Contest!
Moms, Be ENCOURAGED
Aug 17th
I wanted to share this because I’ve found it encouraging to myself, as a mother.
There are days when I, being busy with the constant care-taking of my son (who of late doesn’t nap much at all during the day, IF at all) think, “Is all I am ever going to do is clean, change diapers, cart-around, cook, sleep little, feed, and do it again? This is a viscous cycle!” I mean, I have dreams, goals, ambitions (among them: rule the world); didn’t we all? Then I remember that although its the hardest job in the world, being a mom is also the most rewarding and the most desired above all. And even if I never do anything “great” in the eyes of others, being a mom to my son and future other children IS great. And even if I never get into Congress, go to rallies, or be a missionary, I can change MUCH in this world by being a good, Godly mother.
“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is older he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6. By doing this, my calling in life, my son may one day change the world. A guest speaker at our church recently spoke of God’s calling and our answering. Because one person answered God’s calling to minister, he inspired another to minister. And by that minister also answering God’s calling, inspired another minister. And so on and so forth (he had the actual list of the real names of these people) until you come to: and in that minister’s church was a boy who came back year after year and listened to his teachings. He grew up to be a minister. His name was Billy Graham. Wow.
So moms, when you are asking yourself, “WHY are my duties so monotonous and repetitive, and are they ever going to get done so I can do something else,” remember what a gift motherhood is and that you’re parenting may influence your child to do great, changing things (and I don’t mean Obama’s type of change). And remember that even if it goes unsaid, your work is appreciated and is in NO WAY meaningless. Your child will learn love because of it, and doesn’t that make every aching muscle worth it? All you have to do is that hard, great, gratifying task: Be their MOM.
Missouri Dental Association Give-Away!
Aug 2nd
Okay, so I don’t have to be the parent of 4-year old or a 12-year old to know that unless you use that funky bubble-gum tooth paste (which I’m not even sure does anything good), no child goes willingly to the sink of terror to do the horrible deed of brushing! Still, it must be done. After all, dental cavities are the most common disease of kids ages 5 to 17 and are completely preventable. Sometimes it must be done with the child on the floor, pinned down by one parent while the other brushes (can’t say that I’ve seen parents do this- but I did it to my little brother when I babysat- we were really close).
At any rate, kids and adults alike need to practice oral hygiene if they don’t want to have cavities, fillings, painful dental procedures, and dentures some day too soon. Brushing is also particularly important if you have braces- my mom told me a story when I got braces that scared me to death (and its a true story). I was told I was the poster child for taking care of my braces. The story goes like this. A girl once had braces and didn’t brush them. She didn’t floss them. She did intake tons of sugars and soda. When they took her braces out, her teeth had rotted under them and came out in chunks. She had to get the rest of her teeth pulled and got dentures. LEARN FROM THAT.
Oral hygiene isn’t just cleaning, but also preventive maintenance. Like wearing a mouth guard in sports, not chewing, not drunk driving or getting into fights, and other activities that beg to have your teeth knocked out. Scientists are saying that there may be a link between gum disease and heart disease. Remember- maintenance costs nothing, fixing procedures cost A LOT. And we all know that insurance isn’t exactly the most helpful thing in the world sometimes (thank you, Obama).
I’m no expert, but if you want more information on Oral Hygiene, you can visit www.yourmouthistalking.org
The Missouri Dental Association is allowing me to do a Give-Away for them to go along with this blog. Here is the PRIZE:
A Year’s Worth of Toothbrushes for each member of the household (They call it year supply because toothbrushes should be changed every 3 months. They say for each member of the house meaning if there are no children under 24 months we will not provide the parents’ brush for baby teeth)
This CAN include (based upon your house-hold members)
4 GUM Parents’ Brush (6-24 months)
4 GUM Crayola Timer Light (Kids)
4 GUM Micro Tip toothbrush (Adults)
And a package of Eez Thru Angled Flossers (75 count)
What you must do to win the giveaway: I would like people to email me their stories on what they did to either get their children to brush their teeth, or how they forced their children into it, or how their parents handled the same situations with them. I am looking for informative (helpful to other parents in this stage of parenting), and funny stories. I will chose the most creative and if that person would like, I will post their story on one of my blogs as well. That is up to the person though. I will start taking submissions now (please do not submit more than one story- if you do, I will only use your first submission) and I will stop taking submissions September 1st. When you email me, please be sure to send contact information too!