Disciplining a willful one year old

You would think the third time around, things would become easier. Not so for me. My 15 month old is the cutest bundle of trouble you can find. She has taken up with art this week. Yes by art I mean little scribbles everywhere , all 2 feet up from the ground. Well, sometimes even on the ground. As I write, there is brown crayon on my computer screen, that I haven't found the time to clean off yet...Hm, how to clean crayon off an LCD screen anyone?

Which brings me to my point... Discipline. When I tell her no, she sits there and smiles, maybe pauses for a moment, and continues on like nothing ever happened. I clearly need help here!

So today I will be researching the best ways to discipline a 1 yr old. When I find the answer I will be sure to pass the information along.

My favorite snacks to make

A few years ago, I realized how much everything I do , was shaping my children into who they would be when they got older. Such a scary thought. I am a snack food alcoholic. Now, I do enjoy eating healthy,but I LOVE cookies and cake, and anything that has chocolate attached to it. I found out that my kids were attaching themselves to my bad snacks.

So I dug into my past. My mother is the ultimate health food nut. Growing up with 4 siblings and not much money,us kids came up with some interesting snacks. I wrote down 5 of our top snacks we used to love here

So while I modified my kids snack habits, I also fixed mine. I have to say I started feeling much more energetic . I still have the chocolate cravings, but I am smarter these days - the chocolate doesn't come out until the kids are in bed!

How to love being mom

Today I was thinking about this blog, surviving motherhood - I thought back to a time a few years ago when I hated being a mom. Oh yes, I did say it. I did not enjoy it at all. I felt horrible even voicing those thoughts, and I think most of the time I pushed it away . I now regret all that time I wasted , not enjoying my days as a mother.

How did I get out of my fog of discontent? Well I wrote a short article about it , and you can find it here . These tips and by God's grace, I feel like I made it out of this dark tunnel. I never want to go there again.

I do enjoy being a mom, and I realize how much I am going to miss each little stage they go through. Even when I do feel like all the little things will drive me crazy , I know I will miss it when the day comes that I can actually sweep the floor without my littlest one coming right behind me to scatter my dirt pile . Or when I can finally stop getting stuck gum out of the kids hair.. yes the little things!

Making school lunches

I have a 6 year old who has turned into a picky eater. She used to eat everything with such enthusiasm, and now I am finding myself needing to make two pots of chop suey , one with sauce and one with very little, because she won't eat tomato sauce anymore!

This brings me down to my current problem, school lunches. I am not there to make sure she eats right, so I have been forced to come up with creative healthy snacks that I know she will eat, and won't end up in the schools trash can!

Its so important to get our kids to eat healthy while they are young. If you can get rid of the processed snack foods and junk crackers, do it while you can . I have high hopes that if we teach our kids how to eat while they are young, they will chose to eat healthy as adults . Have a look at my top 5 healthy things to pack for school lunch , for ideas on how to do that!

I am having a rough week surviving motherhood . So far January isn't looking as promising as I thought. I am looking forward to February now. February is a great month for me, I play it up as the month of love! That entails filling each day with something special. But today I must focus on what is going on, and that is sick kids. I know, I heard that shiver from here. I would rather jump off a bridge than have to deal with a kid who is sick . But, part of surviving is adjusting and learning how to deal. I wrote an article today about how to deal with kids being sick . You can read more about it on eHow.

Until then, lets keep pressing forward, January is almost half way through, and then on to happier things ( I hope!)

If it might, it probably will

My first post in surviving motherhood, is about the natural disasters we all have in our house... I fondly call them crazy tornadoes . These crazy tornadoes have the ability to destroy a perfectly nice room, quicker than we can blink an eye . Turn your back for a moment and yes, these natural disasters disguised as cute children do indeed find a way to destroy.

I have found a new phrase that I am locking away in my surviving motherhood guide . "If you think it could happen it will, if you think it will fall , it will ..." and so on! So while you are going around your house, and in the back of your mind you see that vase , looking as if its an easy target.. move it!! Before it is to late! This is also a good concept for keeping your house safe. If something does stick out to you like it might be a safety hazard , it should be taken care of . I to many times look at something and think " Hmm I should probably take care of that" And then move on to something else. Thank God I have never had anything happen to my kids, but I want to keep it that way, so if you are like me, vow to change with me, and keep a safer home .

Surviving motherhood steps to a safe home :

• Keep everything up high
  
• Lock cupboards containing any soap or chemicals
• Do a daily safety check
• Keep all medication out of sight and out of reach