I talked to you yesterday about my favorite Natural Remedies, so it only seemed right that today, we talk about Healthy Habits which hopefully lead to Healthy Kiddos! Let the count down begin: Healthy Habit #7: Staying Hydrated! Have Water … Continue reading
All opinions and advice given in this blog are STRICTLY the opinion of Mommy of 4, Tonya Ferguson.
Obviously you need to do what you feel is best and safest for your child based on your intimate knowledge of their “normal” behavior.
Don’t you just love cold season? Ugh.
Poor sick snotty coughing babies need extra TLC, but where do your turn? Rush to your nearest dr. at the first sniffle? Go scan the shelves at Wal-Mart for SOMETHING safe for younger children to take? Or turn to some natural remedies?
I am into Natural Remedies, BIG TIME! Over the 9 years of being a naturally minded Mommy, I have come to acquire an arsenal of favorites for each and every bug that ails us. I will go through those today and show you my favorite ways to fight or treat these childhood illnesses.
#1: The dreaded cough. You know the one that keeps everyone up allll night long. After they pulled cough syrups off the shelf, we mom’s had to find another method of treatment. Here are our favorites:
~Vicks on the feet (Put on socks) and chest.
Here is an article about it, it really works!
VICKS VAPORUB…
When we had a lecture on Essential Oils, they told us how the foot soles can absorb oils. Their example: Put garlic on your feet and within 20 minutes you can ‘taste’ it. Some of us have used Vicks Vaporub for years for everything from chapped lips to sore toes and many body parts in between. But I’ve never heard of this. And don’t laugh, it works 100% of the time although the scientists at the Canada Research council (who discovered it) aren’t sure why. To stop night-time coughing in a child (or adult as we found out personally), put Vicks Vaporub generously on the bottom of the feet at bedtime, then cover with socks. Even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about 5 minutes and stay stopped for many, many hours of relief. Works 100% of the time and is more effective in children than even very strong prescription cough medicines. In addition it is extremely soothing and comforting and they will sleep soundly. I heard the head of the Canada Research Council describe these findings on the part of their scientists when they were investigating the effectiveness and usage of prescription cough medicines in children as compared to alternative therapies like acupressure. Just happened to tune in A.M.Radio and picked up this guy talking about why cough medicines in kids often do more harm than good due to the chemical makeup of these strong drugs so, I listened. It was a surprise finding and found to be more effective than prescribed medicines for children at bedtime, in addition to have a soothing and calming effect on sick children who then went on to sleep soundly. Polly tried it on herself when she had a very deep constant and persistent cough a few weeks ago and it worked 100%! She said that it felt like a warm blanket had enveloped her, coughing stopped in a few minutes and believe me, this was a deep, (incredibly annoying!) every few seconds uncontrollable cough, and she slept cough-free for hours every night that she used it.”
We choose to use Baby Vicks for our youngest children. Its my understanding that they can get too much menthol, so we are cautious. It works great too!
In addition to Vicks, we….
~Do a Humidifier in the coughing child’s room.
~Prop the head of their bed or crib up with 2 books under the legs. This promotes drainage and can help eliminate the tickly cough.
~ Give them Buckwheat Honey.
Buckwheat honey, is a robust, dark honey made from the nectar of blossoming buckwheat grain. It made the pediatrician “handbook” and was recommended to us by our doctor one winter for 9 month old Avery when she had whooping-cough. Worked like a charm and we have used it for coughs ever since. It is thicker than regular honey and quiets for hours naturally!!!!
Here is a great article all about it: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/90536.php
# 2 For very Severe Coughs, like the year our kids passed our whooping-cough, there is a home remedy that dates back to my Great Grandmothers day. It involves a white onion.
Take your WHITE onion with skin on and bake in a 350* oven for an hour or until soft. Cut a wedge out of the onion and carefully peel off petals. Careful, it will be very hot. When you can handle them, test them on your inner wrist. You want them warm, not hot, but not cold. It will lose effectiveness if it is cold.
Lay baby on an ace bandage or sock and work quickly to apply the still warm onion petals across babies chest. Secure snuggly with sock or ace bandage and pin, dress child for bed as usual.
You will not BELIEVE how well this works to quiet a serious cough. Plus, the onion naturally boosts the immune system, win-win! No, warm onions do not stink, they smell sweet. Yes, you may use the onion again the next night. NOT the ones on baby’s chest, toss those. Just put remaining onion in Tupperware and put back in the oven on a cookie sheet to reheat each evening until the onion is all used up.
