Moms

I have received this same prize package to thank me for sharing this information and giveaway with you. All opinions are mine and mine alone. Living in rural Vermont, I love spending time enjoying nature.  We have have two acres of mostly wooded property and I cannot imagine living anywhere that didn’t allow me to enjoy the woods.  A world that isn’t filled with trees is not a place that I’d like to live. One of the reasons that I try to recycle and make eco-friendly choices is to lessen my impact on the world around me. All of the paper, wood and cardboard products that surround us in our homes and businesses come from trees.  We need to give back and protect those trees to make sure future generations can still enjoy them. Image provided by sponsor Help Plant Trees Like the Lorax in that famous Dr. Seuss movie, you need to speak for the trees.  Think about your choices when you make them and consider planting a tree on your property for future generations to enjoy.  That isn’t all you can do to help, though. Since 2008, Odwalla has donated $550,000 worth of trees through its Plant-A-Tree initiative. New for this year, Odwalla has teamed up with The Nature Conservancy’s All Hands on Earth campaign to plant up to 100,000 trees in 2013. To celebrate the Plant-A-Tree initiative, now through the end of May, fans can create their own virtual Odwalla tree at Odwalla.com and be eligible to take home a $10,000 gift card and a year’s worth of Odwalla beverages and bars. Plus, each fan who registers and creates their tree will receive an Odwalla coupon and the opportunity to share one with a friend. I absolutely love Odwalla products and if you do too, you’ll want to enter this giveaway. One of my lucky readers will win an Odwalla Goodness Package, filled with bars, coupons, a t-shirt, tote bag and sunglasses as pictured below. Image provided by sponsor a Rafflecopter giveaway I have received this same prize package to thank me for sharing this information and giveaway with you. All opinions are mine and mine alone. The post Help Plant Trees & Odwalla Goodness Package Giveaway appeared first on Confessions of an Overworked Mom.

When you’ve got a seven year age gap between your kids it can be hard to find something that the whole family want to do. I can say from experience that teenagers absolutely do not see the same attraction in soft play as five years olds. I can’t think why. Who doesn’t enjoy sharing a ball pit with half eaten cheesy puffs and sticky toddlers in a characterless, echoey warehouse? I know I can think of barely a thousand or so things I’d rather do. Bee never really bites my hand off when I ask if she wants to stay with me and Belle in a caravan for the weekend either. Finally though, we have found A Thing! A day out that all four of us are happy to go on – a day out to Thorpe Park. I say all four of us, I will probably be taking more of a strategic role, holding the coats and snacks and taking pictures, as I’m not exactly a rollercoaster fan. It’s not that I’m scared, it’s just that, well, *cough*, they are really high up aren’t they? And they go upside down! That can’t be natural. Boyfriend, Bee and Belle are all big fans though, and I am very happy to watch and bask in the joy of an activity they all enjoy. I’ve never been to Thorpe Park before, but looking at the pictures I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a big hit: Colossus Nemesis Inferno The Swarm We’ve got to wait until the summer for a weekend when we’re all free, but if you fancy a trip to Thorpe Park this half term here are a few facts you may not have known about the theme park now acknowledged as the nation’s Thrill Capital: There are plenty of rides that all the family can enjoy, such as Zodiac and manic carpet ride Quantum as well as the Flying Fish If your kids are after something a little edgier, and if they’re 1m or taller, they can experience the thrill of the newly refurbished X, an illuminated ride through dynamic coloured lighting For extreme thrills, older children over 1.4m can now brave it backwards on the Swarm! Book tickets 7 days or more in advance to save 30% – adults from £30.24, children from £23.52 (under 12). Or even better…buy a bottle of Frijj and you can benefit from 2-for-1 entry at the park! Head over to Frijj on Facebook to find out more. Feel like one day isn’t enough? We now offer over-night stays at the park in our newly opened ‘Crash Pad’ accommodation from £64 per person which includes 2 days at the park and breakfast For more information visit thorpepark.com. The post Planning a visit to Thorpe Park appeared first on Slummy single mummy.

