We Took Away Our Daughter’s iPad – what we learned

Does your child spend a lot time on their iPad? I bet they do, ours did too. We had one major rule though and that was, “don’t talk to anyone you don’t know in real life online.” Our daughter broke that rule and we took it away. What we didn’t expect were the changes we would observe over the next few weeks.

What did you just minimize?

Our daughter, like most kids her age, enjoyed playing games where her friends could interact with her online. She knew that she wasn’t supposed to talk to anyone that she didn’t know in real life. One day though her dad walked into her room and she quickly minimized something. Ummmm what did you just minimize? “Nothing”, she said. Of course her dad took the computer and found a benign conversation that our daughter admitted she didn’t know the person she was talking to. We reacted quickly and strongly because pedos don’t just start the conversation saying “hey little girl I have some bad intentions for you.”. So we needed to make our point. Computer and iPad were gone for an indefinite amount of time.

How long are we going to keep them?

Over the next few days my husband and I went back and forth about how long we were going to keep her devices. We didn’t really have a plan in place since this was kind of unexpected. After a couple days though we noticed that she hadn’t asked for it, at all, not once. So we determined that we wouldn’t do anything if she didn’t ask. Let’s just see how long we can go here.

She started playing with her little brother and sister again.

After a while we started to notice that our daughter was interacting with her younger siblings again. Especially her little sister. They started playing board games, going out on the trampoline, and other imaginative play. She still hadn’t asked for her iPad back so we were letting it go. We were noticing a lot fewer fights, a lot less yelling, and a happier daughter.

Her behavior improved.

After a couple weeks, we noticed that our mornings started to go more smoothly. She was now waking up before she needed to and getting ready without being told. I asked her if after we went to bed was she was going back on her computer before. She admitted she often did. Her mood was improving, she was more engaged with us and started asking her siblings to go outside WAY more often!

Three weeks later.

She still hasn’t asked for the iPad back and we haven’t offered it to her. Things have definitely improved around here and we are pleasantly surprised. Obviously we didn’t anticipate these changes, we hadn’t realized how much constantly being on her iPad was affecting her. Not only affecting her but the rest of us. It seems as though we are all a little happier without that iPad around.

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5 Tips for Mom to Enjoy A Snow Day!

snow day

snow day

 

You just received the call that school is closed for a snow day today, again. There is an initial relief that you can relax a little and don’t have to rush to get everyone out the door, but then reality sets in. They are home ALL DAY, whether it is with you, your partner, or a babysitter, someone is going to inevitably be “bored”, “hungry”, or fighting with a sibling. So there are a few things you can do in advance to make the next snow day a more enjoyable one for everyone.

Here are five things I have found that make a snow day more fun:

1.) Check their snow gear BEFORE the snow day! – Nothing ruins a snow day faster than when boots or snow pants are MIA or don’t fit! This is a BIG one because it gets them OUTSIDE!!! Everyone wins!

2.) Frozen cookie dough – silly right? So I really stumbled upon this gem by accident. My kids started selling cookie dough at the beginning of each school year as a fundraiser. I bought a couple boxes not realizing they would be my new BFF. My kids love having warm cookies after being out playing in the snow, (I mean who doesn’t right?!). That had always meant getting everything out and making them from scratch for the kids to enjoy. I love it, but I didn’t always feel like doing it. Frozen cookie dough to the rescue! Pop them in the oven, I look like the hero with minimal effort. Even if you aren’t a fan of pre-made products you can still make your own and freeze them for the occasion.

3.) Emergency game/toy stash – kids get overloaded with gifts at Christmas and birthdays frequently. Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, usually drop a toy store off in your living room each year so take a few of those games and put them away into a secret stash! Pull one out and again, you look like the hero. Nothing occupies them (for at least a little while) like a new game/toy!

4.) Always have popcorn on hand! – There is something magical about popcorn that turns a movie into something exciting! Even a movie you have seen before becomes an event when you add a big bowl of popcorn to the mix!

5.) Just roll with it! – I know you weren’t planning on them being home today, maybe you had a bunch of things that you need to get done, but just like their youth, snow days won’t last forever. There will come a time before you know it when they aren’t little anymore, then they aren’t home anymore, and you won’t have any snow days again. Build the snowman, make the cookies, play the board games. They will remember those things a lot more fondly than, “mommy got her list done”, (which ironically is never done….EVER).

When all else fails mom, there is a bottle of wine in the dining room.

