Saturday Morning on October 30th
In 2 months our status and tweets and emails will be about staying warm, shoveling, road and school closures, and so on and so on. So, knowing what we know now, lets prepare. I have taken the liberty (of course she has you say) of starting a list of everything parents may need to consider addressing over the upcoming months. (As Sandra said in The Blind Side - "You can thank my later")
For your sanity:
Set up a small storage bin for each child and place it by the front door, the next 4 months is not about what your house looks like it is about practicality.(Even if you plan on having holiday parties, the boxes will work because you can just put the lids on and put them in a closet before the party. In each child's bin place 2 winter hats, 2 pair of gloves/mittens, 1 large ziploc gallon bag, and a scarf.
(Yes, I will tell you what the ziploc bag is for... place their extra pair of mittens in their backpacks for school, the ones they don't wear in the morning go in the bag, and then during the day the child can swap them out for the wet ones from their time outside... yes you can trust the child because you will explain it to them and tell them you trust them...)
For your childrens' sanity:
Have the child make their wish list for the holidays now - this is for all the upcoming holidays... Christmas presents, desert at Thanksgiving, what kind of Christmas cookies, what is going on for New Years Eve, everything. Include them in your and their decision making process. Then write it all down on a large calendar where they can see it... trust me... they will have been apart of the expectation and decision, and being able to visually see it, well that is a two fold advantage. The first being that everyone knows the expectation of what is coming. The second, well that is the fact that you as the parent can use that as a, how shall I put this, a bargaining chip. (If you don't get what I mean then you probably don't have children)
For a better you:
Give back. Believe me, pinching pennies is a ritual in our home, however I was shown at a very young age through the St. Paul Girls Club (that my mom worked at) and the Union Gospel Mission (where she was also involved in helping) the things that keep fine in some peoples houses in boxes and in closets... can do more than fine for someone else now. So, what is sitting in your house that you don't use, your kids have outgrown, anything that resembles blankets, jackets, gloves, mittens, hats, scarves... get them together and do this with your kids! Make it a fun time for the kids to put together a bag of things that instead of taking up space and being dust collectors, they will be reusing and helping. Places like Goodwill and Salvation Army are wonderful, but use your nogin and Google (or Bing) and check around your town for other shelters, non-profits, childrens homes, and more... and remember - don't do this by yourself. Your kids help. It will be something they will remember for a long, long time. I know I do and am so thankful that my mom and those around her when I was young made it their mission to help others.
Many families have special traditions during the upcoming months in regards to giving back. I would love to hear about them and if you don't mind create a list of ideas - I will post on here and on FB.
You may wonder why am I posting this all about Christmas now... well. Thanksgiving is a mere 4 weeks away. If you plan this into your next few weeks think about all the amazing things you won't be missing out on in this short thing we call life.
For your sanity:
Set up a small storage bin for each child and place it by the front door, the next 4 months is not about what your house looks like it is about practicality.(Even if you plan on having holiday parties, the boxes will work because you can just put the lids on and put them in a closet before the party. In each child's bin place 2 winter hats, 2 pair of gloves/mittens, 1 large ziploc gallon bag, and a scarf.
(Yes, I will tell you what the ziploc bag is for... place their extra pair of mittens in their backpacks for school, the ones they don't wear in the morning go in the bag, and then during the day the child can swap them out for the wet ones from their time outside... yes you can trust the child because you will explain it to them and tell them you trust them...)
For your childrens' sanity:
Have the child make their wish list for the holidays now - this is for all the upcoming holidays... Christmas presents, desert at Thanksgiving, what kind of Christmas cookies, what is going on for New Years Eve, everything. Include them in your and their decision making process. Then write it all down on a large calendar where they can see it... trust me... they will have been apart of the expectation and decision, and being able to visually see it, well that is a two fold advantage. The first being that everyone knows the expectation of what is coming. The second, well that is the fact that you as the parent can use that as a, how shall I put this, a bargaining chip. (If you don't get what I mean then you probably don't have children)
For a better you:
Give back. Believe me, pinching pennies is a ritual in our home, however I was shown at a very young age through the St. Paul Girls Club (that my mom worked at) and the Union Gospel Mission (where she was also involved in helping) the things that keep fine in some peoples houses in boxes and in closets... can do more than fine for someone else now. So, what is sitting in your house that you don't use, your kids have outgrown, anything that resembles blankets, jackets, gloves, mittens, hats, scarves... get them together and do this with your kids! Make it a fun time for the kids to put together a bag of things that instead of taking up space and being dust collectors, they will be reusing and helping. Places like Goodwill and Salvation Army are wonderful, but use your nogin and Google (or Bing) and check around your town for other shelters, non-profits, childrens homes, and more... and remember - don't do this by yourself. Your kids help. It will be something they will remember for a long, long time. I know I do and am so thankful that my mom and those around her when I was young made it their mission to help others.
Many families have special traditions during the upcoming months in regards to giving back. I would love to hear about them and if you don't mind create a list of ideas - I will post on here and on FB.
You may wonder why am I posting this all about Christmas now... well. Thanksgiving is a mere 4 weeks away. If you plan this into your next few weeks think about all the amazing things you won't be missing out on in this short thing we call life.
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