Or "Life is Pain, Highness", from one of my favorite movies, but then you might think that I'm equating myself with royalty and I just don't need that heartache today. I updated my personal Facebook page last night with this: I got some really, really good news about two of my kids today. Despite it being a very trying, somewhat stressful day - it was nice stuff to hear. My oldest daughter was one of only 6 (or 8, I can't remember and I want to get this posted while it's fresh in my mind) in her senior class to be called back for her Senior Project Presentation. The entire class presented, and a select few are called back - it's kind of like moving to the second round, and the top people get a "Best of" award. It's a HUGE honor, and the Senior Project has been kicking her butt - so the opportunity to present to be picked as a presenter - well, it's enormous.   My kid who has struggled with school since, well, several years now - the kid who has learning disabilities and self esteem issues and anxiety - we got some testing results that show that the kid is really very, very smart. Like, up there smart. So the school issues aren't because said kid is not smart - but true learning difficulties. Those numbers, well, they blew my mind away. I wish I could share with you - but trust me when I say that they were really UP THERE. And yesterday WAS a trying day. I worked, and dealt with some stressful issues. (And? I am SUPER HAPPY to have a job and I LURVE my job and it's MORE STRESSFUL if I don't work because I'm broke, so I'll go with the stress of working, thank you so very much - and I'm SUPER LUCKY to work from home. LOVE my job.) It's been raining almost every day - and I'm super thankful that we aren't dealing with tornados and damage - but it's still thunderstorms and flooding rain and wet and my kids are beginning to go a little stir crazy. I have two ill extended family members and I was dealing with one issue yesterday for an extended length of time, we needed groceries, my husband had several issues that were the MOST IMPORTANT THING ON MY PLATE, (sarcasm, thy name is mine), and I was still working at 10:30 last night. In fact, I worked until the time my husband came home from work - and past it. Remember - I'm doing the parenting stuff alone at night, guys. I'm doing dinner and homework and medications and prayers and bedtime routines without another adult as back up. And yes, some of my kids are bigger - but bigger doesn't mean that there is any less drama/stress/discussion going on. There's probably more, as a matter of fact. But, by putting that on my Facebook - well, apparently, I was engaging in "The Drama". In fact, the comment was made that my posts on Facebook - and, I guess, by extension, here - are always full OF DRAMA. Just sayin'. A helpful sort, my Facebook commenter. And I didn't really think that comment was all that dramatic, particularly. I could have said - and have - a whole lot worse. This time of year always kicks my butt. Two band concerts, end of golf season party, end of soccer season party, tournaments, major fourth grade project, last minute third grade project, Opera concert with resultant evening practices, graduation practice, grad party to plan, exams, standardized testing. March, April and May were especially brutal for my kids in terms of asthma. Five of them have asthma. FIVE. We had four courses of steroids, 6 doctor visits, and untold nights of coughing. One's eczema went beserk. One of my kids had frickin' CROUP. We had allergy panel testing and food challenges. I've been one of the transporters for the sick family members to doctor appointments - and I'm happy to do it, don't you dare try to make it otherwise - I've made jam and bread and cookies and hello, dinner every night, made sure that the kitchen was stocked, the wash done (and the wash level for 8 people is absurd), the garden taken care of, the homework done, the toilets defunked, the walls wiped down, the fl

