Category: Parenting

Posted on

Our Family’s New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year Sign
photo credit: katerha

Every New Year many across the world set new goals to achieve or habits to form over the next year to come. This year is no different, except for the fact that we’ve decided to work really hard to hold each other accountable for what we’ve decided to do.

My husband has decided that this year he wants to commit to exercising at least 3 times a week. He usually says he wants to get in better shape. This year he changed it up a tiny bit and is going to set up a routine. He told me that he wants to work out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning before work. He doesn’t think he would be very successful adding a day to the weekend because the weekends we are on a different schedule and he wants consistency.

For myself, I spoke to my husband and I think it would be really great for us to work out together. So, like my husband, I too and going to commit to exercising 3 days a week. I know that having an exercise buddy will help keep us on track and motivated. I can’t wait to see how we feel once we’ve been exercising on a regular basis. I’m excited to feel a difference.

My children have determined that they are going to work hard at listening to what my husband and I say and do what is asked of them without complaining. I’m skeptical about this one. I don’t know where this came from. I love my kids but this doesn’t sound normal. I guess I shouldn’t complain.

I’m excited to see what the new year will bring for all of us. What are your New Year’s resolutions?

Posted on

Cute little gift

Jim has been dropping hints all school year that he wants a drum set for Joshua for a Christmas gift, and that he is hoping that the whole extended family will chip in a buy one for him. Most of the people in our family is completely ignoring him; they are tired of him expecting us to furnish his kids with presents every year while he gives our kids nothing! So this year I decided to buy one of the affordable cowbells at Musicians Friend and give that to Jim towards the drum set that he keeps talking about. I’ll smile sweetly and tell him that was all that I could afford, and that I hope it helps in some way to get him closer to the drum set that he wants. And I hope he doesn’t act indignant that I didn’t get him more.

Posted on

Using Skype To Stay Connected To Family And Friends

Do you use Skype? Video calls on Skype are a great way to keep connected with family and friends that don’t live near you. We love to use it in our home so that relatives can see our children and talk to them. This  helps the kids get to know grandparents that live across the country. Then when we see them during the holiday times they don’t seem like complete and total strangers to the kids.

Our kids actually recognize grandma and grandpa and their aunts and uncles. We try to have a Skype call at least every other weekend to stay in touch with the family. We don’t do anything long because the kids don’t have much of an attention span. But, we talk about looking forward to making the Skype call all week and then when it comes time to make the call the kids are excited.

I like to also use Skype to just connect with friends that have moved to different areas of the country. It’s really nice being able to talk to some one face to face even if they are 2000 miles away. I know other people use Skype for business purposes but for now I’m happy with what I’m doing to stay connected with our friends and family.

Posted on

Where is the sax?

Saturday at the street dance and concert that my kids and I went to, the band was playing a song about how much they love the saxophone, and I could swear that I heard the saxophone playing, but darn if I could see anything that looked like a saxophone anywhere on the stage! This perturbed me greatly, as my uncle used to play a mean sax, and I was thinking about talking to him later about the concert and the song about the saxophone! It wasn’t until my brother was telling me about the cheap buy used yamaha wx5 sale at guitar center event that I realized that there are other instruments being used in this day and age that can mimic the sound of the saxophone, and the trumpet, and other wind instruments.

I felt amazed, and yet cheated, at the same time. Isn’t modern technology amazing? And how sad for the many talented musicians that are now out of jobs because machines can mimic what they took years and years to learn how to do! I think that I would prefer to see the genuine saxophone musician wailing on his sax – it provides a much better theatrical performance!

Posted on

Mid-morning Parenting Rant

This morning after breakfast my daughter had the biggest melt down I’ve seen in ages. You would think we were really doing something awful to her, when in fact she was just upset because I wouldn’t let her sit on my lap while I was working at the computer.

I love spending time with my children, seriously I do. However, I still need some grown up mommy time to myself. It drives me insane when I am trying to get a little bit of work done and one of the kids decides it’s the end of the world until everyone else int he house stops what they are doing and runs to give them their complete and undivided attention.

I make sure I sent a good amount of time each day with the kids without trying to be distracted because I don’t want them to feel they have to compete with us for attention. Sometimes though it goes without fail that as soon as my husband and I are trying to do something else they are stuck to us like glue. Then at other times when we want their attention they are no where to be found. Kids are silly little creatures.

I suppose if I really wanted their attention all I would have to do would be to either walk into the bathroom or put my phone up to my ear. Those two events are bound to draw them to me like magnets.

Posted on

Family Movie Night Starring Tinkerbell

Woo hoo! We made it through the week. I can’t believe it’s Friday! I’m looking forward to having a nice relaxing weekend at home with the family. I noticed that the new Tinkerbell movie is on television. I added it to our queue while I ate my lunch today. I think we’ll do a family movie night tonight when I get home.

I’ve been wanting to see this movie ever since I found out that it was coming out. I found out by stumbling across videos on YouTube one day and then got hooked. I’m a huge Tinkerbell fan. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I’m a big kid at heart.

