Generation Mom

The term attachment parenting (AP) began with pediatrician William Sears. AP is a philosophy based on the principals of the attachment theory and developmental psychology. Ok that’s great, but what does that mean? AP is based on creating a strong emotional bond with parents during childhood, in hopes of creating secure, empathetic in their relationships, adults. Sounds good right? Who wouldn’t want a well rounded child, and strong young adult? OK great, so now where do I start?
There are eight principals of attachment parenting:
1. Preparation for Pregnancy, Birth and Parenting
2. Feed with Love and Respect
3. Respond with Sensitivity
4. Use Nurturing Touch
5. Engage in Nighttime Parenting
6. Provide Consistent Loving Care
7. Practice Positive Discipline
8. Strive for Balance in Personal and Family Life

These values have many interpretations. AP parents also tend to choose natural family living (NFL). Now bear with me on this, I am providing definitions of NFL, but I want to state now that I am NOT an advocate for all these.
NFL includes natural childbirth, home birth, stay-at home parenting, co-sleeping, breast feeding, baby wearing, homeschooling, un-schooling (primarily indicating a lack of heavy reliance on textbooks or time spent at desks), the anti-circumcision movement, the anti-vaccination movement, natural health, cooperative movements, and support of organic food.
HOWEVER!!!!!!!!!!! Dr. Sears does not require a parent to strictly follow these rules! Instead he encourages us to be creative in responding to our children’s needs. The main goal is to focus on responses that support secure attachments.

