Real Life Solutions

I’m not big on Trick or Treating — I prefer to sit at home passing out candy and looking at other peoples children…lol

We took Isaac around his old neighborhood where he ended up seeing all of his old neighbors and he had a great time. We walked around for about 40mins then rushed back home to pas out candy and VIOLA it was all over by 9pm

Here is Isaac in his 1st creepy costume (Davey Jones). Usually he is a super hero but I guess he has graduated from that to Creepy.  He ended up scaring the crap out of a few kids and getting lots of Claps and kudos from the neighbors. The cutest costume I saw tonight was this little boy dressed up as a Doctor

As more and more families search for ways to become healthier, one of the most commonly overlooked health concerns is sugar consumption. Sugar consumption is most commonly identified as candy and junk food. While this is true, there are even more ways that sugar is incorporated into your family’s diet. Here are a few tips for reducing the sugar in your family’s diet.

Eat brown rice – White rice contains mostly carbohydrates, which converts to sugar after consumption. Brown rice offers full nutritional value and should be chosen over white grain rice.

Opt for whole fruit – Most kids love fruit juice. However, there are fruit juices on the shelves today that are loaded with sugar additives. Instead of drinking fruit juice, opt for whole fruit, like apples, bananas and grapes.

Eat your veggies – Lots of kids fuss over eating their vegetables. Even though this might be a huge hurdle for some families, incorporating more vegetables into your meals will reduce your sugar intake by far and large. Smart vegetables include green beans, carrots, tomatoes, and squash. Be cautious not to intake too many of the starchy veggies, like potatoes and corn, which contain high amounts of sugar.

Snack wise – Families tend to snack a lot—yes, even parents. Make fun, healthy snacks for your family instead of binging on junk food. For power-packed snacks that will keep away hunger, use protein. A light snack, like a turkey and cream cheese roll-up, will keep hunger at bay a lot longer than a bag of potato chips.

Fall winds blow and leaves make their decent from tree limbs. It is the perfect time for fun autumn activities for kids. Here are some ways to have fun with your kids this fall:

Create an autumn yard collage - This is a great way to get your kids involved in beautifying your front lawn for the fall season. Materials you will need to create your autumn yard collage include hay bales, pumpkins (all sizes), scarecrows, witches, cornucopias, etc. Anything related to fall will look wonderful. Stack your hay bales to create a backdrop. Next, place a huge scarecrow (or witch) on the center of the stack. Then add other complimentary fall accessories like cornucopias, corn stacks, ghosts, etc.

Make a haunted tree - Making a haunted tree is a fun activity for everyone. It is especially great to do right after raking leaves. First, pick the biggest, best tree in your front yard; preferably one with many long, crooked limbs. Next, take small white trash bags and stuff the top half with leaves from your yard. Twist and tie the bag into a knot, or use a twist-tie to close the end where the leaves stop. Turn upside down and you have a ghost! Make as many of these ghosts as you can, then tie them to tree limbs. As the fall winds blow, your ghosts will haunt your tree.

Happy Autumn Cards - Supply each kid with markers, paper, glue, glitter, stickers, etc. Let them make several autumn cards and write a special message on the inside of each one. After any wet appliqués are dried, gather the cards and take them to your local nursing home to distribute among patients.

Witch Broom Pencil - Witch broom pencils make a cute Halloween gift that doesn’t involve candy. You can turn any pencil into a witch’s broom with a handful of household items. All you need is a regular pencil, some small twigs out of the yard, some string and a little glue.

Break the twigs into equal lengths pieces and line them up around the unsharpened end of a pencil. Make it look like an old fashioned broom. Secure the wigs with string, and then apply a thick layer of glue to keep it all in place.

Cauldron Candy Dish - To make this cute cauldron candy dish, start with an empty round plastic container (like a cool-whip container). Clean it, dry it, and then paint it black. Paint three small wooden balls black as well. After the paint is dry, glue them to the bottom of your plastic container. Add a handle made out of wire if you’d like and your candy dish cauldron is done. Just add some of your favorite Halloween candy.

Would you like to quickly make creative Kids Halloween Costumes that you and your children will be proud of — for a fraction of the price of store-bought? Susanne Myers has co-authored a book to show you how — no sewing involved. Visit www.ILoveHalloweenCostumes.com to learn more.

