What We Need: Family Reading Time

June 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The day Delaney said her first word, I felt a physical stab of joy in my heart… and it wasn’t even, “ma-ma”.  The sweet thing said, ‘Bit’… short for blanket – the piece of fabric that has accompanied her every move since birth.

It might go with her to college.

I’m not kidding.

That and her thumb.  These are two things I’m fairly certain she might not ever give up.

But that milestone, her first word, was soon overshadowed by her first steps, the first time she slept through the night, the first time she tried and LIKED a vegetable, her first ‘at-bat’ and her first time ‘swimming’.

But the ‘first’ that will, I imagine, forever be the one that stays with me was hearing her read for the very first time. I can say this because I have always been a reader and I’ve always hoped she would love the feel of a book in her hands as I do, but truly, hearing your child sound out words and succeed is nothing short of magical.

One of my favorite pictures of my sweet girl will always be this one: bookish and fully absorbed in the beauty of a story.  Of all the things I wish for my children – this is one of them – I want them to LOVE to read, to read at every opportunity, to get lost in a story, to read to learn, to read for pleasure and for personal growth.

And I KNOW, once again, that my small people are so susceptible to my example.

Guess who has been slacking on her reading?  With much embarrassment, I admit, I have read less in the last year than in my entire life.  I will blame it on writing a book, being simply too tired to dive in. But what kind of example am I setting like that?

I want my small people to see me with a book constantly open.  I don’t want to tell them I’m reading on my computer.  I want them to watch me flipping the pages.  I want them to ask me about the stories.  I want to ASK THEM about their stories.

So, I’m creating a new P&G everyday resolution.

Family reading time. Each day, we will set aside time to read together.  Sometimes they will read to me, sometimes I will read to them and occasionally we will keep each other company as we all read our own books… but it will be book time. 

And Family time.  Family-book-time, that is.

What are you doing to add some extra inspiration to your daily life?  Start with something simple!

To reward consumers for taking these steps, P&G everyday will be giving away $100,000 in prizes during the month of June.

  • For each person who submits an everyday resolution to the P&G everyday Facebook Page, they will be automatically entered for a chance to win:
  • From June 1 – June 25:  Three $1,000 VISA® prepaid debit cards a day.
  • From June 26 – June 30:  Five $1,000 VISA®  prepaid debit cards a day.

When you join the conversation and share your resolution, you can also include a picture.

And for those of you who have already submitted a resolution, be sure to visit the P&G everyday Facebook page in order to enter daily for another chance to win! I will be sharing an everyday resolution on my Twitter and Facebook pages each day during the month of June and I would love for you to join me. You can also follow P&G everyday resolutions on twitter or register for their newsletter at P&G everyday for extra tips and tricks ”for your life in progress”.

Disclosure: I am working as a spokesperson for P&G’s everyday resolution campaign.  Why? Because I use P&G products on a daily basis and it makes me happy to share this new project with you.  As always, all opinions and stories are mine alone.

Filed Under: Extraordinary, Featured Content, Give Good Get Good, Recent Posts Tagged With: , , , , , ,

On The Lookout: Project Joy

June 18, 2012 by 4 Comments

Mother.  Wife.  Business Owner.  Friend.  Volunteer.

During the day – and often night – I move from one task, one event, to another. I return calls, do laundry, make lunches, work on projects, read to my small people, schedule doctor’s appointments, plan travel, cheer at softball games, bandage scraped knees, write and drive, drive and drive some more.

Most days I drag myself out of bed – many of them knowing I didn’t get enough sleep (but I’m working to change that, based on a past P&G everyday resolution) and I hurry from one thing to the next until I’m ready to collapse at the end of the day.  Lately, I’ve noticed the spring in my step isn’t quite what it used to be.

I’ve been going through the motions.  I love being a mom.  I love the work I do, but there is something missing.

JOY.

The simple joys in life that have always defined who I am are not present in my daily life – somewhere along the way, I stopped doing the little things that made me happy.  I stopped taking care of me.

A few years ago, I was having a conversation with my doctor.  She gave me a beautiful analogy that has stuck with me – and though I don’t always put it in to practice, it resurfaces when I need it.  This is one of those times: Moms are much like a boat…. if there is a hole in them, even a small one, they will take everyone down with them.

I’m choosing to plug my ‘hole’ – to fix what is missing – by adding joy to my daily life.  And I’m going to do it be reincorporating all of the little things that have always made me happy – one at a time.

