Teachable Moment in the Strawberry Patch

As the kids and I were weeding the strawberry plants we talked about why it's important to get the weeds out of the garden. Then God gave me a teachable moment, and even in the summer! Lol.  

We started talking about what kinds of "weeds" we need to pull out of our lives. They came up with several types of "weeds": unforgiveness, pride, jealousy, hurtful words, hitting, etc.

They made the connection that if we don't take care of these "weeds" they can, like in the garden, grow big and take over the good "fruit".

I LOVE how God teaches us so many lessons from nature. I love that some of the most important learning takes place not at a desk or in a classroom, but just as we go about our day together. 

Healthy Baby: Making Healthy Baby Food

Making Baby Food

Baby’s first food and best food is breastmilk. I am a strong breastfeeding advocate. I encourage all moms to breastfeed well into the second year if at all possible. If you go longer, more power to ya! There are many many health benefits for baby and Mommy by extending breastfeeding into the second year. My first baby breastfed exclusively until she was a year old. God designed our bodies to provide everything baby needs, the breastmilk changes as baby does. God is so amazing! (Make sure you take care of your nutrition too while breastfeeding). My daughter weaned around 2 ½ years. Different Mothers will introduce solids at different times based on their convictions, influences and also depending on their baby. My youngest is 8 months old and he is pretty excited about eating with the family. We are just now introducing different foods in small quantity.

We start with very ripe bananas (peel is brown) pureed. We will also introduce brown rice, cooked and pureed. I will breastfeed him first and then introduce the babyfood. I want him to fill up on the best food first. At this point he is just taste testing and having fun being a big boy while the rest of the family eats their food. The quantity is very small, maybe a couple little spoonfuls. He may just taste tes one of these once a day at first. We slowly introduce other fruits and veggies like avocado, carrots, zucchini, apples, plums, peaches, etc. We start by only introducing one thing at a time to make sure he has no reaction to it. We stay away from acidic foods too. We may just let him taste those initially. 

Organic Brown Rice: cooked, pureed, and ready for the freezer.

Tip 1: Fruits & Veggies: Organic and in season. We try to buy all our produce organic and from local farmers.  If you choose to not buy organic (I strongly recommend you do, even if it’s only for your baby), please peel everything. 

Organic produce from local farmers: Abundant Harvest

Tip 2: Cook veggies lightly. Don’t kill all the nutrients by over cooking. Fruits don’t need to be cooked. 

Tip 3: Puree everything when baby is just starting with solids. You can buy different kinds of baby food processors if you want or you can simply make bigger batches and use your bigger food processors or blenders. 

Tip 4: Make baby food when you are cooking for your family. So if your family are eating carrots for dinner for example, set a little aside for baby and then puree them separately.

Tip 5: You can thin any fruit or veggie with breast milk if you have any expressed.

Tip 6: After puree feed to baby and pour remainder into ice cube trays and freeze. Fresh is best but frozen organic food is second best. You can buy ice cube trays that have lids (more expensive), or use your regular ice cube trays without lids.

half banana-half zucchini   

Tip 7: After fruits or veggies are frozen take them out of tray and store in a labeled baggy in the freezer. If you have empty ice cube trays on hand it will make it easier for you to continue to prepare baby food as you make your family meals. If you store them in baggies it's faster to get to when you want to feed your baby. The easier you make it for yourself to get from the freezer the more likely you'll be to continue to make baby food.

Tip 8: When you are preparing food for the rest of your family pull out one or two baby food ice cubes to thaw. Everybody can eat at the same time.

Isaac eating fresh organic zucchini. Straight from our garden.

Happy Baby Food Making!

Streamline Errands

Summer is here and so is the dreaded errands in the heat! Ugh, I feel sticky just thinking about it! One tip is to try to beat the heat all together, go early or late, but if you cannot avoid doing some errands in the heat, try to streamline your errands. I have recently discovered a way to keep my sanity while running errands in the summer.

