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WELCOME TO HOMEBODIES
February 27, 2007
Volume 8, Issue 9
Weekly encouragement and empowerment e-zine
for stay-at-home parents and working parents
considering the at-home lifestyle
Your Hostess - Cheryl Gochnauer, author of
"Stay-at-Home Handbook", "So You Want to Be a
Stay-at-Home Mom", "Mom to Mom" and founder of
http://www.homebodies.org
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THIS WEEK'S ARTICLES:
"Parenting Partnerships: Part II – You Deserve a Break Today" by Homebodies
founder Cheryl Gochnauer
“Built-In Beauty" by Homebodies columnist Mia Cronan, founder of Mainstreet
Moms (http://www.mainstreetmom.com)
"A Dozen Cheap Thrills: Family Entertainment on a Budget" by Homebodies
columnist Debi Taylor-Hough, founder of Simple Times
(http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/
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PARENTING PARTNERSHIPS:
PART II – YOU DESERVE A BREAK TODAY
Homebodies
By Cheryl Gochnauer
homebodies@comcast.net
Copyright 2007
Terry and I both remember the moment we realized that at-home spouses need
to be put in timeout – away from the house – on a regular basis:
If you ignore them, they’ll go away, I thought.
Little fingers wiggled in the space under the bedroom door as I punched up
the pillows on my bed and slid my legs under the covers, hugging a hot bag
of microwave popcorn and a soda I didn’t have to share. The movie I’d put in
the DVD player was just starting.
“Whatcha doin’, Mommy?” My daughter was on her belly on the other side of
the door, her plaintive whisper wafting through the crack and across the
room.
I turned up the volume on the TV.
“Momm-mmmmm-mmmy,” the singsong voice got a little louder.
Terry was supposed to be watching the girls. Where is he? I thought,
determined to enjoy some much needed downtime. The opening credits were
almost done. I was THIS close to that rarest of experiences: Enjoying a show
without animated characters.
“MOMMY!”
I whipped the door open. “WHAAAAAAT!!!!”
I’ve blocked the next few minutes from my memory. Suffice to say, Terry and
I decided I’d be taking my timeouts someplace else from then on.
For me, at-home parenting is wonderful and aggravating, challenging and
exasperating, exhilarating and bone-wearying. Ultimately, it’s the best job
I’ve ever had.
I still need my breaks, though. At least once a week, I leave the house and
get away from parenting and household responsibilities. These moments are so
important, Terry and I budget for them. The best and most refreshing times
occur when we break away together.
If you're feeling a bit overwhelmed, don’t go away mad. Just go away. And
when you return, you may be surprised to find that those things that were
irritating you about your little ones aren’t really that bad. In fact, some
of their antics may hit you as kinda cute!
(NEXT WEEK: PART III – BACK TO THE FUTURE)
*****
Comments? Write Cheryl at homebodies@comcast.net.
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BUILT-IN BEAUTY
Mainstreet Moms
By Mia Cronan
mia@mainstreetmom.com
Copyright 2007
In a day and age when life moves a little too fast for many of us, it's safe
to say we could all use a little more peace and beauty in our routine. I'm
learning at a shamefully slow rate that those things can be found in the
smallest of details, as long as we're looking. And whether or not we're
looking depends largely on where our focus is, naturally. Just this morning,
I was scrounging to find something green for each of our oldest three
daughters to wear to school since it's St. Patrick's Day. Being the mother
of an Irish family, I was feeling rather inadequate while looking through
the girls' closets and drawers, coming up with nothing green. They were not
particularly pleased either, reminding me how "EVERYone will be TOTALLY in
green but me, Mom!" I ended up raiding my own closet, offering things
clearly too large for them, but the girls were delighted with the options
and felt "cool" wearing clothes that hung on their small frames. I actually
gave up "cool" about 20 years ago, so now I suppose I can be the support
staff for the next generation of cool. Unfortunately, I had nothing in my
closet for our four-month-old daughter or our three-year-old son.
Thankfully, being cool is not a priority for them yet.
Then everyone was dressed, the normal morning routine began. It was time to
distribute cereals, issue vitamins, get teeth brushed, organize backpacks,
grab cold weather accoutrements, unload the dishwasher, reload it, get a
load of laundry going, and deposit the girls on their respective buses. At
the height of chaos this morning, I looked over just in time to see the baby
with a huge grin on her face. I immediately felt my stress level decline,
and I couldn't help but smile myself. I found beauty in such a small
gesture, made by such a small person. But what I had momentarily lost sight
of is that the beauty is really all around me, all the time. It's in my
oldest daughter's pleas for help stuffing all her school belongings in her
backpack. It's in the fact that my seven-year-old took it upon herself to
change and feed the baby when she got up this morning. It's in my
three-year-old's huge blue eyes as he's begging me to put his fireman boots
on him. Taking it a step further, there's beauty in my being here to get
them on the bus, off the bus, watching them take those first steps, being
the one to spackle their little faces with cereal for the first time, and
dancing to the Drifters with them in the family room.
