Diligent Joy Blog

Special reminder for South King County area moms!

2012-05-16T16:35:31-07:00

Important reminder, moms of South King County, WA!

For Girls Only is coming to Federal Way on May 29th and June 6th. This fun and educational program is for moms and daughters to attend together. Grab your 10-12 year-old and sign up today!

2012-05-09T14:14:06-07:00

MamaCon Mother's Day Special! 48 hour special price for you! $139 - that's a $30 gift from MamaCon to you Thursday and Friday only! www.mamacon.net

If Mama Ain’t Happy…You Know The Rest!

2012-05-02T08:03:47-07:00

What mom isn’t looking for help to get her kids to toe-the-line, find time for herself and make her life go more smoothly? Wouldn’t it be great if moms had a place they could go to get a year’s worth of great advice and support for their endless and often thankless work in just one day?

That place exists and it’s called MamaCon - Inspiration and Tools for Modern Moms [www.mamacon.net]. MamaCon, May 18 and 19, 2012, at the Bellevue Hilton, is the brainchild of Seattle area moms and parent educators Amy Lang and Kim Estes.

Amy and Kim decided the time has come for a conference solely devoted to the “business” of motherhood. Here’s a taste of some excellent tips and advice from several of MamaCon’s amazing speakers and experts.

Dr. Shirin Shirkat, Create Happy Kids, [www.createhappykids.com], tells moms to “say it only once and be heard” by using this magical sentence, “First, _________ then, ____________.” For example, “First eat your dinner, then you can have ice cream.” Keep this short, clear and concrete if you want it to be powerful and effective.

Sara Eizen, Nest Seattle, [www.nestseattle.com], helps moms go from “clutter to calm.” One of her best tips is to take the hanging rod out of the coat closet and install hooks instead. No more hangers and plenty of room to get all those coats and jackets put away.

Margit Crane, Gifted With ADD, [www.giftedwithadd.com] says moms need to understand sometimes your child is going to be like a “hot house flower.” Your child may need extra reminding, love, attention, support, reminding again and excessive cajoling. Do what they need to thrive. She says this is usually a passing phase and kids end up able to function well without mom’s intensive help.

Too tired for sex? Amy Johnson, Diligent Joy, [www.diligentjoy.com]suggests having a regular date with your spouse or partner and having sex before you go out for dinner or to the movies. Also, exploring your own sexuality holistically can help you and your relationship.

Kathy Slattengren, Priceless Parenting, [www.pricelessparenting.com] suggests using “silent self-talk” as the first step to moving from anger to empathy. All those snarky, sarcastic and downright mean things you sometimes say to try to motivate your kids? Feel free to think them all you want. Saying them won’t do anyone any good and certainly won’t get your kid moving. Silent self-talk allows you to vent and then connect with your child.

Some of our topics:

Life Strategies:

Solving the Dinner Dilemma: Stress-Free Cooking For Busy Moms - Make Ahead Mamas (Claudia Pettis, Deb Kapsner, and Maia Kelly)

Envy the Energizer Bunny? Sleep for the Exhausted Mama - Catherine Darley, ND

Vodka: It’s Not Just for Drinking Jim Allen

Getting Your Groove Back: Sex for the Exhausted Mama - Amy Johnson

From Clutter to Calm - Sara Eizen

Motherhood, Money and Mayhem - Debbie Whitlock

The Momarchy: Take Your Life Back From Your Kids - Angela Toussaint

Parenting Strategies:

Raising Resilient Kids- Avoiding Praise Junkies! - Sarina Behar Natkin

Turn It Off! Tips and Tools for Parenting in the Age of Technology - Ann Hungar Steel

Chores Without Challenge - Patricia Nan Anderson

Turning Anger to Empathy: Responding to Misbehavior with Empathy - Kathy Slattengren

Creating Grateful Kids - Shirin Shirkat

That Would Never Happen to MY Daughter! - Kelly Marquet

Picky Eating: It’s Not Your Fault! - Matthew Amster-Burton

With over 50 parenting and life speakers and experts, including Rosalind Wiseman, New York Times best selling author of Queen Bees and Wannabes, free mini-spa treatments, wine tasting, a comedy show and Seattle Mom Prom [www.seattlemomprom.com] local moms will get just what they need to be happier, savvier mamas.

If mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy and MamaCon [www.mamacon.net] is all about creating happy moms!

