Month 1 Archives - Positively Mommy

Parenting Plan Month 1, Week 4

Rachel Meyers — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 19:33:24 +0000

This is the last week in my parenting plan for this month and so far it has been a really great experiment for me as a Mom. I haven’t been perfect at it, but I have tried really hard. Today at Church one of the speakers talked about how spending time with your children is so much better for them than any other activity (my kids are involved in lots of activities so this really hit home to me). Nothing is more important than taking the time and making the effort to spend quality time with them. I still can improve so much, but I feel like I’ve made an ok head start.

This week we were preparing for a baby shower. I have a friend who adopted a baby with only one day’s notice. She doesn’t have any other kids, so she didn’t have anything prepared for a baby. There were lots of people in our neighborhood who supported her and I’m so glad she got to adopt such a sweet little boy. My kids helped me a lot in shopping and preparing for the baby shower.

My oldest daughter wanted to make her own cookbook because she adores cooking, so she made this cute handwritten book where she copied recipes from my cookbooks. We talked about the recipes and what she would like to make from the recipe book.

We also played many games of Yahtzee on the ipad and Ticket to Ride after the younger kids went to bed. We had lots of laughs and this little girl is competitive. I find it hard to win when I’m playing with her. Maybe she can teach me her moves!

This week my middle child and I spent some time shopping together and having a fabulous time. I spent a lot of time curling her hair and she helped me make apple slices for a road trip. We sent silly emails back and forth and played some games on the computer. She lost a tooth this week so she made an elaborate tooth structure for the tooth fairy to find her tooth in.

My youngest and I have a pretty strong bond. He follows me around everywhere and we pretty much do everything together. I don’t worry too much about not spending enough time with him. We generally read books and talk every day. This week he told me, “I’m in love with you Mommy”. Oh, that just melted my heart! I love that little man.

Like I said earlier, this parenting plan has been a big blessing in my life and has helped me to get my priorities in order. My family is most important to me and I want to find time in my day to show them that.

My plan for the next month will be to watch my tone of voice with my kids especially when I’m stressed out, (which is nearly every day). I won’t be posting for a month because of a family situation, but my thoughts will be on it for sure!

* All parenting advice and information on Positively Mommy is provided for informational purposes only. Unless otherwise noted, the site content is not written by doctors, psychologists, or other health care professionals. The staff at Positively Mommy do not have psychiatric degrees or any other therapeutic training. The majority of our advice is drawn from personal experience and thus represents personal opinion. It is not a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any reliance on the information Positively Mommy provides is solely at the risk of the user. Positively Mommy does not assume any responsibility for damage or injury to persons or property that may arise from the use of the advice and information Positively Mommy provides.

**All parenting advice and information on Positively Mommy is provided for informational purposes only. Unless otherwise noted, the site content is not written by doctors, psychologists, or other health care professionals. The staff at Positively Mommy do not have psychiatric degrees or any other therapeutic training. The majority of our advice is drawn from personal experience and thus represents personal opinion. It is not a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any reliance on the information Positively Mommy provides is solely at the risk of the user. Positively Mommy does not assume any responsibility for damage or injury to persons or property that may arise from the use of the advice and information Positively Mommy provides.

Month 1 Week 3: Parenting Plan Update

Rachel Meyers — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 16:16:25 +0000

This week has been much better than last week. We didn’t have any sick kids and we are falling into a summer routine more and more. Something that I didn’t expect happened this week. I’ve really been struggling to find patience with my 11 year old because she is so moody, but this week I don’t remember any outbursts or moodiness. In fact, it was a very pleasant week and her and I spent a lot of time talking to each other. I didn’t expect that to happen at all! I feel like whenever I make an effort, no matter how small, my efforts are magnified and somehow things just get better. I feel like this parenting plan is really working so far and I’m glad I’m trying it out.

So in this parenting plan month 1, I am experimenting with spending 15 minutes of 1:1 time with each of my 3 kids and posting on what happened that week. This week my 8 year old and I have been picking raspberries every day together. I love when it’s quiet outside and we can hear the birds chirping and discover hidden raspberries. Then we come in and scarf them all down before anyone else can see that we got them! My daughter and I also pulled weeds and harvested some lettuce and green beans this week. I love it when we did gardening together. I think it’s so fun to teach my kids about how to grow things and how healthy it is to eat fresh fruits and vegetables from the garden. This week we had a zuchinni, green beans, and yes! some tomatoes.

My son, who is 5, and I read books together every day. He is getting ready to start kindergarten in the fall and has a love for books. His most recent favorite is Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman. I have seen him progress very very far as we have read for 15 minutes together every day. He loves to snuggle up with me in my bed and bring books to me. I let him sound out the words himself and I am always surprised by how well he can do it on his own for his young age! I can’t take all the credit for his learning to read, he attended an academic preschool when he was 3 and 4 and learned the basics there. I have learned that reading with Mom and Dad makes a huge difference too! In this photo he is reading scripture stories from a Children’s reader.

My 11 year old read Charilie and the Chocolate Factory by Ronald Dahl this week. After she read it, we watched the 2005 movie with Johnny Depp and the 1996 version with Gene Wilder (which I adore!) and we compared all 3. Stay tuned in to our Kids Book Group where we will talk about the differences between the book and the movies. My daughter thought it was super fun to read the book and watch the movies and the best part was doing it with her.

