Random links and a Classical Education question

Hi ladies! We've had a pretty busy week so I thought I'd just share a few links that I've enjoyed lately and ask a quick question:

Summer Fun Idea Jar with Printables-- Do your kids ever get bored during the summer? Here is a great idea for keeping things interesting

Motherhood is a Calling -- one of the most encouraging and challenging articles I've read lately!

Free Printable Chore Cards and Tutorial -- A fun way to keep the little ones on track with their chores each day

Scripture Memory with Toddlers -- some great tips and resources for helping children memorize scripture! (And the comments have some great ideas as well!)

Now for my question:

Have any of you read The Well Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home or The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundation of Classical Education? I'd love to hear your thoughts. I've been reading them both over the last month and growing more and more excited about the idea of educating my girls classically. I think I am going to learn so much as well! But I must admit, I am also slightly intimidated :) If you've used this method of educating your kids, I'd love to hear about your experience, how it has gone, and if you have any tips for one just starting the journey. Also, I recently learned about Classical Conversations, a national classical Christian community for homeschool families. It sounds like a really neat program, but I don't personally know anyone who has done it and I was curious if any of you have experience with the group. I'd love to hear about it!

Newborn Product Reviews (after 8 weeks of use!)

Hi readers! One day I'll return to posts about topics other than newborns and babies, but for now it's what I'm living so its the easiest to write about! I thought I'd update on the baby products we are loving the third time around. I wrote a post about 3 months ago about the baby products I was excited about. Consider this the sequel!

As you can see in the first two pictures, our snugabunny swing has been a BIG hit and HUGE lifesaver! Based on how much my first two loved their cradle swings, I'm not surprised. I am disappointed that the swing's motor seems to be wearing out! It started after using the swing for only a few weeks. I haven't gotten around to calling yet, but plan to call Fisher Price. I'm certain they'll send me a new motor. Thank goodness because we use that swing many hours per day! It calms her down (when combined with the sound machine, swaddle and paci!) and helps her sleep better than anything else!

You can see our sound machine in the top of this picture. That's my next favorite. She will instantly calm at the sound of loud...very loud...white noise! We take this sound machine everywhere! It rides in her carseat when we are out. If we are in the car, I use a static station (which the big kids hate!) instead.

This picture (and the last) show that she is finally starting to take a paci! Especially when she is hungry, but I think she's also starting to learn to use it when she needs soothing to fall asleep. Hallelujah!! I prayed for this, literally and I'm soooo thankful for this answered prayer. (She even likes the Nuk, my favorite. :)

Because we went through about two weeks of "colic" (see my last post on breastfeeding - which is going great now!)....the Moby became our biggest help in accomplishing stuff around the house. The Moby is her favorite, but she will tolerate and even sleep in the pouch sling as well. We could not survive with the Moby and it too goes everywhere with us!

 

The last two products are ones I've discovered since she was born. This is the Fisher Price Rock N' Play and it is approved for sleep. Anna was having a seriously difficult time staying asleep, especially at night. We even packed up her BIG snugabunny swing for a long weekend of travel recently. We were that desperate! She would not sleep in her pack n' play! She has some serious reflux that doesn't necessary cause a lot of pain, but does cause a lot of congestion. When laid flat, she would get super congested and wake up coughing and sneezing within 5 minutes. This product has been another lifesaver for me at night! When she sleeps here, she does not wake up! Two nights ago, she slept from 10:30-8:30 and only woke up to eat ONCE!

I had heard of Gripe Water with my last two, but never used it. This go 'round a friend gave me a bottle that she hadn't used with her last baby. I put it away and didn't think much about it...until we entered Anna's few bad weeks. I thought I'd give it a try and it really seemed to help! This is the brand we have. I have noticed (while looking for more to buy) that each brand has slightly different ingredients. Because of that, I can only speak to "Mommy's Bliss" brand, but it has really helped Anna! 

Do you have a "must have" baby item that you discovered after baby was born? Please share! 

Money Saving Ideas

I wanted to share a list of Money Saving Ideas that I keep in the back of my monthly planner. I refer to this list any time I'm feeling frustrated about finances and need to be reminded of some basic ideas of how to save money. This is my go-to list that I share when someone asks me how to save money (and most of these can be done without clipping coupons).

1. Make a menu that repeats. I use a menu that repeats every two weeks. I plan for 6 dinners a week, leaving room for leftovers, a night out, or a night at someone else's house.

