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Tag: attitude

  • Happy Thanksgiving: A list of gratitude

    Happy Thanksgiving: A list of gratitude

    This month I’ve been sharing my gratitude daily over on Facebook. I thought today would be a great day, to grab all those little posts, and combine them in one to see what a bounty of blessings I have.

    1. Warm Coats. When we moved to North Dakota, some of us only had light jackets. The people here are so kind, and we soon had warm coats for everyone
    2. YOU! This month we reached over 3000 fans on facebook, and those posts are reaching a little over 800 each week. Here on the blog I see almost 4000 visitors a month! Thank you!! Keep coming back, and bring your friends.



    3. Morning Smiles from my kids. Really is there anything better than waking up to smiling kids?
    4. My Mom’s Banana Bread. Get the Recipe!
    5. The Holiday Season. This is the most wonderful time of the year. With sleighbells…are you singing yet? I just love the joy, kindness, and friendship that seems to be made more apparent this time of year. As we reach out to others to lift them up, because we feel that Christmas spirit.
    6. My church. Learn more about what I believe.
    7.  4 day weekends, and Snow. You really can’t get more lucky than having it snow on a 4 day weekend. It means no days added to the end of the school year, and you can play with the kids outside, in the freshly powdered earth.

    8. The USA and our veterans. I have incredible gratitude for our soldiers. Past and present – as well as their families who give their husbands, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, etc. You are wonderful. Thank you.
    9. Warm clothes and leggings.  Not to start controversy over leggings, I like the kind that just cover my calfs, and go under my legs. Pretty sure they kept me from turning into a popsicle one day.
    10. A new Day. Because every day we wake up, we have the choice to start fresh and new. To let go of our past, and move into our future. New days are AWESOME!
    11. My wonderful husband. I married a pretty great man. He loves his kids, he loves his job, and he loves me.

    12. My parents. I feel such gratitude to these two I get to call Mom and Dad. They have always been my team. From coach, to cheerleader. I sure miss them this year, but they’re only a phone call, or google hangout away.
    13. Good books. Puh-lease! Life is just better with good books. Don’t forget you can enter to win some of my favorites in the Holiday Gift Guide!
    14. My mom – baking skills. I love my parents as a team, but also separately, because they are individuals. My mom taught me to cook. She expected me to learn the basic skills of feeding a family. How very grateful I am for that when I look in my cupboard and see jars of jelly I made, or the fresh bread cooling on the counter.
    15. Our home. Oh how grateful I am that we have a home to live in right now. We moved to North Dakota with no place to live. After a few nights in the hotel, I truly am grateful for this place.
    16. Reliable car. Earlier this year, we were able to purchase a new/used car. Our van was dieing. We didn’t know we’d face unemployment, and then a huge move to North Dakota. Our van would not have made it.
    17. Snowy days, hot chocolate, and childhood memories. When you combine these 3 items, life couldn’t be much better. At least not for me. I am grateful that I have good childhood memories, and that things as simple as a mug of cocoa while the snow falls can bring those memories back.

    18. Kids playing nicely. Truly, this is a blessing everyday it happens. Kids don’t always play nice, but I want them to be best friends.
    19. School. This year I decided to go back to school. I love WGU, because I can go to school completely online. That means I can still put my family first, but still pursue something that will both enrich my life, and my families.
    20. My Dad. November also brings my dad’s birthday. I love this man so much, and could not have asked for a better father. He’s always been there for me, and I know he always will be. Warning, only watch the below video if you don’t mind seeing me cry.

    21. Amazing Friends and the Lord. We have moved a ton in our married life. Growing up, making friends was not easy for me. Yet every time we have moved, there has been someone who almost instantly became a friend, to both me and my kids. Krystal, Laura, Jennifer – thank you all for touching my families life! Along with this, is that I know the Lord has helped in putting these ladies in my life. They are all friends from church, with kids almost exactly the same ages as my own kids, with a similar view on life as my own. These friends have helped me through some rough patches, and never judged.
    22. childhood neighbor. I had an elderly neighbor growing up. She became almost like a mom to me. She hired me to care for her home, one year, and for the next 2-3 years that’s what I did. She taught me how to wax wood floors, trusted me at 12 with her riding lawnmower, as well as her beloved pets when she went on vacations. Until this year I didn’t think I’d use those skills for anything but my own home. However, recently I’ve been able to pick up side work cleaning homes for others, and being able to contribute to our family’s needs.
    23. Pie. Ya’ll, I love pie. So let’s say thanks for all we have, and go enjoy some good old fashioned pie!

