5 Ways to Be a Fun Mom

5 Ways to Be a Fun Mom

By Lynn Powers

A couple years ago, my daughter told me I wasn't a "fun mom." Granted, the comment came when I was busy with something and it wasn't possible for me to drop what I was doing and play with her. But I'll admit, the comment still stung.

Of course, because I work at home, there will certainly be times when I have to say no. There is work that needs to be done and my kids need to learn that the world doesn't completely revolve around them. But, are there times when I am so consumed with my work that "no" becomes an automatic response to my kids' pleas to play? Do I need to lighten up? Have I forgotten how to become a fun mom?

As any work-at-home mom knows, balancing work and motherhood is not easy! But, at the end of the day, would I rather say I got each of the twelve things done on my to-do list? Or that I took some time to pay attention to the needs of my child?

Here are five ways you can get your work done and still be considered a "fun mom."

1. Take a Time Out. When your child is pleading with you to play with her, take a moment to consider whether she may be desperate for time with you. A child can only go so long without some quality time with her mom. Take a half an hour break to spend playing a game, drawing a picture, or taking a walk around the block.

2. Set the timer. Tell your child you will set the timer for one hour. When the timer goes off, it will be time to play. You will then set the timer for twenty minutes and play whatever it is he wants to play, whether it's matchbox cars, a board game, or silly dancing to a favorite CD. Do that a couple of times throughout the day. And stay true to your word - when you hear that "ding," drop what you're doing. Let him know he's the priority.

3. Make lunch time a fun time. Use the hour to involve your child in making sandwiches and setting the table. Leave the paperwork in the office and focus on your child. Ask her questions about things she enjoys - like what she's named her latest WebKinz or what happened on her favorite television show this morning.

4. Put him to work! We're not talking child labor, here. But, if possible, involve your child in your work. Of course, the work needs to be age-appropriate. A three-year old can put paper in the recycling bin. A five year old is able to stamp envelopes. A ten year old can do some filing. You may get more work done this way, or less, but involving your child will be priceless.

5. LAUGH! Take a moment to tell your daughter a silly joke. Relive a funny moment from the past. Have a five minute "tickling spree." If hearing your child's laughter doesn't get you started, nothing will. Besides the "fun" factor, laughing reduces stress and ups the immune system - an added benefit for you both!

Working at home and being a fun mom can go hand-in-hand. It's all about balance. But when you find the scale tipping a little too far on the work side, your child may just remind you that it's time to step away for a moment or two. And don't forget to grab that FUN hat on your way out of the office door.

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Back to School Shopping and Savings!

Well it is official school has already begun or will begin here shortly for most of you. If you are not already ready for the first day then we have the best sale ever to pick up a few more items to make that first day even more exciting.

Save $5.00 off your order when you shop our Back to School category and when you purchase a Reusable Lunch Sack. Then the best part is, FREE SHIPPING when you use this coupon. The shipping will automatically be taken off at checkout. So let me show you a few items you are going to want to have!

The first day is going to be full of information and papers for your little one. Get her a Dots Pink Backpack to help her bring all that info home to you (then it will not be scattered all over the bus).

Now for boys, they might not like the pink polka dots but her is sure to love the Propeller Backpack.

Whether it be for a boy or a girl showing your graduating class is super cool! The Personalized Class of Shirt has tons of options to make it perfect for your son or daughter or to make the perfect gift!

So shop away, make this school year simply fabulous!

Coloring App Review

As you can probably tell from my previous post, I love iphone and ipad apps to keep my kids busy and focused when it's important.

I need to share a really great app with you! The iCrayonMaker app for the ipad (also available for the iphone) is phenomenal. My 7 year old, 5 year old, and 2 year old all loved it equally and for different reasons. One app that pleases all of my kids is hard to find!

This app allows you to take boring old virtual crayons and mix them to create you own color. Once you've created the perfect color, it's magically turned into a crayon which you can use to color with in another screen.

