FREE ADVICE

No, I am not offering it. I am soliciting it. After the success we've had with getting the kids things in order I am trying to tackle other areas that need attention. I keep coming back to a few regualr areas. I've brainstormed about a few but I find I need to have a grab bag of tricks for every occasion- and child- and sometimes I reach in and come out empty-handed. I'm not entirely sure what I am looking for but I feel like sitting down with a group of mothers and grandmothers and great grandmothers and asking ,

"What did you do in this situation? And why? Did it work? What would you do differently looking back? "

And then I though of all of you.

I know there are some areas I have not even thought of yet but a few of the ones I'd like to hear about are:

-Manners
-Discipline ideas
-Fighting/arguing- with each other
-Teasing
-Sharing- I like the setting the timer idea but sometimes I feel like doing away with private property all together
-House Rules Lists
-House Schedule/Organizing etc. for moms and kids
-Chores
-Bedtime routines
-Mealtime& menus& shopping
-Dad involvement
-Allowances/ rewards/incentivising
-Co-operation
- Free time, nap time, quiet time, family time, prayer time
-Schooling & extra curricular activities


I know this list is kind of dis-jointed and doesn't cover much but feel free to add anything you or anyone you know has to offer.
Sometimes I'll hear another mom handle a particular situation and I'll think, Hmm, I hadn't thought of that. Its nice to see/hear things in action that work. Or don't for that matter too. So, if anyone has some little, or big, bits of advice I would really like to hear them as I try to put together some more structure for all of us, I guess. If it's too long and you don't want to post it here you can e-mail me too. Or any books you found helpful and for what areas.

While I am on the topic of helpful hints, my sister-in-law told me about come freezer cooking she has been doing and really enjoying. Basically you do all the prep work up front then thaw and cook on the day you eat, which sounds fabulous. I love trying to dice onions with a fussy baby pulling at my feet. There is a web-site where you can buy a set of recipes-say for chicken, or beef or whatever. Kim has tried a bunch and says they are good. I might figure out how to incorporate the same method with some of the recipes I use already. I think some things would taste better frozen in an un-cooked state. I actually bought a dinner once which was basically the same method. It was Cajun chicken breast with bleu chees mashed potatoes and roasted carrots. It was tasty so if I could do the same thing myself it would be great. And since the recipes come in sets if you get 10lbs of chicken breasts you can make 5 different that all involve chicken. I am going to try the chicken ones first. I'll let you know what I think. The web address if you want to check it out is http://savingdinner.com