May, 2020 - A Flourishing Rose

Month: May 2020

How to Stay Connected While Social Distancing

May 26, 2020

Things are starting to slowly reopen, but we’ve spent the last couple of months in our homes. Depending on where you are living, things may not be fully open yet and it’ll be a while before we can resume a life where we go out to dinner with friends, have birthday parties, play dates, book groups, fitness classes etc. A lot of us haven’t seen family members in months and our networks that were there before may be gone. This can make life extremely isolating for moms. Especially single moms who may have no one else to depend on.

Being an introvert, I miss some people, but I’m okay with having a lot of alone time. However, some people thrive on being connected with others and this time has been especially difficult for them. Our children struggle with this as well. Rosebud misses her friends. She loves playing with other kids and having the structure that preschool provided. One of my goals for NMC Coaching is to connect like-minded moms. The isolation can be overwhelming in normal times, but the pandemic has created a whole new set of challenges surrounding isolation. This gave me an idea to create this list of ways to stay connected to loved ones and or to meet new people.

Virtual Play Dates

Many people are using Zoom or FaceTime for meetings now, but kids are getting on it as well to talk to each other. Depending on the ages of your children and their level of interest, meeting over FaceTime can be a good way for kids to stay connected. This works for you moms to stay connected with your friends too. Here are some ideas for virtual play dates.

Read stories,
Have the children play with similar toys,

Draw pictures to share with each other.

Sometimes, just a simple conversation will do the trick.
For more inspiration, check out these 12 virtual play date ideas.

Virtual Game Night.

This is perfect for families who are used to getting together to play games or have parties. People have gotten creative with game ideas for virtual get togethers. It can be a fun way to pass the time and feel connected with others.

For more ideas, check out this post, Hhow to plan a virtual game night.

Virtual Book Club

One way to connect with others is through common interests. If book club is your thing, there are many of them going on virtually now. Some meet over Zoom and others are just simple Facebook groups where you have online discussions. This can be a great way to meet new people.

Online Courses

If you are interested in anything, there seems to be an online course for it. You can learn about blogging, creative writing, business, Crystal healing, nutrition and cooking to name a few. There are universities offering free college courses and many low cost short E-courses on websites like Udemy. There are different formats as well. Some are courses that you take on your own, but others involve Zoom meetings and or Facebook Groups which I’d recommend if you are taking a class to connect with others. There are offerings for children as well. I’ve seen story time, yoga classes and even preschool held over Zoom.

Find a Common Goal

Are you working towards weight loss? Are you starting a business? Are you working on home improvements? Maybe you’re just working on being your best self. Whatever your goal, there is a vertual group that you can get involved in.

I have several goals around blogging and my coaching business, so I’ve found groups where I can connect with others who are working on similar goals. We work together to share ideas and hold each other accountable. Make a list of five to ten goals and then pick one or two to focus on. Chances are, there are others who will be working along side you. I’ve been using an app called Active for my fitness goals. While I prefer to work on this alone, they have programs you can follow and ways within the app to connect with other people. Sometimes an accountability partner or a cheer leader is all you need to crush those goals!

Search for Locals

Just because you can’t meet in person yet doesn’t mean you can’t connect now. There are apps that connect local people for friendship such as Bumble BFF. There are local communities/groups on Facebook that are based on interests in your local area. Some ideas for mom groups include

Moms from a specific city or town,

Baby wearing,

Moms of toddlers,

Breast-feeding moms,

Working moms,

Homeschooling moms,

Crunchy moms.

You get the idea. If you have passions outside of motherhood, that is great too!

Maybe you are interested in crafts, DIY or volunteering in your local community. Do a quick search to see what’s out there in your community. Who knows. You might find a new friend or your next amazing opportunity!

Support

If you are struggling with a specific challenge such as a chronic illness, mental health issues, death/grief etc, there are so many support groups out there. There are many on Facebook, but there are also specific websites made for this purpose. If you do a search for a support group related to your specific challenge, you will get results. You can narrow it down by location if you wish. It can be difficult when you are isolated while trying to deal with these additional challenges, but there are lots of people who want to be supportive and helpful. If you are struggling, please reach out to someone you are comfortable talking to. If you know someone who is struggling, please reach out to them as well. It can make all the difference for people to know that someone cares.

