Balancing Life at Home When Home is the Workplace

 Work at Home

Do you know how to work from home without ruining your own life along with your family’s life?

I have been trying to do this for a few years now and it is difficult and the learning curve is steep for me as a grandmother.

When my own kids were young, I worked part-time as a nurse…either teaching nursing at a community college or working in Labor and Delivery, while my children were in school.

It was manageable but I was always fighting with the clock and trying to be two places at once. It was the 80’s and I had a pager which kept me in touch with my family in emergencies but life as a working mother was a definite struggle. There was no internet like today so support for moms in the workplace was limited.

Over the last few weeks, I have been struggling with time constraints and a type of “writer’s block”. It might be a “seasonal” thing which I experience in the Fall when the summer ends and the days begin to shorten. It is not depression but it is a melancholy that envelops me at times during this transition from lazy summer to frenzy fall.

I have been finding it difficult to balance my time…so I just stopped trying and put my blog on hiatus for a short while until now. My e-mails are full with ideas for some semi sponsored posts and my thoughts are bursting about how to stay well and happy with all that is upcoming during the seasons ahead.

And then my friend Jessica Gottlieb posted this just the other day on her blog. It hit home with me…even though I am now a grandmother working at home and trying to keep up with being a caregiving grandparent, wife and mom. She put a very good perspective on what it is important for the SAHM and in my case the SAHGM, “stay at home grandma”.

I have been learning over the past few weeks how to readjust now that school is back and there are hours where I am alone free to work on my own business.

It is a work in progress…

 

There are a lot of mompreneurs in my Facebook feed. Many are bloggers, network marketers or affiliate marketers. I’m lucky that cell use was very expensive when my kids were toddlers. The park can be boring, train sets can be mind numbing, putting on a princess dress for the 93rd time in a day would make a martyr twitchy but those are the reasons you wanted to work from home. You wanted to raise those kids so spend the time with them and not with the screen. Raise the kids, be a parent who has a job. It’s really easy to be the parent who turned their home into an office but it can’t be fun to be that kid.

via I Know How to Work at Home Without Ruining Everyone’s Lives | Jessica Gottlieb A Los Angeles Mom.

Life and the “Invisible String”

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Every Thursday I read a post on my FB page from Eric, who is Jessie Rees’ dad. He writes  a post to Jessie, his little girl who died from an aggressive cancerous brain tumor.

I began following Jessie’s story before her death and marveled at the strength and determination of this little girl, who was fighting cancer. Jessie Rees Foundation

Today, I also read part of “Donna’s Cancer Story” written by her mom. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and her mom remembers Donna by posting her story each year during September.

Her “Family Portrait” post really resonated with me as a nurse, who many years ago took care of children and families going through such crises. Donna’s Cancer Story: Family Portrait | Mary Tyler Mom.

Another mom that I am know through blogging lost her son, Henry to a drug overdose when he was just a teenager.

It is a sad story and though addiction is not “cancer”, in my opinion, it is a type of “cancer” that can go into remission but it lurks always in the background just waiting for a moment of weakness or crisis to rear its ugly head. It preys on children. Henry’s Fund.

In 2010, I lost my teenage son, Henry to drug overdose. In celebration of his life and legacy, my sister Betsy and I founded Henry’s Fund, a non-profit organization that provides grants to pay the direct costs of high quality treatment and aftercare for young drug addicts between the ages of 12 and 23.

via About the Blogger – Big Good Thing.

This morning, my friend Jessica, (Momma’s Gone City) talks about visiting her sponsored child in Guatemala. It made me think about how small the world is and how we as mothers are somehow all connected by life and its challenges.

First, I want to thank all of these “friends” who share their lives with me through social media. I appreciate their words and the way they share their feelings. I feel somehow connected by an “invisible string” of humanity to each one of them.

September is “Childhood Cancer Awareness Month” and it is my hope that someday we will be able to conquer this disease but for now we can at least help by supporting their fight any way we can.

