All I Ever Needed to Know …

All I ever needed to know , I learned in Kindergarten, from my mum….and from Dr. Seuss. If  leaders of countries  and the  heads of corporations practiced what they learned as small children, the world would be happier, healthier and more peaceful. Perhaps people in power should listen as Dr. Seuss and I talk to my children.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

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Share and others will share with you.

More toys won’t make you happier.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

Always say please and thank-you.

When you are grateful and thankful for  even the smallest things, you will be happy.

.Don’t take offense quickly or every insult  and slight personally; sometimes other people simply are having a bad day and take it out on you.
Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.

You can.create something beautiful today out of nothing when you are creative.

Pick up after yourself., don’t leave a mess.

Always do your best.

Don’t give up but finish what you started.

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Think left and think right and think low and think high.Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!

Always take the smaller portion when you are offered a treat.

Admit when you are wrong.

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You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.

Ask questions if you don’t understand.

Don’t brag.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.

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Today you are you!That is truer than true!
There is no one alive who is you-er than you!

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If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.

Say your prayers every night to reconnect to life, light and joy.

Remember that friends might come and go but family will always be there for each other.

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Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened

.Try something new a few times before you decide you don’t like it.

Don’t pick fights or act like a bully just because you are bigger.

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Maybe Christmas … doesn’t come from a store.

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Learn something new today.

Be true to yourself. Don’t try to be someone you are not.

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A person’s a person, no matter how small

.Always give others the benefit of the doubt.
Wash your hands before you eat and brush your teeth afterwards.

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Being crazy isn’t enough.

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Mean what you say and say what you mean

You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

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So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act.

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Go play and have fun.

Forgive other people because you make mistakes too.

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From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.

‘When we try to control people we steal their identity so quit being so bossy.

Cover your mouth when you cough and don’t spread germs.

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Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.

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Tell the truth.

One lie will lead to another

Put yourself in the other person.s shoes

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Why fit in when you were born to stand out?

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Have a bath every night

Laugh lots.

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“I’m afraid that sometimes you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ’cause you’ll play against you.” 

Get enough rest so you won’t be cranky.

Don’t be afraid to try something new.

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I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.

Eat healthy snacks.

Live in the present moment

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The more that you read,the more things you will know.
 The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.

Take off your dung-coloured glasses and look at the world clearly.

Look for people’s good qualities rather than pointing out their faults.

Don’t over use credit cards.

joy of nine9 at paper.li

Articles from 10 different sources at joy of nine9/paper.li 

Are You an Octopus Parent?

A major pitfall facing all parents is the tendency to control and not guide our children.

When my family was still young and I had only 7 kids from 12 years old to newborn, I earnestly strove to raise good kids. Yet all my effort was actually hindering their development My anxiety and control acted like a barrier, a fortress around my children. I was in fact a stumbling block to my kids inner, natural, organic growth into well-balanced, gifted people.

I did not take subtle hints, so a powerful inner image rose up from my subconscious that symbolized what I was actually doing by refusing to let go of control.

First I saw an ocean and a tiny black dot in the water. Slowly the image grew larger till I was face to face with a huge octopus.
The scene switched and now 7 tentacles wrapped aroun

d each of my children with my husband in the eighth. All of them were grey, limp almost lifeless.

Since I am spiritual, my imagery was religious but the same principle applies to all parents. Jesus appeared in a blaze of light. Brandishing a sword, The Lord severed each tentacle one by one. As soon as each child was set free, they began dancing and laughing in the sunshine.

My husband lay on the ground wrapped tightly by the remaining thick tentacle. We all kneeled on the ground, weeping, desperately pulling and tugging the tentacle but to no avail. Suddenly, Jesus stood at His feet and in a flash of the sword of truth, my husband was released and came back to life.

I was the octopus.

Sometimes we just need to “let go” of the things that we worry about (i.e. our children, loved-ones, or family members) and put our TOTAL trust in God. When we are able to do that, we (and the people we care about) can then truly experience the freedom of living! I read a quote that said something like… the worst sin against another human being besides hate and murder is trying to control and manipulate them because you are stealing their real identity, molding them into a false image.

The Power of Words

 Words have the power to flow like liquid sunshine into the shadows of our hearts.

 The perennial test, to decide whether a person is a pessimist or an optimist is to show them a glass of water similar to the photo and ask them to describe it. They will answer either that the glass is half full or half empty. This exercise seems ridiculous at first glance but our answers really are telling and can give us a wake-up call.

Do I wear clear, rose or mud coloured eye glasses when I look around? Therapists believe that failure to recognize our foibles and faults is 90% of our problems. If we are brave enough to look at ourselves with clear, fully transparent eye glasses, we can change. When we are desperate enough, we take our feet off the brakes that prevent inner growth and jump-start a process that takes on a life of its own.

