What mom's really want!

If you're anything like me - you're constantly trying to find the balance between work and family life.  There are at least 10x a week when I have the thought "gee I wish I could work part time".  Between keeping house, laundry, meals - not to mention actually interacting with my family ON TOP of a 40 hour work week - well yea, I go to bed about an hour after my 2 year old every night.  I'm not "really" complaining - it's my life, I chose it.  I do, however, wish there were alternatives.  The truth is to maintain our standard of living, currently I am required to work full time and I have to make my family life work with that.  Someday I hope to be able to establish my own business where I can control the amount of income I make as well as the hours I devote to it - but that day remains in the future.  Huffington Post featured an article titled What Mothers Really Want: To Opt In Between and in it they cite a Hulafrog study that is basically spot on with my feelings regarding work/life balance.  I am posting the inforgraphic below.  I'm curious to see where others stand on this issue - let me know your thoughts!

Easy (and beneficial) exercise for mamas who work

Yoga is wonderful - it's all about taking a break out your crazy day and for 30-60 minutes just being in tune with "you".  Yoga can also have several health benefits and is a good source of stretching and strength training.  If you're like me, getting to the gym is basically impossible - between work and caring for my two year old son, I don't have time for actual yoga classes (though I wish I did!).  Everyday I try to do a combination of yoga poses/stretches for two reasons: (1) to have a little "me" time and (2) because I know my body is basically stagnant during the day at work (I have one of those traditional "desk jobs").  Huffington Post released this great article for mom's like me who have no time for the gym: 12 Yoga Poses to Undo the Damage of Your Desk Job.  I highly recommend other moms give it a read and try to incorporate into their daily routine.  My personal recommendation: try to take 15 minutes first thing in the morning and 15 minutes right before bed.  If you're not a morning person, try to do 30 minutes before bed.  You don't need to do all the moves everyday, but try to mix it up as each move is designed to stretch a different part of the body.  Good luck!!  Let me know if this helps you at all!

GREAT video to get your kids to watch about internet safety!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND: Great Video on Internet Safety

Don't just try to hover over your kids and what they're doing on the internet - teach them to use the internet responsibly and what it can mean once information is out on the internet.

7 Secrets of Highly Happy Children

Today I read an article over at Huffington Post called 7 Secrets of Highly Happy Children and it got me thinking about how I interact with my son.  I agree with every point in the article and recommend you give it a read.  Reflecting on my parenting adventure thus far, I would say the main lesson my son has taught me is that you have to be engaged in the parenting process.  Yes, sometimes after work all you want to do is plop down on the couch for an hour and watch TV - however your toddler may have other plans or yell or cry to be noticed by you.  Turning the TV off and sitting on the floor, talking to your child, reading books, singing and just being silly can be as much of an escape as that hour of zoning out in front of the TV.  Time passes even more easily when you're engaged with your baby/toddler and they are aware that they have 100% (or even 50% while you're trying to cook dinner) of your attention.  There is less fussing and more fun.  Give it a try - let me know how it works out for you.  Generally in our house, the parents don't get to "chill out and watch TV" until after our 2 year old son is in bed and that's ok for us - it also helps us sleep better at night since we're exhausted from running around with him. :)

Disclaimer: this post is purely my opinion and is not meant to offend any one in any way.  If you choose to comment on this post, please do so respectfully.

Impeach the President? Like we've got nothing better to do ...

Articles like this really get my ire up.  Today CNN posted the following article: GOP Rep.: House 'could probably get the votes' to impeach Obama.

First off, let me just say - I am SO over hearing about this.  In this day and age (and with all the technology we have available at our finger tips) - there is no way the birth of a presidential candidate wasn't 100% vetted and confirmed prior to him even running for President.

Secondly, regardless of whether or not you like him - the American people elected Obama as President for not 1, but 2 terms.  The GOP needs to get over it.  If they want to start focusing on candidates for the 2016 election, that's one thing, but quit wasting the American people's time and hard earned money talking about impeaching Obama because you don't believe he was born in the United States - obviously the people that voted for him don't really care.

Lastly, every time this comes up - it costs Americans money.  The more the GOP sit around and talk about Obama and his birth, the less time they're sitting around and talking about issues that matter.  Issues like reducing the deficit, bettering education and the working environment for Americans and their families, immigration, approaching sequestration - ALL of these issues are more important than whether or not Obama was born in the U.S.

I'd be curious to hear what others think about this - do you believe Obama's birth matters and why or do you believe it's all just a big waste of time and money?

Disclaimer: this post is purely my opinion and is not meant to offend any one in any way.  If you choose to comment on this post, please do so respectfully.

Parenting humor ...

My other mom friends are constantly linking hilarious things regarding parenting so I thought I would share a few of them here with you.

Has anyone ever heard of the CTFD method of parenting?  I highly recommend you give it a read here.  David Vienna does a great job summarizing that parents just need to chill out sometimes.  As long as you love your child and are doing the best you can do for them - you're a good parent.

As a follow up to this awesome article, I found this great graphic:

Since I've become a parent, I've often noticed that I'm constantly comparing myself as a mother & parent to other parents.  "Oh, they're doing such and such, should I be doing that too?"  The truth is: there is no perfect formula out there on how to be a perfect parent and raise perfect children - we're all just mucking through it the best we can.  Have I learned things with my first that I'll do differently with my second?  Sure, but that's life - making mistakes, making changes and figuring things out as you go.

Second note to this graphic, I've noticed there is often a lot of judgment among parents (I, myself, have occasionally been guilty of it), but we need to remember that every family (and family situation) is different and parents are just doing what they can and what they believe is best for their children.  As observers (and people who may not have all the facts), we need to respect others decisions on how they raise their children, not judge them.  I also think all the differences in how we raise children are a positive, because as our children make friends they're exposed to different belief systems and different things - thus further expanding their world.

And to wrap up this post I was recently linked this funny article: 10 (Mildly Shallow) Reasons to Breastfeed.  I really have nothing to say about it as the article does a great job, but I highly recommend all moms (whether breastfeeding or not) give it a read as I'm sure it will bring a smile to your face today.

Disclaimer: this post is purely my opinion and is not meant to offend any one in any way.  If you choose to comment on this post, please do so respectfully.

Maternity Leave in the US

This is a topic that really gets under my skin.  Women work just as hard as men, yet when it comes time to start a family, the United States is one country that does not offer any kind of paid leave.  It truly is amazing to me.

Check out this awesome infographic (from HuffPost):

In the US, we have the Family & Medical Leave Act which qualifies new mom's to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave off from work with no penalty of losing their position.  More and more, individual companies have stepped up to help offer working moms paid maternity leave (usually at least 6 weeks at 80% pay - a basic short term disability claim), but for the hundreds of thousands of women who work part-time or lower wage paying positions, they simply have unpaid leave in a situation where it's already difficult to get by.  For the life of me, I cannot understand why we are so behind in these basic benefits.  The US ranks 27th out of 37 developed countries according to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development - 27th!!  Countries like India and Mexico top the US in paid maternity leave & benefits.

I won't prattle on, but I am curious to hear what your thoughts are on the matter.  I am linking several articles below and I look forward to hearing from you.

Why 26% of US women still choose not to work

Best Countries for Working Moms & Dads

Maternity Leaves Around the World

Maternity Leave Benefits Around the World

More than 120 Nations Provide Paid Maternity Leave

Motherhood Around the Globe

Disclaimer: this post is purely my opinion and is not meant to offend any one in any way.  If you choose to comment on this post, please do so respectfully.