From One Mom To Another

My daughter Emily is starting Kindergarten next fall. I have really been researching the pros and cons of where we want her to be next year (and when I say “researching” I mean asking every mom I can her opinion, with a little bit of internet reading about the public schools in our school district).
Our […]

There are so many things we want to teach our children. I want Emily and Anna to have a happy life, happy marriage, happy children. Most all of which is connected to money.The number one cause of Divorce is money. I have heard from counselors to comics that, in marriage, money is not a […]

While reading from another smart mom’s site, Robyn reminded me of something I too have heard before, but needed reminding of. KISS-Keep It Simple Stupid. A few years ago I thought my life was so dull. Being newly married we needed married friends, we weren’t active in much, and I was a stay-at-home mom with […]

Last night I watched “Extreme Makeover:Home Edition” on ABC. I am so glad to see this show’s return. While I did not catch the full story on this family, I was amazed at these children. The mom was a single mom, with 7 or 8 kids. And she had a family member with his kids […]

Today, I thought I would give you some perspective on parenting. Let’s remember not to take ourselves so seriously. The following is an excerpt from Scott Turansky and Jo Anne Miller’s book “Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes …” (Great book so far that I have read)
First baby: At the first sign […]

Yesterday I spoke on “training a child in the way he should go…” Training him/her by using life to teach them. Taking the time to explain why things are the way they are, and the “why’s” of rules that have been set in place. Another aspect of “training a child in the way he should […]

Proverbs 22:6 says “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is grown he will not depart from it.”
Solomon by all standards was considered one of the wisest men who lived, so taking some tips from him may not be a bad idea. And if you have EVER been in […]

This week, I have found a very beautiful site. It is a blog about the life of an Irish craft worker. She is obviously very talented in her crafts, and very creative. I loved her one post about taking her children to the shores to witness a sperm whale who had washed ashore. The pictures […]

I would like to backtrack to September 11th. Although I wanted to recognize this day my post was not the first on my mind. It was my daughter’s birthday!
That’s right, September 11th,2001 is my daughter’s birthday. She was born at 4:40 in the morning before the towers were hit. As they wheeled me into our […]

Oh the dreaded potty training! I must admit, after being a nanny and child care worker for 5 years before having my own, I really did not look forward to potty training. We first tried Dr. Phil’s potty training in a day…… HA HA HA! Ok, no disrespect to Dr. Phil because I love him, and I am sure it has worked for some, but my daughter was not falling for it.
Here are a few tips I have learned along the way:

* Do not start until you are absolutely positively ready and commited. They will be ready when you are, but any inconsistency will make it much harder on you and your child.
* Pull Ups…..Don’t do it! Two reasons. One, What is the pay off of stopping what they are doing to go to the potty. Discomfort brings a change. (This is true with adults too) If it they feel wet and icky they will stop to go to the potty. Two, no offense, but what is your pay off to stop what you are doing and make them go to the potty? My Pediatrician says the best way is the hardest on the parents, sorry I didn’t like it either. When you are at home set your timer for 15-20 minutes and make them sit on the potty. (If they actually go you may set the timer a little longer the next time) And when you are out you take them potty before they leave the house, when you arrive at your destination take them again, and before you leave your destination, yep you guessed it, take them again. Repeat as necessary for wherever you go. Now as hard as this sounds, why when you are in a hurry would you not say,”oh well he has a pull up on and if he has an accident, no biggy”. But without a pull up you will take the time to go potty so you don’t have to take the time to clean up an accident, right? And remember they need consistency! (Thus the reason for tip #1) ( The only exception is bedtime, and on extremely long trips. But every time you stop make them go)