Anyway, family movie night tonight. I think it would be fun to order pizza and make banana splits. I’ll have to run by the grocery store really quick on my way home to get some ice cream and bananas but I think I can do it and still get home at a reasonable time.

What are your plans for the weekend? Do you have anything fun planned or are you just going to take it one day at a time and see what life brings your way? I’ll love to be inspired for plans next week. Share away.

 

Posted on

Mac & Cheese Makeover

Mac Cheese by jspatchwork
Reproduced under Creative Commons 3.0

Mac & Cheese is a favorite comfort food of many.  I love to eat eat plain with just macaroni and cheese, but I also love to give it a little makeover and change things up a bit.  Just a few additions and you’ll have a new dish to sink your teeth into.

Here are a couple of ways to give your mac & cheese a makeover:

  1. Add some chicken.  You can slice it, dice it, grill, or bake it.  I like to mix in chunks of grilled chicken or serve it in slices along the top of the dish.
  2. Add some broccoli.  I usually steam the broccoli until it is just tender and toss it in with the mac & cheese at the last minute.  I’ve even been known to blanch the broccoli in the same water the macaroni is cooking is in.  I just scoop it out after a minute or soo and let the macaroni continue to cook.  It saves time and an extra pan, and adds a little flavor to the pasta water.
  3. Add some tuna.  I think about 5oz. per cup of mac & cheese is a nice ratio.  It gives a nice protein portion and really fills you up nicely.  It kind of reminds me of a tuna melt sandwich and I love it.
  4. You can really go wild and add some lobster.  It’s nice to go fancy sometimes and add a tasty treat like this.  Trust me, you’ll love it.
  5. Add some pureed winter squash.  You won’t even know it’s there and you’ll be getting loads of added nutrition.  My kids and husband don’t know that I regularly sneak in butternut squash to our mac & cheese.  It’s the perfect color and is nice and creamy.  To make it easy on you try adding a few containers of baby food squash, it’s the same thing and all of the work is done for you.

I hope you’ll try out some of these ways to make over your mac & cheese.  What’s your favorite way to eat macaroni?

Posted on

Family Fun With A Bubble Machine

Bubbles, bubbles, everywhere! My kids love to play with bubbles. They just can’t seem to get enough of them. I love seeing their faces as they chase bubbles around or try to blow some bubbles of their own. One of our neighbors got a bubble machine at Musician’s Friend. The kids had so much fun when they brought it over and filled it up with bubbles.

Bubble machines are great because you don’t have to do any of the work of trying to blow the bubbles yourself. I love that I don’t have to keep dipping the bubble stick into a jar and repeatedly blow bubble after bubble. It’s like instant gratification. Turn the bubble machine on and you have tons of bubbles to chase to your hearts delight.

I’m thinking it would be lots of fun to get one of these bubble machines of our own for the kids for Christmas. It’s pretty close but it might not be too late. I’ll have to see if I can get one delivered with rush delivery if it isn’t too expensive. Seeing the smile on the faces of the kids from playing with the bubbles is worth every penny in my opinion.

Posted on

Toys Now vs. Then

Growing up I don’t really remember having a lot of electronic toys.  Yes we did have our game console but most things were not battery operated   I had crayons, markers and coloring books.  We had dolls and slip and slides.  Kids of today are surrounded by soo many technological toys.  It amazes me how young a child can figure out an electronic device like a smart phone or iPad.

I see kids in the grocery store playing on hand held devices whether it be made particularly for children or if it’s just their parent’s cell phone.  I’m grateful for our technological advances that we have but I don’t want our kids to miss out on all of the fun they can have without technology.  I try to encourage their imagination with dress up clothes, lots of materials to build castles and forts to let their minds go wild.

I love seeing the light in my kids’ eyes when they create something.  They look like they have the biggest sense of accomplishment.  It warms my heart to see all of the new things they make.  Just yesterday my daughter had me put a skirt on one of her dinosaur toys because she wanted a dinosaur princess.  That takes imagination if I do say so.  She’s a genius.

Posted on

Breastfeeding In Public

I 100% support breastfeeding in public.  It drives me crazy when I see people give mothers dirty looks when they are breastfeeding their child in public.  The babies need to eat too.  It’s a completely natural thing to breastfeed your child.  I really don’t understand why people get their panties all in a bunch when they see a little skin.  Even if they were to see a nipple, big deal!

Many women breastfeeding in public extremely discreetly with fancy covers, nursing clothes, blankets, slings, carriers, etc, and are still criticized.  I don’t think I will ever understand why people don’t want to let a mother feeding her child. It makes me sick when I see all of the lingerie adds and commercials for underwear all over the place with women in provocative poses.  There is nothing provocative about a mother feeding her infant child from her breast.

I especially get peeved someone is told to feed her child in the bathroom.  I don’t want to eat my meal in the dirty bathroom. Why should my child have to eat in the bathroom?  I’m pretty sure if you asked the server to bring your meal to the restroom they would look at you like you were crazy.  It’s not really any different when you tell a mother to go feed her baby there.