2020 Holidays, Children's Books, Parenting

ABOVE THE CLOUDS – What Really Happens in Heaven During a Thunderstorm Book

ABOVE THE CLOUDS – What Really Happens in Heaven During a Thunderstorm Book

ABOVE THE CLOUDS – What Really Happens in Heaven During a Thunderstorm book by Stephanie Barton, Carley Barton and Sue Milon

Grace is afraid of thunderstorms. Her mother comforts her by telling her what’s REALLY responsible for the thunder, lightning, wind, and rain – namely heavenly parties complete with jammin’ tunes, selfie stations, paparazzi, and dancing angels. 

This story is written by a 14 year old Carley Barton based off of her Grandmother’s explanation to her as a child about the thunder and storms when she was afraid. How fun that this teen Author took her Grandmother’s story and published it so you can also ease your own children’s anxieties during storms.

Buy this book on Amazon today and be prepared for the next ‘scary’ storm!

Healthy Living, Parenting

Encourage Hand Washing with Splatz Natural Hand Soap Bubbles

Encourage Hand Washing with Splatz Natural Hand Soap Bubbles

If you have had hand washing battles with the kids and now you have to do hand checks to make real sure they really washed their hands correctly (especially in these times) how about making the task more fun for them? Maybe that will get those germ grabbers clean for once with Splatz hand soap bubbles that will encourage hand washing!

Inside is a ‘basket’ of bubbles. They are in this basket so that grabbing one out of the jar is simple. Each ‘bubble’ is filled with a natural hand soap that is also eco-friendly. The soap is made without: Parabens, BHT, synthetic dyes, phthalates, mineral oil, synthetic fragrances.

Simply grab one bubble and give it a ‘SPLATZ’ and once it bursts open there is soap to wash with. There is a casing my son just tosses in the garbage beside the sink but it is safe for the environment if it ends up washing down the drain.

Splatz is made in the US (Massachusetts) and was developed by Harvard/MIT scientists. It was designed with kids in mind so that they learn good hygiene skills.

Splatz by One Fun is available to order. They make fun stocking stuffers too!

Parenting

7 Positive Parenting Affirmations to Commit to Memory

7 Positive Parenting Affirmations to Commit to Memory
Photo by Jessica Rockowitz on Unsplash

Positive affirmations have become more popular throughout the past few years, and for a good reason. Whether you’re trying to ward off stress, be more productive or simply feel a bit happier throughout your daily life, talking kindly to yourself can help you harness a brand new attitude. Positive affirmations have been proven to reduce stress and genuinely change peoples’ outlook on life, and you can apply positive affirmations to anything. You can even use them to become a better parent.

From self-assurance in your skills to reminding yourself of the beauty all around you, positive parenting affirmations can truly improve your life and experience as a parent. While you very well might know a few of these things already, a positive reminder can actually do much more than you might expect. By speaking positive things to yourself as you go about your parenting life, you can become more mindful of them and use them to your advantage as you guide your kids to learn, grow and experience a more positive world.

  1. I Have Everything I Need to Be a Good Parent Within Me

Sometimes, it can be easy to get down on yourself and feel like you’re not qualified to parent the way your kids deserve. Arbitrary things can seem important and you can sometimes lose sight of what matters — no matter how centered you are. By reminding yourself that the love, care and compassion you offer your kids is all you need to be the parent they deserve, you can accomplish your goals with confidence and a bit more ease.

  1. Today Is Going to Be a Good Day

This affirmation can apply to a variety of situations, from recovery to the occasional stressful week to the days that look sunny and bright ahead. You and your kids alike can take this affirmation to heart and even make a routine out of saying it to one another. By saying that each day is going to be a good day, you can encourage yourself to look on the bright side. 

  1. My Children Don’t Expect Perfection

It can be easy to get caught up in wanting things to be perfect — so much so that you can forget what matters to your kids and truly makes them happy. Perfection often does a great job of impressing other parents or satisfying your own high standards, but it’s important not to get too caught up in the impossible. Nobody is perfect, and your kids won’t ever expect you to be. Loving them is absolutely enough.

  1. I Am Enough

Speaking of being enough, reminding yourself that you are enough can be powerful on its own. This can work on a multitude of levels — you are enough as a parent, as a person, as a partner and as every other role you play in your life. You are deserving and worthy of love, and letting yourself hear that each day can make your down days a bit better and your good days even more amazing.

