Mothering Many

With a little bit of humor, and quite a bit of practicality, Deborah over a Uncommon Notions lays it on the line. She’s mom to five, and a restaurant owner, but you’ll find much more than kids and food on this blog. There’s plenty to think about here. Go give her a read, and tell her I sent ya.

Technorati Tags: uncommon notions

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I thought, since I am trying to get more organized with meals, that I would participate in Menu Plan Monday. I used to have a grip on this area, but it has slipped considerably.

Monday: spaghetti, veggie, garlic bread
Tuesday: beans, brown rice
Wednesday: sloppy joes, chips, dill pickle spears
Thursday: Reruns
Friday: cheesy brat stew

Technorati Tags: menu plan monday

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I saw a friend of mine had participated in this meme earlier today, and I thought it was such a wonderful concept that I just had to play along. I’m sorry I can’t tell you who it was, but it was several hours ago and I have closed the tab, and I’m just lame, and maybe they will come along and comment, and I can add their link into this post.

There will be weeks when I blog about deeply serious blessings, but this first week, I am going to be a little light-hearted. I am so thankful that there is a breeze today. See, our air conditioner is on the fritz again, and so I have the windows open and it’s almost livable in here. We’re in the south ya’ll. It’s hot here and it’s humid, and I have a couple of borderline asthmatics in the house, not including ME. When I say I am blessed by a breeze, I truly mean it. The breeze means we can all breathe.

Just click the button above to find out more and play along.

Technorati Tags: breeze, Blog Your Blessings Sunday

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Deb asked a question on her blog this morning that I thought I’d answer, because my answer is different today than it was last Sunday. Yeah, you can teach an old dog new tricks, LOL! The difference is “breakfast”. I am not (was not?) a breakfast person. I usually did not eat until about 2pm. This past week, I’ve been eating breakfast, and the results have been great, not only for me, but for the whole family! See, when I eat breakfast, I get hungry for snack, and then for lunch. When I get hungry, I know it’s time to feed the children. This way, I am able to get the food ready before everyone gets so hungry that they get ill and snappish (including me). When I didn’t eat breakfast, I didn’t get hungry, and by the time we’d get lunch ready, attitudes had really deteriorated. I thought I was saving time by skipping breakfast, but taking that 15 minutes to eat really saves a lot of time dealing with behavioral issues.

So, what’s my ideal morning? I’m up by seven, have eaten and had a couple of cups of coffee and written a couple of blog posts by 8. We tidy the house while singing like the Von Trapps, and settle down for school by 9. We work quietly and steadily for a couple of hours, and we are done with school. We eat lunch. /end of perfect morning

What really happens? I’m up around 8:30, eat and have a couple cups of coffee while reading email. We tidy the house with much obstinate arguing and so it takes forever, and we are finally done close to 11:30. We eat lunch and then do school. Obviously, we’re still a work in progress around here.

Technorati Tags: breakfast, attitudes, arguing

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I’m going to do a series of posts introducing my family members, complete with photos so you can have an idea about the folks that make up the cast of characters in my life play. The almost 3 year old was being uber-cute this morning, and so she gets to go first. Therefore…….

Meet Drama. That’s pronounced DR-short a-Muh. Everything is cause for either alarm or jubilation to this child. She keeps the rest of us in stitches with her freely given giggles as well as her keening wail. She’s getting to be Miss Independence, and is almost diaper free.

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I was reading Alli’s blog today, and she’s thinking hard about potty training, so I told her I’d post about it here. Here’s what works for us. I start talking about the potty every now and again once a child turns 2, and gradually increase the frequency of my potty-mentionings until the child expresses interest. If they haven’t decided to use the potty by 3, then I just say today is the day on their birthday, and we go without the diapers. This isn’t a shock to them because I mention over and over that when they are three, they will be too big for diapers.

Yeah, I know that may seem to be a bit late for potty learning. I learned my lesson the hard way, though. I had one child that I pushed at 2 when he wasn’t ready, and it became a total issue between us. That child was well over 6 before he stopped having “accidents”. I’d rather wait a little longer and ensure success for both of us.

Once they are diaper free, I remind them about once an hour to go potty, until they start going reliably on their own. That typically takes a couple of months. And there you have the patented Cass Method of Potty Learning.

Technorati Tags: potty learning, potty training, diapers

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Do you like my new hair-do template? I’m not near finished yet, but it will take awhile to get it all done. And, yes, that’s me and the whole fam over there on the side

Speaking of thinking, Colleen posted today that this blog makes her think. It’s part of the thinking blog meme. I was quite honored to think that the stuff I post here means something to somebody. Now, I need to name five blogs that make me think.

1. GeekySpeaky, because I understand everything on it, unlike most other tech blogs I have tried to read.

2. The Anchoress, because she really delves into the issues and how they affect people.

3. feebeeglee, because the way she parents is an inspiration to me.

4. Now Norma Knits, because she is constantly challenging us to think of others and share the wooly love.

5.Liberal Common Sense, because she is and she does, and that’s a combination I don’t usually find.

I don’t know if any of my picks will carry the meme on or not, but.there they are, and I’m off to let them know that I picked them.

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Today I am highlighting a blog by a mother of four. Now, this blog of her’s is not all about her kids. She has another blog for that, as do I. This blog, Just Not Martha is full of ideas for moms–stretching a buck, cleaning, holidays, and such.

What really makes this blog rock, though, is the recipes. In fact, Loretta has just started a new thing: reader submitted recipe reviews. Readers submit recipes, and she prepares them for her family. She takes pictures along the way, so you can see what the dish looks like as you are making it. And also, I think, to make you hungry! Then she lets you know what the family members thought of the dish. And if you decide you want to try the dish, you can print it right from her site onto a 4×6 recipe card.

She’s giving away goodies for submitted recipes, so get on over there and check her out.

Technorati Tags: ideas for moms, just not martha, recipes

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It occurs to me that I should write a disclosure policy for this blog, so here it is. This blog has commercials. That means from time to time I am compensated to mention or review certain products. The compensation may or may not be revealed within the post itself. Unlike your local television station, I will try to keep the commercials relevant to the subject matter of this blog. If you have any questions about this policy, please feel free to email me, or leave a comment.

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