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5 Minute Fridays/ FAMILY/ Parenting/ Spiritual

Parenting With Merciful Consistency

Hebrews 4:16 Scripture Verse
I’m happy to be linking up to Lisa-Jo Baker’s Five Minute Fridays.  She gives us a word,
we write for 5 minutes.  That is it.  Pure unedited love of the written word.

mer·cy
ˈmərsē/
noun
  1. 1.
    compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom
    it is within one’s power to punish or harm.

Parenting teens and preteens.  This is what is on my mind.
Oh to get it right.  Oh to do right by them.
To be the Mom that they look to, rise up and call blessed.

Lord you know the desires of my heart,
to reflect your Love so that they might know you.

Buttons get pushed and triggers set off
My own stuff– much dealt with & removed by Your Mercy
Yet comes creeping back.  The enemy does this you know.  He creeps in.
His whispers “your failing…control them…you will never get it right…they will never get it right”
He strikes with fear & shame, convincing that I cannot trust, that I am in charge, that I am going to fail.

But Mercy.

This word.  It lacks judgement.  It lacks sighs and eye rolls.  It is kind.
 It requires courage and a soft heart. Tolerance. Forbearance. A quiet, firm and steady trust.
An acknowledgement of who really is in control.  It is You, Lord, not I.  They are Yours.

How to be a consistent parent, yet show mercy?  Merciful consistency.
High standards, expecting much, yet merciful.
Fighting tooth and nail this entitlement culture my girls are going up in, yet with mercy.

I need wisdom.
LORD, HAVE MERCY.

5
FAMILY/ Healthy Eating/ HOME/ Homemaking/ Meals/ Parenting/ RECIPES

14 Healthy School Lunch Recipes Your Kids Will Love

 

How do I  know your kids will love these? Because mine do!  With summer break coming to an end, I decided to gather my favorite recipes to add to my girls school lunch boxes.  I will refer to this list often, to keep me out of the “peanut butter and jelly sandwich” rut.  Even if I do give them a pb & j sandwich, at least they will have some interesting and yummy sides!

Heavenly Hummus Sandwich
The apples and sweet dried cranberries make this sandwich kid friendly.
Udon noodles with sesame seeds and peas
The clementine juice in these noodles give a hint of sweetness.  We never have leftovers when I make these noodles.  Can be eaten hot or cold.
orange homemade fruit roll up
These are so easy to make and very versatile.  Use what fruit you have on hand, especially those that are starting to go soft.
chocolate peanut butter chia pudding with raspberries
This can be breakfast, lunch or snack.  It has wholesome oats in it and the amazing superfood, chia.  Chia has great fiber, protein and more omega’s than flax!  They are flavorless and help thicken  this pudding.
slieced applesauce bread
This bread is simple and delicious.  Uses ingredients that we always have on hand.
Peanut butter banana chia seed roll ups
Another great way to use those chia seeds!  These are protein filled thanks to the peanut butter and chia.
Whole wheat banana honey muffins
These muffins are so moist and this recipe makes a ton of them!  I freeze at least half.  You will love this recipe.
Crockpot apple sauce in mason jars
Great fall recipe, but really we make it all year long.  Just grab an extra bag of apples when you are at the store, throw them in the crockpot, and enjoy the amazing scent this recipe gives the entire house!
These are delicious and have gone viral on Pinterest, with many raving about the recipe.  It is a must try!  You will love knowing there are no preservatives and less salt in your kids crackers!
Black bean soup with spoon
This soup is perfect for a lunch box thermos.  It is a breeze to whip together the night before.  It is one of my MOST easy recipes, and has lots of great fiber and protein.
Crunch roasted chickpeas
I’m amazed at how a simple bean can become a healthy crunchy snack with just minutes in the oven.  Use these in place of chips!  Much more healthy & full of nutrition.
Lunch box smoothies
My girls LOVE when I put these in their lunches.  I take them straight from the freezer and by lunch time they have thawed perfectly.  I love knowing they are getting such nutritious berries and fruit in their lunches.
Cheesy Kale chips
These are actually vegan, but get a cheezy flavor from nutritional yeast.  Nutritional yeast is packed with vitamin B12 and is a popular ingredient in the vegan world, often used in place of Parmesan cheese.  These kale chips are a weekly staple in our home.  So nutritious. So delicious!
Orzo and roasted fall vegetables
My girls beg me to make this recipe.  They love the little bits of pasta, and the amazing flavor comes from roasted veggies that have been chopped so small that the girls have no idea that they are eating kale and a load of other veggies.  Winning!