As you can see, there are many reasons and ways to connect with others online. While it’s not ideal for many of us, it has become our new normal for the time being. If we are able to focus on the positive, we can remind ourselves that we can stay in touch with our loved ones, we can meet people we would have never met otherwise, we can learn new things and most of all, this too shall pass. How are you staying connected with your loved ones? Have you done anything creative to bring people together virtually? Tell us in the comments.

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Activities For Kids

10 Calming Activities for Kids

May 18, 2020

Although things are starting to open up a bit depending on where you are located, most of our kids are still at home. Whether you have kids of different ages that you are trying to homeschool or if you are trying to work from home yourself, it can be a challenge to keep the younger kids occupied. It’s especially difficult to keep kids quiet or calm while being cooped up in the house and there’s only so much screen time you can handle. If you are at the end of your rope and just want some peace and quiet, keep reading for my list of the top quiet calming activities for toddlers and preschoolers.

1. Puzzles

Puzzles are great because they are quiet, teach problem solving skills and depending on the ages of your children, they can be worked on independently. The other bonus is there are puzzles for all ages. You could have a 4 piece puzzle for your young toddler or a 500 piece puzzle that you work on over days as a family.

I also like puzzles because they can be a great way to introduce different concepts or reinforce things you are already learning about. Rosebud has become interested in maps and space lately, so I bought her two puzzles. One is of a map of the U.S. and the other is this wonderful puzzle of our solar system. She enjoys seeing the pictures of the planets close up.

2. Sensory Bottles

I’ve seen different names for these bottles. Some people call them sensory bottles, discovery bottles or calm down jars. Basically, you fill a bottle with water or another base material and then add interesting things to it. You glue the top shut and let your child look at the bottle. There are literally a million different ideas out there. Here are some ideas for your bottles.

Color mixing: Add drops of food coloring with the water in the bottles and see how different colors mix.

Alphabet: Add water and beads with the letters in a bottle and then see if your child can find the letters.

Princess: Add water, glitter, jewels and let your child choose a color. See if your child can find all the jewels.

Shapes: Add water, a color and different shaped items. See if your child can name the shapes.

Beach: Add sand, water, shells and or rocks. Play beach sounds for a nice relaxing activity.

Slow Falling Beads Sensory Bottle

Magnetic Pipe Cleaner Sensory Bottle

Softly Falling Snow Sensory Bottle

Unicorns and Fairies Sensory Bottle

Jellyfish Discovery Bottle

3. Marshmallow Sculptures

All you do is set out a tray with marshmallows and tooth picks and then let your child create a master piece. This is a wonderful activity to help with those fine motor skills that is perfect for preschoolers. Toddlers can do this as well, but need more supervision. This activity lets kids use their imagination and it is quiet. If you don’t want to use the regular marshmallows, there are these foam marshmallows that would work.

4. Jewelry Making

Here’s another activity that is great for strengthening those fine motor skills. Depending on the age of your child, this activity will look different. If you have a young toddler, you may want to use yarn and pasta with close supervision. They have bead stringing sets that you can reuse. These sets are great because they are sturdy and perfect for a toddler’s little hands.

If your child is a little older, you can use string or gimp with pony beads and make something that resembles jewelry. In my experience, boys and girls alike enjoy making bracelets or necklaces for themselves or family members. If your child is s school age, you can get an actual jewelry making kit and see what they come up with.

5. Audio Books

I love audio books because they are a great way to keep a child occupied for a few minutes while you need to get something done. You can find audio books on Amazon on CD or digital download. Right now Audible has stories that you can listen to for free while the children are out of school. There are many people who are reading stories on Youtube as well. This is still screen time, but it’s a form of reading time that can capture your child’s attention.

6. Felt Story Boards

To go with books, felt story boards are a wonderful way to make reading time interactive. The wonderful thing about felt boards are they are super quiet. You have lots of options here too. There’s everything from The Very Hungry Caterpillar to the felt alphabet to dress up. You can either buy kits to cut out at home or ready made kits.

7. Sensory Bins

Similar to the sensory bottles, there are a million ideas out there, but I’ll focus on the quieter options. Sensory bins can help your child practice fine motor skills, math, science, imaginative play and they can be very calming depending on what you put in them. Here are some ideas.

Cotton balls and or pompoms for scooping/pouring, sorting by color, shape and or size, add tongs to help your child practice fine motor skills.

