Mom’s Life — The Happiest Home

Plan a better week: get up five minutes earlier.

by Meagan Francis on February 24, 2014

It’s Monday morning, and if you’re like me, you’re thinking about ways to make this week go a little more smoothly than last. How to get a little more of the “must do’s” done while making enough room for yourself, how to feel less grouchy and rushed in the mornings or at dinnertime or at bedtime.

One of the tips most often handed down by everyone from Ben Franklin to modern productivity experts seems simple: get up early. Start your day an hour or two before the rest of your family, and you’ll have plenty of time to dream your dreams and read your book and get the laundry started and run two miles and enjoy your coffee, so you won’t need to try to cram it all in throughout the day when you’re busy with family and/or work.

I know this is true. I’ve experienced the benefits of the super-early rise myself, when I’ve had the energy and the early bedtime and a little extra banked sleep and the promise of a gorgeous sunrise to pull it off. But this time of year? When the sky is gray and the air is frigid and the snow is turning black and just getting to my car without falling on the ice is a delicate maneuver? These days when getting up an hour early would mean rising to a house as dark as it was when I went to bed?

For this girl who tends toward night owl, it just doesn’t feel terribly realistic.

But that doesn’t mean I have to give up on the idea of getting a little jump on the day. [click to continue…]

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An overabundance of opinions: the case for climbing down from the social media soapbox (Sunday Morning Tea)

by Meagan Francis on February 23, 2014

Every Sunday morning I share a moment from my week and something it illustrated about motherhood, family life, or simply being human. I invite you to set aside a moment out of your weekend for reflection and join me for Sunday Morning Tea. -Meagan

The other day I was driving the familiar stretch of road between the grocery store and our home when I made an error in judgment that very nearly led to my plowing into another car.

Not paying full attention, I assumed a driver who stopped in front of me was trying to turn right into a parking lot – but actually he was stopping to let another driver make a left-hand turn into the road from behind a huge snowbank. As I passed the first driver on the left, the turning car suddenly lurched a few feet forward, nearly pulling right out in front of me before he slammed on the brakes. I had to swerve out of his way, realizing too late that he thought he had clear passage.

I drove the rest of the way home feeling a little sheepish and shaken, but forgot about it quickly enough.

The very next morning Clara and I were on our way to the gym. I was driving and she was peppering me with questions, which I answered thoughtfully for a few minutes. Until my mind wandered to something that I’d read on the computer right before leaving the house.

As we reached the gym I realized that Clara had been asking me questions relating to her birth, and I’d been giving her mindless “mm-hmm” answers to every question she’d asked for at least five minutes. I asked her to repeat back what she’d just said, and as it turned out, I’d unthinkingly approved a birth story in which she was born in the river amid biting fish and had floated to the surface with the help of arm floaties she’d apparently been wearing in the womb.

Oops. [click to continue…]

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Helping kids cope in a busy, distracted world & finding your mom style: Podcast Episode 21

by Meagan Francis on February 20, 2014

Our kids are living in a distraction-heavy, rushed world.

And as parents, it’s not always easy to find the balance between creating a soft place to land and also helping them cope with the realities of life today.

Today’s guest on The Home Hour Podcast is Kristen Race, Ph.D., a brain scientist, educator, and author of the new book Mindful Parenting. Race offers parents research-tested mindfulness strategies that can help kids and parents learn how to cope with distractions, reduce anxiety and stress, and create happier, more peaceful homes. If you worry about the effects today’s world has on your kids, you’ll definitely want to listen to our conversation on the podcast today.

If you love our discussion, you can find out more about Dr. Race’s work at her blog or find her on Facebook.

I’m also excited to announce that Shana Draugelis of Ain’t No Mom Jeans makes her first appearance on The Home Hour Podcast this week.

[click to continue…]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Mom’s birthday matters, too. (Sunday Morning Coffee)

by Sarah Powers on February 16, 2014

Hi everyone! Sarah here, stepping in for Meagan in the Sunday morning spot. Every Sunday we share a moment from our week and a few thoughts on motherhood or life in general. We call it Sunday Morning Tea – except when I’m writing, when it’s coffee.

