At 10:00am I told my kids to brush their teeth and shower, I had a meeting with the bank at 12:30. I needed to finish up my business plan before we left, at 12:15 I called the bank and rescheduled. Not only did they not brush their teeth or have a shower they made a huge mess.
My next meeting was 3:00 and a realtor was bringing some people through to view the house. So now they had to clean up and brush their teeth and have a shower. I have to stand over them for them to do anything. I started asking them to get their shoes on at 2:30 while I ran around tidying up and cleaning whatever I could see, by 2:45 I was screaming at them to get their shoes on and get into the car. At 2:50 two crying kids buckled themselves into the car and we were off.
I was exhausted and stressed beyond my limits was I asking too much of my kids? I am very lucky because whenever I have a meeting and take them with me no matter how long the meeting is they are quiet, good, and sit still the whole time. Longest meeting this week was 3 hours long and they were good the whole time. They love each other and play together very well, they rarely fight and when they do it lasts all of 2 minutes. I am lucky and I need to remember that, even when they are not doing what I asked of them.
I do not want to have to stand over them constantly to get them to brush their teeth, shower or clean up. I want them to be responsible for themselves and their environment. So I need to change tactics. By utilizing currency to ensure they do what they have to do before they get what they want seems to work. When I say currency I don't mean money exactly, I mean what is of value to them. For my kids it's Nintendo DS, computer time, and tv. Those things of value to them that they can have access to only once they have finished what I asked them to do.
Kids are frustrating, afterall it's their job to drive their parents crazy. Creative problem solving will help parents to be less frustrated by inspiring their children to act. What tricks or tools work will depend on each child and only the parent will know which trick will work best for their child. It takes energy, time, and creative thought to find the trick and once you have figured it out, your child will change and it won't work anymore. Welcome to parenthood.
My Kids Won't do What They're Asked.....
Girls Birthday Party Handmande Invitation Purse Cards
The plan was to plan an easy birthday party, well so much for easy. My daughter and I had so much fun making the invitations to her birthday that I would not change it for a second.
She wants a puppy party one minute and a penguin party the next. Purses do not fit the theme, but they were fun to make. Crafts are a fun way for us to spend time together and the purse invitations turned out so cute.
I found a purse card envelope template online and then altered it and enlarged it to 8x12. I typed the invitation and party information into the template.
I cut 12x12 scrapbook paper, the designs she picked out, and printed the template on the back. We cut them out and folded the purse into shape, added jewels and handles.
They were so cute, now to order the plates and supplies in the theme she wants, if she can choose one.
(update)
Purse Card Templates:
Used this template but not the sides I just folded it in two and adheared it at the top with a glue stick.
This site has two templates, one simple and another more intensive.
Groovy Retro Theme Birthday Party Invitation Template
Organizing Scrapbook Supplies
One Kid Sick another Cares for Him - Closer Ties Then Ever
My son has been sick for a couple of days and my daughter has been such a caring and wonderful sister. She would take him food, water, and freezies. She would get movies for him to watch and made get well cards to cheer him up. When she would come home from school the first thing she'd do was go and see if he needed something. She stayed with him and whenever he needed me she'd run and get me.
He is feeling better now and I over heard him tell her how wonderful she is. He let her know how much he appreciated everything she did for him and gave her hugs and kisses.
I couldn't be prouder of both of them. She was a good little nurse to him and he was an appreciative patient and communicated his appreciation to her. Their relationship is all about love and caring, I let them know how proud I am of them and how important it is to me that they are close.
TV Programming isn't appropriate for Kids
I don't watch a lot of TV in fact I'm lucky if I get to watch my favorite shows once a month. However today I had a dentist appointment to fill 6 fillings and after the appointment all I could do was watch TV. I have to wonder if the individuals who decide on the TV programming timetable have kids or if they do what they think is appropriate for kids to watch.
When my kids were younger the sexual induendo went right over their heads and they would laugh at the physical comedy. Now my son is 8 years old and it no longer goes over his head. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Grade 3 is a little young to be finding out about SEX. I should not feel uncomfortable watching sitcoms with my kids during the hours of 4pm to 8pm.
TV shows like Family Guy, 2 and a half men, and Everybody Loves Raymond should not be on the television during 4pm to 8pm. Yes there are channels dedicated to children and when they do watch TV they watch the Hannah Montana and the Suite Life types of shows. When elsewhere though, like grandparents, they are exposed to shows like two and a half men.