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A Mom’s guide for how to be sick

 

A Mom’s Guide for How to be Sick

Hey mom, did you forget how to be sick? Are you feeling under the weather from that virus your cute little walking petrie dish brought home from school? The one that everyone else in the house has had and you have taken care of them through it? Don’t forget that you need to take care of yourself too!! Here are 5 must follow tips to being a sick mom:

1.) Call out of work!! Take a day at home to yourself and don’t use it to catch up on housework, laundry, or any other tasks that “need” to get done. They can wait or you can ask dad to do them! You will have to let go HOW things need to be done. Let others help you, it will be good for them too.

2.) Tell dad you need rest….that’s right Mom…YOU NEED REST! You need to take some down time and give your body time to rest and recover from this just the same as everyone else in your family did. Dad can handle everything while you take a break. Will it all be done exactly like you would do it….no probably not….but that’s ok because you aren’t doing yourself or anyone else any favors by not getting better quickly. So grab a book, your Ipad, or just your pillow, and GO LAY DOWN!!

3.) Drink your fluids! Especially if you have a fever, please drink water, tea, a sports drink, something that is hydrating and refreshing! Even soup broth is good, especially if you are congested or not really eating anything else.

4.) Give yourself time to recover. As mom’s we always put our husband and children ahead of ourselves, this is a beautiful trait of being a wife and mother, but we have to remember that there is no medal for doing it all and driving yourself to the point of exhaustion without giving yourself the break. We feel guilty for sitting down and taking time off, guilty that the dishes are in the sink or that our mother-in-law is taking the baby to swim practice. It’s ok, mom, in fact necessary to not only take care of others but let them take care of you as well. If gives them a sense of purpose and it let’s them remember just how much you do around here!

5.) Don’t be afraid to say “NO”. You are just finally feeling a little better when the “insert group name” is calling about an event tomorrow that someone else cancelled on because they are sick. “Can you help?”, you CAN say “NO”, in fact you should. You aren’t out of the woods yet and even if you followed all of these steps, its likely that you didn’t take enough time and get as much rest as you truly needed. Not only can you not do it all…..you don’t have to. Cut yourself some slack.

Now that you have taken a day or five, whatever was needed, and are feeling like yourself again then you can get out there and tackle the world once class project, family budget, and board meeting at a time like the super mom that you are!

 

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Beautiful Mom Life

mom life

 

Mom life can be breathtaking!

Sometimes mom life gives us moments, moments that grab you by the heart and make you realize just how amazing this journey is. In that moment between all the chaos and the clutter, you stop and feel your heartbeat in your chest as you watch your little person master a skill, conquer a fear , or display a random act of kindness. It can be overwhelming or it can be quiet, subtle. Either way, in that moment, you are in awe of this little person in front of you, this little person that continues to grow, and learn, and advance in ways that you never knew was possible.

 

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Who is Jenny?

Wow, well that is a loaded question isn’t it, who IS Jenny?! How does one begin to explain such a complicated subject such as who you are?

It’s so easy to get caught up in the compartmentalized version of ourselves isn’t it, that maybe sometimes we lose sight of the big picture? I’m Jenny, I’m a nurse, a mom, a wife, and a small boutique owner. I am all these things at different times. Each of these roles brings out varying aspects of myself that in turn fill various emotional needs. I am a million piece puzzle that makes an amazing picture but takes forever to figure out, mostly though, in the end, I’m just Jenny. I feel AMAZING when the house is clean but let’s be honest…..that isn’t nearly often enough. I eat my veggies but love a good steak, thankfully my husband is a genius in the kitchen. I am a ‘fly by the seat of my pants’ type girl, who also loves organization and planning ahead, who will honestly probably just wing it when the times comes. I love my family, running my LuLaRoe business, nature, the truth, funny movies, a good book, that first cup of absolute amazingness called coffee in the morning, and wine….lots of wine! The truth is, I have such a variety of likes that you might find it crazy……or you just might find out that I am a lot like you, a delightful potty mouthed mom who can rock out to hard rock music one day and 1940’s jazz the next. Who is never too busy for a friend in need or lunch.

I must admit with all these things going on it can sometimes be hard to remember to take time for myself. I’m sure you have the same dilemma, like you would love a mani/pedi BUT you also need groceries and to get the kids off the bus. Finding balance is the key to success so let’s see if we can’t figure this adulting thing out!

So how would you describe my life? Organized chaos I would say…..organized chaos that is Asleep by Nine.

Welcome to my little corner of the world where we are all nothing alike, yet completely the same.

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