Real Life Solutions

http://reallifesolutions.net/MomMasterminds.HTML

Have you been evaluating your business progress lately?  How are things going?  If you’re like me you’re always looking for ways to boost traffic and turn more of my visitors into income.

I’ve learned that I keep coming back to the same tried and true strategies that work. 

Copywriting, search engine optimization, press releases, good content, cooperating with others… there’s always something more I can do in these areas!

I can recommend an excellent resource that gives you a nice introduction to these tactics for free.  It’s the Mom Masterminds Nine Day eCourse http://reallifesolutions.net/MomMasterminds.HTML

You’ll get one email every day for nine days and each one is like a  mini tutorial.

My Mom Mastermind’s membership has been so important to my success and this eCourse gives you a real taste of the quality of their resources.   I’ve been a Mom Masterminds member for over 3 years. It has been one of the greatest things I’ve done for my online business.   I’ve more than doubled my income and started 2 other great businesses that earn money monthly and have managed to build a successful team of affiliates.

Subscribe to the course here:  http://reallifesolutions.net/MomMasterminds.HTML

There are no strings attached, you can unsubscribe anytime.  (But you won’t want to!)

“But Mom, I don’t want to do my homework now”, “This is going to take me all night to finish”. Sound familiar?…

I think we as parents have probably heard every excuse in the book to prolong the homework routine.

Battles over reading, writing, and arithmetic too often drive a wedge between parents and their children. Many times these conflicts give the child a negative attitude towards homework in general and it usually leaves the parents wondering, “What are we going to do with this situation?”

One of my favorite tips for encouraging good homework ethics in the home is that the parents schedule the same time each day for Homework studies. Also, use your child’s homework time as a time for you to model the importance of learning by simply opening a book and reading it for a few moments either along-side your child or in a nearby room.

At times, getting your child to complete homework without a fuss can be a struggle. So, here are some tips that you can use to help make the homework routine at your home go a tad smoother: http://www.reallifesolutions.net/family/homework.html

P.S. Here is the Complete Guide To Encouraging Good Study Habits And Ending The Homework Wars it is a wonderful resource for all parents of school-age children: http://www.reallifesolutions.net/homework-help.HTML
 

Finding More Mom Time

What Mom hasn’t dreamed about having more time to herself? Moms are great at organizing their time each day to make sure that the household runs smoothly and the children’s needs are met; but they lack in the simple skill of setting time aside just for them.

Without their own “Me” time, Mom’s face burnout and stress. This can ultimately affect your spouse and children as well, so it’s important to find that Mom time for yourself and keep your sanity as well as your family’s. There are many ideas you can use to incorporate Mom time into your life and here are some of them:

Mothers’ Day Out – There are many childcare centers that provide a Mothers’ Day Out program. These programs don’t require that your child be registered for daily care, so you can use it only as the need arises. This is a perfect solution for mom time, because this allows you an hour or two a week to shop, hang out with friends or just pampering yourself.

Play Dates – Take a look at who your child’s friends are. Will their moms be willing to join you in a play date group? The moms in these groups can trade off and watch the other children while those moms get a short break. When it’s your turn, you return the favor and watch their children while they take some time for their own short break.

Tea Time – Taking even a short break during the day can be enough to recharge your batteries. See if you can keep your children entertained with a movie or some kind of game they can play amongst themselves. While they’re busy, you can sit down and enjoy a cup of tea or a drink of your choice. Take those couple of minutes to just sit back and enjoy a peaceful moment to yourself.

Date with Dad – It’s important for the kids to spend some quality time with dad. Why not suggest he take them out for a few hours, while you stay home and relax. The kids can go on an adventure with dad and you can stay home and appreciate the quiet atmosphere that you don’t normally experience.

Mothers’ Helper – Ever thought of having another person to help you out a couple of hours a week? If you don’t feel comfortable leaving your children with a sitter; consider having a sitter come in while you’re there. Some young teenagers that are fresh out of babysitting courses can use some experience before they go off on their own. This would be the perfect way to relieve you of some of your motherly duties and enable you to be just a “supervisor” of sorts while the sitter learns the trade.

These are only a few examples of what you can do get some time for yourself. Check with other moms and see what they do for their own Mom time. As a mom, you’ve done a great job with your family, but don’t neglect yourself in the process. Mom time is not only something you need, but deserve as well.

For more help, visit Real Life Guidance for a happier and more fulfilled you.

Is There Stress in Your Marriage?

Remember the Leave it to Beaver days, when marriages were perfect and seemed to last forever? Times have changed since then. Each year since the Cleavers were on our TV, divorces have started to rise. A marriage that lasts forever is almost a rarity in our society today.