2. Stock up on non-perishables. If you are sticking to a basic menu, you know things that you can always have on hand. When there is a sale on something that I use weekly, I purchase in multiples. My stockpile currently contains canned fruit, pasta sauce, ketchup, oil, Italian dressing for marinade, paper towels, and Ziploc bags.

3. Double meals & freeze. Meg is actually the best at this I think! I have mini meatloaves and lasagna in my freezer because we don't need to eat the entire recipe at one meal. So instead of making lasagna in a 9x13, I make it in 2 8x8 pans and freeze one for the next time. Same with the mini meatloaves - I cook all 8 for dinner, but then freeze half of them to be eaten later.

4. Check Comcast.com for special offers. If Comcast (I think it is actually called Xfinity now) is your cable provider, be sure to check in at comcast.com periodically to see if they have any offers for current customers. I had heard other people say that they would call Comcast and negotiate a better rate. I have tried this quite a few times (even threatening to drop my service) to no avail. But then I discovered an offer on comcast.com for current customers that cut my bill for basic cable and high speed internet from $55/month to $30/month.

5. Lower your cell phone bill. I am new to the cell phone world, but I know this is an area that can save money. Evaluate how many minutes you are actually using per month. Then visit MyRatePlan.com to shop around. I use a plan through Virgin Mobile. For $25/month I get 300 anytime talk minutes and unlimited text/data/web. I bought my phone (LG Rumor 2 with slide out keyboard) for $30 from walmart.com. The best part for me is that there is no contract, so I can back out of it whenever I want. And I was able to buy $100 in Top Up cards (used to load money onto my phone) at the grocery store and receive a $20 off my next order coupon for the grocery.

6. Buy Secondhand. Always step back and ask yourself if there's anyway you could do this cheaper - baby furniture, clothing, cars, furniture, etc. Craigslist and the Salvation Army are my best friends.

7. Check for on-line coupons/discounts. Before making an on-line purchase, check out RetailMeNot.com for a coupon code. I also check in at the coupon database on Hot Coupon World. Even if you don't clip coupons, check out this site. Often times it will have links to Internet Printable coupons that you can print off before heading out.

8. Keep a Gift Closet. I try to maintain a gift closet with toys, games, etc. that I find for a low price. This helps save money on the last minute gift purchases for birthday parties. My gift closet currently holds 2 Zhu-Zhu pets and 4 board games, as well as a cute baby girl dress I bought on super clearance from Target.

9. Check MoneySavingMom.com for grocery/drugstore weekly deals. She has a link to almost all of the grocery/retail/drugstores in the nation as a collaborative effort with frugal bloggers. Even if you don't clip coupons, there are helpful deal ideas to be found. This is a great time of year to be checking in as she posts about Back To School deals (few of which require coupons).

10. Evaluate your cable/internet/cell-phone/gadgets/etc. These items eat up a large portion of a family's monthly income. Consider what you could do without for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months. Cancel that service for a pre-determined amount of time. After you have been away from it for a time, re-evaluate whether you really miss it or need to bring it back.

Do you have any ideas to add? Do any of these inspire you?

Making a routine of hospitality

I've always loved having people over to my house! Now that I have young kids with early bedtimes, it is truly the best way for us to spend time with people without worrying about exhausted meltdowns. I just put the little ones to bed at the appropriate time and continue fellowshipping with our guests!

But on the flip side, now that I have 3 little ones, it is rare that my entire house is completely clean at the same time. (OK; I'll be honest; it just never happens!) The thought of preparing a special meal is overwhelming when I have so many other things that I need to do. And to be completely honest, a lot of times I feel downright selfish with my time and want to have a quiet, relaxing evening with my family instead of having to serve others and do tons of dishes late into the night. I've quickly learned that if I just wait until I "feel" like hosting, it never happens. That is why we decided that for our family, hospitality must become a routine. It was a gradual change for us and I thought I would share with you how it happened and why we love it. I know this method of incorporating hospitality into your lives won't work for everyone, but it has really been a blessing to us (and hopefully to our guests as well:).

When we first started seminary, I heard a speaker say that his wife always cooks extra food one night a week and he is free to invite anyone he meets over for dinner that night. I thought that was a pretty cool idea, but never got around to implementing it.

