Think back to something you loved about your childhood.  I’ll bet you called up a treasured family tradition or a memory of holidays with people you love. So much of our identity is wrapped up in the way we grew up and the way our family did things.   Traditions help us tell the story of who we are.
   I love the holidays.  Easter, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas….you name it, I love it!  We have traditions to commemorate nearly every major holiday and I love the way our family scrapbooks are a road map of our celebrations from year to year.  Now that my sons are grown, they still participate—with their own children in tow now—in the things that make each season special.   Traditions help us connect the generations.
   Several weeks ago as we were closing up the pool and winterizing the camper, our five year old grandson was really bummed.  He perked right up when I reminded him that when swimming and camping season was over, it was pumpkin time.  Traditions give kids a frame of reference for the changing of the seasons and a rhythm for our lives. 
   We can’t wait to visit Fulton Farms next week.  We’ll see the farm animals, play in the mini corn maze, get pictures with the “How Tall This Fall?” ruler and take a hayride to the pumpkin patch.  Everyone—Nana and Pops included—gets to select their favorite and struggles to carry a perfect, enormous pumpkin to the wagon. I love that we have pictures of our grandkids enjoying the same family traditions we have had since our boys were little.  Traditions unite us with one another.
   When Halloween gives way to Thanksgiving, we’ll enjoy having family from out of town come in for a big dinner with all the trimmings.  We might do some Black Friday shopping just for fun and then we always go downtown for the lighting of the big tree on that evening.  Afterward, you can count on leftover pie and hot cocoa to warm everyone up.  Traditions strengthen the bonds of families and help us pass on our values to younger generations.
   We try to work in some new things here and there.  We might go see the Christmas lights at the zoo or drive through a live nativity display, but the tried and true traditions are at the very heart of each season for me.  My daughter-in-law’s family decorates Christmas cookies as a family.  My family always traipses out to the tree farm to find a live tree.  Every family is different, but the importance of having shared experiences and building memories together is the key.
   Even small things that you always do together will take root and form special memories for your family.  One of my treasured possessions is the fork and knife set that my grandmother always used for carving turkey and ham for family dinners.  The knife isn’t even that sharp and the bone handles are not my personal style, but when I hold that set in my hands, it helps me recall gathering with cousins and aunts and uncles and my precious little grandma.  Traditions evoke an emotional connection to our loved ones.
   Be intentional about the customs you are creating with your kids.  They don’t need to be lavish or expensive, just a time for you to do things face to face with one another.  In a few short years, their childhood will be just a memory.  Make it a good one.

   ​Somewhere along the way, we’ve lost something.  As a nation, I think we’ve forgotten our manners.  Maybe it comes from ordering our dinner every night in the drive through line. Or maybe it’s just because we are too tired to add all of the vocal niceties that good manners require.   Or maybe, it’s because we are so wrapped up in “ME” that we’ve forgotten how to be “WE”.
   I can’t tell you how many kids come through our snack line and say, “I’ll take some fruit snacks” or “Give me an apple juice.”  At the beginning of the year, we start training them to start every request (not ORDER--request—‘cause that’s how we roll) with “May I please”.   They usually look at us like we have two heads the first few times we stop them and make them start over. 
   We spend a lot of time every day coaching kids on how to interact with adults and peers nicely.  “Get out of my way” should be, “Excuse me, please” and “I want a pencil” should be, “May I please have a pencil?” We also make them wait to speak when we are talking and avoid interrupting unless it is an emergency.   Is this nitpicky?  Maybe.  But I can tell you that when we stumble upon a child with good manners, they stand out in the crowd.  I imagine that it will serve them well throughout their lives when they go to a job interview or call a customer service help line.
   This issue screeched into the forefront of my mind this morning when a third grader saw a bus pass by while we were waiting on the buses to pick up the kids for school.  His knee jerk remark was, “Hey Dummy!  You were supposed to stop here!”  Yes.  A third grader. Talking about an adult bus driver.  Do you think maybe he’s heard a parent making remarks about other drivers in the car?  Kids are ALWAYS listening, folks.
   It also never ceases to amaze me how much kids are paying attention to boring things like politics.  They hear us—and adopt our attitudes.  We have become so partisan and vitriolic that it can’t help spreading to our kids.  Most of the time they don’t even understand why they hate one politician or another, but they know what the “right” side is.  I know we all have strong opinions about the direction our country should be going.  I know that we all want our own way and we think that our way is the only way.  But do you think we might learn something by hearing the perspective of another side?  Maybe there’s some common ground in the middle of all the divisiveness but we can’t even concede to that because we are so wrapped up in finger pointing and name calling.  Even if we can’t find any common ground, can’t we be polite to other humans?
   Maybe this should be a wake-up call for all of us.  When our ugly words seep into the brains of our Kindergarteners, we need to take a look at how we talk to one another.  Don’t we want our kids to talk politely to others?  If that’s the case, shouldn’t we be the BEST example in front of them?  And I’ll guarantee you that there is nowhere that you can privately say those ugly words that your child isn’t listening.  They may be playing in another room, but I promise that they can hear you. 
   Whether you are running this country or running your household, the example you set before your kids is the most powerful force on the planet. You know the best way to change the world?  Change the children.