Additional Resources:

Makeit & Bakeit Glittering Frames - Fun to Make! Stained Glass Suncatchers add sparkle to window decorations. Great for room decorating or to give as gifts.

The Busy Moms Book Of Quick Crafts For Kids - Quick and easy crafts, including shaving cream sculptures, ghost-it-notes, and tin-punch laterns. Over 140 pages.

Hi Everyone -

I am giving away an absolutely free copy of my report Real Life Guidance to Finding More Family Time.

In this report, you’ll discover EXACTLY how to find more time for your family AND get everything else done too.      *Be sure  to click the link above so that you can read about what you have a chance of winning.*

To win this totally free copy of the report (and all the awesome bonuses that come with it) all you have to do is this:

1. Simply create a comment to this entry telling us why you Need this report on ‘Finding More Family Time’.  Your comment must be 100 words or longer.  Thast’ it

I will choose a winner on Thursday and announce the winner right here on the Blog!  Hey, if you know of a mom out there who you feel would like to enter this contest, please feel free to share this post with her so that she can join in on the fun.

Good Luck to you all!

As promised, I am back with the 2nd part of the 10 Ways to help reduce your stress email.  If you missed Part 1, simply e-mail me at info@reallifecoaching.net and I will resend it to you.

Here are tips 6 - 10.  These tips can be applied your life and all of your relationships as it pertains to school, work, family, your significant other and friends.
 
My hope is that by applying these tips, you find positive ways to help manage all of the stress that you are dealing with. 
6 - Think Positively - Instead of focusing on negative thoughts, focus on the positive things in your life and say to yourself at least one positive thought each day.

7 - Learn to Say NO - Don’t feel guilty when you have to tell others no. Taking on additional projects or work for others when you are busy will only cause you more stress.

8 - Put Stressful Situations in Perspective - Will it matter a month from now? What about a year from now?  Is it something that you can control?  Ask yourself these questions when you are faced with a stressful situation.

9 - Get Enough Sleep:  Studies show that most people need between 6-9 hours of sleep, but most people give up sleep when they are under stress to finish more work.  Be sure to get the proper rest so that you can energize your mind, body and spirit.

10 - Find Someone to Talk to:  Talking to your friends or family can help because it gives you a chance to express your feelings. However, problems in your social life or family life can be the hardest to talk about. If you feel like you can’t talk to your family or a friend, talk to someone outside the situation. This could be your priest or minister, a therapist, your family doctor or a coach.

As always, feel free to post your comments to me, I love hearing from you.

P.S. For 300 Breakthrough Stress Relief Tips that relieves the symptoms of stress and eliminates the causes visit http://www.reallifesolutions.net/Stresstips.HTML

I am seeing an increase in women that are searching for positive ways to manage their stress. Because of this, I decided to share with you what I feel are the 10 very effective ways to deal with unhealthy stress.

These tips can be applied your life and all of your relationships as it pertains to school, work, family, your significant other and friends.

My hope is that you find positive ways to help manage all of stress that you are encounter.

1 - Manage Your Time Effectively: Keep a To Do list or daily planner and make sure to include time for yourself and time for stress reduction activities.

2 - Take a Break: Schedule several short breaks throughout your day to help minimize your stress. Get up and stretch, read a book, go for a walk or simply call a friend.

3 - Minimize Interruptions: When focusing on something important, make sure to block off a period of time when you can work without being disturbed or distracted.

4 - Eat Healthy Foods: Try to avoid foods high in fat, sugar and sodium. Be sure to snack on something healthy and do not skip meals because this will lower your energy levels.

5 - Exercise: Regular physical activity is one of the best ways to deal with stress. It releases endorphins and gives you a natural high. Try walking, bike riding or simply exercising in the comfort of your own home.

I will be back soon with the Part 2 tomorrow and I will share the remaining 5 stress reducing tips with you.

Until then, be sure post here and let me know how / if these tips have helped you.

P.S. If you have been looking for ways to work on your Relaxation and Stress Reduction then this workbook is for you. http://www.reallifesolutions.net/stressworkbook.HTML

Is your life more hectic than ever? Do you find that you become tired more frequently, lose patience easily, experience moodiness, and are so stressed that you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel? Have you lost contact with your friends?  While we tend to think we can do it all; the problem is we can’t.  We forego simple pleasures, take on unnecessary burdens and, quite frankly, put other’s needs before our own. This is a recipe for ill-health, depression, and overall sadness.  It’s time to sit down and determine how to live a balanced life.

