I can’t help to smile back and the day begins beautifully. (And if you’re thinking, ‘This baby needs a haircut’ – she’s not getting one!)

***

My older daughter is skipping up the road, a little personification of happiness, too fast for my camera, carefree and just.. present, inhabiting every moment.

These are just two of my special moments when time stops and it feels awesome to be me.

What are your special moments?

Linking up with 52 Weeks of grateful.

The kids have been so cute making gifts for me.

My daughter showed me the present that she had made at pre-school and then told me not to peek while she was wrapping it.

My son asked me to help him tie a beaded necklace but without looking, so that I couldn’t see what it was. (So I don’t really know that it was a necklace, just guessing.)

I’m not allowed to go into their room during the day and if I go in at night I must turn off the light first. And whatever I do, I must not look at what is hidden in the corner!

I just love how excited they are and can’t help but get excited with them.

Are you looking forward to Mother’s Day? What are you most grateful for this week?

It’s been hard to find gratitude this week. There is not a cell in body that doesn’t ache with fatigue. I was going to be grateful for a sleep-in, but the sleep-in didn’t happen – my husband got called to work because his business partner was sick.

So there I was struggling to keep my eyes open while my baby was chatting happily and playing with sounds until the sounds joined in a recognisable word.

It wasn’t ‘mama’. It wasn’t ‘dada’. It wasn’t even ‘baba’ (which means ‘grandma’ in Bulgarian and it was Little Monkey’s first word).

Instead it was…

Can you guess what?

It was ‘bum’! (The other kids thought it was hilarious and kept on encouraging Baby to repeat it.)

‘Mama’ followed shortly afterwords and it couldn’t fail to put a smile on my face.

What are you grateful for this week?

But what if the parents’ abundant mindsets are… well, work in progress?

For a while I’ve been struggling to find the best way to teach children about money. How do I balance between the desire to bring up children with abundant mindsets and the reality of managing finances?

The urgency of the question hit home when my son brought a book catalog from school and told me that he’d have a look at the books that weren’t too expensive. My heart sank. When did I teach him that he has to limit what he wants depending on the price tag? It wasn’t what I wanted him to learn… but I didn’t have a solution. Our family budget didn’t include books from a school catalog.

Then I read Upside-Down Mommy. I was missing a part of the picture: abundant mindset was more than the belief that  there was enough (money, happiness, love, resources) to go around. There was also the responsibility to take steps towards what you wanted in life, not just wait for it to be given to you. My question changed from ‘What should I do?’ (tons of possibilities with no clear solution) to ‘If I had an abundant mindset, what would I do?’ The answer was right there. I’d decide what I really wanted then find a way to get it.

We spent some precious time together browsing the catalogs and talking about the books. Then I sent Big Boy off to make a list of the books he really wanted. I should have trusted him from the start to choose wisely – there was one clear winner and it was a “How to draw” book, one that he would use over and over again. And it was only $6…

When we give ourselves permission to take a close look at our dreams, we may discover that they are well within our reach.

The next step of my plan was to put a few items up on eBay to make up for the money we needed to pay (and get Big Boy to do a few jobs like taking the photos and typing the descriptions). I have to admit that I didn’t follow through with this given that Big Boy had more than enough coins in his piggy bank, but it’s something we’ll do another time.

How do you teach your children about money and abundance?

I can just imagine myself relaxing with a cup of coffee and a Lego book.. not.

Or is it just me?

Playing along with Trish from My Little Drummer Boys.

Welcome to the April 2013 Authentic Parenting Blog Carnival: Peaceful Parenting Applied

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Authentic Parenting Blog Carnival hosted by Authentic Parenting and Living Peacefully with Children. This month our participants have written about authenticity through self-expression. We hope you enjoy this month’s posts and consider joining us next month when we share about Peaceful Parenting Applied.

***

I’ve been paying attention to conflict and how we resolve it (peacefully or not so peacefully) and here is what I noticed.

Usually for peaceful parenting to happen it’s not another discipline technique that I need, but one of two things: more sleep and/or realistic expectations.

