When you’ve lost a child, holidays are just harder. 

Even if Valentine’s Day was never your big holiday, you can’t help notice all the boxes of cards that hit the store, waiting to be handed out by children in classrooms all over the country. The candy hearts. The cute heart-themed baby and kid clothes. 

Holidays just make your arms feel more empty.

One of the hardest parts of holidays is to go through this grieving process and to feel like no one is thinking about you or cares.

This is why it’s so important to reach out to grieving mothers and offer support throughout the year, but especially on holidays. A small, kind gesture can go a long way. 

For Valentine’s Day this year, consider what you can do to show your loved one that you care.

1. Send a Meal

If you live close by, you can make your friend or loved one a meal, pick up dinner from her favorite restaurant, or take her out. She may have dinner plans on Valentine’s Day, so make sure to coordinate your plans with someone in the know. 

You can do lunch together or perhaps offer to pay for their dinner.

If you’re near or far, a gift card to a favorite restaurant works well, too; she’ll feel loved, and can use the card to go out with her significant other (if that’s not you) or to bring the food to them.

You can also buy a gift card to a meal subscription service like Hello, Fresh. If they want to use it for Valentine’s Day, make sure to give this gift in advance so they can order it online in time.

2. Give a Memento

You can find a lovely gift from this company that gears their service and merchandise specifically towards those that have lost a loved one. You’ll find jewelry for grieving mothers at laurelbox. Whether you choose a forget-me-not necklace or a raw birthstone charm, your loved one will know that you are aware she is suffering, and she is in your thoughts.

The Heart to Heart jewelry dish also makes a beautiful statement and provides a place for the grieving mother to keep her important memento. You will also have some memorial ideas which can make you happy and very emotional sometimes. 

3. Try a Weighted Blanket

You wish you could be by her side whenever she needs a hug. Why not send her a weighted blanket? Wonderful for people who are suffering from anxiety and unable to sleep, a weighted blanket may be able to help your loved one in her predicament. 

According to WebMD, “weighted blankets offer deep pressure stimulation, a form of touch pressure that feels like a firm hug, a massage, or swaddling. While research on weighted blankets is sparse, deep pressure stimulation has been found to calm adults and children with anxiety, autism, and attention difficulties, researchers say.”

Since loss can send anyone into a hyper state of anxiety, a weighted blanket might provide some comfort. Send the gift with a card that tells her this blanket is a hug from you whenever she needs one.

You may feel like you’re unsure of how to help your friend during this time, but you can help them by letting them know that you’re thinking of them.

https://unsplash.com/photos/pmhdkgRCbtE

In life, we all have goals. Even when we’re not so sure that we do, they’re often there. It’s easy to associate them with things like work, careers, or even your body – but you may even have goals for your and living space without really realizing it. Do you want to buy a house? Do you want to be able to create the dream living space? When that’s the case, you may feel as if you want to start working towards making these things happen. But maybe you’re not sure how? Or maybe you just really don’t know what it will take for you to be able to get your dream home? This is why it’s always handy for you to have home goals in place. If you know you want to move, for example, start looking at realtors like this Ogden Utah Realtor to get a feel for the market in your local area. If you know that you want to move forward with your home life, you may find that some of these following ideas inspire you.

Renovating Your Home

First of all, it might be the case that you’re thinking about renovating your home. Are there rooms that you want to improve? Do you have different ideas of what you want to decorate? Could the place need an entire makeover? Then why not do that now!

Extending Your Home

Sometimes, you’ll want to go a step further than that and think about the ways in which you can extend your home too. If you ideally know that you want more room or you like the idea of being able to add some value to your home, it’s a good idea for you to consider extending to do that.

https://unsplash.com/photos/CnXVHyO1GGA

Moving

It could even be the case that you’ve been thinking of moving. If that’s so, then you might want to start looking at your options as soon as possible. Maybe you want to find someone to help you with this, such as Jason Cohen, that knows more about the market that you do. Or maybe you want to just keep an eye out until you find the right place. The idea here is that you actually get the process started, rather than just thinking about it.

Moving can be a big decision, especially if you’re going to be leaving your job or changing school too. It often means moving away from friends, but it can be an exciting time if you plan carefully. It’ll all come to fruition on the big day when your Local Moving Company comes to move your belongings into your new home. It’s at this point that you can breathe a sigh of relief that you’re finally achieving your dream!

