“I guess some weeks have to be bad.”

Those were the words my husband said this morning in response to me saying, “Oh, and last week was so good too!” I said that because yesterday I wasn’t feeling very well, then last night we had a really rough night with baby boy, and we’re exhausted. This is a dangerous combination that’s pretty much going to guarantee today will be hard to get through. I really needed a decent night’s sleep to get over how I was feeling yesterday so as to not repeat the cycle.

Quite the opposite, last week was good both personally and for my family. I was productive in work, we maintained our house’s condition, spent some nice family time together, and had a good week overall. I felt centered with my work-life balance. One day into this week, and we’re not off to a similar start.

My husband’s words got me thinking that the universe has a way of balancing itself. Just as it is said that for every good, there is a bad, perhaps we need to undergo imbalance to acknowledge when we do have balance in our lives. In order to appreciate life balance, we need to get through those days, or even weeks that aren’t so smooth. I suppose as long as you don’t let it consume you and learn to bounce back, it’s fine. We need to learn from those off days and be flexible. It’s apparent to me, yet again, that work life balance is a fluid and ever-changing concept.

Today I will try to have a better day despite my words and attitude early this morning. If I still don’t feel it’s a balanced day, I will take the time to think about what went right and be thankful for that. Then, I’ll try again tomorrow.

I’m learning that balance requires an ongoing effort.

How do you get past those days or weeks where your work-life balance is thrown off?

Photo by Raphaël Labbé

Up until now, I have been looking for something to sell on eBay, so I could test out the selling process and hopefully make a little extra cash. But, as I shared with the eBay team recently, I was getting a little frustrated because I hadn’t found anything that seemed to be worth selling. I thought about selling some books, but once I saw how much they were selling for, plus factored in the shipping cost and eBay fees, it didn’t seem I’d actually make a profit. In fact, I was worried I’d lose money.

Just last week, the eBay team shared with us their newly launched Selling Inspiration House, which helps sellers find items around the house that are currently selling on eBay. The site also allows you to easily look up how much various items are selling for with just a couple of clicks. The timing was pretty perfect for them to send along that link, considering my challenges.

I checked out the site and got a couple of ideas of things I can look for in our house. I also saw a note on the site that says you can actually list your item to sell for free and only pay the fees if your item sells. So, really, all this time I had nothing to lose! I just needed to dive in and try it out. And that’s exactly what I did this morning.

I found a spare pocket digital camcorder that we don’t need and decided to list it for sale and see how it does. It only took me a few minutes too, using the eBay mobile app on my iPad. Hopefully, it sells and I can learn more about how the fees work and if I estimated the shipping cost accurately. If not, I’ll adjust the listing and try again. My goal is that this will be the first of other items we sell on eBay. We decided to use the extra cash towards a vacation fund, so I’m looking forward to that.

Why not try out the Selling Inspiration House and see if you find any of the suggested items around your house?

Disclosure: ModernMami.com is a member of the eBay Parent Panel, a compensated program.

Photo by Mark Hillary

Whenever my family gets together, inevitably stories of the past come up. My parents, their siblings, and friends love to reminisce about their younger years. It’s common to hear childhood tales of my mother and her sisters walking home from school through the narrow streets in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and the people they’d run into. Or perhaps it’s my father sharing with us yet again how his father would take him along to work at Ramey Air Force Base and they’d listen to music together as my abuelo pressed the clothes. According to my dad, this is why he came to love music so much.

Regardless of what story is being shared, one thing remains constant. The joy on my parents’ face as they retell their memories is sure to bring you joy as well. Watching them and listening to their stories always made for an interesting evening. Even when they shared the sadder stories, like when I learned that my mom ate sopa de pan (breadcrumbs in broth) one too many times as a child, they still did so with excitement, nostalgia, and joy. They love to pass on their memories and personally, it gives me a lot of insight into our family’s history.

I still love to hear my parents tell their stories and occasionally ask them to share ones I have already heard many times. Each time, some small new detail they forgot to mention before comes to light. Hearing these stories provides a glimpse into what my parents were like as children and why they are the way they are today.

I suppose the same can be said for my husband and I. Nowadays, we find ourselves reminiscing on those early days before we got married – before the kids and hectic life we lead today. Our daughter seems to enjoy hearing our stories just as I enjoy my parents’. She will often ask us about our childhood or the time before she was born. “When you were little, did abuela read you bedtime stories?” she once asked. When I shared with her about the Quinceañero tradition and the party I had when I turned fifteen, she loved hearing all about it and looking at the photos in my album. It’s fun to see her take so much interest in the past and makes me want to share more.

