Have you ever really thought about how our children can teach us about life? Okay, you may be tempted to dismiss such a crazy idea at first. After all, kids have very little experience in life, so what can they possibly teach us that we don’t already know?

Well, truthfully, it’s not necessarily stuff that we don’t already know, so much as it’s things we have either forgotten, due to our life experiences, or we simply take them for granted.

As I began to watch my children and think about how they have changed my perspective on life, I realized a few things I should remember on a regular basis.

Keep in mind some them are a little funny and some are more serious. So, here we go - lessons you can learn from kids.

1. Always say nice things about others - You know as soon you say something about that hideous dress Aunt Sally wore to the Christmas get together, everybody in town is going to find out what you said, including Aunt Sally. Kids simply don’t know how to use discretion regarding what they say. You’ve heard that old saying, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Well, this is just another good example of why you should take that old saying seriously.
2. Lots of stuff doesn’t make one happy or content - Kids these days, have tons of games, toys, movies and other stuff. Yet, how many times do you hear them still complain, “I’m bored.” It’s not the toys and things that make them happy. Now take a minute and think about how many times you’ve heard this statement while you were playing with them and spending quality time with them - probably never. What truly makes us happy is being loved and being with those we love.
3. Life flies by quickly - If you don’t think life will be over in the blink of an eye, just take a look at your kids. Doesn’t it just seem like yesterday when you held your newborn for the first time. Having kids really brings to reality just how fast time really does vanish before our eyes.
4. You need more exercise - Wow, kids sure do have a lot of energy. Could it have been possible that you had that much energy when you were a kid? Chasing them around every day sure lets you know you aren’t in as good of shape as you once were or wish you were.
5. True love is unconditional - Your kids never knew you before pregnancy left stretch marks or maybe a few extra pounds. They may have never seen you without a few gray strands of hair or fine lines and wrinkles. Do they care? No. They love you because you are their mom and because you’ve always been there for them when they needed you.

Can you relate to any of the above statements? What lessons have you learned from your kids?

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Posted on June 25th, 2009 in Kids and Family | 6 Comments

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Last week, I determined to try something I had never done before. I decided my son and I would make homemade playdough. I know it’s not a great feat, but remember, I’m trying to spend more time with my kids and this sounded relatively easy and fun. As I browsed the web looking for a good recipe, I came across a great post by Tipnut.

In her post, she included ten different homemade playdough recipes to choose from. As interesting as they all looked, I finally chose the first one because it looked simple and I had all the ingredients.

Here’s where I had a lot of fun. I didn’t tell David what we were going to be making, only that we needed flour, salt and a few other ingredients. Of course, he thought we were making cookies or cake. I really kept him guessing.

At the end he still wasn’t sure what we were doing until I whispered it in his ear. Then he was ecstatic because he loves playdough. And yes, he picked pink when I asked him what color we should use to make whatever we were making.

Once we were finished, the first thing that crossed my mind was how I was going to keep the kids from fighting over how much playdough belonged to each one of them.

The solution: Since the recipe made enough for two kids to each get a baseball sized ball of dough, I took Ziploc bags and wrote their name on each bag. Then I divided the dough and put half in each bag before giving them any of it. This has worked out great because they feel ownership of only the portion that is in their own bag.

I also wanted to try to keep them in one place while playing with the playdough and make clean up easier. Therefore, I found that by letting them use their placemats as their “playdough stations,” it helps them keep their playdough to themselves and it’s easy to wipe off for clean up.

To top it all off, I’m still loving this project. They have played with this stuff so much in the last few days it has given me some time to catch up on a few things around the house.

Kids absolutely amaze me sometimes at their ability to just play, create and use their imaginations.

I think we miss out on that sometimes. Maybe we should try just playing more often too. What do you think? It sure couldn’t hurt.

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Today, I wanted to take a little time to let you know what you can expect from Mommy’s Idea Book for a while. First of all, let me say a big thank you to all my readers and commenters. You don’t know how much I appreciate your support.

I’ve really enjoyed blogging and making new friends in the blogging community. However, I’m in desperate need of a few modifications.

Why are these changes necessary?

When I began Mommy’s Idea Book, I had no idea how time consuming blogging would actually be or the effects it would have on my home life. Recently, I have begun to feel like my family and my home are suffering because of the amount of time I’m investing in this little blog.

In addition, some important new family commitments have begun to take up a lot of my time. It’s not bad stuff, actually good, but it is taking up quite a bit of my time. Not to mention, this is the last summer I’ll have with my son before he starts kindergarten and I want to be able to make the most of it.

What can you expect?

When I originally began Mommy’s Idea Book, I was posting something everyday. Well, I’ve come to the realization I can’t write that often and continue to provide consistently good quality articles and spend adequate time with the ones in my life that matter most.

As a result, I will be backing off a little, at least for a while, with probably an average of two to three posts per week rather than five to six. There will also not be scheduled days dedicated to specific topics.

For example: I will no longer be featuring a “Book of the Week.” Instead, if there is a book I wish to review or let you know about, I may choose to do that on any day of the week.

How will this help me?

By making these changes, I will not feel tied down to a specific posting schedule and if I don’t post a day or two, I won’t feel like I have completely let you and myself down. I don’t want to give up Mommy’s Idea Book, just scale it back a little.

As always, Mommy’s Idea Book is still here for you and will be continuing to provide tips, encouragement and ideas.

In order to keep up with my posts, you may want to consider subscribing to my RSS feed or entering your email address on the right hand side of this page to have my latest posts delivered right to your inbox. This way you’ll save time in determining whether I’ve posted a new article each day.

Thanks again for your support and encouragement. If you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to leave those in the comments section.

If you’re interested in guest posting on Mommy’s Idea Book, please let me know by using the contact form at the top of this page. Please give me an idea of the topic you would like to write about and I’ll get back to you with the particulars.

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