The Wellness mama is very inspiring to me

We have been incredibly busy so once again slacker on the blog. Sorry.  Maybe when my kids are a little older and summer is over I will be better at posting on Mondays again.  For now its just going to be random, because my littles come first.

YES!  The day has finally come.....

We have finally got the basement ready for painting. Yay!  So I spent my days painting for  a week and I would listen to this new book  Essentialism.  I really really liked it and I will have a whole different post about that book because it had so many good things.  I also have been listening to the Wellness mamas podcasts. I have been using her blog for a while now.  I just love her she is so down to earth and real.  I love her story and I feel like I relate to it a little.    She also always talks about simple small things that you can do today to start your way on a healthier way.  I love that because then I don't feel so overwhelmed, because I am an all or nothing person.  I can do one little thing at a time, and she helps me do that.   She also explains things so well and has researched a lot of why and explains things so well.  I really feel like I understand the why or why not of certain healthy lifestyles she is promoting.

Here is her website if you want to take a look. https://wellnessmama.com/

There are so many things she has talked about but one of the things I like most is that she is all about teaching us to teach our kids how to be healthy.  It becomes a family thing.  We involve kids in making and learning about food and what ones are good.  Why they are good?  what they do for us?
Also when we learn something and we end up teaching it then we learn and study even more.  We become better at it.

I have listened to about half of her podcasts so far.  Some of them I don't care to listen to quite yet because they don't apply directly to me.  for example thyroid problems.  I don't have that so I would rather listen to the other ones that I can relate more to. Eventually I will listen to them though because I am sure there is still a lot of good info in them.   I think she has been doing a podcast for 2-3 years one day a week so she has over 100 of them.  They are all between 20 min and an hour about.  So I find as I do the dishes I will listen to them.  I did listen to a lot of them while I painted the WHOLE basement and it made it enjoyable.

I would highly recommend listening or reading her blog and podcast.  They have so much good info.  I am looking for more ways to be able to listen to more of them.

The more I find out about our bodies and the plants and things God has put on the earth for us. The more I am amazed.  God is so smart and we just need to research it out and use them.  He has given us so many things.  I love learning about it all and I have always loved learning about our bodies. They are so cool how they work.

Positive parenting Part 2

This book has been good but challenging for me.  I  have a lot of work to do.  I know that these are good things to implement into my parenting but its hard to change. Here are some more things I have learned from this book recently.

The closer the parents are to their children the greater the influence they can have on them.  I have thought about this a lot.  I think of now when they are little they always want to be with me.  I look for time to be without them (in a good way) because they love being by me.  I know this will change the older they get and they won't want to hang out with mom anymore.  But the closer I can keep them to me the better.  They will feel comfortable to talk to me about anything.  That is the biggest thing I want when they get older that they will feel comfortable to come to me with anything.  This starts now.  Get them to stay close.  I have to show love and kindness even when they are driving me nuts.  They need to know that I love them no matter what.

He gives a lot of example of talking to our kids.  Just in the tone we talk in we can turn them away.  We have to remain calm and not so preachy.  Don't judge, teach, sermonize, solve their problems just TALK.  I have really tried to just let the kids talk to me, they are still little and talk about silly things.  I love to hear them talk and think things through.     I know this one will be hard for me when they get older because this is just my personality is to fix the problems or advise what to do.  I do it to my husband all the time.  So I need to start practicing so when the kids get older I will be ready.   There will be times when the parent will need to instruct but this is when the spirit will work with us.  We need to be close to the spirit to know when we can instruct and not push them away so they won't want to talk.  They can feel the love we have for them if we are able to do this wisely.

He also talks about the importance of positive physical interaction.  We need to hug and kiss our kids. When they want to come cuddle with us, let them.  This will build that relationship and they will like being close to you.  I'm sure this gets harder the older they get.  It seems my kids are still in the I want to smother you mom stage.  I have tried to be a little better with my boys because they don't seem to want to cuddle as much as my daughter.

