StrongMothers Encouragement & Inspiration for Mothers while they work at their hardest job ever ~ being a parent

Why Labor Day Renews My Spirit

by admin on September 3, 2010

One of my favorite memories of childhood has to do with the upcoming holiday.

Labor Day meant no school.

More than that, it also meant that my 17-months-younger-than-me sister and I would get to take snacks to the den with the red shag carpet and stay up all night under our pink fuzzy blankets watching the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.

Every year that I can remember… we did that.

It was tradition.

It was not something that my parents orchestrated. It was not a planned event in order for us to have those memories of childhood.

It just happened, and I’m glad it did.

In college and in life after, my sister and I didn’t share a night in front of the television again, but we would always remember the telethon and would call and remind each other that the telethon would be on.

We did this off and on throughout the years…. A cherished memory of childhood.

Of a night where two sisters got along.

A night we shared, awake, while the rest of the world (it seemed) slept.

I loved watching Jerry Lewis. I still do.

I am in awe of his lifetime dedication to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

It renews my spirit, gives me hope, and fills me with gratitude.

My Casual Friday recommendation is to watch the MDA telethon.

And to make a donation.

You can call and donate, and you can go online and donate, too.

Just click the picture below to take you to the telethon website.

Here’s what your pledge dollars will buy:

(from the www.MDA.org website.)

$30	Flu Shot
$74	One minute of research
$100	One support group session
$150	One physical, occupational or respiratory therapy consultation
$300	Professional fees related to initial diagnostic work-up at an MDA clinic
$500	Assists one person for one year with repairs to durable medical equipment
$800	Sends one child to MDA summer camp

My dad’s younger brother has ALS… Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

76 percent of every dollar MDA spends goes directly to research, services and education.

I understand that pledge dollars buy HOPE.

Jerry closes the telethon every year by singing You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Here he is singing it at the close of the 2008 telethon.

Sometimes I wish that I could go back to those times with my sister.

Huddled up, giggling, sharing….

I’ll leave you with this video of the beautiful and gifted Wynonna Judd, who opened the 2009 MDA Telethon.

Enjoy your Labor Day holiday.

I’d love for you to leave a comment and share a childhood memory you cherish.

Love,

P.S. Like my sister and I, my girls are 17 months apart in age. My parents say that my children remind them of my sister and I as young girls. I hope my girls share more with their aunt and me than just the same age difference.

I hope they, too, have wonderful memories like what my sister and I have… memories that withstand the test of time.

Tagged as: casual friday, Inspiration, love, raising children, tradition

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School’s back in session… It’s time for YOU!

by Nif on September 2, 2010

Here’s our Thursday Turn-back…..

Since school’s back in session, and most families are back on a routine.

Don’t get caught up in the DOING and forget about YOU.

Here’s a revisit to last October’s post.

From Janet and Chris Attwood:

The 100 most successful people in the world were surveyed; the one thing they had in common was that they all knew the 5 things that they were most passionate about and were living them.

Passion

As moms busy people, it is easy to lose ourselves - including our needs, passions, and dreams - to the daily b.u.s.y.n.e.s.s. of life. Do you ever feel this way? Do you want to live a passionate life?

Since school started back a couple of months ago, I feel like I have allowed myself to get caught up in the repetition, the daily tasks, the to-do lists…from homework to volleyball schedules to dinner to grocery shopping to ___________ (fill in the blank! I’m sure everyone can!) It has been a gradual erosion of paying attention to my dreams and desires, and now I’m at the point where I’m left scratching my head wondering, “What happened?” Sometimes we neglect our dreams and passions because we are afraid that we will never reach our goals or achieve our dreams. (Maybe I’ve let myself be distracted by the daily busyness because I’ve been afraid that I would disappoint myself?)

I do believe that dreaming and working to achieve goals is a journey, and the joy and satisfaction we create in our lives is not in the outcome but in the process. I’ve been looking for a way to re-group and re-focus, and I’ve got two new activities that I’m excited about doing this week. Feel free to join along with me. I’ll keep you posted on my progress and I’ll check on you, too.

The first activity (from the Passion Test by Janet Attwood) is to finish the following sentence:

When my life is ideal, I am _______.

Here are the rules:

Write at least 10 answers
Begin each phrase with an action verb;
Complete this alone, so that you can search within to find inner passions
With eyes closed, picture your ideal life. What are you doing? Who are you with? Where are you? How do you feel?

Once the 10 are listed, I will compare the things on the list with each other and choose my top 5 (in order!). This list will help me to get razor-sharp focus on what’s really important to me.