Bellevue Hilton

300 112th Avenue SE

Bellevue, Washington 98004

Marketplace Preview and Kick-Off Cocktail Party!

Friday, May 18, 2012 - 3PM to 9PM

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

MamaCon - Inspiration and Tools for Modern Moms

Saturday, May 19, 2012 - 8AM (registration) to 12PM

Tickets! Use Code MCNSPEC for $20 off.

www.MamaCon.net

info@MamaCon.net

425-522-2417

STD Awareness Month: Info and Resources

2012-04-21T15:33:00-07:00

Article link here!

http://www.federalwaymirror.com/opinion/146371785.html

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

2012-04-18T15:27:20-07:00

Here's an article I wrote for Examiner.com re: sexual assault awareness and prevention.

http://www.examiner.com/sex-education-in-tacoma/sexual-assault-awareness-month

In addition, parents, be sure to watch the short video I've embedded here (it's in the article too) so you can start talking about ALL the things that are important to prevent sexual violence, like:

gender roles
gender norms
healthy relationships
consent

All these things are a part of healthy, consensual experiences and relationships!

2012-04-11T10:12:28-07:00

Totally worth 10 minutes of your day! Parents, check this out!

Get Yourself Tested! It's National STD Awareness Month!

2012-04-06T13:13:00-07:00

Digital time-out

2012-04-06T11:27:00-07:00

At a recent fundraiser, I saw a little boy bugging his mom to bid on the basket I had donated. Filled with small card games, Farkle, and a couple of pieces of chocolate as a nod to the theme, it sat among other baskets filled with flowers, chocolate, toys, and tea.

"It would be perfect for digital time-out," he said excitedly. I looked at his mom. She said, "Digital time-out. Every Sunday afternoon, we go home and unplug. No TV, no computer, no hand held or video games. Digital time-out."

What a smart mom. What a cool tradition for the entire family. Here's how to make your own family digital time out:

Parents play too. Take this time to unplug yourself, as well as your kids.
Set aside a specific time frame each day and/or week. It might be after a certain time each night, or like this family, one afternoon each week.
Substitute relationship and tradition-building activities. You could take turns deciding what to do, play board games, plant a garden, read together, bake something, or go on a field trip. Whatever you do, get any online reserach done before it's time for your time-out.
See what happens. Notice if the tussles over electronics lessen over time, now that you have a designated time to do stuff without them. Notice if you are uncomfortable, too, leaving your cell phone off for a few hours.
Adjust as needed. Maybe you're a family who needs digital time-out some of every day, maybe once a week--or maybe both. Adjust to your family's needs.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go take a time-out.....



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April is STD Awareness Month--find a clinic near you!

2012-04-01T15:12:00-07:00

Nearly half of all new STD cases occur in young people, ages 15-24. To find a clinic near you to be tested:

Find an STD testing site near you.

Making time for you

2012-03-28T13:37:45-07:00

Every day has 24 hours. We all get the same amount of time, every single day.

Every week has 168 hours. We all get the same amount of time, every single week.

How much do you spend replenishing?

If you're like many parents I know, you don't even get enough sleep.

I challenge you to find two hours a week that are just for you to replenish. You can spend the other 166 hours working, taking care of the house, the kids, the committees, etc. When I put it that way, it doesn't seem like too much to ask.

Perhaps this means you sleep in at least one day a week. Or you go out with friends one time a week. You could read something enjoyable for 30 minutes every day. Maybe you take a yoga class or a fun zumba class every week. Maybe you go to the library and sit by yourself and look at gardening magazines.

Here are the rules:

1. It must be something that replenishes you--something you don't usually take time for right now that would make your heart sing a little bit.

2. You need to schedule it. I've never met a parent yet who had left over time. Not only that, but you need to put it in your calendar first and schedule all that other stuff that's never gonna go away around your time for you.

3. It can't be kid-related. No scrapbooking, or shopping for them or making stuff for them.

4. No TV or internet. Television is a zone out activity. It doesn't relax you or rejuvenate you. Different brain activity involved with watching TV or surfing the net.

5. If you schedule over it because the doctor you've been trying to get in to see for 6 months can only schedule you at the time you have set aside, you have to put it back in your calendar in the same week.

Think of it as an experiment. How will taking care of mommy's or daddy's need to replenish affect the family? How will prioritizing that over someone else's "wants" change things in our family?

Do it for a month and chart the pros and cons.

Your children deserve parents whose needs are met. And that's your job.



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