Here are the little things we have learned along the journey.  Sharing them here in case they are helpful to anyone else 🙂

Around the House

• Set a standard and keep it.  Wonder why your kiddos don’t put their shoes away?  Why are things piling up around the house?  Look at your own room and see what your children are learning from your actions.^KB

Gardening

• You can use your Vitamix to make instant “compost”! Save your fruit/vegetable peels and blend them with water to make a liquid vitamin boost you can pour right into the soil where you are growing food/herbs.  You can also pour it into soil you want to prepare for gardening! ^KB

Homeschool

• If you and/or your child are having tears and tantrums about what you are working on, it is not the right time.  Put it away.  Try another approach, another topic, or leave it altogether until you are ready.^KB
• It is not the end of the world if your kiddo doesn’t like a paper and pencil.  There are lots of other ways to teach letters and number: corn meal writing, building them from blocks or wiki-sticks, maybe even try a whiteboard and a dry erase marker!^KB

Home Remedies

Disclaimer…use these at your own discretion.  We are not medical professionals and this does not constitute or replace professional medical advice.

• For upset tummies we offer a Mexican soda called “Cidral” (apple soda) and AguaMineral (club soda).  Usually works like a charm. ^KB
• At the start of a sore throat or “tickle”: chop up garlic, soak it in honey – eat it by the tablespoon at every meal until the tickle goes away. ^KB
• For a cough: my grandmother told me to make oregano tea.  Steep oregano leaves in hot water – drink! You can sweeten it with honey – I prefer unsweetened. ^KB
• For a rash, you can slice a garlic clove in half and rub the exposed side on the rash. ^KB

Life Lessons

• Being humble and asking for help can yield surprising and positive results.^KB
• If you ask nicely, you can achieve the goal you want without having to tell someone what to do, and sometimes you get a better idea than the one you started with.^KB
• Everything is as it should be – reminding myself that this is exactly where I am supposed to be in this moment helps bring me back to the present moment. ^CO
• “The days are long but the years are short” I think this rings true for almost all parents of young children, I often feel like I just don’t know how we are going to pass the hours until bed time but then I remind myself that I have no where else to be, nothing else to do and these hours we will never get back so I camp out on the floor & read books or play instruments & squeeze in lots of cuddles.^CO

Sanity

• Identify the actions/people/ideas that bring you peace.  Surround yourself with them – stay connected – you must feed your soul and be at your best, to be the best for your family.^KB
• “This will not last forever, all things are temporary.” This is an especially helpful mantra for certain phases where I find myself wanting to pull my hair out thinking of having to deal with x,y,z every day. ^CO
• “Nothing worth doing is every easy” Parenthood is a journey, a long, hard, journey but I have to know that it holds rewards far beyond what I knew before becoming a mother. Investing time, energy, hard work and sacrificing now always pays off in the long run. ^CO