We LOVE this method and swear by it! We went from up all night with a different coughing child, to total peaceful slumber. AMAZING!
~Hyland’s Natural Cough Syrup, for ages 2 and up.
This works well too! They offer day and night-time formula’s. We get this at Wal-Mart, and alternate this with Buckwheat honey.
Speaking of Hylands, they offer a variety of homeopathics, which we LOVE!
We have a homeopathic for just about anything that could come up and love them. It makes me happy that when I got to my medicine cabinet, these safe, natural remedies line the shelf.
#3 Ear Infections We have kicked 9 out of 10 ear infections with this box of goodness.
If the infection is bacterial, 3 days of this will usually kick it. If it’s a chronic infection, then this will not work. Most infections are bacterial, unless of course your child struggles with this due to other circumstances.
I can tell by the 3rd dose of these Earache homeopathics, that it cuts the pain, because my happy smiling baby comes back. I finish out the box as directed, because I want to for sure kick the infection, but there is NO QUESTION when it starts to work!
We once went to a Well-baby check up, just as we finished day 3 of this homeopathic. The dr. looked in her ears and said he could tell she was just getting over an ear infection by what he saw. No intervention was necessary, no strong prescription, because it was clearing up “on its own”. This was proof to me that it does work and works well! A 3 day natural treatment rather than a 10 day SUPER strong antibiotic??? Sign me up!
If you DO need to fill the prescription and do these STRONG antibiotics for ear infections, I highly recommend you follow-up with a month of Bifidophilus. My favorite brand is Nature Sunshine. This will help rebuild the immune system, which will have been knocked by the antibiotic, it will replace healthy bacteria inside the intestines, which is crucial, it will help prevent secondary infections. Plus, it’s just an over all great immune booster!!!! (more on this tomorrow)
#4 Sore throat We go straight for our bottle of Echinacea. (Again my favorite brand is Nature Sunshine) It naturally numbs the throat. Just tip your head back and drip down both sides of throat, hold then swallow. I do this at the first sign of a sore throat and can kick it by the next morning. You won’t believe how it takes the sharp pain away from your sore throat!!!!
#5 Snotty nose; green or clear: 1/4 tsp SEA salt, in 1/2 cup warm as you can stand water, sniffed up the nose. I have my big kids do “1-2-3 sniff” as I squeeze a little medicine dropper, probably 5 times in each side. For the babies, I just lay them down and carefully put a 2 or 3 droppers full in each nose hole. I do this at the first sniffle or first green booger and can kick it in no time!!! Snotty kids get this about 3 times a day, sometimes more depending on the severity of the sniffling.
Day 1, I hear less sniffing, by day 2, it is no longer green, by day 3, it is almost always gone. Salt is a natural pain-killer and will dry up the snot. It will also help with sinus pressure and pain. DO NOT USE IODIZED SALT, it will burn like when you jump in the pool without your nose plugged! GET SEA SALT, it’s better for you anyways!
#6 The Runs: We choose to treat this with the BRAT diet. Bananas, Rice (brown is healthiest), Applesauce, Toast. (we do whole wheat) The child with the runs gets this breakfast, lunch, snack and supper for a day or two, or until symptoms subside. Also during this time, we eliminate all dairy, which really makes things worse in this particular case, as well as any and all sugars. We do no soda, no juice, just water!
#7 Infection of any kind: we have our pill swallowers swallow a single garlic oil pill several times a day until they kick the infection. For babies, simply puncture the capsule and squeeze a teeny bit of oil on the arch of each foot. Cover with socks you never plan to use for anything but this purpose. In no time you will smell the garlic on their breath and know its being absorbed and used in their little bodies. Garlic is an AMAZING immune booster!
#8 Influenza: No, we do not do flu shots for a VARIETY of reasons. I do my research at www.mercola.com and it told me all I needed to know about this subject. Last year, when everyone passed around Influenza, even the people that got the shot, we heard about this product from my BESTEST BEST Friend:
Homeopathic. Oscillococcinum has been shown in clinical trials to help reduce the severity and shorten the duration of flu-like symptoms. Temporarily relieves flu-like symptoms such as feeling run down, headache, body aches, chills and fever.
