Monday, January 31, 2011

Inheritance

The best inheritance a father can leave his children is a good example.

As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children. 1 Thessalonians 2:11

A woman relates that when she was a little girl, her father, an artist, would often be busy at his easel, mixing oils and painting on his big canvases while she sat nearby on the floor, working just as hard as he was with her own set of crayons and a coloring book.
Many a time, he would set his brushes aside, reach down, and lift her up onto his lap. Then he'd curl her little hand around one of his brushes, enfolding it with his own larger and stronger hand. And ever so gently, he would guide her hand and the brush, dipping it into the palette and mixing the burnt umbers and raw siennas, and then stroke the wet, shiny paint onto the canvas before them both.
The little girl watched in amazement as, together, they made something beautiful.
Little did this father know that he was giving his daughter skills that would bring great fulfillment to her life. Today, Joni Tada - a quadriplegic since a diving accident during her teen years - is still painting, but this time with a paintbrush in her mouth. Much of her earnings is channeled into ministry to help others. Her compassion, too, is a reflection of that shown her by a loving, tender father.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Share with us your child's hairdresser


Share with us where you take your child for his/her haircuts. In the comments, leave the name, location, and, if possible, phone number of the hairdresser. If there is any other info you would like to share, feel free. Hopefully this will be a great resource for moms looking for a place to take their little ones for a trim.

Share with us

I read the blog, "Kelly's Korner" (link on left) and she often does a thing called Show us your life. She picks a topic and then people can link up their blog post on that topic. I'm not planning on doing that but I was inspired by that and an email from a dear friend, to start something new on The Mommy Years. In the email, my friend was asking some fellow moms who they would recommend as a hairstylist for her toddler. That got me thinking. How many times have I asked the advice of another mom about where they went for this or bought that? I'm sure you all have, too.
So, every Friday I will pick a topic and ask you all to leave "advice" in the comments section. For example, this week I'll be asking you to "Share with us" your child's hairdresser. That was the topic that started it all so I thought we'd start there as well. :)
I'm hoping this will be helpful to you all. I'm also hoping that this will be something that you can refer back to if and when you need the info. As a mom, I know I need all the help I can get and it will be great to hear your recommendations.
If you ever have any suggestions of topics, email me or leave it in the comments. I really want this to be something that helps you out, so your input will be beneficial.
Be looking tomorrow for our first "Share with us" post! Have fun shoveling- ugh. Anybody know of somebody who's great at snow removal . . .? ;)

Monday, January 24, 2011

Paper snowflakes


So, I'm slightly embarrassed to say, we still have our tree up. The ornaments are off but the tree is still up. This isn't entirely my fault. It's a long story and I won't bore you with the details.
Anyway, back to my bare tree. So I figured, as long as we have this tree up, we should decorate it with some cute paper snowflakes. Over the weekend, I asked the girls to make some. I found out that they had no idea how to make them. After trying to show them, I realized I really couldn't remember how to make them either. So I consulted my good friend Google and found out how to make an easy paper snowflake. I thought I would share my findings with you in case you, too, have forgotten this long lost art.

How To Make Paper Snowflakes
Paper snowflakes make great decorations and they are really easy to make. All you need is a square piece of paper and a pair of scissors. The secret is in the folding. It looks tricky, but it's really easy, honest!






Here's how:

Take a piece of square paper and fold it in half so that you have a big triangle.

Now fold that triangle in half to make a smaller triangle.

Now hold your triangle with the longest side at the top.

Next, fold the right-hand corner over towards the middle until it is directly above the bottom point of the triangle and press the edges down firmly.

Now fold the left-hand corner over towards the middle until it crosses over the right-hand point. Press the edges down firmly.

Almost finished. Now, cut off the two points that are sticking up, in a straight line underneath them.

This is the fun bit. You should be left with a triangle. The tallest point will be the centre of your snowflake. Now you get to cut out your pattern!


You can cut out any pattern you like. Swirls, spikes or a mixture of the two. Use your imagination!

The most important thing to remember is that you don't cut your triangle into bits though.