    Let’s work on cultivating an attitude of gratitude all year long. Some of my list may seem a little silly, but that’s OK. Those small, silly things, are what we can find gratitude for every day. By being grateful, we can become more happy. 
    Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving
  • Little Monster Behavior Chart

    Little Monster Behavior Chart

    Part of being a parent is disciplining your children when they make wrong choices, or have bad behavior. It is also setting an example so they know how to behave and can easily choose right from wrong.

    We have been struggling with getting our kids to behave kindly, and well, just in general behave. I hope it’s not just me that struggles with kids pushing their boundaries, but I know in public I see much better behaved kids than my own. Last week as I lost control of my own behavior and acted shamefully in front of my kids I knew I was failing. I was failing as a mother and example to my kids.  I cried to Mark that night, and even though I know I’ve succeeded in some areas, this one was becoming too much for me.

    Mark, as always had a brilliant plan. So I sucked up my tears, and set to work creating a behavior chart for little miss Princess R. At 3 years old and in the middle of the pack, she seems to push boundaries the most. I crossed my fingers and just hoped that this chart was going to do the trick.

    The basic idea was to have a chart with an item that could move up and down according to her behavior. Good behavior moves up the chart, bad moves down. I wasn’t sure how I was going to create it at first, but it soon came all together. I started on picmonkey to get my basic design (right click to print your own)

    behavior chart
    I printed our chart on card stock to have a nice solid background for the movable piece on the side. Next I made a slit with an exacto knife down the right side of the chart. Finally we attached a paper flower from My Memories Suite with a decorative brad. 
    Stm-2
    If you do not currently have My Memories Suite, you can use code for STMMMS37783 $10 Off the program download.
    Once the flower was attached we used some Zots to stick the chart up on the wall. 
    It’s been a few days since we have implemented this chart for Princess R, and the effects have been stunning! Not just for her either – but for me as well. Instead of losing my cool, and raising my voice, I calmly ask Princess R if we should move her to the Little Monster or up to the Ribbon. Princess R is just that – a Princess. She is not a Little Monster. 
    We still have our days of tantrums and Doing it Her Way, but they are calmer, we listen to each other better, and our overall behavior has stuck between the Happy Face and The Ribbon. Once we stay at the Ribbon Princess R will be allowed to pull a treat from our very coveted Treasure Box. Today looks like it will be a Treasure Box kind of day.

  • Making a House a Home: All about the Attitude

    Making a House a Home: All about the Attitude

    As my blog title states, I’m striving to turn our House into a Home. For me this means, it’s not just a dwelling, a roof over our heads and beds to sleep in (though I have recently taken up residency on the couch, darn pregnancy pains).  A home is a place full of love, laughter, family and friends. A place anyone can feel welcome in as soon as they cross the front doorstep.  To help with this in our front room we have this quote painted on the wall.

    Last week as I pulled into the driveway after picking Princess V up from school, she declares “I hate this house. It’s a big mess. We need a bigger house.”  Thank goodness I was already parked, because I was floored by this 5 year old’s statement. I LOVE our house. I DON’T want a bigger house (this one’s plenty big to clean as is!). Why would she say something like that?  After talking it over with Mark we decided it came down to attitude. Was I displaying an attitude of love for our home? Was I showing our home love and teaching the Princesses how to love our home?  I’m guessing not. Actually, I’m not guessing. I wasn’t. Being 8months pregnant and emotionally and physically drained, I just didn’t have it in me to show as much love and caring to our home as I would like. Instead, I realize I showed more frustration and anger with the constant messes that I just couldn’t keep on top of. No wonders she thought she hated our house, she was associating it with the mess, which is exactly what I was exemplifying to her!

    On a recent trip to visit Mark at work, I saw a sign he had hung on one of the doors. I really liked it, and decided I needed to incorporate it into my daily thoughts. 