    I’m one of THEM.  In a minute, some of you will be nodding your head, others will be sighing and quietly hating me. Here goes:  Christmas is coming!  I’m already working on Christmas projects and my shopping is well underway.  Go ahead, get the groaning and grouchy remarks out of the way.  But when you’re finished I’m going to give you some toy shopping advice. 
   First things first.  Spend a rainy Saturday going through the toys that you already have and weeding out the things they don’t play with.  I’m a grandma, so I can say this and no one can be offended:  If your kids have grandparents , they have too many toys.  And if your kids are in charge of making a Christmas gift list, you might as well just write down every junky thing that is advertised on Nickolodeon.   Ugh.  Those hot toys that your kids had to have last Christmas but dropped in the bottom of the toy chest in January have earned a space in your “donation” box.  Forget that they cost a small fortune and be realistic about what you hang onto.
   I’m not a fan of single use toys.  The Paw Patrol Lookout Tower is a toy that is single use.  It takes up a lot of space, and when Paw Patrol is outgrown (it WILL happen someday—I promise!) that toy is practically useless.  I much prefer toys that are open ended, like a good set of blocks.  They can be made into sky scrapers, dollhouses, roads, fire stations, etc. and kids from preschool through grade school can play with them.   The number of things you can build with a sturdy set of unit blocks or a solid collection of Legos is endless.
   Classic games and puzzles are always a hit.  For younger kids, Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly Junior, matching games, and wooden puzzles are a safe choice.  Playing a family game around the table or putting puzzles together is a great way to spend an evening that doesn’t involve television or other technology.  Games that teach color recognition (Candy Land) for preschoolers or math skills (Yahtzee) for older kids are a double bonus! 
   To foster creativity, art supplies or journals are also a great idea.  Gel pens, artist quality colored pencils, detailed coloring books, high quality paper pads, good watercolor paints and “how to draw” books are excellent for nurturing budding artists.  Bead kits for making necklaces, shrink film (remember Shrinky Dinks when you were a kid?), and basics like pipe cleaners and yarn for open ended projects are also art kit essentials.
   Before you add something to your shopping list, ask yourself these questions: 
1.        Where will this be stored and how will I manage it?  Toys like Legos that come with a thousand tiny pieces should also come with a storage container.  Once that box is torn up and the bags are ripped open, you’ll be glad you thought ahead about where you were going to keep these toys.
2.       Will this toy stand the test of time?  If it is a fad and will only be cool for a week or two after Christmas, steer clear. 
3.       What do I have to get rid of to bring this new thing into my home?  If your playroom is already full, you need to be realistic about what you can keep.  Having too many toys makes playroom clean up unmanageable and creates extra stress for you and your kids. 
   Be watching next week for my follow up to this blog post—Gifts That Don’t Need a Box. 
​

          We are a lot of fun at The Rec.  We come up with all kinds of crazy plans to make sure the kids have fun and memorable experiences.  Over the years, we’ve done some things that have been really good ideas and we’ve also done some things that have been terrible ideas.  Here are some examples:

