This week’s Featured Mama of the Week is Barb Hoyer, blogger at A Life in Balance and mom to five kids!  She has four sons, ages 15, 7, 5, and 3 and one daughter, age 4.  Her kids love to play with Legos and most days you’ll find their basement floor covered in those little bricks.  Barb loves to see the creative side come out of her kids and she encourages them to express themselves in creativity and through play. Her oldest son has developed into a wonderful writer and she is encouraging him to explore his talents in high school.  Barb herself has always needed a creative outlet, whether it be writing, photography, drawing, painting or knitting.

Family meetings held weekly are a great way to connect with the family!

Being the parent of five and running a household of seven people takes a lot of organization and comes with challenges.  Managing all of those people in one house, with all of the noise and mess, is difficult.  Barb mentioned that during this school year she plans to implement some changes at home to make life go more smoothly, especially with all of the activities the school year brings. Barb and her husband are planning to hold weekly family meetings during their Sunday night dinners when they know the family will all be together.  This is such a great idea for any size family!

Barb is currently a stay at home mom (SAHM) although she was also a working mom for a while in the past.  She said, “I’m a SAHM, though I did spend a year working on a Shaklee business. I became a SAHM when my oldest was about 4, and we decided I would homeschool him. When I was working, I worked in the fundraising offices of several nonprofits. My last gig was an Office Manager/Special Events Coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania Library Development Office, my favorite job. My boss was fabulous and being a dad himself, very flexible about my working from home at times.  I love being a SAHM because my skills in running an office have translated to the home though it’s taken me awhile and 5 children to realize this.”

Barb’s blog, A Life in Balance is all about how she is working to keep balance in her and her family’s life. She mentioned regarding her blog, “No one has exactly the same situation as me, but they can identify with the issues I deal with whether it’s replacing an appliance or feeding a family while watching the grocery prices continue to rise and rise. I also want to discuss as a mom how to have a healthy balance in our lives and what that looks like. I want my readers to take what they like and leave the rest.”  Barb is an avid gardener too, and shares a great deal about gardening on her blog.  Barb shared her favorite family recipe with Mama’s Little Helper readers too: Chicken Parmesan.

Social media has become a resourceful tool for Barb, especially when talking on the phone can be challenging with five kids interrupting!  “I use Facebook and Twitter a lot for my blogging, and Facebook for connecting with my family and my husband’s family. I love both as social media tools and yet, I am mindful that they are tools. I think face time is just as important, and I also like to pick up the phone to chat with distant relatives from time to time. I tend to rely more on Facebook and Twitter right now because my kids have phone radar and always want my attention when I’m on the phone. I usually have to retreat into the bathroom (my Gibbs-style office) to have a conversation. Interruptions from the kids are not interruptions when I’m using social media.”

Teaching respect in a family of seven is very important, especially in regards to other’s toys, possessions and space.  With four kids sharing a bedroom, Barb found that using a combination of boundary setting with locking cabinets and gates, along with reinforcement of rules repeatedly helps. She mentioned that one of the first topics to be covered during family meetings will be formulating a written list of rules for the family and posting them publicly.

Having five kids means Barb’s received lots of tips and advice from others over the years regarding parenting.  She said “the best piece of advice was to pay attention to what might be affecting my kids when they misbehave. I can tell when they’re tired, and I will often suggest that they spend a little time by themselves until they’re ready to be with us again. For the really young ones, I make sure that they get the much needed nap to be their happy, bright selves again.  Barb’s advice to a new parent is “a baby can never be held too much. I used a Bjorn to carry my four young ones, and my oldest spent a lot of time in car seats or strollers. I think that level of touching between a mom and baby has made a huge difference in my children’s lives. If I could raise my oldest again, I would carry him a lot, have a family bed, and breastfeed him.”

Barb likes to spend her “alone time” walking.  She used to be a longer distance runner before being a parent and loved to run five miles at a time.  Currently her best walks are up to an hour long.  Pounding the pavement really helps her walk out things and de-stress.  She uses her cell phone and sends herself emails while walking if she thinks of things to do, that way she doesn’t risk forgetting a thought before she gets home.  Then she can move on to the nest issue.  What a great way to wind down!

Barb Hoyer from A Life in Balance

Thank you Barb, for being a featured mama of the week on Mama’s Little Helper!