From my parenting bookshelf...

I recently finished reading two parenting books that I thought worthy of recommendation.  The first is a discipline book called 1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2-12.  I don't believe that there is one discipline method that is perfect and will work with every child, but I did like the basic counting system introduced in this book.  We've been using it for about a month with our two children (ages 2 and almost 4) and have definitely seen some positive results.  It's worth reading and giving it a try to see if these techniques can work in your home!  (And if you're short on time, there's also a DVD version- check it out from the library!)

The second parenting book I read was Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences.  I found it fascinating to read about some of the scientific differences between male and female brains, for example, how boys and girls hear differently.  As I read I could see so many connections and manifestations of the authors points from my experience as a teacher and as a mom!  I must say that I did not enjoy the chapters on sex and drugs (and actually ended up skimming/skipping them), but the rest of the book was worth the read!  I liked how the author put in practical ways parents and teachers can use their knowledge of gender differences to help each child reach their potential.

Moments that Matter Most

Do you ever feel like this?



You can view the video here: http://youtu.be/l70e1TfN34w

A Summer to Simplify

 
Lately I've been feeling that a million things are vying for my attention.  Some are just distractions, some are good, some better, and some so important I can't ignore them.  Blogging is sliding lower on my list of priorities...and I'm okay with that.

At the library yesterday my son picked out a book called The Barefooted, Bad-Tempered, Baby Brigade by Deborah Diesen.  We read the silly story of a group of babies who march on the town hall to declare that they won't eat mashed peas, wash their faces, smile for pictures, or sit in strollers.  We were laughing at the thought of babies going on strike, but then the last page of the book grabbed my attention and turned it to the real message of the book:

"We know we're a bad-tempered baby brigade, but we won't be bad-tempered--nor babies--for long."

So in an effort to enjoy my babies while they still fit in my lap, I'll be blogging less this summer. 

I hope you enjoy splashing in the swimming pool, swinging at the park and slurping popsicles with your little ones!  (I know we will!)

Family Motto

(Picture from 71toes.blogspot.com)

I love the idea of having a family motto, something that unites our family in purpose and goals and helps us remember our focus.  Recently my husband and I have been talking about  how we can teach our children to do what's right and become good, kind, hard working and generous people.  We decided to create a family motto that would aid us in teaching our children to be the people we want them to become.

(I really don't think you can start too early in trying to teach your child manners, cooperation, listening, and a whole host of life skills you want them to have when they are older.  It's amazing what these little ones observe and learn!)

I love Shawni's family motto (the picture above and you can read more about it here), but we needed one that works for our young family, so we came up with this:

- We quickly listen and obey happily

-We are kind to everyone

-We have fun together

-We follow the prophet

-We tell the truth

-We are a team!

 Since our kids can't read yet we came up with little symbols for each line of our motto that will help them remember what it says.  For example, for We are kind to everyone I drew a heart with hands to show that we are loving, and that our hands do loving things. 

After having our family motto in place and hanging above our kitchen table for a week now I feel that having the motto is a way we can point out the good characteristics we are all striving to develop.  When my kids do what I ask them right away, I praise them for quickly listening and happily obeying.  And when their actions are less than desirable, we have something concrete to show them, recite and talk about.  

I imagine that as our family grows and changes, we'll adapt our motto to meet our family's needs and understanding.  We'll call this one the preschool version family motto.  :)

Children of God

Are you ever struck at the innocence of your children?  Sometimes I just have to sit back and think about how lucky I am to be their mom!  I saw this video the other day and it brought tears to my eyes.  It's so true!



Here's the video's link: http://youtu.be/JOrcqqpHCt8

Safe in The Arms of Love: Book and CD Review

Safe in the Arms of Love: Deepening the Essential Bond with Your Baby is a wonderful book and CD combination designed to help parents and babies connect.  I found lots of information in the book to be helpful, and in line with my beliefs of the importance of parent-child bonding.

Some advice for bonding included this list:
-Touch your baby, skin to skin
-Massage your baby
-Experience eye contact with your baby
-Sing and Speak in a tender way to your baby
-Play with your baby

The music CD is wonderful! Relaxing and peaceful, we turned it on as we cleaned up toys before dinner and my three year old wanted to keep it on as we ate!

I think this book and CD set would make a great gift for any expectant parent.  I enjoyed the essays about becoming a mother and father, suggestions on specific ways to bond with your baby, and relaxing music to listen to!