Oscillococcinum works rapidly, with 63 percent of patients showing “complete resolution” or “clear improvement” at 48 hours. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, the recovery rate within 48 hours of treatment was significantly greater in the group that received the active drug than in the placebo group.
Unlike other flu medicines, Oscillococcinum has no known side effects such as drowsiness, and has no known or reported drug interactions. Oscillococcinum can be purchased at pharmacies, natural food stores and supermarkets.
Oscillo works best when taken early, so it’s helpful to keep it on hand. Take Oscillo at the first signs of flu-like symptoms.
Worked like a CHARM! I plan to always have this in my medicine cabinet! Every mom I talked to last winter could not believe the difference in how their children acted after taking this homeopathic!
#9 Fever: Mommy’s seem to fear fever, but you don’t have to, because it’s a GOOD THING! I means their little immune systems are working to fight the bug! If a fever is under 102* we usually do not give Tylenol or Ibuprofen. (there are obviously exceptions to this) We chose this based on what our doctor explained to us about not hindering what the body is trying to do by suppressing the fever. Of course if it gets over 102* or they seem to have trouble sleeping because of it, we will give a fever reducer, but it is a LAST resort, not something I hand out at every head bump, or low-grade fever.
If you are concerned your child is getting dehydrated remember this, the pores of your child’s skin will “drink” water too. A cool damp cloth on the forehead, or soaking in a warm bath will usually produce a potty diaper in no time.
Another thing we like to do in their warm bath, is open up ginger pills or dump in some white vinegar, both will naturally start the detox process and the vinegar naturally cools a fever. (Never put a fevered child into a cold bath, always do a regular warm one.) Our children leave the tub hydrated and with a fever 2 degrees less than they entered it, and usually within the hour, have a potty diaper.
Obviously if their fever is dangerously high, you need to seek medical help, but for normal low-grade and regular fevers, this has worked wonders for our poor hot babies. Again, your judgement of your own child’s need for medical treatment always rules. These are simply my opinion and favorites for our kids.
Tomorrow, I will give you some tips for STAYING healthy in the first place! We won’t let our kids go down without a fight, right?!
~T
Hallelujah for Quiet Time every afternoon!!!! I seriously don’t know what I would do without it. I get my emails answered, make necessary phone calls, do a photo project, write a blog, start supper or even read sometimes!!!
As a mom of 4, I have stopped feeling guilty about taking that time and am embracing it as OK and necessary for my Mommy Morale. We are all refreshed and ready t0 play again after quiet time, Mommy included!
Even Saprina and Sophie take naps in the afternoon. I think they like the quiet time too! 🙂
We chose to do this from 12:30-2:30, so that most of the time, everyone is awake by the time we need to load up to get big sis from school.
On weekends, Destiny is required to lay down and read for an hour. We want our kids to love to read, plus this helps her meet her Book-It requirements for the month, and keeps her quiet while the others rest.
Tylan is almost 5 and rarely falls asleep anymore, but he still has to pick a spot and rest and looks at books. Sometimes it’s on the couch, across the foot of my bed, or under a chair. As long as he rests and reads, I am not picky on location! 🙂 He is required to lay 1 hour and then play quietly with cars the second hour until the other children wake up. During the first hour, if he comes out of his spot, I add 5 minutes to his reading time.
At 16 months old, Paxton still takes 2 naps a day. The key for him, is to only let him have an hour-long nap in the morning, so he’ll still go down at 12:30. I have to really watch my time because that hour goes fast!
There is a natural transition that we seen happen at our house from baby with two naps, to toddler with one nap…..
When we start to notice that our morning nappers are fighting their afternoon nap, we cut down the 2 hour morning nap. We do this until we find the right mix that still allows for a good afternoon nap: From 2 hours to an hour and a half, then an hour, then eventually 45 minutes, watching carefully which time frame still allows for a 2 hour afternoon nap.
Tylan kept his morning nap for a long time as a toddler, even just a 20 minute power nap helped us get through morning fussy time. It was perfect because it didn’t mess up afternoon nap schedule.
He’s not a toddler in this photo, but I liked this one. 🙂
Then there is little Miss Avery….who has decided she no longer needs naps every day.
That’s because she is so angelic…..
NOT!
She really does still need quite time or Crabitha comes out!!