Stress is one of the major causes of marriages dying out. When stress boils over negative emotions then take control of us. Those emotions ultimately cause most marriages to fail. Don’t let your marriage be one of them. Here are some ways that stress could sneak into your marriage like the proverbial weed in the garden of flowers.
Finances
This is probably the number one reason that marriages end in divorce. A couple could face a constant state of financial worry about where they’ll get the money to pay for bills and put food on the table. A little dose of anxiety for your finances is normal and healthy in any marriage, but never let it get to the point where it could ruin it altogether.

Learn how to live within your means. Who wouldn’t want that car with all the luxuries that could make our lives easier? Sure we would love to have it, but realistically is it necessary for your life? More than likely not. Find a vehicle that has what you need at a price you can afford. Start a monthly budget and be sure to stick with it. Bills should always be paid first before delving into luxury type items.

Credit cards are wonderful things to have for emergencies, but they can be debt traps if not used carefully. Use them only when needed and pay off the balance each month to avoid paying too much interest. If the debt is too much, look into credit counseling and see if you can consolidate your debt and get it paid off faster.
Raising Children
Raising children can be a stressful time in any couples’ lives. Both people come into the marriage having different family values. Sometimes these values clash when it comes to how their children will be raised. Arguments are then inevitable and will cause too much anxiety on the couple, which could spill over onto the children if left unchecked.

Before arguments start, sit down and discuss the problem at hand in a calm manner. Come up with a compromise on both your parts, so you come up with your own personalized values for your own family. If you work together as a team, you can overcome the stress of raising your children or at least minimize it.
Keeping your feelings inside
Communication plays a major role in a couple who stifles their feelings. Marriages can’t work if they can’t get their feelings out in the open to talk them out. If left inside, they can bottle up and explode into an outburst of anger.

Arguments become plentiful between couples, which will inevitably cause the marriage to go downhill. A marriage can be saved if the couple starts taking the time to get their feelings out and discuss them with each other. Keep the lines of communication open throughout the marriage to keep it from failing in the end.

Unfortunately, the list of stressors within a marriage doesn’t end here. There are many more stressors that will show up during a marriage, so learn to spot potential stressing situations and put out the fire before it gets out of control. Don’t be afraid to seek some professional help from a counselor if things seem to be too much for you to handle. They can help you identify the stressors and help you work them out. If stress is brought under control, your marriage will only get stronger.

Weekend Funny -

Are you Martha or Maxine?

Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of an ice cream cone to prevent ice cream drips.


Just suck the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone, for Pete’s sake! You are probably lying on the couch with your feet up eating it, anyway!

To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.


Buy Hungry Jack mashed potato mix. Keeps in the pantry for up to a year.

When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won’t be any white mess on the outside of the cake.

Go to the bakery! Hell, they’ll even decorate it for you!

If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it’s still cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt for an instant ‘fix-me-up.’


If you over-salt a dish while you are cooking, that’s too bad. Please recite with me the real woman’s motto: ‘I made it, you will eat it and I don’t care how bad it tastes!’



Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.


Celery? Never heard of it!


Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.

The Mrs. Smith frozen pie directions do not include brushing egg whites over the crust, so I don’t.


Cure for headaches: take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.


Take a lime, mix it with tequila, chill and drink! All your pains go away!


If you have a problem opening jars, try using latex dish washing gloves.. They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.


Go ask that very cute neighbor if he can open it for you.



Don’t throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.


Leftover wine??????????? HELLO!!!!!!!

When you work from a home office, you automatically put yourself at risk for greater distractions than if you worked in a typical office environment. You may have to deal with the distractions of children, pets, your spouse, neighbors, radio, television, and your refrigerator. Don’t let home office clutter be added to the list! Having a messy or cluttered home office will do nothing more than add to your stress load and make you less productive.

Click Here to gather free tips on how to organize your home office.

After Halloween is over the major holiday rush begins.  Thanksgiving comes about a month after Halloween and then Christmas comes a month later.  With all those holidays so close together, it makes sense that people would be looking for a way to have a frugal Thanksgiving as they prepare for the major expenses of the rest of the holiday season.

How can you save on Thanksgiving costs yet still provide a scrumptious meal for your family to enjoy?  These suggestions can help you cut the total amount of your food bill for the day, as well as give you ideas for cutting expenses at other times of the year.

Begin by deciding how much money you’re willing to spend on each person who will be dining with you.  A good estimate for the meal would be to spend around $10 per person and not feel like you’re serving bread and water.