So what can parents do to help the children of our nation? Boycott these shows and not wathching TV at these times. The benefit of that is that you will get way more done if you're not sitting around watching TV. Write emails to your local stations and cable companies. I choose not to watch TV, with only one TV in the house it's not hard for me to do this. I would rather work and read then watch TV anyway.
What are your thoughts about Prime Time TV programming.
Heath Ledger's Will is an Example of the Importance of Updating Your Will
Heath Ledger's Will was Outdated and everything he owed went to his parents and sisters, his daughter and her mother got nothing. The thing about the past is that it easy to have 20/20 vision and critize him for not updating it and leaving his daughter out in the cold.
The guy was only 28 and the fact he even had a will is amazing. How many parents go around without a will or life insurance like they are invincible. When I was working in the Financial Planning industry I received a call, one of our clients had died. He was in his late 30s with young children and his wife was a stay at home mom. I called the insurance company to make arrangements and guess what, he'd let the policy laps. No policy, no money.
Women that stay home need to have a life insurance policy on their lives as well as the working spouse. Why, because a stay at home mom adds cost savings to the family and without her the working parent will have a lot more expenses with childcare, house cleaners and extra help.
Instead of critizing Heath for not having updated his will, take this lesson to go up date your will and life insurance.
Cleaning and Staging the Home for Sale Today
Today is a big job day, I have to get the house ready for sale, that means decluttering, cleaning and staging. I've been so focused on my website and work from home directory that I've let the kids have a lot more free rein then normal, so I have a huge job ahead of me.
Earlier this year I emptied both my kids rooms and piled everything into the Family room, I put nothing back into their rooms. Somehow though my daughters room is so full of stuff that I can't see the floor. It's not all toys, she gets into everything and I mean everything, can't find the nail clippers? Check her room. Can't find the Sour Cream, check her room. No matter how much I tell her food is not a toy she insists on playing with it.
My son's room looks like a Pokemon battle areana, cards and figurines everywhere. For Christmas we bought him a Pokemon card organizing system, I thought it would keep him busy organizing his Pokedex and Cards. Ya no, he still hasn't got around to getting it all organized.
Today's goal is to get the upstairs tidied, cleaned, and staged. Upstairs we have 3 bedrooms, 1 Family room and 2 bathrooms so I better wrap this up quick. Staging a home for sale is very important for a quick sale. I have to get rid of all the clutter, remove oversized furniture from small bedrooms, put away everything and find some nice decrative touches. The only part I'm looking forward to is shopping for the decrative touches.
Need to stage your home, want some help?
Some Websites you may find useful when organizing your home and the kids toys:
Easy 2 Organize - everything you need to know about organizing your home and life.
The Survival Guide - a great article that gets the whole family involved in the task.
Best House Cleaning Tips - One room at a time is this mother's advice
Parentree - Ideas on Organizing a Playroom
Prime Time TV Programming and Censorship for Kids
What's with prime time TV programming lately? I am not a prude or an overly strict stick up the butt parent but I don't think my kids should be exposed to certain subjects. The sex jokes of shows like 2 and a half Men for the most part still go over my 5 year olds head, but my 8 year old is getting an education. I do not want my boy treating women the way Charlie does. Shows like Family Guy do not belong on the TV before 9:00pm.
Even family shows like According to Jim have too many references to sex. Ok so maybe I'm just not ready for the "sex" talk with my tween. I don't want him to know what sex is yet, am I being unrealistic or nieve?
He told me that the grade 4s have sex ed, which means he'll have sex ed next year. They call it health class but they are learning about their bodies and how they work. He told me that he doesn't want to take health class because what they are learning makes him feel funny. (He's in a 3/4 split with lots of grade 4 friends) I didn't have sex ed until grade 8 or 9, isn't grade 4 a little early?
Maybe I'm just being overly sensitive but I really feel uncomfortable watching these shows when they mention sex.
When do you have to have "the sex" talk with your child and how do you?
Fathers and Daughters Have a Special Relationship -- Daughters need their Daddys
Fathers and daughters have a special relationship, one that needs to be nurtered. Yesterday my husband and my daughter spend the day together riding bikes and playing. This time that they spend together is valuable because it builds on their relationship and creates strong bonds. No relationship a little girl has will be more important then the relationship between her and her father. Each father needs to recognize this and spend the time it takes to build a strong bond with his daughter. Every daddy's girl's future relationships will depend on her bond with her dad. If she felt it was lacking she will be desperate to find any type of bond in her future relationships, if it was healthy she will look only for healthy bonds in her future relationships making sure they measure up to daddy.