The other day I had to pick up chicken feed at the feed store. Usually this is a 6 step process. Go in, order, pay, get back in car, drive to loading dock, get my purchase. This time I called them on the way there. I knew just what I wanted and asked if I could pay for it over the phone and just go straight to the loading dock. They said, "Yes"! I gave them my credit card info over the phone and when I got there the guy was waiting for me with my order and loaded my van. I didn't even have to get out of the car! This meant I didn't have to get the kids out and back in the car either. I drove up, they loaded, I left... happy! Now that's what I call "Streamline Errands"!

Today I was on my way home from a friend's house, kids all hot and tired. Hubby called and asked if I could stop on the way home to pick up some shock for the pool at the local swimming supply store. My first thought was, "Ugh, tired tired, don't wanna" but then I had another thought, "Will the pool place let me pay over the phone too and have my order waiting for me at the front counter"? I called on my way and they said, "Sure"! Yahoo! I parked right in front of the store, ran in and signed the credit card paper and ran back out. My order was already in a bag at the counter when I got there, all I had to do was sign and run. In and out all in less than 1 minute! Thank you Jesus!

Streamlining your errands may still necessitate going into a store with kids, but all the shopping and payments are taken care of ahead of time so the trip inside is shorter. The other benefit to shopping this way is you are not tempted to buy compulsively. You get just what you need, nothing more.

Another sanity saving tip is try to combine errands into fewer places. This may mean you going to one of the big box stores, like Target or Walmart so that you can get 10 items at one store instead of making 5 stops at other stores. Even if you have to spend a dollar more on an item to do it this way, it will save your time and your sanity, especially if you are lugging small kids in and out of vehicles.

One last tip, do your hardest errand(s) first, that way it's done and over with while you have the most amount of energy.

Errand Streamling Recap:
1- Avoid heat whenever possible: go early or late
2- Ask if you can pay over the phone & if they will have your order waiting for you at the front.
3- Consolidate multiple errands into fewer stops/shops.
4- Hardest errands first.

Hope this helps you keep your sanity while running summer errands! Happy Streamlining!

New Mother's Day Tradition

As I was laying in bed this morning God gave me a great idea for a new Mother’s Day tradition. I then prayed He would bring to mind all the wonderful things about each of my children and my husband. At breakfast as we were all gathered around the table I told each of my children how honored I felt to be their Mother. I could tell each of my children were eagerly awaiting it to be their turn, knowing that they were going to be affirmed, wondering what their Mother found uniquely special and wonderful about them.

My oldest daughter, Hannah (9) had tears in her eyes as I spoke into her little heart. Things she thought went unnoticed, indeed were noticed, appreciated and celebrated in front of the whole family. The treasures her Mother found in her made her sit a little taller and made her smile grow a little bigger with each affirmation. My husband listened intently, thinking the affirmations would stop at the last child. I could tell he was proud of what was taking place and agreed with the gold I had found in each child.

Then I turned to my husband and began, “And I am so thankful and honored that you are the Father of my children because…” He sat there quietly, not daring to interrupt. Receiving everything I offered. I realized at that moment I don’t do this nearly enough. He was hanging on every word. These wonderful, beautiful people I come in contact with every day of the week, who see me at my best and definitely at my worst and still love me, do they hear enough why I think so highly of them?  No, not nearly enough. But today they will.

The looks on their faces! Little hearts like sponges for words of affirmations, soaking up every morsel of sweet truth about how wonderful they are. What an incredible breakfast we shared this morning. I don’t know who’s hearts were more filled, theirs or mine. You know, a powerful thing happens when you concentrate on people’s strengths and you put those strengths on display for all to see and honor. I found myself more in love with my children and my husband today after thinking on and verbalizing these unique qualities they each possess. What a gift, I gave to them. What a gift, I gave myself.