Attitude is 90% of any situation. I could lament that my children have
dragged out the crayons, paper, colored pencils, and safety scissors for the
eighth time today, which means I have to coax and guide them to put it all
away again when they're through, or I could rejoice that they are using
their creativity and having fun. I could moan and groan about not being able
to run a simple errand without schlepping around a fat diaper bag, a car
carrier, and three small children, or I could find joy in having these
little wonders at my side on a sunny day. I could beg God to give me a
minute to myself, or I can thank God for the short time span that I have to
do my best as a mother.
I think God knew just what He was doing when He engineered the average child
and parent. He knew that the crying of a baby would spark an innate need for
a parent to soothe whatever is causing the little one's discomfort. He also
knew that building in things like a baby's smiles, coos, and giggles would
soothe whatever is causing a parent's discomfort. Works for me!
It takes effort to jerk myself out of a blue funk brought on by persistent
cold weather that's keeping spring at bay, but it's worth the effort. It
would be easy to get bored with the "Groundhog Day movie" mentality that
permeates my daily routine. Truthfully, however, it's easier to seek out
meaning and depth from the everyday things that grow from being surrounded
by my children. Their sense of wonder, their innocence, their needfulness,
all remind me of the blessing and the privilege I have been given in raising
them.
*****
Mia Cronan is a happily married at-home mother of five children. She owns
and edits http://MainStreetMom.com, the magazine for modern mothers with
traditional values. Mia can be reached at mia@mainstreetmom.com.
MainStreetMom.com is the flagship site of http://EMCWebs.com.
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A DOZEN CHEAP THRILLS:
FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT ON A BUDGET
Simple Times
By Deborah Taylor-Hough
dsimple@aol.com
Copyright 2007
Frugal living and family entertainment often feel like terms on the opposite
end of the spending spectrum. But if money's tight, it's important to plan
some fun into those sunny weekends and summer vacation, otherwise life can
get a bit dull and frugal living can seem more like a straight-jacket rather
than a means to help you reach your financial goals.
Here are a few simple ways to save a few pennies on
common entertainment expenses:
1) Be patient and wait to see new movies on video or DVD. Some
communities even offer free VHS/DVD rentals at local libraries
and will order new movies if library patrons request a certain
title.
2) Check to see if there are any discount movie theaters in
your area. Most of these places show movies just before
they're released to video. Keep a list of movies you want to
see, and then check the discount theater listings each
week. These theaters often keep the movies for just
one or two weeks, so stay alert to what's playing.
3) Go to the first show of the day at first-run theaters for
the best prices (and shortest lines!).
4) Check your area for free days at museums, zoos, etc.
5) Rather than buying separate admissions to different
educational or fun family destinations, buy one yearly
family pass to either the zoo, the aquarium, or a theme
park. Go repeatedly to that one place each time you
want a family outing. You will easily save the cost of
the family admission, plus you'll have the benefit of not
feeling pressured to see everything in one day. You
can always see what you missed the next time you
come. Next year, buy a pass somewhere else.
6) Check for free concerts, plays, and other live family
entertainment in local parks.
7) Call and find out if your local college stage production
group, ballet or orchestra will let you watch them rehearse
for free.
8) If you want to eat at an expensive restaurant, go for
lunch rather than dinner. The menu is usually the same,
but the prices are often half.
9) When dining out, drink water only. Ask for a lemon
or lime wedge if you want to make your drink seem
special. This trick can easily cut $10 off your family's
total dining bill, which could mean the difference between
going out for a fun meal or staying home eating frozen
egg rolls again.
10) Go fly a kite. Literally!
11) Make the most of any available student discounts.
Show your child's school ID at museums, zoos, galleries,
theaters, etc.
12) Instead of an expensive day of professional sports,
go to a high school or community college game.
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Deborah Taylor-Hough (wife and mother of three) is the author of 'Frozen
Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month' and 'Frugal Living For
Dummies(r)' (Wiley, 2003). Visit Debi online for more articles and tips at
http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/
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PUBLICATION INFORMATION
Copyright 2007 Cheryl Gochnauer. All rights reserved. For permission to
reprint an article, please write homebodies@comcast.net.
All articles are printed with the author's prior consent. It is assumed that
any questions, tips or replies to questions may be reprinted. All letters
become the property of Cheryl Gochnauer.
Cheryl Gochnauer does not assume responsibility for advice given. All
advice should be weighed against your own abilities and circumstances and
applied accordingly. It is up to the reader to determine if advice is safe
and suitable for their own situation.
Homebodies is a free weekly e-mail newsletter.
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