Most guys don't understand how important their relationship with their daughters is, it is easier to relate to the son's and do guy stuff with them. Sitting down to a tea party and playing Barbie's isn't as fun, but just as important, it's not what your doing that matters, its that your doing it.
My husband and daughter rode their bikes to the movie store to pick a family movie for last night, they couldn't of picked a better movie. This is the ultimate in father / daughter movies. Dwayne Johnson plays Joe Kingman a star Quarterback for the Boston Rebels. Madison Pattis, from Disney TV's Cory in the House, plays his newly found 8 year old daughter Payten.
Payten is your typical 8 year old girl who Bedazzles everything and takes over Joe's bachelor pad, nothing is off limits to her regardless of what Joe thinks. Joe finds out that its not the stuff, the ego, the job but the time he spends doing the girly things with Payten that brings him closer to her and makes him happy. Finding pride in pink nail polish and happiness in combing a dolls hair is what being a father is all about.
Fatherhood is not an easy responsibility, it's easy to become a Father much harder to become a daddy. Every little girl needs her daddy's attention and love in her world because she is too little to gain entry into daddy's world but daddy is never too big to be a kid.
Teach Your Kids to Be Happy by Being Happy
Now if your like most people you understand that when you have children your life changes and it becomes about them instead of about you. What happens though when you become so negative or so miserable that you can't stop thinking about yourself and what you want or need? For many kids their reality is living with one or more parents that think only about themselves and the misery they think their life is.
Here's the thing, you can't change someone else, you can only change you and your attitude. That's the part that sucks because now you are faced with difficult choices, change yourself and your outlook or continue down a path of negativity.
No one can make this choice for you. What you need to do though is think about your kids and the lessons you are teaching them. Do you want your children to grow up to be miserable? Do you want them to grown up negative about the world around them, worrying about every little thing? If the answer is yes, then continue on the path you are on. If your answer is no then you have to change or find help to change.
Parents need to be healthy, emotionally, mentally, and physically in order to raise healthy children. If you are broken, your children will have a greater chance at being broken. After all, we are all the product of our upbringing, the good news is that as adults we can make a conscious decision to change our outlook.
Birthday Season Approaches - Birthday Parties and Gifts add Up
Christmas isn't the most expensive time of the year for our family. In our family the most expensive time of the year is April, or better known as Birthday Season.
My kids were born 8 days apart in the first week of April, add in Easter and I need to get a loan to fund the whole affair. I try not to do a big blow out, I burned myself out on those after the 1st year I had 2 parties to plan instead of one.
Even the smallest birthday parties can cost a fortune and where I live everyone continually tries to out do the other person with a bigger and better party. I played the game when I had one child, but with two parties within a week of each other I just can't compete anymore.
So why don't I just have one big blow out you ask? My brother and I are 6 days apart and my mom would have only one big blow out and I always remember feeling cheated because I had to share my birthday! Yes I was a selfish little brat and this may have been the start of the huge wedge that is between my brother and I. That and our competitive natures.
So here are my past expensive ideas that I probably won't do again:
1. A birthday cake for $45.00 plus tax for a 4 year old
2. Renting adventure zone for two full parties for over $100.00 a pop.
3. Having 16 kids to one birthday party
I'm sure I'll be adding to this list when I have more time to think about it. These are the top three that stick out.
The year I bought the $45.00 cake for my son was the same year my daughter turned 1 eight days earlier. I also bought a cake for a party at Grandma's house, a cake for his actual birthday with family, a cake for my daughters actual birthday and the $45.00 cake for his kids birthday party. I know I spend well over $100.00 on cake alone that year.
Jello Birthday Cake
Since this is going to be the start of birthday season I will be writing more on birthday party planning and ideas. Hopefully I can find some cost saving ideas for everyone.
Cake is made out of Finger Jello - Use Knox Gelatin to increase the Gelatin and the stability. Make layers to increase interest. Use a casserole dish and soak in hot water for a few minutes once its set. Decorate with icing and decorative gel. Add candles and start to sing.
In the past I used to throw out most of the cake after the kids had eaten the icing, now I make a jello cake and buy an icecream cake and have very little to throw out because the kids eat it all!
I'll take a Canadian Election over an American One Any Day
I googled democratic primary to find out what happened yesterday and I'm more confused as ever. Does it ever end? By the time they get to the polls to decide on the president of the United States the voters will be shell shocked and suffering from electoral hang over.
