Customer Reviews

Busy but Balanced: Practical and Inspirational Ways to Create a Calmer, Closer Family

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Mimi Doe writes with clarity and grace about what we as parents should be doing but don't always make time for. She organizes the book by months and seasons and gently guides us through the maze of parenting. The tips are not only useful but inspiring as well since they are all doable if we make time for them.

Parents should keep this guide right by their bed and refer to it on a daily basis to keep their lives balanced and to be a strong force in their kids' lives as well. While reading this book, I wanted to go hug my daughter and say sweet things to my baby son. Must reading for parents with kids of all ages.

I found this book to be extremely easy to read, especially in my "busy" life. The chapters are broken into months but can be read at any time. The ideas are explicit and concise and realistic. Mimi writes with the knowledge that readers will pull ideas from her book that will work for each family individually. There is no "must do" chastising in Ms. Doe's work, simply suggestions for things that will help every busy person feel more balanced about family life and taking control of what may feel like an out-of-control situation. Definitely worth the time!

As a parent, I know how easy it is to get caught up in a ton of activities and loose track of the little things that keep me grounded. I never realized that by making just a few changes in my daily routine, I could create an atmosphere of peace within my own family.

So where do you begin to find ideas to help balance out your life? The book, "Busy But Balanced," by Mimi Doe, is one place I recommend you start. One great thing about this book is, that you don't have to sit down and read it from cover to cover in order to gain knowledge from it. You can just pick it up and open to any page to get inspired. The book is categorized by the twelve months of the year, and you can just open it to any page and find a useful tip or wonderful suggestion. Parents, you'll find many ideas that will help you better connect with your family.

My ParenTime highly recommends the book, "Busy But Balanced" - the suggestions are easy to implement, and the ideas are creative. Many of the ideas will no doubt become new traditions in your own family. You're sure to enjoy sharing your new sense of peace with others. This exceptionally uplifting book includes supportive resources, quotes, experiences from other parents, and gentle reminders on how to appreciate life, yourself, and your family.

Busy but Balanced is a wonderful book for the mom who thinks she has to do it all but cannot possibly accomplish even half of her list. This book is very easy and calming to read. The book is broken up into seasons and can be read at any time of the year when you are feeling most frantic. The author has many suggestions for coping with everyday life in a very realistic manner. I found that the ideas for getting closer to your family were creative yet not too cutesy. We have simplified our breakfast "hour" by turning off the tv, listening to some pretty music and sometimes even lighting a few candles. At first my kids thought I was losing it - now they look forward to this little time together. Thank you Mimi Doe.

Finally! Permission to relax and enjoy with real suggestions for keeping priorities clear, making good choices and creating space in the day, week, month to really DO things with the kids and the family. I love it! With summer plans taking control of my family's life, I discovered Ms. Doe's suggestions just in time. Now our summer will be full (busy) but enjoyable and rewarding (balanced). We all sat down and read portions together and used Ms. Doe's strategies and ideas to REALLY plan and think about our summer! Thanks to her, we look forward to a fun, new and exciting vacation season and the kids will honestly have something to talk about when they return to school in the fall! I will too!

I feel I never have time to read anything these days, I'm glad I made time for this book. BBB helped me to discover ways to find more time for myself and for my kids. My goal is to be less busy and more balanced, but I needed a little help. This book was it!

Thank you, Mimi Doe!

Garland

As an author, I have read just about every parenting book out there, and this one is so fabulous that I had to let others know. I have had the privilege of reading an advance copy of Mimi Doe's new book, and have found it reassuring, uplifting, and filled with pragmatic ideas that infuse its chapters. This is a must-read for all us overwhelmed Moms, especially for those of us seeking to restore more calm to our everyday lives, to be inspired to create more seasonal traditions for our families, and to draw our children closer to us in these troubled times of anxiety and uncertainty in the aftermath of September 11th. Curl up with this book and a steamy cup of hot chocolate, and luxuriate in Mimi Doe's latest.

For this busy mother, reading Busy But Balanced, was even more soothing than soaking in a hot tub and the benefits were a lot longer lasting. Mimi Doe lives what she writes. She is determined to "enjoy the parenting journey" and is unselfish enough to insist that we do the same. This book is packed with practical tips, inspirational thoughts, and seasonal suggestions to enrich family life. The suggestions are not out of reach but easily attainable, unlike some life-improvement books. In her introduction, Ms. Doe quotes an author from her hometown of Concord, Henry David Thoreau: "It's not enough to be busy...the question is: What are we busy about?"
Without finger pointing or judgementalism, Busy But Balanced helps the reader redefine a fulfilling answer to this question.

This book pushes past the "yes, but's" so gently, it doesn't hurt a bit. Fresh perspectives about how to interpret what is going on and practical suggestions about things to do (and not do), make this a virtual parent's handbook for sanity.

As a psychotherapist and author (Embracing Fear, HarperSanFrancisco 2002) I have made good use of two contrasting metaphors for parenting that have always made sense to me. One is that children are clay and parents sculptors, assigned the job of molding the clay into what they believe is best. The other metaphor is that children are seeds, and parents gardeners, with the job of caring for the enviornment surrounding the seeds so that they can grow into whatever they are meant to be. Mimi Doe is a master gardener with a wonderful ability to teach other gardeners.

I heard the author speak here in Spokane, Washington and love her other book 10 Principles. I was eagerly awaiting this one and received it last week. I am skipping around the book and finding wonderful morsels. Each morning I open the book and it seems to be speaking to just what I need that day: ditching my guilt, how to create compassionate kids...
I highly recommend this great guide and feel that the tips are really something I can work into my busy life....not some New Age idea that doesn't apply.