Another place to look is eBay. This is where I start if my child has to have a certain item. Last year it was the shoes with wheels in them. This year it was the Nintendo DS. They are sold at stores for $129 and I got one gently used with 3 games, and a case for $90. You can really save a lot if you shop around.

If you are not able to raise any money at all. Go on Freecycle.com. Sign up for the listing in your town then post your wants. Please remember to offer items you no longer need when you get back on your feet. If you are particularly crafty you can make gifts for your family. You can also contact your child's school and local churches to see if they may be able to help. No one will know you need/want help unless you ask.

There are ways to still have Christmas for your kids even if you have no money. Seek the help of those in your community. As always try to focus on what you DO have and not what you DON'T have!


Kimberly Shavatt is a wife, stay-at-home mother of 3 and owner/editor of HelpingMomsAtHome.com. Find lots of helpful hints and tips to help you save time, save money and save your sanity. Get my free report "10 Ways to Have an Inexpensive & Fun-Filled Christmas" at http://helpingmomsathome.com/HMAHInexpensiveChristmas.pdf.

Fun Printables and Resources for Parents

Great resource for homeschool parents or even parents of young children. Lots of FR+EE printables. Including letter sounds, flash cards, certificates, sticker charts and lots more. My favorite is located under the Share tab. It is the Christmas Page Borders. I plan on using these in with my Christmas cards.

http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/index.html

Free Digital Photography Guide

Free Digital Photography Guide - Get Your Questions Answered

If you’ve ever wondered how to take better digital pictures, no matter the lighting or subject, here is a handy free guide that will help you with many of your digital photography questions.

It includes answers to questions like:
- What is the biggest mistake made by beginning digital photographers?
- How to decide on the right digital camera?
- How to decide if a picture is worth taking?
- How to get the white balance right?
- How to take clear shots for indoor sports?
- What are the best settings for low light/nighttime conditions?
- How to get high contrast natural light black and white pictures?
- How to avoid redeye in dim light?
- Small object close up pictures.
- How to photograph gemstones and jewelry?
- How to take a picture with both strong sun and shade?
- Capturing personality in photos of people.
- How can I understand depth of field?
- Settings and techniques for photographing birds and wildlife.
- How to take good pictures in the snow or on the beach.

Get the answers by downloading your free 28-page guide:
Click here to get yours.


It is a PDF document and you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software to view it. If you don’t have this software, you can get it here.

The Mom Song

This is the "The Mom Song". Everything a Mom says in a 24 hour period, set to the "William Tell Overature" (lyrics by Anita Renfroe)


It's hilarious!!! You have got to listen to this!