One huge drawback of AP is that it can be very demanding and make parenting difficult on the parents. It’s important to create a strong support system, including friends and family. Many people have their own interpretation on proper child care, it is important to provide them with the information or list, of what environment you are creating, and that they understand what is expected of them. Keep in mind that people have their own views, but be strong and say, “Thank you for your opinion, but this is the way I want things done”.
My biggest piece of advice is, to get as much information you can. Learn about options that are out there, and tailor them to your life, sometimes you’ll find that you’re not adjusting your lifestyle all that much!
Ok let’s start with number one: Preparation. I think the best way to approach these steps, is to ask yourself: “what does this mean to me?” Ok fair game, what does preparation for pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting, mean to me?
To me, being stable and secure in feeling prepared for these things, would be educate myself in not only what is ahead, but the options I have along the way.
Preparation for pregnancy would be reading about what my body and mind will be going through. Asking my doctor, as well as doing independent research, on what diet, exercises, and other health concerns, I might have. To know what is expected of me, and the people around me. I would do my best, to adjust this new lifestyle into my daily routine.
Preparation for childbirth means to me, that I would be educated on the process before, during and after care of birth. What is expected of me, and the people around me? What are my options for pain? What are my options for post care? What are my options should I choose to be solely breast feeding?
I can’t help but think of my mom saying “kids don’t come with instructions”. So then, how do you prepare for being a parent? There are so many resources out there. There is of course the internet, books, magazines, and countless people to call on: doctors, nurses, and family.
Ok, doesn’t sound that hard, or even that different from what I would have done, how is this attachment parenting? Being educated and learning the best options to begin an emotional connection with your baby, is the first step. Take the options that you feel the most comfortable about for you and your baby. As future issues occur, educate yourself on the best options, prior to making any major decisions.
Number two: Feed with love and respect. What does feeding with love and respect mean to me?
Feeding with love means to me: providing the best source of nutrition to my child. If my medical condition is supportive in me breast feeding, that would be my first option. If for some medical reason this were not possible, instead of being hurt or thinking I’ve failed, I would feel secure in knowing that feeding with love means to provide the best source of food, and that would be formula. How do you know what is the best formula? Take the time and energy to consult with your doctor, ask questions and educate yourself on what is inside the formula, and why.
What does feeding with respect mean to me? I feel that this means, taking the time, to provide one on one time with the baby. No matter to whether this is for the mother or father, breast or bottle. Take the time to provide 100% focus on feeding the baby.
For older toddlers and children, this could mean taking the time to focus on ingredients. Also, this is a great opportunity to incorporate organic foods and making your own baby food, or simple healthy cooking methods. Should you try going green (ECO friendly) and attempt different activities with your family?
How is this attachment parenting? Feeling secure in knowing your option is the best for you and your family. Take the time and energy into creating bonding experiences for all those involved. You can talk or sing to your baby while they are feeding, touch and provide a physical experience with your baby, and find a quiet place with less outside stimulation, so your baby can be aware that your focus is on them. Want to go all out? This is a great place to incorporate baby wearing. After feeding, slip your baby into a sling or carrier, so they can feel close to you while they sleep, and you can have your hands free.
Number three: Responding with sensitivity. What does this mean to me? To me, this means when the baby cries, take the time before responding to focus all your attention to your child. Ask yourself, why is the baby crying? While trying to figure out the need that is to be met, I would hold my child, sway, and sing trying to calm the baby down. Check for all basic needs such as if the baby is hungry or soiled.
If there are older children involved, before responding, evaluate the situation before reacting. Find the best possible solution, meeting all the needs involved.
How is this attachment parenting? We all know the cry it out theory. Cry it out, means ignoring the child for a period of time: detaching yourself from them in hopes that they will no longer have this reaction example: Crying. Attachment parenting is the farthest from this situation you can get. An attachment parent would first focus on the reaction, find the source or reason to why the child is upset. Provide the solution. When a child cries, usually it is because a need is not met. Now the basic needs such as food and being soiled are easy to provide for, but what about the other needs? Attention is a need, and children need lots of it. Baby wearing, can help you provide attention to your child, and still give you freedom to meet your needs. For older children, there is a method called redirecting. If a child is feeling deprived of attention, you can redirect their focus on you to other activities, such as: crafts, TV or even “helping” you with your activities.
Number four: Use nurturing touch. What does this mean to me? To me it means providing a physical connection to your baby. This can mean massaging your baby after their bath with lotion. Hold your baby during and after feedings. Stray far as possible from using touch as discipline example: avoid slapping and spanking. Provide positive touch such as hugs and kisses as rewards.
How is this attachment parenting? By focusing on the needs of the situation and taking the best option to provide a resolution. Stress other alternatives to negative discipline when possible. Find the best way to provide a positive connection with your child.
This would be a great topic to look into methods of parenting, lots of articles can be found in parenting magazines.
Number five: Engage in nighttime parenting. What does this mean to me? To be honest, I hate to Google it. My interpretation of nighttime parenting is learning the cycle and needs of your child and creating the best nurturing environment. This can mean learning the time periods of feeding, how long your baby sleeps, and ways to soothe your baby to sleep. Methods of soothing can be rocking, singing, and reading your child to sleep. For older kids, this can mean starting routines of not only bed time hours but also activities such as brushing teeth, bathing, and reading before sleep. A good point is if possible, rest in the day time when your baby is sleeping, to help keep you alert during the nighttime hours when you’re needed.
Again, how is this attachment parenting? By taking the time, to focus on the needs of your family, and finding the best possible solution you are taking an active role in your relationship. You are not “detached” from your situation.
Number six: Provide consistent loving care. What does this mean to me? To me, this means first taking care of myself, to be sure that I am in the best capability of caring for my children. This means emotionally and physically. To be best educated in those needs and see they are met. To be focused on the best methods of caring for my child.
How is this attachment parenting? The focus on what are the best methods for caring for your children, as well as maintaining an emotional connection to them. Also, on the times that you are not able to provide care, take time on researching the best options for childcare. Family, friends, sitters, or day care. Be aware and educated!
This can mean looking into baby wearing, homeschooling, health concerns and practices etc. Read, ask and learn!
I don’t want to beat a dead horse with a stick, and I think the last two I explained enough. Number seven and eight: Practice positive discipline and strive for balance in personal and family life.
Write out plans, it helps you get your mind in set. The first step is making sure the parents are in the right frame of mind as well as physical condition; you can’t take care of anything, until you take care of yourself! Learn ways of connecting with your child and providing a happy and stable environment.
Attachment parenting isn’t about being extreme!
It isn’t about being perfect!
It’s about taking the time and energy to finding the best solutions and methods for you and your family.
OK after reading this entirely how many of us are attachment parents, without ever knowing it?

