For us busy moms, the work doesn’t stop with the days or nights after Christmas.  In fact, this is when the real work begins.  Post-holiday cleanup can just be as stressful as preparing for the yuletide season.  Just thinking about the tall tower of dirty dishes waiting at the kitchen sink puts a damper on your goals at applying that eyelash growth product on your lashes.

Once again, we moms put ourselves at the bottom of the list.  Everything else comes first: household chores, picking up your hubby’s socks, mending that hole on your son’s favorite jersey.

At the end of the day, all that matters is that everyone in the family is happy and healthy.  It’s occasions like Christmas when we realize how much we should be thankful for.

Hope your Christmas was merry.  I’m sure mine was!

Since most, if not all, of the photos we take nowadays are with a digital camera, it becomes more convenient then to save them electronically. You have the option to burn them to a CD and do some CD replication, if you want to hand these out to friends or relatives.

If you want to share those photos with family overseas, you can simply upload them to any free online photo album. There’s shutterfly.com and kodakgallery.com, to name a few. Anyone- with your consent- will be able to access those memories from anywhere in the world.

With your digital photos, you can even create digital scrapbooks and likewise share them online. There are a lot of digiscrapping resources on the internet. It’s pretty easy to learn and addictive too.

Memories are meant to be saved and shared. With the many options at your disposal, choose the one which you are most comfortable with, and your memories will certainly last a lifetime.

This is where the value of gratitude comes into the picture.  Whenever I do something big or small for any member of my family, I can almost feel my heart do cartwheels when they say a simple “thank you” to me.  Any form of gratitude elates my spirit and only motivates me to do more things for them.

This post may be a little too early for Thanksgiving, but there’s never a set date to show our thanks to the people we hold most dear to our hearts.  Whenever the opportunity presents itself, say thanks to whoever has gone the extra mile- or inch- for you.  A grateful heart makes for a happy family.

It’s been ages since we last saw one another, as we each have our own daily troubles to keep us preoccupied.  W e hardly have the time to catch up on each others’ lives.  The days of endless chatter on the phone and long stretches of hours together over coffee are long gone.  A gazillion other responsibilities have taken over the simple joy of girlfriends convening to talk about hunky men and figure-flattering jeans.

It’s always important to touch base with who you are- apart from your husband, kids and the seemingly insurmountable household chores.  As much as you can, try to carve out some time for yourself.  If you can’t physically be together with your girlfriends, try to at least call them up or send them a text message.  Don’t even think about posting on their Facebook wall, as nothing can be more impersonal.  It is pretty easy to be insincere online, believe me.  If your schedules allow you to, mark off a day to meet up at a nearby restaurant, even for just a couple of hours.

Friends are there for a reason.  They help remind us who we are- that we can still be sexy and fashionable despite our mommy duties.  Value them, as they are truly indispensable in this ever-changing world.

Almost all of us worry several times a day.  Whether it’s about the fact that you’re knee-deep in debt, or you’re worried about your present romantic relationship, we all have our troubles.  A certain amount of worry may be inevitable, but if it constantly permeates our entire being, then that’s a red flag.

Some causes of our worry may have palpable solutions.  If it’s money you worry about, you can come up with ways to cut down on expenses, for instance.   Some worries, however, are borne out of fear of the unknown… fear of the uncertainty of the future.  There are just some things which we have no control over.

What makes worry detrimental to our mental and physical health is it zaps the energy out of us.  It wastes our time thinking about what has yet to transpire.  Instead of acting on the present, we expend all our energy thinking and thinking about what is to happen.

A better alternative would be to simply accept the things which we cannot change and just let God be in control- because He is.  Whatever it is that’s troubling you, it too shall pass.

Image source: aboutpixel.de / Babyfüße © Rico Kammerer

For any mother who has carried her baby in her womb for nine months, finally hearing her baby’s first cry as she emerges from your belly is simply a joyous occasion.  Celebrating your newborn baby’s birth into this world is something which is at the top of your list.  What can you do to commemorate this momentous event in your lives?

Before anything else, friends and family should understand that you are only too tired and sleep-deprived to take on the planning details for a welcoming party for your newborn.  Instead of dropping by your place and potentially infesting your house with human-germs, well-wishers can instead give you a quick phone call or send flowers, a card or even food your way. 

The grander celebration can come a few months after, when you and your partner have pretty much adjusted to having a baby in your lives.  By then, your baby will have become more physically resistant to infection, and can accommodate a few cheek-pinching sessions with your beloved guests.

A couple’s happiness over the birth of a newborn is almost infectious.  Just sympathize with them for the meantime and save the visits for later.  They will surely appreciate your concern.

Photo credit: Google Images

Whenever I feel I need to take a break from the humdrum of everyday life, I just sit back and reminisce the old days. I turn on some 80’s or 90’s music and images of my single-blessedness spring back to life. I am instantly transported back in time to the days when I had fewer cares in the world. Moments like these are essential, as they help invigorate my soul, giving me a fresher outlook in taking on the challenges of today.

You should try that too. Travel back in time with some music or old TV flicks. Just don’t forget to return to the present.

Photo credit: Google Images

Then again, sexiness is a state of mind. Feel sexy, and you will look sexy. We are what we conceive ourselves to be. And not even the best diet pills can do that!

As parents, dealing with this reality is somewhat causing us a great deal of distress. We naturally would want to hold on to them for much longer, but thing is, time is getting the better of us. And we don’t have it in our power to stop our kids from growing up.

We can help cope with this fact by dealing with it bit by bit. We must learn to slowly let go, as certain life events begin to unfold. For instance, when our kid starts to go to school, we should try to let him go and give him a shot at independence. And by the time he hits his adolescent years, we should gracefully embrace the fact that he may want to spend more time with his peers than with us.

I am very stressed because I have to attend to him 24/7 and money is also running out! Thank goodness I have bought us travel insurance. I am already in contact with them and they told me to send them the forms I needed to sign and so as the receipts of the hospital bill. I wish I had a document management system so that I can easily organize all the paper works we need for the insurance company.