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Archive for Practical Help – Page 2

Across the Pacific

Posted by Ralene on Wednesday, September 29th, 2010 in Practical Help, Resources | Comments (1)

My husband, who is away at school, called me up a couple of weeks ago. He got orders for Hawaii! We are very excited about this new opportunity. We don’t have a lot of time as his report date is the beginning of the year. Yikes!

With a three-month-old (then to be six months), such a trip comes with new worries. How do you fly with a six-month-old? Better than that, how do you travel with a six-month-old and TWO preschoolers? Oy! I am praying the kids are command sponsored so that we are able to travel with my husband and I don’t have to make this trip on my own. If not, well, I might just have to bribe Grandma with a free trip to Hawaii.

Now is the time for new strategies. One big thing that occurred to me this morning was the subject of car seats. Gulp! While none of the kids are required to have one on the plane, we will definitely need them when we arrive in Hawaii. What to do? First of all, it is highly recommended that all children, even those under the age of two, have their own seat. The first time I flew with my oldest daughter, she was three months old. While it was only a short flight, my arms got very tired, very quickly having her on my lap. I can’t imagine having a twenty pound six-month-old (yes, the way he’s going he’ll be that big!) in my lap for even half the flight.

Most airlines will let you check or carry on your car seats, but you do so at your own risk. They are considered “fragile” just like strollers, and the airline will not take responsibility if they are lost or stolen. Be aware that booster seats are not allowed to be USED on airplanes as they require a shoulder strap. If you are not planning to use a car seat that you carry on, unless it collapses, you will have to check it at the gate to be picked up afterwards.

If you are PCSing somewhere, like us, pay attention to the state requirements. Here in Kansas, the kids have to be four years old and forty pounds to be in a booster seat, but in Hawaii, they have to be eight and eighty pounds. Luckily, we didn’t sell our other car seat at the yard sale last weekend. You can find guidelines here: http://www.elitecarseats.com/custserv/custserv.jsp?pageName=car_seat_laws

Here are some tips and tricks for traveling with young children/babies:

* Get a direct flight when you can. The less you have to tow everything around and get resituated—the better. However, because of costs, we know that is not always possible.

* Take the time to request your seats when you purchase your tickets; this way you are sitting where it’s most convenient for you. Also, be aware that if there are two adults, the airlines have no problem splitting you up. Ack!

* Be organized! Have all the necessary stuff within arm’s reach and be sure to pack enough essentials to get through, not just the flight, but any unexpected delays. Have plenty of formula, baby food, diapers, wipes, change of clothes, etc. Not all airplanes have changing tables for babies, so be sure to check with a flight attendant to see if the plane does and which one it is in. If you have a child who is recently potty trained, put them in pull-ups for the flight.

* Along with the organization, keep small items together in a clear, plastic bags. This way, if security goes through your bag, they won’t make a big mess or contaminate anything.

* Arrive an hour and a half early. This gives you plenty of time to get through security, and a time to help your child run off some of that energy. Walk around with them, or find an empty gate and let them run.

* Explain ahead of time what your expectations are for their behavior. Help them understand that you know that it will be hard to be still for so long, but you know they will do their best, and you will help them when it gets hard.

* Be prepared to help alleviate the pressure in children’s ears during takeoff and landing. Have a bottle or pacifier for babies, and milk and a high protein snack for young children (this will also help them fall asleep!). Young babies will sleep most of the flight as the plane engine and motion help sedate them.

* Have an Airplane Entertainment Bag ready for the kids. Fill it with new toys and old favorites to dole out over the course of the flight, not all at once. One thing a friend recommended was to take our portable DVD player. We may not want our kids to watch a lot of TV at home, but on the plane…

* Encourage your kids to take a nap by keeping them warm and getting them a pillow.

* It would be nice to rest, but be prepared to entertain your children by talking to them, singing with them, reading them books, and helping them make up stories or whatever to keep them entertained.

* Don’t be in a huge rush to get off the plane when it lands. Avoid the crush of people by waiting, then take the time to collect all your things so you don’t forget anything. Besides, you’ll probably have to wait for anything that got checked at the gate anyway-car seats, strollers, carry-ons that were too big.

Having safely arrived at our destination, we survived the day and are ready to embark on a new adventure, whatever God brings our way!

What tips and tricks do you have for traveling, be it by plane, train, or cars?

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Time and again

Posted by Pattie on Friday, September 24th, 2010 in Practical Help | Comments (0)

Time and again I find myself complaining.

Time and again I find myself saying, “I haven’t had time” or “I ran out of time” or most often, “I’m sorry I’m late.”

Time, time, time.

I haven’t forgotten about my time management project and series for this blog. I really haven’t! I’ve just found other things that are occupying my time more often.

Like the commute to my daughters’ schools, which is no longer a ten-minute round trip, but more like thirty in the morning and forty-five in the afternoon.  Or the nearly half-hour trip to the dance studio, one way. My husband’s refractive eye surgery and subsequent checkup appointments. Joining a Bible study at the local PWOC. Working on the ever-enlarging database of blogs and a few other projects here at Wives of Faith. Supporting my friends long-distance. Financial Peace University at a local church. Selling off much of my husband’s pastoral library a book at a time. Downsizing my own library. Writing as much as I can. Shredding old tax records and other old documents.

If you look at each thing on that list, there is not one bad thing. In fact, all of them are very good things. But combined, what I’m finding is that if I look at that list, I feel so overwhelmed I am tempted to sit on the couch and eat ice cream and watch TV, or read book after book and hide from everything.

Do you ever feel like that? I know so many of you are heavily involved in your church or base/post chapel, in PWOC, in FRGs and other family and spouse support groups. And so many of you work outside the home on top of your regular wife and mom duties. Plus, our husbands’ jobs can often impede on our schedules, can’t they?

