Mothering the Little Years

Lessons from a Child: Embrace Relationships over Efficiency

March 13, 2012

The virtue of efficiency often goes unquestioned. Each of us has been given a calling. We are commanded to be diligent.

Sometimes though, efficiency can become too much of an ideal, at least for project-driven people like me.

I want the laundry folded and dinner made as fast as possible. I want to cross one more thing off my to-do list or shave a few minutes from my cleaning schedule.

Follow me over to my These Five of Mine PLUS Two to read the rest. (While you’re there, explore Kasey’s blog. God has used her posts repeatedly to point me to Himself. I am positive they will bless you too!)

Linked up at Teach Me Tuesdays, Domestically Divine, Titus 2sdays, Encourage One Another, Homemaking Linkup, Women Living Well & Let’s be Honest

Five Ways to “Publish” Your Child’s Art

March 12, 2012

Rose all dressed up like a princess, coloring.

If you have an aspiring artist on your hands, figuring out what to do with all the artwork is a challenge. Rose spends hours on a daily basis coloring, writing “notes”, painting or “scrapbooking.”

I want to encourage creativity, without completely burying our home in pictures. These are a five ways I display her work while keeping the mess under control. (I would love to hear your ideas!)

Send notes. She loves slipping a picture into thank you notes, letter to family or just bringing a picture to her friends. My husband’s wall at work is decorated with some of her finest.
Turn a three-ring binder into an art folder. Rose loves putting her finished pictures into the folder and pulling it out to show grandparents… or anyone who is willing to look!
Display on fridge. The honor of hanging on the fridge is usually reserved for her latest masterpieces, so this artwork rotates frequently.
Decorate a portion of the room with artwork. Rose is allowed to hang a few pictures above her bed. I am a minimalist, but (like Crystal mentioned in her post about shoes) I don’t want to try to fit her into my mold. She filled the area quickly so now for each picture added the rule is one has to come down. (Okay, so maybe I am trying to fit her into my mold, but don’t think I can handle the walls completely covered!)
Scan into the computer. Use them for illustrations or add to a photo book. Wouldn’t that make a great Mother’s Day gift? Especially with photos and cute sayings? (My awesome sister-in-law has made multiple photo books with her daughters’ cute sayings for gifts and *everyone* loves reading and laughing over them!)

Throw it away. So, this isn’t a way to publish the art. Much as I love Roses’ artwork and the effort she puts into each piece, not every single creation needs to be kept forever. I always want to encourage her, but also want her to learn that it’s okay to throw a picture we’ve enjoyed away.

What about you? What are your favorite ways to “publish” your child’s artwork? (And do you ever toss a piece of artwork?)

Linked up at Handful of Heart, Better Mom, & Raising Arrows

Tagged with: crafts • household tips • toddlerhood

Loving the Little Years: Book Review & Giveaway

February 29, 2012

Shortly after our third child was born, a dear older mother from church gave me a copy of Loving the Little Years. It quickly became my favorite book on motherhood.

Loving the Little Years is not a how-to guide for a perfectly run home or well-mannered children. Instead, it’s a refreshing look at the heart of motherhood, from the trenches.

The author, Rachel Jankovic, is a mother of five young children. She writes candidly about the sticky hands, laughing eyes, sleepless nights and busy days that make up the little years.

A few favorite nuggets

A well-ordered, organized home is a mom’s dream. While organization is good, there’s only one area of your life that really must be organized: your attitude.
Mothering little ones is a demanding job. It’s easy to become overwhelmed. If we were to rate over-whelmedness on a scale from 1 to 10 (like they use for pain in the hospitals) somedays we may want to scream “13!” But this is where God has us at the moment. We must reprogram our meter to 1. Crunchy floors and sleepless nights are part of our new normal.
Teaching a child is a lot like teaching math. As soon as your child masters the basic addition of saying “please” and not coloring on the walls, subtraction gets thrown into the mix. It can feel like they’re never getting it. There’s always a new attitude to adjust or new concept to conquer. But really our children are passing milestones all the time. Little milestones. We just often fail to notice them.

Loving the Little Years is short, but each of the twenty chapters is packed with encouragement for moms of little ones.

Canon Press sells both a paperback and audio version and graciously agreed to sponsor a giveaway. Just enter the form below for your chance to win a copy!

