Survive and even thrive in the modern world of parenting
Last week I linked up with Naomi from Seven Cherubs for her series on “Cherishing the Cherubs” and we looked at Recording aspects of our childrens lives to help us remember the little things as well as the big things.
Today the title for the link up is simply Remembering.
And today and every day I remember my precious daughter Ava.
17/10/2007 – 1/3/2008
I remember her beautiful smile. I remember her bravery. I remember that I am a better mum for having had her in my life.
It is fair to say that the last few weeks and months have bought about a couple of changes to the routines of our household. We have packed up our house ready to renovate in order to accommodate a growing family, moved 6 people into 2 small rooms at my parents house and last week welcomed a new addition to the fold. As a result, some of our routines have started to go a little astray. It came to our attention that we may need to revisit one of my old blog posts on morning routines and get out the list of chores to ensure that we are able to leave the house with a greater semblance of efficiency and harmony. So if morning routines are something you struggle with please have a read of Morning Routines: Getting to school on time without Nagging, Yelling, Fighting….. Sometimes we all just need a little reminder that there are ways to make our lives a little less painful.
One thing our family has never failed to achieve in the mornings however is to eat a fairly decent and pretty healthy breakfast to set them on their way. This is probably a combination of having active boys who are simply ready for a feed as well as the importance I have always placed on eating breakfast. I am one of those who can’t leave the house without eating first and so this may have rubbed off on the rest of the clan. What I have discovered recently however, is a large portion of children do go off to school without having had anything to eat, and one of the number one reasons for this is a lack of time. This is rather disturbing considering the research on the need for food to stimulate brain activity for the day ahead and to boost concentration levels. [Read more...]
Sometimes it doesn’t hurt for us to remember to take some time out to focus on the little things. We spend so much time planning for the futures of our children and for the greater plans for ourselves, that it is very easy for us not to live in the moment and take stock of what is going on right now. Whilst I was waiting to give birth last week I came across another gorgeous idea from Naomi from Seven Cherubs about the the importance of “cherishing our cherubs” and taking the time to note down or photograph the little things that will one day become the big things we look back on and cherish about our children. You may remember The Happiness Project which required us to write down a simple sentence each day for a month about something that made us happy that day. This was a great way for us to come up with a positive thought to finish the day. With this idea Naomi has asked for people to link back to her blog with some snippets of the day to day life of our children, to record the things we may take for granted now but may forget in the years to come. [Read more...]
How far would you go to teach your child a lesson?
The recent riots in the UK led to the revelation that a mother, on seeing her daughter on CCTV footage involved in some of the rioting and looting, marched her daughter down to the local police station to be dealt with by the law. There is no doubt this girl needed to be taught a lesson and needed to be made accountable for her actions. The destruction was opportunistic and showed a complete lack of respect for others and the businesses they had worked hard to build, some of which were family owned, past on from generations. Do we applaud this woman who obviously felt that this was the only option she felt available to her at the time? Maybe for her this was a last resort and a cry for help for a daughter she could no longer control. Or do we wonder what had gone on previously in that child’s upbringing that had led this child to believe that this was a satisfactory way for her to spend her day?
I thought about this with regard to my own children, and asked myself (and my husband) if we would ever go to those lengths to teach our children a lesson. [Read more...]
As I approach that time again (yes giving birth), it has led me to reflect on some of the advice that is usually offered as people become parents for the first time. It has been 11 years since I first embarked on parenthood and the advice has been many and varied. Now that I am about to have my 5th little boy, not surprisingly, people are not inundating me with their baby advice and words of wisdom. And yes I concur that I feel confident in knowing what to do with a baby, how to feed, settle, soothe, how to deal with nappy rash, cradle cap, bathing and introducing solids. What I think we all need reminding of however, be they your 1st or 6th baby, is to seek out advice when you need it and take the support when it is offered, but most of all trust in yourself and your instincts to help you make confident decisions about what is best for you, your baby and your family. Below I have posted some of my favourite quotes that I have found whilst browsing the internet (yes getting hooked on Pinterest)…and these quotes I will continue to try and live by to ensure that I maintain balance, perspective and a good deal of happiness over the weeks, months and years to follow. [Read more...]
