Fun MOMents For You!
Mom Waste Of Time
Throughout my life keeping busy and being productive with my time has been a welcomed trait, one that has served me well.
It is almost as if I have this little “I am wasting time here” meter going off in my head at any given moment and thus I strive hard not to be unproductive. Do you feel me here? Are you nodding in agreement?
Let us continue our back patting of our profound ability to accomplish! Yay us!
As a born “organizer” have you too found yourself seeking to find the fastest, most efficient way to get any task completed and then get after it with gusto? Exhilarating isn’t it? At times I have even been referred to as “anal retentive” which is all the more celebrated because it causes me to get the job done!
When I was a professional I prided myself in my ability to juggle several projects at once and prove my worth based on my efficiency.
But at some point…all that seemed to change.
A beautiful thing happened through my life being radically turned upside down and I altered my requirement for constant doing. Doing was for me. My priorities changed…from me to she and he. Because, I became a mom!
I am now totally efficient at doing things that “appear” to be a total waste of time.
Yes, I know radical. To be the mom is radical!
Doing nothing doesn’t come easy, it’s a learned habit, like so many of our other habits, it takes work and effort to acquire “waste of time” attributes.
Yeah – that’s what we did, and what we do, around our home – waste time!
Need an illustration?
A purple balloon.
It was my sons birthday and he picked up one of the discarded balloons from our family birthday celebration. He smiled at me and bopped it towards me with his hand – I bopped it back and after several bops the laughter ensued.
We then kicked it back and forth, then we used elbows only, then knees, then noses, then we flicked it…and just about everything else you could think of, with rounds of repeats. We kept at this for nearly forty-five minutes.
Here’s the kicker, I was supposed to be at a meeting, a gathering of moms who were working on a project together. My son was supposed to have left the house, that’s what was on the morning schedule. But…in the MOMent, my heart knew a little “waste of time” was in order.
Here’s the real kicker…this scene that has played out before your blog reading eyes did not occur on a birthday for my wee little son years ago…it occurred Tuesday for my seventeen year old son.
You see, we have a history of making time for each other, hanging out, playing, talking and even not talking, just being – the point is, years spent wasting time with my son has meant relationship building.
And relationship matters.
Please…take the time to waste some time!!!
Weekend Challenge
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about being an overwhelmed mom and suggested that spending quality time with your children may just help you battle those overwhelmed feelings.
You know what else will help?
A bit of flirting.
Yes, I am talking to my married friends out there…you need to flirt with your hubby!
Far too often the stresses of daily life burden a mom right out of one of the greatest stress relievers of all – sweet time with your man.
So girlfriend…today I am throwing out a stress relieving challenge – plan an at home date night one night this weekend!
Yes, I know it can be hard to turn off our “mommy brain” but it is oh so important to do just that. Set aside the mundane and the practical and get yourself inspired to enjoy some quality, relaxing time with your husband.
It doesn’t have to be expensive or over the top – the idea is to relieve the stress factor, not add to it. Let the kids know you are planning an at home “date night” for mom and dad and have them help you make some romantic decorations, place cards, set the table for two with candlelight and romantic music. (We once dined to Can You Feel The Love Tonight from Lion King – compliments of my sweet son!) The meal can be a simple one you make, or you could pre-order and have him pick up take out.
The stress of your day (and his) will melt away if you concentrate on loving your husband and spending quality time with him.
You can provide pizza and a movie for the kids, or get them situated with sandwiches and chips and a major art project or engineering masterpiece – whatever will keep them busy for a while.
Nothing seems to make kids happier than seeing their parents in love and you will find them eager to help you prepare and pull off a special quiet evening for two!
Best of all, in the process of planning and carrying out special time together as husband and wife you are training your children to do the same someday when they are married.
I would say that is some overwhelmingly successful parenting!
CHRISTmas break!
Remember when you were in school and you always wished Thanksgiving Break would mark the end of the school year?
Who the heck wants to go back to school and try to concentrate during the month of December when all you can think about is CHRISTmas break!
I mean really…who made the school day calendar anyway.
NOT ME!!! BUT I do make the BLOGDAY calendar.
And mine says…spend time with your family and encourage all those other bloggers out there to do the same thing. I mean really…our blog sites will still be here in January, but December 2012 will never come again.
And … if you listen to the Myans…December may never come again…or January, or February, or March, or April, blah, blah, blah.
However, God is in charge…not the Myans!
Regardless, we will be experiencing silent night – and day – around this url till January.
I do have one BIG FANTASTICAL announcement to make…God is up to something big…like ARE YOU KIDDING ME? BIG … it has something to do with a major radio station and the sharing of momlife stories that will encourage, equip and empower the daggum heck out of you…YOUR STORIES!
Stay tuned and hear me loud and clear when I say…if you have a story to tell – I want to hear about it! Send me a note through my Contact link and finish this sentence – “If I had a microphone, I would want to share…”
Moms with a microphone…watch out world!!!
Now, get off of the internet and go make family memories, deck your halls, fa-la-la-la-la, be joyful and triumphant and remember the REASON FOR THE SEASON…baby Jesus and eternity!
