I find it ironic that, as a single person without kids, I was the perfect parent. I knew everything there was to know about raising children and my parenting vocabulary was peppered with the words “never” and “always.” Example: “I will never let my child eat in front of the television,” and “My kid will always behave in stores,” and “I will never work once I have kids and I will always be there for them when they come home after school.”

I also find it ironic that, as a working mom, I was both impressed by a woman’s ability to become a stay-at-home mom (as it drove me crazy) and scornful when her stay-at-homeness went on to long. In fact, I was a SAHM until my second son was 10-months old, and the solitary, toddlerian nature of it (my older son was 2.5 years) drove me insane. I didn’t complain much when finances forced me back to work.

Admittedly, however, I thought those women that continued to be SAH moms once their kids went back to school were spoiled. And crazy. And what the heck did they do with all their time? Television, bon-bons (do people even eat those anymore?) and hair appointments. Maybe a volunteering gig every once in awhile.

It wasn’t for me. I wanted a career, and I loved that I was intelligent and hard working and driven. I wanted to succeed and keep on growing and to continue to aim ever higher for the next advancement.

Except advancement stopped coming. And I’d grown both complacent and disappointed. My work life eventually went from invigorating me, to becoming the center of my dread.

When the day arrived – when I stepped on the landmine that shot me completely off the same dreary path I’d been on for over a decade – I was disoriented. Then nervous. Then relieved. Few people anticipate being laid off; fewer people hope for it. So when you realize you were secretly hoping for some way to escape the frustrating, soul-sucking slog that your career had become, sudden unemployment can be a blessing in disguise.

I spend my days taking care of all the things I’ve ignored for years, like cleaning the refrigerator or organizing the linen closet. And other things I’ve wanted to do, like helping my own kids with their homework – instead of having to rely on some after school program to do it for me. Making dinner is no longer the intense, stressful rush to get home from work and get it on the table before whisking kids off to whatever practice or activity comes next. I can plan for it. And enjoy the creativity of it.

Life has slowed down. While I’m still able to see the forest for the trees, now I’m able to stop and actually appreciate the trees. However, “always” and “never” still cloud my vocabulary. As in: I will always appreciate this time, and will never forget how grateful I am to have had it.

Traci Arbios is a mom, stepmom, adoptive mom and working mom. She lives with and writes about her blended family of seven kids, four pets and one amazingly patient husband at www.herdingsquirrels.com. Find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/herdingsquirrels; contact her at traci@herdingsquirrels.com; or zap her on twitter, @traciAWESOME.

@2012, Traci Arbios.

See more at http://herdingsquirrels.com/

By TRACI ARBIOS

I know I shouldn’t complain about being cold. I live in California, where the sun is shining and the only white stuff I’ve seen this winter has been fog. But I can’t help it. I’m cold. And that means I’ve got a serious soup craving. There’s nothing quite like warming up from the inside out. And these two recipes aren’t too horribly bad on the waistband, as well.

Chrissy’s Greek Meatball Soup
24 frozen cocktail size meatballs (the little cocktail ones at Trader Joe’s are the perfect size. The Fresh and Easy ones are just too big for soup.)
2 carrots, thinly sliced on diagonal
1 onion chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried Greek seasoning
1 can (14 ½ oz) chicken broth
½ cup uncooked orzo pasta
2 cups baby spinach, 2 oz. (you can substitute asparagus, or zucchini will work quite fine)
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill or 1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp grated lemon zest
Microwave meatballs on High until defrosted, about 2 minutes. Coat pot with cooking spray; place over medium high heat. Add carrots, onion, meatballs, seasoning and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until meatballs are browned, 3-4 minutes. Add broth and 4 cups water; bring to a boil. Stir in orzo and zucchini or asparagus; cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in spinach, dill and zest.

Can you say yum? Chrissy says this recipe first came from Woman’s World magazine.

If you want something a little bit more hearty, try this one inspired by Olive Garden.

Toscana Soup
12 links spicy pork sausage, sliced
1 tabespood vegetable oil
3/4 cup diced onion
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chicken soup base
4 cups water
2 potatoes, halved and sliced
2 cups sliced kale
1/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place sausage links on baking sheet and bake 25 minutes, or until cooked through. Slice into 1/2 inch slices. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent; add garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in broth, water and potatoes; simmer 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add sausage, kale and cream; simmer until heated through and serve.