The wonderful thing about this Mother’s Day Tradition is that I don’t have to wait until next Mother’s Day to do it again. Do you want to have a “Happy” Mother’s Day today? Maybe you can try our new Mother’s Day tradition and make it your own. You will be blessed and your heart will be full. You will look back on today and see it as a truly Happy Mother’s Day. God bless you friends! God bless you Mothers!

The Healthy Marriage: Finding Gold.

Catch him in the act of doing something good and praise him for it!!!

Okay so no one is perfect, I so get that. I could easily, sooo easily say that about myself. We, wives are not perfect and neither are our hubbies. Let’s face it some things they do can down right bug us. You know what I’m talking about clothes on the floor when the laundry basket is at arms reach, leaving hair clippings on the sink, tracking in dirt on a clean floor, or maybe something more serious like not talking to you respectfully, etc. Keep this in mind when you find yourself getting annoyed with your husband 1) It doesn’t take a genius to find the faults in another human being, look for the gold in him instead. 2) Catch him in the act of doing some thing you like and then 3) Praise him for it!

For example, if you are frustrated that he forgets to pick up something of his on the floor, instead of nagging him to pick it up catch him when he is putting the clothes away and praise him in a sweet and sincere tone like this, “Wow, I really appreciate you picking that up, thanks!” It can be as simple as that. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have open communication about hurts or frustrations, but if you’ve already talked about it and you haven’t gotten the results you are looking for try this technique.

To recap: Stop nagging, catch him in the act of doing what you like and praise him!

Men really desire praise and adoration from their wives. If you praise them, they will start to find ways to be praiseworthy. Try it and see for yourself.

The Healthy Marriage: Freshen Up!

Most men spend a lot of time away from home, providing for you and your family. If you are a stay at home mom, this is even more important: Dress for your man! The way he sees you before he’s off to work is the last image of his bride before he hits a plethora of decisions. He is surrounded by others, women who are dressed and fresh, putting on their best face for who knows who. So you may not be all together in the morning but if you are freshened up when he comes home from work, it helps make up for the afro in the morning. When he comes home and is greeted by someone who cares enough to put herself together for her man, what a difference that makes to him.

Now I'm not saying men are superficial and they are gonna go out and have an affair simply because you are not always put together, I'm just challenging you make yourself something desirable to come home to. Remember marriage is about giving.

My thought, totally secure in the love of my marriage is this: I want the image in my husband’s head of me to be lovely.

It’s not hard, no matter what season you are in, to get dressed, put your hair up and put a dab of lipstick on, and don’t forget the perfume. If you don’t wear makeup, you probably have a little clear lip gloss somewhere (or get some and get a little mascara while you're at it). If you are truly al natural rub some coconut oil on your lips (while you’re at it rub some on your arms and legs too. Smooth silky skin is always a nice touch). You may love those comfy sweat pants but change them right before he walks through the door!

There is obviously plenty of time to let your hair down and to lounge together. I am simply encouraging you to honor him by attempting to look pleasing when he walks through that door. Put yourself in his shoes, would you like to come home to a man who looks sloppy and excuses it with all the drama he has faced during the day? I think not, I wouldn’t. So don't look haggard, even if you feel that way. You'll feel better when you put yourself together, I promise.

And one last tid bit...take a shower before you go to bed. You'll sleep better for one, but for two, it's so much easier to cuddle and be intimate when you feel and smell fresh. Also a shower can help wake you up a bit if you're tired or have had a long day. It's kinda a bummer when you are trying to have intimate time and you fall asleep. Ouch! Perfume is a nice touch before bed too. It helps make you feel fresh and sexy and it can help get his attention too. And one final thing, brush your teeth; make your breath fresh. I know that's like, "duh" but still, had to say it. Who likes to kiss someone who has bad breath. Not me!

Leave the excuses out of it, and fresh up. You’ll feel better about yourself and he will too! :) Love you Ladies!

The Healthy Marriage. It's all about giving.