The second activity I will do this week is post my top 5 passions everywhere that I can see them. By the dreadmill treadmill, on the bathroom mirror, fridge, dashboard, , calendar, in my purse and closet. Whenever I am faced with a decision, choice or opportunity, I will review my list and try to consistently choose in favor of my passions.

Want to try it? Post a comment letting me know you’re in…. I will email all participants a copy of Janet and Chris Attwood’s, “The Passion Test Exercise.”

Love,

Tagged as: courage, habits, Inspiration, parenting, passion

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Wordless Wednesday – 9/1/10 – Happy Birthday, Mom!

by Nif on September 1, 2010

Today is MY strong mother’s birthday!

Cheers….

To a woman who has taught me that age is just a number.

(She was pulled behind the boat on the tube this summer….

I hope I am doing that when I’m her age!)

To the woman who taught me, “If you’re going to do something, do it right.”

To the person who has never given up on me… even thought I’m quite sure I have exasperated her over the past 42 years!

To the mom who taught me that the father is the rock of the family, but that the mother is the glue.

To the person still coaches and teaches me.

As a parent…everyday I am reminded that a mother is just a woman,

who was once her own…

with her own life, desires, actions…

but who is now not her own

but whose children is part of her, too.

As a mother, I’m reminded that a mother

is a woman

who does the best she can but

will make mistakes sometimes,

and sometimes she will get it perfect.

I’m also reminded that nothing on this earth compares to the love of a mother.

To MY mom…. Happy Birthday!

I LOVE YOU!

Tagged as: family, love, motherhood, raising children, strong mothers

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Minding the Gap

by Nif on August 30, 2010

The past 10 days have been a challenge for me. Literally.

I’ve been doing (my own) 10-Day Health & Wellness Challenge for the past 10 days. I posted it on Facebook, asked if anyone wanted to join me, and a group of courageous and motivated friends jumped in and did it with me.

For 10 days we committed to do the following: 1) Exercise every day, 2) Eat a green vegetable every day, 3) Eliminate sugar, and 4) Keep a journal of everything that we eat and drink each day.

As part of the 10-Day Challenge, I’ve emailed everyone each day with health and wellness tips, along with affirmations. I’m not a nutritionist or a personal trainer any more… but I am a coach, fitness buff for 20+ years, and a life-long learner. I’m sharing practical tips that I use to keep exercise and healthy eating a part of my busy schedule as well as information I’ve garnered over the years from some of the best in the business.

Knowledge alone won’t do it, though. In addition to practical knowledge about what to do, when to do it and how to do it, we have to have the right mindset to achieve any goal.

Heard of the knowing-doing gap? It’s a term used in education and in business… it means sometimes we know things, but we don’t always do them. Having a positive mindset and belief system will help us to DO them and narrow or eliminate that gap.

Dr. Charles Garfield is a renowned researcher in the area of high achieving individuals. One of the main things his research showed was that almost all peak performers are visualizers. They see it; they feel it; they experience it before they actually do it.

Affirmations are positive sentences that you repeat to yourself each day. Over time, you can change your mindset.

Steven Covey, in The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, says that a good affirmation has five basic ingredients: it’s personal, it’s positive, it’s present tense, it’s visual, and it’s emotional.

Covey uses this example: “It is deeply satisfying (emotional) that I (personal) respond (present tense) with wisdom, love, firmness, and self-control (positive) when my children misbehave.”

To make the affirmations even more powerful, visualize your affirmation in your mind’s eye or create a visual display. Brain research tells us just how powerful visualization is. If you visualize a red apple sitting in front of you, your brain doesn’t know if you literally saw a red apple or not. Your brain can’t distinguish between real and imagined experiences.

(Sidebar — I tried to use this with my husband. He doesn’t really need to go PLAY golf… he can just visualize, and his brain will think he really did!) :)

The group of us doing the challenge are using affirmations daily to help us achieve our goal.

What other suggestions would you give to someone who is trying to reach a goal?

Love,

Tagged as: encouragement, habits, motivation, positive attitude, positive thinking, self-discipline, strong mothers

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Casual Friday – 8/27/10 – Revisiting a Favorite Book, The Slight Edge

by Nif on August 27, 2010

You can’t change the past. You can change the future.

Would you rather be influenced by something you can’t change, or something you can?

~Jeff Olson, The Slight Edge

If you ask most people who know me, they would probably say that I am self-disciplined. I would say that I am to an extent, but sometimes it takes a lot of work. Can you relate?

One way I help myself to stay in the right mindset is by reading.