///

Other posts on School Lunches from New Nostalgia:
School Lunch Plan: No More Baggies & A Free School Lunch Planner

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FAMILY/ Parenting

Charts, Chores, Allowances & Behavior-Part 3-Purposeful Living

Todd Bowman New Nostalgia Purposeful living

These posts written by Todd (Amy’s husband) are designed to model a system of purposeful living.  At least once a month, he spends time setting meaningful goals around one of seventeen core priorities.

If you missed it, consider reading the foundation post – Purposeful Living #1.

Correct Priority

Priority #5 – Children (Emotional Health)

Goal – March 2012

Invest in the emotional health of my children by revising our chart, chore, allowance, and behavior system.  Specifically this means:

  • Revising our list of morning, afternoon, and evening routines/chores.
  • Developing an easier system of connecting routines/chores to an allowance.  The system must be easy to record and monitor.
  • Developing effective and easy to implement consequences for misbehavior.   

Goal Status
Completed

//
Living Room with clock and table

CHORES

ORDER – Obedience – Kindness – Peace – Honesty = BOWMAN FAMILY BEHAVIOR PLAN

Our method for managing the behavior of our children is captured in five words.  

ORDER refers to Daily Routines (Charts), Chores, and Allowances.

Chores
Chores are different than routines.  Chores typically take longer to complete than routines and are not necessarily done every day (although not always the case).  

I am a fan of chores.  Chores teach responsibility and hard work.  They allow a child to positively contribute to the family.  

There is no right or wrong way to do chores.  

Amy has a unique system where most days she gives each of our girl’s three chores and writes the chores underneath their name on the white board in our living room.  If necessary, there are also directions and a time frame written with the chores.

After our girls complete a chore they check off or place a line through the chore indicating it has been completed.  These chores typically change every day and are based on what Amy needs done around the house.       

But the three chores a day system isn’t the only way to distribute chores.  You can also assign children specific chores to do every day for a specific period of time (week, month, etc.).  For example, one child may do the dishes for a week while another is responsible for vacuuming.  

There are probably many other ways to distribute chores along with a million chores children could complete.  

The expectation in our home is that chores should be completed within the communicated time frame without complaint or argument.  

I have added Chores to the Evening Routine Chart.  Chores are assigned throughout the entire day and in the evening we determine whether chores were completed correctly or not.  Chores must be completed properly and without complaint in order for this box to get checked on the Evening Routine Chart.  

Complaining results in an automatic loss of allowance.  Refusal to complete the chore results in a significant consequence.  

In our home, chores are mandatory.  And our girls are expected to do as much or as little as Amy and I feel we need them to do.  Some days we work them hard.  Other days not so much.  

//

Build Your To-Do List Around Correct Priorities – Purposeful Living #1

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FAMILY/ Parenting

Goal Setting & Reflection | Children {Mental Health} | Purposeful Living Series

Todd Bowman with New Nostalgia


These posts written by Todd (Amy’s husband) are designed to model a system of purposeful living.  At least once a month, he spends time setting meaningful goals around one of seventeen core priorities.


If you missed it, consider reading the foundation post – Purposeful Living #1.




Goal Setting & Reflection-July 2013


Girl setting of fireworks on 4th of July
{Our Colsie, lighting off sssssnakes on the 4th Of July}


Correct Priority #5 – Children (Mental Health)  
Goal – July 2013
Identify important topics to share and/or discuss with my daughters on a regular basis.  

Thoughts
On a regular basis I will read something or learn something that I think would be valuable for my daughters to know, be aware of, or understand.  Then minutes later I forget about the topic never share it with my girls.

Rather than getting by on good intentions, I want to start keeping a list of these topics and then engage my girls in discussions about them on a regular basis.  

These topical discussions don’t have to be long.  They can be short, some just a few minutes.  

The inspiration for these topics can come from anywhere including Youtube videos, snippets from books or magazines, television or movie clips, etc.      


Build Your To-Do List Around Correct Priorities – Purposeful Living #1

Purposeful Living Outline



Emotional Health/ FAMILY/ HOME/ Organizing/ Parenting/ Simplifying

Morning Routine For a Work at Home Mom

I’m a huge fan of Amy’s daily routine posts, and because of that have wanted to share my own morning routine with you all. It’s just me and the kiddo right now, and I’m very lucky that she’s so helpful in the mornings and understands the importance of getting everything ready to go!

