Posts Tagged ‘Willa’s Tip’
Sunday, June 14th, 2009
With cell phones, cable and the internet, people find less and less time to go out and associate with their neighbors in any kind of meaningful way. This creates misunderstandings, fear and sometimes ill feelings that don’t need to be there. Find time to walk out the door with the specific purpose of interacting with your neighbors. Get to know them. Even if you don’t know them, or feel they are not very nice, bake them some cookies, a pie or a loaf of bread, write them a short note – anything – and take it to them.
More than ever today, we need friends and hopeful positive feelings in our neighborhoods. We need to stop living in fear of each other, start taking care of each other and get to know each other. Some of my closest, most cherished friends began as misunderstood, pre-judged enemies!
Tags: Encouragement, Enjoy Life, Family Life, Live Healthy, Simplify, Spiritual Training, Willa's Tip
Posted in Enjoy Life, Live Healthy, Parenting Encouragement, Spiritual Training, Willa's Tips | 3 Comments »
Saturday, June 13th, 2009
It seems that summers are getting hotter and hotter and busier and busier! With everything we have to do during the year, it flies by with lightening speed! Just as we survive the holidays, anniversaries and birthdays – summer hits! Here are just a few suggestions to make your summer easier:
- Drink plenty of water. There are so many options for fluid intake today. Water remains the number one best way to hydrate your body. It is important to teach your children to drink water – especially small children so they will grow into healthy water drinking teens and adults later. Simply drinking water makes you think clearer, helps with weight loss and keeps you hydrated.
- Begin every day with an attitude of gratitude! Being thankful creates a positive atitude…..which creates happiness…..which creates positive forward motion!
- Sit down and create a summer schedule for your children. If you don’t, you will spend the majority of your day being worried, frustrated and angry and your children will become resentful – all of which will create stress for you and your household.
- Make a list for your children of projects you want them to accomplish during their time off. Make sure they understand what is acceptable and what is not.
- Make a list of friends that will be acceptable for your children to hang out with or have over. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. No matter what happens or doesn’t happen – don’t forget to have some FAMILY FUN! It doesn’t have to cost money, you just have to be with your family .
HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!
Tags: 1 on 1 Parenting, Encouragement, Enjoy Family Life, Family Training Night, Family Unity, Get Organized, Health, Parent Support, Parenting Tip, Spiritual Training, Willa's Tip
Posted in Enjoy Life, Family Training Night, Fitness, Get Organized, Live Healthy, Spiritual Training, Willa's Tips | 1 Comment »
Friday, June 12th, 2009
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! Violence, crime, a failing economy, stRESS, STRESS, STRESS!! It’s everywhere! What can we do so that our level of stress does not break us, or our families apart? A POSITIVE ATTITUDE! You heard right, a positive attitude! Sure, it won’t fix anything immediately and sometimes it won’t fix the immediate stressor ever! So why have one? HAPPINESS! Because we all want to be happy – no matter what. When you are faced with uncertainty, challenge or pain whether physical, emotional or both, it doesn’t mean you have to be spiritually depressed to the point you can’t function! Or worse, you exaggerate the situation you’re in by making everyone around you miserable by constantly rehearsing all the bad things that have happened and constantly rehearsing the, ‘why I can’ts’ instead of the, ‘how I cans.’
Positive forward motion requires positive forward thinking. Simply put, all action begins with a thought. Therefore, if you spend all of your valuable time thinking about negative outcomes, THAT is exactly what you are going to get – a negative outcome. I don’t mean to downplay what you might be going through at the moment. I am suggesting, however, that you will do your best work, come up with your best game plan if you are approaching whatever situation you are in with a positive attitude! True happiness given any situation is a choice. It begins with your attitude. Sometimes we have to close our eyes and see things how they can be, rather than how they really are to gain enough positive energy to get through it.
