Tidy Tuesday - Thanksgiving is coming!

In case you aren't aware, Thanksgiving is in one week and two days.  Is it my imagination or does it seem too early for Thanksgiving?  I'm still buying Halloween candy  :)

Anyway, if you're hosting the gargantuan Thanksgiving feast at your home this year, this would be an ideal time to start getting the house clean and ready for the onslaught.  Even if you're not hosting, Thanksgiving means the Christmas season is fast approaching so you might as well take the time to get the house ready for the holidays too.

To get things ready for Thanksgiving, the first place to start is the refrigerator.  Clean it out.  Use up those leftovers or throw them away.  Having a cleared out refrigerator will give you space to put all the goodies for the big meal.

Next, do you have a list prepared for the things you will need next week?  Do you have the menu planned?  (It should be in the reverse order...first plan the menu, THEN make the list).  Check your cupboards.  Do you already have some of the ingredients?    Watch for the grocery ads to come out later this week.  The best prices on turkeys and other traditional holiday food should be in this week's ads.

Has the bathroom had a thorough cleaning lately?  At least clean the guest (or main) bathroom really well and stock it with the necessities.  You don't want any awkward moments...

Head turkey dissector

With a little planning and advance preparation, you don't have to be frantically running around on Thanksgiving day.  Enlist as many people as possible to help you (either by making special dishes, keeping an eye on little ones, washing dishes, running errands, setting the table, etc.).  Whatever you do, don't decide to do a major cleaning of your home on the morning of Thanksgiving.  Too late...

I know it doesn't seem like it when you're up to your elbows in turkey guts but Thanksgiving is for you too, you know.  Spend a little time this week so you can enjoy the holiday with the rest of the family. 

Kindness begins with me

Yesterday at church there was a lesson on the power of kindness.  After the meeting, I was talking with a group of people and we were discussing the lesson.  Someone said that he felt people use kindness as a way of manipulating others to their point of view.  HE'S MISSING THE POINT!  Kindness isn't about how others treat you.  It's about how you treat others!   When you try to guess the motive for someone else's behavior you are putting your own prejudices and assumptions into the mix and distorting their motive and intent.   It's no wonder people have problems with communication!  Let's not worry about why other people are saying or doing something.  Let's just focus on our own behavior.

There is a cute little children's song that tells the point simply and beautifully.  It goes -
I want to be kind to everyone for that is right you see.
So I say to myself, remember this
Kindness begins with me.

The Breast Milk Baby doll - What will they think of next?

This morning I saw an article about a new baby doll...called the Breast Milk Baby.   Yes, it imitates the suckling sounds and motions of a breastfed baby when the little girl (presumably) puts on a special halter top with attached nipples/petals.  (The "nipples" have sensors that activate the doll's response.)

How do you feel about that?  I have conflicting emotions about the whole thing.  While I believe that breastfeeding is the best option for babies (I breastfed all 8 of my children),  I"m not sure that children need to have dolls that are quite so realistic.   Baby dolls already can drink, wet, burp, crawl, and who know what else but do children derive more pleasure and enjoyment out of those dolls than the basic simple doll?  Do we need to have a doll that gets diaper rash, fevers, throws up, spits up, has a runny nose, and drools?  If we want children to have a realistic experience with their dolls, do the dolls have to do more?

Personally, I think we should let our children use their imaginations with their dolls and toys.  They are creative naturally and don't need us to concoct imitation experiences for them.  I remember most of my children "feeding" their baby dolls by clutching them to their chests.  They didn't need a special halter top to simulate the experience.  I am rolling my eyes as I type this  :)

Again, remember that this is just my opinion.  If you want to know more about this doll (if only to creep you out) you can look up the manufacturer's website, thebreastmilkbaby.com.  To its credit, the doll is quite cute.  But obviously, this is not an endorsement or paid testimonial.  :)  If you want a high quality baby doll, choose one by American Girl or Corolle.  No batteries, no weirdness, just lovable doll.

Thrifty Thursday - Confusion

It's that time of year again where every store is competing for your business.  Beware.  Don't be fooled by advertisements that seem too good to be true.  Before you get all excited about a great deal, look around and make sure that you are really getting the best price for your money.