(Check out the rest of the “No More Student Loans” giveaways (there are over a dozen!)… and make sure to come back tomorrow for another giveaway from Canon Press: The Fruit of Her Hands.)

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Tagged with: book review • giveaway

How to Maintain [Some] Order in a Shared Kids’ Room

February 6, 2012

Like many of you, my children share a room. Sharing a room teaches valuable lessons about simplicity, getting along and life. However, trying to fit all the toys and clothes for multiple children in a small room and leave room for playing is a challenge.

Rearranging the furniture for optimal floor space helps, but pursuing simplicity in the toy and clothes collection is essential.

Ten ways to simplify the toys:

Christmas & birthdays. Thrift store finds. Generous friends.

Before you know it, your child’s room can be overflowing with toys. Toys are meant to be played with. To loosely paraphrase Solomon, “where no children are, the toys are picked up, but happily playing children are a great blessing.” (Prov. 14:4)

photo credit

However, more toys do not necessarily equal more happiness. A few sticks and pebbles are all some children in the world have. I’m not sure American kids are any happier with their buckets and buckets of toys.

Here are a ten ways that I try to balance fun and simplicity. (You can see pictures of my children’s room here, though I’ve rearranged it since then.)

Distinguish between durable and disposable toys. Some of my children’s toys I hope my grandchildren will play with, like Duplos. Some toys however (say the Easter eggs from the neighbor) I consider disposable and only keep for a few weeks. After the fun has worn off they are donated or tossed.
Choose neutral toys, when possible. Dolls and trucks are practically indispensable parts of a toy collection, but you don’t need a pink and blue version of everything!
Say “No!” Just because you’re offered free hand-me-downs or find a toy for a quarter at a yard sale, doesn’t mean your child needs it. Sometimes, you just need to say “no!” (Or let your children play with them for a few weeks and then pass them on.)
Rotate the toys so that there are less toys out and they get “new” toys regularly.
Set mess perimeters. I mentioned this in my post on clutter, but having a few guidelines for where and when toys can be played with makes such a difference! We have set clean-up times several times daily as well as a “no toys in the living room after dinner” rule. Play with one toy “set” at a time, then put it away (we’re working on this one!)
Keep birthdays & Christmas gifts simple: Laura Ingalls was happy with a tin cup and a penny. You can show your love without going overboard. Choose quality over quantity.
Gifts are a way many grandparents, other family members or friends show their love. However, sometimes the influx of gifts can get overwhelming, especially if you’re dealing with multiple children in a small room. This is a sensitive issue and may not be wise or kind in all situations, but if possible, respectfully address overly generous gift-givers. My children have been blessed with grandparents that are so thoughtful of my children and me with their gifts. But, if you are getting overwhelmed by gifts, try to find a kind way to encourage gifts that will bless your child and you. A frazzled mom is not a good gift! A few possible ideas: offer hints for toys your child would treasure, let them know that what your child has plenty of toys and would most like would be to spend time with them (a trip to the zoo, museum, etc.) or set up an Amazon wish list for your child. (Remember though, never wound someone who loves your child over gifts!)
Embrace the simple things. Boxes for boats, blankets for forts, chairs for houses. Children are so creative and content! Often, it’s the parent not the child who thinks they need more.
Donate, sell or toss unused toys. Clearing out the toys that aren’t loved makes room to really enjoy the treasured toys. If you find toys consistently taken out and forsaken (for you to step on ) it’s time for them to go!
Get outside. Let them play with the sticks and pebbles… and maybe even take a dip in the mud.

This post is getting dreadfully long. We’ll have to tackle the kids’ clothes Wednesday…

(Thank you Jenn, from the lovely blog The Purposeful Mom for inspiring this post with your comment! )

What about you? How do you handle all the toys? I would *love* your ideas (especially since we plan to add little Meg to the kids’ room soon)!

Linking up at Handful of Heart and Better Mom Monday

Tagged with: contentment • household tips • simplicity • thriving in small places • toddlerhood

“Here Piggy! Here’s Mud.”

January 21, 2012

What is it about boys and mud? Mud seems to draw my little guy like a magnet.

It all start innocently enough. Will found a stick and a large puddle and started stirring. Knowing how much pigs love mud, he called them. “Here piggy! Here’s mud. Come play.”

I turned my back.