Teach Our Children Well

I have decided to change the way I blog. Instead of selecting random topics to blog about, I am going deeply focus on raising our children through multiple postings. The overall theme of the blogs will be "Teach Our Children Well" and will discuss topics on raising our children from before they are born/infancy, to the toddler years, preschool and into the elementary school years. Even though there will be a new posting everyday, this endeavor will take many weeks and even months to complete. I hope that you will add your comments, thoughts and suggestions to the blog that can be shared with other mothers.

Everything we do and say as parents sets an example for our children and molds them into the adult they will become. And although you may be past the stage I am blogging about, take the time to read the post and pass the information on to a mother you know who may be struggling at this stage. Mothers do not need to mother alone. We need to support and encourage one another every step of the way. Every mother needs a Momtourage.

Getting Rid of the Junk Mail

After being on vacation for 10 days with my family there were two things I dreaded when I returned home; laundry and mail. I knew the laundry could wait, but as with many previous experiences a large USPS bin would be on my porch overflowing with mail when we returned from vacation. Hopefully, changes I made before we left would alleviate the mass of junk mail that overwhelmed our small pile of regular mail when we arrived home.

Several months before we left, I made a decision to cut down on the amount of junk mail we received. I considered this decision as my little part for saving the earth but more importantly, this decision was about saving my time and being more organized. As with any organization project, it took some time on the front end to save me a lot of time on the back end but it was worth the effort.

During the first week of my new project, I tore off the covers of all of the catalogs I received and wrote the customer number, if I had one, in the bottom corner. I also took all of the junk mail out of their envelopes and kept only the cover letter. The catalog covers and cover letters from the week were kept in a pile on my desk. At the end of the week I sat down at my computer and began to take my name off all of the distribution lists for the catalogs and junk mail. I started by writing a short note requesting to be removed from the mail and email distribution lists, including my address, email address and customer number if available. I copied the note then went to the websites for each piece in my pile, found the "unsubscribe" or "contact us" tab and pasted my note in the appropriate box. When I had finished this process for each piece, I recycled the cover letters and placed the catalog covers in a binder so I could have a record of the catalogs I use. 

This whole process took me about an hour for 34 pieces of junk mail. The next day, I received 34 emails (which took some time to remove) that told me the company had received my email and would discontinue contacting me . Each week meant I had some new sites to contact but the number of these sites rapidly dwindled over the next few months. All in all, the whole process took about 3 hours to contact over 70 sites.

So, after ten days away from home, I went to the post office to pick up my mail. Instead of bringing me a large postal bin, the postal employee brought me only an arm load of mail. And all of the mail was relevant except for seven pieces of junk mail!

The time I spent at the beginning of this project was well worth the time I am saving now. 

Grocery Game Update

It's been almost five months since I began playing the Grocery Game and it's time for an update... 

Just some quick background information... I have a family of 5, shop weekly at two large grocery stores and two national drug stores and pay $25 a month for the service. I am careful to strictly follow my list and don't make many impulse purchases. This program includes savings on produce, meat, cleaning products, health and beauty, as well as national brands. And, it is not just prepackaged food. Dinner planning has become much easier because I have so much to choose from and don't have to make last minute runs to the store. My kids also like that they have fun snacks to serve their friends when they come over.

Here's what's happened for my family.

The first 4 weeks were a little time consuming because I was learning how to use the Grocery Game and catching up on clipping coupons. I would spend two hours looking at the sale lists online, selecting the products, printing the lists, and finding coupons. (I only use the coupons found in the newspaper and do not clip coupons online.) Since stockpiling items is part of successfully playing the Grocery Game, it took me longer initially because my lists for the stores I visit were much longer which caused me to spend more time in the stores. But checking out is where the payoff (literally) began! 

The site said that at 12 weeks I would be on the same coupon clipping schedule as the Grocery Game and shopping trips would be easier. They were right on. At 12 weeks, the length of my shopping lists fell dramatically and I had stockpiled so much food that I didn't need to buy as much each week. Also, because the stores in my area are close together, I can now go to four stores and shop for my groceries in one hour; thereby drastically cutting down the time that I spend in the stores. Not only that, I spend, on average, $100 a week for groceries and I have more food than ever! Last week I bought 46 items and only spent $89. The purchase included four packages of chicken breasts and several items that weren't even on sale. I also saved $44 on that trip! I have estimated that the savings is similar to receiving a $3-4,000 raise during the year. But, my favorite part is when I lock up the register at one store because I save so much money.

One drawback is that we may not always have the exact product that everyone likes but it gives us a chance to try new things. Before the Grocery Game, even though we spent a lot of money on food, there seemed to be very little of it. My kids would eat more often because the treats would be eaten first and they wanted to be sure to get some before it disappeared. Now, having this much food in the house prevents my children from over snacking and they make better choices. Who would have thought?

