Motherhood Talk Radio hosted by Sandra Beck, Christy Holly, and Rick Swanson, welcomes Pat Sloan of Creative Talk Radio June 21

Motherhood Talk Radio hosted by Sandra Beck, Christy Holly, and Rick Swanson, welcomes  Pat Sloan of Creative Talk Radio.

Pat Sloan started sewing as a child (love those doll clothes!) and continued sewing clothing for herself until she discovered quilting. She has been quilting now for over 15 years. She soon started teaching and then finally decided to put her ideas into patterns.

Pat runs her own design business called Pat Sloan & Company located in Fairfax County, Virginia. She has found that she really enjoys designing patterns and seeing what other quilters do with her patterns. In addition to publishing her own patterns, Pat designs patterns for McCall’s Quilting, McCall’s Quick Quilts, American Patchwork & Quilting, Quilters World, Create & Decorate, and the Fons and Porter magazines. She has designed several fabric lines with her favorite fabric company, P&B Textiles. Also, Pat loves working with the great people at her book publisher Leisure Arts, with whom she has authored more than 15 books.

For more information, Visit www.patsloan.com.

Motherhood Talk Radio is co-hosted by Sandra Beck, Christy Holly and Rick Swanson, hosted by Toginet Radio and powered by Motherhood Incorporated.  Motherhood Talk Radio would like to thank our guest who have spoken with respect to motherhood on the following topics: women’s issues, parenting, relationship advice, personal growth, divorce, marriage, dating, weddings, relationships, health care, pet health, crafting, beading, relationship advice, cooking, family matters, care packages for soldiers, nutrition, child adoption, children with brain injuries, children’s advocacy, autism, cancer, eldercare issues, child care issues, personal growth and parenting issues.

Me Time—What’s that and where can I get some? by Sandra Beck, Motherhood Incorporated

By Sandra Beck, Motherhood Incorporated

As working mothers we work hard every day to maintain our household, care for our children, and maintain our relationships with our husbands and friends. But what do we do for us?  We are so busy caring for others we forget to care for ourselves, to take a little “me” time.

“Me” time, what a concept!  It should be a daily occurrence, a time we set aside for ourselves.  Set out and plan a block of time, even just 15 minutes, for your “me” time each day. Use this time to meditate, take a walk, take a hot bath, or even just a power nap.

Sit down and make a list of some things you’d like to do for yourself and how much time you need to do them.  Make it a point to schedule in at least one of these things into each day. “Me” time can be shared too, get a group a friends together and take a walk or call a friend just to chat.

I have made it a point to do something to improve myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually each day.  I start my day by writing down what I will do for me in each of those categories and at the end of the day I can review this and see just how much I was able to accomplish. This can be a real boost to the ego! 

I think you will find as I have that just taking a little time for yourself each day can work wonders in improving your outlook on life and your attitude.

I hope you enjoy reading these blogs as much as I enjoy writing them! Should you have any questions about Motherhood Incorporated either as a client or as a mom looking for work, please email me directly at sandra@motherhoodincorporated.com or you can check us out at www.motherhoodincorporated.com and www.sandrabeck.com.

Decorating Your Home for the Holidays on a Budget by Sandra Beck, Motherhood Incorporated

By Sandra Beck, Motherhood Incorporated

Wow, the holiday season is fast approaching! We’ve barely put away the dishes for Thanksgiving and it’s time to start thinking about Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanza.  With these tough economic times anything we can do to save money is a bonus.  It is possible to decorate your home for the holidays on a budget while keeping the kids busy and enjoying a little family togetherness. That’s what the season is all about, celebrating with family and friends.

A pack of construction paper in different colors, some ribbon, scissors, and glue can go a long way in creating decorations for your home.  Old holiday cards can be recycled into decorations by cutting out pictures on the front of the cards and pasting them on a background of colored construction paper.  These can be used as decorations for your Christmas tree or placed on your mantel or walls to create some holiday spirit.

Your children’s wallet size school pictures or even 3 X 5 photos can be mounted on a piece of construction paper or placed in a frame of popsicle sticks with a ribbon attached—you can even add a handwritten message like Christmas 2009 at the bottom.  These are great for your home or even as a gift for family, especially grandparents. 