But Mom, she's 20 percent off!

Example - Target sells women's fashion scarves for $14.99.  That is their everyday price.  Shopko sells comparable scarves for $29.99.  BUT...Shopko is advertising a whopping 50 percent off!!!  Hmmmm....are their scarves REALLY worth $29.99 or did the store mark the price up so they could give a deep discount?  You decide.

There are many stores that use this ploy to bring uninformed customers into their stores.  Stores that regularly have big sales where everything is 30, 40 or 50 percent off are probably not giving you that big of a bargain.  Their bottom line is to make a profit, not to sell you things super cheap.  Keep that in mind when you are out shopping. 

There are legitimately good sale prices out there but just because something is advertised 30 percent off or 50 percent or whatever, doesn't mean that it is a real bargain.  Know your prices so you'll know a good deal when you see one. 

Post election

Well, the election of 2012 is now over.  Half the country is jubilant and half the country is bitterly disappointed.  I can't remember a time when the choices were so clear-cut and (pardon the expression) black and white.  But whatever happened yesterday, today is a new day and life goes on.  More than ever, it is our responsibility as mothers to instill the values we think are important for our children to learn and set a good example for them. 

Tidy Tuesday - The end

Every project or activity we (or our children) do has a beginning, a middle and an end.  That would seem to make sense, wouldn't it?  Yet how often do we forget about the last part...the end?  Don't know what I'm talking about?   Here are some examples...
You plan a sewing project.  You get out the sewing machine and all supplies, spend the day sewing and don't bother to put away the supplies or gather up the scraps and throw them away.
You make a wonderful dinner.  It was well received and delicious.  You don't clean up afterwards.
You decide to paint a bedroom.  You prep the walls, paint them and neglect to wash the brushes and rollers.
Your kids have a great time making pictures with markers.  When they are finished, they leave everything on the table and disappear to make a mess somewhere else.
You go grocery shopping.  You lug all the bags into the house and leave them on the counter...to put away later.

Don't forget to put the markers away when you're through...

Do you see what's missing?  The key part of every activity that is just as important as the beginning...the cleaning up, the putting away, the ending.  No project is completely finished until every tool, every supply, every piece of equipment, every toy, every piece of trash is put in its home.

If we could just teach our kids this and do it ourselves, it wouldn't be such a big thing to clean up our homes and keep them that way.  Is there something waiting for you to put away?

Conflict resolution policeman style

Have you ever been pulled over by a policeman for speeding?  I have...but that's not the topic of this post :).   What I want to talk about is conflict resolution.  Policemen are an excellent example of how to deal appropriately with disobedience and we can learn from the way they do it.

So, you were speeding down the road and you notice the lights flashing behind you.  Darn!  Caught!  You safely pull over to the side of the road and go over in you mind what you did.  Mr. Policeman slowly walks over to your car window and politely asks if you know why you are being pulled over.  You either come up with a lame excuse or are honest and tell the truth.  Either way, Mr. Policeman then describes the facts as he saw them.  No arguing, no emotional diatribe.  He asks for your ID and registration, takes them to his vehicle where he checks them against his records.  When he returns, he either gives you a warning about following the laws or he writes you a ticket.  Again, he's totally in control and calm.  Then he gets back into his car and drives away.  No yelling, no lectures, no threats.  As you drive away, you vow to be more careful and not go over the speed limit.

Can you see how this kind of response to disobedience can be useful in dealing with kids?  You are the voice of authority and when you respond in a calm and in control way, you have more impact than if you are yelling, screaming or threatening them with all kinds of bodily harm.  They can hear the message you want to give them because it's not hidden in all the emotional noise.

When a policeman pulls you over, his goal is to inform you that you are breaking the law and strongly discourage you from doing it again, either by way of warning or ticket (punishment).  The same is true with you as a parent.  When your child misbehaves, your goal is to inform him that he is breaking a law of the home and that it is unacceptable.  You enforce this by either giving him a warning or having him endure the consequences of his behavior.

Policemen have to learn how to reign in their emotions as part of their job and so do you as a mother.  It's possible.