I resolve to do one thing every day that brings me joy.

I might buy myself flowers (or pick them from the garden in the front yard).

I will stop and read for pleasure – a magazine, or book I’ve been dying to read.

I will take 15 minutes to meditate.

I will take a bath (with lavender – is there ANYTHING that smells better??).

I will give myself a treat – eat a piece of chocolate or buy a frozen mocha.

I will continue to ask for good news from other people – as their joy is contagious.

I will exercise – somehow, some way – even if it means dancing….

It is amazing how easy it is to forget ‘me’ as I switch from one hat to another throughout the day.  Even though I know I am a better mother, business owner and friend when I’m happy, sometimes, I forget.

But not anymore.

This is my P&G everyday resolution – my chance to make a positive mid-year change. What will you do to create a positive change in your life? P&G everyday wants to know… join the conversation and enter the P&G everyday resolution sweepstakes for a chance to win a $1000 Visa® prepaid debit card, daily between now and the end of June. Also – don’t forget to visit P&G everyday for smart living tips, value savings advice and free samples to help better your “life in progress”. And if you haven’t done so already, follow P&G everyday on Twitter (@pgeveryday)!

Disclosure: I am working as a spokesperson for P&G’s everyday resolution campaign.  Why? Because I use P&G products on a daily basis and it makes me happy to share this new project with you.  As always, all opinions and stories are mine alone.

 

Filed Under: Extraordinary, Featured Content, Recent Posts Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Random Act of Kindness: I Dare You

June 14, 2012 by 1 Comment

There are a few things I love that combine for something fairly powerful:

Surprises – both giving and getting, but mostly giving.

Smiles.

And my Small People.

I decided when my children were born that one of my primary goals would be to raise them with a giving heart and to (hopefully) inspire them to be truly kind souls.

I believed then, and now, eight years in to this parenting business, I can confirm, children do NOT do as you say, but as you do. I have been witness to more than a few unwelcome eye-rolls, hands on the hips, overly-dramatic sassy tones – and found myself staring at pint-sized versions of myself thinking, ‘who TOLD them it was ok to behave this way?’

Right.  I did.  Because I showed them.

So, one of my parenting missions is, ‘Give Good, Get Good‘… the premise being simple: the more good you give to the world, the more you get (in the form of love, inspiration and positive energy) returned to you in one form or another.

And I choose to demonstrate this… rather than simply telling the small people they should be good and kind.

We do the very basic: we hold doors open for people, we say please and thank you, we pick things up for a stranger when they are dropped and sometimes we go a little bigger.

We have bought the groceries for the elderly woman behind us at the grocery store.  We have replaced ice cream for a toddler who dropped it at the park. We have taken care of lunch for the person behind us in the drive through.

We do it because it is fun.  It is a surprise, it makes people smile and it teaches my small people a beautiful lesson.

Once I challenged the small people to ‘pay it forward’.  While they were eating breakfast, I dashed upstairs and made their beds for them (a task for which they are typically responsible, but don’t truly love).  When they realized what I’d done, I told them their challenge was to surprise someone else that day with a random act of kindness.  My small dude tackled it right away.

I love the element of surprise. Sometimes, you don’t even get to see the resulting smile, but you just know.

I need more of this in my life.  More surprises, more smiles and more examples of giving good for my small people.

Today, I will commit a Random Act of Kindess. 

And, I DARE you to join me.  Add a little surprise to your life, too!

By now, I believe you know I’m working with P&G everyday on their everyday resolutions campaign.  Here is what I love:  It is challenging me (and hopefully you as well) to think about the little ways you can be improving your life EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Since so many of us give up our New Year’s Resolutions within the first few months, this is a chance to recommit to something simple, something manageable. Think about the little things you might want to adjust and share them with P&G everyday for a chance to win daily prizes.

To reward consumers for taking these steps, P&G everyday will be giving away $100,000 in prizes during the month of June.

For each person who submits an everyday resolution to the P&G everyday Facebook Page, they will be automatically entered for a chance to win

  •  From June 1 – June 25:  Three $1,000 VISA® prepaid debit cards a day
  •  From June 26 – June 30:  Five $1,000 VISA®  prepaid debit cards a day

When you join the conversation and share your resolution, you can also include a picture.

