Place Me Like a Seal Over Your Heart

Jesus speaks these words quietly, asking for my total devotion.

Starting Family Daycare: Part 2

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Two months after indulging myself in a good cry when my kids started at family daycare, I thought it was time to reflect on how that part of our life is going, and to give you an update.

Back then, my biggest concerns were my youngest child’s adjustment and napping, and my middle child’s safety.

Are You a Christian Doormat?

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Do you fit the profile of a Christian Doormat? 

You say nothing when people insult, offend, or take advantage of you. You are tensed and stressed for days if you are forced to disagree with someone. You would run a thousand miles to avoid conflict, and other people think of you as ‘nice’ or ‘sweet’.  

On the inside, though, you are angry and resentful at the amount you are required to swallow and overlook each day. Sometimes, you explode, and you always feel guilty about how strong your emotions are. As a Christian, you know you are supposed to forgive, and you wonder why it is always you forgiving the other person, and why does the other person rarely apologise?

Chore Training for Preschoolers

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I started this series by outlining why and how I start chore training for toddlers. Today, I am looking at continuing chore training for preschoolers: children age 3-5. 

While chore training for toddlers is about introducing the tasks in a positive way, chore training for the preschoolers is about building competency, independence, and self-discipline. 

Florence Littauer : Personality Plus for Parents

Florence Littauer's Personality Plus for Parents is in my top 10 parenting books, along with the Babywise Series, Good and Angry, Don't Make Me Count To Three, and Terrific Toddlers.

Time Management for Busy Moms 4: Second Baby (or: Ahhhh!!! TWO!!!! What was I Thinking?!?)

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Shortly after I brought home my beautiful baby girl, it became blindingly obvious that looking after an infant and a toddler was not going to be easy. I hope that the lessons I learned from this experience will help prevent someone else from making the same mistakes!!!!

It's Not About Me

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 If there is one lesson I really, really, REALLY want to learn before I die, it’s that I am not the centre of the universe. I stub my toes on this truth at least once a week, painfully realising that again, I have taken offense, or jumped to conclusions, or criticized, or blamed, or judged, or, or, or... without pausing to consider Whose opinions truly matter in any moment.

Why I Bother Learning Old-Fashioned Skills: Making Stock

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I had never considered making my own stock until this year, when I came across these posts:

http://simplemom.net/how-to-make-homemade-basics/

http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/broth-is-beautiful

http://www.maggiesnest.org/2011/04/14/whats-gaps-and-why-now/

http://www.gaps.me/preview/?page_id=28

At the time, I was in the middle of researching nutrition, specifically to support good gut bacteria and thereby boost the immune system. Making stock from scratch seemed like a fairly straight-forward and easy change that I could make to our family diet, so I experimented, and I was really pleased with the results.

I have found that I get the most use out of chicken stock, rather than vegetable or beef stock. Over the past few months, I have streamlined my method, which is as follows:

Your Love, O Lord, Reaches to the Heavens

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens;

Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

I have sung these lines many many times in church in recent years, and felt that I just didn’t get what it meant.

This past Sunday, insight dropped into my mind as I sung them again. Let me attempt to put into words what I now know in my heart to be truth.

When You Don't Like Your Kids



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There have been times in my life when I found my children adorable, cute, and a blessing.

 

There have been other times when I did not like them at all.

 

Usually, it is one child who is going through a developmental phase of challenge or conflict, not all three children at the same time (thank goodness!); but it is still a very uncomfortable feeling for this mom to realise “I love you, but I really don’t like you at all right now”.

 

Here’s what I do when this happens:

Maxed Out on Friends?

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I’ve been comparing kindergarten experiences for my eldest son and my daughter over the past six months or so now.

(Note to non-Aussie readers: “kindergarten” refers to part-time schooling for kids who turn 4 before the middle of the school year.  Both of my children started at the beginning of our school year in February, but my son was age 3 years 9 months, while my daughter was age 4 years 3 months. I think the equivalent US term might be “preschool”, but I’m not sure, so I’ll stick with kindergarten.)

One of the many, many differences in these experiences has been my own friendships with the parents. 

Chore Training for Toddlers

Jacob Willemsz Delff: Portrait of a Boy, Aged 2

Training my children to help with housework is something I value highly. Why?

• I believe that in a family, everyone should help to the best of their ability with the tasks required to keep a clean and tidy home.
• I believe that those who make messes should learn to clean them up.
• I believe that part of a parent’s job is to train children with a long-term goal of independent living, which includes basic housekeeping skills.
• I believe that a healthy attitude to work starts in the home.
• Finally, as much as I love him, my husband’s strengths do not include a love of order, and I want to pass on my own love of order to our children.

So I start when my children are mobile enough to help, and mature enough to understand and follow an instruction - somewhere between 18 months and 2 years.   I have found that at this age, my children are very keen to help, and are bored with the usual ‘baby’ toys and occupations - they are ready to start learning ‘real’ work.   In addition, at this age, they are usually down to 1 nap a day, and have oodles of time to spare.   Chore training is one way of keeping them out of mischief!

Robin Hobb: The Farseer Trilogy

Oh my, what a feast of fantasy is Robin Hobb’s The Farseer Trilogy!  When I first read Book 1, I ended it feeling as if I had eaten the finest meal of my life - fully satiated, yet longing for more.   And Books 2 and 3 did not disappoint.

Time Management for Busy Moms 3: Nap Transitions

Adriaen van Ostade: Mother Holding her Child in a Doorway

I started this series by detailing the process I wish I had used to develop a good time management plan (or schedule) when our first baby was born. Today, I’m looking at modifying that plan as your baby approaches and enters the second year of life, when normally, naps decrease in number and waketimes lengthen. I am assuming for this post that you have only one child; balancing the needs of multiple children is a subject for another post!

When a baby transitions from 3 naps to 2, or from 2 naps to 1, there are larger chunks of time available which are not filled by nursing, meals, or sleep. These nap transitions are the ideal time to revisit your schedule.

Know Yourself

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Over the past ten years, it has become very clear to me that I need to understand my personal quirks, needs, and wants, to be successful in marriage and parenting.

When I realised that I am an introvert, I knew that I needed to plan alone-time into my daily schedule in order to function well as a mom.

When I understood that big-picture planning is not a personal strength, then I knew that I needed help from others to set goals for career, finances and family.

When I realised that I make decisions based on “gut feeling”, while my husband thoughtfully ponders the pros and cons, then I knew why we so often struggle to communicate our points of view, and that I needed to express my thoughts in a more logical way if I wanted him to understand me.

Do you think you understand yourself? How would you describe yourself to someone who doesn’t know you? What tools or strategies have you used to understand yourself?

Why I Bother Learning Old-Fashioned Skills: Line-Drying

Australian Women's Weekly advertisement 10 Aug 1955

Well, this one’s a no-brainer to me. I am fortunate enough to live in a climate which has a lot of hot, dry weather, so line-drying is just common sense. However, for those of you who have not considered it, here are the pros and cons as I see them.

Lessons from the Sandpit: His ears are Attentive to their Cry

Camille Corot: Hagar in the Wilderness

I have been observing my children at play for a number of years now, and there are many lessons I have learned about our heavenly Father during these sessions.

Most recently, Psalm 18:6 was illustrated for me:
In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God:
he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.