1.  Ant Farm—When you have ants in your home, you call an exterminator.  When we have ants at The Rec, we call an exterminator.  Why, then, would we have thought that buying a flimsy plastic “farm” and filling it with Fire Ants was a good idea?  I mean, ants are fascinating creatures and all—did you know that they build a little cemetery and drag their dead friends into it?  But what happens when someone uncaps the lid?  I’ll tell you exactly what happens.  Ants find their way out of the nice farm home you provided and spread out everywhere in your room.  And who wants to catch them and try to stuff them back in the tiny hole they came out of? No one!  Who HAD to catch them?  Me.  Bad idea.  Very bad idea.
2. Hatching Chicks—Watching a chick hatch from an egg is absolutely breathtaking.  It is a beautiful moment of new life and hope and you can actually hear angels singing when it happens.  We thought this would be such a great experience for the kids so we got an incubator, procured some eggs, carefully tended the humidity levels and temperature and waited.  One morning before school, two of the eggs started rocking and moving around.  Tiny little holes appeared in the shell and we held our breath…..until it was time for the buses to come and then the kids had to go to school.  Unfortunately, they missed the best parts of the whole experience, but Susan and I stayed and watched.  One of the chicks hatched out perfectly.  The other chick still had not absorbed the remainder of the yolk sac through his navel.  (Did you even know that chickens have belly buttons?  Crazy!)  We immediately researched the problem and found out that the chicken would likely die because of infection.  Some people had limited success with a little “chicken surgery” using dental floss to tie off the yolk sac and seal up the navel.  Unfortunately, in that nice warm incubator, the yolk was now stuck to his little chicky belly and we had to give him a little chicky bath to get it loose enough to tie on the dental floss.  All of this trauma gave him a little chicky heart attack and the kids got to learn about new life AND death all in the same day.  Very bad idea.
3. Homemade Ice Cream—Doesn’t that sound fun?  You take a small zipper bag of the ingredients and place it inside a gallon size bag of ice and rock salt and then you shake it up until the ice cream hardens.  That would all be such a great idea if the children just shook it like the kids in the pictures did.  No….our kids were way too wild and before we knew it, the bags were leaking and salty water and sticky ice cream fixings were all over the floor.  Also, not one of our better ideas. 

     I could tell you stories of coloring Easter eggs and carving pumpkins and using rubber gloves like udders for painting during farm week.  The list of bad ideas we’ve had is a mile long, in fact!  The good thing is, the bad ideas DO make GOOD stories. 

     Ahhhh….summer: time for family barbeques, endless days of popsicle juice on the kitchen floor, and sibling squabbling.  From sunup to sundown, it seems like the number and variety of things to argue about are as generous as the weeds in your flower beds.  Just when you’ve solved one problem, the next one is seeping in to take its place.  It’s enough to make a mama want to stick knives in her ears!
      Even with 30,000 toys in the playroom, the only one anyone wants to play with is the one their brother has.  No matter how many times you’ve coached them to ask nicely for a turn, snatching that toy from their sister is always the go-to technique for acquiring what they want.
     My grandkids have claimed their own barstools at the kitchen counter at my house.  Want to see them get bent out of shape in a hurry?  Let their sibling climb onto the stool that is “theirs”.  And even if everyone sits on the right stool, they love to stick their feet on the stool of their neighbor.  If that doesn’t elicit a response right away, they will give the other stool a little shove to make sure the offended party notices that they are being messed with. 

     What’s a parent to do?  How can you keep your cool when the world around you is in meltdown mode? 

1.  Establish a “no tattling” policy and try to stay out of the fray.  It is actually a good thing for them to learn to solve petty disagreements on their own.  If you intervene and solve problems constantly, they don’t learn to negotiate with others and you become a pawn in their Game of Crazy.  (At the Rec, we define tattling like this:  Is someone going to get hurt?  Is something going to get broken?  Have you tried to solve it yourself?  If the answer is no, then we want them to go back and try to take care of it themselves.) 
2. If there is a problem that they can’t solve themselves, try a little cooling off area.  We often send kids to the game table to have a little quiet time.  They can do a puzzle or play a board game or build with Lego bricks, but they have to stay there for an appointed amount of time.  It isn’t a time out, just a time to cool down and diffuse the situation.  And since both offenders are generally sent there, they usually end of playing something together.
3. For bigger offenses, a little more “togetherness” might be just the ticket.  When my kids were little, I would make them hold hands if they couldn’t get along.  They could do anything they wanted as long as they held the other’s hand.  It is hard to play without cooperating when you only have one hand to work with and you have to agree on where you’re going.  If they kept fighting, I’d just add time to their sentence.  It was amazing to see how creative they could get when they decided to work together.
4. For kids who can’t keep their hands to themselves, we often make them clasp their own hands together.  Again, they aren’t in time out and they can do whatever they want as long as their hands are clasped. 
5. If using words nicely seems to be the root of the problem, we just impose a “silence” penalty.  They can continue to play, but they aren’t allowed to speak for a period of time.  Generally, we find that they are more judicious with their speech when the privilege of speaking has been suspended for a little while.  And, if nothing else, you get a few minutes of quiet time.