Snowflakes, draedels, menorahs, or Kwanza candelabras can be cut out of construction paper to decorate your home or windows.

Be creative!  These are simple ways to get the whole family involved, keep your kids busy, and get your house decorated without breaking the bank.

Good luck and Happy Holidays from Motherhood Incorporated!

I hope you enjoy reading these blogs as much as I enjoy writing them! Should you have any questions about Motherhood Incorporated either as a client or as a mom looking for work, please email me directly at sandra@motherhoodincorporated.com or you can check us out at www.motherhoodincorporated.com and www.sandrabeck.com.

Eating Healthy—It’s All About the Colors by Sandra Beck, Motherhood Incorporated

By Sandra Beck, Motherhood Incorporated

Childhood obesity is on the rise. It’s a fact, one that at least for me is hard to swallow.  It is up to us as mothers to do what we can to combat this problem head-on.  Our children will follow our example, whether we like it or not.  So we have to change our own lifestyle in order to get our children to follow suit.

Have you ever noticed that most fast food is brown or tan in color—so blah!  Why not add a little color to your diet and in the process eat healthier. It’s all about the colors.  If it’s pleasing to the eye, it will likely be pleasing to the palate.  Restaurants use this technique all the time—it’s all about presentation.

Vegetables and fruits come in a variety of colors. Make a salad incorporating many different colored vegetables.  For example, a green salad with red,green,and yellow peppers cut up in it as well as radishes, mushrooms, or even squash is not only colorful but healthy.  You could give it a Mexican flair and add black beans, salsa, and sour cream or a sprinkling of cheese.  A fruit salad with grapes (green and red), pineapple, red or green apples, and raisins can be a healthy snack for hungry kids.

Eating healthy by eating your colors can start when your children are infants.  Baby food comes in many different flavors and colors, you can even make your own. Starting healthy eating early in life will likely carry on as your children grow.

So add a little color to you and your family’s dinner plate and reap the reward of building a healthy family.

I hope you enjoy reading these blogs as much as I enjoy writing them!  Should you have any questions about Motherhood Incorporated either as a client or a mom looking for work, please email me directly at sandra@motherhoodincorporated.com or you check us out at www.motherhoodincorporated.com and www.sandrabeck.com.

Making Time for Play as a Working Mother by Sandra Beck, Motherhood Incorporated

By Sandra Beck, Motherhood Incorporated

 

Making Time for Play

As a working mother I never feel like I have enough time to just play with my kids.  There always seems to be another deadline to meet, calls to make, and a pile of work on my desk that needs my immediate attention.

 

My two sons, ages 6 and 3, are very active and would love to have my undivided attention.  However, duty calls and work must be done if the mortgage and the bills are to get paid.  Try explaining that to a 3 year old…let me tell you, it’s impossible. 

 

What is possible is to carve out time in your day to play and release your inner child at the same time…how refreshing.

 

Day planners are made for just that.  Plan out a block or blocks of time each week that you can dedicate just to the kids.  If possible, plan these around times in their schedule where other activities don’t interfere—for example, naptime for your 3 yr old or karate class for your 6 yr old. 

 

Playtime can be indoors or outdoors depending on the weather but have a variety of activities for the kids to choose from.  This gives the kids some control and allows them the independence of choosing an activity.  Playtime can be as simple as kicking a soccer ball around or getting down on the floor and playing cars or building blocks or as involved as taking a nature hike outdoors.

 

During play time, put on the answering machine and turn your cell phone off so that the kids know this is their time.  Avoid any unnecessary interruptions.  Get down at your child’s level. Encourage creativity.  You can ask the older children to write down a list of activities that they might enjoy doing with you during “play time,” this engages them and teaches them how to make the best of their time too. 

 

While not easy, scheduling quality play time with your kids while still maintaining your business is not an impossibility.  It just takes planning.

 

I hope you enjoy reading these blogs as much as I enjoy writing them! Should  you have any questions about Motherhood Incorporated either as a client or as a mom looking for work, please email me directly at sandra@motherhoodincorporated.com or you can check us out at www.motherhoodincorporated.com  and www.sandrabeck.com