Need Blogging Support?

I joined Mom Spark Media several months ago and love it!  It is a great way bounce ideas off of and get fantastic support from other mommy bloggers.  They have some wonderful opportunities for reviews, giveaways, promotional posts, and paid campaigns as well as some helpful information on blogging courses and other handy tips. 

Well, Mom Spark Media just announced they are running a special promotion for new members only!  New members can sign of for a MSM membership and test it out for two weeks to see if it’s a good fit.  You get the same access as a regular MSM member in the form of classes and you can apply for opportunities too at no charge for the first two weeks with no obligation to join permanently.  After the two week period, you can decide if you want to continue your MSM membership (with a paid membership) or cancel.

If you are interested, you need to enter a referral code which is my blog name (The Positive Self) or my name (Jeanne Gumbleton) into the sign-up form.  Here is where you can join.

So go ahead and give it a try!

Are You Really too Sick?

My 10 year old complained of a stomach ache this morning and told me he wasn't going to school.  I of course ignored his please as this was probably the 118th time he tried this.  So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when he called from school to tell me his stomach was still bothering him, and yes he did eat something and still didn't feel better.  He proceeded to tell me his teacher felt his forehead and he did feel warm.  So I jumped in my car to pick him up.  I ran into his teacher in the office and I had to chuckle because he apologized to me.  I not sure he was apologizing because my son was sick, or because I had to come pick him up and take him home.

Even as a WAHM it's not always easy to work when the children are home.  It is a blessing that I can drop everything and pick my children up when they are sick, but they are basically in my "office" when they are home.  I feel for mother's who work outside of the home and either can't leave, or have to jump through hoops to figure out how they can leave and still get their work done.

So after a half a package of saltine crackers, my son is feeling better...until tomorrow and the 119th time.

How Can A Busy Mom Stay Focused?

I haven’t posted in awhile and I apologize.  It seems that the closer it gets to spring, the busier we get around here.  With three children in various activities and all the tasks that I currently have going on with work and other projects, I find that I have a hard time focusing on what’s important and what I really need to get done.  Like right now it’s taxes!  We don’t prepare our own taxes, I just need to gather all the paperwork that our accountant needs.  Ok, so how easy is that?  Yet I still procrastinate!  I get frustrated with my children when they can’t seem to focus on a simple task and here I am doing the same thing. 

I wrote a post about organization awhile back and I think it’s time to revisit this and also other ways to stay focused.   

I started listing the top three things I need to do today.  #1 today is of course getting paperwork together for taxes (right after I finish this post of course).  Make sure you put in a task that is fun, interesting or educating.  This will motivate you to get to the end of your list faster. 

I also decided to keep most household chores for the late afternoon and evening when the kids are home.  This way I can interact with them better than if I was sitting at the computer working.  Plus it’s easier to get them to do their chores if I’m working alongside with them.

One of the last things I like to do at the end of the day is to read.  This is my way of relaxing and I look forward to it every day.  So most evenings by 10:00 pm you can find me with a book in my hands winding down for the night!

What helps to keep you focused and not procrastinate?

Celebrating Love Giveaway

Celebrating Love: Share, Remember, Cherish follows Celebrating Mom in a new gift series from 1-800-flowers.com and Celebrations.com founder Jim McCann.

Reinforcing the 1-800-flowers.com and Celebrations.com philosophy of helping customers express, connect, and celebrate, McCann balances the practical with the inspirational, and the poignant with the profound, inside this collection of authentic love stories.

Full-color drawings illustrate the book throughout and are interspersed with meaningful quotes and little-known facts about love and affection.  Divided into four sections based on the distinct seasons of love, Celebrating Love features 150 entries.

Jim McCann founded 1-800-flowers.com in 1976 and over the last 35 years he has built it into the world's leading florist and gift company.  What a great gift to show that special someone how much you care.

1-800-flowers.com is also holding a "Love Note" contest on Facebook:  All you have to do is go to the website and "like" your favorite bouquet with the Facebook button.  It's really easy and it enters you into an additional contest to win a free bouquet.

