Gratitude

I think one of the best daily survival tips, regardless of where you are in your life, is to take a moment each day and be grateful for something.  In fact, gratitude is the perfect antidote to pride, bad attitudes, awful moods, selfish moments, and almost every other negative emotion.  In one of my most favorite talks on Gratitude, President Thomas S. Monson says "We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude"  One of the may ways we can develop this "attitude of gratitude" is spend time each day writing down a few things in which we are grateful.  Oprah Winfrey says "Every night list 5 things you are grateful for.  What it will begin to do is change your perspective of your day and your life."  I know of a few people who do this in a gratitude journal.  I have just stumbled on one of the COOLEST websites that focus exactly on that...helping you keep a gratitude journal.  The website is called Happy Rambles.  Happy Rambles asks you to create a free account where you enter your name and email address.  Then every night it sends you an email asking you the simple question "What are you grateful for today?"  All you do is hit reply and type your answer.  You can do it in list form or in a paragraph and you can even attach a picture.  They then take your answer and store it in your private "journal" which you can access anytime.  They also provide options to change the time of day you receive your email or how many days of the week they will send you the email if you want it less than seven.  They even have tips and the option to print or email your journal entries!  It is so cool and so easy.  I've only been signed up for a few days and already I love it!!  But, no matter how you find ways to be grateful, that attitude of gratitude will improve even the worst of days, guaranteed!!!

What Matters Most

In a previous post I mentioned the benefits of sensory play and how a baby is born ready to learn through their senses.  Well, my baby loves to use her sense of touch to make messes...so sometimes I find myself limiting those fabulous learning opportunities so I don't have to clean up the mess!  A little while ago she was having an extra grouchy day so I decided to let her go hog wild in a bowl of water.  She LOVED every second of it, soaked her clothes and the floor and everything else within a 2 foot radius, and her pure joy made the little bit of extra clean-up totally worth it!

I read an article in the Deseret News the other day about a mom who hid all her play dough in the far, dark corner of her garage and cringed any time her children asked to pull it out.  It made a mess and all the colors got messed up and she simply hated it.  But, after dragging it out for her youngest son and spending a glee filled morning playing with him, she realized that you don't have to love all the activities you do with your kids.  You just have to love your kids and enjoy the relationship you build with them when you do the things you don't particularly love, that's what being a mom is all about.  As I read that article, I thought of my soaking wet baby and all the happiness she had while making a huge mess and I smiled in agreement.  You don't have to love it all, you just have to love what matters most.   

The Entitlement Trap

What's wrong with the world today?  This is a question often asked by parents, teachers, political figures, prominent stars, world leaders, and pretty much anyone with an opinion and yet finding answers and solutions to this question seem to evade us.  I believe that much of the mishap found today is a result of the breakdown of families and the lack of values being taught to children in their homes.  I love campaigns that encourage family time such as nightly family dinners, parent/child reading time, and even family game nights.  Richard and Linda Eyre is a couple dedicated to helping parents teach their children values in their home.  They have just written a new book called The Entitlement Trap: How to Rescue Your Child with a New Family System of Choosing, Earning, and Ownership in which they "invite you to join them in the cause to stem the tide of entitlement that is causing so many problems in today’s world."  Sounds pretty good doesn't it?  I have looked at the Eyres' Values website many times and I'm sure this new book will be just good!  The best part about this book is you can PRE-ORDER it at a discount and receive it the day it hits the book stores!!!  Plus, if you pre-order it you will be entered into a FABULOUS GIVEAWAY!  Isn't that great!!  A discounted book that will help you be a better parent and a chance to win a fabulous prize!!  Just CLICK HERE to pre-order and get more information about the giveaway!  If you'd like a little more information you can watch the Eyres' webinar, offered by the Power of Moms, in which they talk more specifically about the entitlement trap we are facing... CLICK HERE to watch it.  I found the webinar very informative and it makes me even more excited to get the book!!      

Avast Ye Dinner Ye Scurvy Rats!

I've always been pretty lucky when it comes to meal time, my little guy would try about anything and usually like it.  But lately he has developed the picky gene and getting him to eat even the stuff he usually likes is a challenge.  Of course we have to result to losing bedtime snacks and other such punishments when he doesn't eat his dinner, but adding a little excitement to what we are eating also seems to help.  The other night I made wiener boats for dinner.  To make them a little more fun I added a sail to each "boat".  Zach loved them!  I thought next time I'd make it even more fun and turn it into a pirate-themed dinner and we could all speak pirate lingo.  Hey, anything to get the little ones to eat, right?

To make these little beauties all you have to do is split a hotdog in half, top it with mashed potatoes (I use instant) and cheese.  Then I cut up a red and orange pepper and skewed it with a shish kabob skewer and stuck into the middle of my creation.  I then inserted it into the oven until the hotdogs were heated through and the cheese was melted.  Voila, instant pirate dinner!

We did a double sail one just for fun!  Super easy, super fun!

Love Me, even though I'm not what you expected...

Sometimes surviving means letting the less important things go, which in my case is my blog.  But I think about it all the time and once I get some more time I've got lots of fun things to post!!  I just read one of the most incredible story...blog actually...and I thought I'd share it with you!  I promise reading it will change your life and help your appreciation for your little ones grow!! Click HERE to read the story!

Little Kids, Little Problems

I know it has been  a loooong time since I've posted anything new, life has gotten even more crazy than I could possibly have imagined.  Plus, I've been out of town for over a week which makes it a lot more difficult to update the blog.  However, while out of town, a friend of mine sent me a link to a fabulous website called The Power of Moms.  It is all about developing and strengthening the mom within...and I have fallen in love with the information on the website already.  Part of the website has stories and articles by real life moms and insights they have gained while trying to survive motherhood!  I just read the newest article about a mom who was always told "little kids, little problems" and thought those who told her that were crazy.  Older kids meant lots of little bonuses (like sleeping through the night and being at school all day) that didn't happen with little children.  And then she had older kids and learned the challenges don't end at all, they just change.  The author/mom ends her article with this little bit of wisdom: "...the sooner we can choose happiness and gratitude amidst the demands and challenges of motherhood, the better off we’ll be."  It is a great article and if you would like to read it, CLICK HERE!  And if you have time, check out some of the other amazing parts of the website, it will definitely give you the strength to keep fighting those sweet, little monsters!!

Baby Painting

So far most of the things I have posted on here are for older monsters, but I know monsters come in all ages, so if you have a baby/toddler then this post is for you!  When my three-year-old was younger I was always looking for fun, un-messy activities he could do.  I saw this on the Family Fun website and thought it was such a good idea (I actually used their picture because it was soooo cute).  All you do is give your toddler a cup of water and some paint brushes and let them paint designs in the residual chalk dust on a chalk board.  If you don't have a chalk board, you could buy some chalkboard spray paint (found in most craft stores now) and spray an old scrap piece of wood or even a large piece of cardboard, lay it against the side of your house and let the little ones make a big wet mess!  Even my three-year-old would like it.  For some added education, you can have your emerging writers use a wet sponge to write letters you randomly call out on the chalkboard.  The big sponge is easier to manipulate than a small pencil and may help children who struggle writing due to poor small motor skills.  Endless possibilities are wrapped up in this idea, but most of all it is fun!!!  Happy "painting"!