How a Mini-trampoline and the Beegees Saved the Day
A bit of random ramblings from a day my life…
Sanity Hero #1
Yesterday was my 4-year-old’s first day of preschool (we did preschool last year so I wasn’t too teared up sending him off with his new school clothes and backpack looking WAY more grown up than he did when I tucked him in last night … excuse me while I grab a tissue…)
Okay, I’m better now – back to the story.
For the past week the kids and I have had cold. A stuffy sinus head cold to be precise. Definitely NOT one of my favorite things! Since I’ve been feeling a it like last week’s garbage, I haven’t been exercising. Yesterday I really started to feel it! I felt grumpier than a kicked badger and couldn’t figure out what was going on. Then it hit me that I haven’t even gone for a walk the past week. 
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Raising Kids: How Do You Keep Your Cool?
Check Out This Article
I just read a news article from the Onion (check this quick and humorous article out) about another mom who has learned the value of taking time for herself.
You know, sometimes when we get overwhelmed as parents our response may not always be the best. I’ve found in those instances, when I take a moment to myself I am SO much better equipped to handly the situation with love and patience rather than irritation and snippiness (yes, I just made that word up).
Why Saying Nothing can be More Effective Than Saying Something
Ever heard the phrase “Silence is golden?” Well, it can be golden in more ways than one. In some situations (especially those when you feel like you are going to lose your cool), silence can convey a message more effectively than a whole dictionary of words.
60 Second Strategies:
So in those moments when you are about to start ripping your hair out by the handful and let loose a stream of words you might regret later, try silence on for size. Go lock your door for a minute. Take a couple of deep breaths, remind yourself of all the things you have to be grateful for, and see how much better you feel.
Then you will be ready to return to your family and be the amazing parent you want to be.
How to Get Pee Out of Carpets
I have been blessed with two beautiful little boys who have taught me so much about life, love, and laughter. They have also taught me a great deal about stain and odor removal.
I just know that somewhere in all male DNA makeup is their own belief of the right to pee wherever they feel like it. They feel that right even stronger than the constitutional rights to life and liberty.
The other day I took the boys to a park and another mom and her three kids joined us. Much to the other mom’s dismay, In the middle of chasing each other up and down a hill, her 2-year-old son suddenly dropped his pants and began to water the lawn with his own equipment. I couldn’t help laughing for two reasons (1) I know exactly how she feels, and (2) I was so relieved it wasn’t my kid doing it!
Potty Training is a Messy Job
Boy, do I know how that mom felt! We haven’t begun potty training my 2-year-old yet for a number of reasons, so I only have one young potty trained lad to contend with. He has done fun things like poop on the floor and then smear it into the carpet, pee all over the shower curtain because he thought it was “dirty,” and most recently he has started peeing under his bed when he doesn’t feel like getting up to use the toilet. Ew!
My boys helped me to feel EXTREME gratitude for my Bissell carpet cleaner! So how does one get pee out of the carpet after it’s soaked into the pad?
ENZYMES!
Don Aslett’s X-O Odor Neutralizer is the best enzymatic cleaner I have found for eliminating all sorts of unsavory odors. It’s organic and it really works!!
- First, take a couple of deep breaths to calm yourself so you don’t take your frustration out on the offending party.
- Next, try and take care of the mess ASAP. The longer it sits, the harder it is to remove the stain.
- With a clean white towel, soak up as much of the moisture (AKA pee) as you can.
- Test out the cleaner in a small corner for color-fastness of your carpet.
- Saturate the stain with the X-O Odor Neutralizer. Be generous in your application – you want those wonderful little enzymes to devour this little puddle of joy
- Let the cleaner sit for a while. (I usually let it sit overnight for maximum effectiveness).
- After soaking, take a bucket of warm water and a white towel and remove the cleaner from the carpet. (This is where I break out my Bissell, but a towel and bucked of water works just as well).
- Let carpet dry.
Depending on how much your child had to drink before emptying out the contents of their bladder on the carpet, or how long the golden shower sat before you discovered it, you may need to repeat the process.
60 Second Parenting Tip:
I highly recommend involving your kids in the cleaning process! This helps teach responsibility and consequences of actions and will teach them that creating messes creates more work.
Don’t use this cleaning time as just a scolding and punishment fest – instead talk to your child about how to clean up the mess and why it’s important to take care of the places we live in. Instead of treating them like a dog and rubbing their nose in it so to speak, this can be a very positive learning experience for your child if you just take 60 seconds and engage with your child.
Lord of the Flies: The Next Generation
Last week I wrote a post about my own personal vendetta with flies. Well, the battle has seemed to have passed on to the next generation.
By this, I mean that my 4-year-old has taken up arms with the flyswatter and is terrorizing the flies that are trespassers in our house.