Water, scoops, cups, shells, plastic fish. This works well for an ocean theme or as a calm down activity. Water. Has been proven to have a calming effect.

Small world: Fill a basket with mini dolls, doll furniture, little animals etc. Let your child’s imagination come alive.

8. Matching Games

Here’s another activity your child can do independently. There are matching games out there to fit any theme or interest. You can make your own or buy them. Matching games help children learn to sort and classify items. Rosebud loves this cupcake shape matching game and this cookie alphabet puzzle where you match the letters. To help her with her counting, I got her this popcorn game that has cups with the numbers on them and you have to count out the pieces of popcorn to match the cups.

9. Blocks

You’re probably thinking, how can blocks be quiet and or calming, but these foam blocks are wonderful for toddlers. They are light weight, quiet and have several shapes to build with. Blocks are great for helping kids with spacial awareness, learning shapes and sizes, creativity and allowing them to experiment. If you add little animals or people, they can get even more involved in their play.

10. The Quiet Basket

This is the ultimate basket for you mamas who need to work a bit longer or desperately need to escape the noise. One way to use this basket is to have a quiet time as apart of your child’s routine every day. Here are some ideas of what you can put into the basket.

Books,

Dry erase board or book with small pack of markers,

Sensory bottle with an I Spy card,

Mini felt board with story set,

Etch a Sketch,

Water game,

Lacing cards,

Small bag of legos,

Mini puzzle,

Sheet of bubblewrap with the small bubbles.

I hope you are able to find some peace and quiet at your home. How are you keeping your children occupied while you work from home? Tell us in the comments.

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Motherhood, Personal Development

31 Journal Prompts for Mother’s Day

May 10, 2020

I want to wish everyone a happy Mother’s Day! I know Mother’s Day looks different this year, but hopefully you’ve found creative ways to celebrate the moms in your life. I’ve created this list of 31 journal prompts to help you do that. You can use these for self reflection, preserving memories or maybe you want to use some of these questions to get to know your own mom better. These prompts can be used for grandmothers, aunts or any mother figures in your life. You can either use these prompts in order over the next month or just use the prompts that resonate with you. They are meant to be a starting point. Enjoy these Mother’s Day journal prompts.

Lessons Learned

Use these prompts to reflect on lessons learned and to become clear on the lessons you want to teach your children.

What is the most important lesson you learned from your mom?

What did your mom teach you about love?

What did your mom teach you about work?

What lessons have you learned from your mom about parenting?

What are some important lessons you want your children to learn?

Love and Gratitude

Use these prompts to express your love and gratitude for the people and things you appreciate in life.

What do you love about your mom?

What do you love about being a mom?

What do you love most about your children?

What does your ideal Mother’s Day look like?

Who are your female role models?

Making Memories

Use these prompts to remember the good times.

What’s your favorite memory of your mom?

What are your favorite memories so far with your children?

What did you do on your first Mother’s Day after becoming a mom?

What do you still want to do with your mother or children?

What’s your favorite childhood memory?

Family Traditions

Use these prompts to think about past and future family traditions.

What’s your favorite tradition from childhood?

What’s your favorite family recipe?

What traditions have you started with your own children?

What does Mother’s Day mean to you?

What is your family story?

Growth and Change

Use these prompts for personal development and self discovery.

How have you changed since becoming a parent?

How has your relationship changed with your mother over the years?

What do you wish your mom would have done differently?

How has your mom influenced your life choices?

What are your parenting goals?

Getting to know each other

These questions are for mothers and daughters to use to learn new things about each other.

What are your big dreams?

What do you wish you had done, but haven’t yet?

What are your goals for the next decade?

What’s one story you’d like to pass down to younger generations?

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?

What is the best thing about having a daughter or being a daughter?

I hope you find these prompts useful either for your personal journaling practice or to share with your mom. Have a wonderful Mother’s Day where ever you are in your parenting journey. Stay healthy and stay safe. How are you celebrating this Mother’s Day? Tell me in the comments.

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Gift Giving, Motherhood, Parenting

What Mothers Really Want for Mother’s Day

May 7, 2020

Things may look a little different for Mother’s Day this year. Mom’s favorite restaurant may not be open, her gift may not arrive on time or you may not be able to see her in person due to social distancing. With all that in mind, I asked a group of mothers what they really want this year. Luckily for you, most of them don’t want fancy dinners out or an expensive gift. If you want to know the secret, keep reading to learn what the mothers in your life really want for Mother’s Day. Don’t forget to click on their links as well to show these awesome mom bloggers some appreciation.

