I can’t believe how long it’s been since my last post, things have beenn crazy!
But I am glad to say everyhing is settled again and back on track.
I have so much to catch up on and post and twitter you name it.
I am looking forward to going through all my favourite blogs again and finding all the little gems of wisdom which so many of you frequently bring into my life.
I found this site today www.howtobeadad.com and there were some hilarious illusatrtionson there so have pinched a few for my blog seriously worth a good look.
I found this on another blog and thought how lovely this is, and a much nicer way to find out how to burn off a few extra pounds.
My son saw a dwarf walking down the road, and called out pointing & jumping up and down (it was the first time he had seen a dwarf):
”look mommy, it’s a little daddy.”
Of course feeling myself turn purple with embarrassment I quietly tried to explain that it was not nice to say such things, that he had something different inside his body that made him little, and it was not nice to point it out.
At this my son replies:
” don’t be silly mommy, he will be fine, he just needs to drink more milk!!”
I couldn’t help but laugh and think how amazingly sweet our children can be in their minds the whole world is so simple and all you need is a biscuit and a glass a milk to put it right.
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I knew I was getting the flu, and its hit hard today – it’s horrible being sick so I decided to keep my post light and fun today with some of the great pictures I have picked up that make me smile.To get these pictures for yourself simply right click on the image and save to your computer.
(Information taken from www.parenting-ed-org)
Some Facts About Self-Esteem
*Children begin forming beliefs about themselves early in life.
*Children look to parents and other important adults for evidence that they’re lovable, smart, capable, etc. If they don’t get this evidence, low self-esteem develops.
*Self-esteem affects school success. Children who feel good about themselves and their abilities are much more likely to do well in school than children who often think they can’t do things right. School success, in turn, affects a child’s self-esteem. How children do in school will affect how they feel about themselves. Children who do poorly in school often think poorly of themselves.
*Self-esteem affects how children relate to other people. Children who feel good about themselves tend to have positive relationships with other people. On the other hand, children who don’t like themselves often have trouble relating to other people.
*Self-esteem affects creativity. Children with low self-esteem are less likely to take the risks involved in being creative than children with healthy self-esteem.
*Parents affect their children’s self-esteem. A parent’s self-esteem is reflected in his or her parenting style. Research shows that children with high self-esteem tend to have parents who show their children lots of love and acceptance. Children with low self-esteem tend to have parents who are judgmental and critical.
*Children with low self-esteem tend to have more battles with their parents than do children with healthy self-esteem.
The above is information of children’s feeling of self-worth and value, which of course is something we carry through to adult hood. I can think of many occasions as a child which still haunt me as an adult and bring back feelings of guilt and nervousness etc
I know that one of the big arguments with home schooling is that children do not socialize properly something which most of us home schoolers whole heartedly disagree with.
The reason I am bringing this up is that I believe that grouping a bunch of children together because they are the same age and have the same postcode and then expecting them to just get on - and make life long friendships is completely unnatural . It’s hard enough to get on with people in your own family at time the people you really love and have things in common with. However there are some who meet the man or woman of their dreams in school, their best friend for life are they just fortunate? Would they still have chosen these friends or partners if not put in the same situation?
Most people I have discussed this with feel that school in one way or another shook their confidence made them feel inferior and still to this day they dread not being accepted or approved of, (even those of us who hate to admit we have those feelings.) I am one of these people I dread the thought of seeing so-called old school mates, what would they think of the extra pounds gained? Of the fact I don’t have high-profile job? And even though I can reason with myself that as a home schooling mom and a good wife I have the best job in the world the worry still remains???
I think much of my self-doubt and worry stems from the experiences I had at school and its one of the reasons I home educate my children to free them from the so-called socialization which in my mind more often than not makes them feel inferior? Are we damaging them though? Teaching them it’s ok to be them and then sending them out in the world with people who have been raised to cope such situations?
I would like to hear your thoughts in your opinion does home schooling improve self-esteem preparing our young ones for adult life in the real world??
I am really getting fed up in some ways of how people even my friends keep trying to make me feel bad because I have made the decision to home school and they havent.
When I see parents take their children to school not a single thought goes through my mind, I don’t judge them, hate them disagree with them, each person has the right to raise their children the way they wish.