I am passionate about marriage! I want everyone to have an amazing marriage and I want to see those who don’t, be healed and restored. I want those who are contemplating marriage to be as prepared as possible.

My blogs about marriage are going to be all about challenging you to be the best spouse you can be, regardless of who you have to live with.

A word for today for those who are single: Marriage is about giving. If you are not ready to give, then you are not ready for marriage. A good marriage is hard work but the rewards are incredibly satisfying!

A word for those who are married: Marriage is about giving. Don't fall into the trap of counting who's giving what, you start. Healthy giving has boundaries. I'm encouraging you to be a healthy person who gives within healthy boundaries. Work on being the best person you can be. Would you want to be married to you?

Giving can take many shapes:

• Get freshened up before he walks through the door (this means get dressed, tidy your hair and throw some lipstick and perfume on. He's your man, you still need to woo him).
• Give him a sweet smile when talking to him; give him a happy wife.
• Give your time by genuinely listening to how his day went, without dumping all your daily drama on him the second he walks through the door.
• Give him a tasty dinner; food (many a cranky man is just hungry or thirsty: feed the poor guy!)
• Give him affirmations, honor and respect (afterall, you chose him above everybody else).
• Give him "guy time" without manipulation or guilt.
• Give him a few moments of "unwind time" after a long day of work; don't put him to work the second he walks through the door.
• Give him a nag-free wife (turn that finger back to you and start there first), this includes sometimes just being quiet when all you want to do is criticize.
• Give him a clean house; pick up after him without complaining (view it as a way to love).
• Give him intimate time (many men are simply starving for this).
• Give him caresses as you walk past him; give him sweet, loving touches.

Challenge: Pick at least 1 way to give, from the list above and do it today!

Up for a bigger challenge? Pick something from the list everyday and practice giving intentionally for at least a week.

A good marriage is hard work, but you CAN do it!

You are awesome, now let him see that! :)

Boundaries: Chpt. 2 -What Does a Boundary Look Like?

Wow, this chapter is very full. No way to summarize it. So many amazing, thought-provoking points. You gotta read this book!

Really take a few moments as you read and let these quotes sink in. They are meaty.

• "...boundaries define your soul, and they help you to guard it and maintain it."

• "Boundaries define us. They define what is me and what is not me."

• "Boundaries are not walls."

• "Making decisions based on others' approval or on guilt breeds resentment."

• "Feelings should neither be ignored nor placed in charge."

• "Your feelings are your responsibility and you must own them and see them as your problem so you can begin to find an answer to whatever issue they are pointing to.

• "To rescue people from the natural consequences of their behavior is to render them powerless."

• "...setting internal limits. We need to have spaces inside ourselves where we can have a feeling, an impulse, or a desire, without acting it out. We need self-control...we need to be able to say no to ourselves."

• "Our ability to give and respond to love is our greatest gift."

• "Many people have difficulty giving and receiving love because of hurt and fear. Having closed their hearts to others they feel empty and meaningless."

• "Many people do not take ownership for how they resist love."

See what I mean? Deep, thought-provoking stuff. If any of these things jump out at you, the book really goes into much greater detail on each of these points and so many more.

Stay tuned...up next is Boundary Problems in Chpt. 3. Don't fret, we'll get to the bottom of them and onto the practical "how to" (have healthy boundaries) soon!

Boundaries: Chpt. 1

Boundaries

by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

I've always been passionate about learning more about healthy relationships and seeing breakthrough in ones that are struggling. I have decided to get out and reread the infamous book, Boundaries. Feel free to read it along with me. I will be posting somethings I find interesting from each chapter. It may be in the form of quotes or just my thoughts on a concept.

I'll start with two snip bits from Chapter 1. Here we go!

Chapter 1:

"People-pleasing efforts don't seem to bring the intimacy we need."

"Just as homeowners set physical property lines around their land, we need to set mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual boundaries for our lives to help us distinguish what is our responsibility and what isn't."

