Sweet fellowship~

Today was a fun day. New friends came over. My dtr in love and grand-dumpling came over. The kids had such fun all day long. Even when it rained :-)

 

These are homemade slip n slides made by Gage. He found some old paint drop cloths in the garage and laid them out. Squirt a little diluted soap on a little one’s tummy and you have a child that slips and slides all the way to the end of the drop cloth!

 

Addison and with Uncle Gunnar.

 

The kids slowed down only long enough to eat lunch. Otherwise they were in the water most of the day. Even when they were freezing!

 

 

These two cuties were taking a break from running around. Good thing they both like the same DvD’s :-) I think this one was Winnie the Pooh.

I am happy that Addi gets along with the children. They all play well together and you will occasionally hear and “I’m sorry” from one child or another. How sweet that they know to apologize and share. They are young and all still learning. That’s part of the Sweetness Training, a continually working on being sweet and kind.

Someone asked me today to elaborate more on “Sweetness  Training” and it occurred to me that the first part of the training begins with me. I need to be sweet so that what my children catch are:

Sweet words. Sweet hugs. Sweet moments.

A very wise Mama said today “You never yell at your kids and say something sweet. It’s always harsh and something you regret.” So true!

Another part of Sweetness Training is to make it fun as much as possible. Not every wrong has to be a long drawn out death sentence. My husband is so good at correcting one of the children and encouraging them to be kind while training them to do the right thing.

A few things we always consider before we start a training moment are:

Is the child wet? (diaper)

hungry?

dehydrated? thirsty?

tired? over due for a nap?

Any one of these things can make a child cranky. I am cranky when I’m hungry and even worse when I’m tired.

So Sweetness Training cannot be done properly if these areas are neglected. If a child is just plain tired, put them to bed. If they fuss, fight, whine, save their  training for another time while you help them to get what they need….a nap :-)

I do not let them freak out, hit, scream or go to extreme’s in protesting but if my child is whining about going to sleep I try to remember to tenderly help them go potty, get a drink if they need one, and carry them to bed (talking about younger ages here) Tuck them in and let them know that when they wake up a nice popsicle ( since it’s been boiling outside ) will be waiting for them after they take a good nap.

I must add we have children who have missed their naps and whine at the thought of a late nap. It’s my fault they are napping late, not theirs. If I decide they can stay up longer and play then they have a fit when it’s time for a nap, then next time I need to make sure they get to sleep on time. Routines are so critical to a child’s happiness and a home’s harmony:-)

I have had older children who were cranky and  needed a nap but didn’t realize it. I have made them go to bed. Sure enough 2 hrs later they will come down feeling much happier. One thing I like to teach my girls is to pay attention to their emotions. If they are tired I tell them to rest and to let me know they will be taking a break. If they are hungry, get something to eat, and if I’ve said “no more eating till dinner” and they are starving, then to come talk to me.

Big children still need our guidance and love just as much as they did when they were two yrs old. I hope to share more on this in the future but for now you can read how we used  Bug Juice to help one child go from sour to sweet.

~Cinnamon