Family Archives - Page 19 of 26

Sweet Baby Words

My youngest little guy is 21 months old. He is talking quite a bit these days. Practically every day, he surprises us with by saying a new phrase.

Every night when I tuck him in to bed, I say "I love you" several times. A few nights ago, Baby D surprised me as I was closing his door by saying "I love you" back to me. It was so sweet! He has continued to do this each evening. Awww, it just melts me every time!

Baby D seems to know what it means even if it is not said to him first. His big brother was leaving for school this morning. He gave Baby D a hug on his way out the door. Right before he walked out, Baby D said "I love you". That just melted my big and tough 9 year old, who was just so happy to hear that from his baby brother. We all enjoy waiting to hear what he is going to say next!

Shares 0

Tips For Positive Parenting

by KellyBax Baxter Leave a Comment

I have referenced The Law Of Attraction several times throughout my time here. A friend introduced me to the concept and I find it very interesting. The reason it interests me is because I can look back on my life and see how my positive thinking has produced the outcomes that I wanted. To me, it is not about "The Secret", it is more about how your positive thoughts will influence events in your life.

I have had some challenging mommy moments lately. My youngest is approaching two and has become a poster child for "the terrible 2’s"! Between him and my other two boys, life around my house is often chaotic. I wondered if I could use the law of attraction to help calm my house down a bit. Maybe I have not been doing things right?

I found this article "Law of Attraction used for Your Parenting Success" – by Kelly Nault M.A. on Rebecca J. Burns’ blog. The author asked some questions that really made me think:

*How am I contributing to my kids behavior? (Gulp!)
*Are my kids responding to my lack of patience and skyrocketing stress?
*Are my children desperately seeking quality time with me because I haven’t been giving them much special time lately?
*Are my kids no fun to be around because frankly, I am not fun to be around?

I admit that my patience has not been very good lately. Working from home and tending to three little boys makes for rather stressful days. It is very likely that my stress level has been attracting more negative behavior from them. I am going to make a great effort to use this parenting strategy described in the above article.

Shares 0

Arkansas Family Expecting Their 18th Child!

by KellyBax Baxter 1 Comment

Two days before Mother’s Day, Michelle Duggar announced to her family that she is pregnant with her 18th child. The family of soon to be 20, has children ranging in age from 9 months to 20 years old. This famous family was on The Today Show and you can watch this video from the show. Wow, I cannot even imagine having so many children. The Duggar family seems to handle it with ease and is something really special.

Shares 0

Bring Out The Sunscreen!

by KellyBax Baxter 1 Comment

This time of year, the sun is very strong. Although the weather might not be hot, it is time to start applying sunscreen on yourself and your children.

If the sun is out, then you are at risk for a sunburn even if you are out for a short time. Not only should you protect your skin, but you should also protect your eyes with some good sunglasses.

May is national skin cancer awareness month. It is a good time to make an appointment with your doctor to check out any moles on your body for signs and symptoms of melanoma. Also, read up on the 5 best ways to prevent skin cancer. My days of laying out in the sun are long gone. I still enjoy outdoor activities but I play it much smarter these days!

Shares 0

April Is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

by KellyBax Baxter Leave a Comment

Although April is almost over, I wanted to mention that it is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Childwelfare.gov has a resource packet on preventing child abuse and neglect. The resource packet "Includes information on supporting families, protective factors, public awareness, community activities, positive parenting, prevention programs, and more". (This information is free to use in reference to National Child Abuse Prevention Month or the availability of the packet.) You will find an outline below of the information contained within the packet:

Overview
Understanding child abuse prevention and what to do when children are at risk. Includes frequently asked questions and links to related Federal and national organizations and State contacts that work to prevent child abuse.

Promoting healthy families
Information on how to enhance protective factors in families and ways to support and partner with parents. Includes a calendar of family activities and parenting resources.

Public awareness & creating supportive communities
Tools for sharing a child abuse prevention message with your community and building community support.

Prevention programs
Standards for prevention programs, research on what works, information on the role of related professionals, and resources for specific types of programs.

Developing & sustaining prevention programs
Developing a prevention program, conducting a community needs assessment, finding and sustaining adequate funds, and collaborating with community partners.

Evaluating prevention programs
Evaluating program effectiveness and performing cost analysis. Features the Evaluation Toolkit and Logic Model Builder.