Anyone who has experienced sleep deprivation will know what I’m talking about when I say that adequate sleep is vital for maintaining positive, peaceful attitude. I won’t talk about it here.

But I would like to give just a couple of examples to show the importance of realistic expectations.

Peaceful parenting (or not) on a school morning

(A) I finish making the school lunches early, so I decide that I have a few minutes to spend on the internet. I get sucked in (as you do) and only just remember that it is time to leave for school. I rush the kids to get going. Little Monkey can’t find her shoes so she dons a pair of thongs. Usually I’d suggest that she wears proper shoes, but because we’re in a rush I let it slip. Literally. The thongs slip off, Little Monkey falls and starts crying. As I am comforting her I keep on thinking “We’re going to be so late.” She can sense that she doesn’t have my full attention and is inconsolable… Should I continue? It doesn’t get better from here.

(B) I remember to expect children to be slower than adults. The computer stays off. My children get enough notice that we’re leaving soon. Everyone is ready with some minutes to spare. We talk, joke and play all the way to school.

The walk to school (when I have time to take photos)

Peaceful parenting (or not) on a weekend trip

(A) We take a 1-hour ferry ride to our end destination. Long before we reach our stop the kids get bored. They start running, climbing and making a lot of noise. Because they’re disturbing other passengers and because it’s not safe to do climbing on a moving boat, I try to get them to sit down. My frustration level escalates with every minute…

(B) On the way back I remember to expect that an hour is too long for my children to sit still and do nothing. As soon as the boat leaves I engage them in a game. We make up silly words to songs we all know and sing quietly, We arrive before we know it and every one has had a good time.

For me peaceful parenting has a lot to do with knowing my children and anticipating their needs. What does peaceful parenting (or not) look like for you?

***

Visit Living Peacefully with Children and Authentic Parenting to find out how you can participate in next month’s Authentic Parenting Blog Carnival, when we discuss self-love!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Dealing with Whining Compassionately - Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children discusses ways to deal with whining when it is getting on your nerves.
• Peaceful Parenting in the Light of Big Emotions – Laura from Authentic Parenting wonders how to resist being swept away from the storm of emotions in a sensitive child.
• How a peaceful parent speaks -Will the truth set you free? Shonnie at Heart-Led Parenting tells how being truthful (and more) in the way she talks to and about her daughter has helped create more peace and joy in her home.
• To Sleep, Perchance to Sleep – Mercedes at Project Procrastinot expounds on the difficulties of sleeping when you’ve got new twins by your side.
• Hitting and Peaceful Parenting – Susan May at Together Walking writes about her son’s recent “hitting phase” and how they were able to navigate it without punishing him.
• Peaceful parenting in action: the importance of realistic expectations – Tat from Mum in search shares a few examples of how knowing what to expect from your children can make your day a whole lot more enjoyable.
• Success Through Encouragement – At The Squishable Baby, Lisa discusses how she helps her child be successful through encouragement.

…some time away from the city,

…beautiful gardens,

…candlelight dinners, (not the romantic kind – ‘Dad, there’s fire on the table, call 000, quickly!’).

What are you grateful for?

Dancing skeleton made out of cotton buds. The kids put it at random spots around the place and my husband and I are supposed to act scared when we see it.

We made so much stuff and so much mess that I was looking forward to putting Mr Maker back on the library shelf and getting something more along the lines of ‘how to draw’ instead. No such luck. My kids picked a few craft books again and the only person who ended up with a how-to-draw book was me. I borrowed How to Draw Krappy Kartoons Really Well.

Speaking of crappy drawing, I doodled an imaginary book cover for a creative activity at Story of Mum (you can join in, too). It was such a thrill to receive a raving imaginary book review!

What are you grateful for this week?

Playing along with 52 Weeks of Grateful and Creative Every Day.

And remember that comfort blanket I started for Baby a few gratefuls ago? It’s finally finished (yay, I finished something)!

What are you grateful for this week?