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A simple compliment and my heart smiles
Have you ever thought about how far a compliment can take someone? A couple of weeks ago my parents were visiting when one of them made the simple but genuine statement, “Leanne, your house is always so clean.”, and the other was quick to agree. Now let’s take a step back. From my perspective, my house is not clean. There are four boys (five including hubs). Weekends and evenings involve soccer, homework, Legos, Hot Wheels, running, jumping, playing. Although all of us are involved in one shape or form in keeping the house tidy (to the extent it can be) I am the cleaner. and cleaning is just not my thing. I love a clean…
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Tutor.com for Military Families
My poor blessed children. When I was a child I wanted to be a teacher. The need to teach is somehow still ingrained in my bones. Now the need to teach and the need to see my children succeed are intertwined. We finished up Spring Break last week and much to their groans and moans we did 30 minutes of reading and 30 minutes of education… EVERY DAY of break. “BUT MOM we are on vacation”“BUT MOM we would rather be playing”“BUT MOM …” Didn’t matter. For us education was either time spent on some workbooks I had stored in the closet, time on educational website I had approved, or doing some creative…
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Awkward! Junior High Time to Step Forward
Junior High School… a wonderfully awkward time of life! Who are these kids? Adults… no. Little kids… no. On any given day they act like either one… or give an hour and they are flipping the switches and are both. This was the first time in my life that I moved: changed school districts, changed me! I walked into the new school literally a head taller than any other girl and had that raw feeling of ”who in the world am I?” Clueless. Tonight in our Junior High Youth Group we are going to be talking about a timeline. Gaging where they were, where they are going and perhaps…
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Homework Help
From Kindergarten through High School, homework is a recurring theme through the school year, usually met with loud, obnoxious groans from around the world. If you struggle, like I do, with motivating, encouraging and helping your kids to ‘get the job done’ here are some great resources. What can Parents do to Help with Homework?As millions of children return to school, the burden of homework and new schedules can often lead to anxiety and almost certainly new amounts of stress. This is not only true for the children, but for their parents as well. Homework can be frustrating for students and for parents as well. Research shows that parents can play an…
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Soldiering On…
Last night I fell into bed. Sometimes my mind has time to wander after I turn off the lights. I think about what I did earlier in the day, what I accomplished, what I forgot to do, what I can get done tomorrow. I think about my blessings. Thank God for my family. Dream about what our future holds. It can all be a pleasant way to drift into dream world. But last night there was none of that. It was a hectic day that involved making 30 Valentines Cookies for my 3rd grader’s class, which in and of itself involved multiple (yes, multiple) trips to the grocery store. It was laundry and sheet…
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Roots and Wings
We have an interesting phenomena going on in my house. We have an 18-month old and an 18 year old (and two other brothers in between). My husband and I often laugh with each other over the fact that we are the “young parents” with *J* (at sporting events, parent-teacher conferences etc etc) and we are going to be the “old wiser-parents” with *L*. There are times when I just want my 18-month old to grow up. I want him to communicate (although this can be hard even for an 18 year old); tell me his favorite things; share his deepest wishes; form an opinion that doesn’t involve whining; meet friends;…
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Snowmen Hanging In There
Tuesday has to be the best day, my favorite day; it is Esther and Jacob day. For a few hours I have them in the center of my attention. Their voices, bursting energy, spontaneous laughter and curiosity are with me. This is a recipe for a successful day: mirth.Tissue falling everywhere! We cook, create with playdough, design with pastels and paper and we chatter. Songs that I love to sing fill the car on the way down to the house only to be interupted by counting buses, both school and rapid transport. Seseme Street’s Count vonCount would be oh so proud of my charges. Snipping corners for the perfect look.Each week we…
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VOW to Hire Veterans Act and “WOW” Come Together for Veterans Seeking Employment at Sears!
A VOW from Congress and a big WOW for Sears! Citing Labor Department statistics with 900,000 unemployed veterans in October this year and with more returning from Iraq as the war ends there, David Works, Senior Vice President Talent & Human Capital Services for Sears, excitedly explained to MilitaryAvenue how they were increasing vet hires at Sears Holdings. A Navy veteran of fast attack submarines, David highlighted the efforts of Sears to increase veteran hires by 10% in 2012 with veterans filling positions from hourly associates to store managers, global logistics, corporate level and more with military experience a plus for new hires! Challenging other corporations to support our veterans,…
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Financial Education for your Children
There is no one, perfect way to start teaching your children about finances. However, there is a wrong way and that wrong way is to ignore it and assume that they are too young, don’t need to be ‘taught’ or just feel as a parent that you aren’t up to the challenge. Start your children out on the right foot and help them learn to navigate the world of finances. You never know you might learn something along the way! Be a Role ModelHow do you pay for things? Do you buy ‘wants’ and then fuss and fret about not being able to pay for the ‘needs’? It is important to…
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Help Your Child Feel Healthy!
The American Heart Association recommends that children and teenagers get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. My kindergartner’s teacher mentioned to me that *C* is the most in-tune and capable of learning right after some rigorous activity. She has witnessed first hand, in particular with him, how when he gets rid of pent up energy he is ready to sit down and stay on task. Occasionally, if all of the students are a bit hyper she has them do a few jumping jacks beside their desks. Then they sit back down and jump back into work. It goes to show how in-sync our bodies are. Even the brain craves motion, movement and…