Safe in the Arms of Love: Deepening the Essential Bond With Your Baby is available on Amazon.  (With free Amazon Prime shipping too!)


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Rough on Clothes

I recently posted this on our family blog and thought you might be able to relate as well!

I'm not talking about my children being rough on clothes, but rather me as their mother. It seems that being a mom of small children is hard on clothes.

For example, apart from spending large amounts of time on my knees to be at their level, I am often crawling around on those knees chasing little ones. A few weeks ago a hole popped through on one of my favorite pairs of jeans.  It was a sad day.  That may sound silly, but finding a good pair of jeans that fits well and doesn't cost an arm and a leg is challenging!  Luckily the hole was low enough that I was able to hem them into shorts for the summer.

Being a mom you also deal with lots of stains.  Milk, mud, yogurt, snot, blood, tears, blueberries.  These are the things my kids wiped on my today.  I hope I can get them all out of my pants.

Another hard thing a about clothing a mom is the different types of clothes you need.  John says I have more clothes than him, which is true, but moms need more.  Our clothes are spread out into different categories: the "normal" clothes (and these can be broken into daily life and fancier clothes for church), pregnancy clothes (these range from when pants begin to bulge through the third trimester), and the nursing clothes (some of which cross into the maternity group and others into the "normal" wardrobe).  And the clothes you had before kids just never fit quite the same again.

And then there are different clothes for different seasons of the year.  So some of my maternity clothes from when I was pregnant with Isaac (born in February) didn't work when I was big and pregnant with Amy during the summer months!  Being in the child bearing years I feel that I am constantly changing wardrobes, or that nothing fits exactly right.  This spring is the first one in my married life that I'm not pregnant or nursing.  I've got to dig through those clothes and find something to wear!

So being a mom is rough on clothes, but oh so worth it!

Happy Mother's Day!

You can also see this video here.  Happy Mother's Day!

Families Can Be Together Forever

I love this! You can also check out this site on Strengthening Families!

Teaching Children To Pray

If I had to choose one thing in my life that brings me the most peace, direction and comfort, I'd choose prayer. It's what defines my relationship with God, helps me know what to do and fuels my faith. I believe in prayer and I believe that prayers are answered!

With that said, it's no surprise that I want my children to learn to love prayer as well. (When I say "I" I should really say "we" as this is equally important to my husband!)

When my son was an infant he became a part of our family prayers, even when he was sleeping in his bouncer and we knelt near by. As he grew older he learned how to fold his arms and bow his head (although we're still working on the keeping eyes closed part!)

Then as his speaking abilities improved, we had him repeat words after us to say his own prayers.

The more he grew, the more we encouraged and taught him how to pray. We made posters to act as prompt, helping him generate his own words for prayers. We taught him to thank God and to pray for other people. Isaac was praying on his own and we were feeling pretty good about his progress...

And then things got tricky. Right around last September, out of the blue, Isaac began to refuse to say prayers. He no longer wanted to say them himself or repeat after us. He didn't even want to fold his arms or act reverently during prayers.

I wish I could say I was calm and understanding, but in truth I was exasperated and bewildered. Why didn't my son want to communicate with God?  Well honestly, he probably wasn't quite grasping the fact that prayer is communicating with God.
But even though his faith and understanding may be small, I still desire for him to pray so that he can begin to develop a personal relationship with Heavenly Father.  Over the past several months Issac has begun praying on his own.  Sometimes his prayers go on and on as he lists one by one his toys, books, and family members that he is thankful for!

We still haven't come to the end of this story. I suppose we never will! Aren't all of our relationships with God constantly growing and changing? 

Now Amy is the one learning to fold her arms and bow her head for prayers.  As her language skills improve she'll be able to repeat after us and then pray on her own.  Watching my own children learn how to pray has deepened my desire to pray with all my heart and claim the promise from the scriptures: "But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul."  Deuteronomy 4:29

Signs you may be the mom of a little girl...

And so as not to leave Amy out, I've been thinking of the fun things that having a daughter brings into my life. Granted, she is only 1, so I'm sure this list will grow with time!

Do you ever reach into your purse and pull out a doll/Barbie shoe, clothing item, or other accessory?


When you open your child's closet, are the predominant colors pink, purple and red?