Building

As a step on from that, you may find that you might want to actually build the home of your dreams rather than move into it. This can take a lot of work and might need lots of planning, but if you know it’s something that you definitely want to do, why not start thinking about it now? When you build a home, you have the choice to design the home interiors according to your personal style. You get to choose how many balconies you want and whether a backyard pool would work well for your recreations. You can also look for a locality of your choice. If you are someone who wants to settle in a picturesque neighborhood like this Lake Travis community, you can build a waterfront custom home that you desire. Building a home always opens doors to a wide range of choices, so grab them when you have the opportunity!

A Bit Of Everything

Or maybe you actually want to do a range. It could be that you want to be able to renovate your home a little and then sell it so you can upgrade your living situation? Maybe you want to renovate and extend it? It could be that you also want to move and build. No matter what you want to do, it just really helps to be thinking about it now. This will allow you to actually make it happen rather than just waiting for it one day in the future.

https://unsplash.com/photos/5i0GnoTTjSE 

Any homeowner knows that keeping your home in top condition feels like a never-ending battle. If it’s not sweeping up after your kids, it’s cleaning the kitchen. If it’s not cleaning the kitchen, it’s making repairs that have sprung up out of nowhere. It’s easy to let this get you down, but it doesn’t need to, not if you know how to make your home work for you, anyway. 

Understand Your Space 

It’s impossible to make sure your home works for you and your family if you don’t first understand your space. Ideally, you want to do this on the day you move it, but that ship has sailed long ago. Still, there’s no time like the present to take control of your home, so consider the space you have and think about how to use it best. To make this easier, get your hands on a floor plan to make it easier to visualize. You might find that there is space you have entirely ignored all this time. 

Give Each Room A Purpose 

Once you have visualized your home, it’s time that you give each room a purpose. Most rooms in your house already have a purpose. There is the dining room, the living room, bedrooms for you and your partner and the kids. But, there might be other parts of the house that don’t have any designated purpose. They are used to throw everything you don’t have space for. This doesn’t sound like making your home work for you, so it’s time to give these spaces purpose. Think about how you make the most of the space and convert it to a kids’ playroom, home office, or even a home gym. 

Consider Upgrading 

When you think of home upgrades, you envision expensive renovations or extensions. While this is sometimes true, it isn’t the only way you can upgrade your home. If you want to find better ways to make your home work for you while also improving your financial situation, consider modern solutions such as solar installation or smart home technology. While these require some investment, they help you take control of your home. 

Get Rid of Clutter 

The final piece of the puzzle is getting rid of the clutter that has accumulated for years. If you’re anything like other families across the country, you probably have an attic full of items you don’t use, or have even forgotten about. Clearing the clutter from your home is one of the most therapeutic things you can do, and it frees up plenty of space that you can finally use. You mustn’t just throw it out, though, so look for places to sell, donate, or recycle these items so prevent waste. 

Home Comforts 

Nobody ever feels like their home is finished. There is always something else you need to do, even if this is just general upkeep. However, the more you make your home work for you, the easier it will be to keep it how you have always envisioned. From small changes to substantial improvements, there’s an option for everybody. 

For years, there has been a lot of stigma surrounding the idea of being a ‘Working Mom’. Many feel as though it is impossible to find the perfect balance between staying at home and providing for your children and taking the working world by storm. However, this is simply not true. It requires hard work, but nothing is stopping you from being a loving, hands-on mom and a powerful businesswoman at the same time. They aren’t mutually exclusive. If for example, you decide to sell popular products or provide services for people then it should not mean that you are not a good mom for choosing work as well as children.

Here’s how you can make it happen!

Photo by Sai De Silva on Unsplash

Train part-time, or according to your schedule.

No matter your choice in career, sometimes it feels as though we are working towards a deadline. For example, you may think that you need to obtain a particular position by the time you reach a specific age, or else you will be considered a failure. However, it is important to understand this is not true. There is no time limit on success, and you don’t have to worry about taking your time to get there.

Therefore, if you want to spend time with your children when studying, why not consider signing up to a part-time course that allows you to manage your time more efficiently. For example, if you wish to become an occupational therapist, you will need to attend a college for occupational therapy. There are plenty of quality courses on offer that can be tailored to your needs and desires, helping you achieve your goals on your own terms.

Photo by Standsome Worklifestyle on Unsplash

Start by working from home.