    Attitude - Attitude
    So how do I turn this around? How do I change my attitude. The messes still frustrate me, especially as it gets harder and harder to bend over to pick things up. How do I teach my kids that we can love our home, by keeping it clean? 
    First, I have to change my attitude. From now on, if there is a mess, instead of becoming frustrated, thinking I’m the only one who cares (come on, you know you’ve thought it before too), I need to kindly ask for help. I need to pull out that little reservoir of energy to put a smile on my face, and get to work. Then once we have the mess clean, I can show the Princesses the type of fun we can have in a clean home. There is so much we could do, but I never do, because of the messes. We could have so much fun, if only we clean up after ourselves, and all pitch in.
    Once we have our home clean, I am feeling the need to make each room enjoyable for everyone. There should be some element in each of the rooms that will make it home for us all. Here’s some ideas I’ve put together, and begun to incorporate into our home.
    Front Room – I’ve added an art wall. Although our front room is mostly used for visiting with friends. It’s a place I always strive to keep clean and free of toys. But it also seems to be where we spend the most family time. Having an art wall to display the Princesses work has been both fun and enjoyable for all of us.  For some, the front room could be your family room, your game room. Whatever room you spend the most time in. Try to keep it simple, with elements for each member of the family. By doing this it can bring the family closer together while still giving that individuality.
    Kitchen – Our kitchen is very small, and is more like a hallway. Really, to get to the rest of the house you have to walk through the kitchen first.  To change the attitude in our kitchen I’m planning on involving the Princesses in cooking each day. Besides getting some more time with them, it will also teach them life skills, and responsibility. For the smaller one, I have our tupperware drawer available for her to play in. The older girls love playing in it too, and they have many pretend parties with tupperware strewn across the floor. Allowing them this space lets them feel apart of the kitchen happenings.
    Dining Room – Now that it’s remodeled, we all love our Dining Room more! We went for a Venetian theme with the color and decor. After Princess V’s declaration though, I wanted to make it more child friendly as well. So the play kitchen came out of the toy room, and into the Dining Room. I haven’t seen them play so much with their kitchen in forever! Just today after lunch they sat around it getting “drinks and ice” from the little fridge.  While they did that, I was able to clean up lunch. What a joy this brought into our home, as the 3 girls played nicely together without any fights or tantrums.

    Play Room – If you have a place specifically for toys, that is great! After our flood last fall we were able to remodel and make that space. Don’t forget to add elements for the adults in this room. Yes the room is built for the kids, but you want to be able to get down and play with your kids. When we first made the room, there was no seating in it. I realized soon that I needed something down there so I could be with the kids, but still be an adult as well. So down went our little IKEA couch. The problem we have with this room now, is keeping it picked up. It seems like an impossible chore, but it isn’t. My first idea, is to create some game art. My kids love their board games, but don’t know how to play by the rules yet. This causes pieces of different games to be left spread around the room. I saw this brilliant idea on Pinterest, and plan on adding it to our play room. It keep it fun for the kids, and clean for the adults.
    Once we have the rooms set up, as the adult I need to set clear rules and boundaries. For some it may be “Food stays in the kitchen”, or “Shoes stay by the door”.  Decide what’s most important to you in your home, and what is possible for your life situation. For us, we mainly keep food in the kitchen, but we often enjoy a fun “picnic” in the front room. It breaks the same old, and keeps the Princesses entertained. I do prefer no food downstairs though. I just haven’t made that a clear rule; one with consequences for being broken. Once you have your rules decided on, if you have kids, talk about consequences and rewards for obeying. We do a Daddy Dollar and Mommy Market system that our kids love! They’ll do just about anything to get a Daddy Dollar, and they know we mean business if one is taken away. At the end of each week they get to shop the Mommy Market.
    Now this whole post started because of what Princess V declared. So I’d like to end with another of her declarations, a few days after the first
    “Mom, I love this house. I love the seat here, with my blanket and pillow and watching Avatar”. 
    Let me give you a little bit of a view into what it was exactly that she loved.
    Amazing what a little change in attitude can do.
    *This post is part of Blogelina’s 100 Blog Comment Event.