ramblings of a reluctant homemaker
A diamond is a girl’s best friend… or is it? Engagement rings can be really expensive. You pay not only for the diamond itself, which is overpriced, but in many cases you pay a premium for the designer setting. If you want platinum, forget it. The cost is going to soar even more. Fortunately, there are some options that will allow you to save money on even cheap engagement rings, making the rings more affordable. Continue reading Save Money on Cheap Engagement Rings
I was reading an article today by Leslie Josel in Family Circle magazine about what happens when you stop telling your kids what to do. Ms. Josel had an interesting take on the way we run our lives and direct our children and I think she makes a very good point. I only wish I’d read this when my girls were growing up, but it’s never to late to start with the questions Josel outlined.
Her point was that she would run around in a rush and tell her kids to get the soccer ball, water bottle and snack. She never gave them a chance to think for themselves. Boy, was I guilty of this. I am so Type A that it isn’t funny. It was so much easier for me to pre-pack a bag for my kids and tell them to grab their backpack, grab their lunch, grab whatever. I could ensure that they never forgot anything and were always prepared. But were they?
No! My kids were never prepared. I was the one who was prepared and they had to take no responsibility for it at all. Why would they? I packed their lunches and told them not to forget them. I packed their backpacks and reminded them to grab them. I did everything.
Here is the thing, you should instead say, “What do you need to take to school tomorrow?” or “Do you have everything you need for soccer?”
If the child chooses to not be prepared he or she will learn. Yes, it might be uncomfortable to be the only parent whose child is doing without a water bottle for that practice, but your child will learn a valuable lesson that if you don’t take the time to prepare for practice you are going to be thirsty until you get home.
The point that Jolen makes is to ask your kids questions that make them think ahead. This teaches them to be forward thinkers. So, you can ask things like “How do you plan to achieve that?” or “What are the steps you’re going to take to meet your goal?”
You get the idea. Instead of doing everything for them, like I did, take the extra time and effort to let them do for themselves and think for themselves. It will take more time and effort now, but it will pay off in the future. Learn from my mistake on this one. It was very hard for my kids to start taking responsibility once grown. One is still working on it. I could have made it a lot easier on them by not making it easy on them.
Have you ever thought about starting a keepsake tablecloth for holidays? I just finished reading an article on ABC News about a family who started a tradition of having family members sign a tablecloth each year. What a beautiful idea. I am going to borrow from this idea and start a tradition of my own.
I noticed theirs was embroidered and knowing myself I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever (times a million) go back and embroider those signatures. I just won’t. So, I’m going to adapt the idea and have everyone use sharpies instead of trying to embroider, because what would happen is that I would SAY I was going to embroider and it would never get done.
After much reading and research, I’ve come to the conclusion that I have two options.
What a fun way to start a new tradition.
I love the smells and tastes of Christmas, don’t you? There is nothing quite like the smell of homemade cookies baking in the oven, a real Christmas tree, or cinnamon. It brings back so many happy memories. Who wouldn’t want their house to smell like Christmas?
Fortunately, there are some simple ways you can achieve this smell in your home for pennies.
Here are a few ideas to make your house smell like Christmas.
These are just a few ideas to bring the smell of Christmas into your home. With just a little effort, the scents of Christmas will help your own children and those who visit your home build happy memories that will come back each time they smell that scent.
I am going to be brutally honest here – your kids annoy me. They are loud, they run around like crazy, the step on my toes as they run past and never say sorry, and they are sticky and want to touch me. Yes, they are cute and I don’t dislike children, but I find them annoying at times. I am a quiet person who was raised as an only child. I like peace, quiet, and calm.
Not a thing. The fact that your kids annoy me sometimes is my problem and not yours. I wish I’d understood this concept better when my girls were growing up. You see, I was constantly correcting my daughters because I was always worried they would annoy someone else.
What happened? They started to tune me out and not listen to anything I had to say. When you are constantly nagging:
Your kids stop listening to anything you have to say, including the things that really are important. For me, my children had to become adults for me to realize what I was doing. I am trying really hard to break these old habits and to focus on the end goal.
You have to figure out what is the most important thing for your children in the long-term. For me, the end goal is that we all wind up together one day in heaven. That’s it. When you look at things from that perspective, it changes how you talk to your kids, what things you focus on, what needs corrected and what doesn’t.
Just because your children are adults doesn’t mean your parenting stops either. I still offer advice and my perspective to my daughters. They don’t always listen, but I do think that with nagging less that they listen more often.
So, don’t worry if your kids are annoying me or anyone else. Focus on what is important to you as a family and use the precious time with them to pour into them and invest in them.