     If you’ve tried all of these techniques and the quarreling is still driving you nuts, here’s a little hope.  My boys were arch enemies when they were growing up.  No matter how many times I had serious discussions about how fortunate they were to have a brother, they weren’t buying it.  What finally made them ditch the fighting and start appreciating each other?  Time and distance and a tiny bit of maturity.  When the older son moved out, it wasn’t two weeks before he started inviting his brother to his apartment to have pizza and hang out.  So take heart, parents!  You only have 10-15 years left of listening to all this bickering before it will be over.  :)

   The other day I saw a meme on Facebook that said, “One of the greatest threats to America is that the school system is not teaching the next generation morals…..”  What?! It went on with a list of things that the school system isn’t teaching, but the whole thing just made me shake my head. 
    First, let me tell you that in the amount of time in a school day minus the time spent on recess, in the lunch line, waiting on everyone to use the restroom, taking attendance and managing a classroom full of squirmy kids, we should be grateful that they learn to read and write and do basic math.  As a kid, the school day may have dragged on forever, but for teachers, the day flies by and there Is often a whole pile of things that had to be cut out of the lesson plan because there just isn’t enough time in the day. 
    All of that aside, what really irked me is how we, as a nation, are all too willing to pass the responsibility for raising our kids to someone else. When did the school system become liable for parenting too?  Just because you send your child to school, it doesn’t negate all of the training that you should be doing at home.  It is OUR job to teach our kids manners and morals and the value of hard work.  It is OUR job to teach our child to have integrity and treat people how they want to be treated. 
    There are 168 hours in a week.  If your child sleeps 10 hours per day, you still have 98 hours of teachable moments in a week.  Even if they go to school for 6 hours per day, they still have 68 hours a week that they are with you or with someone you designate.  I know that many of those hours are being filled with dance lessons and scout meetings and ball games, but you are in control of the schedule.  If you don’t have time to pour into teaching your kids to be decent humans, then pare down the sports activities. 
    I home schooled my kids, so all the burden for teaching morals AND math skills rested squarely on my shoulders. (I know that isn’t the lifestyle for everyone and I’ll be the first to tell you that if you don’t feel called to it you probably aren’t cut out for it.)  My point is that they were MY kids and MY responsibility.  If I took them to an art class at Hayner, I expected them to be taught art.  I never expected that the art teacher would take over my job of teaching my kids to be hard workers. 
    You are the first and best teacher for your kids.  What you teach them will be more important than anything they’ll learn in school about the Revolutionary War or Geometry.  Lessons about friendship and the value of family are best learned IN THE FAMILY.  Lessons about money management and people skills will be learned at the knee of the parents.  In fact, we need to be careful about what we model at home, because no amount of “schooling” is strong enough to overcome the attitudes and behaviors that you will make the norm in your home. 
    I’ll wrap this up by saying, “Yay, teachers!”  Your job is hard and you are often underappreciated.  You are doing great work in teaching quadratic equations and sentence diagramming!  But parents, let’s make sure that we understand that our job is all of the other stuff.  We will raise better citizens by passing on the morals and values that we feel strongly about and leaving the school system to do what it was meant to do:  educate.  

     It’s open window season, when all the neighbors get to hear just how happy your household is….or isn’t.  Does your place need a happiness overhaul?  Sometimes we just need to press the reset button to get back on track.  Here are a few of my best secrets for righting the ship.

1.  Ditch perfection, embrace realism.  I love Pinterest.  I can gaze at someone else’s magazine-worthy living room all day long.  I love watching HGTV and don’t mind standing in the check-out line if I can browse through decorating magazines.  The problem with this addiction is that comparison is the thief of joy.  As I look at the paint colors and the furniture, it makes me reevaluate my own home and how out of date it looks compared to the newest trends.   

In these photo shoots, there is very little evidence of real life.  Where are the shoes kicked off under the coffee table or the stray toys and dog bones lying on the carpet?     When I was raising kids, I drove myself crazy picking up after everyone.  It made me angry and resentful to constantly remind people to put their things away, or even worse, to pick up their things myself.  Finally, when I had enough, I started thinking strategically about the problem.  I ditched HGTV perfection and embraced Grant Street realism.

