Are you a member of the GMC?

Mothering

Are you a member of the GMC (Guilty Moms Club)?  Just about every mother I know is.  For some reason guilt comes with motherhood.  If your child has an ear infection, "What if I laid him down too soon after drinking his bottle and the fluid backed up in his ear canal?"  If your child falls down and scrapes his knee, "What if I had been watching him closer?"  We tend to blame ourselves (guilt) for things that we cannot control.

Another common emotion (for lack of better term) for mothers is failure.  If your child brings home a bad grade, "I didn't stress enough the importance of school and grades."  If your child gets caught in a lie, "I wasn't teaching him enough about honesty."  When our children fail, we feel that we fail.  Failure is a part of growing up, learning, etc.  Our children need to fail sometimes (they will learn from that quicker than the lessons that we teach them).  Our children's failures do NOT reflect upon us.

At our MOPS Steering Team Retreat a few weeks ago, our very wise coordinator said (and I am paraphrasing), "God is The Perfect Parent and look at how often His children fail."  Tamara, thanks so much for your words of wisdom.  That brings me comfort.

Our children are not puppets.  We cannot (and should not) control everything our children do.  We (and I am including myself in this) should relax a little and enjoy our children more (even their mistakes - it's a process).

His Mighty Warrior - A Book Review

His Mighty Warrior:  A Treasure Map from Your King by Sheri Rose Shepherd is AWESOME!  This book is written toward elementary school age boys.  We have been reading this book as a daily devotional in the mornings before school - to start the day off right.  It would also be an excellent book to read before bedtime too.

The book is well written and superbly illustrated with a pirate theme, just perfect for little boys.  Sheri takes character traits (from simple to complicated) and explains them in a way that young boys can understand them and want to improve themselves.  She has scripture and a prayer/prayer example to back up her devotionals. 

It is written in letter style, like God has written a personal letter to your son.  I am a grown woman and I feel like I get something out of the devotional too.  I am amazed at how well Sheri explains things without it being complicated or cumbersome.

If you are a parent of young boys, I highly recommend this book.  It is the kind of book that even my older boys can get insight from and when you are finished - start over from the beginning and continue your daily devotionals.  I think this would also make an excellent gift for a new or expectant mother of a boy.


I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review, but the review and opinions are my own.



Please click on this link and rank my review on this and other books. I would really appreciate it.

I AM Different

I am just like a lot of moms. We want our kids to be cute, dressed cute, cute hair cut, you know how it is. But I am different in this way...when they get old enough to want to dress themselves - I let them.

I have friends that have children that are pre-teens, soon to be teens and they still tell them how to dress. I'm not knocking that, but that's not me.

As soon as my kids want to dress themselves, I encourage it. Yes, they may not match, but that's o.k. with me. They are expressing themselves and learning. I just make sure that it is weather appropriate (that's where I put my foot down). I do have a couple of other rules also, the clothes must be clean and they must be in good shape (no holes, stains, etc.).

As you can see here, Anthony picked out his clothes - he has an orange striped T-shirt, a green and blue argyle sweater vest, and a navy clip on tie. He was very proud of it and yes, I let him wear it to church. I even told him (without lying to him) that he was very handsome (it really isn't the clothes that make the man - he is extremely handsome to me).

I know that right now some of you mothers are mortified. That's o.k. It takes us all to make the world go around. When people ask if they dressed themselves, I nod, lean in close and with a sweet smile I quietly explain that they have their dad's sense of fashion. ;o) (Just kidding about that last part - sort of.)

Toe Art

I am NOT an artist, so the post title may not be completely accurate. Anyway, Anthony has to bring Kindergarten readers home. Books that are 8 pages long with words and sentence structure that he has been studying. His teacher asks that the children read each book a minimum of two times (more if they need it).

Anthony read it to me once and did fine, but he didn't want to read it a second time - he wanted to go play. Since he was hurrying up, he started making mistakes. I had a pen in my hand and as a joke, I took the pen and made a mark on his toe when he made a mistake. I told him that I would make 1 mark for every mistake he made (which turned into faces).

He realized that these were marks of mistakes and began to make an effort again. What you see above is the final result. (He missed 10 out of 133 words - not bad for a Kindergartener).



After we were done and they were no longer marks for mistakes, he asked me to draw a different face on each toe (angry, silly, jealous - which I didn't do b/c I had no idea how, etc.). This is the end result of that.

How do you motivate your children?

And you thought your week was bad...

...I can talk about this now.

I just had my 40th birthday on Nov. 5. That hasn't really bothered me (I mean it's much better than the alternative). My birthdays have never bothered me, but people do.

