Another Great Deal from Restaurant.com

I know I've had some Restaurant.com deals on here before, but this one is ridiculous. You can get a $25 gift certificate to a restaurant in your area for just $2. That's one hell of a deal. All you have to do is click on the link above and use the Promo Code "NAPKIN" when you check out. It's pretty darn simple.

Time Management for SAHMs (Part 1)

I think I've figured out the one thing that is the difference between a good day and a bad day for my wife: time management! Of course there are those wildcard variables that can wreck even the best-planned day. My son scraping his knee falling on the driveway, my daughter deciding today is the day she going to bite her brother repeatedly. But those things aside, time management can make or break a SAHM's day.

For some people time management is second nature. They have no problem setting up a schedule, planning out a day and sticking to it. I don't think my wife and I are like that. We try. We really do. I swear. But there are plenty of times it just doesn't happen.

So I started doing some research and came across a couple of websites that profess to help those of us that are time management deficient. Today we'll cover one of the websites, and we'll get to the other one tomorrow. The first website I came across was Motivated Moms. The website offes printable chore lists to help with the sometimes difficult task of deciding what needs to be done when. If you're like our family, looking at a house of chores that need to be done can be very daunting. Where do you start? What task comes next? My wife likes to tell me I have ADHD, so I typically jump from one job to the next.

According to the website, the Motivated Moms chore lists are "designed to help you complete chores and tasks throughout the year so that you don’t spend your entire day doing housework." And let's be honest, nobody wants to spend all day doing housework. The goal is to reduce stress and make it easier to maintain your home in the easiest possible manner.

The chore lists come in 8 different styles and can be easily downloaded for a measly $4 on the website. All you need is a PayPal account. Here is a sample of a Full Sized Weekly Planner.

Click here to view more details

Anybody ever used this system? Any thoughts?

Just a quick reminder. The Restaurant.com 80% off special ends today. You can grab a $25 gift certificate for just $2. Use the promo code SPECIAL to get this great deal.

Time Is Running Out

The Restaurant.com sale is almost over. Your chance to buy $25 gift certificates for $2 ends on Sunday. Remember to use the promo code SPECIAL.

And today is Friday (like you didn't already know) and that means you can get free chocolate at the Mars Company website.

Don't you just love great deals?

Treat Your SAHM To Dinner For Less

Restaurant.com is having another ridiculous sale: 80% OFF. That makes for $25 gift certificates for a mere $2. This is a superb deal that you can't pass up. Just click on the box above, search for restaurants in your area, use the promo code SPECIAL and enjoy a nice meal out on the town for a pittance.

Guys, Mother's Day may have already passed, but just think of the brownie points.

What Should A SAHM Expect From Her Man?

First of all, Happy Fatherhood Friday. I missed last week, but I'm back on the horse this week. If you haven't checked out the blogs over at Dad Blogs, you are truly missing out. There is some great stuff over there.

OK, so a couple of weeks ago I blogged about what a guy can realistically expect from the SAHM in his life. That post sparked a lot of great comments, and I don't think I really ticked anybody off. I also got a lot of interesting stuff about the whole "nothing but an apron" thing :)

So this week I thought I would flip it around and talk about what a SAHM can realistically expect from the man in her life. Obviously I'm writing this from the guy's perspective, so I'll be interested to see what the women think about this.

First and foremost, I think it is a must that the man RESPECTS his SAHM. This one is pretty much non-negotiable. I don't care how important you think your job is. I don't care how much money you make a year. Nothing is more important than raising your kids. NOTHING! So you better show some respect to the woman that (presumably) put her career and aspirations on hold to raise your kids. It really is the least you can do.

Next, how about some flowers once in a while? Is that so hard to ask? Or maybe dinner out on the town? Check out yesterday's post to get some great deals on gift certificates to local restaurants.