Every September, America renews our commitment to curing childhood cancer and offers our support to the brave young people who are fighting this disease. Thousands are diagnosed with pediatric cancer each year, and it remains the leading cause of death by disease for American children under 15. For those children and their families, and in memory of every young person lost to cancer, we unite behind improved treatment, advanced research, and brighter futures for young people everywhere.http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/08/30/presidential-proclamation-national-childhood-cancer-awareness-month-2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book review: ‘Apron Strings’

 

 

 

 Anyone who knows me, knows that I love my Irish heritage,

and

I fell in love with Ireland on my first visit there about 15 years ago.

I thought my grandmother was in the kitchen when I visited Dublin and shared my first Irish breakfast with my family.

It was like I was a little girl again, sitting at the dining room table watching my grandmother cook breakfast in our small NY kitchen.

My husband and I have visited Ireland several times and have especially enjoyed the warm Irish hospitality and Irish cooking.

So when I came upon Nessa Robin’s blog, I was in heaven.

I baked her Easter cake for my family.

Again, I was treated to a taste from my childhood when my Nana used to bake a cake from “scratch” and frost it with chocolate glaze.

Now, Nessa has published a cookbook, ‘Apron Strings‘. She has successfully shared her family recipes along with her personal and professional remedies.

A nurse, Nessa currently is a SAHM raising her family and blogging about her life as a wife, mother, daughter, and now a cookbook author.

Apron Strings‘ is beautifully written and Nessa’s photos make me feel like I am in the kitchen with her and her family.

I love a cookbook that is personal and that shares the stories behind the recipes, Nessa does just this.

She feels like a friend giving me a recipe.

Nessa has made me want to travel back to Ireland and visit the Irish countryside that has inspired her.

See for yourself…have a look at ‘Apron Strings‘.

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Disclousre: I was given a copy of ‘Apron Strings‘ for purposes of this review.

 

Book Reviews:

 

A few of my favourite things | Carolanne’s Kitchen.

 

 

One of our absolute favourite blogger’s kitchens to visit is the warm and inviting ‘Nessa’s Family Kitchen’ which is lovingly filled with beautifully taken photographs of family and food, delectable yet doable recipes and best of all is as a busy mum to four children, Nessa knows the limitations and demands placed on a mum’s kitchen.

Book review: ‘Apron Strings’ by Nessa Robins | MummyPages.ie – mummypages.ie.

Does the Back to School Rush and Labor Day get you down?

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Edgarown, Martha’s Vineyard

Labor Day and Back to School brings with it…

a  feeling of nostalgia and a longing for things past.

recently, I have been experiencing a kind of “writer’s block” when it comes to blogging…

ever since I can remember,

my calendar year has begun when the school year begins shortly after Labor Day…

late afternoon shadows tell me that Fall and Winter are fast approaching.

white clothing used to be put away immediately after Labor Day

not to be resurrected until the following Spring and Memorial Day.

although that is no longer a dress code requirement…

it still lingers in my fashion sub-conscious.

yesterday…I came across this in…

Sunday’s New York Times’, “Photo Op” there was a reference to the poem Autumn by Keats, “seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness” “.

Philip Galanies also had this to say…

“Toss in some nostalgia for past hopes and school years long gone and Labor Day can get anyone down. Autumn is the season for growing up…

Today…I read this…

“Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen.”

Autumn Fires. Stevenson, Robert Louis. 1913. A Child’s Garden of Verses and Underwoods.

 

Bump Club and Beyond…Gearapalooza

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This week, I was fortunate to be able to attend The Bump Club Chicago’s Gearapalooza at Galt Baby.  Baby Guy NYC (Jamie Grayson) was there along with “Angry Baby” sharing all the information parents and parents to be need to know, in order to choose baby gear that is best for their lifestyle.