  1. My Kids Can Teach Me Things, Too

Guiding your kids through life can feel like a big responsibility at times, especially when they get in those phases where their favorite thing to do is ask questions. Not having all the answers all the time can feel scary and overwhelming, but nobody said that you need to be a guru of life who knows everything. In fact, your kids can teach you all kinds of things about life, from living in the moment to selfless acts of love. Reminding yourself that you don’t always have to be the teacher can open you up to all kinds of lessons and tune you in to the wise things that often come straight from the mouths of babes.

  1. I Am Creating an Environment of Love

Reminding yourself that you are creating an environment of love for your children can work on so many levels. On the days where your temper feels a bit short, it can be a great way to center yourself and remind you of your intentions for your family. On the other hand, it can also be a great reminder that your love is what works to create all the good times and happy memories your children experience.

  1. I Deserve Self Care

Parenting is a selfless job, but caring for yourself can’t be overlooked all the time. Whether you’re stressed and in need of some alone time or you have a regular self care routine but still feel internalized guilt over prioritizing your needs, it’s important to remind yourself that you need to take some time for you. As a parent, you are the foundation — or half of the foundation — of your household. When you care for yourself, it keeps everything together. Even if your self care

is just a few moments of mindfulness or a walk in the park, remembering that you deserve it can make a huge difference.

Positive Affirmations Have Power

When you remember positive affirmations and keep them in your life, they will begin to shape the way you think. No matter which affirmation holds the most power for you, leaning into that positivity can create real change in your life. Do you have a favorite positive affirmation?

2020 Holidays, Kids, Parenting

The Goodtimer is the Good Behavior Reward Tool for Families

I was sent samples. Opinions are my own and this post may contain affiliate links. Thank you for visiting.

The Goodtimer is the Good Behavior Reward Tool for Families

It is so simple and genius, the Goodtimer is a good/bad behavior tool for ages 3-10. Everything you need is in the kit and it interactively hands out a good behavior reward system via tokens. I am happy to share more with you as you consider gifts for families who especially are home together during COVID and may need a behavior tool like this.

Step one is to find a central location for your Goodtimer and plug it in then gather the kids to read the included book. It tells the story of this timing tool and its maker and how to make him work for your family.

As you read the book you come to pages you will complete – a page to write down rules for your home (not hit sibling, pick up toys after play, remember to brush teeth, etc..) and then a sheet to divvy up rewards (eg, 2 token = extra TV time…). Load your tokens into the Goodtimer and you are ready to promote and earn a good behavior reward.

When you first turn on Goodtimer (the quick start guide helps explain all of the buttons/features) it will give a cute (child) voice hello and LED green light #1 illuminates like my photo below in this post. You will choose a level 1-10 (1 is an 8 hour, 10 is 12 hours) and that is a time that a token can be released unless it spent a lot of time upside down!

What does it mean to be upside down? This means that as long as they are behaving your Goodtimer is up and on. If they break a rule or misbehave you would ask them to go turn Goodtimer upside down. This means it is not counting down towards a token at the point. To get the timer back up and running they should correct their behavior quickly so they can go turn Goodtimer right side up again and start earning again. Tokens are stored in the attachd tower and cannot be retrieved until Goodtimer releases one based on the level set.

Keeping track of progress along the way each day is easy. Goodtimer has the green LED (like above) and the more lights around the unit (360 degrees around until fully lit) releases a token. Also, as time moves on with good behavior and it adds more light, Goodtimer also gives an encouraging voice command – it will encourage your child to keep up the good behavior and that they have lit Goodtimer up a bit more and are closer to a token release.

What is really fun is that they will just be going about their day and when having a good day or in a good moment they will hear Goodtimer talk to them. It gives subtle reminders throughout the day that Goodtimer is “counting their good moments” and that they are still on track for a token.

Goodtimer is currently on sale! Hurry! The original retail price is $129.95 and if you press the orange triangle in the upper left corner of their website to sign up for emails you will save 25%. They also do flash sales so make sure you follow their FB page and you will see flash alerts! As I write this they are offering it at $48!! Keep your eye open and sign up for emails and follow them because every home needs a Goodtimer! Visit Goodtimer to order today!