Tag Archives: parenting

Apr 5 2011

Take a break from spring cleaning…

I came across this poem a month ago while looking up home-preschooling.  I’m using it in the MOPS newsletter this month and also wanted to share it with you.  It’s a reminder that there is more to life than a clean house. The time we have while our children are young is so precious.  Now that it’s spring, it’s time to get out there and show your children the wonders of nature.   

I Took His Hand and Followed
Mrs. Roy L. Peifer

 

My dishes went unwashed today,

I didn’t make the bed,

I took his hand and followed

Where his eager footsteps led.

 

Oh yes, we went adventuring,

My little son and I…

Exploring all the great outdoors

Beneath the summer sky

 

We waded in a crystal stream,

We wandered through a wood…

My kitchen wasn’t swept today

But life was gay and good.

 

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade

And now my small son knows

How Mother Bunny hides her nest,

Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

 

We watched a robin feed her young,

We climbed a sunlit hill…

Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,

We plucked a daffodil.

 

That my house was neglected,

That I didn’t brush the stairs,

In twenty years, no one on earth

Will know, or even care.

 

But that I’ve helped my little boy

To noble manhood grow,

In twenty years, the whole wide world

May look and see and know.

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Dec 20 2010

How to keep kids from scratching all your DVDs

My kids have a knack for destroying DVDs.  At our old house we had an entertainment center with a child-proof latch on the door to keep them out.  Once we moved to the new house that old piece of build-it-yourself particle board furniture went to the dump.  The new house has very little storage so I put the kid’s movies in a plastic storage chest of drawers.  They have enjoyed being able to see and select movies themselves, but this led to taking the discs out and playing with them.  I have found them under the area rug, stuck in the fireplace and covered with sticky food residue.

Paul suggested that I put them up out of reach, but there is no good place to do that here.  I worried that if I moved them to the bookshelf the kids would try to climb it (It’s not secured to the wall. I know, I know, I’m a terrible mom).  So I came up with another solution.  It’s Mommy’s Video Store!  You know how we used to go rent movies, way back in the 1990′s?  You’d pick the movie box off the shelf and then trade it at the counter for the real thing.  So I took all the DVD’s out of their boxes and bought a big CD/DVD case from Target that holds up to 200 discs.  Plenty of room for the movies we have, and room for the future.  I also put all the annoying “Disc 2″ DVDs that come with so many movies these days in the back.  It was only about $20, and if it keeps them from ruining another movie, it will have paid for itself.

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Oct 28 2010
MOPS Logo

MOPS

I was invited by a friend to join MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers).  I’ve been trying for several weeks to make it to a meeting and finally did today.

If you are not familiar with MOPS it’s an international organization with groups throughout the country.  MOPS provides a chance to relax, make new friends, enjoy adult conversation, learn a new skill or craft, and be encouraged.  There is also Christian scripture and a little prayer.  They provide child care for the duration of the meeting so moms can have a break and focus on the fun of the day.

In the meeting I went to we started with some socializing, some tasty food and then a short scripture reading followed by a prayer.  Then the meeting moved to the topic of the day–finances!  The speakers talked about budgeting, how to make coupons really work for you and financial goals.

I was really enjoying the talk but had to leave early because Audrey was having a meltdown in the childcare room.  We’ll try again at the next meeting.

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