Our baby girl shares her own stories too. Hers may not always be true, since she often makes up stories and plays pretend, but they are her stories nevertheless. And with her as a storyteller, you truly become immersed in the story. She gives lots of details and will sometimes act out what she’s saying. I suppose one day she’ll be sharing stories of her childhood with her own children.

Storytelling is what keeps things going in many ways. If you think about it, that is how we keep traditions alive and it was the only way of sharing history before we had books. By telling stories, we connect, we inform, we relate. That’s a lot of power for simply sharing what once was.

Do you enjoy sharing or listening to stories? What’s a favorite family story you love to hear?

Disclosure: This story is sponsored by Hallmark through their Life is a Special Occasion campaign. As always, all stories and opinions are my own.

Yesterday was one of those days I wish I could repeat – everything flowed, things got done, balance was had. It’s amazing how one day going smoothly can lift your spirits and motivate you to make it happen again.

Because I had such a great day, I feel like I need to record it. Sometimes you have to sit back and remind yourself of all that went good – little or big. Though this is simple in the grand scheme of things, having a day where work, family, and personal time were in-line is definitely something to celebrate.

We are often striving to create work-life balance, and I talk about it quite often, so I absolutely want to share with you the specifics of how my day went. I hope that by doing so, you will see a glimpse of your own day or find some ideas for small changes you can make in your routine. With that, I share my perfectly balanced day and what I hope will become a regular daily routine for achieving work-life balance in my life.

Personal Daily Routine for Work-Life Balance

6 am: Woke up with hugs from baby boy and baby girl. After a bit of snuggling, dragged myself out of bed and began the morning routine of getting dressed and making sure baby girl got ready for school.

7:30 am: Breakfast time for both kids before heading out the door.

8-8:30 am: Dropped baby girl off at school.

8:30-9 am: Baby boy fell asleep on the ride back home, so waited in driveway for him to take a short nap while reading emails and checking in on Twitter and Facebook on my phone. I also found photo to use in blog post.

9:15-9:45 am: Took out some frozen already-cooked turkey to thaw for dinner. Then, while baby boy sat in his high chair with a snack, did my morning workout to Just Dance 3.

9:45-10:30 am: Ate breakfast, hung out with baby boy, and worked on blog post draft.

10:30-10:45 am: Phone call with client.

10:45-11:30 am: Finished and published blog post. Proceeded to work on marketing it via Facebook, Twitter, and StumbleUpon. Also, posted updates to various social media platforms and groups.

11:30 am – 12 pm: Played with baby boy and continued miscellaneous work on email and social media monitoring.

12 noon: Lunch for baby boy and myself.

12:30-2:30 pm: Continued work in-between playing with baby boy. When he played quietly on the floor, I’d check email or read articles, blog posts, etc. We went back and forth during this time quite a bit.

2:30-3 pm: Picked up baby girl from school

3-4:30 pm: Baby boy fell asleep on the ride home, so baby girl and I took this opportunity to have a tea party and afternoon snack. While she set up the tea party and changed into a princess outfit, I began cooking a turkey soup for dinner. I had enough time to shred the turkey, add all other ingredients and set the pot to simmer, plus sit down with baby girl for a princess tea party and snack before baby boy woke up.

4:30-5 pm: After a quick snack for baby boy, he and his big sister played together and watched TV alone. I ran upstairs to back up some files on our main computer and freshen myself up for the evening.

5-6 pm: Hung out with the kids, fed baby boy dinner, and picked up clutter in the living room. Baby boy got a little fussy during this time too.

6-7:30 pm: After my husband came home, we sat down for dinner, along with baby girl. Afterwards, the kids hung out with daddy and I cleaned up the kitchen.

7:30-8 pm: Bath/shower time for all.

8-8:40 pm: The husband read baby girl her bedtime story and tucked her in while I helped baby boy relax and fall asleep. Some nights baby boy falls asleep quickly, but with the afternoon nap he had, it took a while for him to calm down.

8:45-11 pm: With the kids in bed, the husband and I were finally able to hang out, talk about our days, and watch a little TV before heading to bed ourselves.

The reason this day worked out so great for me is that I felt accomplished. I was able to work on various areas of my life – not just work or just family. I was productive, got work done, spent time with the family, and even took time for myself.

Of course, not every day will work out so great. I know there will be days where baby boy won’t take two naps or will need more attention due to fussiness. There will be days when I’ll need to run errands and I won’t be able to get as much work done. That’s fine. We have to be flexible, right? The important thing is to remember days like these where all did go well and try to replicate them by following a routine as much as possible.