6:00: Both alarms go off: mine in my room, and kiddo’s in hers.
6:01: I use the toilet and then go to the kitchen to drink a full glass of water. I read about this in French Women Don’t Get Fat. Not sure if it’s kept me from gaining any weight, but it can’t hurt.
Rock balancing

 

6:05-6:35: While my fashion-conscious ninth-grader does her bathroom routine, I roll out my yoga mat and perform the Five Essential Asanas. Kiddo’s going to get a full round of gym and soccer practice today, but I need to find ways to squeeze in my own exercises. These asanas are specifically designed to stretch the entire body, which is something I appreciate more and more every year. I get one full-length yoga class on Saturdays, but this quick daily practice is enough to keep me flexible and centered between sessions.
6:35-6:45: My turn in the bathroom. I don’t take very long. I have a wash-and-go pixie cut and have long learned that at my age, I look better with very little makeup. I tend to rock a moisturizing wrinkle cream with sunscreen and Retin-A, and just a bit of colored, flavored lip gloss. Yes, I am a grown woman who still buys Bonne Bell. Some things never change.
6:45-7:00: Breakfast time! It’s nearly always cereal and fruit. We save complicated breakfasts like pancakes and eggs for the weekend. Kiddo is trying to get me hooked on eating yogurt with my cereal, which is something she picked up while on a choir trip to London last year. I don’t like eating that much food in the morning, so I tend to stick to my usual skim milk. Cereal also means very few dishes: we clear up our bowls and spoons and put them straight into the dishwasher.
7:00-7:05: Time for us to grab our bags and go. I recently invested in a new briefcase to carry my laptop, client material and electronic chargers (one each for the laptop, smartphone and Kindle). Having a professional-looking briefcase helps me take myself seriously even during a long day of insane client requests.
7:05-7:30: We have to be in the car to make it to kiddo’s 7:30 high school start time. I am going to be so glad when she is old enough to drive herself, but at the same time I’m already worried – I’ve seen the research about teens and sleep, and how changing melatonin levels mean she won’t be fully awake until 9:00 or so. Even right now she falls asleep in the car at least two or three times a week – but carefully, so she doesn’t mess up her hair! 
Cup of coffee
 

7:30-7:45: After dropping kiddo off at the high school, it’s time for me to hit the coffee shop. My favorite local joint has comfortable chairs, super-fast wifi and the best cappuccino in town. I open my laptop, check my email and get ready to face my clients. Yes, I’m a “work at home” mom, but that doesn’t mean I have to do all my work from my house! 

As much as I wish my daughter had a later HS start time, part of me is really glad that I get to start my day so early. Since I need to be ready to pick her up at 3:00, it’s good that I get a full seven hours of work before it’s time to start the evening rush. Between soccer, church choir, play practice and homework, we’re on the go until at least 9:00 p.m. – but I’ll have to save our evening routine for another post!
———-
Christina Moore
Christina Moore is a freelance writer, and stay-at-home Mom in San Diego, CA. She is enjoys staying fit with weekly yoga sessions, running along the beach.
*consideration was received for the editing and publishing of this article
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FAMILY/ Parenting

Charts, Chores Allowances & Behavior – Part 2 – Purposeful Living

Purposeful Living Series


These posts written by Todd (Amy’s husband) are designed to model a system of purposeful living.  At least once a month, he spends time setting meaningful goals around one of seventeen core priorities.


If you missed it, consider reading the foundation post – Purposeful Living #1.

Correct Priority

Priority #5 – Children (Emotional Health)


Goal – March 2012
Invest in the emotional health of my children by revising our chart, chore, allowance, and behavior system.  Specifically this means:

  • Revising our list of morning, afternoon, and evening routines/chores.
  • Developing an easier system of connecting routines/chores to an allowance.  The system must be easy to record and monitor.
  • Developing effective and easy to implement consequences for misbehavior.   

Goal Status
Completed

DAILY ROUTINES

ORDER – Obedience – Kindness – Peace – Honesty = BOWMAN FAMILY BEHAVIOR PLAN


Our method for managing the behavior of our children is captured in five words.  

ORDER refers to Daily Routines (Charts), Chores, and Allowances.


Own System
There are many chart systems out there, but none of them connected charts to an allowance in the very specific way we wanted.  So we created our own chart, chore, and allowance system.  

Daily Routine Charts
A routine is something necessary, but simple, that is done nearly every day.  Routines typically take just a few minutes to complete.  If the activity takes several minutes, it may not be a routine, but rather a chore.  

A chart system is perfect for routines because instead of following your children around nagging them to do things like brush their teeth or make their bed, you can just tell them to go do their chart.  

A good chart system both teaches responsibility and makes a positive difference in keeping a home organized.  The expectation is they complete the entire chart correctly.  If they choose not to complete it properly, they receive a consequence.  