And for those of you who have already submitted a resolution, be sure to visit the P&G everyday Facebook page in order to enter daily for another chance to win! I will be sharing an everyday resolution on my Twitter and Facebook pages each day during the month of June and I would love for you to join me. You can also follow P&G everyday resolutions on twitter or register for their newsletter at P&G everyday for extra tips and tricks ”for your life in progress”.

Disclosure: I am working as a spokesperson for P&G’s everyday resolution campaign.  Why? Because I use P&G products on a daily basis and it makes me happy to share this new project with you.  As always, all opinions and stories are mine alone.

Filed Under: Featured Content, Give Good Get Good, Recent Posts Tagged With: , , , ,

I Will Make Sleep A Priority: My Body Tells Me So….

June 7, 2012 by 1 Comment

About 5 years ago I was startled awake at 5am.  It wasn’t a sound that had pulled me from sleep, but rather something rattling around in my brain, urging me from the comfort of my bed.  It had been a late night.  I definitely didn’t want to move, but I was compelled.  By what, I wasn’t certain.

Until I glanced at my cell phone.

A missed call from my mom.  5am in St. Louis is 3am in San Diego: never a good time to be receiving a call from anyone, let alone family.  My hands shook as I hurried to call her back.  She was breathless and shaky.

And in the back of an ambulance.

My father, one of the strongest men I knew, had suffered a Grand Mal seizure in his sleep and was being rushed to the hospital.  She was sitting with him then and would call me when she knew more.

My husband was awake and sitting up in bed as I hung up.  I didn’t realize it, but I had audibly gasped as my mom explained what happened.  She had thought my dad was having a bad dream, but turned on the light when she couldn’t rouse him and the shaking wouldn’t stop.

All of the initial tests showed nothing.  This was both wonderful and baffling. The hospital released dad.

I was in San Diego within a few hours of his arriving home.  He was groggy, but alert.  And, as is typical for the man I know, determined to find out what had happened, understand every detail, and oh-so-very-frustrated that he couldn’t remember every moment.

But he was exhausted.

It was a few weeks before the doctors said, ‘ah-ha!’

He had epilepsy. 

The doctors tied the epilepsy’s onset to a lifetime buildup of loss of sleep.

Fast forward to present day, dad is perfectly fine.  He definitely gets more sleep and is an advocate (read: pusher) for a good 8-9 hours a night for me.

You see, we have learned that epilepsy can be hereditary.  It is not uncommon for it to set in late in life.  And I have spent the past 5+ years building a business.  And while I’ve been doing that, I’ve been subsisting on 4-5 hours of sleep a night. (sometimes 3)  My overarching company name is 330Media – the double entendre: 3:30 is both the time the kids get out of school and the time I have gone to bed for the better part of the last 5 years.

But, I know that has to change.  My body is telling me so.  My husband is telling me so.  My father is telling me so.

And so is my mind.

It is never too late to make a change, a shift….to create a new resolution.

And it is just that thinking that is the motivation behind P&G everyday resolutions- urging you and me to think about our ‘lives in progress’ and the little things we can do everyday that would make a BIG difference in our worlds.

Clearly sleep falls into the BIG category for me.

My P&G Everyday Resolution for today is: Get More Sleep. 

I vow to be in bed by 11pm every night (barring those special occasions!)

To reward consumers for taking these steps, P&G everyday will be giving away $100,000 in daily prizes during the month of June.

  • For each person who submits an everyday resolution to the P&G everyday Facebook Page, they will be automatically entered for a chance to win:
    • From June 1 – June 25:  Three $1,000 VISA prepaid debit cards a day
    • From June 26 – June 30:  Five $1,000 VISA prepaid debit cards a day

When you share your resolution, you can also include a picture (optional), and the great news?  You can come back daily to the P&G everyday Facebook page for additional opportunities to enter and win (simply re-enter your contact information).  While you’re here, be sure to check out the gallery of everyday pledges other people are making to help improve their everyday!

I will be sharing an everyday resolution on my Twitter and Facebook pages each day during the month of June and I would love for you to join me.

I would love to know what you decide to do (and if you stick to it). I will be sure to let you know how I’m doing with my extra sleep.

Disclosure: I am working as a spokesperson for P&G’s everyday resolution campaign.  Why? Because I use P&G products on a daily basis and it makes me happy to share this new project with you.  As always, all opinions and stories are mine alone.