On Wednesday, Nov. 3 (2 days BEFORE my birthday), I was in the check out lane of an establishment (who will remain nameless) and the clerk said that my grandson was very cute. [He was my youngest son, Rance, he's 4.]

Me: "Thank you, but he's mine."
Clerk: "Oh! Well, we are offering a Senior Citizen's discount today. Are you over 55?"
Me: "No. It will be awhile."

O.k. I just said that he was my son and NOT my grandson. Then she proceeds to ask if I'm a Senior Citizen?!? How old would I have to be to have him? She didn't even ask if I was 55 (which at the time I wasn't even 40 yet), she asked if I was OVER 55. Did she mean 56? Did she mean 65? I was pretty upset (although, I didn't let her know it).

I went out to the car and called my DH and told him the story. He laughed.

Me: "Did you just laugh at me?"
DH: "What did you expect me to do?"
Me: "I don't know, but not laugh at me."

Note: This is not the first time I had been mistaken for Rance's grandmother. It happed twice last year. My husband and I had discussed this and biologically it could happen. He could be my grandson...and if he were, I would be very proud to be his grandmother, but he's not and I'm not! I am his mother and would love for people to know it.

Well, I then called a close friend of mine (she also chose to have children later on in life and we have discussed the benefits).

Me: "Hey! There are benefits to having kids later in life. Right?"
M: "Which one do you want to kill?"
Me: "It's actually not my kids. It's someone else."

Insert above story here.

M: "Where are you at?"
Me: I told her.
M: "Give me 15 min. and I'll be there."
Me: "No, you don't have to come. I just needed some re-assuring."
M: "Yes, I am coming. We are going out for consolation ice-cream."

We went and I whined to her and then we laughed about it and I was in a much better mood after that. Aren't friends great?!?!

I told my DH what she had done and then I said, "See, that's what you were supposed to do. Console me, not laugh at me."

Wait! Don't stop reading yet. The story is not over. It gets better.

Our anniversary was on Sat., Nov. 13 (a week and a day after my birthday). Some friends of ours volunteered to watch the boys and let them spend the night so Frank and I could have a date night on Friday night (for our anniversary).

Friday (Nov. 12) Rance and I were running errands while the other 3 were in school and another lady commented on how cute and sweet my grandson was (just 9 days after the first incident). After I picked up the boys from school and dropped them off and Mr. & Mrs. B's house, I called Frank and said that I was going to be late meeting him for our dinner date.

DH: "Why? Did something happen?" (I think he was thinking, car trouble or something minor. But it wasn't minor, it was MAJOR!)
Me: "Someone mistook me for Rance's grandmother AGAIN! I am going to get my hair cut."
DH: "Do you think it is your hair?"
Me: "I don't know, but that's where I'm starting."

And, after letting my hair grow out for a year. I got it all cut off.

Side note: When in doubt...DON'T! If you even think it is someone's grandchild, don't say it. Call it his/her child. If you are wrong and it is their grandchild, you would have just made them feel better and possibly made their day. If you are correct and it is their child, then no harm done. P. S. Same goes for being pregnant. When in doubt - DON'T!

That reminds me. A week before the above incident took place, a lady asked me when my next baby was due. I am NOT pregnant!!!

Please pray for my husband...he is married to a pregnant Senior Citizen. Talk about hormones!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Disclaimer: This part is a joke, I am not pregnant nor am I a Senior Citizen.)

Children's Workbook

I like to get my money's worth on the products I purchase and this is one way that I do that.

I purchased a workbook for my preschoolers (I got mine at the Dollar Store for $1, but I have seen these for as high as $7 or $8 - this would really make the expensive book more economical) . [You could do this for any puzzle or workbook.]


I found an old 3 ring binder and covered it with fabric to make it look better and more kid friendly. Since I have boys, I used a cowboy fabric in darker colors (to resist showing dirt).






I cut 2 lines on either side of the "ring" part of the binder, then I tucked it under the notebook before continuing to cover with fabric.




I folded the edges of the fabric to the inside of the notebook and secured using Mod Podge. This was my first time using this product. I have read rave reviews all over the blogosphere about it.


Then I covered the raw edges on the inside front and back covers with heavy cardstock. You could use other fabrics or materials, but that was what was easiest at the time, not sure how it will hold up (time will tell). This is not necessary, but I like the finished and neat look it gives. Makes it look much better.


I then tore out all the pages of the workbook (they were perforated, but even if they weren't I could use scissors or an exacto knife to cut them out) and put them in clear page protectors. [I already had these around the house, but they aren't that expensive.] I put these in the 3 ring binder.