On the same note, SAHMs need a little "me time." At least a couple times a week she should be able to get out of the house and away from the kids to do whatever she wants to do. Whether it's working out, taking a cake decorating class or drinking a glass of wine with a couple of girlfriends, "me time" is terribly important. Just think about how you feel after 2 hours by yourself with the kids. Now multiply that by 4 (and that's assuming you're only away from the house for 8 hours a day) and you'll start to realize how she feels at the end of the day.

And finally, it's not gonna kill you to help out around the house. Do some laundry. Take care of the dishes. Pick up after the kids. When I talked about a guy's expectations for a SAHM, I mentioned that everything has to be flexible. And that' going to require the guy to pick up some slack. Or, just let the laundry go for a couple of days. It's not really the end of the world.

So what did I forget? What else should my wife expect from me?

SAHMs Need To Dine Out Too

I realize we're all on a budget around here, and the first thing that usually goes is dining out. Plus, it's never easy to go to a decent restaurant (and Applebee's doesn't count as a good restaurant) with kids.

But right now there is a deal going on over at Restaurant.com that is just too good to pass up. If you've never been to Restaurant.com before, here's the deal. You can buy $25 gift certificates to a number of restaurants for only $10. That's a pretty darn good deal.

There is a special going on right now, though, that makes it darn near impossible to ignore. If you use the promo code "TASTY" when you check out, you save 70% on each gift certificate you purchase. That makes a $10 purchase only $3. Which means you get a $25 gift certificate for only $3!!!!!!

I bought 3 $25 gift certificates for a total of $9! That is $75 worth of dining out for only 9 bucks! Sorry about all of the exclamation marks, but this is a hell of a deal.

The only catch is the promo code expires on May 16th. So you have 2 more days to take advantage of this deal. Get yourself over to Restaurant.com, use the promo code "TASTY," call up the babysitter and get yourself some much deserved me time at your favorite local eatery.

Burnout Management for SAHMs

Read a great article on recognizing and counteracting burnout for SAHMs over at suite101.com's Stay At Home Parents page. Don't mind the "mums" by the way, you'll get used to it.

The author does provide some good ideas on how to deal with burnout. I particularly like the comments about reconnecting with family. I know that we have had to specifically make time for us after the kids have gone down. Who cares if the laundry needs to be folded?

There is one HUGE thing she did not mention, though. That's called "me time." I am a big proponent of my wife getting plenty of "me time." Whether it is time to go workout, take a cake decorating class (OK, so I benefit from that time too!), or taking some real time off for a girl's shopping weekend at the nearest outlet mall.

If a SAHM doesn't have any time away from the house and kids (and probably the husband too), she is never going to make it.

What do you do to stave off SAHM burnout?

National Mom's Nite Out

I hope all you SAHMs are prepared to celebrate National Mom's Nite Out tomorrow night. This nationwide event is billed as "the first nationally organized celebration of motherhood."

There will be online events via Twitter, Skype and a host of other websites. There are also a number of local events around the country. There is a list of live events here.

A ton of sponsors have offered prizes for a drawing on May 7th. You can register for the raffle here.

Anyone got big plans for National Mom's Nite Out? I'd love to hear about anyone that attends one of these planned events. This is the first time for this event, so I'm sure things will only get better in the coming years.

Protecting "Me" Time

It is vitally important for stay at home moms to have a little me time. I try to make sure my SAHM has some me time every day. There are times when I come home and she almost immediately heads out to return some videos, pick up that one last ingredient for dinner or return something to Target. I (almost) always offer to do these things for her, but she insists.

It took me a while to realize that she needs this time out of the house. Even if she gets out of the house with the kids during the day, she just needs a little time by herself. And it's not like she has been dying to return the movies to Blockbuster. The task itself is really immaterial. She just needs to be alone for a little bit.

After the baby comes, her me time will almost certainly be centered around trips to the gym. She really wants to get back into yoga, so it will be one of my priorities to let her get to a couple of classes every week.

After all, it's in my best interests for her to have that time to herself. If momma ain't happy, no one's happy!