Tips for WAHMS

Welcome back to Tips 4 WAHMs! Today I have an interesting quick tip of the day for WAHMs to share with you. From time to time I enjoy pointing out some great sites that are great for work at home moms and stay at home moms, and I have one that I'm sure you all are going to like.

Take the time to check out Flylady.net. This is a website that is designed for people, especially moms, who find it difficult to keep the house in order. If you have kids, you're working, and you have so much on your plate, sometimes it's just hard to keep up.

At Flylady.net, this great lady teaches you how to keep your home in shape with just 15 minutes a day. Hey, I might even have 15 minutes. Check this one out ladies. I know I've found some helpful tips there for organization and keeping the house a bit cleaner.

I hope you enjoy and find some great ideas and tips to make your day a bit easier!

Today's quick tip of the day for WAHMs may seem a bit different, but I believe that it's really important. Today we're going to talk about getting rid of the cleaning guilt.

While some of the other quick tip of the day posts have dealt with quick cleaning, I need to remind you of something - you ARE a busy mother. Some of you are stay at home moms, some are work at home moms. Either way, you work hard and you are busy all day long.

Chances are, the house isn't always going to be as clean as you want it to be. However, many of us fall into the guilt trap. We feel guilty that we didn't accomplish more that we didn't get the entire house clean from top to bottom.

You don't need to go on a guilt trip because you didn't get all the cleaning done. Remember everything that you did today. You should really be giving yourself a huge pat on the back. You accomplished a lot!

So, get rid of cleaning guilt. Do what you can, if you don't get to it today…it will definitely be there tomorrow. Enjoy your evenings without guilt. You are really a Super Mom!

Recently I came across a great book - "The Invisible Woman." More than likely you have felt invisible at some point in your days of being a mother.

I read an excerpt of this book and was very touched. The writer, Nicole Johnson, specifically compared raising children to building a cathedral. Today we still don't know who built some of the greatest cathedrals, yet we see the beauty before us.

It was definitely an encouraging read. It's easy to feel invisible as a parent. Sometimes things you do go unappreciated and unnoticed. This writer tells here story of being a mother and feeling this way over and over again.

Then she read a book about cathedrals. There was a story about a rich man who asked a man working on a cathedral while he was spending so much time carving a small bird on a beam. He asked him why he'd spend so much time working on it when no one else would see it. His reply was "Because God sees."

This quote changed her life and the way she felt about being invisible. She realized that God saw everything that she did for her family. He saw all the things that no one else ever saw. She too was building a cathedral - her children.

I would definitely urge you to get a copy of this book. It's a great read and encouraging to work at home moms and stay at home moms alike. You can read an excerpt of the book HERE.

So, remember moms. If you feel invisible, you're not alone. When it gets you down - remember "God sees."

I'm always on the lookout for new sites that offer information and resources for work at home moms and stay at home moms. I wanted to introduce to you Mommies Online, which I have found to be an excellent site.

On the site you'll find great articles, job opportunities, free stuff, printable calendars, and even advertising in their directory. It's a great site to check out.

I like bringing quality sites to the attention of my readers, and this one definitely has a lot to offer. It's especially great if you are trying to get a work at home job off the ground.

Do you have any great sites for moms? Let me know, I may feature them on here.

Having a hard time finding a few minutes to read a book, write in your journal, pray, or engage in some other activity you enjoy? It is possible to carve out a few minutes in your day for yourself as a work at home mom or stay at home mom. While it may seem impossible, here are some important tips that can help.

Tip #1 - Learn to Say NO - Keep your life simpler. Don't agree to more commitments. Learn to just tell people "NO." Sometimes moms have a tendency to take on more than they can handle. This can be prevented by saying "NO" kindly, but firmly. This will definitely add minutes to your day.

Tip #2 - Order Out - Some night consider ordering out. Pizza, Chinese…it doesn't matter. You'll save on prep time that will give you some time to yourself. You may even want to consider letting everyone eat on their own. Serve them up, then go spend some time by yourself.

Tip #3 - Leave the Dishes - Every once in awhile, it won't hurt you to leave the dishes in the sink a bit. Take those few minutes, get the kids occupied, then cherish those 10-15 minutes on your own.

