Parenting expert Mia Redrick is an author, lecturer, radio personality, personal coach and mother of three young children. She is a leader in the push for the self-care of mothers, and shares her wisdom on how to raise children without sacrificing personal needs.

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7 Strategies for Making The Most Out Summer

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June 28, 6:50 PM

by Mia Redrick, Baltimore Parenting Examiner

Moms, are you enjoying the summer? What plans have you made for your family? This article is designed to give you some ideas of how to make this the best summer ever for your family.

Here are my seven strategies for making the most of S.U.M.M.E.R.. They are as follows:

Send out invitations to arrange play dates for the children and social get-togethers with family and friends. The summer provides terrific opportunities to catch up with long lost friends or family members. Take some time to create a list of people you want to see this summer. Invite them over for a cookout, a visit to the pool, or coordinate a joint family vacation.

Uncover easy and simple things to do at home with your family. Blow off the dust from your family board games and play them instead of storing them. Remember the sprinkler in the backyard? Turn on the sprinkler for the children and take out umbrellas to use as shields. Children love this type of water play. Look for easy ways to have fun at home. No gas or cash necessary.

Move every day. Take a walk through your neighborhood or visit a local park/playground. The American Heart Foundation recommends that we take a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. Look for easy ways to move together as a family. Have a family jump rope competition or volleyball match. Write down five ways to move together as a family. Encourage family fitness while having fun.

Make reading a part of every day. Visit the local library and have the children select three favorite books to read over a two-week period. Every day give your children time to read independently (including the picture readers) and also read a story to your children every day. Children who become fluent and strong readers usually do so as a result of others’ commitment to read to them. (Moms, while your children are reading, read for yourself.)

Eat well. The summer is a terrific time to modify diets to include all of the wonderful summer fruits and vegetables. Set a goal to eat a minimum of one fruit or vegetable at every meal. For example, at breakfast you might prepare a fruit salad with pineapple, strawberries, honeydew and blueberries with granola. At lunch you could serve raw broccoli, celery and carrot sticks with a light sandwich. With dinner, you could make a spinach, walnut and apple salad. It is really that simple.

Reorganize your home. Clean out those closets and purge the unnecessary. When decluttering, create bins for things to keep, things to donate and things to get rid of. Do you have a collection of toys that are unused? Give your children the opportunity to donate unused those items to a family shelter. Help reduce clutter in your living environment.

Live Fully,

Mia

www.findingdefinitions.com

Challenge! – My strategies for S.U.M.M.E.R. will aid you in having a meaningful, productive and healthy summer for all. Enjoy! And to get you started creating your own list of goals, I would like to invite you to claim your free access to my E-book “Eliminating Mommy Burn-Out”. Get free access at www.helpformomsreport.com.

Topics: Summer fun

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The best sweet potato casserole in the world

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November 18, 10:04 AM

We are all counting down to Thanksgiving. If your family is like mine, we have a few recipes that are always the highlight of the table. I am an avid cook and cookbook collector. My collection of cookbooks exceeds 300 books. I... Read More
Topics: Sweet potatoes casserole , williams-sonoma , cook's illustrated , food networrk.com , sweet potato recipes

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Moms and stress: Are we doing too much?

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November 17, 4:39 PM

Last week, my family battled the cold and all of its yucky symptoms. I decided on Tuesday that I could either be completely stressed about the obligations I needed to meet during the week (despite how poorly I felt) and my responsibilities... Read More
Topics: Mom-Me , life coach for moms , stressed mothers , stressed moms , life coaching for moms , life coach for mothers , life coaching for mothers , mother's stress , me time for moms

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Flu shots available without appointments

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November 11, 12:31 PM

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all children between 6 months and 19 years of age get a flu shot every year. The CDC reports the following information about the flu:· ... Read More
Topics: Flu shots for children , cdc and the flu , cvs , minute clinics , flu shot , minuteclinic flu shots , minuteclinic flu

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Yes We Can: The importance of hope

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November 6, 10:49 AM

This week, I watched the news reports everyday to stay current with the state of affairs with the presidential election. (I usually watch around 1- 2 hours total per week.) On Tuesday, Barack Obama was announced as the next President... Read More
Topics: self-care for moms , Elections 2008 , yes we can , positive thinking for parents

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7 Strategies for Making The Most Out Summer

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