Be Thrifty & Creative: Recycle Glass

Some of my recycled containers

Before throwing out that marinara jar, peanut butter jar, honey jar, jelly jar, olive oil bottle, syrup bottle or anything else that's glass, think of a way you can reuse it.

I love glass containers. Is that weird? Probably, but I don’t care. I feel guilty when I throw away something in a glass bottle or jar. There has got to be something I can use this magnificent thing for. Ok, I’m not that in love with glass, but I do often wonder how I can reuse them.

Okay, so they are not that glorious in this stage but wait, you can transform them...

Some ideas you can use these containers for:

• Canning fruits or veggies (with new lids)
• Soaking or sprouting seeds, nuts, or grains
• Storing honey, sugar, or other types of food you may buy in bulk
• Display colored pencils, pens, markers, crayons
• Store or display office supply stuff like paperclips, rubber bands, erasers
• Candy jars
• Penny jars for change you always find (can be used as a family change jar and when full, go on a date together)
• Reuse the vase that held those beautiful flowers sent to you in the mail as a vase (brilliant I know), but you can also use it for other things too. I use my glass vases for watering my celery stalks (to keep the celery crisp) and I also use them for holding my rubber spatulas.

Here is my process:

Today I was on my way to tossing a glass bottle that once contained soy sauce. It had such a fun shape. Then wait, the thought came to me, “Why not re-use this bottle for salad dressing, or syrup or honey or something that flows?”

So I took off the label…ugh, not so fun. I did learn though that if you use cold water (not hot as it will make the glue a mess) and vinegar, the glue does come off with a little elbow grease (effort). So now I have this beautiful clear glass jar to use.

Turn your empty containers into something fun and useful!

Happy Recycling!

A Sweet Teachable Moment: Cookies & Goals

A sweet learning opportunity!

I do not typically like to reward with sweets. I was planning on making chocolate chip cookies anyways so I thought I’d make it a teachable moment. Realizing it had been awhile since I last made cookies, I decided chocolate chip cookies would be highly motivating for the kids. Learning is supposed to be fun right? Of course, if you know me, I substituted healthier ingredients which yielded flat cookies, but tasty ones just the same. Needless to say, the kids were still highly motivated.

Several months ago we created a Family Rules/Goals List. I started writing down the issues we were having in our house and then turned them into positives. Example: We were having issues with children not looking at the person who was talking to them, and a lot of interrupting. So one of our family goals is:

“When someone is speaking we look at them, listen & do not interrupt.”

It’s important when teaching your children about behavior that you do not stop merely with what you do not want them to do, always telling them “No don’t do that”. You must also teach them what behavior is acceptable in place of the wrong behavior.

We have several of these types of goals affixed to the refrigerator. Throughout the week we’ll have one of the kids grab it at meal time and read it out loud.

So for the teachable moment: They knew I was in the kitchen making some sweet concoction. I handed them the Family Goal list. I told them to study the Family Goals and if they could tell me 4 goals by memory then they would get a reward. Also the older girls were to help their younger brother, since he is not reading yet. Here comes the sweet part…they are excited and working together to memorize our family goals!!!

Result: All children got a chocolate chip cookie with raw milk. Learning the goals better will create an extra sweetness to our family life!

Yay for sweet teachable moments!

Child Training Tips: How to train your kids to do chores and like them!

Principle 1: Have a good attitude. Your children learn their attitudes about work from your attitude towards it, make sure they see a good attitude! If you are bent out of shape because you have to clean the kitchen, how do you think they will act when they have to empty the trash? Yep, they are little sponges and you set the tone of your family.

Tips to help parents break free from bad attitudes about work:

• Tip 1: Change the way you view work. If you have an attitude problem with work (like I used to have with cleaning the kitchen) here is a helpful tip that I used to free myself from that bad attitude. First pray that you will view work as a way to LOVE your husband and family. Then as you work say, "I love my husband. I love my family. I choose to do this with a good attitude because I love." If you view it as a way to love it is so much easier to enjoy work than if you view it as punishment.