Cut down on your cost by serving a vegetarian meal instead of a huge turkey to feed 20 people.  Besides saving money, you’ll also save time because vegetarian meals don’t take as long to cook.  It’s also quite possible that you won’t have all the leftovers to store and eat over the next week.

Make as much of the food from scratch as you can.  Convenience foods like pie shells, biscuit mixes, and stuffing may save time, but they’ll cost more than if you make them from scratch.  When you make pumpkin pie, try baking a pumpkin, and use the meat of it to make your pies.  Your guests will probably tell you it’s the best pumpkin pie they’ve ever had.

If you have some time before Turkey Day, begin preparing the things you can now rather than waiting until Thanksgiving Day to do so.  Make a few pies ahead of time or several dozen cookies to keep you from having to rush on the day of the feast.

Even though using disposable plates, napkins, and cutlery would make clean-up easier, it also makes the day more expensive.  It shouldn’t take more than a dishwasher load or two to get all the dishes cleaned up.  Of course, larger items like the turkey roaster will need to be washed by hands.  Tablecloths, napkins, and dishtowels may all fit into one washer load.

Buy items that are in season.  If turkeys are a really good price, and you have the room to store them, get a couple so you can use them over the next couple of months.  Don’t be afraid to stock up on staples that you know will be used.  Stay away from things that will only be used at Thanksgiving.

Use natural items to create your centerpiece if you choose to have one.  Pumpkins, gourds, pinecones, pine boughs, and fall flowers can make lovely tablescapes and they won’t cost you anything.

If money is a real problem at this time, don’t be ashamed to ask for help.  There’s nothing wrong with every family bringing an item or two to share.  Just because you’re hosting the meal does not mean that you should have to prepare everything.  Set a menu and ask people which items they would like to supply.

It is possible to have a frugal Thanksgiving and still have a great meal.  If money is tight, don’t try to do everything.  If you know that you are going to have to provide the lion’s share of the meal, begin saving months ahead of time so that everything doesn’t come out of one paycheck.

We all do it, we grab a little snack in-between meals to curb our hunger and keep our energy levels up. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Snacking is actually good for you, as long as you stick with healthy food options.

Let’s take a look at how you can transform your fridge and pantry into a haven of healthy snacks that will keep you from grabbing chips or cookies when you get hungry in-between meals.

Here you will find numerous healthy snack ideas that are sure to please you and your family.

Most of us have been there. School is back in session and the stress and insanity have reared their ugly heads. It does not really matter if your child is in preschool or high school. The insanity comes if they are in private school, public school or even home schooled.

So how do we keep our sanity, when the rest of the school age families are going insane? There are several different methods. Each family has to find their own route to the path of sanity, but there is one. Don’t give up hope.

Organization is a big factor in keeping your sanity during the school year.  There is nothing like the search for the homework paper ten minutes before the bus is due on the doorstep. Looking for your sons basketball shoes before practice is starting can be another sanity buster.

Learning to organize your home, and get your kids to stick to that organization may be two different tasks. Most parents have the best of intention when it comes to organizing. They set up area for their kids to put their “stuff”, but it inevitably ends up all over the house. Shoes are scatted from the front door, up the steps and down the hall. Schoolwork spills out of backpacks, over the table to the kitchen counter. How do we get the kids to use the organization that parents set up for them?

The best way to get the kids to use the organizations methods that are set up is to have them help to create them. A child is more apt to participate in keeping up with organization when they were a part of setting it up. When setting up a place for the child to do homework, ask them where they would like it to be. Maybe they prefer to do their homework in the kitchen while the parent prepares dinner. Setting up an area in the kitchen or dining room for them to do their work, may help them become more organize. Give them a space to keep their school supplies and backpacks. Have them set it up so it works for them. Give the child the responsibility to keep their area clean and tidy.

This same method can be used for anything the child or parent needs to be organized. Keep the child involved in the organization. From sports equipment, shoes, and homework, the more organized the better the sane the atmosphere.

Another sanity buster is the over committed child. How many activities your child is involved with can raise the stress and insanity levels of your child’s life. Reducing the number of activities your child is involved in can help you and your child save sane. Chose activities they have a passion for.  Some children and parents feel they must be involved in everything. Your child will have a well-rounded education with fewer activities. Just being more particular about the activities they are involved in and the time that they spend doing them.

Remember that not every minute, of every day has to be crowded with activities. Give you and your child time to relax. This will be a sanity buster by itself. Planning an outing that the child can look forward to on the weekends or a day off may also help. Spending one on one time with your child during the busy school schedule will help you keep involved in your child’s life.

Answers to your family’s toughest struggles are at Real Life Solutions by Aurelia Williams.