Steady Mom

Links I Love

I have an 8-year-old--wild.

 

* Can You See Me? - an incredible celebrity flashmob in honor of Love146

* Wherein My Heart Changes @ The Life Artist

* How Can We Possibly Connect with ALL our Followers? @ Jody Hedlund

* The Stylish Mama @ The Creative Mama (fun to see Steady Days mentioned in this way!)

* Bloggers without Borders: Help for Joplin, MO @ Simple Bites

 

5 Ways to Make the Monotonous More Fun

Written by Steady Mom contributor Eren of Vintage Chica

I love, love, love being a stay-at-home mom to my three boys and all that it entails.  I’d never ever want to trade it for the world.
 
But just between you and me, the monotony of the day to day grind can get to me.  The dishes, the laundry, the lunches, the laundry, the homework, the laundry.  You know.
 
It's not that I am ungrateful for the chance to stay at home with my boys.  I realize it is a gift.  I really do.
 
Sometimes it just all gets a bit…well, dull.
 
So I’ve been thinking about how to make the monotonous times in my day a bit more exciting.
 
Here is the list I’ve come up with so far.

Your job is to find your passion and pursue it.

Photo by Darren Shilson

When we become moms, our identities get completely intertwined with little souls we didn't know beforehand. At times there is no time--no time or free brain cells to even pause and reflect in the midst of baby coos and sleeplessness and explosive diaper changes.

But eventually we surface for a breath. Eventually we may find ourselves asking, once or a thousand times, "What has happened to me?"

We recognize the changes are, for the most part, good ones. We wouldn't trade it or go back to our previous lives.

But we wouldn't mind having a little downtime now and then to rekindle some of our inner passions, to nurture ourselves so we can more fully nurture others.

Here are a few thoughts that may help you do just that.

Questioning the Win or Lose Parenting Myth

Written by contributor Hillary Boucher of infinitely learning

There's a popular parenting myth that I run into often.

It says that in order to be a good parent you need to stick to your guns. That's right--pick your stance and stand your ground.

Don't give in because then they will win; and if they win that means you've lost. And since you're the parent you must never lose.

"They" being your children, of course. And you, in that process of trying to win, you might accidentally put them in the role of the loser and...wait, what were we trying to do again?

Turns out parents are human--just like everyone else and if we use the "stick to your guns" technique across the board we're missing a lot of opportunities to teach our children what it means to be a person.

A person who makes mistakes, changes their mind and is willing to rethink a decision. A person who is humble enough to make the first move and creative enough to think outside the box of black and white, winner and loser.