Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Enjoy some special time with your family. I won't be back for a few days as I'll be spending time with family and friends. I hope you have the chance to do the same!

Be Inspired

- Thanksgiving decor done cheaply!

- Embroidered hand prints - how darling!

- Yummy pumpkin muffins.

- A double milk shake that's good for you!

- A cute turkey craft.

- You still have time to get a free inkubook photo book!

Ice Cube Tray Lunch

"If your child is a fussy eater, try putting small bits of food in an ice cube tray. The creative approach makes meals more fun, and getting little amounts in each space may seem less overwhelming. Fruit bits, cheese cubes, pieces of cooked pasta, cereal, croutons, and cooked veggies all work well."

Tip from Pampers Parenting.

Busy Busy

Well I'm still here, but I've been too busy to blog the past couple of days. We our possibly selling our home and this morning had a city inspection of the property. So we've been pretty dedicated to getting things sparkly clean and in order around here for the past couple of days! And yes that is a challenge to do with a toddler under foot!

Now I'm off to make a meal for a friend who just had a baby.
Here's what I'm making: Three Cheese Baked Spaghetti with homemade bread and some veggies I got for free on sale!

Swagbucks

Have you heard of swagbucks? I hadn't either, until today, but I'm going to give it a try!

Swagbucks is a site that allows you to download a little toolbar to go with your Mozilla or Internet Explorer. If you search through the toolbar you can earn points that can be cashed in for gift cards (target, amazon, starbucks, etc.) or other merchandise. Since I frequently find myself searching for things online, I figured I might as well earn a little something while I'm at it!

It gets better because if you refer friends you earn points from their searches too.
Here's the link to sign up!

Teaching Cooperation

Here is an excellent expert that was shared in my church's parenting newsletter. I hope that it might be helpful to some of you!

"We all want cooperation from our children and many parents are disappointed when they don't get it, but do we take time to teach it? Cooperation involves give and take. As parents, we are more than willing to give, expecting that our children will give sometimes too. Unfortunately, some children don't know how to give; they only take. Any negotiation has to have something in it for the child or he won't work with you, and if he does agree to work, he'll do so with a bad attitude. That's not cooperation, that's coercion.If you have a child who doesn't know how to cooperate, maybe you need to use a technique we call, "Obey first and then we'll talk about it." This technique simply reverses the sequence of two important elements, discussion and responsiveness. A person who knows how to cooperate can be responsive and give in without necessarily having a personal benefit. The enjoyment of a pleasant relationship is the reward and sacrifice is a way to gain it.

Some parents try to talk their children into following instructions or have discussions to help them want to obey. These children often can't follow a simple instruction without a dialogue and grow up to make poor team members, difficult employees, and demanding friends.Some parents who see a need for their children to give, not just take, require obedience by saying, "Because I'm the parent, that's why." We believe that although these parents may have a handle on the problem, their solution is inadequate. We simply suggest that a child may need a period of time where following instructions comes before the discussion to foster the ability to give up one's agenda without always having to get something out of it.When Jenny is asked to get on her pajamas and responds with, "But I'm not tired," Mom may say, "Jenny, I'd like you to obey first and then we'll talk about it." After Jenny obeys, then a discussion about bedtime may take place. It's surprising though, how many children don't feel the need for a discussion afterwards. Dialogue for them was simply an attempt to delay or avoid obedience.

If your children are having trouble cooperating, try "Obey first and then we'll talk about it" for a while and you'll see a noticeable difference."

This parenting tip is taken from the book, Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes...in You and Your Kids by Dr Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.

Teaching the Fruits of the Spirit

Here's a cute and simple idea for teaching toddlers about the fruits of the spirit!

- Simply print pictures of different fruits and label with the different spiritual fruits. An additional activity is to make a small basket or bag to put the pictures into. A brown paper lunch bag cut in half works great! Toddlers will enjoy putting the pictures into the bag and then taking them out again. It will give you a chance to teach about the actual fruits and the fruits of the spirit!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, good­ness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Galatians 5:22

Older kids could practice putting the fruits in the correct order to memorize the verse.
Thanks to our church nursery staff for this cute idea!

Mommy Tip

Here is a mommy tip that really works for us!

I can not recall where I first found this tip, but it saves me so much time and effort! I pass the credit on to whichever brilliant mother thought of this first!

When your little one is going to a babysitter or the church nursery just slip a wide rubber band around the cup or bottle. Use a permanent marker to write their name or initials on the rubber band. You can use this rubber band over and over again, and you won't have to spend your time peeling tape and stickers off your cups and bottles!

I'm telling you, it is so worth the effort of finding a rubber band and sharpie! You'll be so pleased with it and so will the sitters and nursery workers!

Be Inspired

There are so many good ideas to be shared! Here's a few I discovered this past week!

- The 29 gifts challenge sounds like a great idea.

- 7 simple parent hacks (we follow #2 and #4.)

- Monica is so inspiring - she's making her home a haven.

- The best deals on holiday photo cards.

- Very cool cereal box mobiles.

- Chocolate chip banana bread is calling my name.

- Activities for traveling.

Crafts for Moms and Daughters

Do you have a little girl?

If so, you might like some of the ideas at Me and My Girl. Unfortunately, this blog isn't currently being updated, but it has many cute, crafty ideas in the archives!

Toys Worth Buying

Today at Rocks in My Dryer, Shannon is discussing what toys are actually worth buying!

Here are two of our current favorites:



Krinkle building sets - also known as Bristle blocks, great for toddlers and up. I imagine that these will be played with for many more years at our house.

Bathtub Crayons - these are such a hit at our house! They extend bath time and allow Mom to clean up the bathroom while the little guy is playing.




What are the favorites at your house?

Free Entertainment for Little Boys

On multiple occasions we've taken Luke (20 months) to see construction equipment and it has been a huge hit each and every time!

Of course, the best time was when he got to explore lots of equipment at his uncle's construction site, but even if it is just watching from a distance this is always a hit for us. Try it the next time you need a free activity!

Pumpkin Pizza Results

Here's how our pumpkin pizzas looked prior to baking! They were tasty and cute! Plus here's a picture of our little dinosaur enjoying his treat from Grandma - marshmallows!

Be Inspired

- Repurpose that Halloween candy!

- Getting your kids to eat veggies.

- What a neat leaf matching game.

- I think I'm going to follow these instructions and make pumpkin puree.