Time Tested Beauty Tips for Parents

"Mom, I like you better with make-up," Daniel tells me, followed by a, "Mom, why don't you ever wear your make-up?" Then I hear from Ella, "Well I like mom better without make-up." 

Some days just getting dressed, breakfast made, and kids out of the house is as good as it gets. No time for make-up, or fancy hair do's or extra exercise. In fact my appearance is often a topic of my two oldests conversations.  If I get dressed up beyond jeans, say a pair of dress pants, Daniel always says, "Mom, you look different. Why are you dressed like that?" Or, I get a "Mom you never dress up," from my Ella. Julia just gives me kisses no matter what I look like, so if I'm feeling a little down I can always count on her for a pick me up. Once, one of my kids just walked up to me while I was vacuuming and stuck me in the belly with their finger, like I was the Pillsbury dough boy, and said, "Hmm, squishy." With all of these honest opinions flying around how is a person supposed to feel good about herself? Well, I found a great poem written by American Humorist Sam Levenson that gives some great perspective for a beautiful mother (or handsome father). Its full of great beauty tips for parents everywhere.

Time-Tested Beauty Tips

For attractive lips,

speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes,

seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure,

share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair,

let a child run his fingers through it once a day.

For poise,

walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone…

People, even more than things,

have to be restored, renewed, revived,

reclaimed and redeemed and redeemed …

Never throw out anybody. Remember, if you ever need a

helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands.

One for helping yourself, the other for helping others

Parents are beautiful for what they do not for how they look. They are beautiful for the hands they hold, the hugs they give, the tears they cry and the tears they dry. They are beautiful for the patience they muster, the child they listen to, and the love they share even at times when that love is not returned. When our children need someone to rely on it doesn't matter if we're wearing make-up, skinny as a noodle, or as muscular as the hulk. They need someone who loves them. That person is you. Remember today that you are beautiful!

7 Tips to Having Happier Kids

Thank you Jodi Hutchings Photography for this Happy Picture!

Aside from tempting my children with Oodles of Candy (which I don't believe in...okay some days I do believe in it), it's hard to help my kids be happy. There is a long list of why this is so. School is too long, too much homework, they have to have assigned seats on the bus, they never get to play with their friends, there siblings ruin all their stuff, they hate what is for dinner, they are never appreciated enough, they always need more stuff, etc. You get the picture? I wonder to myself, why does their happiness have to depend on what they feel they are entitled to. What is wrong here?What am I doing wrong? Sometimes I wonder if my children are ever happy.

We spend a lot of time-with our kids-problem solving, cheering up, helping them learn to say sorry, and basically teaching our kids that you can be happy doing almost anything. Which I believe is true, but I think there are specific things that as parents we can do to inspire that happiness. What is it that makes our kids happy?

Teach them to work and work with them-Once my kids come to terms with the unfairness of having to clean out the dishwasher or vacuum the floor, the real problem comes when they feel like they are doing it alone. I'm more of a divide and conquer person myself, that is until I'm the only one who is dividing and conquering. At which point I start mumbling under my breath about how unappreciated I am, I have to do everything, everyone else is just so selfish, or I'm just too tired to manage this on my own. This is often how our kids feel. Having to work alone makes the job seem overwhelming, but when someone is helping, suddenly things are manageable and the work can become fun.

Give them attention- I like to compare this one to how I feel when I get my husband's attention. When I feel like I have my husband's attention, I feel like I'm important to him, worth his time, and loved, which in turn makes me feel happier. Our children feel the same way. Giving them our attention gives them reassurance that they are important and it helps them be happier.

Encourage them to try new things, hard things- This is important because when children do new things or hard things and succeed they gain confidence in themselves, and that confidence brings them happiness. If they fail and sometimes they will, teach them, and encourage them to try again.

Get rid of stuff- Teach them now that happiness is not due to an accumulation of stuff. In fact often having too many things to care for can impede their happiness. Why? Because they cannot have the peace of cleanliness, they have to spend so much of their time cleaning, and because things cannot give love or lasting happiness.

Teach them the importance of being Honest- Anytime our children live in or with a lie of any sort it will eat at them. It will munch at their happiness, day and night until they rectify their wrong. Even if they try to burry it inside, it will affect them. Any time someone goes against what they know is right, it's hard for them to exist happily in their own skin.

Help them find opportunities to serve- People who give tend to have a happier and grand perspective on life. Serving others teaches people to look outside their own struggles in life and their own problems and it innately brings with it happiness.

Be the example- When you hang out with happy people it's easier to be happy. Obviously none of us are happy at every moment, but when the tough times come, show your children happiness is not a fleeting moment but a way of life. It is found in the choices you make, the people you love, and the attitude you choose. There is always hope and when there is hope there can be happiness.

Halloween fun!

I apologize for posting so late in the day, but our little activity took a little longer than I thought. We are still happily in the throws of Halloween decorations and we thought we would share again. Tonights pumpkins and cats were especially fun! My husband really got into it! He is a crafty dude!

Supplies needed:

-Lots of orange and black construction paper and whatever other colors you have or want to use for accessorizing. If you want a medium cat or pumpkin you will need 6 papers; for a large you will need 11 sheets of paper.

