SAHM - What Do You Do to Keep Your Mind Sharp?

I can so relate! I was a senior analyst with the GAO before I became a SAHM. Recently, I started blogging. It's been fun, and I enjoy writing more than I thought I would!

C.
www.littlebitquirky.blogspot.com

You took the words out of my mouth! A book club is a great idea. Ours has been together 3-4 years now and we read a variety of things.

When I first quit clinical nursing I did some contract work just here and there for a couple of years. Between that and the reading I have found a flexible/part time outlet to keep my nursing brain busy as a wellness educator. I'm able to do as little or as much as I want or none at all.

Good Luck and Enjoy. It goes by so fast! Just today I was on the phone with our insurance agent finding out the monthly premiums for our son's car. He is almost 20 and will be moving out on his own soon. It just seems like yesterday. . .

I completely know where you are coming from except for your career background I have none mine has aways been a sahm for 7 yrs.How to stimulate your mind I have the need to sleep if I lose too much of it my mind goes crazy,I like to do word searches read parenting mags don't have time to get into novels.

I understand what you mean. I am an RN and I have been home for the past year. I have developed so many new interest since I have been home. Being home has given me the time to research and really learn about new things. I love to research new subjects. Once I learn as much as I want to know about a subject, I move on to my next curiosity. I have researched things related to my field, laws related to special education, gardening, the process of creating an invention and many more subjects. Somethings I just touch on and other subjects I become engrossed in. I have also taken a self defense class and attended one day seminars here and there.

I have gotten involved in alot of things that I would not have done when I was working plus I had the added benefit of being home with my kids.

Good Luck and enjoy your time home.

Have you ever checked out Luminosity.com? It has great challenging games that I like! Different than arcade games and stuff. I hope you find something that fits what you need, Mama!!!

Books on tape are great and FREE from the library. Meet-up.com provides many opportunities for clubs, groups, etc.
I like to do logic puzzles to fall asleep at night. I also took up sewing. It's harder than it looks.

Hi there. I play Scrabble on the computer to keep my mind going (or challenged). I also read alot - especially the news so when I am out with friends or other company I have a clue on what is going on.

Congrats on staying home!! Enjoy it!

Reading and as much social interaction as possible! Find some playgroups in your area and you'll find at least a few cool moms who want to talk about more than bottles, diapers and naps (although you get a lot out of that talk too). I did it for 4 years, and I kept my mind busy with books, crosswords, and keeping up with the news is great!

Re: finding a book club---does your community have a newsletter that would list a club? If not I'd check with the library or go to meetup.com (ALL kinds of groups on that site).
As for keeping your brain up (ha), I do read during my children's naptimes. For babies, they don't know what you're reading at all and are just happy to hear your voice, so read whatever you want when putting the baby to sleep. I have a friend who was going to LSU Law and read basically all her school books to her son. At night, I do like to journal or you can start a blog. There are plenty of Moms clubs, playdates, etc to check out. I lead a ladies Bible study so I don't forget how to lead discussions and speak in front of other adults. Working out keeps your mind AND body fit, and you can do mommy & me yoga, go walking (even join a stroller moms group) or even jogging with baby in tow. Volunteering is a great thing to do. Perhaps you could do something related to your field (teach summer school or something?). Also just try to schedule dinner out with your husband and friends every week or two. Don't forget though, that you will be VERY occupied the first 2-3 weeks for sure and will only want to rest when not with your baby. Don't worry about it; you'll do fine. Congratulations on the coming baby!

Library or even Craig's list for book clubs. You can join a Board of an organization or not-for-profit. I play scrabble on facebook. Now that my kids are older I find that we research things together. I am very well-educated but I learned lots of new interesting things this year just doing some additional research on things my kids were learning about. There are some on-line book conversations, not as fun as in person, but you may find more people with similar interests to yours.

When my kids were babies I started subscribing to the New York Times book Review. Sometimes you can learn so much just from reading their very lengthy non-fiction reviews. My favorite non-fiction books in the last ten years:

Isaac's Storm, The Great Influenza, Semmelweis biography, Team of Rivals, Sweet and Low Down, A Whole New Mind, Outliers, The Duchess of Devonshire. (I have very diverse tastes.)

Read classics: Tolstoy will keep your mind particularly sharp as you read great writing, thinking-- and keep all those Russian names straight. Anna Karenina (Maude Translation) -- one of my favorite books of all time. Learn about World Religions. That will keep you busy for a long time and will help with keeping up with the news. Try watching some of the TED lectures. These are 18 minute lectures by world class minds from a variety of disciplines. Some of them are just outstanding and thought provoking. Usually they are given by people who have also written books....
I also have some very stimulating conversations on facebook (in addition to the silly ones).

I understand what you mean.... I left corporate before baby.

My hubby was in sales at the time and there was no sales support for him since he was far away from HQ. They had never heard of Southwest Air and he was in the air a lot so I managed to take the part of sales support for him. It was easy to do with baby... I just took care of travel arrangements and before you knew it, his customers were calling me to place orders and see where he was because I ussually knew what mile marker of he was on or state he was crossing in the air.

Since then, he does the same job except it is our company and i took on a bigger role because daughter is older.

I volunteer in the school a lot, President of Cheer boosters, involved with Orchestra boosters, volunteer for golf tournaments in our area, and my favorite activity when we all gather to hang out at night is the daily crossword.

i make sure I have "me" time to have lunch with friends, sometimes go for happy hour with friends and most especially.....date night with hubby at least once a week. We've done date night since before baby and we still do....she's 15 now.

You will be great!!

About 5 years ago, I took the Wilton cake decorating classes through a craft store. It got me out of the house once a week and I got to hang out with adults for a couple of hours. It has also come in handy over the years at birthday time. For the last 3 years, I have taken an adult tap class at the same dance studio my daughter goes to. It gets me out of the house, gets a little exercise in, and gets my brain working too.

I say think of some things that you've wanted to try but haven't had time to do. And be open to getting a sitter for the kids if necessary. I'm a SAHM and up until a year ago, my husband travelled for work a lot. Most of the time, my only option for getting out of the house without the kids was to hire a sitter. My kids love their sitters and I get to keep my sanity. Even just a half hour by yourself can make a difference.

The stuff you're doing sounds great. I'd suggest getting out when you can, both alone, and with the kids and/or your hubby. Join a mommy meet up group and connect with other moms. Learn something new (Google!), like a new language, recipes, etc. and involve the kids (that always adds a challenge). Exercising. Shopping. Decorate. Work on a photo album and keep a journal; write down all the cute stuff your kid/kids do at the end of each day. Get involved at church. Volunteer to help others, it's a great example for your little ones. Nap. Pray and have a devotional each day, it's inspiring and encouraging :) Hope that helps, may God bless you.

I left my career as a clothing designer to stay home with my daughter, and although I definitely have days of "mush-brain", it is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I started taking violin lessons, and my practice has been my saving grace!

how about cooking more, trying new recipes.......i am a news junky so FNC is always on even though I am not sitting watching it.....gardening, maybe start a vegetable garden.....depending on what you practice as an attorney you can do volunteer work.......book clubs are at your local library or bookstore or better yet you can start one! i recently took my kids to a tea party & there is a group that meets every 2 weeks so i will start attending that to meet like minded people to talk & not just about raising kids.........perhaps you can teach at a local community college......so much to do hope you find the time & energy!!