Tags: Celebrate Family, Enjoy Family Life, Enjoy Life, Gratitude, Live Healthy, Spiritual Training, Willa's Tip
Posted in Enjoy Life, Live Healthy, Spiritual Training, Willa's Tips | No Comments »
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
Exercise! It is the one thing we can do everyday that will undeniably bring happiness, make us feel good and add years to our lives. Yet everyone goes through the overwhelming urge to lay down on the couch, sit in the most comfortable chair in the room and give in to the urge to do nothing! Try this…find a picture of yourself that makes you feel good about yourself – no matter how old it is. Hang that picture on your bathroom mirror. Write GO FOR A WALK across the bottom of the picture. Set your phone alarm to wake you up one hour earlier in the mornings. I promise that after programming yourself to systematically get up one hour earlier every morning, look at that picture and read those words everyday – you WILL get moving! Try it!
Tags: Beauty, Eat Healthy, Encouragement, Enjoy Life, Exercise, Health, Live Healthy, Willa's Tip
Posted in Enjoy Life, Fitness, Live Healthy, Willa's Tips | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
Washing your hands still remains the number one way to prevent yourself from catching the flu. Surprising, however, is how many people don’t understand this, or worse, don’t know exactly how to wash their hands properly. Your children are never too young to teach them how to properly wash their hands.
TRY THIS:
Step 1: Take your toddler to the sink.
Step 2: Put a dime size dot of anti-bacterial soap in their hands.
Step 3: Show them how to rub their hands together for several minutes before rinsing. (One of the most overlooked critical procedures in teaching children proper hand washing is not rubbing their hands together long enough. TRY THIS: while they are rubbing their hands together, teach them to sing the ABC song.)
Step 4: After rubbing their hands together the entire time they are singing the ABC’s, rinse their hands thoroughly.
With the onslaught of new flu bugs evolving into new and improved viruses, this simple hand washing procedure can save you not only money from saved Dr. visits, but save your family’s health as well!
Tags: Family Life, Family Training Night, Live Healthy, Parenting Advice, Parenting Tip, Willa's Tip
Posted in Live Healthy, Parenting Advice, Parenting Encouragement, Willa's Tips | No Comments »
Monday, June 8th, 2009
It seems that just as you become an expert ‘baby’ Mom, that baby turns into a toddler! Then…..you turn your back and poof! TEENAGER! If you survive that, and you will, you turn around and your children are grown with families of their own. Relationships with your adult children can be the most challenging of all – yet, the most rewarding. Your children suddenly realize that you are NOT perfect and that you don’t have all of the answers (if they haven’t already figured that out). To complicate matters and without much discussion, they marry complete strangers that you they expect you to welcome and love with open arms – no matter what!
How do you keep communication open, even during difficult times? Remember the old adage, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all?” These are golden words of wisdom that will save you from wounding those you love – especially when it comes to your adult children and their spouses. Follow that up with complete acceptance and love without judgement. When difficult things happen, refuse to get upset or become offended. Yes, it will be difficult. And, it will take practice and time, but it works! It allows you to step back from any situation and evaluate it with less emotion and more objectivity.
Tags: Celebrate Family, Enjoy Family Life, Family Differences, Parenting Tip, Willa's Tip
Posted in Enjoy Life, Parenting Advice, Spiritual Training, Uncategorized, Willa's Tips | No Comments »
Sunday, June 7th, 2009
Spiritual training is probably THE most important training that should be done in the home! When your children are out and about everyday, the only thing they will take with them into difficult situations – or, even the good ones, is what is inside their hearts. If you have not provided that training, they will find it somewhere else! I can almost guarantee that when they do find that something else, it almost never coincides with what you believe!
So, today is Sunday…it doesn’t matter what religion you belong to or not. This day is universally recognized as a ’spiritual’ relaxation day. So no matter what day your spiritual relaxation day is, on that day, practice whatever it is you believe. Practice it so your children can see you practicing it. More importantly, if you haven’t already, sit down with your children and share your beliefs with them. If you want your children to be obedient and respect your rules, it will become easier for them if they know the how and the why behind them. Like it or not, the how and the why usually comes from your heart and that spiritual belief system.