Words, especially descriptive words are powerful. What comes out of our mouthes really does help bring sunshine or shadows into our lives and those around us. Even without applying cognitive therapy, by simply catching ourselves using overly negative adjectives, we really can change our emotional reactions to life. Let’s pay attention to the words that come out of our mouths, especially to our children. We are helping shape not only our future but the future of the next generation.

 Words have the power to flow like liquid sunshine into the shadows of our hearts.

Switcheroo: You Want Me to Pretend?

Daily Prompt: Switcheroo. If you could switch blogs with any blogger for a week, with whom would you switch and why?

How could I possibly step into another writer's shoes and take over their blog for a week, especially if I had to assume the tone, voice and opinions of the author? I suppose some people can imitate another writer and function as a ghost writer but I would fail miserably because I write intuitively, from my soul and almost subconsciously, not from my intellect alone. If I tried to copy another’s writing idiosyncrasies, the result would be stilted, boring drivel without any spark of life in it.

Writing on another blog would be like wearing another person’s clothes without alterations, leaving me feeling like a kid playing dress-up in a famous writer’s clothes or else like an adult writer pretending to be a kid writer. An even better analogy would be taking over a stranger's home while they were on vacation and touching and using everything as if it were your own. Such a disregard for another's privacy is the greatest invasion. No, switching blogs for a week is not a good idea.

Every writer has a unique voice that stands on all the writers that have gone before him. Every writer assimilates what he has read and studied combines this education with his own character and emotional make-up and life experiences to create a new writing style that is all his own. Viva la difference.

Ant Like Behaviour

I have often thought that much of my life resembles the life of an ant, a worker ant, not the queen.

Ants scurry about, eyes trained on the ground in front of them, hauling loads of food that are bigger than they are. They are completely oblivious to the world around them, fixated solely their own tiny society. Often this narrow viewpoint leads to disastrous results, with whole colonies wiped out of existence when the macrocosm surrounding them crashes into their little world.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to communicate with an ant, or to warn an ant of danger. Any offer of help frightens them because an ant perceives anything that intrudes into their microcosm as a threat. I cannot help an ant because I cannot communicate with him.

I have often thought that much our life resembles the life of an ant. I run around busy with tasks, keeping my nose to the proverbial grindstone, oblivious to the realities of the rest of human society never mind the universe.

When nature or the Spirit tries to break through to help me, I panic, feel threatened and run away, returning to labour in my little microcosm where I feel safe. ..My earnest striving is counter productive because it isolates me from larger realities that surround me.

Fortunately, God is better at communicating with me than I am at communicating with ants. He only needs a sliver of an opening in my heart, a quick glance in His direction or a fleeting thought to make a connection with me. In fact God became one with all of us, in a sense he became the equivalent of an ant, so He could speak, touch, love and become visible to”ants” on earth.

So everyday, I am choosing to turn to God and break out of my ant behaviour. He has healed me enough. I AM free enough to choose now

The Mind

All You Can Do Is Laugh

The strange, quirky, amusing behaviour of mums

You realize that you have truly morphed into a mum when..

The song you find yourself humming is not one of the top ten but Skinamarinky Dinky Dink Do, I Love You.

You need a pen; all you can find is a crayon, a broken pencil and a dried up magic eraser.

You hear a baby cry in the grocery store, then start to gently sway back and forth, back and forth.

The scene in Dumbo, when his mum is taken away makes tears come to your eyes and you break down during Bambi.

Your car is a mess, filled with face wipes, spare sets of clothes, toys, snacks, books and portable car games.

You are out for a romantic meal with your husband, enjoying some adult conversation, when you suddenly realize that you have reached over and started to cut up his steak.

It does not even phase you when a little person, urinates on you, vomits(even if it hit you in the face) and infant diarrhea stains your clothes.

A good day is when you can get in the shower, dress in real clothes and brush your teeth before noon.

You have memorized entire books of irritating rhyme by Dr. Seuss.

You find yourself looking for bugs whenever you go for a walk, even if you are alone.

Iggy The Bold Bunny

Iggy The Bold Bunny

The delightful tale of an extraordinary bunny!

Now most Rabbits are gentle and quiet kind and patient, very responsible and..

elegant and alert.

But Iggy was not an ordinary bunny .

When we first brought her home and let her out of her tiny mesh cage,  she was so happy that she ran laps around the entire house jumping and twisting in the air every few minutes.

 Iggy was delightful. 

She was full of character, keeping all of us, even my calm. dignified husband laughing for hours with her funny antics.

Iggy did not act like a normal rabbit

Supposedly rabbits hate to hop up and down stairs. Not Iggy. She did not want to be left behind or fenced in at all. If we closed bedroom doors to keep her off beds, she simply pushed the door open with her nose. She was aggressive and determined, not cowering or timid at all.

