Jul. 21, 2009 - Encouragement for Me
I take my children into the church service with me. And usually, I enjoy it that way. Once in a while I have a discouraging Sunday. (the three year old announces he has to p**p out loud, or the 1 year old won't fall asleep as I planned) Here's the encouraging part: Joshua 8:35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them. 2 Chronicles 20:13 And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. I read this today and was reminded that we are a family before God and He enjoys my children more than I do. Maybe I am reading something into these verses but it was an encouragement to me to continue doing what we are doing!
Mar. 24, 2008 - Win a potty seat
Just a heads up, if you want a chance to win a really cute potty seat! CLICK HERE! I have an entire page on my website dedicated to early potty training...
Mar. 16, 2008 - Teaching children to save you money
Ok, at first I know this won't sound like you are saving money, but it is the principle that you teach your children...once they get into the habit, then you'll save money. Here's what we did:
Our electric and water bills were higher than we would like, so we told the children how much they were and that next month when we got the bill, if it was lower we would do something special (I can't remember now what it was...) They all got on the bandwagon of turning off lights, unplugging items not in use, etc. Taking shorter showers, not letting the water run while they brushed their teeth, etc. became the norm. We spent the "savings" on something fun with the children and had a great time.
After the first couple of months, we told them we would give them the difference in the last bill and the present bill. So if our electric bill was $250 and they brought it down to $200 we'd give them $50 to split. That was a real incentive. After so many months of this you can switch to a new challenge and pocket the "savings" since by then, they will have grown accustomed to turning off switches, water faucets, etc.
This really made a difference in how much electricity and water we used. The children now have a saving mindset, that hopefully will last a lifetime.
Mar. 1, 2008 - Warning About Window Blinds
Today we removed all the blinds in our home. Harmon is moving into his very own room...we think 
In the process of trying to make sure his little room was safe I went online to find some safety device for the cord on his window blinds when I came across this site about how window blinds can cause strangulation. After reading story after story about children who had been killed from "safe" window blinds, and countless others who were seriously injured we decided to just remove all the blinds in our home. (If you are in a rent home, you might want to store the blinds safely. If you rent an apartment, it might be necessary to check with management, often apartment and townhome complexes want to keep the uniform look and will not allow you to remove the blinds.)
I included the link to a site that explains all the ways children can become injured or killed on window blinds, so please, for the sake of your children and in honor of those who died, check out the site and make sure your home is safe.
