Mud Pies & Minivans

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Daily Goal Setting With The Kiddos

I am officially going through withdrawal mode right now. Old Faithful aka "Camera #102" has just kicked the bucket & it has been almost 1 week since I've taken a real picture. I-phones just don't do it for me & I have decided it is time to invest in a serious camera. I'm talking strap around the neck, carrying case, TILE gps device attached, & take insurance on that bad boy kind of a thing. Its time to take the plunge & go BIG! Life happens so fast & now with 5 kids running around, I seriously have SO MUCH I want to capture. Now, to convince "Super Daddy" about taking this plunge with me-lol.

Ok, done venting on that. Moving forward. With school starting, I thought I would share a handy lil' event that we have added to our regularly scheduled family morning meetings-daily goal setting! Now, I have always been about teaching your kiddos to set goals from a very early age. Even down to my littlest dude, "Z", we have everyone's long term & short term goals hanging on the walls where we are constantly seeing them & reminding ourselves of the improvements & changes we are striving to make in our individual lives & as a family. That being said, 1 day when I started thinking about the mini hurdles that the kiddos sometimes battle in their day to day (trouble with sharing, not using "big girl words", forgetting to put laundry in the hamper, etc) I decided that having them start off their day thinking about how they could improve in different areas would be a great idea.

Now, every morning during our family meetings we go to our whiteboard & take terms talking about what goals we each our going to set for ourselves for that day. The reason I have each kiddo set their own goals is because it helps them learn to really to stop & evaluate themselves & really think about what changes they know they can make & would like to see-Its very empowering. My husband & I even participate in the daily goal setting for ourselves. I think it is so important for our kiddos to know that even parents are not perfect & still have things they need to work on. After my husband & I's goals are set & we discuss the steps we are going to make to try to reach those goals, the kiddos take turns setting theirs & talking about the steps they are going to make to achieve their goals as well (I start from the youngest & work my way up the line in hopes of discouraging "just copying my older sibling", lol).

Since adding daily goal setting to our routine, I have seen the kids make even more major strides towards breaking bad habits & reaching towards being an even better version of their already pretty incredible selves! Its amazing how capable kiddos are if you only give them a chance to show you. Even little "Aussie" has left me speechless a couple times with her personal insight on herself & her behavior-Amazing! Now, a lot of times all it takes is a lil' reminder of "what was your goal for today" to help them shift an attitude problem or reevaluate how they can handle a situation in a more productive manner. I definitely recommend trying this & staying consistent with it!

Have an awesome week!

-M&M Momma

Sunday Funday!

A2Zteams 1st time bowling

Just princesses eating sandwiches
while their sister finishes
dance class

Ready for a pirate and princess party!
(Aussie wanted to be a pirate,
but her outfit was dirty, lol)

Winning prizes

Playing games

My pirate lover with her ship!

Coloring fun

Alligator chomp dance

Bumping into friends
and eating snacks!

Backpack drive!
They got to help fill backpacks
for other kiddos in need-AWESOME

Stuffing the backpacks

Even Adley!

Fun time!

Ice in the heat= HAPPY

Freeze dance

More crafty fun

Walking the red carpet!

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Raising Girls, Love This...

I recently came across this empowering commercial on the world wide web a few days ago & loved it. I have the wonderful honor & responsibility of raising 4 lil' ladies myself & from day 1 have definitely done my best to help them be individuals & like whatever they want & not feel limited by the boundaries the world tries to put on them sometimes. They are who God made them & that is such a beautiful thing!

Its amazing how early kiddos are "told" what names are for boys or girls, what colors they are allowed & not allowed to like, the way boys should behave & girls should behave, the type of way they should dress, & what things are deemed as "boy stuff" & "girl stuff". I mean, I noticed, but once I had kiddos of my own I REALLY noticed. I knew my ladies were going to be drawn to a lot of the girlie things out there, there is some awesome stuff, but I also never wanted to feel like they were being "put in a box".

From each of their births, we named them what people would typically call "boy names" that start with "A". All of them started out with a primary color ABC themed nursery filled with all types & colors of toys. From there, my husband & I did our best to refrain from saying things like "boys this...." & "girls that..." & just watched them go towards whatever things they found interesting in life.

Years later, I am absolutely in AWE at how different they all are. My most "girly" is probably my oldest girl, but she can throw down with the very best of them when it comes to sports. Ashy (the 2nd), absolutely adores planes, trains, & automobiles & building is a huge passion of hers, but she can also sing every single song from "Frozen". Its just funny. Their different fashion senses are also starting to come out & that is definitely something amazing to see. I'm not going to pretend I have mastered "the balance", but I just want to raise strong women who aren't afraid to step up & lead & stand up for the things that they believe in. I want them to like things because they actually like them, not just because they are the latest style or trend they feel like they have to follow. Its funny, now they have a boy in their life & we didn't have to rush out & get a lot of "boyish" things because our kids like to play with everything already. I just think its fun & healthy. I think Dr. Seuss said it best "Why fit in when you were born to stand out?"

Have a wonderful week!

-M&M Momma