Now my mom says that I am a slave to my children's schedule but I disagree. I believe that the kids are on the schedule I have set for them based on their age, number of naps and how their behaviour is affected.
Currently my youngest needs 2 naps a day and luckily he is somewhat adaptible. He has a certain rhythm that is natural for him but at least a couple days a week I am not able to have him in bed at the time he needs because of another childs activity and he goes down an hour later and there are days I have to wake him up so we can meet up with friends for a playdate or go to the gym. Obviously my older 2 don't have morning naps but we do hang around the house while the baby naps. On the otherhand my older son needs one nap in the afternoon and my daughter needs quiet time and lets be honest so do I, so we all rest or sleep during this time. The days we go out, I make a point to have us all home by nap/rest time
I think of it as our schedule not their schedule. A little give and take to keep everyone healthy and happy. I find it amazing the difference in their behaviour based on their sleep or lack of it. There are definately people in my life that would prefer us to be available more hours or different hours of the day but OUR schedule does not afford us that but those same people like the fact that my children are well behaved. That comes with some sacrifices and really it won't always be that way will it?
Oatmeal Breakfast Bar - Revised
I grew up with a terrible diet that has left me with weight problems my whole life. Obviosly I didn't want my children to suffer the same fate so I was very strict with their diet. Vegetables, Whole Grains, Fruits, etc.
Not only do I think breakfast is the most important meal, I feel that oatmeal is a very important part of that. It is whole grain and packed with lots of healthy stuff and digests slowly so that child doesn't get hungry soon after. Of course I have the best of intentions but my middle son didn't like it and this made every morning an unpleasant experience. Being a fix-it mommy I had to find a way to get my son to eat oatmeal without a fight. I went to the internet and found a recipe that had less sugar and more good stuff and it was for Oatmeal Bars. As you will see you can add whatever seeds, nuts or fruit your children enjoy. The only negative is they are quite crumbly while he eats them.
That was my original post but I have revised the recipe and now find that it does not crumble and he doesn't complain about the large chunks of dried fruit. He is eating them without too much of a fight now.
Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
2 cups 9 grain oatmeal, uncooked
1 cup oat flour (can be made by pulverising quick cooking rolled oats in a blender or food processor)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup packed currant or raisins
1/2 cup finely chopped apricots, dried apple slices
1/4 cup chopped nuts, pieces
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9 inch by 13 inch pan, or two 8 inch by 8 inch pans.
3. Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix well.
4. Put mixture in prepared pans and spread evenly and press down.
5. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and cut into squares while still hot.
7. Wait until the bars cool before trying to remove them from the pan.
Not only do I think breakfast is the most important meal, I feel that oatmeal is a very important part of that. It is whole grain and packed with lots of healthy stuff and digests slowly so that child doesn't get hungry soon after. Of course I have the best of intentions but my middle son didn't like it and this made every morning an unpleasant experience. Being a fix-it mommy I had to find a way to get my son to eat oatmeal without a fight. I went to the internet and found a recipe that had less sugar and more good stuff and it was for Oatmeal Bars. As you will see you can add whatever seeds, nuts or fruit your children enjoy. The only negative is they are quite crumbly while he eats them.
That was my original post but I have revised the recipe and now find that it does not crumble and he doesn't complain about the large chunks of dried fruit. He is eating them without too much of a fight now.
Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
2 cups 9 grain oatmeal, uncooked
1 cup oat flour (can be made by pulverising quick cooking rolled oats in a blender or food processor)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup packed currant or raisins
1/2 cup finely chopped apricots, dried apple slices
1/4 cup chopped nuts, pieces
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9 inch by 13 inch pan, or two 8 inch by 8 inch pans.
3. Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix well.
4. Put mixture in prepared pans and spread evenly and press down.
5. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and cut into squares while still hot.
7. Wait until the bars cool before trying to remove them from the pan.
The Great Toy Purge
From December to the end of February we have had Fake Christmas, Hanukkah, Christmas, my daughter's birthday, the joint friend party for both Madison and Jack, the joint family party for Madison, Jack and me and then Jack's birthday. Now that is a lot of excitement and a lot of presents. It happens every year and the children get very overwhelmed and start to act erratically and misbehave more. But I started a new tradition last year, the Great Toy Purge, and it seems to calm everything down.
I have explained to my children that we only have so much space and therefore we can only have so many toys downstairs so they decide which toys they will be leaving downstairs and which are going up in the toy closet for the rest of the year. Then once a month they can swap something of equal size for something in the closet. This way they have new toys to play with every month. This also gives my children a sense of choice and responsibility for their own toys. They make a lot of the decisions together as a team and therefore teaches them to work together to get what they want.
It is a week later and I have seen a drastic change in both my older children towards me and towards each other and their younger brother.
I have explained to my children that we only have so much space and therefore we can only have so many toys downstairs so they decide which toys they will be leaving downstairs and which are going up in the toy closet for the rest of the year. Then once a month they can swap something of equal size for something in the closet. This way they have new toys to play with every month. This also gives my children a sense of choice and responsibility for their own toys. They make a lot of the decisions together as a team and therefore teaches them to work together to get what they want.
It is a week later and I have seen a drastic change in both my older children towards me and towards each other and their younger brother.
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- CFS Fairy
- A Canadian Stay-at-Home mom of 3 beautiful and awsome golden cupcakes. I have been a mom since 2005. This is the best job in the world but it is sure tough sometimes, don't you think? This is my journey.