Then two years ago, some friends in our church needed a lot of work done on their house. Our Wednesday night Bible Study decided to just meet at their house every Wednesday night to serve them instead of studying together. Since I had two little ones and couldn't really help with the workload, I cooked everyone dinner so that they could just come straight from work, eat together, and then get straight to work and have time to accomplish a lot more than if they went home and ate dinner first.

At the end of the summer when our work was completed and we got back to doing the regular Bible Study at our house, I decided to continue cooking extra and invited one of the single Seminary Students to eat dinner with us beforehand. When his roommates joined our Bible Study a few months later, they began to come for dinner as well.

When Abbi was born, we stopped hosting the Bible Study but continued feeding and fellowshipping with the college guys most weeks. And when I was too sleep-deprived to cook, they brought us Chinese food :)

This summer I realized that it wasn't too difficult to make just a little bit more and invite another couple or two over when I fed the guys. (The guys might not get as many extra helpings, but the fellowship is more important :) We have really enjoyed building stronger relationships with these couples, along with the college guys.

Having people over for dinner every week might seem like a lot of work, but I have found that the more I do it, the easier it gets. When I first started, I tried to pick my most praised recipes and special desserts have everything perfect, but that was too exhausting (and expensive) and I just couldn't keep it up! I quickly learned to make my meal plan for my family just as I normally would, with simple dishes that could be doubled easily and most often ones that I could prepare the day before. Then I could relax and enjoy our company (who quickly became family!)

Why we love it having people over on a set night every week: The relationships we have built are priceless! My girls LOVE the college guys and couples that come over and look forward to their night every week. They are learning to have good manners and polite conversations with grown-ups. (They do not always behave, but it is a loving and safe environment to train them!) Our friends take part in our nightly sing-song time, Bible reading, prayers, and kisses, and truly become part of our family. My husband and I enjoy sharing in the lives of our friends and learning how we can better minister to them and pray for them. We are encouraged by their friendship!

Do you have any tips for making hospitality a priority? I'd love to hear them!

Sibling similarity

No one can say my kids don't look alike!

Do I ignore this behavior?

My family spent the last week on vacation visiting friends in Colorado. We had a great time catching up with old neighbors from our seminary days and then visiting with close friends that are serving with Athletes in Action this summer. We collected many memories, photos, and souvenirs. But one thing we picked up that I wasn't expecting was a new habit of Samuel's.

Mid-week Samuel (almost 5) started dropping his "r" sounds. Let me tell you, it is super annoying. He consistently changes all "r" sounds to a "w". I know lots of children do this, but it's not as if this is how he's always spoke. He has had no issues with this sound, or any speech, before this week.

I have a couple of ideas of where he picked this up. One, it may be from friends he has here at home that don't pronounce their "r"s. But I don't know why he would start doing it on vacation when we are away from them. Two, the family we visited on the first half of our vacation has a 4 year old daughter with a few speech problems. She doesn't pronounce her "l", "k", or "r" sounds. Maybe he got it from listening to her? But why? Three, I have been reading Wonder Pets books to the boys and the duck, Ming-Ming, doesn't pronounce her "r"s and so when I read the book I change the "r" sound to a "w". But we didn't have any of those books on vacation with us.

Less important than where he picked this up is what to do about it. My husband says to just ignore it and he will stop. But it's driving me crazy!!! I've been very good about not showing my annoyance at it. I just keep going with him as if nothing is different. But I don't know how long I can hold out. And I'm afraid the longer he does it, the harder the habit will be to break.

So, what's your advice? Ignore the behavior? Ask him about it? I just don't know what to do and I'd love to hear some opinions. Thanks!

Storytelling

Howdy from Texas, everyone!

This Shannon from Our Blessed Life, and I am so thrilled to make a “guest” apperance on Prayer of Hannah! Hollie asked me to do a little “write-up” on Tell Me a Story: Teaching Them to Walk in His Ways.

This little eBooklet is a project the Lord laid on my heart, to be a useful tool in helping other parents - especially busy, working parents - teach the Bible to their children.

In it, I depict how our family started telling Bible stories to our girls, and how storytelling His Word has become a cornerstone in how we disciple our children. It has become something we really enjoy, but, as I explain in the book, it was never something we were taught to do, or even planned to do with our children - the Lord just laid it in our laps.