Why don’t you take some time to write out your daily schedule and reflect on what works and what you can improve? Where can you make some changes to your routine to ease the fluidity of the day?

Other articles you may like:

• Sample Daily Routine for Work at Home Mom
• 7 Ways to Find ‘Me Time’

Photos by Vicente Villamón, Andreanna Moya, Robin, and Erica Firment

Every day when I pick up baby girl from school I ask her the same questions: How was your day? Did you have fun? and What did you guys do? The majority of the time her answer to the last question is a simple, “I don’t really remember.” She can tell me all about what games her and her friends made up during recess and who she talked to while waiting at the car loop, but it takes a lot of digging to find out what they did or talked about in her Kindergarten class. However, fast forward a few days, or even a week, and little snippets of what they’ve done come out in casual conversation.

With Martin Luther King day being celebrated early last week, it wasn’t until the weekend that we were able to find out more about what she learned in class regarding the man behind the holiday. Of course, as is customary for my baby girl, it wasn’t a straight “here’s what the teacher told us” conversation. The information almost always comes out in things she says or does; she also has a habit of surprising me at the most unexpected moments. Here’s a glimpse at a couple of conversations we had over the weekend that were sparked by her class’ discussion of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

No More ‘Whites Only’

“I’m glad the ‘white only’ signs are gone mommy,” she said as she was watching TV and I was changing baby boy’s diaper.

“Me too baby.”

“But, what happened to the babies?”

“What do you mean sweetie?”

“Well, since people with dark skin couldn’t be in the same house as people with white skin, what happened to the babies with dark skin? Did they take them somewhere else?”

“No! They stayed with their parents. If the babies have dark skin, then that means the parents did too, right?”*

“But, what about baby boy and I? You don’t have dark skin, but we do. So, pretend the ‘white only’ signs were still around – what would happen to us?”

“You don’t think I have dark skin?”

“Well, it’s more like tan.”

“Ok. Well, they didn’t separate the babies from their parents, sweetie. They all stayed together in their house. And, actually mama, if we lived back in those days, they would have thought I had dark skin too, just like you.”

“Oh, ok.”

*I realize this statement is not completely true, but I didn’t really want to get into an explanation of genetics with a 6 year old.

Love Drives Out Love

She sat at our dining table drawing a picture as I fed her little brother. When she finished she showed it to me as she normally does.

“What does this say?” I asked her pointing to the words I had already read, but wanted her to explain.

“Love drives out love.”

“And what does that mean?”

“Well, at school they told us that Martin King-”

“Martin Luther King?”

“Yes, Martin Luther King said ‘Hate does not drive out hate, only love does.’”

“Ok. And, do you know what that means?”

“No, no I don’t.”

“You guys didn’t talk about it at school?”

“No.”

“I see. Well, what he was saying was that if someone has hate in their heart, to give them more hate, by being mean or violent, is not going to take that hate away. You have to show them love to take their hate away.”

“Ohhhhh…”

“Do you really get it?”

“I think so.”

“He believed in being peaceful. He didn’t think you could make someone who has hate be better by being violent. You needed to show them love and be peaceful to help them change.”

“Like the people that wanted the ‘white only’ signs!”

“Yes. Exactly.”

“Ok. Well, I was trying to say love brings more love. Love drives out love.”

“I get it. That’s a very nice thought baby girl.”

It always amazes me how much farther her mind takes things. She’ll always have a follow-up question. Or she’ll think of varying scenarios and wonder ‘what if’. She loves to explore and imagine. This is a good thing. It will help her empathize and understand the world better as she grows.

Discussions on race will no doubt continue in our house for a long time. As she learns more and more about this country’s history, she will come home with more questions. It will take a long time for her to fully grasp all that was, all that is, and all that may be. And, that’s ok. I’m still working on it myself.

Top photo by Tim Krepp

Every time I visit my parents’ house, it brings about bittersweet feelings. I’m glad to be able to spend time with them, but seeing my dad fall deeper into his dementia and be forced to succumb to the disease, is heartbreaking in many ways.

This was a man that growing up I saw as strong and in control. He took care of things, made rational and logical decisions, and was a provider. Now, he doesn’t even know how to properly tie his shoes. He has trouble following a conversation. He asks about things we take for granted; “Do I eat with this?” he says, as he points to the fork on the table.

It’s tough to see him worsen almost daily. The disease has completely transformed him into a different man. There are traces of who he used to be still around, but he acts and looks different. It’s frustrating, sad, and at times, maddening. And, there’s nothing we can do.

