Wisdom Wednesday

“Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ”  - Author Elizabeth Stone

The love I have for my children is more powerful than I ever knew possible.  I hope you feel the same way about your children...

Wisdom Wednesday

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

John Quincy Adams

As a parent, you are a leader!  Whether or not you aspired to be a leader within your chosen profession or you are quite content being an individual contributor to your employer - being a parent makes you a leader.

Do you consider yourself a leader to your children?  When you are in the midst of cleaning up an ultra messy diaper, doing the laundry, fixing dinner, and attempting to fix a boo boo, are you thinking of yourself as a leader?

When you are a parent, your children are watching, observing and learning from everything they see you doing.  Your children admire you, look up to you - in the eyes of your children you are the sun, the moon and the stars!

Embrace the words of former President Adams - go be the mom or dad that inspires your children to dream more, learn more, do more and become more.  You are their leader!

Was that supposed to be helpful?

When I became a mom, my baby and I were settling into a home routine when an unsolicited issue of Parents magazine arrived in my mailbox.  Without having signed up for a subscription I was the recipient of an issue - apparently once you gift birth you are automatically given a subscription to Parents magazine.

Like any good parent, I read my first issue page by page - cover to cover.  As I read I carefully marked pages I wanted to refer back to when my baby was further along in the first year.  I followed this same process with the first few issues of the magazine. 

One evening my husband came home from work and I was bawling.  I had read an article in the magazine that I would swear linked poor housekeeping and literacy (granted this was nearly 3 years ago and I cannot locate the article today).  As I read that article, I looked around my house - seeing the dust piling up on my shelves, I was convinced my child would never learn to read!

After I recovered from my devastation - and assuring myself my child would not be illiterate due to my lack of detailed housekeeping - I began perusing these articles with skepticism. 

While I think there is value in the Parents publication and it does offer relevant, pertinent information to moms and dads, sometimes the information can be misleading and can cause trusting parents undue alarm.  For example, in the August 2012 issue, there is an article titled An Autism Red Flag.  This brief blurb on page 56 tells parents [in bold text], "they found that if you pull a 6-month-old up to sit and his head lags behind, he'll be more likely to be diagnosed with autism at age 3 than a baby whose head doesn't fall back."

The article then goes on to tell parents that if they perform this test on their 6 month old and the baby's head does lag behind, don't panic [in plain text].  I feel certain that the study this article cites has validity, but I also feel certain that Parents misrepresented the study and potentially causes moms and dads like myself unnecessary panic.

There is often hype around new study findings in the media - leading the trusting public to swing from one extreme to another. I find that it's best to take the plethora of information thrown at us (especially tips on parenting) with a healthy dose of apprehension.  Don't let well-meaning tips and tricks interfere with your own beliefs and practices of  parenting - after all you know your child better than any magazine article ever will.  And when in doubt, consult an expert before jumping to any conclusions.

Wisdom Wednesday

“If your children look up to you, you’ve made a success of life’s biggest job.”  - Unknown

When working full-time outside the home it's easy to get caught up in career advancement and successes at your paid job.  I am guilty of that myself!

I try to keep this in mind - my most important full-time job is raising my children - although there is no monetary paycheck, the rewards far outweigh all the gold in the world!

Wishing you success with your most important full-time job.

Wisdom Wednesday

This is the first in a new series titled Wisdom Wednesday - a series where every Wednesday I will feature a quote that is apropros to full-time parents who work full-time outside the home.

The first Wisdom Wednesday quote is from former first lady, Lady Bird Johnson:

"Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them."

Believe your children are amazing people who will make positive contributions to your life and the lives of others!

The Look

Growing up there was a look my mom could give and no matter how rowdy we were we would stop dead in our tracks.  When we got the look, my sister and I knew we had crossed an imaginary line - gone from irritating her to seriously making her mad.  No matter the location or the situation, that look communcated millions of words in just moments - and when we got that look we knew our mom was serious.

Recently someone asked me what my mom "thing" was.  Did I have a word or look that let my kids know I was serious and there was no more fooling around?

My response was, "I don't think I have one."

Over the next few days I observed my interactions with my children to identify my mom "thing".

I figured out my mom "thing" was stating, "I am done."  When my children push my buttons and I need to retake control of the situation, I boldly state, "I am done."  And when my oldest hears that statement, behaviors suddenly change and usually the situation improves.

So what's your mom or dad "thing"? What do you do to communicate to your chlidren that they have crossed a line with you?

Counting Blessings

It's been one of THOSE days.  You know those days...when every time you turn around, something else seems to be falling apart. The days you fear that at any moment you may lose your sanity.

We've all had those moments, days, weeks. What do you do when falling apart is not an option - even though that option may seem most appealing?

When I experience bumps in the road I try to remember what I value - those things that are most important in my life.  What are those things?

1. My family (my children and husband) are the most important people in my life - if they are happy, I am happy.
2. If no one is on fire - chances are things will work out just fine - maybe not the way I'd like, but they will be fine.
3. Things always work out the way they are supposed to - again maybe not the way I want them to, but the way they are supposed to.
4. The smile on my children's faces makes my heart smile.
5. Thinking positively can change your perspective.
6. Doing kind things for people can be rejuvenating.
7. Life is too short to dwell on any one thing.
8. Someday I will miss my children being this age and long for it to return so it's best to find the joy in each situation.
9. I have found a true partner in life who brings out the best in me while I bring out the best in him.
10. My life is very blessed and to truly appreciate your blessings, you must also experience the bumps.

Some of these may be cliché but it works for me - keeps me grounded when I might otherwise lose it.  In the moment, I admit it's tough to rally the list of important things to the front of my mind - but every time I am able to overcome my frustration as a result of this list, somehow it feels like the bumps flatten out and I can sail a little smoother.

What is in your purse?

Chatting with a friend the other day, I was recounting a public restroom experience with my potty training toddler.  In a nutshell, the story was this - my toddler was attempting to use the toilet with an automatic flusher and mid-urination attempt, the toilet flushed - freaking my toddler out. 

Immediately my friend said, "Post-it notes."

I learned that by placing a post-it note over the sensor of an automatic flush toilet prevents the sensor from responding to a toddler's fidgeting while sitting on the potty.  My friend recommended placing a pad of post-its in my purse to curb any future public restroom potty training trauma.

Brilliant! 

That evening I placed post-its in my purse - and then I started thinking about how my purse had become a catch all for curbing toddler catastrophes.

Before children, my purse was about my needs - now it's more about the needs of the other people in my life.  My purse contains

• Band Aids - to mend minor scrapes and scratches
• Post-it Notes - to prevent toilets from flushing
• iPhone (with toddler apps) - to entertain rowdy children
• Cereal bars - in case my toddler says, "I'm hungry."
• Rice Cakes - for my baby to munch on
• Pacifiers - an extra in case we lose one
• Crayons and Paper
• Baby Wipes

With all the items in my purse and having recently learned I was missing something, I began to wonder what else I should add to my collection. 

What items are in your purse?  What items do you keep handy when you are out?  What items do you recommend other parents keep handy when they are out and about?  Post your thoughts here...