• Tip 2: Right actions produce right attitudes. Physically do something fun while working. Sing a fun song. Turn on up-beat music and dance as you clean. Smile. You might be surprised to discover how much easier it is to clean when you smile or dance.

**LET THE KIDS SEE YOUR GOOD ATTITUDE WHILE WORKING.**

You can even tell them that you have had a bad attitude in the past, but now you view it as serving and loving their Daddy and the rest of the family.

See the smile on Papa's face?

He is getting something done and with a good attitude

(and allowing her to help; no wonder she enjoys working with him).

Principle 2: Teach. You must actually teach each new chore or task. They need your help doing a new chore or task several times before expected to do it on their own. It's too overwhelming for children to do a new task without help or instruction. They don't know where to begin and they don't know what you expect. They need to know how to clean the toilet before you just assign them that chore. They need to know where dishes go before they are expected to put them away. Don't just expect them to know how to do things because you think they've seen you do it. Show them what rags are ok to use and what product you use, how many times you spray the product and where, where things are to be put away, etc. Do the chore with them a few times before you have them do it alone.

Teaching tips:

• Tip 1: Be Pleasant: While teaching you must be pleasant, so smile. I know I mentioned this earlier, but your attitude is so important while you are actually teaching them a new chore. Let them enjoy being around you while you work together.

• Tip 2: Be Patient: Slow down to teach them how to clean or do a task. This may take a while to grasp. This is the area that I had the hardest time with. When they are little they want to be with you, they want to help...LET THEM! If you do, they will want to help when they are older. You may have rationalized that it takes you much less time to clean the house by yourself. You may have even scheduled your cleaning around the times when your children are gone. Although tempting, when you do this you are actually hurting both yourself and your children by not teaching them how to clean up after themselves or contributing to the well being of the household. It produces selfish, lazy children and worn out parents. If you invest in this work of teaching now you will have more energy to be a good parent and your children will be happy, competent blessings to you and their future families. Pay the price now, you and your children will reap a huge harvest if you do! Prepare yourself that it will take longer initially to have them do a chore than it would take you to do it and the finished product will not look as good either, initially. That will help you be patient in the process. Start on a weekend when you know you have adequate time to focus on teaching. Then start by teaching them one or two new things. Baby steps are good, you can do it!

She wanted to try to use the shop-vac like the adults.

Even though we were anxious to get the job done, I was glad we slowed down, taught her how to use it, and let her be apart of the process.

Principle 3: Affirm. Create positive associations with work/learning by using genuine and positive affirmations. If you affirm them for being helpful, hard workers, etc. and/or show you are impressed and thankful, you will instill a positive association with helping the family. As you continue to teach them and give them opportunities to practice they will eventually become more competent. If after they have completed a new task, you burst their bubble with lots of critiques they will not want to do it again for fear of not measuring up or doing it wrong (I have learned the hard way on this one). So keep your critiques to yourself at first and then affirm affirm affirm while teaching them to become more thorough.

"Good job. I see you really scrubbed hard. Watch Mommy now and see if you can do it like this. Wow, that's it. Good job! Do you see any more smudges on the sink that we missed? That's right! You are so smart. Here's the rag, let's see if you can erase those marks on your own. You did it. You are so good at this. I love when you help Mommy."

He wanted to vacuum, even though this vacuum was too heavy for him. I didn't expect him to actually vacuum the whole room or even do it well. He wanted to do it, so I gave him some pointers and let him go to it. I praised him and said he was so strong.

Result: He felt good that he could muscle it and wants to do it again.

Principle 4: Make it fun. When teaching a new chore or task: Make work and learning FUN. If you make it punishment they will avoid it like the plague. Turn on fun music. Enjoy each other's company. Once they learn the chore, you can make it a game too. Set a timer see if they can clean it well, in the allotted time. Tell them to go outside and see how big a pile they can make raking the leaves and then tell them when they are finished they can jump in it. Be creative and have fun!

