It's Back To School And Time For New Routines

By Renee, LSWA

We are in full school mode in our household.  All of the supplies have been bought, my husband and I have completed the ream of paperwork that was sent home for our homework and we are getting used to our “school schedule.”  As a working mom outside of the home and in the home, organization is critical to combating the chaos that can often surround the busyness of school and school activities.  I know some of this may be common sense, but I thought I’d share how our family tries to keep our children thriving and learning and life up and running amidst our new schedules.

1.  Set reasonable bedtimes.  My kids can be growling bears in the morning if they don’t get enough sleep.  This can make wake-up time stressful.  There is nothing worse than having to pull your child out of bed, throw clothes on him and push him out the door to the bus stop all in 10 minutes!  Not how I like to start my day and probably not the recipe for a successful day of learning.  Now there is no magical formula for this. You know your child best but the recommended hours for children ages 6-9 is 10 hours of sleep, ages 10-12, 9 hours of sleep and 8-10 hours for adolescents. For more information go to Kids Health.

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Disturbing Fashion

By Beth

OK, so I don't want to be known as one of "those moms" who want their children to be social rejects by not having the 'right' clothes. I'm all for my kids looking nice and fitting in to a certain extent. I do make sure my daughter especially dresses in clothes that cover her enough as to not be a walking advertisement for sex, I do know how boys' minds work. She shops at the 'rght' stores, Abercrombie, Holister, American Eagle and Aeropastle when we can afford it. I don't know who decided these were the stores you had to shop at, but that's besides the point.

Somehow, I ended up on the email list for most of these stores. Probably because I have ordered things online in the past. Most advertisements are fine, geared toward the teen crowd, "look good for your boyfriend/girlfriend" kinds of things. Some of the pictures are a bit provocative but there hasn't been much that has disturbed me so much that I need to write about it, to let other parents know what these stores are saying to our kids.

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Gratitude

 By Megan (Steps for Brady)

When I was little my mom forced me to write thank you cards to anyone who gave me a gift. I remember struggling to stretch my thoughts beyond a basic “thank you for the new sweater, I like it a lot.” Now that I’m an adult, I’m truly thankful for my mother’s lessons in gratitude. I know that I always feel good when I receive a heartfelt thank you, or a kindly written note in the mail.  And I try whole-heartedly to send a note of gratitude to anyone who acts kindly upon our family.

In recent months our family has had to swallow our pride and raise our hands to accept hundreds of gifts from our family and friends. Now that the dust has settled after my son’s illness, we were at a loss for how to properly thank all of those who cared enough to reach out of us in our time of crisis. The idea for a BIG party was something that came to us in the midst of our son’s battle with cancer. I recall myself saying to my husband during several long days at the hospital, “When Brady beats this, we are going to have the BIGGEST party ever!” The idea of this grand celebration gave us the “something to look forward to” that we were both in desperate need of.

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Dogs and Cats, Living Together…Mass Hysteria

By Alan

God tells us that “kind follows kind,” Genesis 1:25 and science has reinforced that with DNA. We can see the micro-machines that let the DNA from mother and father combine to give us offspring that should resemble a combination of the pair.

So, it becomes puzzling when you get children that look like you and your wife, look like your respective grandparents, and yet, you are convinced that the DNA must have come from the household pets.

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Awesome Craft To Do With Your Kids

By MAD21

I was reading through some of my favorite blogs and came across a really great idea from fellow blogger Kristen at We Are THAT Family.

The project is 'DIYP: Little Hands.' We all probably have at least one hand stamp or imprint of each of our kids when they were little, but I thought this was a unique way to preserve their handprints. And in a way that is easy to hang on the walls for everyone to see. Kristen found the idea at Country Living Magazine. Thanks for sharing it!!

I know what project I'll be working on over vacation!