Do you ever end up stressed out or feeling overscheduled because you felt uncomfortable saying ‘no’ when someone asked you to do something? This happens many times and it is usually caused by one of the following:

1)  Not wanting to admit to ourselves and others that we can’t do it all.

2)  Feeling the need to please others and the desire to not want others to feel disappointed. 

Unfortunately, when you don’t simply say no, when you can’t fit in a task, you just end up disappointing yourself by not having enough time left over to do what’s important to you?  Can you relate to this? If so, here are a few nice ways to say “no” when the need arises.

1 -  Using a sympathetic but firm tone, just say, “I’m sorry; I’m not able to do this right now.”  If the conversation continues and you are pressed as to why you can’t comply with their request just simply tell them that it doesn’t fit in with your schedule at this time. Most people will accept this as an answer.

2 - If you’re uncomfortable being firm, or if you are dealing with very pushy person, simply say, “Let me think about it and get back to you.” This gives you a chance to review your schedule, as well as your feelings about saying “yes” to another commitment. Be sure to carefully analyze your time and other commitments and then get back to them with a yes or no. The important thing about this tactic is that it allows you the freedom to remove yourself from the initial pressure of blurting out a “yes” before you have time to check with your schedule.

3 - If you would really like to do what they’re requesting, but simply don’t  have the time to take on a large chunk of the project, why not say, “I can’t do that, but I can do x, y, z.” and mention a lesser commitment that you can make. This way you’ll still be partially involved in something you are interested in, but it will be on your own terms.

Keep in mind that when you say yes to something that you have no time to do outside of the home, you are essentially saying no to yourself or your family.

Remember, you can’t be everything to everyone.  Want a Clear-Cut Step-by-Step Action Guide to Help You Claim the Happiness That You Deserve? Visit  Journey To Joy

It never fails, school starts up, the weather gets a tad cooler and then BAM you have cooties in your house :(  

I sent my son off to school today in perfectly good health and picked him up at 3:15 and as soon as I looked at him I could tell something was a bit *off*. 

He told me in a raspy voice that he didn’t eat any lunch because his throat was too sore, so we get home, he opts to skip snack (ut oh, that means trouble) then we  muddle through the homework and try dinner only to find that chicken and rice hurt too  *sigh*.  Off into the cabinets I go searching for some soup (hint to all moms.. always keep a can of soup hidden in your cabinet).  The soup went down with no problem and we followed that with some throat spray and warm herbal tea with lemon. 

I hope that does the trick and he is feeling back to normal in the morning.

With the cost of just about everythign on the rise, living on a budget is something that most people are doing.  Here are just a few of my budget living tips:

• Yard Sales - Have one and visit them.  Why not go throught your home and see what you have that is in good condition that you can sell. Also be sure to visit yard sales as well - you can find some GREAT items at little cost.
• Use those coupons - When you toss those weekly coupons out with the trash it’s almost like throwing away CASH. Take a few moments each week to cut out just the coupons you can really use, then look through the grocery store advertisements and match your coupons to the sales, saving double!
• Slow down and drive at the speed limit. Cars use about 20% more fuel driving at 70 miles per hour than they do at 55 miles per hour.

Visit Budget Living and Discover How to Live on a Budget & Save More Money Than You Ever Thought Possible - Without Giving Up All the Things That You Love

Be sure to comment and leave your buget tips!!

You can listen to the new show by visiting  Parenting My Teen and clicking on the ‘Listen Now’ Button.

Our guest on this weeks show is Wouter van der Hall. He joins us to share the three most essential things that parents need to know about parenting our ever changing Teens. 

Also on the show is my oldest daughter, Shayna Williams. Shayna is on hand to share her tips on how parents and teens can stay in touch once the teen goes off to college.

Feel free to pass this e-mail onto your friends and be sure to email your comments about the show to me or share them on our Listener’s Line at 214-615-6505 ext. 4245

Take Care,
Aurelia Williams

Blog Rush  is a New and totally FREE program created by John Reese.    So far it is just awewome and serves as a new, fastest and easy way to drive traffic to your site.

So far I am impressed with what I read and others have been impressed with the results  and just wanted to pass along the word to my fellow bloggers.

Mothers are expected to possess huge hearts, big shoulders, a minimum of 3 hands, all the answers and the list goes on! What many mothers forget is they are not born with super hero powers to handle all of those things at once.

Mom=Stress. It’s a fact of life. Reducing stress is of the utmost importance to everyone, but especially mothers.

You know stress can lead to depression, heart disease, and an unhealthy mom. Did you also know your stress, if not handled correctly, can have a negative impact on your children too?

The most important things in a mother’s life, her children, are also the most influential. Children are sponges and everything Mom does they will, at some point in time in their lives, mimic. If children see their mother constantly stressed out, they will be more inclined to follow those patterns. What you do today can determine the kind of life your child will lead tomorrow, including how you make it a point to reduce stressful situations.