Let me give you a sneak peak at Tell Me a Story, by sharing a few snippets from the introduction of the booklet:

“When you are telling exciting Bible stories to your children, it doesn’t need to be when you’re snuggled close with a Bible or storybook in front of you, though those times are nice. You can tell your children stories while you drive. Turn off the radio; you’ll have a captive audience. You can tell stories while you cook dinner.... And of course you can tell them stories while you tuck them into bed. The powerful, wonderful Word of God will be the last thing on their minds as they fall asleep..."

As you will read in the book, our family didn’t instinctively know the art of storytelling.  Our children didn’t learn a handful of Bible stories in one day. They learned each story a little at a time, over the course of days and weeks. And most of the time, we have stayed only a few steps ahead of them in the process. And we are still in that process...

Even if you’re a busy working parent, you can redeem those hectic moments and use them to fulfill your most important job... And the benefit and blessing we reap is meaningful, quality time with our kids.”
In this short, easy-to-read eBooklet, I share how our storytelling journey was actually prompted by my 3-year-old daughter, Maggie. You will read a few of our stories word-for-word, as well as be encouraged to begin telling stories with your own children.

Tell Me a Story may be purchased from my blog Our Blessed Life, for a small donation towards our adoption.  You will receive it in pdf format (Horray for no shipping charges!) And at this time, every penny from sales helps us bring home Kirk and Lori, two five-year-old, HIV+ beautiful children in Eastern Europe, whom we are blessed to (soon) bring into our home and call our own.

Thanks everyone!
Shannon

A little note from Hollie:

Let me encourage you to head on over to Shannon's blog to read up on their adoption of these two precious children, Kirk and Lori, and possibly consider buying her e-book. The amount of donation given for the e-book is totally up to you. Her book is awesome and really encourages/teaches you how to teach the Word of God to the little ones in your life in a way that makes sense to them and helps them to retain the Truth in their minds. Jeff and Shannon are waiting and trusting in the Lord to provide for their adoption, and this is just one way we believe He could provide. On their blog you can also see how much they've raised and how much left they have to go. Thank you again!
Hollie

Nap Solutions

My girls are getting to the point where they don't always go to sleep at nap-time. They take a good, long nap about 75% of the time, but they were getting frustrated with staying in their beds for two hours the other 25% of the time. I grew tired of fussing at them to be quiet and wanted them to do something productive with their time if they were awake. I also did not want to lose my time to rest or get things accomplished uninterrupted each afternoon! So we came up with a new plan that is working well for us and I thought I'd share. I'd also love to hear how you handle disappearing naps in your home!

My girls undoubtedly need to have "quiet time" in order to happily make it to their 7pm bedtime. So they are required to stay in their beds, resting, with the lights off for 45-60 minutes. I do allow them to talk and sing quietly with each other during that time. Most of the time they drift off to sleep, but if not, I go in and put on a book on CD for them to listen to for about 30-45 minutes. They have been so excited about this! They are currently listening to the Adventures of Peter Rabbit and plan to do Winnie the Pooh next and then Charlotte's Web. All of these are available for free at our local library. After listening to a book on CD, I then turn on the lights and let them look at books together in their room for another 30-45 minutes. I love to hear them in there talking about what they are looking at and singing together. Now, I must admit that my girls are not perfect and there have been a few days when I have had to go in and break up an argument about who gets a particular book. But overall, this has been a great plan for us.

Something else that has greatly helped us with nap-time and morning wake-up time is our little friend, Momo. This cute monkey cost about $35 but was worth every penny! We had a hard time finding a kid's clock that wouldn't wake the girls up if they were actually sleeping past the time it was set for, but Momo is perfect! His eyes simply open at the appropriate time. He glows for a couple of seconds, but not brightly enough to wake them up. He does play a little tune, but we turned the volume all the way down and the girls can't hear it. The girls know that if they wake up before Momo wakes up, they should just talk quietly in their room until his eyes open. Then they are free to come out of their room. My girls LOVE their little monkey and are always reminding us to "close his eyes" (set the alarm) when putting them down for bed. We've had "Momo" for 3 months now and they still excitedly chant, "Momo's eyes are open," Momo's eyes are open" every morning as they come out of their room.

So what about you? What have you done when your little ones start to outgrow naptime? And do you have any good recommendations for books on CD for a 2.5 and a 4 year old?

This post is also part of KK's SUYL!