When I was a mommy of 1, and Destiny was Avery’s age and transitioning out of afternoon naps, I fought tooth and nail to keep her sleeping every day. (She was a bear if she didn’t!) Being a mom of 4 has helped me to be a bit more laid back about this transition, so here are the rules:
~Avery may read books until she falls asleep.
~She may not come out of her room until I give her permission.
~Is she sleeps, she gets to stay up with the big kids. If she doesn’t she has to be the first one in bed. (WHICH SHE HATES!)
When I was making her lay there and try to sleep, she was not taking a nap at all anymore!
Now that I let her read, sleep is sneaking up on her, and she is napping 8 out of 10 times, then coming out cheerful and ready to play.
SCORE!
If you are looking to schedule your baby, which turns into scheduled toddlers and good sleepers, make sure you check out Baby Wise! We swear by it!
I had 2 Baby Wise babies, and 2 not:
~ Destiny slept all night long at 5 weeks, we scheduled her from the first day home from the hospital on.
~Tylan nursed every hour and a half, so I was unable to schedule him like I wanted until later, he slept all night at 5 months.
~Avery came into our family 17 months after Ty, I was exhausted and did not even try to schedule. She did not sleep all night until 9 months!!!!!! (I really thought I was going to die from lack of sleep! Seriously!)
~Then Pax came along and I was bound and determined to schedule him based on how tired I was with Avery’s non-schedule. Guess who slept all night at 7 weeks? Yup! My scheduled eat-play-sleep baby. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
I know it’s not for everyone, but I love schedules and anything that makes me feel organized, so this fits my style of parenting to a “T”!
Uh-oh, quiet time is over, and everyone is waking up, gotta run!
~T
Reposted from Christmas 2010, but still straight from my heart:
Christmas is rapidly approaching, and with it can come a sense of panic, a need to rush into town, push through the crowd towards near empty shelves, and snag those last few items on your Christmas shopping list. Standing in 
long lines, being told “Happy Holidays” by the greeter as you leave, rushing around to prepare for office parties & family get-togethers, addressing Christmas cards, wrapping gifts, and on the busy-ness goes……
Somewhere along the way, the peaceful, quiet days of Christmas past were lost. Somewhere along the way, Jolly Ol’ St Nick, stole the limelight from baby Jesus, and the madness of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, replaced the leisurely gift shopping of days gone by. Instead, it seems, we celebrate materialism, indulgence and the idea that we need more, more, more.
As a kid growing up, I recall knowing who Santa was, I think he even signed a couple of our packages under the tree a time or two, but I can’t EVER recall a time, that I didn’t know it was really my parents.
I have great memories of Christmas growing up, but you’d be surprised at the ones that stand out most. I remember the year dad went back to college, and we couldn’t afford a Christmas tree, so we decorated the artificial fica tree that stood in our living room, instead. Tiny red apples, red velvet bows and empty mini raisin boxes hung from its branches….
To my little girl eyes, it was beautiful!!!!! There were very few presents under the tree that year, but I don’t remember thinking much of it. Mom kept us busy with special baking and craft projects, and dad kept us in hysterics on Christmas morning, sticking his new electric drill up his nose, stating it could also double as a nose hair trimmer.
As we got older and became teenagers, our finances changed, and my parents got more and more creative in their gift giving…..
One year we went on a family vacation to the Bahamas instead of getting gifts. Another time, Hawaii. One year, we got cash to spend after Christmas at the big sales, teaching us the value of the dollar, and that it could be stretched much further by waiting for a sale day after Christmas to shop. Another year, after my dad sold his trucking business, and things were incredibly tight, we did intangible gifts. We wrote letters of appreciation to each member of the family, and that Christmas morning was not spent under a pile of wrapping paper and boxes, but quietly seated around the fireplace, reading those letters of love & affirmation to each other.
But, the Christmas that stands out the most in my mind, was not the tropical vacations, not the new boom box or new car…..
No, it was the year we adopted a family in need, through a local church. We were given an address to deliver our goodies to them, in person.
We all loaded up, driving further and further into the oldest part of town, until we arrived in front of a very humble home. Arms loaded with boxes of goodies, we walked to the front door. Once we were done with our “good deed” for the day, we could go back home and have our own Christmas.
We knocked on the door, and were welcomed in broken English. Stepping inside, the first thing I noticed was the home was sparse in furniture. Mattresses serving as beds lay on the floor, and open cupboard doors revealed they were indeed, bare. My heart softened. My “good deed” for the day, suddenly turned into so much more.
Oh, the joy on their faces as we unloaded box after box of groceries, clothing, toys and necessities. I recall tears streaming down the mothers face, as she thanked us over and over in broken English. The father reached out his work-weary hands, silently grasping ours, tears in his eyes telling us how humbled and thankful he was for this, though no words were spoken. Their children ran circles around the old sofa, the language barrier not stopping our interpretation of their squeals of excitement and joy!
Tears filled my eyes, as I looked at the space around me….thinking of the home full of stuff we had left just 10 minutes ago, the gifts waiting under the tree, the food filling 2 fridges. This families Christmas blessing, was my every day life……
I didn’t know a day without food. I didn’t go to school without a coat ,because we didn’t have the money for one. I never walked to a cupboard to find it bare. We had so much, and they had so little. Why did I even need the few gifts waiting for me, under the tree at home?
It was then I knew what God was showing me…….THIS is what Christmas is about. Giving to others in need, showing them the love of Christ, not receiving! Why, when I had such an abundance, did I need anything? I became more convinced than ever that Christmas was going to be forever different at our house!
Fast forward 15 years, I now have 4 little ones of my own, and the huge responsibility of establishing my families traditions….
From the very beginning Christmas morning has been Jesus’ birthday, nothing else. We feel Santa “waters down” what we are trying to do with Christmas. Our goal is to keep it about Christ, and His birth, and in striving towards this goal, of keeping Christ in Christmas, we chose to exclude Santa from any of our celebrations.
Don’t get me wrong, the kids know who Santa is, and that he is part of the general season of year. In fact, the older two, were playing reindeer and Santa the other night!
That doesn’t bother me a bit.
Neither does letting them watch the evening Christmas specials on tv, about Rudolph or Frosty. What a special treat! But there is one rule and requirement of evening TV watching……
Commercials MUST be muted.
I can’t stand how they try to gr
ab my kids attention and stir up the “Greedy Gimmies” with the ads for the “coolest toy ever“!
But, when it actually comes to Christmas day, does Santa have a part?
Nope, not around here. We want Christmas Day to be sacred. It’s special. It’s a quiet, calm. A peaceful celebration of the birth of Jesus. It’s not wrapping paper piled knee-high on the floor. It’s not toy fire engine sirens, crying
baby dolls and whirring helicopter toys, drowning out all other sounds of worship of our Lord and King…..the whole reason we celebrate in the first place.
On Christmas morning, you won’t hear shouts of ”Santa came!” Instead, shouts of, “It’s Jesus birthday!” are heard. Followed by arguments about who gets to blow out Jesus’ birthday candle after we sing Happy Birthday to Him.
After reading the Christmas story, we give each child 3 gifts, representing the 3 gifts given to baby Jesus by the wise men. Buying only 3 gifts for each child, keeps Dale and I in check, as we are doing our Christmas shopping, and allows the focus to remain on Christ, not the need for more, more, more.
Later, as our children get older, we will deepen the significance of these gifts, by assigning a meaning to each one:
Frankincense: A gift for spiritual growth. (A new devotion book, Bible or Christian CD.)
Myrrh: A practical gift. (A new pair of jeans, a coat, a laptop for school, a car emergency kit.)
Gold: A gift that fulfills a want. (An ipod, shopping certificate, jewelry, bike, MP3 player etc.)
We celebrate Christmas based on God GIVING us His one and only son, who later GIVES His life as a living sacrifice for us! We want giving and not receiving to be the focus of Christmas. This is why we choose to adopt a family in need, or participate in filling individual boxes, when our church adopts a local school.
What fun it is to stroll through the store, with each of my children clutching a paper in their sticky little hands, with a name…….a name of a special boy or girl, about their age, who we can be a blessing to. I love to see their faces as they figure out that no, these new toys aren’t for them to keep, they have enough toys at home. These gifts are for a little boy or girl, who might otherwise have nothing new at Christmas!
Granted, sometimes its hard to pack that giant bouncy ball, or sparkly nail polish in the box, for the other child! But, it doesn’t take long for them to grasp, at their level of understanding, the kindness and love they are showing to another child. To understand that Christmas is about giving to others, not asking, begging and pleading for the latest and greatest new toys.
It is my hearts desire for our Christmases to be SO focused on Jesus Christ, from my children’s first memory of Christmas on, that they don’t know it ANY other way!
