1. Relax.
My kiddos absolutely reflect me. If I am worried, they are stressed. If I am excited, they are too. If I'm being a silly head, they're laughing. If I'm being a cotton-headed-ninny-muggins (yes, I said it.) they are acting like terrors. If I relax, they thrive.
2. Laughter is the best medicine.
It's the spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine go down. It's not something to stitch on a sampler, it's something to live.
3. Don't over plan.
Thanks to Pinterest and the thousands of blogs I pour over, I have a list of 32,974 things I want to do with my kids in their toddler years, their childhood years, their teens, etc. And every time I plan an activity, a craft, a new busy-bag craft, they really don't care. Today at least. They may tomorrow, but probably not when I've planned for them to care.
4. Plan Something.
That said, I have to have ideas. Options up my sleeve. We plan to be outside every day. We plan to have daily rest time for everyone. Oh, such a good plan. I usually use Sunday afternoon (we plan to rest on Sunday. It's a do nothing but sit around sorta day for us) to plan a few things for the week. Meals, a couple intentional lessons, a few new games. I don't plan a time, necessarily, just have it in the arsenal.
5. But don't underestimate uninterrupted free play.
Heavenly sunshine! My kids are 2.5 and 4.5 and they are soooo creative. They could go for days without me. While I'm writing this, they have raided the pile of Costco boxes to go to recycling and they both have made space ships. There are markers all over the living room floor, scissors and glue sticks almost all dried out. And I did nothing. Absolutely nothing. (Well, except for play the part of 'space bear.') Some days are like this all day. Then is when I try to clean something. Sometimes.
6. Read a lot.
Every week we go to the library and max out our allotment of books (25). Sometimes, twice a week.
6 1/2. Read some more.
Read until you're hoarse. Read to them while they're playing, coloring and sitting on the potty. One of the trusty educational blogs I've read said 2 hours a day. I'm a believer! My kids are smarter than me and I didn't even try. My youngest is just a book head.
7. Be what you want them to become.
When they hear me talk in a concerned way, they get it. When I am excited for someone, they are too. When I judge people, they will double. If I prefer certain people over other people, they will double. If I love people and care about people, they will more than I do. If I say something is bad, they believe it. If I am content, they are. When I have to apologize to them, they understand when to apologize to others. Need I go on? This is why I pray double for grace for myself!
8. Toys and clutter do not equal Uninviting.
Don't wait to have play dates until the house is picked up. Just do it. I am so relieved when I walk into friends' disasters-of-a-home. If my friends come over and my house happens to be picked up and cleaned, I just tell them it's a total lie.
Some days I do not want to be a mom. And that's okay. That's why PBS was invented. PublicBabySitter. They've learned geometry from 'Peg and Cat,' manners from 'Daniel Tiger,' and about endangered animals from 'Wild Kratts.' It's okay to be choosy. Around here, if I'm going to use tv as a baby sitter, it's going to be an educational one.
10. Its totally worth it.
We love our kids more than anyone else, and at the end of the day, no matter how terrific or terrible, I am always so glad it was me that went through it with them.
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