This guest post was submitted by Hampshire Attractions. In my mind, I have a kind of idealized version of our family days out – we will be strolling along in glorious sunshine, licking ice cream cones, laughing as the children play merrily and probably all wearing pristine white clothes. That’s what you see in holiday brochures, right? It’s kind of implanted itself in my brain. But the reality is quite a long way away from that. We’ve had meltdowns at the zoo, we’ve had to leave the theater early, there was an incident at a local play zone that I can only now start to think about. Seriously — it involved pre-schooler nudity — that is all you need to know. In other words, we haven’t yet mastered the perfect family day out. But we have learned some tricks along the way which, hopefully, make it easier. Here are 5 of those tricks. 1) Be prepared for anything Think ahead about what the day might involve. Where are you going to eat? Do the kids need snacks? Will they get muddy and need fresh clothes? We’re planning a trip to Peppa Pig World in Hampshire, where they have an exciting looking water play area. I love water play, but it requires another level of packing – wet suits, towels, change of clothes all round. It is definitely worth being prepared for anything and water and snacks are essential if you’re going somewhere that will charge premium prices for those things or not have any amenities available. Don’t forget sunscreen and hats if it’s going to be hot, or extra layers if it’s going to be cold. But — that leads me to my next tip – 2) Don’t take too much stuff On the flipside, here’s a lesson I have yet to learn. I am, by nature, a planner and need to know that I have point #1 covered at all times. But there are exceptions. Take our trip to the Natural History Museum where I realized too late that we were carting a spare pair of shoes around for no good reason. And not tiny baby shoes, no no — these were my husband’s. If it hadn’t been his birthday I might have made him wear them around his neck. Or the zoo trip, where I had seriously overpacked on the extra layers (and inexplicably an extra sling) because it was snowing. It was all fine until, 100 meters from our house, the wheel snapped off our buggy. What I should have done is rationalize the stuff we had with us and take only the bare minimum. But I didn’t – we took it all with us, extra sling and all. By the end of the day, we were exhausted from carrying it all and the tired pre-schooler as well, and let’s not forget the baby — and no, we didn’t use most of it. 3) Plan how you’re going to manage everything Another lesson I could have learned from that day is to find the lockers at the start of the day and use them. Zoos, museums and theme parks all tend to have somewhere you can leave things and it pays to utilize them. Some museums in London have handy buggy parks just outside each exhibit, others make you fold the buggy and leave it in a cloakroom, along with your bags where you have to bother an attendant every time you want something. The best system is where you can rent a huge locker, chuck everything in and go back whenever you want. 4) Lower your expectations It’s not all about stuff, though. Part of the reason family days out can be disappointing is that you have – as I do – a picture of an idyllic day in your head. Forget it. If you can get somewhere and do one thing that one of you enjoys, then you have won. Anything else is a bonus. Remember that when you have to make toilet-related hasty exits. 5) Be guided by the kids Remember that the day out, primarily, is for the children. That’s where we’ve gone wrong before – picking theater shows and movies that we, as adults, might like, and then being surprised when we get a wailed “I wannnnaaa go hoooome” halfway through. When we went to the zoo, we saw all the animals that the pre-schooler wanted (except the elephants. There were no elephants. Cue elephant-related m

I bought a set of Spendvelope Cash Envelopes last week and they worked out better then I thought (Don't you love when that happens?) They are the same size as personal Filofax inserts... Visit my blog for the full crazy suburban fa la la..

Oh! I've wanted one of these since I first saw it. I don't know what it is about these exactly but the new Filofax key chains make me giggle and clap my hands like a five year old... Visit my blog for the full crazy suburban fa la la..

A couple times in the last week separate people have told me that I work too much. It’s hard to believe when I picture myself taking a lunch break at home eating my beans on toast on the sofa watching Millionaire Matchmaker, but I suspect it could be true. The trouble with the type of work I do is that there isn’t a natural start and end. I don’t go to work and come home at certain hours – (or get to wear a pretty dress and nice shoes and talk out loud to real people) – the nature of social media is that it is always there, always connecting you to other people. This is fantastic of course in many ways, but when social is your living it can be difficult to switch off. Ask Belle, she’ll tell you – I’m sure she would happily flush my phone down the toilet if it meant I focussed 100% of my attention on her for more than about twenty minutes at a time. “Just give me two minutes to reply to this…” Her eyes roll. This infographic then, based on a recent survey of parents, really struck a chord. Have you ever dropped a child off at school knowing they are probably ill enough to be at home? Have you missed a sports day or school play because of work? Have your children complained about the amount of time you spend working? I have to hold my hand up to all of these. On the flip side though, if I didn’t work, where would that leave us? I work not just to earn the money to put a roof over our head and pop tarts in the cupboard but also to set an example, to show my daughters that work and career is important for mums as well as dads. I definitely don’t feel guilty about that. Do you feel guilty about the amount of time you spend working? Infographic courtesy of Medicash. The post Do you feel guilty about the amount of time you spend working? appeared first on Slummy single mummy.