-Scissors

-Glue (we used glue sticks and Elmer's glue for minor things and the hot glue gun for the bigger stuff)

1. If you want a medium sized circle, accordion fold six pieces of paper vertically (refer to the first picture); for large sizes accordion fold 11 papers horizontally (refer to  second picture )

2. Glue all of your papers together in one long row.



























3. Connect the two ends to form a circle.









































4. To close and cover the center hole cut out a large circle and glue it over the hole on the back. On the front use the nose to cover the hole.

5. Add whatever facial features you would like.

A little SPOOKY fun!

We love Holidays at our house and we love to decorate with our homemade crafts! Making our silly ghosts has turned into a family tradition.

To make a ghost you will need:

-white construction paper or plain computer paper
-pencil
-scissors
-glue
-googley eyes (you can just color the eyes on if you want)
-accesories such as ribbon, cotton balls (for hair), stickers or whatever else you want to decorate with.

Simply trace your child's foot (or have them trace it) or your foot. Cut out the shape and you have your ghost.

Where the heel of your foot was, becomes the head of your ghost and your toes are the bottom of their swaying and frightful bodies. Stick your googly eyes on, glue on some hair, and a bow, and you have your Ghost. Sometimes we hang them at different heights from the ceiling, tape them to the windows, or tape them to construction paper or string and make a banner to to hang across our walkways.

SO easy and SO fun! Happy Ghosting!

Be The Man You Want Her To Marry

As parents we have the power to influence our children's lives more than we know. Our children will acclimate to people they are comfortable with. They will hang out with, entertain, and fall in love with what they know. Do they know loving parents who are patient and kind? Do they know parents who listen and treat them with respect? Do they know parents who cry with them and love them no matter what? Do they know parents who forgive, who serve, and who are willing to sacrifice a bit of themselves for someone they love? Be the parent you want your child to become. Be the man or woman you want your child to become. Be the man you want her to marry or the woman you want him to marry. Just a sweet thought. Not sure where this picture originated but I love it!

Lift Them Up No Matter What

Last week was a hard week for a lot of people that I know. They have had a lot of struggles with children, marriages, and finances. As I held their burdens with them I was touched by this post about reading each other's signs. Every couple, family and person has their own silent battles that we may never know about. Let's be the kind of people that pick them up and love no matter what.

Enjoy this post by Melody Ross. I did.

Let's Be Gentle With Each Other. Let's Read Each Other's Signs

How To Do It All?

My friend and I were out for our morning walk with the kids discussing our overly stuffed lives. We wondered how can we be more efficient, spend more time with the kids, have more time to volunteer at the school, keep the house clean, get the laundry done, write the next chapter in our new books (she's an author too), and keep ourselves awake a bit longer so we can offer our husband's a little romance. The list doesn't end there. What about time for home improvement projects and community and religious service. The grocery shopping, the homework, the bathrooms--mine are looking questionable--and healthy food for our family. I know you can all add to my list. I think in my lifetime I can easily say I have spent days at a time trying to figure out how to do it all.

Today I think I figured it out.  You're excited aren't you?! Well I hope this next part doesn't dash your hopes. My answer--It Can't Be Done and it shouldn't be done. What?!! No, I'm not crazy and I'm not hopeless. I've simply come to understand that life is not about doing it all it's about choosing the best and getting rid of the rest. I've put together a list of things we can all do to find a happier balance in our lives.

1. Set goals based on what is most important to you. Determine what you ultimately want for you, your spouse, and your family. If you're not intentional about what you want then who knows what you will get? For example, my husband is the love of my life and I want our relationship to be strong. That is one of my goals.

2. Purge. Get rid of anything you need to in order to achieve your goal. I want a great relationship with my husband but it's not going to happen if I am too tired to spend time with him. I have started to literally get rid of things in my home so that I won't have to spend so much time and energy cleaning because it's a huge drain on me. It also helps the house to look nicer so I can focus more on my man than my house.

3. Say No. I often have to say no to my children's cries to play with friends, so that I can go on a date with my husband. Sometimes it means I don't do that extra expensive home improvement project so that I can afford dates and babysitters.

4. Accessorize. Now that you have purged, what is it that you need to add to your life to achieve your goal. (Be careful here. Accessories are the icing on the cake. The little touch that improves. The goal when accessorizing is happiness not craziness.) For me it is exercising, healthy eating and going to bed earlier because all of those things provide me with that little bit of extra energy.

5. Constantly re-evaluate. Every day provides me with new opportunities to distract myself from what is most important to me. I have to constantly purge, say no, and add a few accessories.

6. Enjoy your life.  One of my favorite quotes is by Gordon B. Hinckley. "In all of living have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed not just endured."  My friend mentioned this morning that her husband finally told her she needed to have time in her life for happiness. I found it to be wonderful counsel.

If I don't have time to do what's most important to me and enjoy my life, I am waisting my time. I'm realizing more and more that sometimes the purge must be great and often it's very difficult. Almost always it's hard to say no and accessorizing usually means creating new habits. Re-evaluating usually takes some will power and patience with ourselves and others, and enjoying life is often more simple than we think.