The Power of Positive Parenting

When my husband and I were just getting started with the whole parenting thing, a good friend of ours recommended this book:

The Power of Positive Parenting
by Dr. Glenn I. Latham

There weren't any copies in our library, so she let me borrow her book for a day (she couldn't spare it any longer) so I could browse through to see if I liked it.
I loved it.
I immediately bought a copy from Amazon.

"This book is written for parents who care enough to learn the skills necessary to raise children well in these difficult times.
It is more a manual than it is a book; hence, it must be read, then reread, then read some more. Wide margins have been provided for note taking. Use it as a tool with which to build your family."

I really love the principles and easily applicable techniques provided in this book.
It truly is a "wonderful way to raise children".

The essence of this book is found in the following statement of Dr. Sidney W. Bijou:

Research has shown that the most effective way to reduce problem behavior in children is to strengthen desirable behavior through positive reinforcement rather than trying to weaken undesirable behavior using aversive or negative processes.

-The International Encyclopedia of Education, 1988


I really love this book.
It addresses pretty much everything.
There are sections on all types of behavior from toddlers up through teenagers. Sections on Fussy Babies, Hate & Anger, Lying & Stealing, Thumb Sucking, Toilet Training, Sibling Rivalry, Helping Children Achieve in School, Substance Abuse, even a section entitled "When All Else Fails".

Within the chapters, he gives realistic scenarios with actual conversations played out with examples of what to do/say and what not to do/say.

I love this book.
I need to refer to this and reread this book so much more often than I do.
But I'm glad I'm posting about it today, so I can renew my study skills so I can be a better, positive parent.

I hope you take the time to check out this amazing resource out there for parents. Trust me, it will be worth it.

Fun For Kids

A friend of mine created a "Fun 4 Kids" blog last October:

http://amy-fun4kids.blogspot.com/

She's so clever. She's a former Early Childhood Educator and now stay-at-home mom.
She started this blog to share activity ideas with other young moms.
Here's an excerpt from her blog re her purpose in creating the blog:

"Interactive Literature Activities are my favorite preschool activities because it helps children learn to love books.
What this means is to choose a book and plan an activity that relates to the book, to extend their learning. Normally I will post a specific book and an activity to go with it.
During holiday times there will be lots of book ideas and activities to choose from. Most often the activities will be art projects, but not always.
Remember that with any early childhood activity, the emphasis should be about the process of doing the activity and not about the outcomes.
As hard as it might be, try to resist fixing and doing things for them and let them create on their own. The photos are just visual examples and not meant to be "cookie cutter" copies."

I've thoroughly enjoyed using her blogsite as a resource for enhancing my kids' understanding and enjoyment about the topics we read about.
It's helped me be a better, more creative & fun mom.
She's taking a "summer vacation" of sorts and hopefully will be posting again in the Fall.
But now that I've got a good handle on how to do the whole kid-activities-to-coincide-with-theme-of-books thing, I can create my own summertime reading inspired activities.

Her book themes start around Halloween and follow through to Eastertime.
That's about right for the inclimate weather months and our need to have lots of indoor activities available for our kiddos.

If I can, when I find good summertime book themes & craft ideas to coordinate, I'll share them with you.
Here.
On this site.
Well, at least until Amy gets up and running again.
Hope this helps you have more fun with your little kiddos.

Clean House

I love living in a clean house.
But I don't love cleaning.
It's not natural for me.
What I mean is, I think I have tendencies towards messiness. And I have to be reminded to clean rather than be self-motivated to stay on top of it all.

I need external reminders.
And I'd rather the reminders not be piles of dirty laundry & dishes, seriously icky toilets, or toys scattered everywhere!
And that's the noticable stuff. What about dusting and closets that need organizing, etc?

So I've gone searching for help.
There's got to be some kind of system that will help me keep my house clean.

I've found a couple sites and articles that just might fit the bill.

First off, there's this wonderful article that discusses excerpts from the conference talk, "Mothers Who Know":

“Mothers who know are nurturers. This is their special assignment and role under the plan of happiness. To nurture means to cultivate, care for, and make grow. Therefore, mothers who know create a climate for spiritual and temporal growth in their homes. Another word for nurturing is homemaking. Homemaking includes cooking, washing clothes and dishes, and keeping an orderly home.”