http://issuu.com/creativesoul/docs/parent_tribe_issue_1_issuu Parent Tribe is a new online magazine from TM subscriber Hatti Burt. The ethos is about creating a lifestyle where you can be with your children and work from home. Follow the link to read the first issue. Love, Veronika

1. "Sometimes when you have a problem, Fable, you will find that you are the solution," he says to Fable on the other side of the closed door, where the two of them are changing into their pajamas. I don't know what it was in reference to. Only that Archer went on to ask Fable questions about what the problem was exactly and how he could help her find a way to make it better.And I kept my ear pressed against the door hoping to hear more, to gather more wisdom, to crash a class with my favorite professor.Like so many other pieces of wisdom Archer has given me over the years, I have gone back to this one many times over the past few months."You are your own solution."2. He's not having a birthday party this year. He didn't want one. Kind of like last year when he invited two friends over and the year before when he only wanted to invite adults. This year he told us that he wanted to do nothing - to celebrate with his family and that was all. "Not even one friend?""No, Mom."When we asked why he'd rather not he explained to us that he didn't want to upset anyone or hurt anyone's feelings. That he would feel terrible if someone felt left out. That people always feel left out and the alternative would be to invite everyone and everyone was too many. "Are you sure?""Yes.""Are you sure?" I've asked repeatedly for the last six weeks."Yes, mom. Birthday parties aren't for me." "Can I bring cupcakes to school at least?""Okay. Just make sure there are enough for everyone.""Of course.""Buy extras just in case.""Of course.""Goodnight, Mom.""Goodnight."3. "Sometimes I feel like an old man on a bench feeding pigeons popcorn," he tells me as we sit at the table doing homework, his sisters trying to climb into his lap.Which is exactly what he is.Except the pigeons are all of us...4. "If you imagine something hard enough you can teach yourself how to do exactly what you're imagining," he told me, after I asked him how he learned to draw perspective in one of his many city drawings.5. When we were moving I stumbled upon Archer's baby book. I didn't even remember keeping one or putting one together for him but apparently I did a lot of things that I didn't remember because taped to the first page of the book was an envelope and in that envelope a collection of envelopes, dated and sealed and addressed to "Archer on his 18th birthday."I had written him letters.I had written him letters?But what did they say?I didn't open them. But I did manage to read one line front inside the white paper as I held it up to the light. "... love you like a dream has..."6. "The thing about women is that they like to stand on their own. Men like to be with someone all the time. Men don't like to be by themselves.""What makes you say that, Archer?""Your friends. They all seem very independent. Like they don't need to be married or anything. I think boys want to get married more than women do. Boys are afraid of being alone.""Why do you think that is?""Because we're very sensitive people."7. It's parent teacher conference day and I follow Archer through the classroom to his desk where a pile of projects are waiting. One of them is the report he's been working on for several months. An "All About" book where he gets to choose a subject to write about - something he is "knowledgable in". Something that interests him. Something he can teach his peers about in a presentation. His best friend is doing his report about sharks and the girl who sits next to him is doing fashion and the boy who sits next to her displays: ALL ABOUT CARS. "It's not quite finished yet but I'm getting there," Archer says, before passing the pile of stapled pages to me. I don't want to make a big deal out of it because I can tell he doesn't want me to. This is who he is. This is who he's always been. He's the boy who writes a nine page report all about moms. And I get to be in the pictures. I get to be in the pictures with him by my side and eight years of moments like this one with him on my lap rea

By ERIC LEGETTE The statistics don’t lie: Over 50 percent of marriages end in divorce. Many of these unions produce children and once parents “go their separate ways,” many become involved in a new... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]