I’ve set some business goals for myself this fall, so I am re-reading a powerful book that was given to me by a business partner. It’s call The Slight Edge.

Does the title sound familiar? It should. Back in December 2009, I made a Casual Friday recommendation for this book.

Have you read it yet? Want to read / re-read it with me?

Here’s that blog post… leave a comment if you want to do a book discussion (virtual or in person!)

P.S. One of my (many) favorite parts? Page 28 – 30, called Invisible Results.

Love ya!

Casual Friday 12/18/09 – Book Recommendation

by Nif on December 18, 2009

*On Casual Fridays, I make recommendations about books, websites, movies, etc. We would love to hear your Casual Friday recommendations, too.

As we wrap up 2009 and head into 2010, one thing is true. We can create momentum today that will propel us towards success in 2010 – in whatever areas we choose…. finances, health & wellness, family, career… the list goes on. Today’s Casual Friday recommendation, The Slight Edge: Secret to a Successful Life, by Jeff Olson, reminds us that we need to do the simple things, every day, in order to be successful. Jeff Olson calls it the Slight Edge.

From the book:

Everything you need to do to transform your life is easy to do.

It’s easy to become healthy, fit and vibrant. It’s easy to become financially independent. It’s easy to have a happy family and a life rich with meaningful friendships.

Tapping into the Slight Edge means doing things that are easy. Simple little disciplines that, done consistently over time, will add up to the very biggest accomplishments.

It’s easy to have everything you ever wanted in your life. Every action that any of these goals requires is easy to do. Here’s the problem: every action that is easy to do, is also easy not to do.

Why are these simple yet crucial things easy not to do? Because if you don’t do them, they won’t kill you… at least not today. You won’t suffer, or fail or blow it – today. Something is easy not to do when it won’t bankrupt you, destroy your career, ruin your relationships or wreck your health – today.

What’s more, not doing it is usually more comfortable than doing it would be. But that simple, seemingly insignificant error in judgment, compounded over time, will kill you. It will destroy you and ruin your chances for success. You can count on it. It’s the Slight Edge.

That’s the choice you face every day, every hour:

A simple, positive action, repeated over time.

A simple error in judgment, repeated over time.

You can always count on the Slight Edge. And unless you make it work for you, the Slight Edge will work against you.

I challenge all of you to read this book as we end 2009. It is encouraging and deliberate, and it provides a looking glass through which we can examine where we currently are and where we want to be. Let’s all be our very best in 2010!

Love,

Tagged as: casual friday, courage, encouragement, habits, motherhood, positive attitude, self-discipline, time management

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I’m a Tweeter. A Tweep. A Twit?

by admin on August 24, 2010

It all started about 2 years ago. I created a Twitter account, but I didn’t “get” it. I tried to tweet (post), but I just couldn’t follow the flow of the network.

Then I started following @familyonbikes and was amazed by their story. The mom of the family, Nancy Sathre-Vogel, tweets for the family. She’s a mom with 2 sons and a husband, and the family has been biking from Alaska to Argentina. Yep, I said biking. Alaska to Argentina. (You can visit their site here to learn more: http://www.familyonbikes.org/index.htm) Last year, as I was teaching biomes to my high school biology classes, I realized that I had an opportunity to share with my students. I asked Nancy if she would Skype with my classes and talk about their trip, the weather, and the landscape where they were at the time. Pretty cool, huh?

Twitter (in case you’ve been under a rock) is a social networking service on the Internet. Twitter is a social network… you have followers and you follow others. You can post a message to anyone on Twitter, and you can send a direct message to anyone who follows you.

Here’s a video that gives an explanation of Twitter:

http://www.commoncraft.com/twitter

I’ve learned so much just by following people on twitter. Not just what they’re up to, but I’ve read articles, blog posts, opinions, ideas, and more from the incredible people I follow. I wanted to round up some of my favorite tweets recently from some of my favorite tweeps. I hope they inspire you like they have me.