Does your child love to cuddle and snuggle stuffed animals? (Okay, so lots of kids-boys and girls- like to do this one!)


Are most of your dress ups princess costumes?


Do you feel that your child is frequently being dramatic just for show?


Do you wake up to shrill shrieks (sometimes signifying distress and sometimes delight) coming from all parts of your home?

Does your child loves to play with bracelets and necklaces?

If many of these questions describe your life, you may be the parent of a little girl. What a wonderful thing it is to be a mom!

Signs you might be the mom of a little boy...

I'm finally getting around to posting this, only a month and a half after Isaac's birthday!

Reflecting on the three years that Isaac has been a part of our family, I couldn't help remembering this list I once posted on our family blog. They are still true today!

Do you ever find small rocks in the dryer?

Do you scour the road while driving, looking for fire engines, ambulances, school buses, and other big vehicles?

Do you know what an outrigger, an aerial ladder device, and a pole ax are?

Do you find yourself playing trains and/or cars every day?

Do you go out of your way to find "good sticks" to collect and puddles just the right size for little legs to jump in?

Is most of your laundry size 3T and smaller? (Do you sometimes do a load that contains no adult clothing at all?)

Did you have to explain that boys and daddies wear ties and girls and mommies wear necklaces to church? (And repeat this discussion most Sunday mornings?)

Do you know all the town parks with slides, swings, and bodies of water for throwing rocks into?

Do you love the last stories, scriptures and hugs before bed because these are some of the few precious moments you get your little one to cuddle with you?


If you answered yes to the majority of these questions, chances are you are the mother of a small boy. They sure are fun, aren't they?

Tomorrow I'll post my list of signs you have a little girl. :)

Now That's a Good Idea!

I was walking into a library lugging a heavy bag of books on one arm, a wiggly one year old in the other, with a two year old grabbing at my legs. Did I mention there was snow on the ground and the parking lot was full of slush?

I love the library, and the trip was worth the uncomfortable walk from the nethermost corners of the parking lot to the heated entryway, but I had to wonder, isn't there a better way?

Actually there is, and Ikea has hit the nail right on the head....family parking! Do you think it will catch on?!

(image from this site.)

The Hokey Pokey Trick

Lately my husband has started singing the Hokey Pokey to help our almost two year old get dressed. It is amazing how well this turns a squiggling wiggle worm into a cooperative kid! Here's his version of the song, adapted for getting dressed:

(For getting the shirt on)
You put your left arm in, you put your right arm in.
You have both arms in and you shake them all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey and you help your Daddy out.
That's what it's all about!

(And for getting the pants on:)
You put your left leg in, you put your right leg in.
You have both arms in and you shake them all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey and you help your Daddy out.
That's what it's all about!

Yesterday I was reading some articles on lds.org, and I read this one by Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard called The Best Times of Life. (I had typed "crying baby" into the search box, so you can guess what kind of day we had been having.) I really enjoyed her words, and I would recommend it to any young mother. At the end she gave a couple of suggestions to help remember these best times of life that pass so quickly.

Here are her ideas for keeping memories:

• Keep a written journal for your child. Even before your child is born, you can purchase a journal and begin the entries. Write about your pregnancy—your feelings and experiences. After the baby arrives, write about his birth, his firsts, his holidays, his birthdays. This journal can be given as a gift to your child when you feel it is time that he can continue it on his own.
• Make a memory quilt. This can be made from scrap pieces of clothing that the child has worn, or embroidered with names and dates and pictures of important times for the child.
• Store items that will recall memories. Get a trunk or special box of some kind in which to keep special clothing, toys, quilts, booties—anything important to the child. This is a good place for gifts from grandparents.
• Record experiences on tape and film. You can use tape recorders to record your feelings for your unborn or to record the child’s cry, or laugh, or parties. With a camera, you can take slides, moving pictures, or snapshots. When taking pictures, don’t take pictures just of the children. Include pictures of yourself, grandparents, friends, and brothers and sisters.
• Use whatever talent you may have. Be creative. You can embroider or paint or exercise any talent you may have to prepare a history for your child. Think of something you can work with and stay with something you like. Don’t try to do everything. Pick one idea that is best suited for you and then keep with it.

So you can tell by her mention of slides and moving pictures that this article was written in 1982, but it does have merit, and we'll just update it to say digital media and MP3 files!