Changing the monster within

Being a parent with a strong willed child is a frusterating experience. Not being able to go out to public places because your afraid of how your child is going to throw a fit is almost depressing. For all my parent friends who have strong willed kids, here are 5 ways to encourage more desired behavior
1.Praise.
Kids truly do seek to please their parents, with everything that is going on in this crazy hectic world, we sometimes forget how important it is to give praise when it is due. Make sure the praise is genuine, and avoid flat praise, what I mean about flat praise is be specific about the behavior you are pleased with.
Use: I really like the way you shared your toys with Sam
not: Thanks for being good
2.Ignore the trivial
I use to have a really hard time picking my battles with my kids. It seemed that every time they had a problem, no matter how small it was it had an amazing way of turning into something huge. I have learned that if they are not in the process of destroying something, harming themselves or others, let them be. When a fight breaks out over a toy, let them know how silly it is to be fighting over one particular toy while there are other toys to play with, and then walk away, let them work it out. The odds are in our favor that when they observe us not throwing a fuss over it, neither will they.
3.Use rewards
Many friends of mine (including myself) have fallen into the trap of giving their kids a toy when they have been well behaved. That may be fine for some, but could also lead to the child constantly expecting some physical reward a toy, a choice of candy. This leading to the gimme gimmeies. A better idea? How about kids choice?

If you could do one thing with Mommy, what would it be?
If you could take one friend to do something special what would you want to do?
If you could make something, what would it be?
Instead of rewarding them with something physical, help them build a memory.
4.Stop complaining.
No one likes to be around a constant complainer. One of my worst traits was constantly finding something not quite done to my satisfaction,
The rooms were clean, but the bookshelf was a mess
The floor was vaccumed, but someone forgot to move a chair
clothes were folded but not put up
it was the small things that kept me grumbling, some people think that constant nagging will lead to better results, studies have shown that the more you nag, the more it effects a childs self esteem, and kids with low self esteem seem to be the ones more prone to problems. Dont sweat the small things, and you and your kids will have a much better time in the company of others, as well as have a happier home in the end. I learned a lot from a book called 21 days to a happy child, things that really opened my eyes. For those of you that are like me, and feel bad about the way you would yell and scream at your kids like I did mine, there is relief, If your tired of waking up in the morning to the same routine, your nerves are as frazzled as mine and you have a genuine concern for your childs future, this book is for you, find 21 Days to A Happy child Click Here!

I cant believe she ate it

One more day of my kiddo refusing to eat is going to make me pull my hair out. Why is it so hard to get kids to eat things that are healthy for them? UUUUUggghghgh!!!!!!!

i made myself suffer through Fifi and the flower tots, wonderpets (always cute) and the weird one with the little asian girl, kni hi kailin? I know I'm way off with the spelling, so shoot me. After all that you would thing I could catch a little break! does anyone have any ideas on how to get a picky toddler to eat? Feel free to email me and give me some more ideas instead of the ones I have already tried, which includes

• Finger sandwiches of various assortments
• letting her make her own lunch
• putting smaller than usual portions on her plate
• making a surprise picnic with a menu she created

That's just a few of the things I have attempted to get my picky toddler to eat healthy food. So, any ideas on what I could do?

Asthma, inhaler no more!

Uuuuugh, here we are again in the pre-asthma months for Bri. Seems the hardest months on her are from January to April, I suppose its all the fluctuating temperatures and over active spores going hay wire.
I can be grateful that her asthma isn't soo severe that we have had many trips to the ER. The one was bad enough for me. I did learn a couple secrets to keep her breathing problems at bay for the most part. I'm a firm believer of natural remedies also.


1. Honey is one of the best well known treatments for asthma. Not just a great additive for honey butter spread, studies have shown that inhaling the fumes from a honey jar help thin the mucus in your nose. Eating a teaspoon of honey will thin the mucus in our lungs, giving us relief in breathing with out using an inhaler.

Lemons, not only used in a homemade furniture polish! Lemons are loaded with vitamin C, we all know what vitamin C does for us. The lemon treatment serves two purposes.