The first step to a balanced life is to think about you and your needs.  If you fall apart, you won’t be of any use to anyone.  Selfishness is not defined by an inability to help others; it is the means by which you regenerate yourself by focusing on your own needs.  Simple ordinary pleasures can make a world of difference in your life such as: a manicure, a day out with friends; a new outfit.

You’re mental and emotional state has more to do with the balance within than you realize.  Worry drains us; yet we can’t seem to control it.  We tolerate many things which essentially drain our energy, leaving us feeling empty and void of feeling.  Sleepless nights ensue, and the cycle begins all over again the next day. Confront the problems head on; let the water out of the tank before it bursts open. Worry about the things you can control.

Protect your space from intruders who are intent on invading your thoughts and inner peace.  If someone is rude or makes a disparaging remark; walk away.  If a situation arises creating angst, deal with it then let it go.  Don’t let it disrupt your life by claiming it as your own. You didn’t create it, nor are you responsible for it.  Try not to solve the ills of the world or place the burden on your shoulders.  Life is hard enough without placing unimportant needs ahead of your own.

A path well taken is one of integrity and honesty.  Love yourself; look in the mirror every morning and acknowledge the unique person you are.  Empower yourself to accomplish your most intimate goals.  Acknowledge the kindness and good in you; you may be hard pressed to fine anyone who will. Conduct yourself with dignity and honor. Finally, take charge of your life; nurture it, reward it; and the balance within will reveal itself through the smile on your face, and the gleam in your eyes.

What can I say.. I am a sucker for sitting on my hump and shopping with just a few clicks of my mouse!  I Love shopping with WAHMs and I find the customer service is just awesome.

This morning, I just visited Chele’s Treasures and stocked up on some cute items for myself and then realized that I need to go BACK and grab some stocking stuffers for my kids!  This site is awesome and its a cinch to shop there.  Everything you wanted was right at your fingertips and ordering was easy as pie.   The only probably I had was that I wanted EVERYTHING!! (smile).  I will be back to get some personalized items for all 3 of my children before Santa Hits the sky….

Take a moment to visit Chele’s Treasures and take a look around

{{{{  Karen }}}}

Congratulations to Karen!  She is the winner of our Contest and she will receive a totally free copy of the Real Life Guidance to Balancing Work and Family report.

I have to say that this contest was so close and I really enjoyed reading all of the entries.  I want to thank all of you who participated and a special thanks to those of you who blogged about this contest and helped to spread the word.

Please do stop by to read all of the awesome entries (I tell ya’ this was a close contest).  Here is the link to the contest  so that you can go back and congratulate the winner and read the entries. 

I am thinking of making this Monday Give-a-Way a weekly thing?  What do you think about that?

Keep your eyes peeled, I am always up for fun here so keep your eyes out for other contests, freebies and prizes!

Karen - to claim your winnings please email me at
info@reallifesolutions.net and I will get the free report and the bonuses to you ASAP 

Thanks and congrats!

Have you ever met someone who was so positive about life, you wish you felt that way as well?  You can.  Positive thinking is a powerful tool.  Our minds control all of our thought processes and can be the catalyst for living a happy and positive existence or live life with a doom and gloom attitude.

Here are several ways to not only improve your mindset, but your life as well.

* If you are faced with a negative thought, change it to a positive one. Remember the movie, “Pollyanna?”  Her father taught her the “glad game.” She encouraged the town to find things to be glad about. Eventually, they did and were happier than ever before.

* Surround your life with positive people. Go to events which bring you joy or have special meaning. Invoke positive memories whenever you can.

* There is a saying, “It’s the simple things in life that make me happy.” Find those simple pleasures, no matter how small or insignificant they may be. They are yours to enjoy.

* Love yourself; nurture the inner you; love others, and most of all be kind. Greet the doorman in the morning, or give a hug to someone who needs it most.

* Help someone less fortunate than yourself. Volunteer your time at a nursing home or hospital.  When you give, you receive ten-fold.

Begin your day in a positive manner. Nothing is worse then getting up in a grumpy mood.  It not only sets the tone for the days’ events, but impacts your family as well.   It may be cliché, but take time out to smell the roses.  Give thanks for all you have; and be generous to those who have nothing.

For more a step by step guide to help gain the happiness that you deserve and to help you maintain a positivie attitude take a look at my ebook Journey To Joy