Stress: n - mental, emotional, or physical strain or tension.
Life has a lot of stresses and a lot of different types of stress. My
husband has a very stressful job. As for my son, while very intelligent, he
deals with a lot of social anxiety and becomes very stressed at school. What
does this have to do with me? Well, as a Stay-At-Home Mom one of my
responsibilities is to maintain a happy household. Sure, I get stressed too!
However, I feel like it's my duty to keep the stress levels in the house as low
as possible. Think about it…the word “Home” should invoke a warm fuzzy feeling
of security. It should never cause your blood pressure to rise!
First and foremost: We have a strict rule of no raised voices in the house.
(Exceptions are only made for peals of laughter!) Yelling and screaming in
anger results in nothing but hurt feelings and wounded pride, followed by bouts
of guilt. There is a zero-tolerance policy for aggressive and erratic behavior.
The interior of our home is a sacred, safe place and will always be treated as
such. There is great security in knowing that once you cross our threshold
there is no judgment, condescension or anger. Only love, acceptance and respect.
Moving on!! One of the primary ways to keep my family relaxed and happy is
to keep the house clean and organized. A dark, cluttered and dirty living space
creates a heavy atmosphere where no one is truly comfortable. Digging through
piles stacked around the house to find an item adds unnecessary frustration. If
the dining table is covered as a “catch-all” family meals cannot be enjoyed
there. (And I believe family meals are a great way to connect with your family,
which will reduce stress!)
The art of Feng Shui is a good tool to use in creating a comfortable living
space. Here is a great site to help you declutter and open up living
spaces.
http://www.ehow.com/how_4471856_feng-shui-house.html
Another way I help lower my family’s level of stress is to take care of
their basic needs. For me, part of the responsibility of staying home is to
make sure my family’s needs are met and to make sure my husband has minimal
responsibility and stress at home. His long hours are enough to keep him on
edge. I’m not going to dump more on him as soon as he walks through the door.
When he’s at home I want him to relax and unwind. The same goes for the little
guy when he gets home from school. Instead of instantly doing chores, swinging
in the back yard for 30 minutes can do a lot to clear a little boy’s head and
improve his spirit. Allowing the boys to unwind creates a more harmonious
atmosphere for everyone.
I have my designated “jobs” and I make sure they are done completely so the
responsibility doesn’t fall on someone else.
Sure, my son has the responsibility of picking up after himself and
doing chores. However, he doesn’t have to worry about whether or not he has
clean clothes to wear. He doesn’t have to worry about whether or not there will
be a hot meal on the table. My husband doesn’t have to worry about whether or
not the bills need paid or creating time in his hectic morning to pack his own
lunch...My Motto? "Don't worry...I got it!"
Sometimes I like to do a little extra to perk up my household. Celebrations
always create a light-hearted atmosphere. A celebration shouldn’t be reserved
for a birthday or holiday. I try to create 1 or 2 “mini-celebrations” a month.
The mini-celebrations not only create a light environment, but they make the
recipient feel special. Sometimes that extra bit of recognition gives them the
boost they need. When my son graduated from preschool I made him a Sponge Bob
cake and his grandmas stopped by and we had a “Graduation Party”. I spent less
than $5 on party supplies: A bright green disposable tablecloth, napkins &
dinnerware along with a Sponge Bob Mylar Balloon.
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| Aiden's Preschool Graduation Cake! |
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If my husband is having a rough week I will make one of his favorite meals
along with a “special dessert”. If it’s a really bad day I’ll make him an
Oatmeal Pie, which is very time-consuming. He knows it is not an easy dish to
prepare and seeing the big deep-dish pie on the kitchen table always lifts his
mood.
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| Celebrating Aiden losing his first tooth! |
I’ve also jumped on the bandwagon of “cake pops”. They are ridiculously easy
to make and SO much fun! Not to mention they are a delicious bite-sized treat.
They can be crafted into virtually any shape to fit the occasion. My son lost
his first tooth this week. So, to celebrate I made him a batch of tooth-shaped
cake pops. Based on the hugs, kisses and “thank-you Mommy!” I received… I think
they were a hit! From the moment he saw them his mood was instantly lifted. You
see? We really do celebrate virtually everything in this house!
Yes, there are and will always be external factors to stress out my family.
I cannot make my husband’s job any easier and I cannot make school a fun place
for my son. However, I can make their home-life happy enough that at least they
have something to look forward to at the end of the day.
Do you want to make fun & festive cake pops? Here’s the easy recipe!
Cake Pops
Yields approximately 30 pops, more or less depending on how big they are.
·
Bake 1 cake according to package directions.
·
Allow the cake to cool & crumble it into a large
mixing bowl.
·
Add approximately half a can of store-bought frosting
and mix together until your concoction becomes a large ball of dough. (it
should be a semi-stiff dough, too much frosting and the “pop” won’t stick
together)
o
Flavor ideas: Strawberry cake mixed with Strawberry frosting…Chocolate
Cake mixed with Chocolate Frosting….yellow cake mixed with vanilla
frosting…there are a ton of possibilities, be creative!
·
Form the dough into small balls and insert a pretzel, lollipop
or popsicle stick.
o
OR sculpt them into simple shapes...again be creative!
Easter is coming up; an Egg shaped cake pop would be easy and adorable!
·
Put them in the freezer for about 10 minutes to chill
and dip them in melted white chocolate or colored candy melts. Add sprinkles,
decorate or just leave them plain!
SO, I called up Amanda (my usual partner in crime) and we set off for the Terre Haute, IN Old Navy! We picked the right day for dress shopping. We arrived shortly after the store opened and they were just unboxing their entire new shipment of dresses! We literally had tons of styles, colors and patterns to choose from. We hooked up with a store associate named Tori and told her about what we were doing. She took my camera & started snapping shots & trading out dresses for us. We had a blast!! There was run-way modeling, dancing and just having fun in general! The best part was having the freedom to not bother looking at the price tags because we KNEW the dresses were free!
We tried on some that were great, and some that were not. I really liked this blue polka-dot number until I remembered my sister's scary Mrs. Beasley doll and I realized that I looked JUST LIKE Mrs. Beasley!! So, that one had to go away immediately! 