 

Filed Under: Featured Content, Recent Posts Tagged With: , , , , ,

Let Your Kids Be Your Teacher: (Even When You Think You Can’t Do It)

June 5, 2012 by 6 Comments

She turned to me and smiled, “I know what I’m getting you for Mother’s Day”.  It was said with a smirk and a knowing smile.  It is the kind of confidence one exudes with the knowledge of the ‘perfect gift’.  And in her little mind, she had it.

She knows her mommy.  She knows what she expects of her mommy and she is certain she knows JUST what her mommy would like.

Her Daddy leans in expectantly, “what do you want to do, Delaney?”

She giggles, cups her hands around her mouth to hold her secret close and begins to whisper.  Her Daddy’s eyes widen a little and  then he shakes his head, “Honey, we’re supposed to get her something SHE wants, not something you want…..she doesn’t even know HOW”.

Crestfallen, she replied, “but I could TEACH her….”

And a little something in me broke.

Because with those words alone, I knew just what she wanted to give me: a softball glove.

You see, I’ve been very comfortable with the separation of fun and responsibility in our home.  My husband and I split the two equally, but we have different ways of tackling them.  The responsibility part, I think, is easy.  That is 50/50. So is the discipline.

But it is in the ‘fun’ department where our parental roles are a bit hazy.  I’ve always joked that Jeff is the ‘fun one’.  He’s always had a ball in his hand  And while I’ve always gotten down on the floor with my small people to play…. I read, I do anything and everything creative and I’m liberal with hugs, kisses and snuggling, it somehow doesn’t quite measure up.

But I’ve convinced myself it is ok because I DON’T KNOW HOW.

Jeff is the coach.  He is the one who has taught them to pitch and hit, throw and kick the soccer ball like a champ.  I sit on the sidelines.

And I THOUGHT my small people were ok with these roles.  I mean….let me be clear: I don’t know HOW to throw.  When I try, everyone corrects me.  My catching is suspect…. I’ve never seemed to lose my fear of the ball.  And Delaney could probably beat me in a race even now.  She’s seven.

However, this moment made me think.  I am embarrassed by my utter lack of physical acumen and yet, SHE isn’t.  I had long ago given up on myself when it came to anything sports, but she is convinced I can do it.  It is a role reversal of epic proportions.

I had settled nicely into my role as the reading, comforting mom, but Delaney has other ideas. It is time for me to reassess my ‘mom role’.  I don’t only have to be ONE kind of mom.  I don’t have to let Jeff be the only fun parent, since my kids are making it extremely clear that FUN to them involves being outside and playing sports.

It may be June, but this is a perfect time for me to make a mid year resolution.

I’m going to allow myself to be the student when it comes to sports and my kids.

My resolution:

I will learn how to catch a softball because my small girl has faith I can do it (and honestly? That faith? Is AWESOME)

Have you ever considered making a mid-year resolution?  P&G everyday recently conducted a study and found that 51% of people who made a New Year’s Resolution failed to follow through on their goals.  Why?  Well, 70% say they failed because their goal was too big or they tried to achieve too much.

So, why not aim for something small? Think about the little things you can do everyday that would make a BIG difference in your world. (like learning to catch!)

P&G everyday is launching a mid-year campaign to encourage people like you and me to make life better for us and our families by making everyday resolutions.

Do you want to add one more home cooked meal to your week?

Do you think you need to take 15 minutes to dance and sing each day?

Do you want to teach your children the art of writing letters?

Letting my daughter teach me to catch a softball is not a monumental task.  It simply requires a little effort.  And it will make her year. That means it will make mine.

To reward consumers for taking these steps, P&G everyday will be giving away $100,000 in prizes during the month of June.

  • For each person who submits an everyday resolution to the P&G everyday Facebook Page, they will be automatically entered for a chance to win:
    • From June 1 – June 25:  Three $1,000 VISA prepaid debit cards a day
    • From June 26 – June 30:  Five $1,000 VISA prepaid debit cards a day

When you share your resolution, you can also include a picture.

I will be sharing an everyday resolution on my Twitter and Facebook pages each day during the month of June and I would love for you to join me.

I would love to know what you decide to do (and if you stick to it)  I will be sure to let you know how my catching lessons are going.

Disclosure: I am working as a spokesperson for P&G’s everyday resolution campaign.  Why? Because I use P&G products on a daily basis and it makes me happy to share this new project with you.  As always, all opinions and stories are mine alone.

 

Filed Under: A little bit of Everyday, Featured Content, Motherhood, Recent Posts Tagged With: , , , , , , ,