If you have always dreamed of running your own business, why not start it in the comfort of your own home? For example, many great ideas are born on the couch when watching TV. When you have a solid idea, all you need is to put it into practice. A little effort, knowledge of technology and software (those without much knowledge in these can take the help of IT firms similar to BedrockIT), and a lot of patience can certainly help your business take off. When you can dream it, you can do it. Being a mother shouldn’t stop you from fulfilling your dreams.

Moreover, you could even put in one of those bespoke garden offices UK for you to go in when you need to get down to work. Working from home means that you are still a constant presence in your children’s lives, and you don’t have to pay for additional costs such as official fees and space. There are also plenty of other positions that are compatible with home working, such as telecommunications positions. However, if you are working from home, it is important that you set up a home office that works for you. Ensure that it is a space that is truly your own and free from distractions – though it doesn’t necessarily have to be a kids-free zone, don’t allow it to double as a playroom.

Photo by Standsome Worklifestyle on Unsplash

Establish your boundaries.

Boundaries are essential in life if we are to establish a realistic work-life balance. However, they are particularly important if you are working and raising children at the same time. Therefore, you must stick to your regular working hours, only working overtime as a last resort or when absolutely necessary.

Whenever possible, leave your work on your desk at the end of the day – alongside any associated worries or stress. Besides, instead of stressing yourself out for a work that seems undoable, seek the help of experts in the field without hesitation. For instance, if you find difficulty managing the finances of your firm, you can reach out to a firm similar to Finlyte, to provide assistance. This way, you can save a substantial amount of time, which can help you better manage your work-life balance.

This will also allow you to shut off and enjoy the time you have with your children. When you are not working, focus on spending quality time with the whole family – plan fun activities, get outside of the house, or simply sit down and have a meal together!

When it comes to supplementing your income, there is definitely no shortage of online jobs. With every industry shifting its focus towards online work, now it’s easier than ever to start working from home. Whether you need something that will bring fast and easy money, such as working on some of the most popular social media platforms, which could potentially be achieved by knowing how to buy TikTok likes and Instagram followers. Looking for something that will become your career down the line, you have plenty of options. Nowadays you can start from zero, work, learn and earn and you only need a computer and internet connection.

And if you’re wondering how to make money online, here are five suggestions that you’ll certainly love. You can do all of them in the comfort of your own home, and all of them have a rather decent return on investment.

Do Makeup Tutorials

This is an easy one because as a woman, you’re probably well versed in how to do your makeup. But you weren’t born that way, you had to learn that somewhere, right? Well, think of all the other women who need to learn that now – why not help them out a bit?

Copyright: Unsplash | CC0 Public Domain

Doing makeup tutorials might start out as a fun hobby, but if you’re good at it, eventually you’re going to have cosmetics brands sponsoring you. You’re more likely to get a sponsorship if you have a large and interactive social media following, therefore using a service like Growthoid (see this Growthoid review) to increase your audience can help with this.

Work as a Virtual Assistant

You’d be surprised at just how many people are used to working with their own personal assistant. With the current world events making that pretty much impossible, virtual assistants are in demand now more than ever. And if you’ve got some good organizational skills and the will to learn, you can work as one pretty easily.

Working as a virtual assistant is usually paid hourly, which means the more you do, the more you’re paid. How much you’re making depends on your clients, and your schedule and working hours do, too. But in the end, you’ll get paid for everything you do, and the tasks can be anything from organizing one’s calendar to doing social media marketing. Besides, there are certain software and bots that help with social media platform marketing. The TikTok automation tools, for instance, are utilized by many marketers these days. And it’s all rather simple and easy to learn.

Start a Blog

Chances are you’re following a blog or two in your free time, right? Do you think the people behind them do them for free? Not really, they get paid, and oftentimes pretty handsomely. Starting a blog is all about sharing your opinions and ideas with the world, and you can start a blog on pretty much any topic you can come up with.

The key thing about the blog is to offer something that other blogs don’t. Whether that’s a unique perspective on day-to-day things, or covering a niche or industry that nobody else is covering, you want to give your readers a reason to come back and visit your blog, rather than a different one. Whether you need something that will bring fast and easy money, such as working on some of the most popular webcam sites, will be another question, but hopefullly this should become your main source of income after a while.

Copyright: Unsplash | CC0 Public Domain

And once you’ve taken care of that, and your blog is raking up visitors, you’ll have brands offering sponsorships and asking about collaborations, and that’s when the money starts coming in.

