Help! My Kids aren't Behaving!!

Dear Ladies,

Yesterday we went apple picking. It is late in the season, but we were still able to get plenty of apples. We enjoyed being outside and over near the mountains it was beautiful. The weather was perfect; I don't like to sweat when I pick apples, part of the experience is having a cool autumn day to enjoy.

Today we are off to a homeschool group harvest party. It is at a bowling alley, so we will get our physical education class in for the week, plus bring home CANDY. My youngest boy has a passion for candy, so he will be happy. Today we will also welcome home Eric who has been gone since Tuesday.

What do you do when your kids have behavior issues that you're not sure how to deal with? Mine have an issue-they can be so unkind to each other and they just bother one another. I'm thinking of a unique way to handle it. Since they enjoy making money and they could all use it for buying Christmas gifts I'm going to use money as the incentive. My thought is to offer them $1 a day if they show kindness and respect for their siblings. I know this could add up to $28 a week, but in the end it should be worth the money. My hope is that after a month or maybe two the old behavior will be replaced with the new behavior. They're siblings, so we will always have some unkindness but I'm hoping this will help cut down on the negetive behavior.

Sometimes when I'm faced with a behavior issue and I don't know how to re-direct my children I will ask the Lord for ideas. My children groan when I tell them the Lord told me what to do. There is no problem in motherhood that God isn't interested in helping you solve. When faced with any issue regarding your children take it to the Lord. If you can pray with your husband, that is even better. Ask God to give you wisdom in re-directing wrong behavior. God longs for us to bring everything to Him in prayer, He wants to help us. Sometimes we get so caught up in our problems that we forget that the One that created us and our children is waiting for us to seek Him. Seek Him today and ask for the wisdom to be best parent you can be.

Blessings to all of you-Have a wonderful weekend with your families.

Melissa

They Will Grow Up!!!

Dear Ladies,

Dressed in a black tux with a broad smile on his face my baby boy(now 17) drove away in a bright red Camaro to escort a young lady to dinner and the homecoming dance. I had to blink back tears several times as I helped him get ready for his big night. Where have the years gone? Just a short time ago he was catching bugs, playing in the mud and looking for adventure in the trees behind our house. It has been just as exciting to watch him take on all the new adventures of being a teenager and some day I will look back on these years and wonder again how the time could have gone by so fast.

I told him today I have 6 more years before I have to share him with another woman. I have to make the most of those 6 years. Granted I still have three after him with one who is only eleven, but I know when the oldest leaves home it will be the hardest and the others will soon follow.

So how will I make the most of the rest of the time my children live with me? I will kiss them goodnight and rub their backs for as many years as they will let me, I will accept all hugs given, I will enjoy the little memories and make as many new memories as we can. I will remember the years go by fast and I have only a short time to instill in them a love for the Lord. I will do my utmost to be the best mother I can be and not get caught up in guilt when I make a mess of things. My goal will be to make the most of the time I have, so I can look back on these years with no regrets.

When the majority of the people you talk to in the course of a day are under the age of four and your primary thought is "If only I could sleep for five minutes" it is hard to think they will every grow up and leave home. BUT THEY WILL!! Before you know it you will be thinking "I remember Melissa telling me this would happen." Enjoy your children today. If your baby is teething skip the dishes and cuddle her, if your son wants to play Legos join him even if you're not very good at it, if your daughter is having an emotional melt down wrap her in your arms and hug away the tears. Choose something your children would enjoy for dinner and make it just for them, add food coloring to the milk and watch their faces glow with happiness, have ice cream for dinner sometime(I learned that from my mom), wrap up in a blanket and watch a Veggie Tale movie, color together(my 2nd boy use to love to do this with me), read to your children while they color or build with Legos(this is one of our favorite activities), have an indoor picnic for lunch invite the stuffed animals to join you, and accept any and all hugs.

OK your mission is clear - have fun being a mother. God gave you each child because He knew you would the best mother for that child and they are each a unique blessing.

Blessings to all,
Melissa

PS. Tonight we are having Nacho Spuds for dinner. It is an easy and affordable meal. The recipe is posted at http://amomlikeyou.blogspot.com/2008/04/whats-for-dinner.html

All past letters can be found at http://amomlikeyou.blogspot.com/

Soup for Dinner

Hello Ladies,

Fall is my favorite time of year; one of our favorite dinners in the fall/winter season is soup and bread. I thought you might enjoy a recipe for one of my families favorite soups. For quickness I would add everything, but the cheese to the soup pot and cook until the potatoes were tender, then I would stir in the cheese until it melted. If I was going to be pressed for time in the evening I would prepare everything, put it all in the pot so it was ready to cook that evening and refrigerate.

Brown Jug Cheese Soup

4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 qt. of water
20 oz package of frozen mixed veggies(we like to add just broccoli)
2 1/2 cups potatoes, raw and cubed
1 lb. Velveeta cheese
1 cup celery, finely diced
(dice a whole package of celery, spread it on a cookie sheet and freeze, when it is frozen transfer to a zip lock bag-this way you have diced celery on hand. The grocery store may even sell frozen diced celery)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup onion, finely diced( sometimes I will dice extra onion and freeze it. It is so handy to have onion, green peppers celery etc frozen and ready to use.)

Cook bouillon, celery and onion in water for 20 minutes. Add potatoes and mixed veggies: cook an additional 30 minutes. Add canned soup and cheese-simmer until cheese is melted. Stir frequently at this point-scorches very easily.

In the morning start your bread machine and by evening you will have a wonderful dinner. Enjoy,

Melissa

PS. All past letters are available at http://www.amomlikeyou.blogspot.com/
Please feel free to pass the letters on to friends or have your friends email to be added to the list. Also I am available to women's groups to speak and share on any topics covered.

The Five Second Rule

Dear Ladies,

Vacations are a treat, but it is always good to come home. Our trip to Colorado was wonderful. We had a few problems with the tires on the camper, but we were able to get that taken care of quickly. We did a lot of driving and saw a lot of beautiful scenery. I enjoyed driving through Glenwood Canyon and our visit to Hidden Lake, a stunning blue/green lake hidden away up near the top of a mountain. It was a difficult hike, but worth the effort.

I found something interesting in a magazine I was reading that I thought would be fun to share with all of you. Moms have always joked about the five second rule; sometimes when our kids drop a cookie, cracker, pacifier or candy we quick pick it up, give it back to the child and tell ourselves that it's OK because it we retrieved it from the ground in 5 seconds or less.

Well as it turns out some microbiology students at Connecticut College tested the theory. They found it took 30 seconds for germs to appear on an apple slice and up to five minutes for dry hard candies to become germy. Ahhh! We moms were right again. However it did say if the floor is dirty or an area where pets walk even a nanosecond can be risky. Ah, well we already knew that to.

Blessings to all,

Melissa

All past letters are posted at www.amomlikeyouu.blogspot.com

PS. I am thinking of hosting an life fellowship time for all of you. What do you think, would anyone be interested in some face time with each other?