Our kids LOVE working with Grandpa. He calls them his, "Worker Buddies."

Principle 5: Assign chores/tasks that are age appropriate. Although it is important to challenge your children, if you give them a chore or task that is too advanced for them for their age or maturity level it will be overwhelming. There will be more tears than smiles. While my first child could handle cleaning the kitchen at 7, my second child who is now 7 is very overwhelmed by the kitchen. Your expectations must be age and maturity appropriate. If they are struggling, alter your expectations. While you wouldn't give a 3 year old the chore of unloading the whole dishwasher, he can unload the children's plastics and put them away in a low cupboard.

They are both doing different levels of detailed work.

My 7 yr. old would be overwhelmed with the job my 9 yr. old is doing above

but feels great about the detailed work assigned specifically for her level.

Notice, both are smiling!

Chores/Tasks Examples:

Little Ones can sit in the kitchen sink and "wash" the lettuce that is going to go into the salad. They can sit on the floor or table with you and pour a pre-measured cup of oats in a mixing bowl for the dessert you are making. You can put all your plastic containers in a bottom cupboard and they can "organize" it.

• Tip 1: Keep younger children with you while doing dishes, cooking or cleaning. Little Ones LOVE being with you. Slow down and talk to them about what you are doing. Work can be play and quality time.

Expect food to be eaten in the process. :)

Toddlers and older children can help in the kitchen too by using special kitchen appliances like the food processor or blender.

See the smile? He feels like a "big boy" to be "in charge" of the food processor.

She feels older (equals: happy) because I am not hovering over her every move.

I gave directions or she read them herself and I told her to "go for it".

Result: She feels empowered.

He feels like a "big boy" because he is working with Papa.

He is not being treated as a little boy, but like someone who's help is valuable.

He is also learning that we take care of our things so we can enjoy them later.

Of course I will come out and make a big deal about how impressed I am that he is such a hard worker and how the boat sparkles now that he has worked on it.

Result: A healthy pride in a job well-done and a clean boat!

Children are more capable than you think. When you teach them that they are capable and that you trust them, they will ask to do bigger tasks. Hannah got this sewing desk for Christmas and she wanted to put it together by herself. We gave her the power tools. Gave her a lesson on how to use them helped her get started and off she went.

Result: A happy, empowered girl with a sturdy sewing desk.

You might be surprised to know that if you make working/learning fun, they may even ask to do a job or offer to do your chore so you can do something else. Papa was going to mow the lawn but Hannah insisted that she could do it! Look behind her too, Malachi (3) is helping Papa work. So important, Papa is allowing him to work along side him.

Result: HAPPY FAMILY

Child Training Tip: A fun way to get them to listen...

WHY: So if your family is anything at all like mine, you have some selective listening going on or just plain focus challenges. So here is what we do to shape em up...we play a game. A game? Yes, a game! It is much easier for kids to want to obey or listen when they actually enjoy doing it. Of course there are many times when they are gonna have to do something that they may not enjoy (chores, brushing teeth, homework, etc) but, make learning FUN!

SCENARIO: Kids are rowdy, or not listening, or not focusing, maybe even going really slow while working, or possibly even bored. Great time to play the "Simon Says" game or our version, "Mama Says". It's fun and I've found that after we are done playing, their focus and listening skills have improved enough to happily continue on with the day. Plus they can get a good amount of exercise in to help produce good mood endorphins, thus making it even easier for them to be pleasant (and double as PE if you are a home school mom).

EXAMPLES: "Mama says, jump up and down 10 times. Mama says, do 5 pushups. Mama says, spin in circles and jump on one foot. Lay Down. Mama, didn't say. Okay, Mama says, do 3 summersaults. Mama says roll onto your back. Do a bicycle with your feet. Mama didn't say. Okay Mama says, do 10 jumping jacks while kicking one leg out forward."