Shares 0

Things I Am Looking Forward To When The Kids Get Older

by KellyBax Baxter Leave a Comment

I have three adorable little boys and I love them dearly. When they are not so little anymore, I know I am going to miss these times. While I do not want them to grow up too fast, there are some things I am looking forward to once they are a little older.

Here is my list of things I am looking forward to when the kids get older. You will see they are really quite simple but will seem like luxuries when the time comes:

1. Being able to walk around my house freely. No more baby gates. No more thinking of the placement of little toddlers while I go upstairs to grab the laundry basket or run down to the basement for something. I will be able to just go up or go down and not even think about it!

2. Reading books. I was a very avid reader when I was young and that basically stopped once I had children. I am sure I could manage a book here or there but by the time the kids go to bed, I am tired and not in the mood to read. Once they are a lot more independent, I can’t wait to dive right back in to some great books!

3. Sleeping later. I know I will never go back to sleeping until 10 or 11 like I did when I was a teen (nor would I want to), but I sure am looking forward to sleeping a little later on the weekends. Maybe 8:00??

4. Doing housework without a little boy trying to unfold what I just folded. Washing a floor without having to wait until my "baby" is taking a nap so he won’t think it is a game and slip on it. Doing basic chores without one of them making it harder than it needs to be.

5. No more car seats! Get in, buckle up, get out. Simple as that.

6. Privacy in the bathroom!

I am sure there are a few more things but I don’t want to appear too whiny. None of these things are a big deal. However, one thing that I really have learned after becoming a mother is that I took so much for granted before I had children. I will appreciate little things like this when the time comes. So, what is on your list?

Shares 0

You’re Gonna Miss This

by KellyBax Baxter 3 Comments

I absolutely love this song by Trace Adkins called "You’re Gonna Miss This". I keep trying to tell my oldest son this same message. To tell you the truth, on difficult mommy days, I have to remind myself of this sometimes. This song really hits home. If you have not heard it, listen to it and see if you don’t feel it too.

Shares 0

Good Morning Sunshine Boys!

by KellyBax Baxter Leave a Comment

The sun is shining and the birds are singing. What a beautiful morning to enjoy a cup of coffee and think about the the wonderful day to come. This calm and peaceful feeling lasted all of about ten minutes. Then my little boys started waking up!

Sometimes I wonder if they have a little pow-wow meeting the night before and all agree to wake up in a bad mood the next day. First up was my middle son way earlier than usual. He proceeded to say "Mommmmm" in a whining voice at least twenty times since his awakening. Next up was my oldest boy who is notoriously grumpy in the morning. He didn’t let me down and played his grumpy morning bit to the hilt. Last up was Baby D who let out a ferocious howl to let me know that my last sunshine boy was awake.

There are rare mornings where my little angels get up smiling with the son. Today was not one of those precious mornings. However, the birds are still singing and my coffee is still warm. Maybe Mr. Sun and I can talk these little guys into a smile before the morning is over.

Shares 0

Fantasizing On Friday

by KellyBax Baxter Leave a Comment

I have been having early morning fantasies today. No need to run and tell my husband because they are all rated G. I have decided that I want an Easy Button. Of course, this would be a magical Easy Button.

Already, I have a full list of what I would like this Easy Button to do for me:

*Laundry

*Dishes

*Bathrooms

*Mop Floors

*Vacuum

*Dust

*Windows

*Cooking

*My online work for the day

*Turn my very fussy baby into a happy go lucky guy

The question is, what would I do with all of my new found time? I don’t know but I would sure love to find out!

Shares 0

Park Days

by KellyBax Baxter Leave a Comment

Yesterday was a warm day and somehow or another I ended up at a park not once, but twice! Me and my youngest met some friends at a park and then went for some lunch. It was good to get out for a bit and Baby D went down for a nice nap once we got home. The fresh air and running around wore him out!

When my husband arrived home from work, he immediately said "Let’s all go to a park"! Huh? Did MY husband actually say that? Of course the first thing that entered my mind was that I had already been to a park. Instead of saying that I said "Okay" and started getting everyone ready. I was not going to pass up an opportunity to have a nice family outing. Besides, my two older boys missed the first park outing since they were in school.

My husband and oldest son did some batting practice at the park while my two little guys played. When it was time to go, my husband surprised me again by announcing that we were going out to dinner. Every now and then he is full of brilliant ideas such as these. It was a nice day.

I am looking forward to more park days with spring here and summer approaching. It is great exercise for the kids and myself and the fresh air is great for clearing the mind. More park days please!

Shares 0

« Previous Page