When I made this recipe, I just browned Italian sausage in a pan instead of using the oven. If you’re watching calories, you could also substitute milk for heavy cream. While the soup was lovely when I served it fresh from the stove, it was sublime the next day, when all the ingredients had a chance to get to know each other and become friends.

I found this recipe via Pinterest, of course, originally found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/toscana-soup/detail.aspx

Read: Part 1:

“Last year was a tough year,” Julie Worthy writes in her blog. So begins this mom-blogger’s story of embarking on what she calls an “amazing journey” to find help for her son, recently diagnosed with ADHD. Julie says she read books, searched on the computer, and even posted pleas for help in online forums before her journey led her to LearningRx where she enrolled her son (and also her daughter who was exhibiting similar symptoms) in brain training. Julie calls the Jacksonville, Florida, LearningRx center “amazing” and says she’s setting her kids up for future success in life by “attacking the real issues going on in their brains and not just the symptoms.” In the coming months, we’ll be featuring some of Julie’s blog posts as this lively mother-of-four writes about her family’s experiences at LearningRx. Check out this blog post in which Julie says that “every day, every minute [of brain training] is success” for her children, then describes some pretty dramatic changes she’s already seeing in their lives! Read Julie Worthy’s Blog Post “LearningRx—Training the Brain”

“When my daughters were 9-years-old, I was thinking that my adolescence and my transition from girlhood into womanhood wasn’t a pretty memory. It was a lot of struggles and a lot of feelings like nobody understood,” Gruver said in an interview with MotherofConfusion.com. “I didn’t know what to try and do to make my daughters’ experience better than that. When I looked around in the early 90s, there was nothing there, no real resources, no research or discussion about these issues.”

The one piece of information Gruver did find was a book called “Meeting at the Crossroads: Women’s Psychology and Girls’ Development” by Lyn Mike Brown and Carol Gilligan. The writers asked the question: “What, on the way to womanhood, does a girl give up?” The answer came from interviews with 100 girls conducted over five years: The passage out of girlhood is a journey into silence and disconnection. At some point, girls will silence their inner voice and put others ahead of themselves.

When Gruver finished the book, she realized that’s what happened to her. She didn’t want that for her daughters. Then, in a flash, an idea was born. What about a magazine for junior girls where girls were in charge? It would be something young readers could connect with about the stages, emotions and physical aspects they may experience as they grow up. Girls could learn to listen to their inner voices, not ignore their needs and stop – or never start – always putting others first.

“I wanted to create a space where girls could be themselves, connect with other girls, be respected and challenged to do things and make the world a better place,” Gruver said.

She called a family meeting about her idea and everyone agreed to go for it even though Gruver didn’t have journalism experience or know how to create a magazine. “New Moon Girls” was published for the first time on March 21, 1993. It focuses on helping girls discover and honor their true selves, build self-esteem and a positive body image.

Soon after the magazine launched, Gruver and her editorial staff made up of girls – realized this was more than a magazine for girls by girls, it was a community. In recent years, the magazine expanded to reflect that community online with their website and social networking platforms. Online, girls can share their poetry, artwork, videos, chat and learn together in a welcoming and safe environment. The site has over 70 trained volunteer moderators and a volunteer counselor. Also, another cool feature is the magazine and website are completely ad free.

“There’s so many ways that we can give help and be supportive. I think of us as a safety net, but not as a way to prevent girls from doing things that might fail, or things that are risky – but as a place they can take a risk,” Gruver said. “And if it does fail, they have a safety net to catch them in the community, in the discussion forums, in their own creativity and it helps them grow and mature.”

Parents can use the magazine as a resource to find subjects as a conversation opener and visit a sister site, Daughters.com, for a parent-to-parent community and resources.

Almost twenty years after the magazine has launched, Gruver has seen great strides in women empowerment. The dream of growing up to be the first woman president is already a reality for some countries and we see more and more women in positions of governance and decision making every day.

The one thing that Gruver would like any girl to gain from the magazine?

