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Family Support and the Home Based Professional

If you are a home-based professional parent, then you already know how important the support of your family is to the success of your business. If you are thinking about becoming a home-based professional parent, one of the things that you should think about as you plan your home-based business is the amount and type of support that your immediate and extended family are able to provide. This week has provided two examples of just how essential family support is to my home based business. This past Monday, I was going about my usual business of taking my son to … Continue reading →

How to Save Time at Mealtime by Planning Ahead

If you are a home-based professional parent, chances are that you are always on the lookout for new ways to make things a little easier for yourself and your family. Household duties such as meal planning and preparation are often a part of the daily responsibilities of home-based professional parents. Fortunately there are a few ways that you can make things a little easier in this area – and no, I’m not talking about picking up takeout every night. Cooking nutritious meals for a family does take time and effort. With a little creative thinking and planning ahead, though, you … Continue reading →

Family Meal Time Benefits

Eating a meal together at the table with your spouse and children, sounds like such a simple thing doesn’t it? But it can have lasting effects. Family meals are more important than we realize. According to research, teenagers of families that eat together at the table are less likely to get into trouble, less likely to take drugs and to suffer depression. Sitting down and eating together is a relaxing and sociable time. It is a time for husband and wife to share their day and talk about it, as well as let the children share what’s been happening. It … Continue reading →

Diary of a Cat Care B&B: Family Dynamics

Many of our guests at the cats-only boarding facility are “only children” — they are they only pet in the house. Or at least the only cat. But we do have some families that come to stay. Some are actually related by blood; others are family in name and dynamic only. Recently, we had a pair of male cats at the boarding facility. We didn’t have a crowded house, and were able to put the boys in an isolation room together. (When things are crowded, we often have to use the isolation rooms for overflow from the main boarding room.) … Continue reading →

Every Family Has its Quirks

What seems completely “normal” to my little family might seem a little on the weird side to another family (and vice versa). Instead of trying so hard to be like everyone else or the families we see on television or in magazine, we might be better off celebrating our own unique quirks. I believe that just like a workplace or a church or a school environment, each family has its own “culture.” This may shift and change over time, but there might also be some quirks and uniqueness’s that remain. I also think there is a difference between traditions and … Continue reading →

Are You Making Mealtime too Long?

Parents often complain that mealtime is the most stressful time of the day. They look so forward to sitting down as a family and having the ideal mealtime and then stressed and annoyed when children cannot behave, want to leave the table early, or get hungry and whiney and cannot even wait for dinner time to roll around. Perhaps part of the problem could be that you are expecting too much out of mealtime and you are expecting children to sit at the table for longer than they can… Very young children cannot sustain interest or focus long enough for … Continue reading →

Family Dinner Conversation

I’m a big fan of the family dinner. As the kids have gotten older though, we have less and less nights where we are all home for dinner at the same time. And I’ve noticed our dinners are more rushed either because the kids need to move on to homework or we need to leave for a meeting or activity. Honestly, sometimes the family dinner almost feels like I throw food at the kids and they throw their empty plates back. I try to ask them questions about school, but most parents will relate to the “not much”, “boring”, and … Continue reading →

Mealtime Prayer

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When I was younger there were two common mealtime prayers that were said depending on where we were eating: At home: Thank You Jesus for this food. Amen. At Grandma and Grandpa’s: Come Lord Jesus be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen. Regardless how you choose to say grace or ask for blessing over your food, here are some things you might want to think about. Mundane prayers– When using the same prayer every time you sit down to eat, you might start to notice your prayer becomes more lip service rather than a faith-filled … Continue reading →

Tabby Time: Adjusting to a New Family Member

Tabby in the red “hut” Three weeks ago today Tabby came into our lives. Nothing’s been the same since. Life with Tabby continues to be a series of adjustments. Mostly in regards to our time. Here’s what I mean: Mealtime The first week I kept Tabby shut away in a spare room. She had her bowl for food and another for water, and I’d make my rounds in the mornings and afternoons to feed her, Murph, and Mr. Meow. But we let her out during week two to roam the house freely. She quickly found Mr. Meow’s bowl. He used … Continue reading →

New Year’s Resolutions – A Family Challenge

Every adult has experience in failed New Year’s resolutions. I am going to quit smoking this year, I am going to knit a pair of mittens, I am going to stop writing all my blog posts while working at my real job (umm…) – no matter what it is that we had planned to do, by mid-January those dreams have been dashed by nasty combination of a lack of will, an overabundance of time commitments and by the uninvited visit from our best buddy, Captain Lazy Face. This year, in an effort to motivate yourself to begin a resolution and … Continue reading →