Try Online Tutoring

This is a seriously underestimated online job. Being good at something that you can teach to others not only gets you a pretty good income if you get your clients right, but it also gives you that sensation of helping someone achieve their goals.

There is pretty much no limit to what you can teach online, but popular things always include subjects taught at university, as well as life skills, like time or money management. If you’re good at some of these things and consider you’re good enough to be able to teach them to others, by all means, try it. Do a good job, and not only will you be able to increase your hourly rate, but you’ll also find out that word of mouth spreads surprisingly fast.

Start Freelance Writing

If your English is good and you have a way with words, working as a freelance writer is probably something you can get the hang of pretty quickly. You can write blog-style content, or you can try book ghostwriting, as well as any of the other types of written content, and there really is something for everyone.

Of course, starting out, you might not be making too much money. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to command a higher rate and increase your earnings. This does depend on the quality of your work, however, so make sure you work on that.

And here’s a tip to maximize your income – try to find a niche or an industry that suits you and you know a lot about, and start writing on that. You’ll find that it’s a lot easier for you to find inspiration and words, and your clients will benefit from the extra knowledge and insights you have on the topic!

If you’re reading this right now, then you can thank your ability to read for that. Reading is obviously important to be able to understand the words on the page, but it is also the foundation of your ability to learn and your ability to function effectively in the world. Do you remember learning to read as a child? Most of us don’t remember, but now, you can’t imagine your life without knowing how to read. You couldn’t understand anything on the internet without reading, you wouldn’t be able to text, or follow the recipe for your favourite curry to cook at home. Without the ability to read, you wouldn’t be able to do something as simple as reading the labels on your clothes to find the washing instructions.

It’s easy to see why reading is so important. Learning to read is also incredibly important for your children. As they grow up, they will need to gain strong reading skills in order to get through school successfully and get into their future career. As you go through the struggles of getting your kids to actually practice their reading to stay on track and to view reading as fun instead of homework, remember these reasons why reading is important for kids.

Image – free for commercial use

1. It expands their vocabulary. While reading, your children might come across words that they haven’t heard before. This should prompt them to find out what they mean. As a result, they add the new word to their vocabulary. Teach them how to look up words in the dictionary, so they can lead their own learning without having to ask you or turn to Google to find out what a word means.
2. It makes them better at it. Practice makes perfect, as the old saying goes. The best way for your child to get better at reading is for them to just do it. Make sure there’s plenty of things available for your child to read, so they can pick up a book any time they feel like it.
3. It helps build independence and self-confidence. As your children learn that they no longer have to rely on you to read things to them, they will start to develop a greater sense of independence and confidence. Through being able to read, they can start to build an understanding of the world on their own. Also, as a parent, you need to try different ways to build their self-confidence and boost their morale. You can, for instance, choose to invest in some African American children books for your kids. They sure can help in the whole personality improvement process. Through the gift of literacy and learning, children with their curious minds can learn different cultures and embrace everything wholeheartedly from a young age itself.
4. It keeps them safe. Lots of important things that keep people safe have words on them. Traffic signs and warning labels have words on them, for example. Reading will allow your kids to understand when something says that it could harm them, such as the warning label on cleaning supplies that tells them the contents is toxic.
5. It helps them make sense of the world around them. As your child learns to read they will be better able to determine what different things around them say, whether’s signs or stickers and labels. Being able to read will help your child to understand what is what and what purpose things serve.
6. It leads to their future academic success. A child must be able to read in order to progress at all through school. Reading is essential if they are going to be able to follow the instructions on the test and be able to understand and answer the questions. If you’re worried, you can try measuring reading level to make sure they’re on track.
7. It enhances their imagination. As a child reads, they will begin to imagine where the characters are and what they look like. They can create their own little world. Reading improves their imagination by forcing them to picture what the character looks like and who they are.
8. It entertains them. Reading gives them something good to do, especially once they can start to read chapter books without pictures, pushing to really get into their imagination and really get into the book too.
9. It improves their grammar. As they read, your child will be able to see how the author has composed their sentence structure and grammar. This can also help to improve their communication skills as they work out how things should be read, using clues like punctuation.
10. It improves their writing skills. As reading improves vocabulary, communication and grammar, it also improves your child’s writing skills too.

