Real Life Solutions

Do you ever wish you could be SuperMom? You know – the women who has it all. You know the type – she is always smiling, wears great outfits, always has her make up and hair done. Her kids are perfect. Her husband is perfect. Her house is always neat and clean. She cooks homemade dinners every night. And she somehow manages to run the PTA, organize the car pool, volunteer for every class trip. And she’s probably a lawyer during the day and a surgeon on the weekends. Yeah, right.

This person does not exist. And anyone who pretends to be this kind of person is more than likely miserable. Just think about how unhappy you would be if you spent all of your time trying to live up to some impossible task.

The whole image of the SuperMom was created by advertisers as a tool to sell us things. If we see an ad that shows a happy looking family who seems to have it all, it is our human nature to emulate them. We want what they have. If the mother of that family is using xyz soap, we want to use xyz soap.

Over the years, we have, as a society, held on to these images of “perfect” families as our role models. The media also takes a turn in this by creating television shows and movies that feature these perfect families.

Many people feel bad about themselves when they realize that they do not ‘match up’ to these families. Don’t let the fictional SuperMom make you feel bad about yourself.

Remember – this person is not real. And if she ever had to live a day in your shoes, she would be falling apart by noon!

Tired of Feeling You Have to Be “Supermom” To Be A Good Mom?  Here’s how to break free of The Supermom Syndrome…without the guilt. Click here to stop the vicious cycle now.

Are your kids sick of eating the same old sandwiches for lunch? Here are some ideas for cool lunches your kids will love:

Fruit And Waffle Brunch
When it comes to lunch, think outside the box and pack your child a brunch instead. Simply heat some frozen waffles, cut into strips, and place into a container. If your child likes maple syrup, place that into a separate small container to avoid getting the waffles soggy.

Then, slice up your child’s favorite fruit (may have to put some lemon juice on top to avoid browning). Need a fun dip idea? Peanut butter makes a great dip for many types of fruit and is packed with protein.

Mini Party Platter
Kids love to eat snacks, so why not create a healthy lunch that looks like a big snack? To assemble, cube turkey or ham from the deli, slice up some cheese and don’t forget to add some mulit-grain crackers. Add in some baby carrots along with some celery and bell pepper slices and you have a great lunch!

Not Your Average Sandwich
Instead of using bread, make your child’s sandwich with a bagel. All you need to is spread each side with cream cheese and top with your favorite lunch meat. Add some veggies for extra credit.

Wrapped In Style
Why settle for a standard sandwich when you can wrap it in style? Your choices are limitless, as any sandwich can be turned into a wrap. For starters, here’s a quick and easy BLT wrap:

Spread some cream cheese on a whole wheat flour tortilla. Top with some sliced tomatoes, mixed salad greens, cooked and crumbled bacon, and some low fat ranch salad dressing. Roll the tortilla up tightly. To keep the wrap fresh, place some frozen juice boxes in a sealed plastic bag in the lunch box.

When it comes to starting a home business, one of the most important skills you can develop is time management. It can be difficult to juggle your family life with the demands of a business. Learning a few tips and tricks now will help you avoid problems in the future.

Investing in a planner is a very smart decision. It can be paper or digital – just make sure it is something you like and are comfortable using.

To help keep you on track and working towards your goals, create weekly and daily to do lists and keep track of them in your new planner. Make sure you list all of the things that need to be completed for your own business, as well as any projects you may be taking on for clients or joint venture partners.

People who work from home face a lot of time zappers. Avoid distraction by turning the television off, letting non-important phone calls go to voice mail, and resisting the urge to check your email and surf the net until your work is completed. This can be hard – unplug your modem and disable your wifi if necessary!

Procrastination is a big enemy of people with home based businesses. Fight off this monster by setting small goals and rewarding yourself when you achieve them. Tell other people your goals and ask them to hold you accountable. Find out what motivates you and use it to keep you going, even when you feel like quitting.

To free up parts of your schedule, outsource some tasks to others. The work will still be getting done and you’ll have more time and energy to focus on the parts of your business that you enjoy the most.

If possible, try to group your tasks together. For example, instead of writing one blog post every day, create several of them once per week. Instead of checking your email and answering it throughout the day, set aside an hour in the morning and an hour at night to answer all of your email at once.

This will save you a lot of time in the long run. If you are constantly switching between tasks, your mind can get frustrated and you’ll actually end up wasting time.

By implementing a few time management tricks, you’ll be able to finish more tasks and enjoy more of your day.

Parents often dread the beginning of school because clothing, supplies, and fees for their children can be so expensive. However, there are ways to purchase the items your children need without going over budget. Considering how much money you stand to spend at the start of the new school year, here are five tips on saving money on school supplies.

When the school system releases the supply lists for students, you’ll want to obtain a list as quickly as possible. This will enable to you to see what is needed and make plans for purchasing those items.

Purchase during tax-free holiday

Many states now offer tax-free holidays right before school starts so families can purchase school supplies and save money at the same time. With taxes adding up to 10% of your back-to-school purchase cost, this could be a considerable savings when purchasing school-related items. You can check with the local board of education to find out if your state is planning a tax-free holiday.

Shop online

Office supply stores often have back-to-school sales. Sign up to receive emails with sales flyers or online coupons when making large purchases. As the school year begins, these sales will increase and quite often you can have the items shipped to your home instead of your having to fight the crowds to get them.

Another online option would be search auction sites for school supplies. There are often office and school supplies for sale, often at prices that are too good to pass up. You’ll want to factor in the cost of shipping but this still might be a good option.

Buy in bulk

Look for weekly sales papers as the start of school nears. They will often have school supplies at drastically reduced prices, often 1-cent to 50-cents for items your child will need. Stock up on those items that are on sale, even if it means you have to go back several times over a week.

Make and stick to a list

It’s tempting to buy the new items in the store aisles. However, you’ll save more money on school supplies by sticking to the list of items your child needs. If your child asks for something extra, let them buy those items with their own money.

Reuse items

Look around your house and see if you have some school supplies left from last year. Perhaps what you have isn’t the name brand your child’s teacher suggested, but they will do if they’re all you can afford. Some supplies, such as rulers, backpacks and calculators don’t wear out easily so they should still be good for the next year.

When it comes to your children, you want to give them what they need, especially for school. Using these five tips on saving money on school supplies, you’ll be able to get the supplies they need and not break your budget.