Photo by Jenny Downing

Through our partnership with eBay, I’ve been learning a lot about how various people use eBay to either earn a little extra spending money, make a living from selling on eBay, and every scenario in-between. One of the latest ways I’m learning about families who sell on eBay is through the eBay MoneyMakers video series. Each video series highlights a family and shows how selling on eBay has impacted their life. It’s amazing to hear these stories and see how families are earning money online through selling on eBay.

Selling on eBay Helps Family Overcome Unemployment

The first eBay MoneyMakers video introduces us to the O’Brien family of Westfield, Indiana. Soon after relocating for a job, Tristen O’Brien’s position was eliminated and he found himself unemployed. Sadly, this occurred just a week after their son’s birth. As you can imagine, they needed to find a way to earn some money fast! By selling household items on eBay, they began to fund their day-to-day expenses. Eventually, as they gained experience in selling on eBay, they began to sell clearance and vintage items for profit. Tristen O’Brien is now employed, but the family continues to sell on eBay and even have a blog to share their tips for selling on eBay. Check out their video below to find out more about the O’Brien family, then read on to learn about another family who’s had success selling on eBay.

eBay MoneyMakers: The O’Brien family makes money online in the midst of economic difficulties

One-Income Family Supplements Earnings by Selling on eBay

The second eBay MoneyMakers video in the series features the Sibbersen family, who has been using eBay since they got married to supplement their one-income family. The extra income from selling on eBay allowed Windy Sibbersen to stay home with their children. Much like the O’Brien family, they began by selling items in their home they no longer needed, then moved on to buying discounted items they could resell. The family has been able to fund family trips with their eBay income, as well as extra expenses not normally within budget. Additionally, the family uses their funds to give back to the community by ‘adopting a family’ during the holidays. Learn more about the Sibbersens and check out their story in the video below.

eBay MoneyMakers: The Sibbersen family finds financial comfort through extra eBay income

ModernMami™.com Reader Giveaway

We want you to treat yourself courtesy of eBay, so we’re giving away a $25 eBay gift card!

How to Enter

Required entry: If you’d like to enter this contest for a $25 eBay gift card, simply leave a comment below sharing how you would use extra funds earned from selling on eBay.

Extra entries (optional):
Each of the following will count as 1 extra entry. You’ll need to leave a separate comment for each entry.

1. Follow @modernmami on Twitter.
2. Tweet the following (1 time entry only): Enter to win a $25 eBay gift card from @modernmami! http://bit.ly/ujc6Ht #giveaway #contest #eBayMoney #eBayParent
3. Receive post updates by subscribing to our RSS feed. You can do so either via email or through a RSS reader. Leave a comment saying you did so or are already a subscriber.
4. Subscribe on friendfeed and leave a comment with your friendfeed ID.
5. Write a blog post on your own blog sharing the details of this contest. Be sure to include a link back to this post. Leave a comment with your post link.

All entries must be in by Friday, January 6, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. You must be 18 or older and a U.S. resident. No purchase necessary. Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be notified via email. (Please be sure to provide a valid email address with your entry.) Winner will have 48 hours to respond and claim prize, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: ModernMami.com is a member of the eBay Parent Panel, a compensated program.

Photo by Mike Knell

Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

Yesterday was Cyber Monday and many people were shopping online and searching for great deals. For my family, though, shopping online is something we’ve been doing for many years. While we don’t purchase everything online – I am still hesitant to buy clothes online – we do often buy books, electronics, and household items online. We love the convenience of it, especially since we have small children; it eases the process of taking the whole family to the store. Of course, sometimes you can also find items you can’t normally find in stores.

eBay is known to be a place you can look when you are having issues finding items, either locally or on other sites. Many times you can find a gently used version of that item you can’t find or perhaps you’ll be able to find it at a better price.

I’ve actually been scouring the eBay site these past few days in search of a Fijit friend. Apparently this is a hot toy item this Christmas season and it’s one that’s on my daughter’s Santa list. Lucky me, right?! Unfortunately, since it is a hot item, we’re likely to pay a higher price than if we had bought it a few weeks back. But, as parents, we’re willing to do that rather than explain why Santa didn’t find all the items on her wish list. At least, we’re willing to do that since our baby girl is still on the young side. In a few years, we’ll be able to talk frankly with her should we run into a similar situation.

Aside from purchasing hard-to-find items on eBay, you can also find some really good deals. In fact, eBay is currently having 25 days of deals through December 15 and is hosting Cyber Monday deals all week long. They’ve also teamed up with Toys R Us and have a section on the eBay site with this year’s holiday hot toys.

Have fun shopping online this holiday season and enjoy those deals! What hot toy items are on your children’s wish lists this year?

Disclosure: ModernMami.com is a member of the eBay Parent Panel, a compensated program.