In all the time management resources I’ve read, the feeling of overwhelmed is common. Here are four of the first practical steps we can take to get past that feeling of “I give up–let’s eat ice cream.”

  • What are your priorities, really? Obviously God, husband, children are at the top of the list. But what about everything else? We have to make time for the important things first.
  • Make a to-do list every day and stick with it. On the days I actually stick with the list I’ve made, I do pretty well with the hours I’ve been given.
  • Find your time-wasters and avoid them. Better yet, use them as motivation to get a few things done first. If you love Farmville or some other game on Facebook, make yourself finish a task or two before you play, and then set a timer for yourself so you aren’t tempted to harvest one more crop.
  • Finally, remember this verse; let it remind us all to be open to the Holy Spirit’s schedule interruptions in our days:
  • Colossians 4:5:
    Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

Thank you for reading, and as always, please respond in the comments if you have any ideas about time management. I love to hear from you!

I haven’t forgotten about my idea to talk about priorities and the fairy-tale idea of a balanced life.  We’ll get there. :)

Popularity: 3% [?]

Margin and Frittering Time

Posted by Pattie on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 in Practical Help | Comments (0)

I’m diligently reading and researching time management on a quest for the best information out there for all of us, but I didn’t want too much time to pass before posting again. I also found my quest derailed by a little thing I’m calling my Broken Tooth. I have a crown on a back molar, and it chipped and cracked on Monday during lunch.  So I had to make time in my research and writing schedule (such as it is) for a couple of dental visits.

The idea of “making time” for something like the dentist makes me think of Richard Swenson’s book Margin—which, if I can find, I’d like to read again. (It’s actually stored in my husband’s boxes of pro gear in the garage, but he has about 15 boxes out there. And it’s hot. And I’m choosing to spend my time writing instead of hunting down one book out of all those boxes.)

Anyway, Dr. Swenson’s premise is that we need margin (think of the margin on a typed piece of paper, that blank space surrounding the text) in our lives as a reserve of sorts, for the overflow of life events that occasionally spill over. We need some room for those times of crisis.

Thankfully, in my case, it’s not really inconveniencing anyone but me (as far as time) and my husband (as far as money) for the dentist. But what about those who work full time while their spouse is deployed? They spend all day working, and all evening taking care of the kids and the house. Where is their margin?

I also surmise that many of us find ourselves frittering away our free or unclaimed time, doing tasks that suck our time without any return on our investment.

While I grant that it’s going to be harder for some of you to figure this out, let’s work together on something practical before next week, so we can move along from there.

So here’s your assignment (if you’re so inclined to join me): Write down what you do for one day and how much time it takes. Extra credit if you do it for more than one day.

I bet we’re going to be surprised by what we find. I predict we’ll find our “time suckers.” I’ve done this exercise before, but for the purposes of this blog series, I’ll do it. (Obviously, I need it if I’m still struggling with how to manage my time!)

Next time, we’re going to talk about priorities and the fairy-tale idea of a balanced life.

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Time Management: A New Series

Posted by Pattie on Monday, August 23rd, 2010 in Practical Help | Comments (1)

It’s Monday, the first day of school for my girls, and the first day of my quest to get a better handle on my time.

On a whim, I posted a question to the Wives of Faith fan page on Facebook last night: “What are your thoughts about a blog series on time management?” I was surprised to get so many responses so quickly, to be honest. I know I’m not alone in this struggle to manage my time–why else would there be so many books on the subject?–but somehow I get wrapped up in my own head and forget to look around and find some support.

We’re all about support and encouragement here at Wives of Faith, so here we go. I’ll be writing a blog series on time management, and in doing so will commit to finding as many helpful resources and tips as I can to help us all in our struggles.

Do you want to know an embarrassing secret? The thing that made me think about writing about time management was a conversation with a friend of mine who’s leading a breakout session at her church’s women’s retreat in a couple of weeks. I was talking to her about preparing for her session, and I shared with her that I’d led a breakout session once about ten years ago. “What was it about?” she asked.

Time management.

Oh, the irony.

Even back in the day I struggled with it! You’d think I’d be better by now, wouldn’t you? But that was before child #2; four moves and two hubby career changes later, here I sit in full confession mode: I can’t manage my time well.

So, welcome to my series as I learn along with you about how we can manage our time.

Let’s begin with prayer.

Lord, You have given us life, and time, and Your Word.
Please lead us and guide us as we learn how to better use the time You have given us to serve You,
for Your kingdom and Your glory. Amen.

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Spiritual Journaling

Posted by Pattie on Friday, July 23rd, 2010 in Practical Help | Comments (1)

Today I thought I’d share a site with you that helped revolutionize my spiritual journaling.

First, let me say that it’s my firm belief that you have to find a style that works for YOU. I only offer suggestions here as a starting-off point for you, either to begin or to encourage your own creative ideas.

I began a spiritual journal last summer after coming across a post by Ann Voskamp of A Holy Experience, who posted about how to start a spiritual journal. She writes beautifully about journaling as a spiritual discipline, and better still, she has lovely photographs of her own journals to give a visual representation of what can become a very personal practice. This particular post reawakened the desire in me to track my spiritual life so I can STAY on track with my spiritual life, and not let it go by the wayside, neglected.

I found an unused journal in my box of unused journals that closely matches the size of my Bible. I printed out portions of the journal entry so I’d have a couple of the examples and the suggested guidelines, and glued them into the first several pages of my journal.

Then I began:

After my crazy summer this year, I’ve returned to the discipline of my spiritual journal, and I can’t tell you how much it helps me focus on my Bible reading and meditation.

Journaling is a personal passion of mine. I hope these blog posts about journaling will encourage you to pick up pen and notebook and write!

If you’re a journaler, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!

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