Kblurbs went down for a while on Sunday and should not have any more issues. This was a planned downtime, our appologies for any trouble this may have caused.

I would like to take a min and write a thank you to Kimberly Brown for introducing me to Microsoft Office Live Small Business. I have to admit I am one of the masses that had lost faith in Microsoft after the faux pas of Vista. I thought all was pretty much lost, and really only used word for spell check etc. My computer was still functioning for the things I needed it to do, but nothing was exciting it was all pretty much little more than a convenience. However there are sides to Microsoft that as a general consumer I had not come across the knowledge of. Did you know that Microsoft is a huge supporter of women in business? Also women with startup work from home business! They are just coming to the end of a seminar called Vision to Venture.  Not able to travel? No problem! Sign up for the FREE web cast here.

V2V webcast

http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/resourcecenter/women

This is most defiantly a place to check out for support/ inspiration and a whole lot more! There are resources for women in all aspects of their business. Start with the start up mom, with no idea where to begin. To the seasoned woman looking to add a little pick up to their business. To end the cycle with the Big time CEO woman; who has flourished and is now the guru with some time to share her experiences and advice and to help support women who are trying to walk the marathon in her shoes. The most important part I want to express is that as women in the workforce we need to support each other, how else can we show our strength if we are not united? Microsoft seems to understand this, and has given us this opportunity for free!  Work at home moms (WAHM), utilize your resources, and look for yourself and see how you can benefit with Microsoft Office Live Small Business.

There are so many features to get into, but by singing up for free with Microsoft Office Live Small Business, you will have at your disposal:

·         Fee website and ecommerce

·         Ways to promote your business through search engines and email campaigns.

·         A mail site to keep you organized

·         A new form of office, without offices, meaning online offices, communicate with people from anywhere over the web, like you would if they were in a cubical next to you!  Online office will allow you to also have great communication with your customers!

·         Set up online stores, and they even show you how to make an eBay store!

Support women, especially mothers in the work force!

 Do a little something for yourself today! If you’re a crafty mom, this is where you should start.  Work at home without the scams promising you future success, instead giving you future debt. Be the CEO of your own company.  Stay home with your kids without sacrificing your future or financial status. Boost your life style, learn ways of funding your own business, and be creative.

 Sure it will be a lot of work, and it will be harder than spending money and reading a pamphlet like you would with a MLM or a Pyramid company. This is your future, and your success did you think it wouldn’t be hard? It’s ok to feel overwhelmed! But there are people here for you. Check out the forums, and get advice when you feel like tearing your hair out. You can do this! Microsoft Office Live Small Business Resource Center for Women is here to help you.

Sign up, to keep updated with

 MOLSB-Advisor newsletter signup

I’d like to take a min to express my distaste for unknown callers. I get tired of being harassed by telemarketers with unknown numbers.  I’m sure I’m not the only one out there. Many times its when I’m busy and just to spite the fact that I have no idea who it is, I don’t answer.  Thanks to caller ID we can still see the number that came through.  http://www.yourcallerid.com Is a very handy site to see who is really calling you. So much for the do not call list, as now there are loop holes for nonprofit etc. I’m sorry but if I say do not call, that means don’t call me, if you have no business calling me.  This is why we have a business line.  I know that they have rules for hours to call, but not all abide by them. I can’t tell you have many times I’ve had calls past 9pm from different time zones. If you get as annoyed as I do, this is the site to favorite. I’m glad someone finally came through to give us a little defense on these calls.

