Listen

The Bipolar Experience

GM! Thank you Father 4 this day!

One of the most effect parts of having a great conversation is listening.
It is only thru listening that we can understand what is really being  conveyed.

If you are an effective communicator you will go one step beyond and listen to what is not being said.

More often than not, the true story lies within what isn’t being verbalized.

The art of listening is a gift. Not too many people are blessed with it!
I am!
Enjoy & share your gifts today!

Have a wonderfully bright & productive day ahead,

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Of Bedtime and Fried Chicken

Adventures in Motherhood

It was 8:00. Bedtime. That time of the day that brings great stress and yet great relief to the parents of young children. The last final hurdles of the bedtime routine begin. Potty time for both, teeth brushing, sleeping diaper for the youngest, taking the dog out, etc…

I go over these hurdles in my head. Mentally checking them off with anticipation of my own bedtime. I’m getting closer. Obie finishes on the potty, Debby trades places with him as he runs to get a diaper for me to put on him. He grabs the diaper and runs to me. This is very unusual. He gets rather distracted when it comes to bedtime preparation and needs constant reminding of his tasks. “Wow.” I think to myself. “He’s being really obedient tonight, maybe I’m getting the hang of this!”

*Disclaimer – Never, ever, under any circumstances do you start to think…

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The Art of Doing Nothing

Wannabe Martina

The older I get and now that I have three children I keep thinking more and more about that Ultimate Big Lesson in Life that I as a mother have to give them.

We are sitting in this villa in South of France and revising for exams. I am getting pretty good at Latin and German . We had some science and geography and it feels cosy to lie in the sun next to the pool and go through book after book.

In between sessions we get in the ice cold pool , we roll around in the grass on top of each other until somebody starts to cry. We eat some old French ham and cheese with the bread Yves bought at Boulanger JuJu. We chat about stupid kids in school and put band aid on all the scraps that the Toddler keeps getting. My eldest paints my nails…

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Matryoshka doll – Russian doll

Architecture & Interior Design

A matryoshka doll also known as Russian nesting/nested doll, refers to a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other. They are sometimes incorrectly referred to as “babushka dolls” (grandmother doll) .

The first Russian nested doll set was carved in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter at Abramtsevo.

Traditionally the outer layer is a woman, dressed in a sarafan, a long and shapeless traditional Russian peasant jumper dress. The figures inside may be of either gender; the smallest, innermost doll is typically a baby turned from a single piece of wood. Much of the artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be very elaborate. The dolls often follow a theme, aside from the typical traditional peasant girls, the themes vary, from fairy tale characters to Soviet leaders.

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Bumbling towards Responsible Adulthood

Sometimes I Sleep

I blew my lid with the kids this morning. Our babysitter left her bag at the house and my children took out her sidewalk paint and gleefully used it all up. They went into her bag and helped themselves. I was horrified. “What? You just helped yourselves to someone else’s property? Would you rifle through Grandma’s purse? What made you think that was okay? I am ashamed of your choices…” and on… and on.

There are times, like this, when I feel like the most terrible parent around. I felt guilty for losing my cool (but not that guilty.) I felt like a failure because my 8 and 6 year-old took stuff that wasn’t theirs and they should know better. I was embarrassed. I clearly had not done my job. I cried on the way to school. I knew I was over-reacting. My rational self kept mumbling, “This is not…

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Colourful Homophones: making ‘their, there and they’re’ more interesting

chattingwithkids

It was fun to do make their,there and they’re a little more colourful and interesting (using Wiki sticks). We had already covered the use of each word and when we use each word; we made the words for fun to create another learning memory for these very similar sounding words. A colourful, hands-on learning experience will stand out more. It’s also always fun for children to have a pencil break and have some making/creative time instead.

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Here’s a Story

Cute!

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dance baby dance

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Mothers Now Top Earners In 4 In 10 US Households

CBS San Francisco

WASHINGTON (CBS/AP) – A record number of American women are now the sole or primary breadwinners in their families, a sign of the rising influence of working mothers, a new study finds. Mothers now keep finances afloat in 40 percent of households with children, up from just 11 percent in 1960.

While most of these families are headed by single mothers, a growing number are married mothers who bring in more income than their husbands, according to a study released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center.

According to a 2012 survey from the National Partnership for Women & Families, California and Connecticut are the best states to be a working mom, thanks largely to California’s first-in-the nation paid family leave program. California women also suffer a smaller gender gap related to pay than women in other other states, according to a 2011 Bureau of Labor Statistics report

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The day he stops asking me

What is Your Advantage?

 

“Right dad?”  I get asked this question by my soon to be 4 year old dozens of times a day.  There are times that I find myself as a parent AMAZED (and annoyed) at how often I get questions from my kiddos.  Then this past weekend in the car as I was getting slightly annoyed by all the ‘right dad?’ questions that kept coming from the back seat.  Then in an instant a thought came to my brain that got me choked up and put a tear in my eye and it was this…someday he will stop asking.  There will be a day where he will stop asking for my input, for my opinion, and for my approval.  Then the question comes, who will he ask?  

So with that I can tell you I am never annoyed by the questions now and look at them as a moment…

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Potty training

justwanttobeayummymummy

‘Potty Training,’ if those two words do not instantly fill your head will a range of emotions normally nearing towards dread and doom then you should instantly inform the parents of the potty training world your fabulous secrets!!

Third time round and last time (for the time being)…I have vested interest in this. I have sieged those few days that looked remotely like spring/summer type weather and replaced the pull ups with undies.  The less layers of clothing that need changing and changing and washing and washing, the easier on my brain and washing machine!  We have endured nearly a week of working out the sensation of weeing and the dislike for it disrupting his playtime.  The potty has quietly followed him in his tracks so it is ever so conveniently there when needed. Clearly all is not so slick, with other children’s needs and dare I say it our…

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