Doctor Mothers...and Weekend Ideas

Good Morning Moms and Mom-Types. As I was driving to work this morning, I noticed I was on the road with one of my hospital's physicians. This physician is a mother-a working mother. There it was, 6:45a and she, like me, was heading in to work with child(ren) at home. You know, I didn't feel so bad about being a working mother. Yes, I would love to be at home with my son to take him to school, volunteer in his classroom, pick him up from school (not after-care)-the whole nine. But that is not my story at this point in my life. And the truth of the matter, there are all sorts of working mothers. There are Governor moms and Environmental Specialist mothers; Preacher moms and CEO mommies. We leave our children in the hands of their other parent, our families, loved ones, licensed care providers, teachers, etc. So, all will be well until it is as we want it to be.

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On a lighter note: IT'S FRIDAY!! What are you weekend plans? Ours will be filled with cleaning rooms, washing the car and vacuuming out the dirty chip crumbed floors, Kinder Basketball (he loves it, he really loves it) and Pop-Warner Football Cheerleading (yes, I got sucked into being a coach again--but I love it!), a kid birthday party and an adult birthday party, and Church worship service and our Sabbath rest).

Spend your weekend doing what it is you want to do and need to do most. Don't fill it with a schedule of events and tasks that mean absolutely nothing to you and your families happiness. Peace is key!

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Great ways to spend a weekend:

1. Go the park
2. Bike ride around your neighborhood
3. Bake
4. Clean/Chores in a new and different way
5. Attend a religious service of your Faith Tradition
6. Call someone you've not spoken to in a long time
7. Say "I Love You!"
8. Read a short story
9. Eat ice cream or a snow cone
10. Veg out and just "lay like broccoli"...(line from Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman-lol)

Blessings,
Aurellia

Focus on What Matters Most...and Tips on How to Avoid Exhaustion

Hi Moms and Mom-Types. I just signed my lil big boy up for his first basketball league (non-competitive, of course). I thought about the schedule that I will have and almost decided to un-sign him. Why? Well, because I will be EXHAUSTED. I thought to myself, One more item to add to the Daily Task List and one more line item for the household (single income) budget. Grrr! But then, in my mind, I fast forwarded to his life fifteen years later and realized that he will no longer be with me to experience daily life...and my growl vanished.

What matters most at this point in his life (and mine) is the time we spend together learning new things and just being a kid with his mom.

Working moms and mom-types, I know it's challenging to fit everything in but we must focus on what matters most...our kids and participating in their lives.

Blessings,
Aurellia

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Ways to Avoid Exhaustion from a Busy Schedule: (in no order)

1. Find your own quiet time

Carve out some time in your schedule to just sit and be quiet. Prayer. Meditation. Yoga. These work at centering your energy/mind.

2. Get others to help you complete tasks

I know that you don't trust everyone with your child, so you may not be able to have someone else complete a task which your child is involved. However, you can ask a co-worker, friend, family member complete other tasks for you (mail run, grocery store, etc).

3. Eliminate items from your Schedule/Task List that really are NOT important or necessary

Let's get real, some things are just not THAT important. I am not to judge what isn't important on your task list but you can simply weigh its importance by the energy you DON'T have. Is it a matter of someone's "life or death" that a task must be completed? That is heavy but it's true. Does someone's life or death depend on you attending the quilt making party? Probably not, unless it is the party that you are hosting. Get what I'm saying?

4. Laugh

Laughing is all apart of our moods and energy because it creates endorphine power. Endorphines work for us and is necessary. "[Laughter] enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain" (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-relief/SR00034).

5. Maintain a Proper Diet

This is the area where I am the worst. I get so busy that I forget to eat, believe it or not. But our bodies need to be nourished in order to have the energy to take care of all that we need. We must do better if we aren't maintaining a proper diet.

6. Get at least 7 hours of sleep

Sleep has been studied time and time again. Get some sleep and make sure you rest. "Sleep is not a luxury," says Dr. James O'Brien, medical director of the Boston SleepCare Center in Waltham, Mass. "It's a necessity for optimal functioning" (http://blogs.hbr.org/hmu/2009/01/why-sleep-is-so-important.html)

Listen to your MommyTuition

*This blog is dedicated to my Cousin who just has her first child-a little girl- and my Sister-Friend who recently adopted her nephew. Love you both and welcome to this journey of MommyWorld.

Good Evening Moms and Mom-Types. I must say that this blog entry is being written with frustration and tears. I am having a hard time putting my son to sleep because he has been unintentionally trained to only go to sleep with me by his side. How and why did this training come about? I listened to someone else instead of my MommyTuition. You know, MommyTuition. That intuitive instinct us Moms and Mom-Types get when we just know something of a hunch. All moms have it and need to use it.

When my son was a little youngster, I had a family member tell me that I needed to let my son sleep in bed with me because he needs to bond with me. This relative was older and so I felt compelled to listen to her. Unbeknownst to me at the time that this little effort to comfort him would create in him a dependence on me to sleep. I should've listened to what my Intuition as a mother was telling me: Don't do it. 

As a newborn he didn't sleep in bed with his parents. As a toddler he didn't sleep with his parents. Because I work outside of the home and have a hectic schedule as a working mother, our time together IS limited and so I understood her point. BUT at the end of the day, I am his mother and I needed to have trusted what I was hearing about my own child. 

As a young in age mother I felt insecure of my parenting because of just that, my age. I believed (and still do at times) that because I am a young in age mother (even though I have years of parenting experience as a result of being a stepmother), everyone else knows better than me. Truth is, we moms and mom-types have to trust the voice inside. As mother's we have to trust what he are hearing and feeling within us about our children. Especially us "young in age" mothers. 

I'm not saying defy the wisdom of those who've been there and done that. I'm just saying trust yourself and the spirit of mothering and parenting in you. 

Blessings. 

Aurellia