**Tip: The more active, goofier and complicated the more fun!

GAME VARIATION: I'll start doing this in the middle of the grocery store, department store, waiting in line at a restaurant too but I don't have make it as wild. The idea is for them to listen or focus not get out of control. Those times sound like this, "Mama says put your hands on your heads. Mama says touch your toes. Put your hands on your knee pits. Haha, Mama didn't say. Mama says put your hands on your hips and stand on one foot".

**See, they are not running or jumping but you're directing and they are listening and everybody is happy. Mission accomplished!

Easy Apple Dumplings

Apple Dumplings

An easy dessert that is sure to impress! Great for company or holidays or just because! Hope you enjoy!

My disclaimer: Don't get freaked out by the "weird" ingredients. Rapadura is just a minimally processed sugar that you should be able to find in a health food store or online. I use this and raw honey as a healthier sweetener but if you can't find them use whatever you normally use to sweetened, maybe 100% maple syrup or maple sugar or dates, etc...I can't bring myself to encourage you to use white sugar so I won't, but it would work in this recipe. I use raw butter because it is a healthy fat, but you could substitute that for regular butter. All my ingredients are raw or organic but again, if you don't have them don't let that stop you from making this.

My recipe also calls for Spring Roll Pastry. You can get this at any Asian Market in the freezer section. They come in squares and a zillion in a bag. If you don't have those you can make your own pastry dough and use that. I just happen to have them in the freezer and was going for 'quick and easy' so I used them...let them thaw from freezer for about 30 minutes.

Apple Dumpling Recipe

Bake: 1 hour

Oven: 350

Makes: 6

2 cups filtered water

1 cup Rapadura

1/4 cup raw honey

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 cup raw butter

2 tbsp. chopped raisins

2 tbsp. chopped raw walnuts

1 tbsp. raw honey

2 tbsp. rapadura

6 small organic apples

1 tbsp. butter for ea. apple

1 bag of spring roll pastry

1. For Sauce:

In a medium saucepan combine the 2 cups water, 1/2 tsp. of the cinnamon, the 1 cup rapadura (sugar) and 1/4 cup raw honey (or you can use 1 1/4 c sugar/sweetener of choice). Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the 1/4 cup raw butter. Set aside.

2. Prepare Apples:

With a cool apple slicer, corer and peeler, prepare 6 apples. If you don't have this cool gadget you should get one, cause it's really fun and makes it so easy. If you don't have one peel and core 6 apples by hand, you don't have to slice them even though the cool gadget does that for you. Set aside.

A little help never hurts!

Let the kids discover a love for baking too. Pretty soon they'll be making yummies for you!

3. In a small bowl combine the raisins, walnuts, and 1 tbsp. honey. In another small bowl stir together the remaining 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and the 2 tbsp. rapadura (or sugar). Set aside.

4. For Pastry: Use Spring Roll Pastry, thawed. Peel one off the top and dip in warm water just until wet. You can try it 'dry' too. It's really what ever is easiest for you.

5. Assemble Dumplings: Put wet pastry on a flat surface and put 1 apple in the center of the pastry square. Fill raisin mixture into the core, sprinkle with cinnamon mixture and top with 1 tbsp. raw butter. Gently pull sides of pastry up and around the apple and tuck into the core of the apple. Repeat until all 6 apples are like this. Place dumplings in a 13X9X2 inch baking pan.

Look close, the apple is sitting on the spring roll pastry.

I made more than 6 but I also added to the above ingredients.

6. Reheat sauce to a boiling and pour over dumplings.

Sauce looks pretty thin before baked.

7. Bake, uncovered for 1 hour or until apples are tender and pastry golden. Spoon sauce over dumplings. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream or by itself. I vote, ice cream!

See how much thicker the sauce looks now baked?

ENJOY!

The inside...YUM!