Reading is needed for just about everything in life, whether it’s just getting through school or learning skills for adulthood from cooking to driving. It’s important to start at a young age and teach your child how important (and fun) reading is so they will practice their reading, and value their ability to read.

Enter for your chance to win 6 tea lights, a 3×4 pillar and a pair of 9″ tapers from The Beeswax Co

MamatheFox and all participating blogs are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.

Moving is a big decision. Sometimes you want to move, other times you have to move. Either way there are so many choices and emotions that go along with a move. When you decide to move to another state you have a lot to plan and do. So get your Google Doc or pad of paper ready, because friend, you are going to have a lot of notes, plans and thoughts you need to keep track of.

It is not easy to relocate to a new state. However, if you are familiar with the area you are moving to, it may be a little easier. For example, if you know the cost of living in places like Pasadena (read more on https://sgvlistings.com/pasadena-cost-of-living), it will be much easier for you to move.

Logistics

When the plan to move over state lines is settled you need to get organized on how the move will happen. Moving out of the state takes more than a little rental truck. You don’t have days to run back and forth between locations dropping boxes and furniture at your leisure. For moving interstate with newborn let the experts do their job. First make a plan on how you are going to pack your belongings. You will need to keep a few things handy so they don’t get lost in all the boxes. Then call Pasadena moving company to be sure you get the dates and right size truck you require. Then, they day of the move you should put aside the following:

• Coffee maker, coffee, mugs and sugar
• Bed sheets (this a going to make you so happy that you can sleep that evening comfortably)
• Toiletry – toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo and conditioner and any lotions
• Medications. Keep these safe and close – in a purse or laptop be would be best
• Important documents – your social security cards, licenses, birth certification, insurance cards …..

Understandably, moving out to a new place can be a cumbersome process. While a removalist company may not be able to relieve all of your stress, you can hire them if you need to move your furniture, cupboard, or even your favorite utensils. You can either contact a local vendor to transfer all of your belongings, or can conduct a simple yet effective Google search for “Sydney Move” (or any other place) to contact removalist companies in your area.

Setting Up Your New Home

Now that you have a home full of boxes, you will probably feel overwhelmed and a tad excited. You may have planned where you want what furniture, what rooms people will claim as their own, and may want to run right out to TJ Maxx to find some new towels and décor. You may have also contacted a local locksmith by now to upgrade the locks of your front door and cupboards, which can improve the visual, physical, and security of your new home. However, as you unpack all the boxes you will start to reminisce, and think of when you bought that lamp, how you felt that Christmas when you received that scarf form you late Aunt. Then, you will being to sneeze! Wonder where that Kleenex box is. This is because you packed your old dust and its mixing with your new dust. This is completely normal, but very annoying. You will want to quickly order from https://veilad.co/ so you can get some quality and affordable UV Satanizing products.

Before you unpack everything shift the boxes to the right room. This way you don’t have to keep running between rooms. Grab that document list you started and see what notes you may have forgotten. Reminders of what boxes hold what items so you can easily more towards completion.

Schools and Utilities

Now you are in the new home and feeling accomplished. But don’t stop now, there is more work to be done. Call your local city buildings and talk to the board of education. Do you plan on enrolling your children in a private schools or independent schools? If it’s a private school ask about uniforms and if they have bussing available. If you are deciding on something as important as schooling for your child’s future, you might as well look at something different like various private middle schools in jacksonville fl (or wherever you have moved).

At the same time you need to be setting up the utilities. You may have started this before you moved, which would be the wisest choice. But, now you are here and you need to be sure you have the right ones. Are you getting cable or will you be only requiring smart TV streaming services? Does your washing machine use electric or gas? Do you have any HOA requirements? This will all work itself out in a few weeks as long as you keep up with calling them and checking your first bills to be sure you are being charged correctly.

Meet the Neighbors

Sadly, people don’t always welcome the new family that moves in. But, hopefully your new apartment or house will be in a place where you can make new friends and have positive relations with. If you are nervous and don’t want to just walk up to someone’s how I would suggest you have your family hang outside a bit. Let the kids play in the yard while you weed, have a drink or simple sit on your lawn chairs. As people take walks and others walk their dogs you have the perfect opportunity to say hello and introduce yourself. Best off, if your children join the Scouts you can walk door to door selling those tasty cookies, popcorn and chocolate coated nuts.

In conclusion, I hope you enjoy your move. Keep your lists close, but the memories closer.