A few months ago I was debating my priorities for my morning schedule. I have come to the conclusion that getting ready for the day should happen before breakfast. (All the Type A readers hold your applause; it embarrasses me.) Here is what I discovered: I found that having the children get dressed and clean their [...]
I thought of yesterday’s crying post when we ate lunch (and dinner) today. When Laurel (nearly nine months old) sits down in her high chair, she wants food now. Waiting for everyone to get in place, and for prayer isn’t easy. I’m tempted to give her a little bit of food to hold her over [...]
Filed under: Mealtime
Today will be a busy day. I have a number of errands to run before we fly out tomorrow, and I still need to finish cleaning my house. I’ve noticed during these fairly high stress times that my own kids can mirror my own tension. I need to remember that sometimes instead of pushing them [...]
Filed under: In the Car and on the Go, Mealtime
Two bits of information about me: First, I inherited a love of tablecloths from my grandmother. Few things can put me in a good mood as quickly as a clean tablecloth and a pretty bowl on the table. Second, most of the time, I’m usually a pretty laid back mom. When a child spills something, [...]
Filed under: Mealtime
Psalm 78:4 We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. While we shouldn’t display empty ritual for the purpose of showing our children how spiritual we are, there is a sense where it [...]
Watching the older children at our house yesterday gave me some insight into at least some kinds of tattling. I have wondered how to deal with tattling, since there are times when you want children to tell. It seems daunting to try to teach your child when to tattle and when not to tattle. It [...]
Filed under: Getting Along, Mealtime
A tired David came crying into the living room yesterday. Daddy had decided to make hot dogs, unaware that David had already asked me for a peanut butter and honey sandwich. I cringed from the other room when I heard Lee say “You can have a sandwich tomorrow. Today we’re having hot dogs.” Sure enough, [...]
Evening Routine with Laurel (3 months) Fed Laurel at 5:45ish. She fell asleep around 6:45ish. Woke up around 7:15ish. Got fussy and fed around 8:15ish. Changed messy diaper and put to bed around 8:45. During most of the day, I feed Laurel when she’s hungry (usually around three hours, give or take 30 minutes). At [...]
Today at lunch, David instructed Bethel in the art of “see-food.” She happily followed his example, even after I squelched his lessons. I suspected this was something David learned from a church potluck the night before, where all the children sit together. (I did not see any of this behavior, but I was close enough [...]
Filed under: Discipleship, Mealtime
Awhile back, I mentioned that since Bethel was using only one word (never two), I didn’t require her to say please when she asked for something. (i.e., I had her say what she wanted: “Milk”) As long as she wasn’t whining for it, or crying, that was sufficient. I usually repeated her one word along [...]
