The best parenting idea I have ever come across..

Here's the thing...I LOVE my kids. They are the best part of my life and perfect in my eyes of course. BUT, and it's a big but - being a mom is by no means easy and both of my girls like to test me in different ways. My youngest ( who just turned 3 ) loves to stick her tongue out at me and go 'na-na-na-na' , or when I am telling her not to do something she will say ' blah-blah-blah ' and shake her little bum ( it is so cute that its hard not to laugh - but its her way of giving me attitude I guess ). My older daughter ( now 9 ) is the one who tests most often ( because of her age I guess ), she will scream, throw hissy fits over nothing ( a few days ago it was because of her hallowe'en costume - it was itching her so that caused a nuclear meltdown in the behaviour department ). Anyways, her behaviour had gotten out of hand lately and I found myself correcting her constantly, nagging, getting angry and doing all the things a 'good' mom shouldn't be doing. So I decided to take a look in the mirror and see if I was contributing to the problem - and ( obviously ) I was. I noticed that I didn't praise her good behaviour nearly enough and was constantly noticing the bad rather than the good. I wasn't doing it on purpose by any means - but for some reason I was doing it. So I came across this idea on the net called ' behaviour bucks ', I modified the idea to best suit me & my household. It is such a simple concept though. First I printed out a list for the fridge of our 'house rules' - they were ' Be Respectful ' ( no 'backtalk' , no attitude, no yelling, no rolling of the eyes, no door slamming, no feet stomping, no violence etc. ) ' Be Responsible ' ( Do the chores you are asked to do without being grouchy, do your homework & keep your room tidy ) & ' Be Kind ' ( use kind words & actions with your family & friends ). Then I got two glass mason jars and labelled one ' Mom's Jar ' and the other ' Good Job Faith '. After that I made some fake $1 bills on my computer, labeled them ' Faith's Behavior Bucks ' and put a picture of her face in middle of it ( a really funny one of her - she loved it ). Next I made a list of ways she good earn the fake money ( which included earning $1 for feeding the dog, $5 for a big room tidy, $1 for helping with the dishes, $1 for being extra nice to her little sister, $1 for being extra polite, $1 for watering the plants and so on and so forth. The behaviour bucks that she earns can be used to buy television , computer, video game or phone time ( $1 for every 15 minutes ). She loses $1 every time I have to go to three warnings as far as bad behaviour ( just f.y.i. she has not lost a single dollar so far ) I cannot believe how much this has changed our house ! I started doing it about 2 weeks ago and it's great. She has been able to cool down much quicker when she starts a 'meltdown' , she is much cheerier, kinder to her little sister & helping out around the house more. It has also really shown me that she does so many great things in a day that I had been kind of taking for granted . Not only that but she is so proud when she earns her money - and she spends it very wisely ( she's not cheap - but thrifty like her mom ). It has also really cut back on the amount of screen time she has. Anyways, I know for sure I am no 'super mom' , but I am really glad I came across this idea. It has worked for me - I don't know if it will be useful to any of my readers - but heh you never know. It has made a difference for me so maybe it will for someone else.

If you haven't been to my site yet for some free coloring , crafts , birthday party ideas etc. you should check it out - it's lots of fun and I add stuff constantly.

Forgot to Introduce Someone

I just thought I should introduce a very important member of my family - he's such a cutie ! His name is Max - we got him about a year ago and the kids just adore him. He is a Pug - Schnauzer mix ( I am not sure if that is any kind of designer breed - but my daughter calls him a Snug-A-Pug ). He is quite the boy - he has a bit of a devilish personality and does quite a bit of barking but overall he is a great little family dog. He's really good with the kids and never growls or snaps ( even when my three year old trys to pull him around by the collar ). He also loves to run !! Oh my goodness when that front door opens - if he can - he will race right straight to the road and run like some kind of crazed creature right up the centre of the street ( I am trying to figure out to train him that although this is hilarious to see, it is very dangerous !! ) He also runs in circles around my house chasing our cat Tippy ( who he does not ever actual hurt - he likes to just pin her down and lick her - she hates it !! ) He loves people ( sometimes a little too much ) and tends to pee on new visitors !! Gotta love that - it's a little embarassing , but what the heck - no one is perfect !! He needs a hair cut in this picture but this is our boy Max.