I did purchase an inexpensive pencil bag to hold the dry erase markers (that I already had) and put it in the front of the notebook (along with a paper towel to erase).


Here is the finished workbook. We can take it with us wherever we go (great in the car) and we can use it over and over again. Anthony can practice writing his letters and Rance can too.

What Language Does Your Child Speak?

I don't know if you remember me winning the book 'The Five Love Languages of Children.'

It is an excellent book. I highly recommend it for all parents, grandparents, teachers, daycare providers, and anyone that is around children.

According to Dr. Gary Chapman, there are 5 primary love languages spoken by everyone (everyone speaks all 5, but each person speaks 1 more loudly than the others). Here are the languages (in no particular order)...
1) Physical Touch
2) Quality Time
3) Words of Affirmation
4) Gifts
5) Acts of Service

Lee, my oldest, is my 'Quality Time' child (with a lot of 'Words of Affirmation' and 'Acts of Service' mixed in). Champ is my 'Physical Touch' child. Anthony and Rance are not old enough to place in a category yet. You should becareful about categorizing your child because they can change categories also.

If you like to read and you are around children, please give this book a chance, then tell me what you think. If you have already read the book, let me know what you thought about it and what language your child/children speak.

I'm a Winner!!!!!!!!!!

I just won the book 'The Five Love Languages of Children' from the Dr. Gary Champman blog. You can check it out here. I am so super excited. I cannot wait to receive it! Thank you so much to the Dr. Gary Champman team!!!!!!

Busy Bags

I was going to post on this earlier (with pics and everything), but my camera was acting all weird so I wasn't able to get pics. Since this sort of goes along with the last post I decided to post on it anyway (maybe I can get pics later - or you can send me some of your pics).

A couple of ladies a church got together with some plain canvas bags from Hobby Lobby and some fabric markers and made "Busy Bags." They took about 6 bags (decorated 3 for girls - pink, purple, butterflies, flowers, you get the picture, and 3 for boys - red, blue, balls, trucks, you know what I'm getting at) and put a few simple "quiet" items in each bag.

Example boys bag...hot wheel car/truck, puzzle, plastic animals, coloring book and crayons, etc.
Example girls bag...small doll, accessories for doll, puzzle, coloring books and crayons, etc.

They hung these out in the lobby area of the church for the parent/s of toddlers/small children to use during church service to entertain them and keep them quiet (the kids not the parents). These are especially nice for visitors.

You could do the same for travel. Fix a few busy bags with different activities/toys that you don't let your kids play with at home. Hang them on a hook near the door, grab one as you go out the door (for long road trips, Dr.'s office visits, etc.). You could use the story sacks for that also. Check out story sacks here.

Here are a few links that might help...
This site actually makes/sews a busy bag, but it shows some ideas of what to put in a busy bag for travel, check it out here

101+ Ways to Keep Kids Busy

Makes and Takes.com

Let me know what works for you. How do you keep your kids busy and quiet in church, Dr.'s Office, on the road, etc.? What's your sanity saver?

Story Sack

This is something that you can do with/for your kids. I have been wanting to do this for awhile, but I just haven't made the time to do it. This is great for moms, but it would be really great for the classroom (all you teachers that have centers, here's an idea - and if you are already doing it, let me know your tricks and how it is going). I think it would even make a great Birthday or Christmas gift to a child.

A Story Sack is where you take a favorite book and put it in a "sack." You don't have to get too technical, the sack could be a manilla envelope, a gallon size ziploc bag, a plain canvas bag (from Hobby Lobby or somewhere), or if you want to get technical you can make a 'sack'. If you have an item (manilla envelope or canvas bag), decorate it to go with the book. **The idea here is to get children interested in reading and families interesting in reading together.** So make this apealing as you can.

Also, in the sack put things that relate to the book. It could be a coloring page, it could be something mentioned in the book, whatever. Just don't let it end with the book, let the fun continue. You could also have/make a snack that ties in with the book.

When I get around to doing this, this is what I want to do. My favortie children's book is 'Llama Llama Red Pajama.' So I would read this story near bedtime, have the boys get on their red PJ's, print some coloring pictures of llamas (I'm sure I can google some) and have them color them while I read the story (or just after). I could put buttons on the "red" canvas bag to make it look like PJ's, etc.

There are so many more creative people than I am. I would love to see what you do with this. If you do or have done this, send me pictures and I will post them.

Here are just a few sites to get you started...

Story Sack Ideas
Lets Create A Story Sack
Literacy Changes Lives
A Child's Place
Story Sack Corner

Remember Have Fun, spend quality time together as a family and get your child(ren) interested in reading. Who knows, you might enjoy it too.