You must leave at least some of the folded edge intact so your flake doesn't fall apart.

http://www.show.me.uk/site/make/Art-and-Design/ACT135.html

Routines


Thanks for the comments! It helps to know that someone is actually reading this blog! :)
Since it looks like all of us are moms to toddlers, I thought I would share a little from Lisa Whelchel's book Creative Correction from time to time. She has a section in it just for toddlers. It is a great book and I highly recommend it.

Routines
*To keep your child's morning and evening routine "handy," try this. Trace your hand on two pieces of construction paper, a yellow piece for the morning and a blue piece for the bedtime routine. On each finger, write one thing that needs to be accomplished. Write the first thing to be done on the thumb, for instance, Make your bed. Once your child completes this first task, she gives you a "thumbs-up" and proceeds with the rest: Get dressed, Eat breakfast, Brush teeth, and Morning devotions. Upon closing her children's Bible, she gives you a "high five" to indicate that her morning routine is complete. This is repeated in the evening for the nighttime routine. The only difference is, instead of ending with a "high five," you put your "fives" together for a bedtime prayer.
*We wanted to establish a daily routine for our children while they were still little. The biggest obstacle we faced was the fact that they couldn't read the fancy chart I had made. So, I asked their grandfather to draw pictures illustrating the task that was to be done next to a picture of what the clock would look like at that time.
*A similar idea is to create a daily planner by taking a picture of your child engaged in the activity listed on the schedule, as well as a picture of the clock at that time. Buy a small photo album and put in the pairs of pictures, one page per pair, in the order in which the tasks are to be accomplished throughout the day. First thing in the morning, the child opens her daily planner, does the first task, and then turns the page. The last page has a picture of the child in bed with a snapshot of his or her bedtime on the clock.
*Your morning routine could include filling six sippy cups each morning for each child and placing them on the lowest shelf in the fridge. You can fill two with milk, two with juice, and two with water. This is so much easier than pouring drinks all day long, it cuts down on your "waitressing" job, and it ensures that your kids get a healthy balance of liquids every day.

I think these are great ideas that I could use for all of my kids. :)

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Friendship Blossom Valentines


I made these Valentines with my girls last year for their class Valentines Day parties. They are super cute and very simple. I saw them in Family Fun magazine. I'll include the link at the bottom.

Materials:
Scrapbooking paper or card stock
Scissors
Lollipops
Tape

Instructions:
For each, cut three heart-shaped petals, two leaves, and two flower centers from scrapbooking paper or card stock. *(I actually cut a 4th green heart then cut the heart in half to make 2 petals. For the centers, I just cut out circles and it looked just as cute.)*
Poke a small hole in each, crease the petals as shown, and slide the pieces onto a lollipop stem. Tape the bottom to secure.

More messages:
You're a sweet heart
Our friendship is blooming
Be my bud-dy

These Valentines were a big hit and so simple and SWEET!

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/friendship-blossoms-825185/

Friday, January 21, 2011

I'm back . . .

Hello! How are you all doing? It's been a very long time since I've posted something and I need to apologize. We have had quite a couple of months here in our household. We have been so sick. We have filled over 20 prescriptions, been to our doctors countless number of times, and had one trip each to the Walgreens clinic, urgent care, and the ER. We have been busy trying to get healthy. My husband has pneumonia but everyone else seems to be doing ok, so we're hopeful that this is the end of our journey of sickness.
So that was reason number one that I wasn't blogging (that felt weird but how else do I say it :). The other reason was because I was kind of throwing myself a pity party and didn't really think anyone read this blog or cared. After just looking, I see that people have been checking back almost every day even when I haven't posted anything. So that inspired me to start up again. Thank you!
There are a couple of things that would inspire me further and you can help me out with this. Ready? Sign up to be a follower. It's not hard and is even helpful in letting you know when a new post is up. One other thing is to leave a comment on this post. You can just say hi or tell us how many kiddoes you have, girls or boys, and maybe their ages. Don't feel like you have to give any super personal information. I'm just curious who's reading.
I know this was a boring post but I just wanted to let you know that I was back. Tomorrow I'm going to post a cute Valentine idea. :)