Tag Archives: works for me wednesday

Putting the ball in her court

04/28/2010 Nichole 8 Comments

Works-for-Me Wednesday Poppy felt much better after her brief battle with pneumonia last week, but she still had to finish out the full 10 days of her antibiotics. She’s a rather stubborn child, and it took a lot of cajoling and crying to get her to take the medicine — until I let her take a little responsibility for it. One morning I got exasperated with her and said, “Fine. I’m going to set the timer for 5 minutes. If you haven’t taken the medicine by then I’m going to have to hold you down and pour it in.” Maybe not the most diplomatic or tender-hearted parenting, but it worked! She took the medicine, and she’s taken it the same way since (sans threats from her mother) with a minimum of complaining. Today, in fact, she took it with no complaining at all.

Tomorrow is the last day of the antibiotics, but I’m planning to continue to give her ownership of her issues. Now I just need to figure out how to make this work for the anti-fruits/veggies problem!

Family matters, Flotsam / Jetsam

Waking up is hard to do

01/27/2010 Nichole 12 Comments

Around this time a few years ago, I decided to start getting up earlier. As I recall, that worked for awhile. And then I stopped setting the alarm clock again, and I kept sleeping until just before the kids woke up. Or until the kids woke me up. Whichever.

I’ve decided, though, that it was a good idea. Just like I said two years ago, getting up earlier would give me time to get ready, have breakfast and put my mind in a good place before the small folk come downstairs. So I’ve re-enacted my plan, with a twist.
Continue reading Waking up is hard to do →

Family matters

Craft ideas for the clueless. (That would be me.)

03/04/2009 Nichole 1 Comment

Before we get into the Works for Me stuff, I’d like to let you all know that I’m giving away some chocolate. Please click over there and enter.

Now then.

I would like to be one of those moms who can turn a few clothespins and a little fabric into a fleet of schooners or a darling little family. Instead, a few crayons and a piece of paper is about as creative as I get on my own. Until I magically transform into that imaginative lady, I’ll keep turning to these lovely sites:

Kids Craft Weekly is an email newsletter that’s packed with creative activities for children. Each newsletter is themed; this week, for example, the newsletter is all about glitter. If there were no peanut butter in this world, glitter would be Poppy’s Very Favorite Thing. So we’re pretty excited about this week’s offerings. The site also has a few great articles and suggestions, such as what ought to go in your “useful box” and how to best use that weekly theme. (One of these days, I’m actually going to put together a useful box.)

That creative mom I mentioned earlier? She’s blogging over at The Artful Parent. One of her most recent posts is a list of activities for every day in March. They include outdoor activities, cooking ideas and art projects. I know we won’t do each project at our house (because it’s March 4th already and thus far we haven’t done any of them), but I’d like to incorporate at least a few of them into our month.

Visit We are That Family for more Works for Me Wednesday tips!