Relaxation Weekend?

I am still recovering from this past weekend. I have three grown daughters and they are all very stressed out right now so I came up with an insane idea; I should take the three of them away for a weekend where they can just relax and forget about their problems and reduce their stress. One weekend of total pampering (on a small budget). I filled gift bags, one for each daughter, with pampering items such as lotion, pedicure and manicure items. I put chocolate, snacks, tissues, notebooks and pens in the bags. I know, it sounds sweet, right? Let me take a moment to tell you why they are stressed. My oldest is not the warm fuzzy mother type. She likes kids but she's not very patient. She has two children that she spends 24/7 with. Her boyfriend (father to one of the children) doesn't help her with the kids or house. She never has time to herself. She wants to go back to work and he won't let her. My second child is due May 29th to have her second child. She is married to a boy (and I mean boy) who wants to act as though they are royalty even though they are broke. He thinks he is the inspiration for the "Fast and the Furious" movies. He recently started behaving in a way that makes my daughter wonder if he is being faithful. He's lying to her, coming home late, they don't talk, when he's home, he's spending time with the neighbor or watching TV. My daughter is scared that he is going to leave her with two children or try to take them from her (she's a homemaker and doesn't have an income). My third daughter (usually my sane, strong, independent, responsible and laid back daughter) is preparing for her second semester exams. This week, she finishes her first year of college. She has three big papers due this week on top of studying for her exams. On top of this, her job is at the college (work study) and they don't work over the summer so she needs to find a job in this economy. So you can see why they are stressed. I pick them up on Friday and we head to our destination (we had to stay close by because of my daughter's pregnancy ~ doctor's orders). We get to the hotel and we unload the car (so far, so good). We decide the first night, we would hang by the pool and order pizza. My second daughter started opening up at the pool about her concerns and basically trying to let go of some of the stress. My oldest (who is usually the hostile, self-righteous one) got "offended" and asked the third daughter to go outside with her. So the rest of the trip was me and my second daughter trying to relax and talk about her concerns while my oldest daughter avoided my second daughter and usually pulled my third daughter along with her. My third daughter brought her three papers with her. She didn't relax much between working on her papers and tending to my oldest. I did my best to get all three to relax. I had scented candles all over the room. I brought white roses to fill the room. I had bath salts for hot baths. Herbal tea for soothing the soul. I thought I had all of the areas covered to take care of them. I used empathy and I listened to them. So why did we come home and I feel exhausted? I know the answer to this question. I am exhausted because I spent the weekend renewing them and tending to them. I took care of them but not myself. I don't regret it for a minute but I do wish I had taken advantage of the weekend and relaxed myself some. So, how about you? Do you need to relax? Do you need a break from your stress? You don't need to go away to do this. You can ask someone to watch the children for 24 to 48 hours for you. Then turn your house into your own private spa. Light some scented candles...run a hot bath...give yourself a pedicure...give yourself a manicure...Better yet, invite a friend over and trade off. Give each other the pedi and mani. My next pampered weekend away will be with my third daughter (who still lives at home), my sister and my mom.

Turn Off Your TV

Did you know that 99% of all families have at least one TV in their home? Forty-five percent of these families have three or more TVs. At first this blew my mind, then I counted the TVs in my house and was floored! We have three that are currently in use and three more that will be in use this time next year (we are doing some renovating and still moving in so three of the rooms with TVs are not currently set up). This next statistic really boggled my mind. Fifty-six percent of all 8 to 16-year-old's have a TV in their bedrooms. In our family, we never allowed our children to have a TV in their room until they were out of High School. You may want to sit down for this next Statistic. Th average person watches 40 hours of TV per year. That's a total of 960 hours a year. Children spend 1,023 hours a year watching TV. They only spend 900 hours a year in school. Want to know why children are desensitized to violence? Maybe it's because they will see 200,000 violent acts, including16,000 murders, on TV before they turn 18-years-old. Are you aware of the fact that 70% of all TV shows include sexual content, with an average of five sexual scenes per hour? What does this mean? Why should we be concerned? On the average, 38.5 minutes per week (20,020 minutes a year) is spent on meaningful conversation between a parent and their child. What an eye-opener. When I read this, I had to share this with others. It's scary that TV is being made into a BIG part of shaping our children. It scares me to think that children will see 200,000 acts of violence and then witness it for real and think it's not a big deal. Is it any wonder that our children are growing up too fast and not mature enough to handle what the world throws at them. If they are seeing actors being killed off one show and turning up on another show a week later, then how are they suppose to really get that death is final? How are they suppose to tell the difference between whats real and what is pretend? With all of the "Reality" TV they are watching how can they be expected to know that the reality is mostly exaggerated to make "good television"? Maybe it's just me. If you are as concerned as I am, there are six things you can do. First, turn off your TV. Second, decide on TV-free times of the week and stick to them. Third, remove TVs from your bedrooms and kitchen areas. The only place you should have a TV is the Family Room or Living Room. Fourth, make a list of activities to do in place of watching TV. You could read a book, ride a bike, plant a garden, get some of those household chores done, go swimming, the possibilities are endless. Fifth, Stop using TV as a reward for good behavior, good grades or other things you would reward yourself or your children for. Sixth, When you do watch TV, be more selective. Watch things with a positive message; something educational or inspirational. Lets face it head on. We complain we don't have enough time to get things done that we need or want to get done (I'm guilty of this too) but we always have time for our favorite TV shows. Are you part of the 70% that falls into this category? By just giving up TV one day a week, we can exercise the recommended amount necessary for healthy living. We can read 20 books. We could find time to complete those projects we've been putting off. We could spend that extra time with our loved ones. Instead or watching reruns of our favorite characters lives, we could be living our own lives. Let's get into the game and stop being spectators in our own lives. One day our children will be grown and we will have missed them growing up because we were busy watching TV characters grow up. Just something to think about this Monday morning...