I think over the last few weeks, we’ve built a stronger bond than we’ve had in a long time. Another thing we do every night together is cook. She is really interested in how to make meals, so she hangs out in the kitchen with me and we talk and she mixes and stirs and learns how to read a recipe. Win Win if you ask me!

Month 1 Week 2: Parenting Plan Update

Rachel Meyers — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 23:09:42 +0000

Welcome to the half way point on my quest for becoming a better Mom this month. This is week 2.

This is my personal parenting plan and I’m still working on spending 15 minutes of 1:1 time with my kids each day to focus on having fun with them and getting my priorities in line (they should be my first priority, but sometimes I let other distractions get in the way).

This week I’ve kind of let distractions get in the way! As much as I’ve tried not to, I’ve had 2 sick kids. You can see my son was too tired to throw up again and just fell asleep on the couch holding his throw up bowl. eew! Not only were the kids sick, one kid was sick twice in one week! My adorable husband was also out of town at a conference in Las Vegas. I am not a big fan of single parenthood and I missed him terribly. While it was only 2 days, it felt like forever!

I was a little bit caught off guard by how little I was able to do this week with those 2 variables thrown into the mix. However, we were able to use our waterballoon pump to have a fun time in the backyard. My daughter and I filled the balloons and then all the kids went out back and we had a mondo fight. It was lots of fun and we like getting wet when it’s 95 degrees outside. I would have been ok if someone would have sprayed me with the hose, but I settled for a little water balloon fun. We took turns throwing the balloons off the deck to see if we could get them in the box. We caught one, but it was a large child.

We also did things like reading one on one with each other, talking in bed, going out to eat with a friend, playing checkers, and sending silly emails to each other. Wow has it really been a week?

Until next week, wish me luck. How are you doing on your parenting plan? Please leave a comment and let us know!

Month 1, Week 1: Parenting Plan Update

Rachel Meyers — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 22:17:55 +0000

Well, it’s been a week since I’ve been steadily working on my parenting plan to help me get closer with my kids and feel a little more confident to be less distracted and to prioritize more.

I have tried really hard this week to keep to the 15 minutes per day of dedicated time to each child and I haven’t done perfect, but have tried really hard.

We spent a whole night playing Table Talk after dinner and I got to know my kids a lot better and it was lots of fun. I love that game so much!

One thing I did notice is my kids are playing by themselves a lot more and I’m less stressed out. This means I have more time to get things done and they are enjoying each other’s company. Another bonus, is they have started cuddling and talking with me in bed at night before bedtime. This is starting to be their favorite time of the day. I’m thinking that’s a good thing! Here’s a few of the things we did together this week.

1. We took a bike ride to a local store

2. We made hot pads

3. We did arts and crafts

4. We did some gardening (mostly picking raspberries)

5. We read books

6. We spent more time talking

7. We did cooking together

The thing that was most striking to me is that really none of the things we did together were “planned”, they were very spontaneous and in the moment type things. I love each and every one of my kids and I want them each to know that by how I spend my time.

Another great thing that happened this week, is I have felt a sense of well-being that everything is right in my world. I don’t know where it came from, but I welcome it with arms wide open. I had a rough week the week before and I like feeling happy. I think what I gained this week was priceless. I probably got more out of it than my kids did honestly.

Wouldn’t it be great to do something like this with your spouse, that could really make a marriage great. Well, one thing at a time for me. I dub this a successful week and I’m feeling fine!

If you are following along please share your successes with us!

Parenting Plan: Month 1

Rachel Meyers — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 13:14:31 +0000

My Family

As I have said before, I am one of those super busy, stressed out, distracted Moms and I wish there was somewhere I could turn for advice from a real-life person going through the same things I am. I want to improve and I want to be the best Mom I can for my kids. And… to be honest I feel like I’m failing miserably at it right now.

I am working on a monthly parenting plan based on my own personal experiences to help me be more engaged with my kids. I will post about what things work and what things don’t in my family. But, most of all, I’m just excited to spend more time with my kids in which I’m not distracted in a million different ways.

GOAL FOR MONTH 1: Spending one-on-one time with my kids every day

I know this sounds ridiculous and I’m embarrassed to say I spend lots of time with my kids every day (driving them around, answering millions of questions, helping them get things done, doing daily chores, eating dinner together), but really next to none one-on-one time. I take them on a monthly “date” somewhere special, but I don’t feel like that’s enough. I’m even more embarrassed to say that yesterday I had a conversation with my 8 year old that went like this: “Mom, do you like it when we go to birthday parties?” Me: “Yes, why?” My daughter: “Because then we wouldn’t be bothering you”. I was floored and frankly sad that she felt like she was a bother to me. Something has got to change and it’s not my kids!

So, I’m going to move on from that conversation and do something about it. I’ve decided for the next month (until July 15) I’m going to spend 15 minutes of one on one time with each of my 3 kids every single day. I don’t plan on doing anything necessarily structured, I just want to be spontaneous, and in the moment with them. I want them to know I love them and want them around. Right now, it kind of seems impossible to carve that much time out of my busy schedule, but if I can’t carve 45 minutes out of my day for my children, something is wrong and I’m not being the best Mom I can be.

I will post on my experiences weekly, so stay tuned!