I turned 34 on Friday. I had a fantastic birthday – in fact, I had a really fun week that included a few different celebrations. I opened gifts I truly love, I spent time with my family, my kids, and my girlfriends. And tonight, the birthday week will wrap up with a belated Valentine/birthday date out with my husband.

And do you know what? It was by design.

Yep. This year, I took charge of my birthday and made it awesome.

I don’t usually get that worked up about my birthday one way or another. I don’t bemoan the whole aging thing, nor do I typically make big plans to live it up. Being a Valentine baby, I’ve always enjoyed the festivities (and chocolate!) that are guaranteed to accompany my birthday, but beyond the usual family dinner and well-wishes from friends, I’m pretty content letting the kids’ Valentine’s Day celebrations take center stage.

Our Valentine’s Day breakfast scene this year.

But this year was different. [click to continue…]

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Sunday Morning Tea: Sometimes you have to get back on a different horse.

by Meagan Francis on February 9, 2014

I’m not exactly sure when the above picture was taken. It’s been snowing here most of the last two (three? I’ve lost track) months.

But it was definitely not in January, because in January I went from exercising every week, 2-3 times a week, to…nothing.

I’d had a regular rhythm in place for nearly three years. I’d go to the gym faithfully twice a week (more often in summer), mid-morning when the crowds had died down. I’d put in 30 minutes on the elliptical, do a short weight routine, stretch out, and get in the shower.

I wasn’t ever going to become a hardbody with that routine, but it worked for me because it was easy. Easy to fit into my day, easy to get used to the routine. I’d listen to good music or watch Food Network on the gym TVs, I’d sweat just hard enough to feel like I’d done something, without ever feeling exhausted or like I was really pushing myself. After my surgery last summer, I was back on the elliptical at the three-week mark (after being cleared for moderate exercise, of course) and it was as though I’d never been gone.

I stayed reasonably fit in a reasonable amount of time while putting forth a reasonable amount of effort. See? Easy.

Sometimes, “easy” is exactly what you need. When I started my 2-3X weekly elliptical routine, Clara was a toddler, Owen hadn’t started kindergarten yet, and my days were unpredictable and ruled by naps and preschool schedules. I was coming off a long period of inactivity and had been struggling to make movement a regular part of my life. Making it easy helped me commit. And with a few blips along the way, I have been more consistently active over the last three years than any other point of my adult life, so for a time, “easy” worked. [click to continue…]

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Sunday Morning Tea: This Tenuous Life

by Meagan Francis on January 26, 2014

On Thursday morning, after getting the boys off to school and throwing a few last items in my suitcase, Jon, Clara and I got into the car and began the trip to Chicago to drop me off at O’Hare for a flight to Washington, DC for the TalkEarly Summit.

We worried about the weather as we headed toward the highway. It had snowed the night before, and now gusts of wind created walls of white in front of our faces. We pressed on, though: due to the “lake effect,” the conditions in our city are often wildly different from those on the highway and in neighboring towns, and the weather reports reported only light snowfall.

But once we pulled onto the highway we knew the trip was doomed. The swirling snow made it difficult to see, and once, a gust completely obliterated our sight to the extent that the car ten feet in front of us, with its hazards blinking, completely disappeared from view. The world shrunk to just us inside the car, completely surrounded by white. [click to continue…]

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Sunday Morning Tea: Re-Entry

by Meagan Francis on January 19, 2014

Every Sunday morning I share a moment from my week and something it taught me or illustrated about motherhood, family life, or simply being a human. I invite you to set aside a moment out of your weekend for rest and reflection, pour yourself a comforting beverage, and join me for Sunday Morning Tea. -Meagan

airplane

If you’re curious about why this Sunday’s post is a few hours late, I can sum it up for you in one word: Re-entry.

This was my first full week back to Real Life after the winter break that wouldn’t end. My kids had three snow days the week they were supposed to return to school; the first morning they went back, Jon and I left right after to catch our flight to Las Vegas.

And though it was convenient and amazing to be able to escape Real Life for a while after such a long, cold, and rewarding yet chaotic period of togetherness, when we got home on Sunday we walked into a real mess.