Try it! What do you have to lose…
Tags: Celebrate Family, Enjoy Family Life, Family Unity, Parenting Advice, Parenting Tip, Parents, Spiritual Training, Willa's Tip
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Saturday, June 6th, 2009
My son had a friend spend the night last Friday – they are both 12 years old. They had a GREAT time sleeping out under the stars on the trampoline! I did my best to be non-intrusive, yet watchful… needless to say, no one slept very well. In the morning as they were sitting at the table, I overheard my son’s friend talking about how he was grounded for life! I couldn’t help wondering that if that were true, why was he at my house? I was quiet as long as I could, but felt I needed to ask why? He proceeded to tell me that he had taken his mother’s credit card and charged $40.00 on it on some internet game without her permission! He looked at me with his beautiful big brown eyes and told me that he had asked her first, but she had told him no. I asked him why he had been allowed to spend the night? He confidently replied that his mom never followed through with punishments, no matter what he did!
I had a choice at that moment, ignore the situation and let the boys carry on……or, I could choose to support his mother, possibly alienate my son for a day or two, and sit down for as long as it would take to discuss the situation with him in terms of right and wrong and send him home. I looked up across the table at my son. He was watching my every move and listening to my every word. I knew right then I did not have a choice. This would be a very big family value training moment!! I swallowed, put my arm around my son’s friend and began…
When it comes to your children’s friends, remember there are Moms at their homes wondering the same things you are and dealing with the same problems you are! If you are brave enough to stand firm for your core values NO MATTER WHAT, soon you will have those friends trained, you will gain life long friends in their mothers as you navigate these years supporting each other and you will also have their respect. More importantly your children will naturally begin to live those values because it is just expected…..it’s natural and a part of their everyday life because it is a part of your everyday life.
Teaching and training your children morals and values is accomplished best during the everyday, all day long little moments as you live them. Supporting the moms and dads of your children’s friends to the extent that support enforces your values will only add to your happiness and the happiness of your children.
Tags: 1 on 1 Parenting, Family Differences, Family Training Night, Parenting Advice, Teen Health, Willa, Willa's Tip
Posted in Parenting Advice, Parenting Encouragement, Willa's Tips | 1 Comment »
Friday, June 5th, 2009
Take a deep breath, find a baby picture of your pre-teen and let yourself drift back in time to when your pre-teen was a baby! Remember all those warm, fuzzy moments that made you fall madly in love with that child. Forget what’s happening right now…..for the moment.
Now, close your eyes and remember yourself at that pre-teen age when everything was a crisis, right down to what outfit you would wear for the day, or who was saying what about whom and why? Open your eyes. How old are you now? You made it through it. Some of it was painful, some of it was crazy, but most of all you made it through all of it!
So, how do you minimize the pain and hurt of the pre-teen years for your child?Stay CALM! Whatever is happening that is disrupting a peaceful relationship with your pre-teen will work itself out one way or the other. Your only choice? To be calm, be a listener first and foremost and show an excessive amount of love – no matter how angry you may or may not be at them. In fact, the more angry you are, the more important it is to show that love.
I am NOT saying that whatever is going on might require stern punishment or major disappointment for everyone involved. But, you ARE in control of that outcome when it comes to whether your pre-teen feels that they were loved and supported through it or not.
AND THAT is the ONLY thing that will matter now and over time…
Tags: 1 on 1 Parenting, Celebrate Family, Family Differences, Parenting Advice, Teen Health, Willa, Willa's Tip
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Friday, June 5th, 2009
Teaching your children the value of hard work is one of the greatest gifts you can give them! Human beings are not born with one, it has to be taught to them. More importantly, if children are taught to enjoy work while they are young, they will grow into teenagers and then adults who understand and even enjoy working.
Lucky are the children who grow up watching parents enjoy their work, because they have worked along side them. Teaching is best done through example – especially when it comes to learning to work.
Tags: Family Training Night, Family Unity, Get Organized, Parenting Advice, Willa, Willa's Tip
Posted in Parenting Advice, Willa's Tips | No Comments »