Quality Time Alone and with the Family

The responses I got included a mix of things from being pampered to quality time with family.

Jessica “What mothers really want for Mother’s Day is to sleep in and wake up to a freshly cleaned house! We also don’t want to hear any complaining the entire day.”

Amy “Time alone from my child 😂 In all seriousness I love to spend Mother’s Day partly by myself getting a pedicure and then having dinner with my family from my favorite takeout restaurant.”

Kate “I would love a massage from my husband without having to remind him or have to negotiate the length of the massage.”

Tiffany “I want a night or two at hotel by myself. Order room service, watch a TV show, book a massage and pedicure, and get a full night of uninterrupted sleep.”

Allison “What I really want for Mother’s Day is to spend a fun day out with my family, but not have to plan any of it. I’d love to just show up, be the fun mom, and make awesome memories with my kids.”

Tamara “I want this pandemic to end soon so that we can be back to normal. I’d love to go to the beach with my son, socialize with friends and relatives, have a normal delivery (I am pregnant). I’m due in June so these are my last days to have some family fun before the baby arrives – being stuck at home wasn’t exactly what I was wishing for.”

Crystal “I would love to have a day to myself. I have 4 young kids so our house is never quiet. To have a day of quiet to relax, sew, and watch tv by myself would be amazing. :)”

Ina “I would love a clean house, Netflix my choice, and visit garden center for plants shopping.”

Dana “I would really love a day to do nothing (although we’ve had a lot of that over the past few weekends) to read my books, magazines, and lay on my hammock.”

Taryn “All I want for Mother’s Day is a full night of uninterrupted sleep.”

Sarah “I want for everyone to be healthy and happy first and formost! Though it would be nice to enjoy some quality time outdoors together with family, followed by my husband taking care of supper and the kids, while I get some quite book reading/me time. It would also be nice if my husband did a few things off my “hubby-to-do-list” as well.”

Ana “For Mother’s Day, I would love to start the day feeling refreshed with a little time to care for myself, followed by special time later in the day with family — whether it’s an outing, game or dinner celebration, but peaceful quality time together.”

Samantha “For mothers day I just want to be with my kids and for no money to be spent. A homemade card with my little kids hand prints in it and a cuddle is all i ever want. Most mothers days we have a nice family meal or if its warm enough head to the beach.”

Kristen “For Mother’s Day I’d love to be able sleep in, have breakfast made for me, and take an uninterrupted shower.”

Cassie “I would absolutely love to get the final decision that we could adopt our foster son that’s been in our care for almost two years.💕”

Maggy “A cup of tea in bed and a handmade card :)”

Personalized Gifts

If you do pick out a gift. These moms have wonderful ideas for meaningful gifts.

Christina “What I would love for Mother’s Day is a mother’s necklace with my kids initials on it.”

Mellissa “I would love a photobook of all of my kids from birth to now. It would be so nice to have all of their photos in one place that I could look at whenever I wanted to!”

Holly from PinkFortitude sells gratitude journals which would make a wonderful personalized gift for mom.

Do you know what your mom’s love language is? Heather from Our Green Life says, “I think a lot of moms don’t want stuff, they want someone to do all the chores/errands/mom stuff that often fall to mom. A day without obligation would be the best.”

She has written this wonderful post about gifts of service for moms.

Jen from Journalls to Freedom Printables suggests, “this year, give the special mom in your life the priceless gift of time spent together.” She sells this amazing Printable Mother’s Day Binder.These are a great way to really get to know your mom and spend quality time with her. It’s a great gift for creating long-lasting memories together.

To wrap up this roundup of fantastic Mother’s Day ideas, Jane and Sonja from Sustain My Craft Habit have written this beautiful post about what mothers want for Mother’s Day from a kid’s perspective.

As for me, I’d love to get a little extra sleep, spend the day with Rosebud and then have some time to relax after she goes to bed. Above all this year, I want everyone to be healthy and safe. Check out last year’s Mother’s Day roundup for even more gift ideas. What are you doing for the moms in your life this Mother’s Day? Tell me in the comments.

