Sheila360

How do I stay balanced when my life is spinning around me? It’s not really my life spinning but me, multi-tasking, turning, and twisting like a short-order cook managing multiple burners in a surround stove kitchen. On a daily basis, it’s the usual overwhelming mom stuff of the late-afternoon, just-arriving-home scenario: the kids are hungry NOW; the cats, MEOW, need food too; the groceries are still in the car and the ice cream is melting. It’s been pouring down rain for what seems like weeks and the cat litter box smells as if it hasn’t been cleaned in a month.
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First-time expectant moms often share with me that they can’t wait to quit their job and become a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM). Not all new moms have this option. But I did.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I wasn’t sure I wanted to quit my job and just stay at home. At the time, I was working in marketing for a large corporate law firm in San Francisco. They treated me well.  I enjoyed the people I worked with, the job I did, and riding the Golden Gate Ferry across the San Francisco Bay everyday.
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A break in the storm this weekend allowed us a window of opportunity to get out to our favorite playground, the beaches of Northern California. Nothing was needed but a coat and the desire to be outside, breathing in the sounds and scents of one of the most beautiful places on earth.

OK, call me a wimp, but I just can’t bring myself to volunteer at the elementary school for Lice Check. I just received the email that my school is looking for parent volunteers to help next week, and I want to go hide. Now, I agree that if the school and parents make a concerted effort to check the kid’s heads for these creepy little bugs that we can minimize the spread from head to head. But yuk! (I check Jack and Anna’s heads, but I don’t like it.) We all have little things that really make our skin crawl (ha ha). For some people, it’s spiders or snakes, for others maybe rats and other rodents. Well, I don’t really like any of those, but I especially hate little bugs that are hard to see and almost harder to get rid of—gives me the willies.

So I’m going to do my part here and share with you again Will’s article on how to get rid of head lice. Check it out, then check out your kids head, (remind them not to roll on the carpet at school where all the other little heads have been) and email us at mom@life360.com with your questions and comments. We’re happy to help (as long as you don’t ask me to check the heads). Thanks!

My friend’s mother is on Facebook, and so are all her kids, grandkids, and the rest of her very large close family. Had she realized she would have such a captive audience, she would have joined Facebook sooner. Needless to say, she knows how to work it now. The advice is flying and I’m snatching some of it to share with you. (Note: These tips didn’t originate with Mary, but she’s passing them along!) Here’s the first of many Tips from Mary:

Info About Clothes Dryers

The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house told us that he wanted to show us something and went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load of clothes.) He ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material … I’m sure you know what your dryer’s lint filter looks like. Well … the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn’t go through it at all!
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“This meal could be in a restaurant,” Anna said last night at dinner.

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Being a divorced mom is hard for reasons different than some people might think. A widowed friend recently shared on her blog that she was jealous of divorced moms that had every other weekend free from kids. Granted, she was thinking in terms of having free time to cultivate a new relationship. But when I read it, I felt such sadness because I can’t stand missing things in my kid’s lives when they’re not with me on those weekends they spend with their father.
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Hey, from everyone here at Life360, we want to welcome on board our newest blogger, Tony Roth, who will be sharing with us his Adventures with Tony and Tanner. Look for his posts weekly, starting today, where he’ll share stories about outdoor romps in the rain, muddling through 1st grade together, and other daddy and me adventures that’ll make you laugh, smile, and want to come back for more. Welcome Tony!

Tony Roth is the proud father of Tanner, his six-year-old son. He is a Marin County native and Chico State graduate. After losing his wife to a brain tumor in 2006, Tony left his Director of Sales position with an internet company to nurture and spend more time with Tanner. This time off has provided them with the opportunity to log countless hours outdoors enjoying such activities as camping, fishing, biking and skiing to name a few. Lately, Tony is working as a co-founder of Team DebShred, a group that strives to bring awareness and support to those touched by brain tumors. You can learn more by visiting DebShred.com.

The little boy stood all alone, his mouth trembling while he sucked on the edge of his hand. I was sitting on a bench at the Corte Madera Village Mall and saw him from across the way. I guessed he was about three or four years old. As I scanned the surrounding area, I didn’t see an adult that looked to be responsible for him. Moving closer, I heard his tiny whimpering and noticed his body seemed to be slightly shaking.
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