Susan Boyle--Dreams Come True

If you haven't seen the video of Britain's Got Talent, you need to view it. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

So many of us have had dreams that have not come to fruition. This video should give you hope. Dreams do come true if you keep following them, practicing, and not giving up. How close have we been to that dream only to give up just before the doors would have been opened. Susan shows us to keep dreaming and driving and not to judge others.

In this Easter season, everyting is new again and nothing is too dfficult for God. God gives us the dreams, others steal it away.

So, dust off the negatives and show them who's boss!!! Live Big

Starting New: Can you Make a Change?

I hope all of you had a Blessed Easter and are ready to start new. Easter is Christian Holiday recognizing the start of something new. We were saved from our sins because Jesus died for us. What an awesome unselfish thing.

So, in this season of starting new--Spring: the new flowers start to bloom and come back to life, the grass starts to turn green, the trees start to bloom and so should we.

If you haven't quite kept up with your New Year's Resolustions, now is a time to re-evaluate and start new.

Is Fear holding you back? What is it that you are really afraid of? For me, honestly it is picking up the phone and feeling rejected. I don't like that feeling but really, are they rejecting me or just the fact that I have something they could use but they just don't know it yet.

Is your weight holding you back? Why is it holding you back?

Is it your attitude about something?

There are so many things that hold us back to having an awesome life. If Jesus died for us, what are we doing for him? If we are living in fear we are not honoring him. Take care and talk to all of you soon.

Start New & Live BIG!!!!

I'm back--uggghhh

Sorry about the lapse in time. Things got a little crazy around here and you know how it goes if you're a mom. Even if you don't have children, things happen to really throw us off course now and then.

Anyway, I've got to get back to our tips but wanted to throw something else out there for all of you. I wanted to share something that we did as a family last night.

During the day our children built a blanket fort using our couch, bar stools, rocking chair and blankets. Daddy helped put some of it together but it was one heck of a fort. Big enough to allow all 5 of us to fit in and daddy even let them use one of our battery operated lanterns to have some light. The kids asked if we could go into the fort with them after supper time and I felt that I really had not played much at all so I said, "yes."

I was so glad I did. We had such a nice time and the kids were so proud. We read 3 books to the kids as they had each picked one out. We were in there for probably a half hour. To see the looks on their faces reminded me of how important it is to take some time off the computer and share it with the kids.

The cost was nothing but the moment was priceless.

Business and Family...Cont.

As promised, we will elaborate on our tips of creating a productive work environment from home.

1) Getting Organized

Organizing Your Office--if everything has a place and it is put back after being used, it is easy to find what you need when you need it. If you struggle with this, check out my girl Jennifer Ford Berry at http://www.jenniferfordberry.blogspot.com/. Jennifer is a professional organizer and her blog has great ideas on getting and staying organized.

Organizing Your Kitchen--this may seem a little odd to talk about but if you are preparing a meal, why not make two of them and throw one in the freezer for a night when you don't have time to put anything together? I often will make a big enough batch of mashed potatoes so that I do not need to peel potatoes the next evening and cook them. Save as much time in the kitchen as you can. I actually know people who use one weekend a month to prepare all of their meals for the month. Now, I'm not able to go that far but I will try to lighten my load as much during the week as I can.

2) Create a Scedule

Office Hours--Decide realistically how many hours can you work from home and then set specific office hours so that you and your family know when the time has come that either mom or dad will be working.

Schedule & Routine for Kids--If your children understand and know when you will be working, they will get into a routine. If they are in a routine, you'll find they listen more closely and things tend to run more smoothly (at least in our case).

3) Be Flexible

The greatest gifts we can give our families is flexibility. After all, isn't that why we wanted to work from home so we could have some flexibility to do all the other tasks that need to be accomplished? No matter how good your schedule is, there will be those days when being flexible will be your lifeline. When scheduling events leave extra time in between so you can spend 10 minutes with your child or have time to prepare for the next phone call, etc.

4) Delegate

Good managers know they need to delegate tasks to the appropriate people. Everyone in the family can help out. There's nothing wrong with having children clean up after themselves or help put dishes away, etc.

5) Swap Babysitting Duties

If you have friends or family nearby, see if you can set up some swapping of care for your children. I'm not sure about you, but it seems I can get so much done in a shorter period of time if the kids aren't around. Sometimes a person just needs the quiet to regroup and be productive again.

6) Have Fun

Don't forget to have fun. Work and our full-time jobs as moms leaves us little time for fun. Go to a nice park, play on the swingset, wave some bubbles in the air and don't forget we wanted to work from home to be with our children.

Live Big and Love Much

Business and Family

Have you ever dreamed of working from home and having the children playing at your feet as you are on the phone closing the deal or typing away creating an impressively creative blog or article?

Snap out of it!!! Wake up!!! Are you crazy??