My 2 year old loved physically swirling the colors together and watching the shade change. The more you mix with your finger, the more they change. My 5 year old loved testing out his knowledge of what colors you can mix together to make other colors. My 7 year old loved taking the crayon she created and drawing a picture with it. She especially loved the fact that you can turn your color into glitter! Awesome.

My favorite thing about this app, besides the fact that it gave me at least 20minutes to fold a load of laundry, was the paper texture on the coloring screen. It's textured almost like construction paper to make you really feel like you are coloring with crayons. I'll admit it, I got a little carried away creating my own shades of crayons and making a unique rainbow picture. :)

Another great thing about this app is that it's created by a mom. She has agreed to give away 5 free apps (either for the iphone or ipad) to our readers. All you have to do is take a peek at the app here: http://www.freemyappsnow.com/iCrayonMaker.html and tell use what you think you'll like about it. You can also friend her app at the facebook page (of follow her on twitter here: @freemyappsnow. Please tell her we sent you!

After you check out the link, comment and let us know what you like about it. Make sure we have access to your email so we can notify you if you win. We'll choose 5 lucky winners and award them a super special code to input on their device to get the app for free. Too cool!

Our contest will go until Jan 21st. Good luck and tell your friends!

Will Work 4 Apps

Can you put a price on your sanity? No?

A little bit of quiet and calmness sounds like heaven to me. Lately, I've been finding solace in apps. Whenever my toddler gets a little crazy, I start frantically flipping through the app store on my iphone or ipad to find something that will hold her attention and let her focus on.

Being able to finish a meal in an actual sit-down restaurant has finally become reality thanks to the little piece of heaven I like to call the iphone. Waiting at the Dr.s office for once didn't cause me to hyper-ventilate because the two year old had Elmo singing along with her. Once again, thank you Elmo.

Bliss. All for the price of $2.99.

Let's look at the other end of the spectrum. My 7 year old daughter will not clean up her room for anything. I've threatened, taken away prized items, promised trinkets, and done a whole reward system. Nothing has worked. She's now kept her room clean for a complete week thanks to the new Spongebob Marbles and Slide app. I can't complain. It cost less than what I was paying her to do it with an allowance.

Even better are the free versions of the games. It's nice to be able to play and get completely addicted to a game before spending the money on it i.e. Angry Birds.

The fact that my kids are learning and using some logic and reasoning to play some of the apps is a bonus. My two year old has learned most of her letters from an app and is constantly coloring and drawing. My 5 year old son has been working so hard trying to figure out Spongebob Marbles and Slides. When he beats a level, he's so excited and proud. My 7 year old has been working on flash cards to learn math facts. There's just nothing wrong with that!

Resolutions, Schmezolutions...

Happy Holidays Nanny Deprived Mama's!!!
We trust that the season, shopping, weather, wrapping, families, wine, Santa photos, greeeting cards, wine, cleaning, baking and wine has you completely frazzed and secretly thankful its over...atleast til it sneaks around again in 10 more months.
This year has seemed to me like a holding pattern...like I've just been bumming around here waiting for something fabulous and maybe- JUST MAYBE 2011 has what I've been waiting for. Its kind of inspiring me to be a better me, a better mama and just--do things better. What sort of resolutions do you make (and break?) each year or are you just DYING to resolve to do something and actually MAKE IT HAPPEN?
This year I am going to do the following:
I WILL have a date night- even if its just a movie night at home- with my DH every other week.
I WILL clean my blinds regularly.
I WILL start cooking with low-fat items and maybe even less butter...but that I can't promise without very gradual decline over time.
I WILL get the kids rooms painted and decorated before Feb 1st (its only been 6 months since we moved in...)
I WILL keep my bedroom toy and child free so we can have an "adult only" space. *Middle of the night bad dreams do not apply.
I WILL continue to whack at my credit card debt and pay everything with debit. If thats not possible then I don't need it.

How about you ladies? What will you absolutely positively do better this year?

-Candy