In our case, Amy & I create new charts as often as we feel we need to, usually at the beginning of each school year.  The routines are always changing based on the ages of our girls and based on our own experience of things we consider important.  

Below is a list of the routines found on our charts for morning, afternoon, and evening.  
Chore list

Morning Routines

Click here for an editable version of our Morning Routine chart

Allowance – Carried Over
Allowance – Upon Completion
No Screens
Breakfast
Clear Dishes
Vitamins
Dressed
PJ’s Away
Make Bed
Hair
Brush Teeth
Homework In Backpack
Backpack Ready
Lunch Box Ready
Shoes Ready
Coat Ready
Pick Up Personals
Allowance Total

Afternoon Routines

Click here for an editable version of our Afternoon Routine

Allowance – Carried Over
Allowance – Upon Completion
No Screens
Shoes In Basket
Backpack Emptied On Table
Backpack Hung Up
Lunch Bag Hung Up
Snack
Snack Cleaned Up
Allowance Total


Evening Routines

Click here for an editable version of our Evening Routine.

Allowance – Carried Over
Allowance – Upon Completion
No Screens
Snack
Pick Up Personals
PJ’s
Dirties In Hamper
Clean Clothes Hung Up
Brush/Floss
Clean Sink Area
Devotions
Chores
Allowance Total
   
Chore Chart Definitions
Allowance – Carried Over:  Our girls earn a small allowance each time they successfully complete a chart.  This box keeps a running total of the amount they have earned.  

Allowance – Upon Completion:  This box indicates how much they will earn upon successful completion of the chart.  

Allowance Total: Allowance–Carried Over + Allowance-Upon Completion = Allowance Total


Dining room area
Child using a board for chores
Here is the board we use.  It is in a very central location in our home and works really well.

We print out our charts, laminate them, and attach them to our white board with magnets.  They are not pictured above, but fit perfectly under the area where we list daily chores for out girls.

To learn how Amy put their names on the board, click here.

—————–

 
Build Your To-Do List Around Correct Priorities – Purposeful Living #1

Purposeful Living Outline


Additional Posts In This Series


FAMILY/ Parenting

Strengthening Our Daughter’s Knee – Purposeful Living

Purposeful living series by Todd Bowman


These posts written by Todd (Amy’s husband) are designed to model a system of purposeful living.  At least once a month, he spends time setting meaningful goals around one of seventeen core priorities.

If you missed it, consider reading the foundation post – Purposeful Living #1.


Correct Priority
Priority #5 – Children (Physical Health)

Goal – March 2013
Assist my daughter Colsie in daily completing her physical therapy to strengthen and repair the damage in her knee.  

Goal Status
Completed

UPDATED Thoughts About Goal – June 2013
After setting this goal in March I spent an entire week reminding Colsie in the kindest and most motivating manner I could muster that she needed to be doing her leg and knee strengthening exercises multiple times a day.

I offered to help her with her exercises, but she had no interest in this whatsoever.  She gave me that “absolutely not” look.  So I limited myself motivational reminders.

Young girl with short hair cut
{Isn’t she a cutie?}

It was a struggle most of that first week.  She wasn’t in a habit of doing her exercises twice a day, didn’t like doing them, and lacked motivation.  But my gentle reminders did result in her completing her exercises more frequently.

After a week of consistent exercising, Colsie returned to the physical therapist and received a report that she had made significant improvement.  Her knee was healing and strength was improving in her leg.

Colsie was so excited at this report that she started doing her exercises four times a day instead of two and completed many more repetitions than was required.  She no longer needed my encouragement and was working hard on her own.  Each week of therapy her diagnosis continued to improve and at the end of April she was told her knee was back to full strength.  

This is a big deal because she has been suffering from this injury for nearly a year and there was a general feeling through the first few weeks of therapy that things were not improving and more surgery might be needed.  

I am proud of Colsie and the hard work she did to get better.   

ORIGINAL Thoughts About Goal – March 2013
I purchased several volleyball training videos and had planned to use this time right now to work with my middle daughter Colsie on developing her volleyball skills to prepare for playing on a team this spring.

Instead she was diagnosed with a severe knee injury which will prevent her from playing sports of any kind for some time.  

Since this diagnosis I tend to forget about it most nights.  I depend on Colsie to find the motivation on her own to put in the work to get better.  Reviewing my Correct Priorities list today I felt I needed to be much more active in motivating and working with her in strengthening her knee.  I can transfer the time I was going to spend with her on volleyball to helping her get better.  


Build Your To-Do List Around Correct Priorities – Purposeful Living #1


Purposeful Living Outline

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