2. Lemon is a natural antiseptic that when mixed 1 teaspoon to a 8 ounce glass of water has been proven to knock out the bad germs that hide in our mucus membranes, which cuts back on the possibility of infections, lemon is another one of natures miracles that thins mucus.

There are many home remedies for natural asthma treatments, for more ideas to help alleviate the agony of breathlessness, I recommend reading Susan Milliars ebook, Dramatic Asthma Relief Click Here!. Get a free report of why the costly, harmful medications that we put in our bodies aren't really effective to treat an asthma attack.

Twilight at night review

My Daughter and I recently got in to see the Twilight saga, after weeks of being sold out I was overjoyed to actually get a ticket.
This sequal is well worth the money, after watching a documentary on how they got the special effects worked into the movie, it was even more enjoyable to see it. The love between Belle and Edward is still so intense that you can actually FEEL the emotion, not surprising considering the two of them have such a profound relationship off screen of New Moon. it was heart breaking to watch Edward push Belle away, and I was a little confused as to why he would do such a thing when they knew that olivia was still on the prowl seeking revenge.
The ending was left well opwn for a possible future sequal? The question that Edward asked Belle, what could her reply to that be, and where is Olivia? Is the friendship bwtween Jacob and Belle over for good? Seems as if it might be headed that way, what do you think? Definitly a must see for romance seekers, in my opinion as this is a movie that portrays passion between two lovers on a extreamly emotional leval. Twilight, New moon, was awesome.

Babies and Blackberries

I was looking for something to get my 4 year old daughter for Christmas. One of my better habits involves finding toys for her that will stimulate her mind, and also is a little challenging so that she needs my help once in a while.
I changed to Verizon a couple of months ago, and picked up a blackberry that i am absolutely in love with, i use it for my blogging, and researching different article ideas. Yes I was smitten by my Blackberry. This is probably the main reason I was delighted when i went to amazon and found out that they had a little blackberry for kid
s. How sweet, she can text and learn letters and numbers while she is being just like mommy, I thought it was so cute that i would include a link for it and then you guys could check it out too! its really cute. let me know what you think

Black Friday not for me!

I was seriously entertaining getting up out of my warm and cozy bed this morning to join the throng of people waiting to bust the doors down to get the best early morning deals. This however, did not happen. It was 10 am before i was rousted out of my slumber. After talking to several people, I was kind of glad I didnt go. They said that the sales werent there this year. i have heard alot of the sales are taking place online, and believe me, i would much rather stay in the comfort of my home and search online rather than be surrounded by a stressed out, over tired angry mob. I dont know how many of you shop on amazon, but on scrolling through the sales they have, I found quite a bit on there, just thought you may want to see, heres the link.
shop for kids

Do you look online?

Cooler months have swept the country. Summer is gone, and the chilly temps have left most of us housebound, trapped with our beloved little angels that have begun to use to couch as trampolines, the walls as massive tapestries for the emerging artist, and the family cat has been used as a manequin for the newest baby doll fashion show.
It gets harder and harder to keep active minds entertained long enough to give us a moments peace, after searching endlessly, I came across a good toddler activity site that I find worthy of sharing. Toddlertoddler.com. Not One of the cuter activities is the virtual zoo. My 4 year old absolutely loves going to the zoo. I thought it was really neat that the toddler toddler.com website included a zoo that my little excitement seeker could enjoy while I cooked supper, folded laundry, or enjoyed a quiet cup of good bean coffee. After all, any quiet time for a busy mom is heaven.
Cute crafts are also included in the toddler mix, We really enjoyed making a copper memorial, after our goldfish copper ran off with the wonder pets. Sadly he went to sleep and never woke up. One of the crafts was making a mini aquarium, check it out here. Let me know what you think of this site, and share your favorite so I can explore more creative ideas with my little one.

The best part of waking up.