I have looked at other grocery saving websites but find this one the easiest and least time consuming to use. Now, every time I save money my kids ask me if I'm playing the Grocery Game. To try the Grocery Game visit www.grocerygame.com.

It's What's On The Inside That Matters

Yesterday I wrote about the wonderful lesson to be learned by watching Susan Boyle's performance on Britain's Got Talent however, how do we teach younger children to look for the inner beauty in others? The following example is how I taught my classroom students the importance of looking beyond appearance to discover people's real gifts. 

First, select two boxes that are the same size. Fill one box with some candy or treats and the other box with rocks. When you shake the boxes, the sounds should be about the same. Next, take a brown paper bag, crumble it, spill things on it and make it as messy as possible. Wrap the box of candy with this paper. Then, take some pretty wrapping paper, ribbon and bows and wrap the box of rocks. Once both boxes are wrapped, show them to your child and ask him which gift he would like to open and why. Most children will select the beautifully wrapped box thinking that there must be something really special in there. After they have opened it and find the rocks, let them open the messy package and find the candy. Now is the perfect time to start a conversation on the importance of inner beauty.

This is a simple lesson that will have an impact your child and teach the virtues of compassion and respect that will last a lifetime.

A Simple Lesson From a Simple Woman

I have been wanting to write about Susan Boyle ever since she became a worldwide sensation a few weeks ago. She has made a tremendous impact on my life and she doesn't even know it. Who is Susan Boyle and why has she made such an impact, you ask? Susan Boyle was the contestant on Britain's Got Talent who was heckled by the audience when she walked out on stage to sing in this talent competition. I admit, I was very skeptical that she could sing at all just by looking at her dowdy appearance. However, being a mom who abhors teasing, I was appalled by the audiences reaction to her as she took the stage. When Simon Cowell asked her what she was going to sing (I Dreamed a Dream, from Les Mis) and what singer she wanted to be compared to (Elaine Page), my heart began to sink for this underdog. I was sure she was going to be the William Hung of Britain and I certainly didn't want that to happen to the seemingly sweet and unassuming woman. Then, the music began, a hush fell over the audience and I held my breath. The song that came forth was absolutely incredible and brought the audience to their feet in a roar of applause. I didn't even know this woman, but my heart began to fill with joy for her and my eyes filled with tears for this amazing lesson she taught us.

Now Susan Boyle is known by millions, but I stop and think how many Susan Boyles do I come in contact with every day. This simple Scottish woman has reminded me that everyone has a gift and it doesn't matter how the gift is wrapped, just that we need to look inside the package to find the real beauty. A simple lesson, by a simple woman; how much more simple can it get?

Your Child's First Teacher

We know that we are our child's first teacher, but understanding the long term impact of our teaching won't be seen until our children are grown. The most important idea that we need to keep in mind is how we can be an effective teacher to our children.

My friend is a business coach who works with owners, executives and  managers assisting them in strengthening their leadership skills. Last week he wrote a blog about becoming a better leader and teacher in the business world. As I read his blog I compared it to the skills we need as parents and teachers to our children. Teaching children effectively now will provide them with the skills they need to become effective leaders and teachers in the future.

I encourage you to read his blog at http://uncommonsenseforleaders.blogspot.com.

Creativity at Work

I started my creative embroidery project and it started a flurry of creativity in the house. My two daughters, ages 13 and 7, have begun their own projects. My oldest daughter decided that she wanted me to embroider shirts for her and her best friend. Although I didn't want this to be screen related creativity, she found a really cute clip art that she wanted to use for the shirts. Once that was complete, she began to make a friendship bracelet from the multitude of embroidery floss laying about. My youngest daughter wanted to try her hand at embroidering also. Because I thought ahead, I gave her a piece of burlap, an embroidery hoop, a large needle and access to all of the floss. She thought she was really grown up. I was just going to let her make stitches but she surprised me with stitching a castle out of purple thread. Then she put orange and pink together and started to stitch a sunset. Next she moved on to the grass. She was so proud of her work that she brought it to class for sharing. Some of the boys even asked her to let them take a turn stitching. She was so proud. 

While all of us girls were working away in the family room, my son (11) decided to join us. His creative specialty is creative writing and drawing. He sat with us and asked if I would stitch a pillow for him of a golf course hole he designed. Quickly he grabbed a piece of paper and pencil and started in on his drawing. 

It has been a long time since we all sat in one room, without the TV or computer on, talking, laughing and sharing what we were doing. One small step for mom, one giant leap for the Mott Family.