Mothers tend to overload themselves, which in turn overloads their children. Adults move at a much faster pace and their bodies are more adept to handle the speed of life. Children, on the other hand, are not able to function this way, which can lead to developmental and behavior problems in the long run if constantly pushed to keep up with an adult’s quicker pace.

Studies have shown a mother who is under excessive amounts of stress will hand out harsher punishments than one who is not. Prolonged stress can cause a mother to get to the point that she feels overwhelmed and will not stop to think before handing down discipline. This type of behavior teaches children it is ok to let your mood control your life as a parent

Children need to feel a sense of security and know that their mom is there to help them work through and understand the stressful times in their lives. If children are not taught what stress is and why it is a part of their lives, they will never learn how to reduce it, therefore leading them down a path of unhappiness and unhealthy choices. Give them the tools early about how to deal with stress and more importantly, how to reduce the amount of stress that occurs in their lives.

There is no one who lives an entirely stress free life. In fact, you shouldn’t want your children to have a life with absolutely no stress. The day will come that a stressful situation occurs and they will have no idea how to cope with it, which is cause for an extremely negative outcome.

As a mother you must show your children that stress does not have to control your life. Mother’s have a tendency to try and do it all; even when they know they are not capable. STOP! Make a point, each day, to reduce your stress levels. Eliminating just one stressful situation can make a world of difference in the way you feel and how your children handle stress as adults.

——
Aurelia Williams, Personal Life Coach and owner of Real Life Coaching. Are you looking to reduce your stress? Join our Stress Less program. Free Consultation included.

Go ahead,  call me a Sap but I got all misty eyed

Marie at MommyCommunity.com awarded my blog with the “Blog Friend Forever” Award was shocked, happy and honored to  receive it.

The award came with the following caption:

“This award is presented to awesome BLOG owners who keep their readers excited about their posts. Their blog posts are interesting (NOT spammy) and worth reading and keep their subscribers looking forward to each and every post.”

I was so honored to receive this and I really have been trying to keep this blog updated daily and filled with interestesting topics for Moms out there.  I love being here and love hearing all of your awesome comments and as you can see, by blog roll keeps growing!!

Marie, thank you so much for this award and thanks for all that you do for all moms in the internet.  Marie - you really hold up to your name as Our Friendly Web-mama

Marie is kind enough to let me pass this award on to 4 other bloggers so I would love to pass this award to:

• Holly - Holly’s Corner

• Char - Weary Parent

• Carrie Lauth - Blah, Blah, Blog

• Tishia - TishiaLee.com

You all have been providing people with AWESOME information, posts and tidbits of your life and I so enjoy visiting you all daily, your posts make me laugh, think and sometimes cry - Hugs to you all !!!

You can grab the Code for the Award Here

By friend Nell Tagged me and asked that I show off my Work-at-Home Uniform. I do most of my work pertaining to my home businesses in the afternoon and evenings mostly between 3-11 pm of course in between cooking, homework check, Tae Kwon Do practices and all of that awesome Mama’ stuff.

Well here is what I look like 90% of the time when I am working from home.  The other 5% I am in the same position but with my PJ’s on and usually you can find one or two of my kids at my side :). and the Final 5% I am in another room that has a Desk Top PC and I use that when I have a TON of website edits to make.

(Isreal just took this 10 minutes ago)

I’ve been blessed to have been WAH since 1999 right after Isaac was born - I ran an in Home Day care then got hired as an Independent Contractor for iVillage.com where I served as a Community Moderator then their Chat Coordinator.  Soon after that I Started my Real Life Solutions and Real Life Coaching Business.

What about you? What is your typical work-at-home uniform?

I’m tagging some blog friends and here is what you need to do:

• post a picture of you in your typical daily “uniform”
• tag other bloggers to join in on the fun (tag as many as you’d like)

I’m tagging:

• Crissy
• Diana
• Robin
• Sharon

I can’t wait to see you in your uniform.  Please leave me a comment and let me know what you put your picture up

Many of your know of Kelly McCausey as she is the host of WAHMTalk Radio an she is also the producer of my podcast. Well Kelly is a great business mom that ALWAYS has her heart and mind set on whats best, fair and legit for other WAHM’s.  Totay she posted about “What Makes Kelly Mad”

When I 1st read the title I was like Oh ohh, what happed out there in WAHM-Land and when I read her post I I too got Mad. Be sure to stop by Kellys Blog and share your own thoughts

One of the hottest topics lately seems to be Goal setting & Goal Getting. Setting good, clear goals is a powerful process for both your personal and professional well-being. By setting goals on a routine basis YOU decide what you want to achieve and then move step-by-step towards achieving these goals.

I always encourage women to make an effort to spend time setting sharp and clearly defined goals. One of the beautifully empowering things about goal setting is that you can measure and take pride in the achievement you make as you get closer to your goals. By setting goals, you will also raise your self confidence as you recognize your ability and competence in achieving the goals that you have set.

The process of setting goals allows you to choose where you want to go in life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know what you have to concentrate on to do it.

Remember, your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life.

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Action Steps
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Here are a few action steps for you to take into consideration when working on setting and pursuing your goals: