The Mother Lode

Crafts and Crochet

by

A Letter to my Mother

Dear Mom,

Now that I am a mother, I owe you an extremely long thank you note:

Thank you for every stinkin’ thing. Thank you for cleaning my little baby body. Thank you for singing the same ridiculous song over and over just to hear me laugh. Thank you for convincing me to eat vegetables. Thank you for teaching me to tie my shoelaces on our front porch. Thank you for separating my sister and I when we misbehaved. Thank you for braiding my hair, playing Barbies, and letting me watch I Love Lucy, I Dream of Jeannie, and Bewitched on Nick at Nite on warm summer nights. Thank you for walking me to school, driving me to school, and picking me up after band practice, debate team meetings, French club: the list is endless. Thank you for buying me a purple paisley shirt at The Gap which I wore so often I think it wore out in a couple of years! Thank you for taking me on long walks through the woods all over the county. Thank you for every day you let me stay home from school just because. Thank you for every formal dress, cool pair of jeans, and new school shoes. Thank you for taking me to Mass and countless fish frys, Christmas in Julys at the nursing homes, and other volunteer events. Thank you for teaching me how to drive because daddy made me cry every time. Thank you for valuing my education and making the transition to adulthood fairly easy. Thank you for raising me with the ability to cope with life and handle being a mother myself. There is no earthly way I could do what I’m doing without the knowledge that you did it, too, and came out on the other side awesome.

Being a mom in today’s world is TOUGH. There is a constant struggle to find what’s right for you as a parent when it is so quick and easy to see what others are doing. I know that I flounder less because you are such a great mom and I take so much inspiration from you and knowing that what I remember from growing up are the things listed above. I don’t remember being yelled at, being grounded, the times we were late for things (ok, I do remember being late but it was never a deal breaker.) I was always secure in your love for me and that keeps me going on the worst days I have as a mother because I know my kids will say the same. What else matters?

Love,

Priscilla

by

Episode 16: Finding Your Tribe

Marty and Priscilla discuss the very real necessity of mom friends. Who do you text 10 times a day when you are ready to pull your hair out over nursing woes, potty training, and temper tantrums? Everyone needs a tribe to get through this difficult, beautiful, amazing experience of motherhood. Listen for a few tips on how to develop your mom tribe! 

by

7 Powerful Phrases for Talking with Toddlers

  1. “Say it with different words.” Let’s face it, sweet little kids sometimes have trouble being understood. If I can’t figure out what they are saying, having them repeat it over and over is just frustrating for both of us. Getting them to use different words usually helps me crack the code.
  2. “Let’s try again.” This can be in reference to your child trying a task again with your help, but I also use it after a conflict where we have all lost our tempers. It’s so powerful for kids to see parents owning their mistakes.
  3. “How can I make you feel better?” I think this is incredibly important. Often we think a smile and a hug will solve everything in their little world, but that isn’t always the case. I also encourage my kids to say this after a disagreement (okay, after they get physical with each other, IT HAPPENS.) I always say it is polite to say “I’m sorry” but it doesn’t always help or make up for what happened. I suggest to the kids making silly faces, giving hugs, and resolving to be kinder next time as better ways to apologize.
  4. “Please” and “Thank you.” It seems silly, but I sometimes need to remind myself to say these to my kids! I get so used to being the boss that I forget to use these words (and then get frustrated when they don’t use them!)
  5. “Take a deep breath.” We use this in our house to help our kids stop in their moment of deep emotion. I prefer it to the more vague “calm down.”
  6.  “You have 5 minutes until _______” My kids NEED this warning before bedtime, before we need to leave the house, when it’s almost time to leave the playground, basically many times a day to ease the transitions in our routine. I also like to remind them to pick one more thing to do so that they don’t beg for more time!
  7. “I need some help.” “I don’t feel good.” “I’m sad/tired/cranky.” That’s right, these are phrases parents should say! Obviously, we should not burden our children with our troubles, but young children aren’t skilled at detecting emotions yet. Showing them yours is a great way to teach them to be empathetic (you’ll probably even get extra snuggles out of it!)

I hope these suggestions help you to communicate with your little one!

by

Episode 15: Halloween: Tricks,Treats, and Toddlers

This is another episode that highlights our different parenting styles, particularly regarding Halloween! We share some of our experiences trick or treating and some suggestions for leftover Halloween candy. (P.S. I completely did have those saints listed wrong in my description of that book! Coincidentally my oldest picked it the following night for bedtime to make me feel terrible about my mistake.) 

by

Fall: Expectation Vs. Reality

FALL

Expectation: cooler days; snuggling into sweaters

Reality: weather all over the place, sweltering at lunchtime, freezing at 7 pm, kids clothing is everywhere as you try to figure out what fits

Expectation: pumpkin carving, apple picking, fall festival-ing

Reality: raking leaves, raking leaves, raking leaves (Actually, I like raking leaves!)

Expectation: less traveling and more relaxing at home

Reality: do all the things: sporting events, fall themed events, yard work, school events, club meetings, ETC

Moral of the story: Take each season as it comes and appreciate the things you are able to accomplish. Enjoy whatever time you have to relax and don’t give in to the social media pressure to do all the fall things!

 

by

8 Clean Up Time Tricks

“I love to pick up my toys!” said no kid ever. Or parent ever. I am not kidding with you, moms, I have a few tricks to help you out! My suggestions are:

  1. Do not let more than 1/2 of the toys get out in the first place before cleaning up! Too many toys out seems insurmountable to them and is not a reasonable expectation for them to put away.
  2. Have a space for everything! They can’t put it away if they don’t know where it goes.
  3. Give a warning a few minutes before it’s time to clean-up.
  4. Make it a game! See who can clean up more quickly, play Simon Says (Simon says put away 4 cars, Simon says pick up something yellow, etc.), who can pick up the most _______, play freeze clean up (like freeze dance), etc.
  5. Have something fun planned next. For example, when we are finished putting the toys away we can have a dance party/take a walk/play outside/roll around on the clean floor (I have three little boys, it happens.)
  6. Set a timer. This is for extreme refusal to help tidy up by older toddlers. When the timer rings, clean-up is over and I will take away whatever toys are left out.
  7. Have a specific time of the day that clean-up happens to help develop a routine.
  8. Play music! This is my new routine. I found 6 different clean-up songs on Amazon Prime and made a playlist. Serious game changer for us. They stay focused and motivated and I stay sane.

Leave us a comment with any other strategies that work for you!

affiliate links

This site contains affiliate links. When you click on them, it will tell the company (for example Lion Brand Yarn) that you were directed to their website by me, and they will pay me a small percentage of your purchase. (Your purchase price is the same however you get there, though.) Thank you so much for supporting my business, without paying any extra for your craft supplies!

Recent Comments