I'm certain our schedule will be edited and adjusted in the future, but for many moms including myself, we are desperate for some sort of routine and predictability.
I know that a lot of us are home with kiddos and a lack of structure can make the days feel almost endless and lead to chaos, then frustration, and all in all - stress. So I thought I'd dust off my preschool teacher hat and put together a flexible schedule and list of activities anyone can do at home. This plan is set up for a my family - a single mom of two boys who also does some work from home. Note : These are aimed at preschool ages 3-5 but can be modified for other ages. Extra Note: Judge me if you may, but yes I allow my kids some TV time (educational kids shows) and screen time (child friendly monitored games)
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 Being stay at home mom can take a toll in several ways. We can "lose ourselves", get bored, stir crazy, or just find ourselves in a less than awesome mindset I think it's critical to develop a healthy positive mindset, and it usually has to take a bit of intentionality.
Why is this important? As a friend told me, "Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny." Your thought life is the foundation of everything you do and how you perceive the world around you. Your thoughts affect your behavior, which in turn affects your family and household. So it is critical to learn how to be mindful of your thought patterns and intentionally work towards making it positive and healthy.  Random theme days are just so much fun! Why wait for a birthday or special occasion to bust out someone's favorite thing by the bunches?! It adds excitement and anticipation to an ordinary day, and create some pretty special memories.
My boys' were bumming one morning, so to infuse their day with cheer, I said "Let's do Dino Day after school!" - - oh my boys take everything we say as law. So it was on! Read on if you wanna see how much fun we had, and how simple it really is to make any day extra special.  As moms, most of us hope to manage our children's screen time well. It's common knowledge that too much time in front of the TV, tablet, and smartphone can have negative effects on children. But what about adults?
How many of us zone out scrolling social media or fall down the rabbit hole of Amazon or Pinterest? I know this happens because I'm fully guilty of being that mom. I've become more aware of my screen time overload so I thought I might not possibly be the only one. I want to share some effects of screen time here and suggestions how you and I can have a more balanced approach. As an entrepreneur I was introduced to a book a while back that has had a profound impact on my life in a very tangible way. Hal Elrod’s “Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs” taught me how to start my day well, which in turn has improved the daily lives of myself and my family.
I absolutely recommend the books on Miracle Morning and will share with you all how I practice the SAVERS method, I learned in this book, myself. To be quite honest, it has been a couple years since I read through the book, but because the acronym is so simple to remember, I haven’t forgotten what I learned. I had let my morning practice slide but this past summer (2019) I knew that I needed to implement my Miracle Mornings again. I just knew that if I could manage to do that, it would make the transition back to school exponentially better for my family. "Salsa Dancing after 9pm?! I don’t think I can make it. AKA...I’m too tired and old to get ready for something that BEGINS at 10pm; plus I feel fat and don’t look cute in anything. And I probably will look ridiculous anyway. It’s been way too long."
3 years. It’s been at least 3 years since I’ve gone salsa dancing. I know that because my youngest son turns 3 in a few months and I haven’t danced since he was born. Or even when I was pregnant with him. I barely danced since having my first child. But who cares? I mean moms aren’t supposed to be out late dancing anyway right? Depends, I say.
Do you feel like a toy volcano had a violent explosion in your house sometimes? How in the world do we contain all the legos, dinosaurs, teddy bears, puzzles, and trains when they just keep comin? Kids get gifts; month after month the piles grow, and they leave you with a limp after stepping on yet another toy left out on the floor. We’ve managed a system that helps tame the abundance, while allowing our home to still be kid-friendly, and lets mama breathe easy too. Keep reading if you’d like to see how we do it.
This past Monday was a HUGE wake up call for me. As posted on my IG page that day…
“Some days you feel like the worst mom in the world. Today is one of those days for me. Getting my boys into the car this morning I heard loud alarms and couldn’t figure it out. Until I saw the fire in my kitchen from the window. Leaving the boys alone in the car I rushed in and froze at how to put it out. Thankfully my neighbor ran over and put a towel on it and it went out pretty quick. It took me a while to figure out how to turn off all the smoke detectors. We were fine driving to school. Until I was not. I began to sob, thinking of all the ways I just failed in that moment. 
This is a stock image and not a representation of the fire in our kitchen.
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I may have mentioned this before in my Green Gift Guide, but I’m not the best gift-buyer. You know how some people are crazy thoughtful and creative? My sister Laurie, and friend Maile gift fabulous gifts. I’m just not talented like that. But Mother’s Day is coming up, and it's no excuse to drop the ball on getting the most special women in our lives something as wonderful as they are. So I’m compiling a list of gift ideas I think most mamas would enjoy - which is a lot easier to figure out since I’m one too! {Message to Dads: we don’t want to go out for brunch with the family. Having to tame wild kids at a fancy restaurant is not our idea of being treated, sorry} Seriously, my dream Mother’s Day would be a staycation at a lovely hotel, mostly by. my. self :) Mamas, correct me if I’m wrong, we all love some good old relaxation, pampering and alone time. 
A great friend and mentor of mine recently shared about the supplements she's found for her children. I thought it was really educational and of value to share with all of you. This article is written in interview form and I'll also share any applicable links (images are clickable) or contact info so you can find these easily if they are something you'd like to add to your family's routine.
I'd like to introduce you all to Rita Griep. It's so crazy, we actually connected randomly on Instagram and now have been a part of each other's lives for 2 years. Her two older children are about the same age as my boys and I've known her long enough to trust her judgement regarding health and wellness. 
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AuthorMalia was born and raised in Kaneohe, Hawaii and graduated from Azusa Pacific University. She spent the majority of her career as an Early Childhood Education Teacher/Administrator. Archives
February 2020
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