Couch to 5 K--my new workout plan

Truthfully, I never thought I would be writing a blog post about my exercise routine here at POH. And I especially never thought that my post about such exercise would involve RUNNING. That is a topic for other, healthier people than me--people who run, who enjoy it, who have been doing it for years. You know who you are, and I know that isn't me!

I am not a runner. I have been at best an inconsistent exerciser. A couple of years ago, a friend of mine recommended the Couch to 5 K plan. I thought it sounded cool, but pushed it out of my mind. Then recently, another friend completed it, and I started thinking about it again. I decided I was going to attempt it. Big gulp! After telling my husband, Nathan, about it, he started looking into it as well. Long story short, he and I are going through the Couch to 5 K plan together, and it is going well!

Couch to 5 K is a walking and jogging/running plan that moves you from not running to running 5K at the end of nine weeks. The workout is set up to be completed in 25-30 minutes, three times a week. You are encouraged to rest in between workouts (and believe me, that's helpful!). You can walk and jog as fast or slow as you like. The first week you walk for 90 seconds and jog for 60 seconds for a combination of 20 minutes. Anyone can start there! Every week adds on the previous week--so week two, you walk for two minutes and run for 90 seconds. You can repeat weeks if you need to, which we have done. Nathan and I took Fourth of July off, and had a hard time completing our scheduled walk/run that week. We decided to repeat an earlier week and to not worry if we didn't complete the program in 9 weeks.

The Couch to 5 K plan has many 'pros'. Everyone can do this, no matter what level of fitness they are at (Nathan and I are not fit--not yet!). It has been very helpful to have my husband working through this same program with me. We don't exercise at the same time--I get up and exercise while he does his daily quiet time, and then he exercises while I shower and get the kids breakfast. Though we are not running side by side, we are discussing it and encouraging each other. My sister is doing Couch to 5 K as well, and we cheer each other on via Facebook and emails ;-) One thing that I must recommend if you want to undertake this program is to invest in the C25K app. If you have an IPod Touch/IPhone/Android device, the C25K app is very helpful--you can listen to your music and the program will give you prompts for your next walk/run, etc. I am loving getting outside early in the morning, hearing the birds chirp and sing, smelling the fresh air, looking at the beautiful flowers in all my neighbors yards and just experiencing nature.

There are really no 'cons' to the C25K program, but if you are looking for something to help you drastically lose weight, this will not do it. I believe you would have to combine Couch to 5 K with calorie reduction and strength training on off days to get a solid, continual weight loss. I am happy with my current weight, and do not need to lose much, so that does not bother me. However, I want to have a healthy heart and body, so that I might serve my Savior and my family well. This is where I am starting.

Thanks for letting me share about my new favorite workout program! What do you do to get healthy and stay healthy? We all know how hard it is as moms to make time for exercise--I'd love to hear how you make time for physical fitness.

Too much milk! (And other things I learned breastfeeding...)

My first breastfeeding experience was difficult - as many are! The learning curve was HUGE and I was totally unprepared after Will's early arrival. I was determined to breastfeed and thankfully the NICU nurses and doctors were very supportive. I just didn't realize how hard it would be! I'm very glad to report that we did end up successfully breastfeeding after overcoming the many hurdles...

-pumping 24/7 the first two weeks of his life

-learning to feed a 3lb baby using a nipple shield (I do not endorse this product. :) 

-still pumping after every feeding because of said nipple shield

-nipple confusion because of the many bottles (with fortified breastmilk for weight gain) and nipple shield

-pumping at work from months 3-10

-severe reflux (another preemie thing) that caused major issues with feeding his first year of life

Fast forward to my second breastfeeding experience. At first, it was a dream compared to the first! Adeline was an excellent nurser and being full term had no weight gain issues or reflux. The only problem we had in the first few newborn days was my overactive let down, but we learned to wait until the milk was slower before latching her on again. Our biggest problem after that was that she never took a bottle! However, she was our super colicky baby with nightly scream fests lasting from 6-11pm until she was about 4 months old. 

Long after I quit nursing Adeline (at 15 months), I learned about the importance of the balance between the "skim" foremilk and "fatty" hindmilk. (Thanks to Krista and another friend!) I also learned that having too much foremilk can throw a baby's digestive system out of whack. They will be fussy (Adeline). They will have green, frothy poops (Adeline). They will act as though they are in pain (Adeline during her nightly spells). 

