Live: How we cope when Daddy is out of town...

Once in a while, my dh has to go out of town for business.  As it is, life with three young kids can be pretty unpredictable, but when Daddy goes away, it can be downright ugly at times.  My kids tend to be at their worst when Daddy is away.  They love him a lot {a very good thing} and sometimes let me have it {don't listen, argue, etc...} because they are just mad that he's gone {also a good thing}.  Ok so you are now wondering why letting me have it is a good thing?  So glad you asked... It's because they feel so safe with me that they can show me their worst and they know they will still be loved and they must love him an awful lot to be that disturbed by his absence.  They also know that when they misbehave as all kids do at times, they will run into a boundary, or limit over which they dare not cross out of love for us.

To minimize misbehavior while Daddy is away here are some things we do...
...before he goes:

 - Make a couple of meals ahead so that when Daddy is gone, I don't have quite so much work to do

 - Make sure we have enough food on hand so I don't have to go to the store more than once if possible {some trips are longer and this isn't possible always...}

 - Do as much laundry as we need for the week then forget about it

 - Clean the bathrooms because it won't get done while he's gone...

 - Do something fun as a family the weekend before Daddy leaves {hike, beach, zoo, you name it}

 - Daddy writes thank you cards to our kids before he goes away and when they have good behavior all day,        they get to open one.  Sometimes he even adds a sticker or two to sweeten the deal.

...while he's gone:

 - Stay busy out of the house for at least 3 hours on most days
 - Plan extra time for cuddling and reading books together
 - Make a paper chain together and take turns cutting off a link at the end of each day
 - I go to sleep earlier so I can be a decent mom from 6pm until the kids go to bed... {My mom brain is usually fried by 6 and in deep need of a recharge by sleep.}
 - We try to at least let them hear his voice once a day even if it's a voicemail, sometimes we can video conference.
 - Relax the rules a little bit, but not too much to give the kids enough of a boundary and enough room to learn to cope with major {temporary} life changes.

If your family has a mom or dad who goes out of town from time to time and you have different strategies for dealing with it, let us know.  That way we can learn from each other... ;o)

Keepin' it Real!
Kristin

Friday Fun: Honorable Mention

Hi everyone!  We had a couple of surprises around here this week... First, I accidentally deleted my profile picture on my Facebook Page and now I get the white screen of death when I try to get it back... or add another one.  It left me with a big questionmark!  Oops!  Seriously, if anyone has run into this before and knows how I should hold my mouth when I click to update my photo please let me know.

Then, there was this treasury feature:




Lastly, there was the include on Believing Boldly, Summer Jo's blog in her post offering advice to brides to be.  Hooray!  There are a ton of other people's advice too, and all of it is very good advice the way I see it after  many years of dating and 9 years of marriage to my high-school sweetheart.   Pop over there and wish her a Happy Anniversary too if you have a chance.  :)

Overall, it was a wonderful week barring that Facebook thing.

Keepin' it Joyful!
Kristin

Plans...

I've been pretty sporadic about posting to my blog, but I'm ready to start getting serious about it now so I came up with a plan.  Here's a sneak peak at what's to come:

Modays - Live
Tuesdays - Love
Wednesdays - Bloom
Thursdays - Craft
Fridays - Surprise!

I will be going back to school in the fall, so this may change as needed to accommodate my crazy good life.

Keep it crafty!
Kristin

Connecting Kids with Nature...

I take my sons to a co-op style preschool and today we had a discussion about connecting kids with the great outdoors.  I picked up a few valuable insights that I thought I'd share with all of you...

• They can grow artistically by enjoying the beauty around them and gleaning the details of how natural things look and feel
• They can grow creatively and intellectually by having some time to be bored because they WILL invent things to do
• They can grow emotionally by accomplishing physical tasks like climbing a big hill.  This produces real self-esteem because they know that even though it was hard, or it took a long time they did it; and it wasn't just mom or dad saying they did a good job for the millionth time. (Praising your kids is still important, but sometimes letting them just come to the understanding that they can  do _________ is more valuable)
• They can grow physically, emotionally and maybe even socially (if they are with friends, siblings or you) by playing ball, riding bikes, climbing trees, digging in the dirt, hiking, swiming, climbing and just plain running around.  Letting your kids outside to move is so good because it not only challenges their bodies, but it helps their brains to release endorphins (chemicals that help us to feel good) as well.
• They can grow intellectually by learning about plants, animals, different environments, counting, sorting, helping you plant and tend a garden, and so much more!
• One mom in our class sends her boys out in their back yard on scavengar hunts regularly to find things like a seed, a small rock, a leaf, a feather, 3 pieces of trash, and a stick.  Depending on your area, you could have them find different things.  The sky's the limit!

Looking for shells on the beach, talking about the pictures we see in the clouds, hiking, hunting for bugs, climbing trees, and gardening are some things I enjoy doing with my own kids.  These are just a few ideas for how/what your kids can learn outside.  I'm sure you can think of more.  Feel free to post them in the comments section below.  I'd love to see what you have to say...

Live it up!
Kristin

Unexpected Blessings...

     The other day, I was out in the front yard and I noticed something strange.  In the middle of a patch of flowering onion was a lone bright yellow daffodil.  I didn't plant it there on purpose, and it had never bloomed before, or maybe I had just never seen it... but there it was: a beautiful reminder that in the midst of the business of everyday life a surprise is sometimes just what we need.  It may come in the form of a flower cropping up in an unexpected place.  Other times people go out of their way to do something unexpected that brightens a dull or upset day.  My daughter is notorious for doing this when I'm having a bad day.  She drops me a note that lets me know I'm loved.  It has the power to melt my heart and can turn my attitude completely around.      
     I notice it works with husbands too... Last weekend, my hubby worked so hard cleaning the house so I could spend some time preparing for a craft show.  Later, when he was out I cleaned up the kitchen and he mentioned to me how that made him feel like all the time he had spent cleaning was so appreciated!
     I think the world could use a little more of this going around... What will you do today to bless someone who isn't expecting it?

Live it up!
Kristin