For instance, since shoes were a major issue, I put a shoe rack by the back door and a large basket by the front door.          This doesn’t look beautiful, but it keeps the mess corralled.  Shoes that aren’t on feet have to go in one of these two              places.  I got the boys on board with the new plan quite simply.  Shoes that I had to pick up would be hidden.  They                could have them back whenever they found them.  The first time, I hid them in easy enough spots but then subsequent          offenses were met with more creative hiding places and I quit hiding them in pairs.  No more yelling or cajoling.  (From          me, at least—hahahaha!)

2.  Know yourself.  I don’t like to be rushed.  I am not a procrastinator because I hate the pressure of finishing things under the gun.  When I have company, I like to spend the last hour or so before the event reading a good book.  I don’t want to be cooking or finishing a last minute decoration when people arrive.  The underlying issue here is that I’m a control freak and there is nothing that makes me feel out of control faster than time pressure.  Because I know this about myself, it informs the way I live.  When I entertain, I only serve foods that can be prepared ahead of time and I make any decorations and favors well ahead of time.  This way, my family will still like me when the party starts.  Maybe this isn’t a problem for you, but I bet you can relate with whatever it is that makes you grouchy and mean.  Know yourself and what makes you feel good, then find ways to make this the norm for your household. 
 
3.  Check your perspective.   There is nothing like volunteering for checking your perspective.  When I help someone who needs it, I find that it makes me appreciate the things I take for granted.  I also think this works in a similar way with our kids.  Get them involved in helping out in your community.  Serve at a soup kitchen.  Help at a food pantry.  Serving together affords your family many new opportunities to discuss the needs of others.  When we direct our focus on others, it takes the emphasis off the things we don’t have and makes us aware of how blessed we really are. 

We offer a summer reading program that pairs older teens and adult volunteers with kids in our community to eat lunch and read during the lunch hour.  It is a great program and all of our own kids have grown up volunteering for it.  In households where enough food is never a worry, sometimes we forget that lunch is not a guarantee for every kid.  (P.S. We're always looking for volunteers, so let me know if you want to help out!)

4.  Express genuine gratitude.  Thank others and model gratitude for your kids.  Everyone likes to be acknowledged and appreciated.  When we say “thank you” out loud, it sets a tone for the household that positive and encouraging.    Look for opportunities to point out good behavior in your kids.  I get it….sometimes you really have to search for it.  When we have a student at the Rec that I find myself getting after frequently, I try to watch closely for a chance to praise them and thank them for making a good choice.  Does it do miracles?  Not always, but I do think that it makes them more inclined to repeat that behavior.

​So do you need to do a happiness overhaul?  What are your secrets for back on track when you find yourself off the rails?

​    Here are all the things I knew about parenting before I became one:

1. My kid would never scream bloody murder in the grocery store.
2. And, similarly, I would never buy a candy bar in the checkout line just because they didn’t throw a fit in the store.
3. My kids’ clothes would always match and they would always look clean.
4. I would never use spit to wipe smudges off my kids’ faces.
5. I would never say, “Because I said so” like it was a good enough answer.
6. I would always make my kids eat what was served and would not cater to picky eaters.
7. I would change my clothes immediately if the baby spat up on me.
8. I would never buy ugly Velcro strap shoes.
9. I would never let the kids sleep in my bed.
10. I would never put my kids in front of the television just to get a moment’s peace.
11. I would never do something for them that they could do for themselves.
12. I would always treat my children the same.
13. I would never have to guess at parenting because I knew all about child development.
14. I would never lose my cool and I couldn’t understand how a parent could ever abuse a child.
15. I would never rescue my child from his own irresponsible behavior.