Tip #4 - Shut Off Your Television - Give up a show you normally watch and take that time to do something important for yourself. If you have shows you love to watch, record them. You'll be able to fast forward through commercials, saving time.

Tip #5 - Take a Day Off - Get your husband to stay with the kids and take the day off. Go out and do something you enjoy. Instead of taking your kids out, let this day be your "vacation" day to recharge and enjoy a bit of time alone.

Finding a few free minutes to yourself is important and you shouldn't feel guilty about it. With these simple tips, you should be able to recharge with some free time to yourself.

On another note, stay tuned readers… My husband will be posting on here in the next few days on tips for the husbands of stay at home moms and work at home moms. You'll definitely want to read this and you may want to let your husband read it too. LOL.

Recently in my blogs, here on Tips 4 WAHMs, I've been talking on the importance of keeping the romance alive. Along that same topic, I'd like to take the time to talk a bit about a movie I recently watched - Fireproof.

I know that maybe several of you have already seen this movie. If you haven't, I'd definitely recommend it. I found it to not only to be a touching movie, but it had a deep and excellent message contained in the movie as well.

The movie is about a couple that just seem to have nothing in common anymore. They always fight, and finally it comes to a head where the wife says she wants out. However, the husband is challenged by his father to try a 40 day "love dare." On each day of this love dare he does something different to try to save his marriage.

For the first half of the 40 days, he does things half heartedly. Meanwhile his wife is feeling lonely and spending more and more time with a doctor she works with.

When he comes to the end of himself, his father helps him realize that without knowing the love of God, he can't ever truly love his wife. He comes to salvation, and it changes the way he goes about the "love dare."

I don't want to spoil the story for you, so I won't tell you the rest of the story. I'll just let you know that they both end up coming to Christ and renewing their marriage. It's a beautiful story.

I know this story challenged me as a wife and mom. It's truly important that as work at home moms and stay at home moms, we work hard to make our own marriages "fireproof." Unfortunately in this country marriage has become something that is broken. It's easy to let your marriage go with all the cares of life. However, it is something to be protected.

If you get the chance, check out this movie. Make it a date night with your husband. I assure you that you won't regret it. It may even help you save your own marriage or prevent your marriage from ever getting to such a horrible place.

Also, since the movie has come out, there is now a new website, FireproofMyMarriage, which is geared towards couples. It offers great resources for couples and so much more. It may be something you want to check out as well.

First of all, whether you are a mom who has a job (ie. Writing, transcription, virtual assistant or other home business) that you do at home or you are a stay at home mom, I believe you fall under the category of "work at home moms." After all, even if you don't have another job, being a mom is a full time job. So, if you are a stay at home mom, this article is for you too!

Sometimes when you are a work at home mom, it's easy to feel overwhelmed with everything that's going on in your life. After all, you are asked to fill many roles. More than likely you do some cooking, some "taxi driving," cleaning, laundry, child care, and so much more. If you have a job at home as well, you also have to fill different roles for your clients or employers. With all of these other roles you end up playing, it's easy to let your role as a wife slide by. However, this is the most important role you have - after all, if you are having marital problems, everything else is probably going to suffer.

Even though you have a thousand other things on your plate, taking time to nurture your relationship and to keep the romance alive in your marriage is important. You must take the time off from being employee and mom to being a sexy woman in love with her man. Now I realize a few of you may be a bit shocked here at what I have to say, but one of the main things that work at home moms complain about is not feeling sexy any more. Well, while your husband needs to take the initiative to make you feel beautiful and sexy in his eyes, some of this is your responsibility. YOU need to take the time to feel sexy and to build up that intimate relationship with your husband. Don't let the kids or your work at home job get in the way.

So, you're probably wondering, how in the world can you add one more thing to your day? Well, first of all, you have to want to do this. You have to determine that this is IMPORTANT to you. Once you have decided you are willing to take time for this and you want to work on your relationship, here are some top tips to keep the romance alive.