I was sad that I didn't realize this earlier and could have helped her be more comfortable for all those months! The solution is simple - be 100% sure that you are allowing the baby to empty the breast and not switching too often. Otherwise, baby will fill up on foremilk and not get enough of the fatty hindmilk. Even offering only one breast per feeding is ok! Your body will gradually adjust, producing less milk. You can also pump a little milk before feeding - but this will actually add to the problem in the long run as you're not signaling to your body to slow down the milk production!

I'm now 5 weeks into nursing Anna. She is showing the SAME signs that Adeline did. Fussy nights, green poops, pain, etc. The docs don't worry about green poop, but it does signal that something might be off in baby's system. Just today I started only nursing her on one side per feeding and I'm still waiting to see a yellow poop again. 

Today I did some more research and wanted to share some articles in hopes of helping someone else! I was floored to find an article (through LaLeche League) discussing some research done that suggests a relationship between imbalance of fore/hindmilk and COLIC! 

This morning, Anna and I were at the pediatrician for her one month check up. The little chunker weighed 9lbs! She's up more than 3lbs from birth. I asked about the green poop (really just to see what our doc would say!) and he was, as I suspected, not worried. He did give me all the reminders about colic..."We don't know what causes it"..."It comes at 2-3 weeks and passes around 2-3 months"...etc. I'm hopeful that she and I can work this out and she will not be as colicky for as long as Adeline was! Here are the articles: 

Finish the First Breast First - article from LLL on the relationship to colic

LLL on Oversupply

LLL - Too Much of a Good Thing - a personal story

LLL on Foremilk and Hindmilk - including how it is produced

Do you have a breastfeeding experience you'd like to share? Something you learned that may help someone else? Please share!! 

How to get your kids to eat their vegetables

One word for you: FROZEN.

Since my youngest was about 10 months old and teething, I have given my kids frozen fruits and vegetables. This is a quick, simple way to get vital nutrients to your kids in a fun and delicious manner.

When Samuel was 10 months old I had a friend recommend giving him frozen peas and carrots to eat. The cold veggies felt good on his teething gums. And the small size provided great development of his fine motor skills (the pincher grip). Since the veggies are pre-cooked, they are actually easy for a baby to chew and swallow.

Even now at ages 3 and 4, my boys love frozen fruits and vegetables. I love it too because it's easy to keep a few bags on hand and shake them on their plate at mealtimes or for a quick, refreshing snack.

Some of our favorites:
Sliced Carrots
Peas and Carrots
Whole Green Beans
Blueberries
Strawberries

My boys hands-down favorite is Frozen Blueberries. They love this simple snack. It is especially great in the winter when it's harder to get quality fresh fruit.

Do your kids enjoy frozen fruits and veggies? What are your favorites? Does this post encourage you to try it?

Link Love from Meg

Since we've been out of town for the 4th, I didn't have time to write a normal post and thought I would just share some articles I've enjoyed lately.

A hilarious and messy idea for a kids party

If you aren't thrilled with they way you look in your swimsuit, you should read THIS

"Motherhood is Messy"

How to make a really cute "no sew" tutu!

12 Efficiency Tips in the Kitchen

"Excuse me while I go and scream!"

11 Free Summer Reading Programs For Kids

Understand the difference between sunscreen and sunblock

Motherhood as a mission field

Free Real Food Meal Plans

I wasn't trained to be a mom (but I can still love it!)

How to make your own eco-friendly snack bags

Adapting your favorite recipes to increase nutrition

Making time to nourish your soul

Traditional Remedies for Childhood illnesses

What are we going to do (today)?

I recently sent out an email to my friends asking advice for a current dilemma we are facing with our oldest, Georgia. I thought I would share with you both what is going on, as well as the responses from several friends. We have not solved this 'problem' by any stretch of the imagination, so PLEASE feel free to add your suggestions/thoughts/advice in the comments.

Friends-
I am emailing you to ask you advice about my daughter, Georgia. She has one question that she asks all the time, every day: "What are we going to do?" Sometimes it is at night: "What are we going to do when we wake up?" In the morning, it is "What are we going to do today?" Even if I give her a response, it is often "And what are we going to do after that?" If she accepted my response to the question, that would be fine, but she frequently fusses and cries because she either doesn't like my response or she doesn't like what we are (or aren't) doing. Georgia is very dramatic, inquisitive and talkative, all of which combines to a lot of talking and/or complaining if things don't go as she thinks they should.