Bookmark

 www.yourcallerid.com

We all can remember the summers as a kid, spending way too much time in the sun without a care in the world.  The great glow on your skin reminding you of the fun time at the beach, etc.  Along with these times come the accidental sun burns, sometimes very severe.  The late nights slathered in aloe, you thought was the end of it. 

As we get older, there are signs of abuse from the sun. The sun damage results in ways we might not relate to the sun.  Fine to course wrinkles in the skin can be the first signs of aging/ sun damage. A roughness to your skin, or laxity in areas can signal advanced damage. Without treatment you can see Patchy dark pigmented skin irregular and produce lentigos.  The back of your neck can become leathery or dry and scaly.  Chronic sun exposure, can produce a thickened layer in the upper dermis known as solar elastosis  a yellowish look to your skin.

While you can put on sun block, and expose yourself to the sun during non-peak times. Safest yet are the self tanners. I know what you must be thinking “yuck not that mess” but there are some great tricks to getting the real thing look.

First step is prepping your skin. Exfoliate, exfoliate, and exfoliate! Ridding your skin of any dry patches will help you look less patchy /orange. Should you get too orange, exfoliating will tone down the color as well.

Put on gloves. When applying be sure you’re not exposing your hands or bottom of your feet to the tanner.  Some creams have a tint to them to help you see where streaks might occur. Try to go for a light coverage, you can always reapply.  I love the spray pumps (yes even those can come tinted) to get a great coverage.  When that dries use a cotton ball to apply to the back of your hand/ tops of your feet.

Be sure to use the facial creams on your face. And if the tint isn’t enough, blend with the bronze powders to make it a flawless look.

To further bring out the bronze Goddess in you.

As a general rule, the darker your skin, the lighter the eye shadow shades. Whites/creams/pinks/ and bronze colors are best.  Keep in mind age appropriateness; let’s keep the chunky glitter for the kids. For your lips, a nice slightly tinted lip gloss.  Add a great summer fragrance, a cute summer dress, some fun summer sandals,  hobo bag to carry all your summer needs, and some funky beaded jewelry now you have the eye catching look, sure to please.

A little directed effort will bring a huge result. Try changing up your shampoo and conditioner. While your hair is wet, try a bit of leave in conditioner, before applying hair gel. It helps keep it moisturized while the hair gel may dry it out, giving you a less frizzy mess! This will help bring out curls.  For those without curly hair, grab your hair by the bottom, and scrunch it up toward the roots shake it a little as it dries. Repeat this motion over and over, you may feel silly, but it brings some great curls.

Kblurbs has decided to venture into Product reviews, Giveaways (who doesn’t love free?) and coupon codes.  If you have a product you feel is Kblurbs material, Please email us at info@kblurbs.com. 

Products sent in to Review:

·         Will not be returned. (that could be nasty)

·         Will be reviewed for the course of a week 5 business days+ weekend outings.

·         Will be given an intensive review on the product including description, use, history etc.

·         Will have links to purchase.

We intend to begin giveaways for our readers. If you know of a contest please send us the info.

Giveaways:

·         Send us info on your products/prizes.

Coupon codes:

Kblurbs would like to offer incentives to our readers of your products.  Send us coupon codes for discounts on your products, aka affiliate codes, so you know where your traffic is coming from.

There are so many large retail stores that offer everything under the sun.  Places like Wal-Mart and Target promises the best prices, but unless you actually go to them all, you never really know if it really is the best price.  If you figure your time is worth money, then I agree. Here’s a little problem for you. If I were to be working retail, I doubt id be making more than 8 dollars an hour to start.  Let’s be generous and say 1 Hour of my time would cost me $10.  In that hour I went to 4 super retail stores in my area. To compare prices of my item I was looking for.  At one store, my item would cost me almost $120. The second store didn’t have it.  The Third store had the same brand, similar color (a shade different, and a slightly different pattern) for $85. The fourth store didn’t have it.  Ok so only two of my four stores had my item, but had I gone to only the first store I would have paid $120+. 