Gearapalooza was held at Galt Baby in Chicago, where many sponsors were available to show you their products. I was so impressed with the quality of the carriers and strollers as well as the car seat information and the ability of the gear to grow with your baby. Galt Baby is a one stop shop for baby gear.IMG_6548

If you have not heard of Gearapalooza and it is coming to a city near you, San Francisco, CA, Austin, TX and Boston, MA,  be sure to sign up early. Here in Chicago, it was sold out for two evenings with a wait list.

As you know, I am the “Baby Grandmother” since I became one almost 5 years ago. At the time, I was overwhelmed with what I did not know and all that has changed since raising my own children. As a former maternal child nurse, I wanted to fill in the gaps in my baby gear knowledge.

Today’s parents have the advantage of so many technology improvements on their side as well as the competitiveness of companies that are trying to give them what they need when it comes to making life easier at home and on the road with one baby or multiples.

It is not easy for moms and dads or grandparents to navigate all the available baby/children strollers, carriers, cribs, mattresses, breast pumps and other products. This is where  Baby Guy NYC , Bump Club and Beyond  and Galt Baby become valuable connections. They are the people that you can trust to truly help you decide what will be best for you, your baby and your lifestyle.

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Jamie Grayson is fun and energetic….he shares a lot of information in one session…he makes it fun and is more than happy to answer questions.

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To make the evening complete there a light dinner served and a raffle…where some valuable prizes were given out to some very lucky moms to be, in addition to fabulous gift bags.

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If you are a mom-to-be visit,  Bump Club and BeyondGalt Baby, and of course visit Baby Guy NYC to keep up on what’s new in baby gear before it is even available for purchase.

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Thank you to  Bump Club Chicago and Lindsay,who started Bump Club,  for including me in this event…it was a wonderful evening!

 

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall…

NarcissticReflections: Portraits of the Elderly as They Once Were

 

My eye recently got pulled towards “Reflections”. A photo series by Tom Hussey, where he portrays the elderly as they reflect on their younger selves in the mirror.

 

This is a wonderfully done series that gives you pause to think, about the passage of time and the lives we are living.

“Reflections” is for everyone…

I caught a profile glimpse of myself in the mirror last evening …

This morning…I viewed this beautiful photographic series on my Facebook page…

It gave meaning to what I saw in the mirror just yesterday.

Photographs and mirrors…

A look into the past and present…

Military Families, How Much is Too Much, Balancing Life

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In the summer, I frequently meet military moms and dads at the beach with their families. I find them to be interesting and friendly and very well traveled.

At our local beach, we are all kind of “in the same boat”…trying to relax and letting our kids/grandkids enjoy the wonderful rights of summer, sand castles, swimming and snacking. We sometimes share snacks and the best thing of all … we don’t really care what we look like.

After meeting a military family, I find myself wondering what it must be like to live this nomadic lifestyle. And then today, I find this on Facebook…I hope you read it.

 

35) Yes, we “chose” this life by voluntarily saying “I Do”… but that doesn’t mean that we knew what we were getting into.  No one can understand until they are living it.  We are all learning along the way, and could really use the support of our family and friends through the ups and downs.

This blog is mostly about parenting and parenting issues…and yes, it is an arena crowded with moms but not so many grandmothers like myself. I haven’t quite yet accomplished my goals with this blog but I really enjoy writing and sharing…it is work…but it is fun.

At times, I am definitely tempted to share too much about myself, but in my job as a social worker I have learned where to draw the boundary lines.

So what does this do for me as a blogger…well, it probably makes me not as popular and widely read as other bloggers, who share their life stories as if they were in a therapist’s office.

I am not criticizing here in a bad way…but I would caution bloggers to be careful what they share and how much…because this information will follow their children for the rest of their lives.

 

But as the parenting platform becomes more crowded, and as more accomplished women choose blogging over other viable work-life options, will writers feel pressured to keep upping the ante, revealing more and more about their kids and their private lives? After all, there are only so many eyeballs for so many posts. And what does this mean for the kids who are the subject of all this blogging? How will they react (either now or in 10 years) to their mothers publicly sharing the natural, though previously seldom discussed, underbelly of parenting emotions?