Yes, that was me in lala land. Believing that I could have it all. Children playing cheerfully, everyone happy, not paying daycare, and creating an income from home. Then it all crashed. Kids crying, mom going crazy and getting frustrated, and ready to throw it all down the tubes. Until I started connecting with other parents that work from home.

Here are some tips that have helped ease some of the tension.

1) Get organized
Organize your office
Organize your kitchen
2) Create a schedule
Set office hours
Have a schedule and routine for your children
3) Be Flexible
As great as your schedule is, allow room for change
4) Delegate When Possible
Make sure your family knows and works with you to make this happen
5) If possible swap babysitting with a friend or neighbor
6) Have some fun
Make time for family time when all of you are together

Tomorrow, we'll elaborate on these steps and include information on how to create a happy (or at least as close to happy) work and home life. But for now, let me know what you and your family have done to create a productive working environment from home?

Family Activities in the Fox Cities, Wisconsin

This week I had the priveledge of visiting several new locations in the Fox Cities. Being new to this area it has been so much fun to see and get introduced to new quality businesses.

Our first stop of the week was to The Machine Shed restaurant located near the Fox River Mall. Both my husband I come from farming families and a farming community so we appreciated the motif of The Machine Shed.

The decorations are really fun and we knew if our kids would have been with us they would have been eating it all up. Old farming equipment and tractors decorate the outside as you enter. Waiters and Waitresses dressed in bib overalls and wood tables with checkered tableclothes, drinks served in canning jars all add to the charm of the country.

The food was fantastic and the service unbelievable. My meal was a chicken salad croissant with potato soup. I'm very picky on soups and loved every bite. My husband enjoyed pork tenderloin sandwich with French Onion soup. So yummy and the serving sizes were large. I did not go away hungry--ate way too much.

I had the pleasure of talking to the manager and found out that they offer cooking classes for children the first and third Wednesday of the month. For more information on the cooking classes, please call 920-830-2326 and visit www.foxvalleykidsguide.com to view the calendar of events for more information.

The second family activity that we were able to experience this week was Wild Air Play Zone. What a Blast!!!! I don't believe that I have ever had that much fun with my kids and husband before. We were fortunate to go on a weeknight and there were other families there but it was not too over crowded. If you go, be prepared to climb and run and slide and bounce and have one heck of a good time laughing all the way.

Our 3 and 4 year old boys had the best time and actually told us "Thank You" for taking them and keep asking when we are going to go back. Of course, I took my camera---with dead batteries. I believe I got one picture off and then out, like a light. I will see if I can post that picture in a day or two. I would recommend this to anyone and this would be an awesome place to hold a Birthday Party but don't go yourself with 5 kids. Make sure you have another 1 or 2 adults with you.

The third business I had the pleasure of getting introduced to was Learning Shop. located at 4705 W. College Ave in Appleton--kind of kiddy corner to the Fox River Mall. If you are looking for quality, teaching toys and learning books, this is the place to come. From the unique to the hard to find--you'll get it here.

From my early years, I remember having these card board shapes with holes punched in them and string like shoelaces to learn lacing skills. Now this is something that you are not going to find at Target or Wal-Mart but guess where you'll find it? Learning Shop!!!

As more and more people are getting back to the basics, the hot sellers have been games and puzzles. As I had the chance to work with Tom Merryfield and one of the store associates, we all talked about how we have been implementing Family Night at our homes. I think this is terrific and again, God knows all, sees all, hears all and I believe that this time in our life is very much about getting us back to family, love, and simplicity. Living within our means and learning some of these lessons the hard way.

A game that has been selling like "bananas" is Bananagrams!! A game invented by a family that was bored when they went out to eat and needed something to do from the time they ordered their food until it arrived. Similar to scrabble, you have square letter pieces that fit into a bag shaped like a banana. You deal out the letters from the bag to each person playing and you start making words. The size of the game fits easily into a purse to make it ideal for bringing with you out to eat or anywhere else you would wait. Great for camping or even on your boat, it's an easy bring along. Go to www.foxvalleykidsguide.com and click on Learning Shop for more details. It is listed on their home page or better yet, go in and meet the knowledgeable staff and take a look at all they have to offer.

Extreme Home Makeover

My 4-year old's favorite show is Extreme Home Makeover. Tonight's episode really had me thinking, "how much do I really do for others?" Here was a family that was struggling themselves yet they put other's first. I have to say, as a mom I certainly feel I am always putting my children first but the episode really touched me. (Every Sunday evening's story touches me but I really feel this one got me thinking.)

One of my missions is to be a part of the community in which we just moved to. Not really knowing many people, you tend to isolate yourself. My children are not in school yet so we don't have that as an outlet either. So for this week, I will explore ways in which to become more involved with the community and to find out how I can do more.

Like so many moms and dads, I feel I'm already overbooked with children and household and a business to run and an editorial position but I feel a hole in my heart. How many people have I really touched?

I'd love to hear from you as to ways big or small that you've touched others and how you are able to give back to your community.

Live Big in your faith, Live Big in your life!!! Cathy G