The Christmas tree still up – and decorated; the huge mountain of laundry I’d neglected to keep up with over the holiday; and now with the addition of two suitcases lying side by side near the back door, waiting to be emptied and dealt with. [click to continue…]

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Sunday Morning Tea: This is your life.

by Meagan Francis on January 12, 2014

Las Vegas

I’m writing this post from my hotel room in Las Vegas. This is my third year my husband and I have headed to Vegas during the Consumer Electronics Show, but unlike the previous two years this year we’re focusing more on fun than work.

I never really thought I’d like Vegas. I’m not into huge, flashy, over-the-top hotels, and my idea of high-stakes gambling is hitting the “play all lines” on the 1-cent slot machines.

But I’ve grown to love this adult playland. There’s something so thrilling about the idea that I can get up in the morning and go do almost anything I could want to do: eat at a five-star restaurant, win money, lose money, go see a show, all within an easy walk from the front door.

Juxtaposed against my usual, much more quiet life, all this excess and possibility is exhilarating, if temporarily. Would I want to live like this all the time? No. But for the moment, for the weekend, there’s something so thrilling in just getting lost in all the freedom and the buzz of energy from the people around me.

I was reminded this morning of an experience I had a few years ago. I attended a conference in New York City when Clara was a toddler, the first time I’d been away from her for more than a few hours. My life was hectic that year. I was swapping childcare with my brother and sister-in-law, so I had extra kids in the house a couple of days a week, plus Owen and William were home half the day.

My home life hundreds of miles away was noisy and messy and full of interruptions. But here I was, that day, striding down a sunny street in Manhattan with the world at my feet, experiencing an intoxicating feeling of power and possibility. I could do anything. I could be anyone. [click to continue…]

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That’s Me, That’s Who I Am

by Guest Blogger on January 10, 2014

This is a guest post by Chaunie Brusie of Tiny Blue Lines.

mother child chalk drawing

When you hear the word “Mom,” what image comes to mind?

Do you picture a woman who is polished and put-together? A mom with her hair carefully blown-out and her children’s calendars color-coordinated?

In my mind, a mom is someone who has her act together. After all, she is the source of stability for her children. The one who will stand in the kitchen with homemade, freshly-baked cookies as her children gather `round, drawing from her wisdom and strength, whether they realize it or not.

And while I can admit that I have the cookie thing down pat, I’m not so sure about the rest.

Part of me is afraid that I’m not mom enough for the mom club.

After becoming unexpectedly pregnant with my oldest daughter during my senior year of college, at the age of 21, my entire life as I knew it went into a tailspin.

I questioned everything I thought I knew about myself—my major, my future marriage, the entire life plan I had so carefully laid out.

But above all, I struggled with one question:

How could I figure out who I am if I’m busy pretending to be a mom who knows what she’s doing? [click to continue…]

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5 Must-Haves for Cold-Weather Dwellers

by Meagan Francis on January 6, 2014

5 cold weather wardrobe essentials.jpg

I grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where winters were harsh and long and school was very, very rarely cancelled. And while I didn’t walk uphill both ways to school, I did walk about two miles round trip, almost every day, in often bitter, subzero temperatures.

Strangely, I don’t remember ever feeling chilly while growing up in such a cold climate. Winter was just a fact of life, something we dealt with and prepared for and dressed for. I wore long johns under my pants December through March; we rarely left the house without snowpants, gloves and hats during the winter months. We built fires in the evening and wore sweaters and warm socks inside.

It wasn’t until I moved downstate at the age of 12 that I started hating the winter. My theory? I got spoiled by the unpredictable, up-and-down weather in lower Michigan, and started taking the occasional warm-ish day for granted. Instead of treating every day from December through March as winter and dressing for the cold, I started feeling inconvenienced by cold days and living for warmer ones.

At some point, I also stopped dressing appropriately for winter in the upper Midwest. I’d throw on any old shoes before going outside and eschewed scarves and gloves on all but the most frigid days.

Finally, one day I had to ask myself if I really wanted to be so miserable all winter long. Maybe there were some subtle changes I could make to the way I dressed that could help me feel more functional – and less like hiding under a down comforter – during the winter months.

So for the past several years I’ve been making changes to the way I dress, indoors and out, and I’ve found that a few simple additions to my daily wardrobe make me a lot happier. In light of the crazy-cold temps and winter weather so many of us are experiencing right now, I thought I’d share five essential pieces that are helping me stay warm – without cranking up the thermostat: [click to continue…]

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