Is it worthy to be a complainer?

I know life is not always easy and/or fair especially for mothers. We actually express it by whining about everything; if it’s not the laundry, are the dishes, the clutter, our husbands, the kids, the school, etc. We may always find something to complain about… but why?

Well, complaining must be the easiest way to express what might be wrong in a situation rather than to find what is right and talk about the good points. We may spend hours conversing about something negative, how something bad may get worse or how my bad situation compares to your bad situation; and we will always find fellowship in common complaints.

Are we so focused into our problems that all we do is complain? We may not know everybody’s circumstances but there are women out there in far worse situation than ours and they are able to make in tough times without complaining. Don’t you feel good and realize your problems are nothing when someone comes and tell you about how good they’re doing and feel despite what they’re going through? Sometimes when we complain all the time, we’re making our life and those around us miserable.

So we need to ask ourselves what is my perspective and attitude in the process? I think the answer is “Contentment”: To be mentally or emotionally satisfied with things as they are, assenting to or willing to accept circumstances, a proposed course of action; to make (oneself or another person) content or satisfied, peace of mind.

Are we happy with ourselves? Do we have peace of mind? It all depends on how we look and act when different situations arise during our life. We should stop, think and look at the good side of things. There are always positives in every situation, although they may be hard to see. Don’t focus on how bad things are instead on how well you can go through anything that comes your way.

Here are a few quotes that inspire me and help me decide: complaining or contentment?

If you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it.                                          Anthony J. D'Angelo

Contentment consists not in adding more fuel, but in taking away some fire.

                                                     Thomas Fuller

The world is full of people looking for spectacular happiness while they snub contentment.

                                                     Doug Larson

Positive Discipline is Always Easy

There are times when our parenting skills are really put to the test. And this specially happens when we have to discipline our kids. And you know sometimes they can really try our patience making us feel irritated, sad, and angry, annoyed, confused and hurt. It’s actually never easy but we need to be firm and strong and follow thru with disciplinary consequences.

Let’s face it; we never want to hurt our children with physical or verbal abuse. We can’t resolve anything that way and we can end up feeling bad and remorseful afterwards. On the other hand talking about the issue, discussing the discipline openly and honestly with your child following thru with the same punishment for the same misdeed might be the best option. Children should learn from us in advance the disciplinary action for any given misbehavior. That will make them pause and hopefully choose an appropriate route to avoid been discipline.

For example, in my case, my kids know and we have made it clear that if they’re not doing well in school, we take away what they enjoy most (playing, toys, games, TV). Because it’s showing they are not paying attention to their learning responsibilities, which is the main thing they have to worry about.  

We should keep an open mind and be willing to learn with and from our children. It’s also important to remember that kids are just as unique as adults, and because not every form of discipline works with every child, we may need to find another disciplinary action depending on the individual needs of both us and our children.

Sometimes we need to give ourselves a brief time out or a short cooling off period before dealing with our kids’ behavior or responding with the appropriate discipline just to avoid a misdeed of our own. Remember yelling and hitting should never be an option.

We just want to teach our kids to be responsible, cooperative, kind and respectful. And with love, patience and understanding, we will have a positive outcome for all involved.

 "To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while"    ~Josh Billings

I have my tissues ready!

Prepare to let your kids go to college and have your tissues ready!

6th Grade Egypt Projects

   

At my kids’ school, the 6^th graders have been studying all about Egypt. Each one of them had to do a project and present it in class. They made a representation of mummies, the Sphinx, the Canisters, the pharaoh boat, river, etc.

My son together with a friend built the tomb with sarcophagus, mummy inside of course and the canisters where the organs were saved.

With the help of us the parents, naturally, they were able to display what you see in the pictures plus used a Power Point presentation in class.

It was a fun and easy project. Teacher and classmates loved it. I took pictures of some other projects as well so you can see how well the kids did and how proud they make us feel. Enjoy…

 More info and pics @ The Academy Mom