    Maybe you, like me, had a preconceived idea of what parenting would be like.  After all, babies are so sweet and innocent and I’d read all the books.  Heck, I even worked with kids for years before I had one of my own. 
    I could spot a lousy parent a mile off.  They were the ones that looked like they hadn’t showered and had three kids screaming in the grocery cart that they were filling with prepackaged junk food.  They were the ones whose kids looked like they picked out their own outfit and had chocolate smeared all over their hands and faces.  I knew that I would never have left the house that way.  I knew that my kids wouldn’t act like that because I would know how to handle a toddler’s tantrums in the bread aisle. 
    I was such an expert.  When I’d hear about children who had been abused on the news, I could scarcely believe that a parent could treat their child that way.  But then…..kids came along.  Kids who had strong opinions and kept me on my toes from sunup to sundown.  Kids who made messes they wouldn’t clean up and got dirty seconds after I had bathed them.  Kids who climbed into my bed in the night and I was too tired to fight with. 
    It’s funny how a little real life experience can turn your ideas upside down.  I remember the first time I was beyond frustrated and had to cool off on the front porch because I was on the verge of discipline getting out of hand.  I sat there thinking, “This is how parents abuse their children.”  I realized that all of my “expertise” was really just book knowledge and when the rubber met the road, parenting was really hard. 
    So for all the moms in the grocery or at the park that I looked down on back in the good ol’ days when I knew everything, I’m sorry.  I’m sorry I judged you.  I’m sorry I thought I was better than you.  And I’m sorry that I didn’t give you a kind smile and a little grace.  Because really, for every wonderful part about parenting there are two or three parts that are not as easy and wonderful.  If you’re in the trenches right now and you know what I’m talking about, hang in there.  And the next time you see another tired mama who is holding onto her sanity by a thread, give her some compassion.  After all, she probably thought she was an expert at one time too.

    ​I’m in a fight with my dog.  He’s a great dog, don’t get me wrong, but he is ruining my sofa.  He is not allowed on the furniture and he has his own perfectly wonderful dog beds both upstairs and down, but he is determined to do what he wants when we’re not home.   As soon as we leave, he thinks he’s the king of the castle.  Literally….before I get to the end of the street, I have proof that he’s getting on the couch.
    This is not a lap dog we’re talking about.  He’s a 70 pound Golden Retriever with enough hair to cover two or three whole dogs.  If you sit on the couch he likes, you’ll be wearing half a dog when you stand up.  He is partial to one end of the preferred sofa so that he can look out the window.  (Never mind that we have a house full of big windows that he can see out of from the floor.)  The cushions on that end of the sofa are starting to sag from his daily ritual.  The throw pillows get knocked to the floor constantly and they are starting to show wear as well from where he smashes them down and his toenails get hooked on the embroidered fabric. 
    I decided to attack this from several angles to change his behavior.  First, I bought him a new, super soft bed.  Then I tied his favorite toy to it and filled the toy with peanut butter.  He promptly chewed the rope in half and took the Kong somewhere else to clean it out. Then I started training him to go to his bed by offering treats every time he did what I asked. 
    Next, I made the sofa off limits by placing a large piece of aluminum foil over it when I was leaving.  (It really does work—thanks, Pinterest!)  Unfortunately, he just decided to get on the sofa in the other room.  When I realized what he was doing, I put foil on that sofa too.  And just for good measure, I added it to my favorite chair in case he got any bright ideas about that.  When I left the next time, he got on an antique chair that is so small I don’t even know how he fit.  Lesson learned, I covered it in foil too.  The next time I left, he got on the ottoman.  Grrrrrrrr!  Now that I’d used an entire roll of aluminum foil and every piece of furniture had foil on it, I thought he’d finally get the idea that he needs to relocate to the floor or his new bed.  That’s a big resounding, “Nope.”  The first time I neglected to leave the foil out, he was right back at it again.
    I decided the only answer was to get a camera and correct him from wherever I am.  I ordered a motion sensitive baby that dings my phone when there’s movement and allows me to talk through it.  He was a little surprised to hear me yell, “Get off that couch!” when I wasn’t even home.  We’re still in this battle. He’s not doing it as often, but it certainly isn’t over yet.  (In fact, if you hear a crazy woman yelling into her phone in the aisle at Kroger, that’s probably me.)
    Maybe you’ve got a behavior problem you’re dealing with.  I’m not suggesting that your kids are anything like my dog, but there might be something to learn here anyway.  Parenting isn’t something that goes by the book.  Each child and family is different and has its own set of challenges.  My point is about perseverance.  Keep trying new methods until you find something that works.  Is your bedtime routine leaving you exhausted and you don’t know how to right the ship?  Does the mess in your child’s room or playroom make you want to pull all your hair out?  Whatever those frustrations are, just try something.  And if it doesn’t work….try something else.  We all have areas that could be better and taking a step in the right direction is always good.  Just keep taking those steps until you reach the destination.
    As for me and the dog—I’ll guarantee you that I’m going to win this fight.  I have a few ideas up my sleeve if this camera doesn’t do the trick.  I’ll let you know how it works out.