A Gripe Box

I read about the idea of starting a Gripe Box once and loved the idea. As the mom of kids who sometimes bicker and complain, this can be a wonderful tool to diffuse anger. This can help everyone involved sort things out in a calm, rational manner.

Get a box or a jar - whatever you prefer and decorate it. Put it somewhere where you can see it on a daily basis - in your kitchen is a great spot. Then as you have gripes, you go in and write them down on a small piece of paper or an index card and put them in the box.

At the end of every month, you can empty the box or jar out and take a look at everyone's gripes. You will all be surprised at how irrelevant most of them are at a later date. Some of them you might want to discuss and talk about, finding a solution or coming up with a plan for your children of how to handle the problem later on.

You can teach each other how to problem - solve and how to work together as a team to talk out your gripes. Watch it even turn into a fun thing.

Secret Piece of Trash

Both of my children had a wonderful first grade teacher. To motivate the students to pick up garbage and trash at the end of a school day, she would have them play a game called “secret piece of trash.” She would choose one child to secretly select one piece of trash around the room. Then when everything was all cleaned up, they would tell her which student threw away that particular trash item. The winning student got a small piece of candy.

I adapted this game and use it in my home sometimes. When toys and things seem to be getting a little out of control – I go through my whole house and write down some “secret items.” Granted, they are not trash, they are toys. I tell my girls to pick up and that we are playing “secret item” and they go and clean up. Depending on how messy things are, I will select anywhere from 3 to 15 things. Maybe it’s a hat that didn’t get put away, shoes left in the kitchen, or just some toys lying about.

When my girls come to me and tell me they are done picking up – I walk through the house. I ask which girl picked up my secret items. Whoever it was, gets a small piece of candy. I am not big on candy rewards, so I use very small candy – like an m&m per item, a lemonhead, sweet tart, etc. If the particular item I wrote down did not get picked up – no one gets a piece of candy but they still have to put it away. And sometimes, one girl will get more than the other. I don’t compensate for this. It’s just the way it gets played out. They need to learn that life’s not fair and you earn what you get.

This method has worked really well for me. I do not do it all of the time. I want my children to pick up because they care about their toys and belongings, because they choose to obey me, and because they are learning to be responsible. But every once in awhile, when I feel they need a nudge and the job can be overwhelming – I use the “secret piece of trash” game to help them along.

Happy Birthdays

Your child’s birthday is coming up again. It gets harder and harder to come up with new and fresh ideas.

Here are a variety of fun, low-cost, and unique ideas that hopefully can put the fun back into your birthday party planning.

*Have a football party for boys. Let them watch the game together with pizza, chips and pop. Just like the adults!

*Have the kids decorate the cake for a change. Have them come up with the them and let them have fun in the kitchen together while they do it.

*For older girls – have them decorate old jeans. They can put on school colors and draw mascots and wear them all to the basketball game together.

*Have a backyard campout. You can either do it in sleeping bags on the back lawn under the stars or in tents. (You may want to have parental supervision all night long if the kids are younger).

*Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes – Pour cake mix into a cone and bake for 30 min.

A hand party for younger children. Have a tablecloth decorated with handprints. Use finger foods and have goodie bags with playdough and finger puppets.

*Girls will love having a Beauty Parlor Party. Get a few moms to help out and have stations. They can get their fingernails and toenails painted, their hair curled or French braided, simple makeup or glitter applied and a dash of purfume. They can even drink sparkling cider out of plastic goblets while they wait their turns!

Make sure to take pictures…….

An Adventure Journal

There is a great idea over at REI of an adventure journal for kids. Designed for ages 5-12 this journal is printable in PDF form and is something focused on encouraging outdoor activities.

The child just records their outdoor hikes, bikes, and other fun activities. It's a great idea. Check it out here!

Your Legacy

Have you thought of what ways you can leave a record of your life?

There are many ways you can tangibly pass on your thoughts, views and
insight.

Journaling is one way. You can leave notes and comments in books you've read, your Bible, hymnals and even cookbooks. You can make notations of verses you liked, recipes you used at Thanksgiving or special get-togethers along with the date.

A wonderful thing to leave as an ancestor is also letters.If you draw, paint or sketch you can leave your artwork. In this day and age, videotapes are perfect ways to capture your style, character and mannerisms.

All of these ideas will be so cherished by those who loved you. Take the time to record your journey in life today! Someone special to you will treasure it, tomorrow.

The Family Information Center

Our family has a white binder that we call, “THE BOOK.” Our binder is by our main phone area and holds all of our important papers, phone numbers, and information.

It is a wonderful asset to me, because it keeps me organized as well as well-informed on any and all school or activity-related information. If it’s a weekly note from one of my children’s teachers; I simply pull it out of its clear page protector and insert the new weekly letter. This way I always keep current information on hand.

You can keep a master notebook as well. Include:

*Neighbor’s phone numbers
*Notes from school teachers
*All relevent doctor numbers and information
*Activity or School Volunteer calendars
*School Handbooks
*Email Addresses
*Phone Numbers of your children’s friends in addition to their parents names
*Carry-out menus
*Church Directories
*Team Schedules
and more.

Any time someone in our family needs certain information and we say, “it’s in THE BOOK” – everyone knows exactly what book we are talking about.

It’s a simply way to keep us all on target and informed.

Love Language

One of the great things about having a child is how they change the way we see the world. From the time our precious ones were tots – they started seeing things and naming things in a way that we had never thought of before! Each family ends up discovering its own hidden “love language” as a way to bond, and hold onto special moments.

For my family, our love language consists of words that our children said when they were young such as:

Excitement point ~ exclamation point

Lub you ~ I love you

La Luna ~ The moon

Gicky ~ Icky

I wanna wonder ~ I want to know

Have a good “snuggle sleep” ~ Sleep comfortably

Our love language also consists of words or expressions that just became ways we would connect or communicate to one another using familiar jargons –

*B-B-B-buuurn! ~ when someone puts someone else in their place

*That’s not love! ~ when someone does or says something unkind


And of course we have secret ways of expressing our love for one another, nicknames, and terms of endearment for each other.

Does your family have its own love language?

It’s amazing how daily uses of expressions and terms can become so special to every family member.

Hold on to those delightful ways of sharing the heart.