The Shadow of Mommy

As much as I love my kids so dearly.
As much as I love my husband so much.
As much as I crumble when people yell at me. Or even say one mean word.
I have found myself doing it.

The noise level in our house has been higher than normal. Or at least it seemed to me. I found myself asking why. Why are the kids so loud? Why are they yelling? Why are they having an attitude with me and each other?

And as hard as it is to swallow, the answer, at least in part, is me. See - that’s the cool thing about parenting. Your kids teach you a lot. They are soaking up what you are doing. They are like little copy cats. And this time - what they’re copying doesn’t make me proud at all.

They’re copying my yelling. They’re copying how I deal with stress, frustration, being overwhelmed.

When this truth hit me like a hard stone, I won’t lie, it hurt. But I know I’m not the only one. Being a mom or dad is hard. Beyond hard sometimes. And if you’ve found yourself yelling or losing it when overwhelmed, I get you mama (or daddy). I know you feel guilty. I know you regret it. I know you love your kids. I know you are doing your best.

None of us is perfect. But we have an amazing God and Father who is! Because He loves us so much, we are forgiven. You are forgiven. I am forgiven.

Each day is a new day. And I’m on a journey to be a more patient, peaceful mom. I’m cutting down on multi-tasking so I don’t get overwhelmed so easily. I’m getting down at eye-level and treasuring their little faces and emotions instead of being impatient. I’m making my own self-care a priority so I’m not empty with little to give when much is needed. I’m apologizing, asking for forgiveness.

It’s a journey for sure. Good days, bad moments. Trying again. But as I’ve started hearing my daughter speak to her brother in the kind loving way I’ve been using with her, it brings tears to my eyes and fills my heart with SO MUCH joy!

The journey is hard, but so rewarding, isn’t it? We’re in this together friend!

What Are You Thirsting For?

What are you thirsty for?

That’s the question my pastor asked last weekend as he talked about all the different things we go to when we feel empty.

I’ve been thinking about that question for such a long time.

I’ve bounced between trying to fill my empty with food and exercise and relationships. I’ve found myself looking to accomplishments, perfection, social media, and I’m sure there are more.

But what really fills that void? Quenches our thirst? 

For me, I’ve found that what I really need is peace. Real lasting peace. And I haven’t found any better peace than looking to God’s promises and being reminded of his incredibly amazing, perfect love for me. And for us all.

It feels so good to pour out my heart to the one person who never lets me down. To be filled with his words from the Bible through music or time spent reading through a chapter every day.

I’m so so grateful to always have that peace waiting for me, no matter what my day looks like.

What’s your favorite go-to when you feel empty?

Homeschooling With Math Games - Part 2

Yesterday we chatted about using math games to help your child develop a love of math. Instead of sitting, listening to lecturing and doing worksheets, let's get them using math skills in every day life situations and through fun games!

Today I want to share another super fun game with you - this time it is all about multiplication. And let's face it - multiplication is normally just a bunch of memorizing math facts. It usually involves flash cards or some other "boring" type of activity.

Not with this multiplication game! Monster Sock Factory is a board game to practice multiplication mainly for grades 2 and up. It is designed to get kids 8 times more practice in their multiplication facts than in an average classroom.

The game starts with this cute story about the different monsters in this faraway land of Dimis, each with a different amount of legs and how you are working at the local sock factory to make and dispatch socks to each one. Each individual cartoon monster is kinda cute and makes the game more fun and activates the imagination a bit, at least for my kiddos. Your kids will also be working on strategic planning, hand-eye coordination, patience and memorization as they play this game.

And you're going to love this - the same company that makes this game offers FREE math worksheets for division, multiplication and more for grades 1-5. I am so excited to get these printed off and feed my kiddos excitement for the fun characters and story lines.

Grab your kiddo a new math game and start having fun with them while practicing a bunch of relevant skills.

Share with me - what are you doing with your kiddos to make Math fun?

*I was given product to review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own.

Homeschool Fun with Math Games

I don't know about you but I was never very passionate about math. I get excited about reading, history, even science, but math - nuh, uh.

My son is the same way. He struggles with it more than other subjects which has turned him off to math as a whole. Since I am homeschooling him this year, I am determined to help him and my other children develop a love  like (let's be realistic, right?) for this subject.

One of the ways I am going to be doing this is by having them do more life math skills and play more games that involve using math. Instead of them just listening to me lecture and then doing worksheets - I hope to bring math to life for them!

We recently got a fantastic math division game called Big Catch. It's a division board game for students of grade 3 and up. It is designed to get them 8 times more division practice than in your typical classroom in a FUN way!

My son was super duper excited to try it out. He loved all the bright colors and fun game pieces. He has a bit of practice to get the long division down to really get the game mastered, but he is excited to do so, and that is huge progress! This games makes you the fisherman and gives you a fun adventure to distract you from all the awesome math skills you are developing. It also helps you develop skills of patience, strategic planning, and flexibility.

Also - big bonus - the same company that makes this game offers FREE math worksheets for division, multiplication and more for grades 1-5. I am so excited to get these printed off and feed my kiddos excitement for the fun characters and story lines.

Check back in with me tomorrow for another fun math game that you and your kids will love!

In the meantime - tell me - what do you do with your kiddos to get them excited about math or any other subject they struggle with?

*I received product to review. No other compensation was given. These are all my real and honest opinions.