One of the hardest things to do is balance work with life as a mom and in my case grand mom. I am a fan of MomTrends and wish there was a GrandMomTrends but to my knowledge there is not.

Nicole shares some of her tips for those of us trying to create a work/life balance.

I’m sharing my top 10 tips for creating work/life balance. When Always Infinity came to me with the program, my first thought was to giggle. No working mom I know has balance 100% of the time. But some of us have a fragile dance that is working. I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I’ve got a terrific family, a thriving business and my health. I don’t want to discount my successes to luck or timing. Smart moves and good decisions help. I’d like to see more strong independent women business owners rise up in the USA. So I signed on and I’m ready to share!

Have a wonderful weekend! Thanks for reading!

 

 

Will You Watch Jenny On “The View”?

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The news that Jenny McCarthy will be joining a show as popular as “The View” is very disturbing and distressing to me.

My whole professional life has been devoted to maternal child nursing and clinical social work. Jenny’s views on vaccinations are dangerous and deadly. She has used her “Hollywood” persona to champion her anti-vaccine cause…along with thumbing her nose at legitimate scientific research.

Barbara Walters has now given Jenny a national platform. In my opinion, Barbara is making a huge professional mistake with this choice.

Does she really want to be associated with promoting the anti-vaccination culture?

Ironically, Barbara may have lived to the ripe old age of 83 because she was vaccinated when she was a child.

Barbara’s decision to give Jenny national exposure on a daily basis on “The View” is as outrageous as Jenny’s beliefs about vaccines.

It is definitely time for Barbara to retire but her last deed before leaving television should not be something that very well might eclipse all the good that she has done for women during her career. Hiring Jenny should not be part of her television legacy!

What do you think?

Personally, I  will not be viewing “The View” nor will I be supporting any of its sponsors.

 

That’s why it is so distressing to add another first to the list of Walters’s achievements: Jenny McCarthy, who will join “The View” in September, will be the show’s first co-host whose dangerous views on childhood vaccination may—if only indirectly—have contributed to the sickness and death of people throughout the Western world. See jennymccarthybodycount.com. McCarthy, who is savvy, telegenic, and pulchritudinous, is also the person most visibly associated with the deadly and authoritatively discredited anti-vaccine movement in the United States. She is not subtle: McCarthy once essentially threatened the actress Amanda Peet, who has often spoken out about the obvious benefits of childhood vaccinations, by warning Peet that she had an angry mob on her side. When people disagree with her views on television, McCarthy has been known to refute scientific data by shouting “bullshit.”

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Table Manners, Tantrums, Strong Willed Kids – Summer Weekend Reads

A Day at the Beach...Martha's Vineyard

A Day at the Beach…Martha’s Vineyard

Table manners are one of my pet peeves….but so hard to teach when life is so hectic and sit down family meals are not “regular” happenings each day as they were “back in the day”.

How do you teach table manners to your kids and grandkids?

 

Your kids may have learned table manners for restaurant eating, but if your kids are anything like mine, those table manners aren’t nearly as good at home. Circle of Moms member Rhionna H. points out two important things to remember about kids and table manners: they need to learn them while they’re young and they will learn by your example.

 

Tantrums…there is so much written about them and so little parents and grandparents can do when it comes to  the when and where of “melt downs”.

How do you handle tantrums?

Basic reasons for toddlers tantrums:

1. Can’t express what they want/need

2. Trying to assert their independence

3. Want to be in control

4. Too many limits

5. Basic needs not being met- tired, hungry, thirsty, etc.

6. Overstimulated

7. Bored

Strong will is in reality a good thing but a “strong willed” child certainly can pose a challenge to parents and grandparents as well as teachers.

Do you have a strong willed child or grandchild?

 

It is so frustrating when you have a strong-willed child who just will not cooperate. And it is even more upsetting when you read  parenting books and the “experts” suggest contradictory strategies!