Keeping Christ in Christmas goes much farther than a “Merry Christmas” greeting to a cashier, only allowed to say “Happy Holidays”. No, it comes from you momma, as you set the tone of your home for each and every holiday tradition to come……
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Romans 12:2 (NLT)
~T
There is never a dull moment around here, NEVER. Paxton is our most active, into everything, see it-conquer-it child, YET. And he makes the funniest faces to boot!
So in honor of this mischievous little boy we are so blessed to have in our home, I have composed a post about the Many Faces and Places of Pax.
Ice Cream Snatcher: Here Pax is helping himself to the Homemade Ice Cream at Great Grandpa’s Birthday party while no one was watching him.
Escape Artist: Dale came home from work to Pax standing out in our lane in his socks recently. The sneaky little stinker had figured out how to open the back door and let himself out…QUIETLY! Thank the LORD he was fine! But he sure gave me a HEART ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! None of the other kids EVER did this!
Fitness Guru: He loves to climb & play on the work out equipment at Great Grandpa and Grandma’s house.
Snack Sneaker: If you don’t watch it, he’ll steal your snack and shove it all in one bite before you can say, “HEY! That was MIIIIIIIINE!” Better not set your bowl down, right, Avery?
See that mouthful? That’s the prune Grandma gave Avery for snack.
Scooter Stealer: Pax likes to get on Grandpas scooter and push all the buttons.
Bunk Bed Bounder: he can scale bunk bed ladders in a single bound! And, after he is done messing with all of Destiny’s stuff, he can carefully back down too!
Step Stool Climber: He moves the step stool all over so he can get into things on the counter.
Table Topper: He likes to climb on the table, grab apples and say: “BALL” as he chucks them across the room.
Chair Crusader: Pax likes to get up on this chair and tell everyone how big he is!
While he is up there anyways, he decides to reek havoc on my décor….
“Uh-oh! Dropped it…”
“Now what can I do?”
“I know, I know, I’ll head over and have a snack……”
Fridge Defroster:
“Got it! Now, how do I get this thing open? MO-OM! A little help please….”
“WHAT?!?!?!?!?!? All that work and you aren’t going to let me eat this?”
Counter Crawler: Paxton likes to wait until you are not looking to crawl on the counter and play in the sink.
(Yes, he is wearing a lavender bib, he has 2 big sisters, what do you expect!? Besides, it goes so well with his purple and pink Sippy cups!)
Oatmeal Dumper: This is Paxton, escaped from the highchair, sitting on my kitchen counter wearing his Oatmeal on his head.
This is his face after he heard my gasp and exclaim:
Thankfully my camera was handy! 🙂
I am telling you, if it’s quiet, don’t finish your laundry folding, don’t take a phone call, don’t even stop to get a drink, don’t walk….RUN to see what Paxton is getting into, cause it’s bound to be MESSY!
(Soon after this photo was taken, Paxton put a good portion of the toilet paper into the toilet while Avery watched. Nice.)
I love you my sweet, sweet, but oh-s0 naughty, Baby Tankers!
(“Tank” is Paxton’s nickname because of how huge he was at birth, it stuck because of the Plow-through-life-nothing-stands-in-his-way-approach he takes. Funny how he grew RIGHT into this nickname!!!!!)
Happy Thursday!
~T
This post 2 for the day, make sure you don’t miss post one:
Orange Cream Cheese Brownies. YUM!
You know how people always talk about the Terrible Two’s?
Yeah, our kids skip that and save it all up for the “TRYING THREE’S”.
The sweet angelic babies of days gone by, take a temporary leave of absence. 
And in their place?
These volatile little people that get set off at the TEENIEST thing!
We have a method we use for these Trying Three’s called:
“You Have 2 Choices”.
(Brilliant name, I know.)
This allows our 3 year olds to feel like they have a bit of say in their out of control worlds, while still allowing us, ultimate control. {Muahaha MUAHAHAHA!}
No really, all laughing aside, I am dead serious about this, every single blessed one of our kids has gone through this stage and it’s tough people. It makes me weary just writing about it.
“Avery Lyn! You have 2 choices…..”
“(Pointing to index finger) You may stop crying and play with us. OR (pointing to middle finger) you may continue this crying fit in your room alone. Which do you choose?”
This is a tough decision…….
But, they tend to pick number one and then proceed to shut it off.