So yes, we should all keep an orderly home. And there are some very good suggestions in that post:
http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2007/10/mothers-who-know-homemaking/

My favorite tip is in the comments. The 15 minute blocks of cleaning, timed with a kitchen timer. I agree, we can do almost anything for 15 minutes. Even the dishes. And it amazes me how daunting dirty dishes can be, but then they're all cleaned within 15-20 minutes.
It's especially fun if I'm listening to some seriously upbeat music.
Maybe I just need more practice to better gauge how long certain chores actually take.

And speaking of length of chores. I'm all about minimizing them, and even preventing huge messes by developing better habits.
Here are two articles that had excellent tips:

• 7 Good tips that are easy to incorporate into daily activities : http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/706951/speed_cleaning_for_the_busy_homemaker.html?cat=6
• 10 Easy Household Tips:
http://tipnut.com/10-easy-household-time-savers/

Lastly, there's this book that I've found called, "Sidetracked Home Executives from Pigpen to Paradise".
This book was written in 1977 by two sisters, Pam Young and Peggy Jones. It describes a system Pam and Peggy came up with using 3 X 5 colored index cards to gain control over their housework. Over the years, Pam and Peggy's system has evolved to include routines and a planner. FlyLady uses their system to guide you through your path of peace.
Oh right, FlyLady.
This is a site that actually emails you the daily chores so you keep on top of it all.
http://flylady.net/index.asp
Sounds good to me.

Well, let me know what you think and if any of the sites/suggestions work for you. Oh, and if you have any methods that help you keep it clean, please share with us all!
Thanks.

Dinner Done EZ

A few years ago, I created a database with all my dinner recipes, including their ingredient list and recommended sides, etc.
Then every week I'd select 7 dinners for the upcoming week, transfer those 7 to a Dinner Menu sheet to go on the fridge, and transfer all the ingredients to my Grocery List that was separated into sections (produce, deli, etc).

It worked for a while.
But then as my toddlers got busier and I came down with mono, I simply did not have the energy or time to go through the whole selection process, etc.
I think we ended up eating a lot of fish sticks, chicken nuggets, and frozen pizza.

That's when my husband, Matt, came across this website:
http://www.e-mealz.com/
And I've got to say, I love it.

Essentially you subscribe to a weekly meal plan that does everything I used to do.

e-Mealz provides seven dinners (with ingredient lists and recipes) and the grocery shopping list on a weekly basis.

You can select specific stores like ALDI's, Walmart, Kroger, etc. Those store-specific plans will actually give you approximate costs of items. You can also choose the "Any Store" option if your favorite store is not listed.

They also have Specialty Meal Plans (low-fat, low-carb, points-system, or even vegetarian). The Meal Plans are also available for couples in regular, low-fat, or points system.

So a subscription costs approximately $1** per week. And I'd say my time and energy are worth a lot more than that, so I happily pay.

**Note- You get a discount if you type in the code: Dave
I believe Dave Ramsey talked about this site on his show.

At any rate, I've been a subscriber since the first week in February and making dinners has never been simpler.
Some of the recipes are truly fabulous and are being added to my permanent recipe file.

And I love how the shopping list is organized. Some of the ingredients are considered "staples" but there's a section down at the bottom that lists the staples if you're running low or out of a particular item. Makes it so easy to circle and ensure you don't forget anything.
Oh, and they also have more lines in each grocery section (frozen, canned, produce, etc) for you to add items for breakfasts, lunches, snacks, etc.

I just love this site and am so happy to lighten my load a bit.
I hope this helps lighten yours too.

Why Today?

Today I felt a burning desire to start this blog.
I wanted a place, separate from personal family blogging, where I could share my joy and pride of homemaking.

I'm still young enough to know that I don't know everything.

But I have young children that challenge me to try and streamline my duties. And I love finding ways and means to simplify it all.

So I've decided to share what I've learned with you.
Take from it what you will.
Though I hope we can all share advice and stories that motivate us to be the best homemakers we can be.
For I certainly do not want to labor in vain and to have "spent my strength for naught".