Friday Faves May 18

Easy tips for photographing food. From writeclickscrapbook.com

Benefits of praising others. Guess what? You feel happier. Win. Win. From happinessproject.com

I've never actually had one, but here are some tips for when I finally get around to doing a garage sale. From babble kids scoop.

What if your kids ate only one snack a day and ate their meals? It's called eating 'The French Way'. More on it here from babble's family kitchen.

With patriotic holidays coming up (like Memorial Day and the 4th of July), along with USA Olympics this summer, wouldn't some of these crafts be fun? I like the first two, especially. From babble toddler times.

More photography tips--this time for how to photograph your family. From babble family style.

Happy Weekend!

Mother's Day

"A mother is she who can take the place of all others but 

whose place no one else can take." 

Cardinal Mermillod

Like that quote? Here's a printable of it I found on eighteen25.com
http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/2012/05/mothers-day-print.html

Happy Mother's Day!

Friday Faves May 11

Tips for having kids help in the garden. Just let them play (but there can still be rules). From babble.com

More teacher appreciation ideas (for next year) from eighteen25

Summer style -- specifically bags and shoes. Great ideas to help avoid the 'sport scandal' phenom. From aintnomomjeans.

Data about moms who blog. Note that I am not that woman--she is nothing like me. Different hair. Different age of child. I don't even own a laptop. No long-sleeved dresses in my closet. Interesting data though. From momcrunch on babble.com

Too funny. Here's a series of pictures of what OUR moms would have had on their pinterest boards. From babblekids.

Revolution cards. I love every. single. one. of these ideas. Just little ways to make our world a better place. From the oprah blog.

Story time -- but this time told by your kids. This lists a simple way to get your kids set up to tell you a story using manipulatives. From playathomemom.com

Happy Weekend!

Home is a refuge

Home is a refuge, 

not only from the world but a refuge from my worries, 

my terrible concerns. 

I like beautiful things around me. 

I like to be beautiful, 

because it delights my eyes and my soul is lifted up.

— Dr. Maya Angelou

Tolerance

I was sitting with one of my kids as I read President Obama's statement supporting marriage for same-sex couples. I thought, "Wow. I hope this means a more tolerant world might exist for my children than for today's teens."

Just imagine it.

Wild Things

"That very night in Max's room a forest grew

and grew--

and grew until his ceiling hung with vines

and the walls became the world all around"

--Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are

I had this book as a kid--didn't most of us? We got it for my son for Christmas the year he turned two. When I read it to him for the first time, I thought, "Maybe I didn't have this book after all. I don't remember the text like this."

It's not the first time I've felt that way about a book. One day I realized that I had, in fact, owned all those books. The difference was that I was now in the position of reader. I wasn't just staring at the art. I was staring at the words. Very different experience.

Either way, this book is fantastic, and Maurice, you will be missed. This book is beloved by nearly 50 years of children and the parents who read to them. Thank you.

Money in the Bank

When I was in grad school, learning how to teach high schoolers, an instructor used 'love and logic' with us. Yes--the same one you may use with your kids today. Turns out it works great with teenagers in the classroom just like it works with our young ones.

One of the lessons I learned well was that you have to invest in those kids. Let them have choices when it doesn't matter which choice they make. It's like when we let our kids choose the blue or purple plate at lunch. No big deal to us, but it helps the kids feel they have some control over their world.

The way my instructor put it was that letting them make choices now will be 'money in the bank' later when you have to choose for them (such as needing to take a test that day. The parent version? Our kids have to wear shoes when we leave the house --it's not negotiable). Investing in their ability to make choices now will pay off when you make the withdrawal later.

Another spin on this for parents is investing quality time with your kids. This also works as 'money in the bank'. We've been struggling with my daughter's behavior lately. Some would say that we need to crack down, increase the discipline, help her learn right from wrong. I agree. However, we also need to put in some deposits. I had special 1:1 time with her over the weekend at the bookstore and coffee shop--just us with no distractions. 

In my nearly five years at this parenting job, I've found that putting money in the bank often works even better than cracking down. Kids act out for a reason. While teaching them right from wrong is essential, we also need to let them know they matter. Sometimes, it helps them believe us when it's time to put their shoes on on our way out the door.

Seeds for the future

My husband has worked very hard this spring getting parts of our garden started...from seed! We have some basil, cilantro, parsley and peas already outside thanks to his painstaking work.

It got me thinking about the seeds of our ideas. How do we know what we want in life? I remember being little. I wanted to be many things back then. I look back now and see aptitudes from my teen years than I never nurtured. Writing was one of them. Reading was another. How did I go from a teenager who loved writing and reading to one who became a biology major in college? Where did my interest in the arts go?

Just yesterday, I was considering my current life as a homemaker with two small kids. What do I want to see this life become as my children grow older and enter school? My goals seem to align well with my younger self. I don't see much in the sciences. I see it in the humanities -- reading and writing. I thought, "Wouldn't it be great to be able to review books or something?"

Then -- boom -- I saw this tweet from Real Simple magazine (@RealSimple):  How would you like to review books for Real Simple? Get the details here: http://www.realsimple.com/static/forms/form-book-review.html

Incredible. Seriously. I don't know if I believe in signs, but this sure seems like a wish granted. 

What long lost interests do YOU wish you could rekindle? I think I just found mine.

Fear

My daughter fell and needed stitches above her eye about 30 minutes after I took this photo. It isn't the first time one of my kids has had to go to the ER for stitches. It's actually not even the second.

However, I haven't posted much here since that day. The morning she fell, I was planning to doing a 'day in the life' post about my son's activities to create a string related to the post about my day. The day she fell made me question my parenting.

True--it was a total accident. She slipped on a wet step. True--I was standing not even a foot from her. True--I actually caught her and prevented her falling even more steps. The damage to her eyebrow was done despite all these things.

I see her scar now and I see my inadequacies. Just like when my son refuses to eat chicken -- again. Or when she refuses to sit down during a meal. Or when he is unwilling to attempt sounding out a word.

I think it comes down to being afraid. Afraid that I'm not a good enough mother despite overwhelming evidence otherwise. We see what we fear. The little moments reinforce that which all the larger moments contradict.

This is why I need to stand up and try to help other parents see that we are all in this together. We can learn from each other. We can be even better. First, we need to able to come together and admit where we are struggling. We need to step out from behind the curtain and let the light shine on where we need help. We need to reinforce each other.

It starts here with me admitting that I feel like a failure because my daughter accidently slipped on a dew-covered step and needed stitches.

I'm not a failure because I comforted her. I got her to the hospital. I brought coloring books to keep her busy. I kept her calm when they did their work. I have done my best to keep her safe since. I took her to get those stitches out. Everyday, I watch that scar heal.

Can we be afraid if we name our fear? Sure. But I sure feel better after telling this story. You'll feel better if you tell yours.

Friday Faves May 4

Some of the finds I liked best this week:

Do something every day by the happiness project. Can I start posting to this blog every day? It's a good goal.

Not really related to parenting, but this is an adorable set of cards you can make using buttons! From pine is here.

An interesting approach to how we limit ourselves. Are you a moderator or an abstainer? Meaning, can you handle a little bit of something or do you need to abstain altogether. From happinessproject.com

A great link for teacher appreciation week (which our preschool observed this week). These are simple and cute. I've already completed my role in this year's celebration of teachers. I'd love to try these next year. Click back to see the ones from the earlier days this week. From write.click.scrapbook.

Best dad haircut from parents.com. My hubby should read this one for sure!

Happy Weekend all!