On the occasion that they cannot get it under control, they are then removed to their room where they sit on their “Boo-Hoo Bed” until they are ready to turn off the water works and be happy.
This has worked very, very well for us! And hey, it works for clothing too!
“Avery, do you want to wear your black leggings or pink leggings with your sweatshirt today?”
She thinks she is choosing for herself, but she is just safely choosing within the boundaries we have set up for her. It’s worked like a charm around here!
Now someone, PLEASE tell me what to do about FOUR:
Freaking
Out
Unnecessarily under
Routine circumstances.
So many tears. And sniffles. And the blubbering {sigh}, oh the blubbering. (This too, is something big sis went through at age 4……)
Well, that’s it from here! Happy day to you and yours, I’m off to go see what the caterwauling is about this time………
I’ve got a 3 and 4 year old, at this point, it could be ANYTHING!!!! 🙂
~T
Man, it’s a good thing I LOVE what I do!
Happy Friday! 🙂
~T
Today’s project was “Toy Closet Clean Up”. I thought it’d be a great idea to involve the kids, assigning a few baskets to each child, to be gutted, sorted and put back on the shelf. It seemed so simple really.
How is it that stuff like this always seems like such a good idea at the time, but then turns south reallyreally quickly?
I do believe at this point, he had discovered Mommy’s Trash Bag of broken toys: “But they’re SPECIAL, Momma!”
{Or, quite possibly, I snapped at him to quit playing and get his baskets done before lunch!} (Sorry, Ty!)
I explained to him that in our family, we like to stay organized and keep things neat and tidy. This means we don’t keep broken toys that just take up space. This was a great way to make sure his UN-broken cars had room in their basket home. Well, he thought that made some sense. He dried his tears and got back at it, even working with Destiny to surprise me by organizing the Train Table.
It wasn’t long before Avery turned on the waterworks, although I cannot for the life of me remember why right now. It was so close to lunch and nap time, who knows!!!!!
Tylan, sweet boy, grabbed her by the hands and said something vaguely like what I had just said to him, about being tidy and working together to get the job done.
Phew. Disaster averted. Time to make lunch!
When it was all said and done, the closet looked MUUUUCH better, and we had actually cleared enough space for 3 additional baskets! Yay! 🙂
My next project? The one I’ve been putting off for 5 months now…..
See that HUGE stack of white paper on top?
All new recipes to try.
I need to gut and re-do my existing recipe folders, then place these new print offs in sleeves and add them as well. Ugh.
As you can see, I currently have them shoved in my desk, so I don’t have to look at them each day. How overwhelming!
Maybe I’ll get to it while the kids are outside playing and Pax is napping?
“What’s that kids? You want me to come play in the Tee-pee with you?”
Shoot, guess I am TOO busy right now to start such a large project.
Darn. Maybe tomorrow.
Or the next day.
Or next year……
~T
What can I say?
Paxton is a ladies man!
They just um, “flock” to him.
Check it out:
He is good at sharing:
“Wanna snack?”
He is Kind:
“Hey there ladies, don’t fight, there is plenty to go around!”
He is quiet, often pondering life and all there-in….
“Hmmmmm. Now where did I put that other cracker?”
He is friendly:
“Hi! Welcome, come have a snack with me!”
He is strong:
“I have the power to feed these chicks right here in the palm of my hand.”
He is generous:
“Here you are, ladies….cheese crackers for everyone!”
He has a great “appetite” for life:
“Wait, I want one too!”
He is fashion forward:
“Come here….”
“….I want to fix your hair. It’s kinda sticking up.”
“Comb you say? Yes, you DO need a comb!”
Paxton has some pretty girls at church too…..
Paxton’s mine! No, he’s mine.
We are currently working with their parents for an itemized list of their dowry’s so we can make an informed decision on Paxton’s arranged marriage.
Ok, ok, maybe not, but he sure has some great future choices!!!!! 🙂
~T
I have had 2 separate Mommy’s email me recently, asking about our daily routine. Sounded like a future blog post to me, so here I am! 🙂
Let me start off by giving a HUGE disclaimer….
This schedule is what I strive for, and I LOVE it when we succeed, ‘cause being organized makes me happy. However, with 4 kids, I have learned to expect the unexpected! I never know when a phone call or fussy baby will throw the whole morning’s routine, you know? So, if you call me at 12:15 and I am not making lunch yet….no judgments! 🙂
This is the school schedule, but I’ll try to make notes of how it changes in the summer time:
Btwn 6:30-7 Breakfast time for all the kiddos! Destiny makes bed, gets dressed, and brushes teeth. (For the summer, this part of Destiny’s routine will all start an hour later, with the other kids.)
