momz.com

Help Find Madeleine

ABC’s 20/20 did a story this week about the missing little girl, Madeleine. A year ago the world learned that the sweet little girl named Madeleine had been kidnapped from the hotel room her family was in while vacationing in Portugal. You’ll remember the media making their buck off of the story as it turned from tragic, to accusatory, to critical. It was as if the parents were to blame for the kidnapping of their own daughter.

I watched the special on 20/20 and couldn’t help to think how horrible this really is for Madeleine and her family. An innocent little girl apparently taken from her hotel room while her parents, both doctors, were enjoying dinner with vacationing friends 50 feet away at the hotel’s restaurant. I can think of no harder thing for a parent to have to live with. The only thing keeping their heads somewhat on straight is the fact that they still have to raise Madeleine’s younger twin brothers.

Amazingly Madeleine’s parents are trying to turn their nightmare into something positive for all of Europe by pushing for a European version of the Amber Alert system here in the U.S..

At this point Madeleine could be almost anywhere and it would be easy to write her off and try to block her out of our minds. Please don’t. Please think of her every day and maybe you’ll spot her, or maybe you’ll spot some $#@$%#@!! in the process of taking some other child and be able to help stop this worst possible crime.

To stay abreast of this sad story or to help Madeleine’s parents continue to investigate this kidnapping please visit their site at: Find Madeleine

Never forget.

Let’s hope someone out there who knows her whereabouts does the right thing. Let’s also do what we can to help prevent this from happening to any other child. Be alert, stay alert, help protect children that can’t defend themselves.

How to Find Time to Make Me Time

You can’t read anything anymore without stumbling
across some article that stresses the importance
of “me time”. You agree it’s important.  You know
you need it.  But the reality is there just isn’t
any time for it.  All of the hours in your day
are filled up and you really don’t feel as though
you can sleep any less than you already do.   Are
you just going to have to do without?

Absolutely not!  If you want to take me time, you
have to MAKE me time.

In an average 24-hour day, 8 hours are spent
sleeping (hopefully), leaving 16 hours remaining.
If you work outside the home, telecommute or run
your own business, you’ve committed 9-10 more
hours (including commute time, if applicable),
reducing the hours available to 6.

Getting ready for work in the morning and going
to bed at night may eat up another hour and a
half.  Now you’re down to 4.5 hours left in the
day.  But you still haven’t cooked dinner, done
any laundry, helped with homework, chauffeured
the kids around and picked up around the house.

How can you do all of that and take me time? By
spending that 4.5 hours more efficiently.

The following tips will help you to do just that.

1. Dinner doesn’t have to eat up (pun intended) a
lot of time.  Between slow cookers and delicious
30-minute meal recipes, dinner can be ready in 40
minutes or less.

2. While your food is cooking, wash some of the
dishes you used during preparation and set the
table.

3. Have your family help you get dinner ready.
It’s a great opportunity to get something done
AND catch up.

4. While you’re making dinner, have your kids do
their homework at the dinner table.  That way
you’ll be available for quick questions.  If they
need help with problems that will be more long
and involved, save those for after dinner.  In
the meantime, they can finish most of their
homework while you cook.

5. When you’re on the phone catching up with
friends or family, clean the kitchen.  It’s
amazing what you can accomplish during a
conversation.  Wipe down the counter tops, empty
the dishwasher, clean the inside of the
microwave, scrub the top of the stove, and wipe
the refrigerator door.

6. Use your toaster oven more and your regular
oven less.  Many toaster ovens come with a baking
or convection feature.  Use it as much as you
possibly can.  Not only will you save on your
electric bill but the toaster oven is much easier
to clean.  And when the trays get so that you
just cannot clean them anymore, throw them away.
You can purchase inexpensive replacements at Bed,
Bath and Beyond or Linens n Things.

7. Limit after school activities.  Yes childhood
is a time to try many different things—just not
all at once!  Limiting extracurricular
involvements will reduce the stress level in the
family; allow kids plenty of time for homework
and sleeping and help you keep your sanity.

8. Create a box or tote bag for yourself stuffed
with magazines you want to read, notes you want
to write, bills you have to pay, grocery lists
you want to make, coupons you want to go through,
etc.  Take this with you whenever you drive your
kids to their activities.  While you’re waiting
for them, get out your box and keep yourself
productive in the meantime.

9. Determine a laundry schedule that works for
you and stick to it.  Some families like to do a
little bit each day.  Some families prefer to do
it once a week.  The nice thing about laundry is
that you can put a load in and then go do
something else.

10. Make your house LOOK clean, even when it is
not.
a. Keep it clear of clutter.  When a home is
clutter free it looks cleaner, even if the dust
is piled up.
b. Insist that beds be made every morning.  It
really only takes a minute.
c. Don’t let dishes pile up in the kitchen sink.
Put them in the dishwasher.  If they are not
dishwasher safe, store them in there until you
have time to wash them.
d. Do not allow clothes to be thrown around the
room or piled up.  If they’re dirty, they go in
the hamper.  If they need to be dry cleaned, put
them in a bag specifically designated for this
purpose.  Otherwise hang them up or put them
away.
e. Room most items from the bathroom counter
tops.  If something MUST sit out, purchase an
attractive container to store it in.

This great article was submitted by Jackie McLaughlin.
Jackie operates Making Me Time.com
(http://www.makingmetime.com), a website
dedicated to showing you how to make time for “me
time” every single day! Subscribe to her FREE
monthly ezine full of tips and tricks to free up
hours in your week. Just send a blank email to
makingmetime-subscribe@yahoogroups.com