Change

“When the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of changing,
you will change.”

-Bill Hall

Big Girl/Boy Bed

Any of you out there having trouble keeping their child in bed?? Below is a "Real Life Answer" from Homeword. I thought these were great tips. Hope this is helpful for you!

How do I get a 23 month old to stay in her big girl bed, without losing my cool?
What a great honest question! I remember my oldest daughter NEVER got out of her bed, NEVER! However, instead of getting out of her bed and coming to me she would just yell from her bed any request, idea, dream, etc that came to mind. I almost wish she would have gotten out of her bed. Our other daughter is our wanderer. At two she climbed on top of her crib and fell on the floor. Needless to say she went to a big girl bed the next day. We put a rail on her bed for her protection and also in hopes that it would keep her in the bed, like some sort of mental boundary. Sometimes she stayed, other times she wandered. Here are some suggestions we tried: 1. Calmly tell her your expectations and what will happen if she does not follow them. For example, "Honey, Mama expects you to stay in bed now. If you get up and come to me I will bring you right back to bed." Then follow through with little or no emotion. I know, this is easier said than done and for the first few days you may spend more time walking the hall than you did when she was a baby. Hang tight. It will work. If she is like my girls she has a strong will. But you must prevail. If you don't, she's in control. 2. Make sure she is comfortable. She has a drink nearby, has her favorite stuffed animal/blanket and has some light in her room. 3. If it is bedtime and she is not sleepy, allow her to quietly look at some books in her bed (with the lights off or low). She will eventually fall asleep. This is not playtime, however. Books only and she must look at them quietly. 4. You may want to use a book on tape for her to listen to as she falls asleep. 5. Make sure she is tired when you put her to bed. Follow your nightly bedtime ritual which will help trigger her "bedtime signals." 6. Be consistent. Without consistency it is a lost cause. Hang in there. You can do this and it is important that you "win" this situation now. It will make other battles much easier as they come in the future. Sweet Dreams, Leslie

HomeWord

Another great site.. with helpful and enlightening articles & resources for parents.

HomeWord Mission Statement
HomeWord seeks to advance the work of God in the world by educating, equipping, and encouraging parents and churches to build God-honoring families from generation to generation.

“Train up a child in the way he should go,
even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6

Helpful SITE/BLOG

I was researching on-line on how to clean rust.. Occasionally I run into websites and blogs that are VERY VERY helpful... Here's one:

HOW TO CLEAN THINGS

What every mom needs to know.. right?! Enjoy! :)

Spiritual Parenting

"Spiritual Parenting- An Awakening for Today's Families"
by Michelle Anthony

Such a neat book.

A few quotes from the book:

"Spiritual parenting reminds me that it's not my job to merely control my children's behavior, but rather it is my job to model with authenticity what I have in my relationship with God through Christ. And hopefully, what I have is worth passing on to the next generation."

"We're creating environments so that we open our homes and our children's lives to the Holy Spirit, so He can do His work in them."

"Our job and our privilege is to place our children in the path where He is at work. We get to come alongside where He is already moving. We get to place them in proximity to the Divine and then let the Divine do the supernatural in their lives. It's an honor. It really is."

Transitions

I've been meaning to post about this subject for some time now.. because I feel like us parents with little ones are always helping our children transition into a new phase/stage in their life..

No one looks forward to transitions.. at least not the transition PROCESS. Whether it's dropping a nap, getting rid of the pacifier, potty training, changing from crib to bed, etc.. the process will not be pleasing to either the child or parent. At least temporarily. You just have to keep your eye on the prize (no more changing dirty diapers, no more cleaning pacifiers, or child climbing and falling out of crib, etc) and get through perhaps a week of cranky kids and maybe sleepless nights for you.. But after a week or so, you will wake up and realize that your children have succeeded.. that is, until their next transition. :)