Silverwaters

I’ve moved. Read my blog here:

it doesn’t seem to work, though I did post the link. Sorry about that. Just type silverwaters.wordpress.com. Just one of the reasons I switched…

There’s not anything new there yet, been too busy, heh.

Seems she got the flu too, now, poor dear. She’s taking it pretty well, and trying her best to smile through it all. I had a bit of time off to do more cleanups, messages, etc. I’m feeling a bit tired, too, though, so I would appreciate your prayers. I’m trying to get Jordan off of nursing at night to go to sleep, as he’s been keeping me awake at night nursing way too much. He doesn’t nurse at all during the day, so he’s ready to move on to going to sleep without it. Thanks for praying for that as well.

It’s been snowing all day without any sign of it letting up! We already have at least 10cm new snow, and everything looks white again after a mild day yesterday which melted it all! Charlotte was singing a Christmas song, “Little children come and sing” to which I rhymed for fun “singing Christmas songs in spring”. She laughed and said, “That’s because this is a Christmassy spring” Actually, spring hasn’t officially started yet, so we still have a couple days to ‘enjoy winter’, though to be honest, I’m dying to have it be warm, wear less layers, have to heat the house, etc. On the other hand, warm wine and honey bars sound good, too…we’ll see!

Valentine’s Day Not for Lovers Only
MONDAY, Feb. 13 (HealthDay News)—Valentine’s Day isn’t just for couples.

It’s a good opportunity for parents to think about how they can show their love for their children all year round, says the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Here are 14 tips on how to do that:

Use plenty of positive words with children.

Respond promptly and lovingly to your children’s physical and emotional needs, and banish put-downs from your parenting vocabulary.

Make an extra effort to set a good example at home and in public. Use words like “I’m sorry,” “please,” and “thank you.”

When children are angry, argumentative or in a bad mood, give them a hug, cuddle, pat, secret sign or other gesture of affection they favor and talk to them about their feelings.

Discipline. Parents should institute both rewards and restrictions many years before adolescence to help prevent trouble during the teenage years. If parents allow children of any age to constantly disobey important rules without being disciplined, it only encourages more rule violations.

Make plans to spend time with your children to do things they enjoy.

Mark family game nights on your calendar, and put a different family member’s name under each date. That person gets to choose what game will be played that night.

A pet can make children—especially those with chronic illnesses and disabilities—feel better by stimulating physical activity, providing constant companionship, and enhancing their overall attitude.

Encourage children to cook with you to help familiarize them with healthy food choices. Let them be involved in the entire process—planning the menus, shopping for ingredients, food preparation, and serving.

As your children grow, they’ll spend most of their time developing and refining a variety of skills and abilities. You should help them as much as possible by encouraging them and providing them with the necessary equipment and instruction.

Safeguard children’s health by keeping them safe from accidents, providing a nutritious diet, and encouraging them to exercise.

Help your children foster positive relationships with friends, siblings and members of the community.

Give your children the gift of self-esteem by offering them steady support and encouragement to discover their strengths. Your children need you to believe in them as they learn to believe in themselves.

Don’t forget to say “I love you” to children of all ages.

The girls went with Jo down to ZG to as they were invited to their birthday party. In total, they have 5 kids celebrating birthday this month, but today was for just two. I didn’t go, as I had a lot of catch up work to do, seeing as I was out quite a bit this week, and the kids were sick, and I was tired, etc, etc. So what does Mommy do when she’s alone at home? Clean, clean, and clean some more. Actually, I didn’t get it all done, as Jordan was a bit clutchy in the afternoon, but I did get the spring cleaning done in my room, so hopefully I’ll be breathing better at night again soon. I found that I have to dust again and again, as my pulling stuff out from under the beds, etc, just stirs it up, so I need to stay on top of that!

I also completed Charlotte’s school records for the quarter (December through February, which is why the hours and days seem low; Christmas vacation included). Here are the stats:
14 completed LightUnits, 46 school days, and 107 school hours. She went to dance school, went on two field trips: visit to the shoe factory and a museum, and started Croatian classes in earnest (before, it was just during dance school and some play time with Croatian friends). I am now putting together our order for 2nd grade, as she’s nearing the end of 1st (about time! My fault, as we didn’t order the books early enough!) and going through it really fast! She likes school some days more than others, of course, but in general is fun to teach!

My kids’ new favorite song to watch is the ‘Sucker for Love’ video clip. It’s very well done, and I explained it to CC, so she understands what he’s going on about. Jordan just sings ‘na na na’ over and over, ha. Charlotte also really likes ‘Living in the Light of your Love’ as she agrees with me that he’s the Jesus (as in the actor) that we like best. She sings almost all the words already, and tonight we just sang it out at the top of our lungs. Heh, great fun! We also got clips from WordStock and Eurorock, which I have great fun watching when the kids aren’t around. I’m loving the music that is being done these days, our musicians rock!