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Personal Development, Self Care

How To Show Self Compassion

May 6, 2020

How are you doing? Where are you in this strange world we are living in? Maybe you are one of those people who is maximizing your time by taking courses, organizing your home or being productive with your work. Maybe you are on the other end of the spectrum and it’s all you can do to get out of bed and get dressed. Chances are, you are probably somewhere in the middle. Especially if you are a mom trying to hold down a job, homeschool kids and take care of the house. Where ever you are at this moment, I want to remind you to show some self compassion.

I’m writing about self compassion today because it is a struggle I am having. Chances are, I’m not alone in this. When the stay at home orders first started, I was thankful that I had some extra time to put towards my coaching and this blog. I was excited to have extra time with my daughter. I always wanted to stay at home with her, so I was looking atthis as an opportunity. For the first couple of weeks, things were going great. I had lots of motivation and my daughter was loving having me at home.

As time passes, I have lost the motivation to write which leaves me discouraged. I’ve also noticed behavioral changes in my daughter. She’s angry that she can’t go back to school and she misses her friends. She always tells me that she’s scared, but when I ask her what is scaring her she tells me, “monsters.” I’m wondering if it’s really monsters she’s scared of or is it something else. Is she scared that we may get sick? Is she scared of something she can’t put into words? She’s only four, so much of this is beyond her comprehension, but she is piecing things together and trying to make sense of it all. I’m trying to help her stay motivated with her learning, but she can’t focus. Quite frankly, neither can I.

Is it time to get back to the drawing board? Probably. We need to take a new approach. I’ve started with toy and book rotation, more snuggle time and a lot more going with the flow. As a coach, it’s my job to help others stay motivated and working towards achieving their goals, but I am only human and I am definitely feeling overwhelmed, sad and frusterated.

Your Challenges

What are your struggles?

Is it a lack of motivation?
Is it work/life balance?
Are your kids having trouble adjusting to the changes?
Are you unemployed and or in a career transition?
Is it cabin fever?

Whatever your challenges are, let’s start by being kind and compassionate with ourselves. We are in extraordinary circumstances.

What is self compassion?

The definition of self compassion is is the extension of kindness, care, warmth, and understanding (instead of beratement and criticism) toward oneself when faced with shortcomings, inadequacies, or failures.

When I think of self compassion, I picture this situation. When your friend is going through a tough time, what do you tell them? If your friend tells you she let the kids eat junk food because she didn’t feel like cooking or that they sat in front of the tv for too long, what would you tell her? You would probably tell her to be kind to herself. You’d tell her to try again tomorrow and not to worry so much. You wouldn’t tell her that she’s a terrible mother for not feeding organic or putting the kids in front of the tv so that she can get a moment of peace. If we are kind and compassionate with our friends, why do we criticize ourselves for the same actions?

Tips for Self Compassion

1. Say kind things to yourself.

If those negative statements pop into your head when you lose motivation, snap at your children or forget to take care of yourself, try using a positive statement instead.

I will use calm words with my children.

I may be overwhelmed, but I am a good mother.

I will start fresh tomorrow.

I have achieved these goals and will achieve my goals in the future.

Whatever your negative self-talk is, think of positive statements to challenge these beliefs. Write them down if you have to.

2. Stop and practice gratitude.

Whether it is in your head, on paper or in your phone, stop and write a few things you are grateful for. It may bring you joy and help you feel centered again.

3. Practice self-care.

If you are able to take just a short break to something for your self, it can make all the difference. Here are some ideas.

Journaling,

Meditation,

Taking a walk,

Take a bubble bath,

Have your favorite drink or comfort food,

Read a book or maybe just one chapter.

4. Connect With Others

If you can’t seem to give your self any compassion, reach out to someone who will lift you up. Call a friend, a family member or others in your network. Sometimes, it helps to talk things out. You may come away with a new perspective or will feel better in knowing that someone else understands and has your back.

Where ever you are at this point, it is okay. If you are on fire with ambition, that’s awesome! If you are feeling down, be kind to yourself. If you and your kids are driving each other crazy, take a break if you can and find something you can enjoy. That’s what I’ve been doing this week. I’m taking care of myself so that when I come back, I will have more positive energy and a renewed sense of purpose. Most importantly, I am showing some self compassion and I hope these tips help you do the same.

How are you and your children coping with all of this? Tell me in the comments.

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