19. Read one parent/self-help book a month for a year. (5/12)

#5 - AUGUST 2009 - The Rope by C. Mason Weaver

As cited on Amazon. com, "The search for economic freedom has been confused with the desire for a great job. This book looks at the hidden forces keeping most of us trying to please the boss and not reaching our own goals. It is a book designed to change ones way of thinking."

About 6 years ago I had the great pleasure of hearing Mr. Weaver speak at a conference and he literally blew me away!! He has a way of saying things and is a 'no excuses' type of guy which I just love!

19. Read one parent/self-help book a month for a year. (4/12)

#4 - JULY 2009 - Parenting by THE BOOK by John Rosemond

I had read some great reviews on Rosemond and was very interested in reading this book which is his most popular and most controversial book. I learned so much about the history of child rearing and how up coming generations of children are heading for disaster. One doesn't have to look far to see that children of today are out of control. Just take a trip to the grocery store or the mall! At the end of the book he writes that he's "concerned about the future of America. Functional child rearing strengthens culture, and dysfunctional child rearing weakens it." He drives home the conclusion that part of the problem is the way parents manage their children, not that their children were born to be forever wild. It all starts at home. I really enjoyed this book and got TONS of helpful tips that I know I may need to implement in the future. I especially loved in every chapter his reference to how "grandma use to do things".

"If you depart from God's plan in any area of your life, you will experience more (and more serious) problems than you would have encountered otherwise. America has departed from God's blueprint for child rearing. My intent is to help parents understand and properly align themselves with God's blueprint for child rearing." He clearly reminds the reader that God makes nothing complicated which was such a fresh reminder to everyday life.

35. Don't eat snacks past 9 PM for one month.

I started this on Sunday, July 19, 2009 and ended on Monday, August, 17, 2009.

This task opened my eyes to how much I snack after 9 PM. Once I would get Avie down for bed, I found all this extra time to realize I wanted a snack. This certainly got me on track to watching what I eat. It was hard a few times to stay on track because during that month, I took two one week trips to visit family and friends. I am proud to say that I resisted the urge to snack when everyone else was but it was not easy. *patting myself on the back* Now that this task is over with, I have disciplined myself to really re-think ALL snacking once Avie has gone to bed at 8 PM.

My husband told me many years ago that it takes 21 days to form a habit. I did some research and found out that he really wasn't just making it up. Dr Maxwell Maltz wrote the bestseller Psycho-Cybernetics. Originally a Plastic Surgeon, Maltz noticed that it took 21 days for amputees to cease feeling phantom sensations in the amputated limb. From further observations he found it took 21 days to create a new habit.” Since then the ‘21Day Habit Theory’ has become an accepted part of self-help programs.

*UPDATE* 82. Take her other clothes and put them in the yearly Mom2Mom sale at the Pensacola Fairgrounds.

After doing a lot of purging and cleaning in preparation for our subdivisions annual yard sale, I realized that there are WAY too many plastic tubs in our attic that are full of Avie's clothes that she has out grown. I'm starting to weed through all the tubs, keeping all the designer and really nice outfits so when we do get pregnant again and if it's a girl, I will still have clothes to use. But the out grown clothes situation was getting out of hand. The yearly Mom 2 Mom sale is coming in town this September and I wanted to start selling some of the clothes now to make room in our attic for things that really need to be up there. I registered today online to become a consignor for this upcoming sale so it's a done deal. Now I need to get busy and get these clothes tagged and put on hangers. I have less than 30 days to go!!

UPDATE: It was a successful first time being a consignor. I had a total of 55 pieces and sold 30. After the $10 consignor fee and giving 30% of my makings, Avie walked away with almost $86. Not bad for only 2 hours worth of work!

51. Have a family picnic at a park.

I did not realize that I was "crossing" another 101 off my list until half way through our picnic! I originally had been researching some new things for us to do as a family this summer since last year was a whirlwind with it being our 1st one in Florida and not knowing anything about the area.
Matt and I have always said that if we could take our old neighborhood and beautiful quaint town of Flushing, MI and transplant it down here in Pensacola, life would be close to perfect. We loved the "small town" feel and the constant family oriented activities that the city sponsored throughout the year. So, during my research, I found the Pensacola 'Community Redevelopment Agency' website and found that they sponsored a family event every Thursday during the summer from 5:30 to 7:00 PM at Plaza de Luna Park (named after the explorer who found Pensacola). It is a newly renovated park right downtown on the waterfront. It's really neat, they have water splash pads for the kids, live bands and a different cartoon character running around in costume every week. I called the CRA and they told me that they turn the splash pads on between 4-4:30 so Avie and I arrived up there early at 4:30 and we were able to enjoy the splash pads for 45 minutes by ourselves! It was WONDERFUL!!! It was absolutely a perfect family night out!! I am so thankful to have found a part of Flushing, MI in Pensacola and we are now turning this into a weekly family outing. Matt and I both felt like it was a perfect break in the week to just chill before the weekend.

Enjoying the spalsh pads before other kids arrived!

Picnic time!

19. Read one parent/self-help book a month for a year. (3/12)

#3 - JUNE 2009 - Taking Care of the Me in Mommy by Lisa Whelchel (YES! Blair from The Facts of Life!)

A friend of mine from high school RAP recommended this read to me and I am super glad that she did because I don't know if I would have found this read on my own! Whelchel writes, "As moms we love to serve and nourish our families. But if we don't learn to rest and receive, we run on empty and end up not being the moms we so desperately want to be."

This book has been an AMAZING resource for "fuel stops" and biblical references. I plan on having this book in my night stand to help reference me when needed and I will definitely be reading this book again!

"Abide in me, and I in you. as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me" (John 15:4). The bottom line is, we cannot be the mothers we want to be without the power of Jesus working in us and through us. If we want to see the fruit of the Spirit grow in our children's lives, then we must first make sure we are abiding in Jesus."

19. Read one parent/self-help book a month for a year. (2/12)

#2 - MAY 2009 - The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman, Ph.D and Ross Campbell, M.D.

I am a huge fan of their original book, "The Five Love Languages" that I read back in 2003 before Matt and I were married. The book gave me a lot of great insight on how people give and need love. In the childrens version, there are the same five love languages:
1. Quality Time
2. Words of Affirmation
3. Gifts
4. Acts of Service
5. Physical Touch
This book talks about the importance in learning your child's love language because knowing it is one of the keys to inspiring them and a chance at meeting their deepest emotional needs. The author writes, "I dream of a day when all children can grow up in homes filled with love and security, where their developing energies can be channeled to learning and serving rather than craving and searching for the love they did not receive at home. It is my desire that this book will help this dream to become a reality for many children."

I have put this book on my "annual" read list. I feel that it's that important for the future of my family and I highly recommend this to anyone who has children.

Some of my favorite nuggets:
"True unconditional love will never spoil a child because it is impossible for parents to give too much of it." pg. 20

"How can I motivate my child? We can motivate only after we have filled our children's love tanks and trained them to manage their anger. Failing in these two essentials, it is nearly impossible to understand how to motivate children." pg. 145

"The psalmist calls children "a gift of the Lord," a "reward," a "heritage." Children are the most wonderful gift we can have. If they mean so much to God, they should mean everything to us, their parents. I would suggest that you make a list of "requirements" for being a good parent." pg. 196 * At the top of my list is to keep my daughter's emotional love tank full and speak the five love languages to her on a daily basis.