Most of the occupations ranking high in general happiness are professions involving helping others http://bit.ly/bXwbOA (@ smaxbrown )

How to adjust course. “The path to success is a jagged line filled with course adjustments.” http://ht.ly/2sI3b(via @LeadershipFreak)

“Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate.” Anonymous (via @ChildrensAidOrg)

If you’re just getting started or looking for more people to follow, here are a few from my list:

I follow people who discuss nutrition and food: @PaulaOwens, @michaelpollan, @EmilyEoff, @livinthefitlife, @unhealthytruth

Motivators/Inspirational: @johncmaxwell, @_StaceyChapman, @Goals_Coach, @MichaelSClause, @CoachCharisse, @John_Paul

Those who discuss leadership (business, education, life): @LeadershipFreak, @smaxbrown, @LeadToday

Moms who Tweet: MomsBeStrong, @girlsgetstrong2, @WendiAarons, @marieosmond, @ohjoyful1, @SueMac99, @familyonbikes

Education leaders: @edutopia, @KentJulian, @wfryer, @JoanneLeeJacobs @Principal_El

These are just to name a few of those I follow. If you are new to Twitter and decide to give it a try, I hope this list helps you to get started. Most every public figure has a Twitter account, so if you’re looking for Pat Summitt or Karen Kingsbury or Jillian Michaels… you can probably find them.

If you need help getting started, shoot me an email. Don’t forget to follow @strongmothers. :)

Have a twitastic day!

Tagged as: encouragement, Inspiration, motherhood, motivation, social media, Twitter

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4-year-olds are the best Teachers!

by Lisa on August 23, 2010

Do you kids ever teach you? It’s 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning, and I’m up thinking about ways to make my volleyball team better. This week we showed the very simple skill of substitution to our players. You simply walk to the sideline and stand there until the official tells you to enter the game. Our players heard the directions and saw it demonstrated as a group several times. Although the instructions were very simple, most of them had a very hard time with it. Excitement had a lot to do with it, I’m sure!

Rewind to last weekend. I spent time with my good ole buddy ole friend ole pal, Adalyn. She’s my 4-year-old niece who loves arts and crafts and especially squirting the paint out of the tube. Saturday morning we had a finger painting session. With her apron on, she was the teacher in charge. She took my thumb, dabbed it in the paint, put it on the paper, and then wiped it off each time. She continued the whole process with each finger on both hands in perfect order. Her teacher, whom she adores, has done this with her on a few occasions. Her teacher would have been so proud to see how well she taught her student.

Adalyn didn’t tell me how to finger paint, she lead me through it step by step. Next time, I will let each player DO the skill no matter how simple. Looks like Adalyn teaches more than just finger painting. How about you? What lessons have you learned from your children?

Love,

Lisa

Tagged as: finger painting, following instructions, helping kids understand, volleyball

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The One Flaw in Women

by Nif on August 20, 2010

A friend sent me this video a few days ago.

It’s based on the poem, “One Flaw in Women.”

Hope you enjoy it. Happy Friday!

Love,

Tagged as: encouragement, motherhood, motivation, strong mothers

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Wordless Wednesday – 8/18/10 – It’s been hotter than a 2 dollar pistol!

by Nif on August 18, 2010

It’s been hotter than a two dollar pistol lately.

This is my dog, Chase, during a rousing game of driveway badminton.

What do you think he’s dreaming about? Doggie pupsicles?

Love,

Tagged as: Wordless Wednesday

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I’m almost on my daughter’s Cool Mom list

by Nif on August 17, 2010

One of the perks of my job is that I get the summers off. As a 9-month employee (high school teacher and coach), my salary is based on 9 months of work and just divided up over the 12-month calendar year. Donna Goldberg says, “No matter how much money you have, you can’t buy more time.” So while the salary is smaller (than being an administrator), I enjoyed having my first full summer off with Hubs and the girls. Lisa even gave me permission to take some time off of StrongMothers. (Thank you, Lisa!)

To be honest… I’ve missed all of you, and I’m excited to be back in the routine again. :)

For my first full summer off of work, I really set out to have a low-cost, family-centric summer… including, of course, some “me” time. (‘Cause if Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.)

On the “me” time, I read 14 books this summer. I discovered Emily Giffin, enjoyed Karen Kingsbury, and laughed with Joshilyn Jackson and Mary Kay Andrews. Of course I read Nora Roberts at the beach, and I read Runner, the book chosen for our “One Book, One School” summer reading program at work. I also read The Shack, gods in Alabama, and Joshua. I also did some DIY projects (more to come later!) to satisfy the creative, right-brain part of me. I also learned to get outside the wake on the wakeboard! Woot!

With Hubs and the girls, we went to the lake several times as well as the Gulf Coast. The girls and I went to garage sales, visited the botanical gardens, took lots of pictures, went fishing and bowling, and worked in the yard to name a few things. At night we usually watched TV together… we especially love So You Think You Can Dance, The Next Food Network Star, and America’s Got Talent.

I guess I did alright… as I was checking my daughter’s cell phone messages during a week before school started, I saw one that she had sent to her friend… “This has been the best summer ever.”