When you find out you are pregnant and tell your children that they are going to have a new brother or sister, the reactions can be mixed. Based on your child’s age and activities, they might either be very excited or upset by this new addition. Some kids can’t wait till their baby brother or sister arrives, while others worry about what it will mean to them. Will they lose a part of you? Will you have less time and attention to give to them? Will you let them help with the baby?

If you work outside of the house, when you get home at the end of the day, especially during the first trimester, you probably find that you are exhausted and just want to lay down. Your children though, no matter what the age, will want to spend time with you, or need help with homework, and you won’t be able to relax and prop up your feet. After all, a mother’s job is never done.

If you are a stay-at-home-mom with little kids who are home with you all day, then life will get really hectic. During the first trimester when you are really tired and just want to sleep, you can’t necessarily lay down on demand, rather you have to prepare meals, run errands, play with the kids, and listen to their unending questions. “Mommy, is the baby coming today? Mommy, how much longer? Mommy, is the baby kicking? Mommy, can I feel?”

During the second trimester you might be feeling better, more energetic, and more up to having fun with your children. Then comes the third trimester and the innocent childlike comments that you may hear, that make you want to laugh and cry at the same time. My favorite was, “Mom, you used to be skinny and now you are fat. I like you better skinny but sometimes being fat is ok because it means you have a baby in your belly.” Uh, thanks dear…I love you too!

Involving your children in the doctor’s appointments can help make the trips with little ones easier to handle. Ask your doctor or midwife if your child can help find the heartbeat or help measure your belly. Look into sibling classes at your hospital, that you can take your children too. They will get a chance to see other baby’s, and see where you will be when you have the new addition. Take them to your ultrasounds so that they can see their new brother or sister moving around inside your belly.

If you are a stay-at-home-mom to school age children you should consider yourself lucky! You get 7-8 hours during the day to yourself. You get to relax, run errands without tag-a-longs which makes everything more exhausting, and take a nap when you feel you need it. Older kids tend to understand a little more about mommy being tired, and will at least attempt to help you out around the house…if you are lucky.

Being pregnant with children already is a totally new experience that is rewarding and stressful at the same time. No matter what trimester you are in or what stage of pregnancy, being pregnant after having a child will be totally different than the first time you were pregnant.

It Takes Initiative To Get Kids To Play

Play is a rare luxury for most kids in this country.
In today’s world, children live a life that is over-scheduled. Children go from school, to after-hours day care, sports, music and dance lessons or other types of after-school activities. There are also the very important extracurricular studies that are required in CCD classes, Bible school, Hebrew school lessons and church choirs. There are incredible experiences to be had in Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, YMCA programs and all sorts of other wonderful offerings that are available for kids. Although there is richness in these types of opportunities, what they are missing is simple, basic play. The kind of free-form play that helps children to negotiate other kids personalities, solve problems and develop tools to teach them something about the strength of their own inner character.

This type of knowledge is learned through personal interaction, exposure to the same groups of people, and the time to figure it out on their own. What has happened to personal time and core communities for kids is that it has become as extinct as the Dinosaurs we are so ready to haul them off to see at the local museums!

Sadly, there are also a tremendous amount of children who sit alone, without a parent or guardian present and no children to play with. There are working mothers who barely have enough time or money to put food on the table, let alone worry about a child’s need to play.

There is also another facet to this problem. And that is, we as parents want to be with our children, and to share in the amazing experiences that are available to them. But as wonderful and as stimulating as so many of these programs are, we need to give our children a time to play.

What I propose here is to have group playdates. To find a great group of people and create occasions to get together. This way children can have friends, and grown ups get the chance to socialize as well in an informal, casual way.

However, this proposition, although simple on paper, does require initiative and some coordination. Most of the women I know today are exhausted. We are working stressful jobs, managing our households and handling the details of our children’s lives. The constant running around is adding additional stress to our relationships with our significant others. We barely have enough time to think through the details of our own lives, let alone consider adding another level of stress to our days. However, childhood, which impacts our children’s lives down the road, is very much at stake here. That is why it is important to make an effort to create these occasions. And it is absolutely critical to make it a group effort.

About Initiative
The reason that FunPlayDates was started was so that we as mothers could insure our children’s play days. What we have found along the way is that many children have very few friends and that they spend their spare time sitting in front of a TV or a computer. This is an enormous waste. The initiative it takes to make a group playdate can be as simple as arranging a group picnic at the local playground or inviting some of the neighbors to do a group cookout. Ask everyone to bring their own lunch or something for the cookout and some outdoor toys or games. Even if the group has to take turns watching the kids, this type of effort will bring such simple joy to the kids.

This kind of get-together should always be simple. And if it is too much to try to call everyone or think up an invitation – make it easier on yourself by getting some great ideas from FunPlaydates.

FunPlayDates.com was designed to provide invitations, quick crafts from simple, household items, and great no-cook recipe tips to make the busy Mom look like she has time to cook! However you do it, the most important consideration here is that we make sure our children have a chance to experience the magic of play and the richness of a community.

About The Article
This information provided by www.funplaydates.com.

If you have curbside recycling pick-up services, count yourself fortunate. Many communities still do not offer this service, so people who wish to recycle not only have to know where to take their items, they have to make a special trip on a regular basis. If you’re in such a community, maybe you could write letters to the editor or contact your local authorities to alert them to the need for curb-side recycling pick-up.

Whether or not you have curbside pick-up, organization ideas that work in other parts of the home will also help with getting your recycling challenges under control. For instance, you will want to have your sorting bins in the most convenient area, which means it will need to be close to where you are working when you are cooking or whatever. If you have a handy trash can for the non-recyclables, but the recycle bins are downstairs in the basement or out in the garage, it will require more motivation on your part to take those items where they need to go instead of just tossing them in the trash.

“Do it now” is another good slogan for all aspects of an organized life. If you procrastinate about taking your cans and bottles to the recycling bin, you will wind up with your counters cluttered. Then when you get around to going through it all, you’ll have a big job on your hands. Rinse that item and take it to its bin just as soon as you are through with it.

If you are remodeling the kitchen or utility room, consider having a built in area for keeping recycling bins. Just make sure they are easy to access so that you can remove them and clean around them easily when you need to.

Finally, don’t forget the importance of reducing the recyclables before you even bring them into the house. Get yourself off junk mailing lists. Buy bulk beans and grains and see if your health food store will let your bring in your own containers for them. They can weigh the container before you fill it and then again after you fill it, eliminating even the plastic bags you usually go home with. Think before buying plastic junk. Do you already have something you can use instead? Look for foods and toiletries that come in simple packaging that doesn’t include numerous needless boxes and wrappers.

With a little organization and care, you can keep up with recycling even when the kids are small. And just think what a good example you will be for them!