Take Photos of Your Kids Before Heading Into Crowds

This is one of those tips you hope you'll never have to use, but it can make a huge difference if you do.

No parent wants to think about losing track of their kids in a crowd, but it's best to be prepared just in case.

Reddit user Ozstriker has a simple and excellent idea: use your iPhone or Android phone to take a picture of your children before heading to the beach or amusement park.  If you get separated, you'll be able to show good samaritans a very recent photo of your kid wearing that day's outfit. 

What Do We Want To Accomplish As Parents?

I always say it... it is a miracle that we made it to adulthood in one piece!

Show this excellent video to your children and try to help them grasp how the world was before they were born just a few decades ago. Use it to help them understand why we want them to go out and play, to explore, to take risks (according to their age, of course).

We have to always remind ourselves that we are not raising children, we are raising confident, centered and independent adults that,  in just a few years, will have to fend for themselves in this complicated world.  We can only hope and pray that we do a good enough job, so they can lead a fulfilling and joyful rest of their lives.

Enjoy!

The Importance of Roughhousing!

Excellent video post that we agree with completely...

20 Thoughts To Live a Better Life

1 * Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue!

2 * Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

3 * Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

4 * Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.

5 * If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

8 * Never buy a car you can't push.

9 * Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

10 * Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

11 * Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

12 * The second mouse gets the cheese.

13 * When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

14 * Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

16 * Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.
 

 17 * We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

18 * A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

19 * Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY

20 *Save the earth..... It's the only planet with chocolate!

What Kind of Man or Woman Should You Be?

Be the kind of man or woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning, the devil says:   "Oh crap, they're up!"

Reminders for the New Year ( from our parish's weekly bulletin, with no attribution - we loved it!)

The best day: Today

The greatest obstacle: Fear

The easiest thing to do: Find faults in others

The most useless quality: Pride

The biggest mistake: To give up

The greatest impediment: Selfishness

The best satisfaction: A work well done

The most disagreeable person: A big complainer

The worst bankruptcy:  The loss of enthusiasm

The greatest need: Common sense

The most unpleasant feeling: Envy of one's neighbor

The best gift: Forgiveness

The most important moment: Death

The greatest force in the world: Love

New Year's Resolutions - revisited

We published this blog entry 6 years ago. It is still as relevant to us as it was then, when our five kids where all younger than 12 years old... time flies!
Happy New Year 2013!
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With only two more days left in the year, we start to think about the things we did, the things we didn't do, the projects we accomplished and all the things we want to do next year.


Every year we guide our kids through a little exercise that my father taught me: we sit down in the living room, put on good music, have a warm drink like hot chocolate and a bring a notebook so we can start writing down this year's accomplishments and our new goals for next year.

Some questions we use to get them started:

Did I do enough sports and exercise? Did I do my best in my team? Am I eating right or am I having to much junk food? Did I stop biting my nails? Have I done good to others? How have I treated my friends, my brothers and sisters, my parents?
How did I do at school? What can I do to improve my grades, my reading level, my math skills? How is my handwriting? Can I do better? Am I learning new languages and music? Am I being challenged?
How did I treat God this year? Have I forgotten Him? Have I read good spiritual books?

It is important to always remind them that good intentions are not always enough to accomplish our goals. The most likely reason that we did not achieve our goals is that we lacked perseverance, lacked motivation or we simply set unrealistic goals.

Usually we like to see results right away and we fail because we want to run a sprint instead of a marathon. Sometimes we don't want to move from the comfort zone we are in now. We need to persevere with strength; the continuous effort on the things we set out to do, is something that will help us be different, to stand out from the crowd. With a little effort every day, we can accomplish our goals.

In order to persevere, we must set realistic goals and be clear about our motivation. Even if the goal seems far away, the fuel that keeps our perseverance going is what drives us in the first place: it can be that somebody is counting on us, or that somebody has put their trust in us. Only we have the ability to produce a change inside of us.

Our next year resolutions must be realistic and very few. They cannot be impossible, they must be attainable, so we build confidence in ourselves first and later, as our confidence and strength grows, we can accomplish more demanding goals. Plan ahead, and keep track of your progress.

Finally, we encourage them again to don't give up, to persevere. We remind them that their parents and brothers and sisters will help them along the way to their goals as best we can.

These year-end meetings are getting better every year and we have made them a tradition, brought forth from my parents' home into ours.

Happy New Year!!!