Yet Another Hot Tip Coming In...

I have another one for you ;
* Having a fruit fly problem ?? I just was told the greatest solution by my friends mother - move out !! Haha - totally kidding :) Actually the cure is fill a little bowl with some cider vinegar and a bit of liquid dish soap !! The little buggers will drown themselves ( it sounds kind of cruel - but heh, nobody is making them do it :) I had a serious problem with them around my kitchen sink for some reason and this worked after about 2 days they were totally gone !

Hot Tips Coming In...

My fiancee has a 'smart mouth' and always says 'Hot tip coming in' really sarcastically when I do something silly. So I am going to give all you moms out there some of my 'hot tips' that I have come across being a mom ( things that I am sure most of you already know - but heh I didn't know so there must be someone out there that these thoughts will be of use to )

MY HOT TIPS FOR TODAY

* Making a pie crust ? Roll the pie crust out on a piece of wax paper and then just peel it off ( otherwise if you are like me it will just stick to the counter and you will end up really irritated and throwing it out )

* Training a puppy to do tricks ? Use hand signals instead of words - really , they have no idea what you are saying !

* Is your cat suddenly peeing on your carpet ? Try changing cat litter - honestly , it worked for me - she just didn't like the scented stuff - who knew cats were so picky ?

* Got something stuck inside your vacuum cleaner hose ? ( I once got one of those darn dollar store rubber balls stuck in mine ) Use a wire coat hanger ( stretch it out ) to reach up inside and pull out whatever is in there

* Want a REAL cure for the hiccups ? I swear this ALWAYS works - my grandmother found this idea in an antique book she has - one teaspoon of white sugar ( take it all in one mouthful without a drink - they will be gone right away ! )

* Is your dog barking driving you nuts ? Get a tin can and fill it with marbles, every time he barks shake the can - they hate the racket and it seems to work !

I have a bunch more of these silly little things I have learned as a mom - I will write some every time it crosses my mind ( my mind isn't very active so that probably won't be very often :)

Brianna's Princess Party

Wow, another birthday come and gone. This weekend was my little ones third birthday and I did a princess party for her. I built a castle out of boxes , dressed up like Cinderella and had a lot of fun !! ( I felt like a kid again ! ) I am going to be putting the ideas on my site soon but thought I would add them to my blog as kind of a random thought. All of the kids came to the party dressed up ( girls were princesses and the boys were either pirates or knights - one little guy even brought his own horse !! Fake of course - my oldest daughter is in the anti-princess phase of her life - 9 years old - so she dressed up as a pirate ). I built a big cardboard box castle and the kids loved it , they ran in and out like maniacs - it even had a secret door at the back that opened up to an area filled with pink balloons. We played Pass The Glass Slipper ( like hot potatoe ), pin the wand on the fairy godmother , kiss the prince ( this was a funny one - I printed out this really ugly looking prince and then had each kid put on bright red lipstick & a blindfold then see who could get closest to his lips with their lip print !!) , we made jewelry , we made princess & king crowns. We also did a treasure hunt outside for some gold coins that I had hidden. It was a lot of fun - can't wait to get the pictures posted on my site with some more details, hopefully someone else out there can get some use out of my crazy ideas :)

Great New Ideas To Add This Week

I just came across some fantastic craft recipes to add to the site. Loads of craft recipes are going up this week - like for example fabric crayons , finger paints , homemade lipstick , scratch n'sniff paint , washable window paints , lip balm , fake blood , face paints and a whole bunch more ! Just wanted to let you all know that I am in the process of adding all of this stuff ( takes a long time ! ) Hope you & your kids get some enjoyment out of it. I know my kids will - we made slime the other day - it was really fun - but a big mess !!