Tip #1 - Talk to Each Other - Sometimes married couples spend a lot of time talking "at" each other, instead of "to" each other. You know how it goes. "Honey, can you get the kids from school." "Pick up some take out on the way home." "I really need some help here with the laundry." It's easy to get into a mode where you simply talk "at" each other. However, it's important that every day you take some time to sit down and really talk "to" each other. Communication is imperative to a great relationship. If you stop talking, the rest of the relationship is going to suffer. It don't have to be for hours, but even 20 minutes if just spending time talking can be a huge help.

Tip #2 - Keep Dating - With kids, jobs, and everything else going on in your life, it's easy to stop dating and courting like you used to. Sometimes you need a break to go out and enjoy each other's company. It's something that you can look forward to. Plan one time during the week that you'll have a "date." It can be an evening when you are able to find a babysitter or even while your kids are in school. Even if it ends up being a date after the kids are in bed with pizza and a movie, make sure you do it.

Tip #3 - Protect Your Time Together - Finding time together with your husband can be tough. Maybe he works during the day and you're at home working. When you are home at the same time, there are kids and other duties that take up your time. Then at the end of the day, often you are so exhausted that you both just fall into bed. Well, don't allow the rest of life to get in the way of spending quality time together each day. Set aside some time that is just for you. Perhaps it's right after the kids are in bed and you spend some time watching your favorite shows together. Maybe you get up before the kids do and have coffee together. No matter how you do it, protect that time together. It's very important.

(to be continued next time…check back for part 2 of this series.)

Ever notice how most people get sick days? Me too! I've been noticing lately that in working at home I'm missing sick days, personal days, vacation days, and more. Sure, I get time off to watch my favorite dance show if I want to, but I don't get to call in sick and I definitely don't get sick pay.

This is just one thing that work at home moms are dealing with all the time - the absence of the sick day. Who knew the ability to call off sick could be so important. LOL.

So, today instead of staying in bed, here I am working at my computer, dreaming of my pillow as I type and imagining what my family would do if I gave them a call.... "Hi honey, I'm calling off sick today..."

Hmmm....something tells me it's not happening...but so goes another day in the life of a work at home mom. I've gotta admit though, in the end, it's all worth it, even without the sick days. (we'll have to work on getting those as work at home moms!!!)

Ever had those days when you felt like you were SOOOOOO busy but nothing got done? Yeah, that was my day. I got out of bed and was instantly busy, but somehow I never really did start getting serious about working today until after 10 pm tonight.

It was get up, shower, deal with the kids (who are here all the time since it's summer), start dinner preparations so we actually eat at a decent time tonight, and then I get sidetracked by the mail. Actually, it was the electric bill that got my attention - almost $300 for this months' electric! After I came to...lol...I stared at the bill in disbelief, then ranted and raved to my husband about how horrible it was that they would charge so much.

Of course you have to understand, where I live in Arizona, we've been dealing with heat over 110F and sometimes going over 115F, which is insane. The house never even gets cool. Last months' bill was a killer so, we cut back the air a little, and the bill is even worse, not to mention we've been living in misery.........but I digress....lol....

After recovering from the bill, I finally got one piece of work done, and then I had to run out to the store. Came home, and by that time it was dinner time, so I'm finishing dinner, looking mournfully at my computer and wishing I would have done a little more work by this time. Once dinner is over, it's time to start getting the kiddies ready for bed, making sure they get showers and all that good stuff......and here it is now, 10:46 pm, and I'm just starting on the work I need to get done today. I was so busy, and I really didn't even accomplish much.

I must say, this is one of the most frustrating things that happens when you work on home. You work and run around all day long, but you never get to the work you're supposed to be doing. So, now that I'm exhausted after a long day...it's off to work. Anyone feeling me out there???????

After my share of frustrating moments as a work at home mom, I decided that there have got to be other mothers out there dealing with the same exact thing. If you're reading this, you probably know what I mean...the people who always think you have an endless amount of time since you work at home and that you do nothing by take naps and watch Soaps all day long. (rightttttttt)

Most of you know that being a mom and working at home isn't always so easy - in fact, it's usually downright hectic. So, I decided to create my own blog where I can vent and hopefully meet a whole lot of other "Mums" out there who also "embrace" the work at home mom title.

So, here's the place to vent, get a laugh, share your stories, and even find some tips that will help you out. After all, we "Mums" need to stick together right.......