Thursday's Thing To Do: Movie Characters

Do your kids LOVE to watch movies?
Is there ONE movie that they have memorized (which means you do too)?

Pull out a few things, paper, crayons, scissors, etc. and make the movie characters.  Depending on the age of your child, they may need a little help, but be sure to NOT tell them HOW to make it.  Let them go for it.  It's important for children to have a chance to experiment with creativity.  Often times a child wants a "model" project to copy.  Resist the tempation to tell or show them exactly what to make.  (If you draw a flower with five petals, watch, your child will draw a flower exactly the same way as you.)  As they create on their own, and then you praise them for it, their self confidence and creative abilities will grow.  If your child is an age where you can't leave the whole thing up to them, make sure to be careful to back off whenever possible, and encourage them trying new things. 

This can also be a great time to introduce things they haven't used before: glue sticks, goopy Elmer's Glue, your scrapbooking sticky squares, glitter, stickers, pompoms, pipe cleaners, paint, brads....the possibilities are endless.

The funnest part is seeing them play with those toys over and over again.  So what if you can't afford a $29.99 Woody at WalMart, have your child make one.... He or She will love it probably more than the real doll.

Over several weeks time, my son has now made the ENTIRE cast of Finding Nemo and Wall-E.  (Yes, including Nemo's Mom and the Anemone.) He loves to reinact scenes with his handmade toys, and it also means he's happy with a little less movie time. 

Here are a few of our Nemo cast members: 
Bruce: I drew part of the tail and fin for him, then he practiced cutting along the lines the best he knew how.
Nemo: He used a gluestick all on his own for the first time to put on the white stripes that I'd pre-cut for him.  We also introduced brads for the fins.  That was a cool novelty for a little boy, now the fins can move.
Dory: Awesome fins...Joshua just went for it and got some scissor practice

So, be brave, pull out some creativity to match your child's movie obsession.  The most simple homemade toy can bring more joy than you imagined!  When it's the child who makes that toy, the self fulfillment and joy is multiplied a bazillion times. 

Wednesdays Word

If you haven't seen this, or even if you have....

...click on this link:

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God, from Jeffrey R. Holland

Tuesday's Tidbit: Wanting to KICK Depression

Depression is a HUGE topic...I won't even pretend to be a know-all and solve the issue. 
    But, according to statistics, about 1/3 of you who read this will be tackling this issue at some point in your lives. 
    Some of you are dealing with it now. 
    Some of you are wondering if that's what's been wrong lately. 
    Some of you have dealt with it in the past...and that means an increased likelihood of it showing up again later (unfortunately). 
Hopefully that hasn't scared anyone, but it is a REAL issue and can suck all the joy out of motherhood.  And we all want to be happy as mothers.  The hardest part, is that if you're already dealing with depression, these things will seem out of reach and impossible.  Don't give up on yourself, and don't be afraid to talk with your husband, a trusted friend or family member, a doctor, or someone else you can trust.  They can help you.  You're not in it alone.  I PROMISE!!!
Here's a little info and a few natural remedies that may help:
- Did you know that serotonin is an essential brain chemical and needs to be replenished.  Having low levels of serotonin is very closely linked to depression.
- For most people, you need at least 6 hours of consecutive sleep to replenish your serotonin levels.  (no wonder so many new moms experience postpartum depression)
- Being out in the sun each day for 20-30 minutes can help raise serotonin levels
- Meditating, Praying, and simply relaxing has been shown to help raise serotonin levels.
- Flax seed.  It's great mixed into a smoothie and you'll think it's just the raspberry or strawberry seeds.  Can't even taste it.  Try it on a salad or in homemade bread.  It's kind of pricey, but goes a LONG way.
- Bananas
- Dark Chocolate (yes...a great excuse for buying it on a regular basis)
- Listening to soothing music

Like I said, this is only a dabble in a small amount of information.  These suggestions and ideas are not meant to override a doctor's prescription, or other methods for dealing with or avoiding depression.  Just a few helps from one mom who dealt with postpartum depression (yes, me) to my friends out there. 

Monday's MOMent

When my son was 3 and our daughter was about 2 months old, I had a busy morning and had not had a chance to shower. So I put Elizabeth in her carrier and placed her on the bathroom floor and I got toys for Josh to play with and told him to stay in the bathroom so I would know where he was. I got into the shower and as I was showering I could see and hear him playing. But soon I realized he was not in the bathroom. I got out of the shower and quickly dried off and put a robe on. I could hear voices out in the living room. One was Josh and one was an adult male. I was very worried and hurried out into the living room to find my son talking to the UPS man. Josh turned to me and there he stood with 2 tampons, one in each hand and was happily talking to the UPS man. I never could look the UPS man in the face when he came to deliver boxes to our home.

~Valarie, mother of three, grandmother of one

Friday's Food: Peanut Butter Quesadillas

Because of the survey....I've learned that several of you would like kid friendly food ideas.  I'm glad you thought of it!  What a great idea!  So, Friday's will now include Food, not only Favorites.  Our first recipe is very simple...but if you haven't tried this simple twist on two classics, you really should!

Peanut Butter Quesadillas (kind of...there's no queso)
1 tsp. butter
1 flour tortilla
2 Tbl. Peanut Butter
2 Tbl. Grape Jelly

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Spread one side of the tortilla with peanut butter.  Fold tortilla in half so that the peanut butter is on the inside.  Place folded tortilla in skillet, and heat until lightly browned on each side.  Slice into wedges, and dip in jelly to serve.
You can also serve this unfried, and spread the pb&j inside....a great alternative to bread.