Give me a good old fashion Canadian election, one month and done! OK so the parties have their conventions too, but still it lasts a very short time. One day of voting. Alberta called an election and elected a new priemer in a month.
No wonder an election costs so much, they never stop campaigning. It gets so confusing - one minute one is in lead and then the next another one is in lead. I took US politics in University, I should have taken US electoral process - it would take a University degree in US electoral process to understand the US Political news.
I'm not an American and I'm sick of the whole Obama / Clinton thing. Get on with it, take one day everyone vote and pick a candidate already.
Latasia Jewelry Sale for the Month of March 2008
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Surveillance video cameras in Public Areas for Crime Prevention or Conviction
Calgary is considering installing surveillance video cameras in certain public places to help convict criminals. The concern other cities like Kelowna and Vancouver have had are privacy issues. Really if you are in a public place, how much privacy can you expect to have? If you are concerned with your privacy in a public place, exactly what are you doing in that public place that would cause you embarrassment?
Think about it, if you have hours apon hours of surveillance video to go through the only things that are going to attract any attention are those things that are out of the ordinary. If you are doing something you shouldn't be doing in a public place someone saw you, probably got it on their camera phone and uploaded it to the internet. Surveillance video is more secure then that.
I'd rather know that there was surveillance video so that if something did happen to me there was video evidence of it to convict the criminal. Everyone complains that crime is too high, but heaven forbid we infringe on their right to privacy in a public place. After all it is their right to commit a violent crime against someone and not have it recorded on video.
For those who complain that video surveillance cameras in a public place infringe their right to privacy, I ask this.... exactly what are you doing in a public place that you wouldn't want law enforcement seeing on video?
Making Fun Snacks for Kids - Making the Ordinary Extraordinary
I am making snacks for the kids, and me, since we mainly snack all day and have small meals. Having the same thing all the time gets to be a bit boring and trying to provide something healthy they'll eat is a challenge.
I don't like to give the kids suger cereal like Froot Loops or Corn Pops for breakfast, but as a snack during the day makes for a treat with some nutrition. At least better than candy! I will admit these cereals don't have a lot of nutrition packed into them, but some is better than none. I will empty a box into small snack sized ziplock bags and put them into the pantry for a quick snack.
My kids have a choice when it comes to beverages in our house - water or milk. I know a little boring but growing kids can never get too much water or milk.
We love Jello, making Jello healthy is easy and the kids love to eat it. I make a bunch of different options and fill small round glad containers to keep in the fridge. I use Juice and add fruit so I can sleep better knowing at least there is some nutrition and not just sugar and flavoring. My kids love finger Jello, I make this by adding knox gelatin to the Jello, 2 packets for a large Jello box. We use cookie cutters to make fun shapes, I've even made a huge spider and a Jack O Lantern for Halloween.
Ever since I was pregnant with my son in 1999 I've been an omega 3 nut but I don't like fish...... I add flax seed flour (flax seeds milled in a coffee grinder) to all my baking.
Cereal bars are an easy snack to make and an easy snack to pack in lunches. By adding peanut butter, raisons and chocolate chips, different cereals it becomes different every time.
Share your fast, easy and healthy snacks for kids.
Time Apart is Important to Build Close Sibling Relationships
I feel bad for my little girl and wish there were more girls around her age. She feels left out a lot because her brother has lots of kids knocking on the door wanting to play with him, but rarely does she have someone asking her to play. I don't want to make her brother take her all the time, but sometimes I do by asking him questions trying to get him into her shoes. He will usually take her along when I ask.
What I find harder to do though, is to get him to stick up for her when the neighbour boys are being mean to her. There have been times when I've told the neighbour boys if they want to play with him they have to play with her too or he has to come home. The neighbours are brothers and they love to play with my son, the problem is they want nothing to do with my daughter and she ends up crying because they are mean to her.
I then try to get my son into her shoes by asking him how he would feel and if he were her what he'd want to see happen. For the most part it is working and he will take her with him if I ask but he still has a problem sticking up for her when his friends are mean.
Being a big brother is a huge responsiblity because you have this little girl looking up at her knight in shining armour. When he refuses to act the little princesses heart is broken.
It seems any time there is conflict between them it happens as a result of other kids being in the picture. I want them to stand together as a united front against the onslaught of the world, but that is a lot to ask.
They need their own friends, their own space their own alone time to really apprecitate the time they have together. They are individuals that need to find their own strength on their own. I know this, but it is hard when my daughter comes in with tears running down her face because the kids are being mean and her big brother isn't standing up for her.
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