Marbled Eggs

I know Easter is done and the baskets are put away, but this is a fun project that you can do to add some "fancy" decor to your home anytime of the year. WHAT YOU'LL NEED: 1 Tablespoon of Food Coloring; 1 Tablespoon of Vinegar; 1 Tablespoon of Cooking Oil; Blown Eggs; Craft Glue That Dries Clear (I like Aileen's Tacky Glue); Clear Glitter Paint. Marbleized eggs don't have to be just for Easter. These beautiful eggshells can be saved for Easter, displayed all year long, made to hang on your Christmas tree, or any other creative way you can think to use them. Since you are decorating them, take a moment to think of how you want to use them and where you want to display them. Wash your eggs in soapy water (I like to put a few drops of Dawn dish liquid in some water) and dry them taking special care not to break the eggs. Take the darning needle and poke a hole in one end of the egg. Twist the needle around the inside of the egg until the yolk is broken. Turn egg to other end and poke a hole in that end with your needle. Blow hard through the top of the egg, holding the egg over your bowl. Be careful not to get the raw egg in your mouth. At first it will be hard to get the yolk out but once it starts, it runs out fairly easy. Rinse out the eggshells and let them air dry completely before decorating. In a small bowl, combine food coloring, cooking oil and vinegar until blended. Add enough water to make the liquid deep enough to cover an egg. Swirl the liquid around with a spoon and quickly lower an egg into the mixture. Remove from the solution and pat the egg dry with a paper towel. Repeat the process in as many different colors as you like. When the eggs are dry, paint a thin layer of the glue over the whole egg. Once the glue is dry, paint a thin layer of clear glitter paint over the egg. Your done! You can also use hard boiled eggs instead of blown eggs. If you want, you can draw a design or picture on the egg with a white crayon before dipping it in the solution. Wherever the crayon is will remain white. Now your decorative eggs are ready to be displayed. Remember, hard boiled eggs need to be refrigerated and kept refrigerated after coloring.

Bathtub Finger Paint

Need something to make bath time more fun? Is it a fight to get the kid's in the tub for their baths? Well FRAZZLEDNANNY has an answer: Why not have fun, clean your tub and clean your child at the same time. You can now with this Bathtub Finger Paint. You will need: 1/3 cup of clear, mild liquid dish detergent (I like Dawn); 1 tablespoon of cornstarch; food coloring. Directions: Combine the dish liquid and the cornstarch in a small bowl. Once mixed well, divide into equal parts (depending on how many colors you want). You can use small bowls, ice-cube tray, baby food jars, or any other container you have available to you. I prefer the baby food jars so I can put the lids on any unused portions and save them for later. Next add your food coloring. One or two drops is all you need. Mix with a small spoon or a Popsicle stick. For easy clean-up, keep the finger painting inside the tub. Play games like tic-tac-toe, hangman, or draw pictures. You can also use the Bathtub Finger Paint as traditional finger painting. To clean-up, just wipe off. It's so easy the kid's can clean-up after themselves. What a great way to spend time with your children! Just think of the masterpieces they can make! Have fun and enjoy your children while they are still young. Listen for the music and take time to dance...

What Matters Most In Life

It's Monday, what are your going to do to make a difference in your week? Everyone has the power of greatness. Not for fame, but greatness. Because greatness is determined by service. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Have you ever made a list of what matters most to you? If you haven't, now is a great time to do so. If you read my BLOG over the weekend, you know I just turned 40 on Sunday. I decided I could continue with my life as it was, being nice and a "good" person or I could really "walk-the-walk". So I made my list of what matters most to me. My list looks like this: 1. God 2. Family 3. Friends 4. Faith 5. Health 6. Love 7. Freedom 8. Happiness 9. Career I came across some "averages" that person spends time on. I found that I am not average. For one thing, my time commuting is far lower than the 100 hour average (I work from home). Another area that was way off for me was sleep hours. The average person gets 8.6 hours a night and I get far less. This got me to thinking about time. How do I spend my time? So I made a second list; How do I spend my 168 hours each week? It looks something like this: 1. 78 hours ~ Career 2. 28 hours ~ Homeschooling 3. 28 hours ~ Family Time 4. 28 hours ~ Sleep 5. 7 hours ~ Church I am becoming more aware of how fragile time is. Once it's gone, there is no getting it back. Our children grow and no longer need us to take care of them. Our bodies age and need more care and attention. I don't like the proportioned list of how I spend my time. So what can I do about it? I think it's time to re-organize my schedule. What can I cut back on? My career. I spend half of my time on my career. I know I'm starting a "business" but I'd rather not have my own business than to wake up one day and my kid's are grown and gone. Right? All I know is that I want to be proud of each year when I look back on them. I want to know that I mattered and that I was the person God called me to be. Today can be the start of something new in each of us. Take this opportunity to make the most of your life by making a difference in you, in your life and in the lives of those you love. Be EXTRAORDINARY and live an extraordinary life!