Yesterday after he successfully dismantled one of his winged foes, he hunkered down to examine the remains and said a little prayer over the carcass that went as follows:
“Dear Heavenly Father, please take this fly back to your house and hug him and kiss him and then SWAT HIM!” Read more
Tantrum Taming 101
Tantrums can be FUN!
As a mom of two little boys (2 and 4 years), I’ve had my fair share of experiences dealing with the inevitable tantrum.
For people who are so small, it can be downright impressive to see the sheer magnitude of the tantrums they can display. I mean really, you have to give them credit where credit is due!
However impressive the tantrum may be, it generally isn’t a desired behavior for the parent, especially if you just spent an hour and a half at the grocery store loading your cart to near overflowing (because shopping with kids isn’t something you care to repeat every day) and you are trying to bag your groceries and keep a wailing child out of the path of other shoppers. Read more
Building Your Child’s Self-Esteem by Living in the Now
“Now is a gift, that is why it’s called the present.”
Have you ever had your kids look at you impatiently and roll their eyes and say, “C’mon! Live in the NOW!”?
Did you know that behind the sassy-ness, there is actually wisdom in those words? Think about it for a minute. All we really have is right now in this very moment. You don’t have yesterday, you don’t have tomorrow, you don’t even have 5 minutes ago. It’s all right now. Read more
Lord of the Flies: One SAHM’s War Against Wings
It’s on!! Did you read that somewhat disturbing novel in high school by William Golding? Well, this post doesn’t really have anything to do with this literary gem, other than the fact that it’s about flies.
It’s that time of year when the flies are in all their obnoxious, buzzing glory! I suppose it wouldn’t be too horribly bad if they would stop trespassing in my house. However, they have all but a welcome mat from my two little boys who aren’t always that mindful when going outside and frequently our tattered screen door is left open.
However, even when it is closed, a bullet proof barrier it is not considering the toddler abuse it has sustained over the past several years. I suppose it is time to break down and repair the darned thing. Until said repair takes place, I am left armed with a flyswatter or dishtowel or other weapon to destroy the enemy. Read more
How to Build Self-Esteem in Your Kids: Part 5
“I CAN is 100 times more important than IQ”
Book Smarts Aren’t the Only Way to Measure Intelligence
One of the major flaws in our public education system today (at least in my humble opinion) is the focus on standardized test scores. A child’s level of intelligence is NOT determined by how well or how poorly they score on a test. This form of traditional testing only reflects one form of intelligence. If you don’t make the grade on these tests, you will very likely be labeled as possessing only substandard intelligence compared to the rest of the world.
We all know what these kinds of labels can do to a young child (or adult for that matter) and how destructive they can be to self-esteem. A person who does poorly in school may be a complete genius in building things with their hands. A person who failed every class through school might just have an emotional intelligence that is off the charts and is able to connect with and help other people in a very powerful way.
I’m not saying that there is no place for standardized tests, and I understand the school system’s need to place some measure on performance. What I am saying is there are other ways to not just measure intelligence, but to build intelligence (and self-esteem).
I’m also not saying that you have to go out and single-handedly reform the entire education system. What I am saying is that there are simple ways for you to provide these opportunities for your child to strengthen their own intelligence and self-esteem in the comfort of your own home and with very little effort on your part. Read more
How to Build Self-Esteem in Your Kids: Part 3
“Why compare yourself with others?
No one in the entire world can do a better job
of being you than you.”
The Second Step in Building Self-Esteem in Your Kids: Honoring the Individual
In my mission to parent positive … one of the things I noticed very quickly after my second son, Xander, was born was how different he was from his older brother, Eli.
To all you other parents out there, this probably doesn’t sound like rocket science to you, but each day I am in awe at their differences in behavior, mannerisms, and interests. It’s pretty remarkable!
Step 2 in Building Self-Esteem: Treat Each Child as an Individual
It only makes sense that different kids are going to have different requirements. In parenting, there is one fail-safe rule to go by … ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL! One of the most damaging things many parents say to their children is “Why can’t you be more like your brother?” or “Why can’t you be more like your sister?” Read more
How to Build Self-Esteem in Your Kids: Part 1
“Parents need to fill a child’s bucket of self-esteem
so high that the rest of the world can’t poke
enough holes to drain it dry.” ~Alvin Price
Why do You Need to Pay Attention to This Post?
Whether the kids are excited for this or not, the new school year is just around the corner. While children learn many wonderful things at school, they are also often exposed to other kids, teachers, and situations that can greatly impact their lives – and not always for the better!
It is vital that your kids’ “self-esteem bucket” is filled to overflowing so they can withstand the turbulence of childhood.
What is Self-Esteem, Anyway?
In a nutshell, self-esteem is the opinion you have of yourself. This can be good or it can be bad. We form this internal opinion from feedback from external sources – our parents, friends, teachers, and other people who influence our lives.
Why is Self-Esteem So Important?
Self-esteem is our perception of ourselves and our own self-worth. Read more
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