“Their voice, their thoughts, their perspective and contributions are important in the world and the world needs them.”

Subscription to the magazine and a membership to the site is $34.95 for 12 months. This includes 6 bimonthly issues and online community access.

“New Moon Girls” Extras!

- Friend Nancy Gruver with “New Moon Girls” on Twitter (http://twitter.com/nancy-newmoon)

- Read Nancy’s blog (http://blogs.newmoon.com/parent-girls/)

- Parents: Become a fan of “New Moon Girls” on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/newmoongirls)

Genevieve Hinson is a writer, wife and mom. She’s experienced 17 years of youth entertainment as a parent, and sorts through movies, TV shows, books, music, apps and more so you don’t have to. Find out what’s parent-friendly, kid-friendly, and what you should run screaming from, at www.motherofconfusion.com. Become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/motherofconfusion.

Genevieve Hinson.

By GENEVIEVE HINSON

: 31 Years Old

I am a 31-year-old Physician Assistant student. I have struggled my whole life with learning difficulties and school brought these problems to the forefront. Even with all my extra hours of studying, my exam scores were still down below the class average. I decided to go through brain training at LearningRx. I was pushed to the absolute limits of my abilities. However, because of the newly acquired strengths from LearningRx, I was not only able to pass the finals, I scored the highest in the class! That never happened to me before! (Read more…)

: Bejeweled Online 

Bejeweled Twist is an extremely addicting game. It’s like Tetris…with a twist! It exercises many brain skills, including processing speed, visual processing, and executive function. Play this by yourself or challenge your kids or spouse to a few rounds. We promise you won’t be able to stop playing! Play Bejeweled Twist. Click here to learn more about how LearningRx helps your cognitive skills.

With a built-in edit suite and more than a 100 scrollable questions to help keep conversation flowing, family and friends can create very special recordings of their loved ones any time, any where they get together. What’s more, the application is so straightforward, and naturally appeals to little ones’ inquisitive nature – it really is child’s play to use!

Utilizing the phone’s built-in audio recording capabilities once captured life stories can be edited within the application itself and kept forever on either the user’s phone or computer.

Uniquely, there’s also the option to turn the recordings into a special gift by uploading them to the Record Their Stories website www.recordtheirstories.com. From here the team work their magic (acquired during more than 30 years in radio production) to produce a polished, professionally mixed version of the recording, complete with music and sound effects to really bring it to life. The finished product is then returned to either the story capturer or teller on a gift-wrapped CD ready to be listened to again and again.

Neil Cowling, co-creator of Record Their Stories, commented, “For the first part of my life I had the privilege of knowing my Grandpa. Born in the year that the Titanic sank, he saw the world change in ways I can’t imagine, as his family flourished over four generations. His stories were brilliant but I didn’t have an easy means to capture them, and now it’s too late.

“Today most of us carry a recording device with us everywhere we go – a mobile phone. I wanted to utilize that tool to the very best of its story capturing abilities, allowing people to gather their own family anecdotes in a way that’s effective, easy and fun”.

Lost for Words?
Record Their Stories comes with over 100 suggested questions covering a whole host of topics, which users can then scroll through and read on their phone during recording, much like a TV autocue. The app also allows users to email their own personalized script to be printed out on a home or office computer if they prefer.

Easy Edit
The app provides a very simple and user-friendly editing device which allows users to stop, start, join and trim their conversations with the help of a reel-to-reel tape recorder simulation. The optional professional editing service from the Record Their Stories team is even easier to use as everything is done for you with additional professional touches to create a more polished result.
Neil Cowling concludes, “We will all love, regret, laugh and celebrate, so from the hilarious to the heartbreaking, the once-in-a-lifetime to the everyday, each story is extraordinary and should be treasured for as long as we are able”.

The Record Their Stories iPhone app is available for an introductory price of .99 and will be available to download from the 11th of December. Professionally produced and tailored CDs from the RTS team start at $160 per recording. Please visit website for more info www.RecordTheirStories.com

I made this free printable which you can download here and print it out, stick it in a frame, give as a gift, or keep as a gift for yourself to use as Christmas decor.

Please note the printable is for personal use only.

Enjoy!

via Creationz: {Creationz} Ho Ho Ho Printable.