I realize many or most kids go through this phase. But it is really frustrating me right now. I want to teach her to be content in all things, and to be happy with whatever we are doing--even if we aren't doing anything. I do not want her to have to be entertained by "Going" and "Doing" all the time. I want to show her the value of quiet moments at the house, and the value of special trips out, too. As she is the oldest of three, I also cannot spend my day giving her something new to do every time she wants to know "what's going to happen next".

I would welcome any advice that you might have. I would also appreciate your prayers. I know a lot of this has to do with me, and my attitude. Please pray that it would improve, and that God would grant me grace and tolerance and affection toward Georgia during these frustrating moments. Thanks so much, my friends!


Responses from my dear friends (including a couple of POH writers:-)

Leah P:
What if you tried an "alternative" sort of answer. Instead of answering her question with, for example "we're going to go to the library, play at home, etc." you could answer her question with a character trait you will work on (i.e. "We're going to practice being a servant. Can you think of some ways we could do that?") or a family motto (i.e. "We're going to love God and love each other with all our heart"). Maybe that would take the focus away from the doing and going and put it on a heart matter.

I hope you find something that works and that God would give you the desire of your heart - to see your children well-trained to follow Him.

Lauren S:
I like Leah P.'s idea to tell Georgia you're going to work on a particular character trait. I also thought you could be very general when it comes to what you'll do at home. Sometimes, I tell our girls we're going to be diligent workers at home today. Cora may occasionally ask, "Why?", and I respond with, "Because it pleases the Lord for us to work with happy hearts and be good stewards of all that He has given us." She's a good worker and will wipe down baseboards with a wet rag if I don't find something for her to do specifically. Grumbling and complaining (whether for work at home or with any activity) is met with a quote of Phil. 2:14, and if need be, discipline.

You can also really build up the things you say about being at home. I know I breathe a big sigh of relief on days we don't have to go anywhere! You could say things like, "Isn't it so nice to just be at home? I've got more time to read books with you or cook something special, etc."

We have plenty of structured time at our house, but I think lots of free play helps too. Let Georgia entertain herself. It might be difficult for her at first, but she'll likely get used to it.

You're probably already doing these things, but I'll be praying this phase passes quickly!

Hollie:
Laney asks this question often as well, because she loves adventure and just want to go and "do" stuff.

A while back, I began to work on Laney with being "thankful" in all things. She used to cry and whine when we'd limit her tv shows and turn it off. We started telling her how to not look forward to the next thing, but to be thankful for the very thing she has right now, ex watching her show. It took some training and LOTS of reminding and taking away of privledges if she didn't have a thankful heart (during this "training" time), but now after watching a show, she'll turn off the tv herself, come to me and say "Mommy, I have something to tell you. Come here." She'll whisper in my ear and say "I'm thankful." Oh, how I love this. Now, she knows how to pause and be thankful for her "show" because that's what we focused on, but not necessisarily thankful for every experience, esp the more challenging or painful ones.
What if at breakfast time, you could have some "table talk" cards and make a game out of it at the start of the day, practicing what we're thankful for and you can praise the "relaxed" days during this time.

Thanks for sending this out and for the advice ladies. I plan to put some of this to action in our family as well.

Karen:
I have loved all of these ideas too! We struggle with the same thing with our eldest. His line though is "Mommy, I want to do something special." And his version of "special" is rarely the same as mine :). We are training him in contentment and he's doing better with this. But, I also started making sure I had some "special" one on one time with him early in the mornings, and that also made a huge difference. He thrives on one on one time with me and Matt. He copes a lot better with a "normal" day if I take 5-10 minutes in the morning to hold him, talk to him or read him a book. Kathleen and Isaac need this as well. Karissa responds differently and is much more independent. So, I've shifted my day and breakfast is a little later so that I can spend some time talking with them in the mornings. It's definitely not been a magic cure, but it has helped!


This is Leah F. again--please be praying for me and my husband as we seek to train our children in contentment and gratitude! We'd love your thoughts and suggestions.

Happy Independence Day!

I hope you all are enjoying a fun holiday weekend. We had friends over for pancake breakfast this morning and then went to our local parade. It is hot today! We hit the pool afterwards, then home for lunch and naps. Now everyone is napping before hanging out with friends tonight and watching fireworks. Enjoy your day!