7:50 Destiny off to school
8 Little kids do their morning chores like make their beds, get dressed, do hair, brush teeth.
~Next, they unload the dishwasher or put away their clean laundry. If no chores need done, then they get to play in the playroom until TV time.
~I use this time to pick from my monthly menu what I want to make for dinner, lay out the necessary non-perishable ingredients and thaw meat in a cold water-filled sink.
8:30 Morning nap for Paxton, my time to check my email/blog comments.
(Did I mention I LOVE to hear from you all? Cause I do!)
9-10 1 hour of TV time (This is all they get for the day) so I can get a shower. (Or at least get my contacts in and freshen up a bit! Let’s be realistic, this is not something that always occurs!!!!!) LOL 🙂
*I’d like to think someday, as Pax gets older, I will be rested enough to set my alarm and get up to shower at 5:30 or something!!!! We’ll see how that goes!
~The good news about limiting Tv time? It’s SUCH a special treat, that they don’t budge from the couch until the show is over. I use the rest of this time to get some work done on the computer or make phone calls while all is quiet!
10 Wake up Paxton, so he’ll take an afternoon nap. (we are just starting to show signs of outgrowing morning nap, so we’ll cut it down slowly until it’s no longer necessary)
10-10:50 Play a game, do puzzles or read to the kids. If they are playing wonderfully together, I don’t always interrupt, but choose to keep working around the house.
10:50 Make lunch and call for toy clean up.
11-12:00 Lunch.
My kids are SLOOOOW eaters! I eat with them and once I have fed Pax his baby food, start working on supper or pay bills or something constructive.
Why, oh why, do little ones feel the need to dig their faces into their sandwich eating only the center, even if they know they have to eat the crust afterwards anyways?
On another note: 1 bribed the kids today with a “1 Carrot Earns You 3 Chips” Rule. Guess who got too full of carrots to want any chips? SCORE! 🙂
12:15 Required rest time for big kids. (We aim for a minimum of 1 hour.)
~Destiny must read a chapter book during this time. Tylan looks at picture books and plays quietly with cars. They both must stay in their locations the whole hour, no coming in and out of the room or minutes are added to resting time!
~This is also nap time for the two little ones (minimum of 1 1/2 hours or they are cranky!) They usually sleep 2-2 1/2 hours.
12:30 Nurse Paxton and get him to sleep.
12:30-3 Work like mad to get supper prep work done (I chop veggies, or wash lettuce, fry up my hamburger and onions; anything to make supper go faster later when the kids are STARRRRVING) then I lay out, read a book, or do something for me.
Ahhh, peace and quiet! 
After their hour is up, Destiny and Tylan can come out and play, or help me in the garden, with weeding and harvesting.
3ish Every body is awake, it’s Snack time!
*No eating past 4 or we spoil supper.
~From the time they get up from nap on, its swim time or (during the nice school days) outside play time until I call them in for supper.
5 Get supper in the oven, call Destiny in to do homework during the school year.
Eat supper anywhere from 5-7 pm depending on daddy’s schedule.
Start bedtime @ 7:00 during school year, or between 7:30-8 in the summer, it takes us a good half hour!
~First we get outdoor or indoor toys picked up, put Jammies on, get teeth brushed and unmake beds.
~Meet in the office to get online and check off Chore Charts for the day. 
~Then meet as a family in front of the fire in the winter, or either the girls room or the boy’s room the rest of the year, for Bible story, songs and prayer time.
LIGHTS OUT 7:30 during school year and between 8-8:30 in the summer!
No matter what time we go to bed, it seems they wake up around 6:15 the next day, and then we start this routine over! 🙂
After Tylan was born, and I had to really schedule his nursing’s and naps between Destiny’s preschool drop off and pick up, so I used to have this schedule written out on a piece of paper and taped up where I could see it. After a while it just flowed on its own and this is the schedule we currently aim for each day. I am sure it will change again after 3 of them are in school next year on different days in 3 different locations! 🙂
Hope this gives you a jumping point in creating your own schedule and routine. Have a good one!
~T
4 little Fergusons 