120-85-10(one hour of my time= $25.  With the cost of gas etc, that’s $25 that I now can use for anything else. 

It’s extremely important to have value of your time, but don’t over estimate what its worth. Take some time to view cost, and also clip those coupons!  For the 20 minutes it takes to view a flyer, cut and stick in your wallet, you can save loads of cash.  Most Companies bank on the fact that most people don’t take the time and effort into searching for prices and cutting coupons.  

Your time is worth money, but taking your time can bring you even more wealth.

5 years now and counting I have traded the desktop for my laptop. The main focus was that it was easier to compose my homework with my busy schedule.  Further alleviating stress on deadlines, my laptop gives me access on all major hot spots, wireless connections.  From a mother’s perspective, the laptop gives you more mobility. I love not having wires thrown about from keyboard, mouse and screen.  Instead you have a lightweight laptop that can easily be packed away in your large diaper bag. 

For mothers working primarily out of the house, the laptop is a great tool for your career. There are so many websites out there for tips and info on creating home businesses; no I’m not talking about the scams.  For crafty mothers eBay is not your only option for selling your wares.  I’m actually against eBay for selling homemade items. My feelings behind this is, eBay is known for being the cheap or discounted way to find items.  Putting your hard work, love, and attention to quality of your item, you should not be marketing it as a discount item.  If anything it is more of a custom made item, deserving of your price.  For more custom friendly pricing, check out

www.etsy.com

Etsy items are all hand crafted.  I want to promote this site, because many of these people are hard working stay at home mothers.  More and more women are turning to options that allow them to give their time and attention to their families while still maintaining an income. Let’s support the mom workforce.

Not sure how to get crafty? No problem, there are so many things out there that you can learn and you probably already have an interest in. You can take classes at the local craft stores in your area.  For those of you who like independent study, you can find many tutorials out there.

www.craftster.org    is a great site to get advice on crafting and get support from peers.

 Take some time and money and invest in supplies, like your laptop and crafting goods.  Your half way there to your own homes business, no pyramid scams or paying outrageous money to learn how to make extra money.  A little bit of searching, a little investment, a lot of planning and you’ll be set.

I want to take some time to talk to you about equity.  We all know that debt is what builds or breaks us in life.  In order to make money you have to owe money first.  With your time and hard work you can make lots of things happen.  Credit is a subject I’d like to side step for the time being.  I want to talk to you assuming that you own something.  What is equity?

Equity is the selling price of your item, minus what you paid (or owe), minus what you paid for repairs.  Home equity is the best equity that’s out there.  There are so many shows out there, to give you ideas and information on how to fix up your property and make the most of your investment.  Once all that is all said and done, you can qualify for a home equity loan.  A home equity loan is a loan that uses your home as collateral. The loan is worth the equity, or part of the home that you actually own.

One major downside however, is the fact that this is a second loan on your home. It reduces the equity, or ownership of your house. Should you default on the loan, you may just lose your house.

Let’s talk about the plus side of this loan.  If you are a responsible adult who can make these payments, you have money now to play with.  Wanting a vacation that is long overdue?  Fixing up even more of the house will in turn make more equity. See where I’m going with this? Try adding more square footage, earning you more equity.

Home equity loans, can be refinanced for lower rates.  It is also is already a low rate, because it’s less risky to a lender then say a credit card loan.  A home equity loan can also be tax deducted.   Consult a tax advisor for more info on benefits available to you.

What do to with those used coffee grinds?  Have a liquid soap that does little more than clean? If your soaps a little plain and could use a bite for your senses, simply take the coffee grinds out of your coffee filter and pour into a bottle of liquid soap.  It’s another great way to go green (eco friendly).  Still have some left over? Sprinkle over your new herb garden, and outside your plants will thank you!

For some of the More crafty Diva’s out there.  Add to your melt and pour soap, when it cools and you pop it out of your mold, you will have a one sided exfoliate bar!