However when people realise I home school my children, and in fact have taken them out of school suddenly it seems that so many of them feel they need to justify the reason that they don’t home school and reel of a list of reasons why they had thought about home schooling yet just could never cope with it and how school produces such rounded out individuals and really I am not helping my children by sheltering – do they even have a clue?
Fair enough if you have tried it or put in the time to research it properly and feel it’s not right than say so, but don’t try to make other feel bad just because you think that as a home schooling parent we think we are better – it’s just not true.
No one should have to defend their reasons for putting their children in school or teaching them at home, explain and give experience yes, but not defend its not fair.
I know I shouldnt let this get me annoyed but after months you would have thought that some people would have found something else to talk about I am still human, and have other interests, I don’t want to spend all my time talking about why I home school. Yet when you become annoyed people feel they have found the weak link in your armour that your being overly sensitive because you know really what you’re doing is not necessarily the best thing for you or your children – WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. If I was round at their houses constantly questioning their discipline style or cooking style they would soon get fed up with me or if I constantly gave them the “well i do it this way because” speech they would get rattled.
I just want to remember I don’t judge them so they should stop judging me.
I have been struggling over the winter months with really dry sore skin on my face especially my fore-head, after trying several products I have found a few that are amazing.
Clarins, hydration serum is amazing, after using if for nearly a week, the difference to my skin is just wonderful, you can use in with the cream if you like, I have tried both but I feel that the serum is the real wonder product, it cost from £37.00-£39.00 depending on where you buy it, but it will last a long time.
My next two must have products are from benefit, their total moisture face cream is to die for, it feels like heaven going onto the face and is enriched with so many delicious ingredients a must have at £26.50 this will go a long way.
I normally use benefits Dr feel good primer but have found my skin has been too dry lately so I tried their new professional which has silicone in it, what a difference this has made, another great buy which will protect your skin from the elements and keep makeup in its place.
It sounds like a lot of work I know but seriously this is fantastic and the hassle it takes out of the rest of the month is unreal.
So basically using the printables at the end of this post, plan out the meals which your family would enjoy and are suitable for home freezing:- here are just a few
STEP ONE: WRITE OUT ALL YOUR MEAL IDEAS.
Lasange, Cottage Pie, Shepard’s’ pie, Fisherman’s pie, Chicken curry etc, Chilli concarne, Enchilada’s I made both beef and chicken, pasta bakes, chicken pasta bakes etc.
I also made up chapati dough, pizza dough, naan bread etc, and froze, its important to remember that if you are going to make dough, wrap it up twice in cling film then put into a freezer bag, this will protect all your hard work.
STEP TWO WORK OUT ALL THE INGREDIANTS YOU HAVE TO HAND AND WHAT YOU WILL NEED.
This is important you need to decide when your freezer cooking day is going to be, and make sure you have everything you need. This is also when you plan out portion sizes.
This can be done deciding on the size of dish your going to store your food in. I have added a gallery with some of the dishes that I have purchased and used to store my cooked goods. I have a family of five, two adults and three children so you need to work out what be suitable for your family.
I know it sounds complicated but really it’s not. If your on a budget then places like Iceland are great, you can go in and buy a big bag of mince , chicken etc and it’s already prepared for you and yes once its been cooked from frozen it can be re-frozen I have done this more than once with great success. Your initial spend might seem like a lot I spent £113.00 in Iceland but the evening meals lasted for four and a half weeks which really is not bad going and in that I had purchased several breakfast items such as frozen crumpets, croissants etc.
THE NEXT STEP IS TO COOK IT
Plan your meals out using the printables and you will be amazed at how quickly you get into the swing of it , you will feel amazing proud of your self when you see all your meals in the freezer, and whats more will have saved yourself a lot of headache for the following nights to come.
http://moneysavingmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/msm_freezer_planning_pack.pdf
I was having a look around the netmums site today and found this really useful section on blogging.
For all those moms who would like to set up a blog for either pleasure, business or both this site has some really great tips.
It’s also an amazing place to meet up with other moms who share similar life experiences.
There are some great deals to be had for those who have the time to have a good shop around the site.
Anyway here’s the link for all your blogging needs http://www.netmums.com/bloggers/start-a-blog