If I lose my cool quick its no wonder that my kids do. They see and they follow.  They are following example.  I need to really work on not letting things get to me or not showing that it does.  Just keep quiet about it.  This is where self control really comes into play.

He talks a lot about role playing the right situations and how to react to what happens.  This helps me to see how I can apply it to my kids and their specific situation.  This can help them know what is expected.  Make sure to have them say what is expected so they really know.  Agreeing wont always happen and that is not important.  Them understanding your expectations is what is important.
I think this also helps with them behaving better because they remember exactly what will happen if they misbehave because they repeated what was expected and what would happen after.  I have really liked this part.

When you are talking with your kids if they say something like this is stupid or anything like that.  You just ignore it and only attend to the behaviors you want strengthened.  We can show empathy and understanding but don't talk about the negative things.

It isn't the amount of time the parents talk to the child that produces the results its the amount of time and number of opportunities that child has to respond and to be actively engaged in conversation trying to solve the problem.  They need to be involved and that is how they learn.

Don't ask a child to explain their inappropriate behavior but have them explain why that isn't appropriate, this invites them to be a part of the problem solving process.
This has been a big change for me.  Its so natural to say why did you do this or that.  I have to stop myself and think about what question I need to ask.  This is probably the hardest part because I want to know what made them mad and want to hit or react that way.  So I need to really work on stopping and asking Why that isn't appropriate.  Its slowly getting better.

I really love making sure I point out the positive things they do and they build their self confidence that way too.  They know how many great things they can and are able to do. These are all really great ideas and ways to help me become a better parent.

New mom favorites

We have found some new things recently that we have loved.   Anything to make life easier and better is welcomed here.   There are a few things that we have tried lately that my kids have actually loved to use and continue to use.
The first thing are these contigo water bottles.   I got them because my sisters kids have them and she really liked them.  I figured that the kids would be able to each have their own and they might drink more water.  They drink a ton of milk and I want to get them drinking more water.  It has worked so far. They like having their own and since they have a straw they seem to drink more.     I know that I drink more than just using my nalgene bottle.  Its easier to access so I find myself drinking all day long.  They are very easy to clean as well.  I like that.  They have a pretty wide top so you can get ice in very easily.  That will come in handy this summer when its hot.   The kids just got the 24 oz ones, we got a great deal at costco in a three pack.  Then I got the bigger ones 32 oz for Jared and I.

The second thing are these mini bagels. The kids love them.  These are the cinnamon ones but we usually get blueberry or plain.  They are the perfect size for the kids.  They love eating bagels but the normal ones are usually too big and then the left over pieces become my lunch.  I would rather get these smaller ones and they can eat the whole thing.  They are fun too. They call them baby bagels.

You can see the difference in size here.  I have gotten the flat bagels before and they are great for sandwiches but these are good for kids.  

Another great things we have tried and love recently is Rose hill farm delivery for our raw milk.  It comes to me and I can pay online.  Its wonderful.  I really avoid going to the store because I always end up buying more than I need and we are trying to do all raw milk.  So this helps a lot. We still get some raw milk from our carpool as well.  I haven't decided which one I like more. So we are doing both right now.  It works out well so far. 

This one is totally for me.  Overdrive.... my "reading" days might be back  I have been listening to some books and I love it.  I don't have to have time to sit down and actually read. I am folding laundry or doing dishes when I am listening.  So I get more done at that same time.  I love it.  Along with this is podcasts.  I have discovered some pretty awesome podcast lately and they are all more of what I would love to sit down and read but now I can listen to their ideas.  Like the Wellness mama. I love her website, she is the one that gives me most of my ideas for the salves and natural stuff I am making.  I get most of those recipes for her blog and now I can listen to her and all of her great ideas.   There are fun ones about just being a mom and from the minimalists.  There are so many fun ones.  Of course Dave Ramsey I love his.  He is always motivating to listen to.   I am in love with this new feature I just discovered.