Guaranteed Family Memories!
What if I could tell you THE secret to making STELLAR family memories?
I am talking sure fire, 100% guaranteed family bonding and memory making that will draw your family closer together in a big way!
It will take some planning and work on your part, but I promise it will be worth it.
I am not alone in this method, I have witnessed it over and over in many, many families and it works!
It really works!
OK, that’s it, that’s all you get here…to find out the secret to guaranteed family memories you are going to have to join me over at MomLife Today where I reveal this not so secret secret!
Phooey on Tight Schedules
If you are an anal retentitve list keeper that must get lots accomplished to feel happy and secure – you may want to close your eyes, or click away, or be prepared to start laughing. This is not your kinda post – but then again, maybe that’s exactly why you should keep reading.
You see, I am guest posting over at Family Matters Blog and as a recovering Busy Mom myself – I decided to share my “take” on summer time schedules. Or should a say non-schedules.
Summer time and the living is….fun, memory filled, light heartedness, jammies, random this and that…oh yeah, I so totally went there.
If you are not sure what fun looks like for your crew, then brainstorm with your family. Pose the question, “If you could have free time to do whatever you wanted what three things would you like to do before the end of the summer?” Then…
For the full post on enjoying a laid back summer click through to Family Matters blog and read more!
School’s Out For The Summer
I am always so excited this time of year because my kids will be home more during the summer and my days, and nights, will be a bit more carefree and casual.
Yes, of course there is still lots that must get done…but daggum it I decided several years ago that when I was a kid I loved summer cause the pressure was off! So I made sort of a personal declaration that just because I was a grown up did not mean I couldn’t have a summer “break” too!
Everything is just a bit more laid back and relaxed around here in the summer. The house isn’t quite as tidy, the meals are a bit more simple, the evenings a bit more random with fun and a quick yes to most ideas that get tossed up as a possibility.
The kids can have sleep overs two (and even three) nights in a row, sleep outside, create mud pits, eat gross jelly beans, make unusual meals, get loud playing games with their friends, create strange videos, stay up half the night…you know all the stuff that used to make summer fun for you.
The way I see it, I can let them have no holds bar amazing fun at our home with their friends, or I can set up lots of rules and push them right out the door. Not knowing where they may end up, or at a home where I don’t know what the definition of fun could be…or where parents are not around and the fun is unsupervised.
We are blessed to have several friends who agree with our approach and the teens have a few houses to rotate through for fun and frolic. A couple weeks ago they were here for our Kentucky Derby Party, the week after they were at the Glub’s house for a Cereal Party!
What I have found is having light hearted kids around our home all summer havin fun, helps keep hubby and me light hearted and havin fun!
Maybe we get a bit less sleep and our grocery bill goes up – but there will be plenty of time for sleep and small grocery bills when our kids are off living their own lives.
So tell me, what extra mischief to your kids get you into during the summer? Share with me some new ideas for fun with teens!
Snack Ideas
Join me over at MomLife Today where I am sharing some secrets that just might get your children eating healthy snacks!
Gross Idea Boys Will Love
Your sons will think you are the coolest mom on the planet if you buy them jelly beans…not just any jellybeans mind you! Special ones. {gag}
Did you know there are jelly beans that are described as skunk spray, ear wax, and booger? Oh yeah, and if you want to have some rip roaring fun…gather a group of brave children and serve em up!
So, these little boxes of jelly beans are called Bean Boozled they come with 20 jelly beans in a box, 10 colors. For each colored jelly bean that tastes yummy, there is an opposing jelly bean of the exact same color that tastes disgusting. I’m not talking a little, “ew, that tastes kinda’ yucky” bad. I’m talking, face contorting, gagging, spit out of your mouth “someone give me a razor blade so I can shave my tongue” bad.
Don’t believe me? Here are the flavors of yummy jelly beans and the opposing foul offerings:
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Buttered Popcorn vs Rotten Egg
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Licorice vs Skunk Spray
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Café Latte vs Ear Wax
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Coconut vs Baby Wipe
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Juicy Pear vs Booger
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Berry Blue vs Toothpaste
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Plum vs Black Pepper
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Caramel Corn vs Moldy Cheese
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Top Banana vs Pencil Shavings
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Peach vs Vomit
What has the world come to? There is actually a food product bought by our children that has written in plain English, right on the package, booger and vomit. Enjoy…cough, cough!
I might add – you owe me … because you have the option to not buy them, but now when your sweet little child looks at you with a smile and says, “Mom, want a jelly bean?” You now know the answer is, “No thanks, no booger for me!”
Mudventure!

Over on MomLife Today we have a sublime listing of summer fun ideas for you to ramp up the woo hoo at your place over the summer! We are hoping our mom community will try some of the ideas out and better yet, share their fun ideas with the rest of us!
We jest not on the ideas we suggest for fun-filled summer days! Case in point…a water fight…which led to a mud bath at the little Eyster Ranch!
If you are curious about just how that turned out I invite you to visit me over at MomLife Today where I share our mudventure…photos included!










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