I woke up to my 4 year old prying my eyes open and telling me to wake up. What a beautiful start to a wonderful Tuesday morning. I have truely been blessed to have a child that wakes in the morning with a cheery and loveable attitude.
After she's been up for a little, and has charged her batteries a little more with a tastey sugar coated cereal, her little head spins and I need more than just a cup off coffee to keep up. Still, I love waking up to see her beautiful smile, the smell of the fall air, and yes, even occasionally some floating cheerios in my cup.

A time for change

My 13 year old and I have been doing battle for some time now, and quite honestly, well im about to loose my mind. so I did some searching and came across this sleeping angels cd which teaches us to make use of our childrens subconcious minds by piping positive affirmation into their sleeping minds. studies have shown that this kind of treatment is beneficial to instill positive behavior into our childrens minds, much similar to listening to Bach when we are pregnant. isnt a good attitude and positive self image worht the time for your child? subconcious attitude improvement here

When I was told that frequent intimate conversation sustained relationships, I was stumped. I love to write, and even with the passion of creative writing, I noticed that letters I wrote were a little on the dry side, I didn’t seem to be expressing my deeper emotions on paper like I would like to.. So I searched and found this eBook on writing a romantic letter. Written by a MAN (good googily moogily)when his wife was struggling with a chronic illness that robbed her of her independence. Mr. Bordi, desperate to give his love the joy and happiness he knew she craved decided to take up the much appreciated but often neglected art of writing his wife frequent heartfelt letters of passion and adoration.
For those of us that truly understand the importance of keeping emotion flowing in our relationships, this book does a fine job of showing us how to do more then just put pen to the paper. See for yourself the difference a letter can make. Check it out and let me know how it works for you.http://Learn how to romance with pen and paper here

Dont ignore the obvious

My oldest daughter and I do not have what I describe as the perfect Mother-Daughter relationship. I honestly cannot say that I know many parents with a 13 year old daughter that have the "perfect" relationship. If you do, congratulations as you have been blessed.
With the troubled relationship in mind, a red flag went up when I was standing in front of my machine at work and I get a text message from her.
"Call me"
fallowed by
"call me now-911"
She and my youngest, who will shortly be turning 4, were at the babysitters. You may ask yourself why do I make my 13 year old go to a babysitter. For 2 reasons.

1. I have a 16 year old son at home, and if I leave the 13 year old and the 16 year old at home together, odds are that I probably wouldn't have a house to come home to at the end of my shift.
2. What fallows should be good enough reason if #1 wasn't.

Both of my girls on numerous occasions had asked me not to go to work, or to find someone else to watch them. BIG RED TRUCK!!!!!
When a kid asks to NOT go to someones house, ummmm..... ya need to find out why.
Don't just assume your child is unhappy because they aren't getting there way, and they don't want to fallow the rules. I had the unfortunate event of having my 3 year old grabbed and shaken, while evidently being screamed at for throwing a teddy bear at the tv. I don't know about you guys, but that news made this mama bear a little bit on the psychotic side. on top of that, when my daughter was texting me, she was informed that she was no longer allowed to use the phone.
WHAT????????
I don't mean to scare you, but you really need to check in on people. I would encourage talking to the contacts, past families they have cared for. I would even encourage a back ground check, they are relatively inexpensive. Talk to the neighbors also. That may seem a little extreme, if so then ya I am over protective. But think about this, would you rather be an over protective parent, or take the chance on being one of those who shoulda, woulda, coulda?
P.S. I did leave work immediately and rescued my kiddos. How the babysitter remained unscathed, the big man above only knows. Thanks be to him for reigning his love down on me and taming my quick temper.

Surviving the working mom rat race

I should be sleeping, but my addiction to writing has kept me up into the wee hours of the morning. Funny how time flies bye so fast when our doing the things you enjoy. I can jump on the computer at 9 after the house has been put to sleep, and what seems like 30 minutes later is actually 3 hours later. The sun rises early and my mommy job begins.
Few people actually understand the hectic lifestyle of a single working mom. Its crazy! My next blog will be simple meals to pack for the baby-sitter. They should be yummy!