Photo by William Hook

The beginning of 2011 was full of a couple of exciting times for my family and I. Of course, my baby boy was born a few weeks prior to the end of 2010, which made for a hectic, but lovely way to start the year. But, also, my daughter and I got to experience the awesomeness of a Disney cruise. Needless to say, 2011 has been a busy year so far, with much of it revolving around chasing baby boy and adapting to being a mother of two. This, primarily, is the reason that I am just now sharing with you about our Disney Dream cruise adventure.

In January, just a month after baby boy was born, my daughter and I embarked on what was the first cruise ever for both of us. And what a way to experience our first cruise ever than with a Disney cruise, right? If you’re going to go big, then you might as well go real big, no?

Sadly, baby boy was too young to come aboard, so my husband stayed behind with him in order to let my baby girl and I experience the cruise. We just couldn’t pass up on such an invitation, courtesy of our friends at Disney and Disney Cruise Line. My parents were going to come along with us, but unfortunately, my father fell ill the week before the cruise and doctors advised him not to travel. So, it ended up being a girls-only event!

We had a lot of much-needed mommy-daughter fun on the cruise. We enjoyed fun dining in what baby girl called “very fancy” restaurants, swimming in the pools (don’t forget about the AquaDuck slide!), a stop at Disney’s private island Castaway Cay, and late-night dancing (in the rain…with pirates!). Our cruise experience was the best and allowed my baby girl and I to escape for a little bit – something I know she appreciated since we were only one month into the big change in our family dynamic. She still talks about our cruise and will ask if we can go on a cruise again one day.

As are all things Disney, they pay lots of attention to details and really make your experience a great one. Since I have no other cruise experience to compare to, it’s a little hard for me to know what is standard for a cruise trip and what is exclusive to a Disney cruise. But, I can tell you that there are some major highlights to a Disney cruise, such as character greetings for the kids and themed evening parties. Here are some of the things my girl and I liked the most about our cruise trip on the Disney Dream.

Youth Clubs: Disney’s Oceaneer Club & Oceaneer Lab

When we checked out the youth club areas on the Disney Dream, my girl immediately wanted to stay and play. The Oceaneer Club & Oceaneer Lab had a dress-up area with plenty of costumes and accessories, a coloring area, computers, and themed play rooms, such as Andy’s Room from the Toy Story movie. Most importantly, these youth clubs are supervised with plenty of Disney employees on hand that are there not just to supervise the children, but also play along with them and engage them in organized games and activities. My girl absolutely loved her times in these play areas and it was very hard to get her to leave to enjoy some of the other activities of our trip.

Additionally, when we stopped at Castaway Cay for a day, they had a supervised play area there as well. We did take advantage of this, upon my girl’s request, which allowed me to have a little time to myself to enjoy the beach and relive my days from Puerto Rico on an hamaca (hammock).

Broadway-style Live Shows

There are a couple of live shows you can catch while aboard the Disney Dream, but my daughter and I particularly enjoyed Disney’s Believe. The story is a very cute one about a girl trying to get her very busy father to believe. I actually cried, along with several other women in the audience, including the one sitting next to me. There’s just something about a girl and her daddy that brings tears to my eyes, and this was no exception. If you ever go on the Disney Dream, you definitely don’t want to miss this show.

Pirate Party: Pirates IN the Caribbean Deck Party

Probably the most-talked about aspect of our cruise for both baby girl and I was the awesome pirate party we enjoyed one evening. Pirates come out to play games with the kids before a live show featuring Captain Jack Sparrow ensues on the deck. Then, after some fireworks, the pirates stick around to dance with the crowd! We even received pirate bandanas to dress up for the party. The night of our pirate party it rained. But, that didn’t stop baby girl and I from dancing with the pirates! I’m so glad I let her keep partying despite the rain and it being past her bedtime because it made for a great memory!

These are just some of the fun things my girl and I enjoyed while on our Disney Dream cruise. There’s so much to do on the ship that I truly wanted to stay a few more days and I know I didn’t get to explore all there is. If you want to experience a fun family vacation, then booking a Disney cruise might just be what you need since there’s something for everyone. I plan on taking our family on a Disney cruise in the future, hopefully once baby boy is older and can enjoy it more because it’s definitely something everyone should try at least once.

If you’ve ever been on a cruise, what do you enjoy the most about them? And, if you’ve ever been on a Disney cruise, share your experience with us!

Disclosure: My daughter and I were part of the inaugural Disney Dream voyage. All expenses were paid for me and a discounted rate was provided in order for my daughter to join me. Our experience, memories, and opinions are, as always, our own.