One reader of The Positive Self will win a copy of Celebrating Love.  Ways to enter:

1. Like my Facebook page and post a message that you would like to win the Celebrating Love Giveaway and share the post with your friends.
2. Tweet about this contest up to 3 times a day with at least an hour in between each tweet.  Leave the link.  Tweet - "Celebrating Love Giveaway http://bit.ly/f1EwCl ( via @ThePositiveSelf)"
3. Leave a comment below that you would like to win the Celebrating Love Giveaway.  Make sure your e-mail is included.

Contest ends 2/20/11 and is open to US residents only.  This giveaway was made possible by Mom Spark Media.  Thoughts and opinions are my own.  Product was provided for review.

What’s Your Teens On-line Image?

I recently attended a webinar given by The Girl Scout Research Institute and Pew Internet.  These two organizations teamed up to evaluate teenage use of the internet.

The Girl Scout Research Institute stated “This nationwide survey, which included more than 1,000 girls ages 14 to 17, finds the increased exposure to social media puts teenage girls in a confusing situation where a girl's image is not always what it seems, as nearly 74 percent of girls agree that most girls use social networking sites to make themselves "cooler than they really are." The survey finds that girls downplay several positive characteristics of themselves online, most prominently their intelligence, kindness and efforts to be a positive influence.”

What was most striking to me was the percentage of girls who portrayed their on-line image as sexy and crazy, were more likely the girls with the lowest self-esteem.   Does this mean they practice riskier behavior on-line in an effort to be more popular?  The survey also revealed that the girls in-person behavior came across as smart, fun, funny, kind, a good influence, outgoing, cool, and social/confident.  While their on-line profile was apt to more fun, funny, and social, thus downplaying their positive attributes.

Besides the fact that we need to constantly bolster our children’s positive view of themselves, they also need to understand that they have to handle their on-line activities responsibly.  Every generation has their battles to face with their teens and I believe ours is social media.  It’s a fun and fantastic way for our teens to keep in contact, but as a parent it’s another activity we have to constantly monitor to make sure our children are not putting themselves at risk.  They need to understand the boundaries that go with the responsibility of putting a post on the internet that will stay there virtually forever. 

Since you are reading this post, you are obviously a parent, caregiver or caring adult who is concerned and wants to keep abreast of what our teens are doing.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of parents who do not monitor and who do not know that their teens are putting themselves at risk with inappropriate language, pictures, etc.  If your teen is a friend of one of these children, I challenge you to occasionally bring the subject up about who’s posting what on Facebook and talk about what is appropriate.  They may be risking their reputation among their peers, getting into college or getting the job they want.  You keep hearing the term “It Takes a Village”, but I don’t think enough adults are adhering to this motto.  Don’t be afraid to take a stand, it may not make you popular, but you already went through adolescence.

 

Young Writers

I was intrigued by the post “How to Be Her Writing Coach” since my 7 year old daughter loves to write.  She writes several stories a week and is always so excited to share them with me.  I want to encourage her to continue writing, but also be able to provide her with constructive criticism without offending her. 

Writing is a critical skill for children to learn and many organizations are concerned with the quality of writing that college graduates have.  Starting great writing habits with your children while they are young will give them the edge when competing for that job when they enter the workforce.



Do You Choose How Your Day Goes?

I actually woke up this morning with dread. The kids were home from school for the 2^nd day in a row because of snowmageddon.  I decided if I wanted to survive this day, I better quickly choose how I wanted the day to go.  I chose to go for something positive.  After all I want the day to go smoothly, right? After I crawled out of bed, I discovered that the kids already ate breakfast, bonus #1.  We took a quick trip to the library for some movies, and a photo opp with their latest snow creation.  I was back to work while they watched movies.  Bonus #2!  And as bonus #3, I was able to endure a half hour yoga session thanks to a DVD I picked up while we were at the library.  So now I have at least an hour and a half to work, hopefully uninterrupted. But then there is lunch. I wonder if they would go for Linner…