Iggy, not the cat or dog, was soon in charge of the household pets.

Kitty was so terrified of Iggy that she would come down the stairs silently and then cautiously peak around the staircase looking for Iggy. Then she would creep slowly down the long hall, stopping to look around, twitching her whiskers and ears. If Iggy caught a glimpse of Kitty, she would scramble, noisily, as fast as she could down the hallway and chase that poor cat right back upstairs. Afterwards that bold bunny would slowly hop back into the kitchen, happy with herself.

This rabbit chased the dog!

Not content to boss the cat around, Iggy was soon in charge of our huge do. If the dog started to chase Iggy, she would outrun him and was soon running behind Shadow as they ran their laps. Now the prey chased the predator.

Iggy wiggled past people when they opened the fridge so she looked right in

Iggy not only bossed our pets but was soon pushing around the humans as well. As soon as one of the family opened the fridge door, Iggy was there in a flash, standing up to get a better view of the veggies.

Iggy jumped on beds

If one of my children tried to sleep in, Iggy would hop on the bed, jumping right beside their head, until they woke up!

 Iggy was a bold Bunny

 Copyright 2014 Melanie Jean Juneau

Thriving When Stress Reduces Life to The Basics

As every mother knows, a newborn takes at least eight hours a day to nurse, burp, rock and comfort, bath, change clothes and change diapers. Then a mother must washall those diapers, clothes, receiving blankets, sheets and baby blankets as well as their clothes which tend to get covered in vomit, and other nasty surprises.

The lack of sleep leads to a rather narrow existence where the best days are when you can sneak in a nap or shower and dress before noon. Oh, those were the days when stress reduced life to the basics. Those basics were actually miraculous when I relaxed and allowed myself to live in the moment, enjoying my newborn rather than bemoaning all the important activities that I couldn’t seem to even start. The very fact that everything that my little one required to grow and thrive was inexpensive and near at hand was amazing. My baby didn’t need a lot of money spent on him, he simply needed arms to hold him, mother’s milk to drink and warm clothes and blankets. Accepting reality meant letting go of trying be everything and do everything I did before I had a lot of kids.

The pivotal point in my personal growth was realizing that, in fear, I  clung to control. I have let go of this control at least a thousand times already. A thousand times of choosing to surrender fear and lies and trusting. Each time I peel back a layer, another deeper level of fear pops up.

An image which described my struggle to surrender control, was a wagon wheel suspended over a deep chasm.

My large family of 10 stood on the rim of a wagon wheel,

while I crouched on the hub,

frantically turning this way and that,

grabbing all the broken spokes,

desperate to hold the crumbling structured together.

I realized that I had to let go of this futile sense of responsibility and control but

I was afraid to stop,

afraid that one moment of inattention would cause my entire family to tumble down into the abyss.

I was trapped.

Yet, I realized that

my tension prevented natural, organic growth and healing.

My control acted like a wall, shutting out all divine intervention and grace.

My sincere concern and earnest self-sacrifice actually magnified everyone’s brokenness by

freezing everyone and everything.

Suddenly an arrow of light

pierced through my confusion.

It was as if a sharp pin burst a huge, black balloon of deception.

Suddenly the image was gone,

like a mountain done in by a mustard seed.

I had been wrestling with an illusion,

a phantom mountain.

There was no dilemma.

I laughed at myself.

With joy,

I finally surrendered control.

The broken spokes were instantly repaired.

The kids and my husband started smiling.

I was free.

We were free.

Articles From 10 Different Sources

The Circle of Life

Last friday our fourth grandchild was born, a big boy who looks EXACTLY like my son did when he was born. It is almost unnerving. To top it off my son looks just like my father. This new baby even has my son’s temperament because his heart rate remained remarkably low throughout the birth, just like my unflappable son.

My eldest was a contemplative sort even as a baby, as he examined and studied everything! We have a picture of him studiously playing checkers with my husband, head in his hands, studying every move made on that checker board. It looks like his son will be much the same. It is  the circle of life.

The Circle of Life from the Lion King is a thrilling song with a stirring melody and moving.There are many biblical lessons found in "The Lion King" if one is open enough to observe them. I know some people denounce the Lion King but I find that God can speak through anything and everything."The Lion King" is a coming of age story where Simba, a young lion cub, grows up and becomes king but not without struggles. How finally discovers his place in the circle of life. When we discover who we are and how we fit into life, then God can start using us.

The Circle of Life

It's the Circle of Life

And it moves us all

Through despair and hope

Through faith and love

Till we find our place

On the path unwinding
In the Circle

The Circle of Life

A Woman Is Like A Teabag

A woman is like a teabag. You never know how strong she is  until you put her in hot water.

Eleanor Roosevelt

I found this quote from at http://www.raigecreations.blogspot.ca/

Love Is...

Words of Wisdom from C.S. Lewis

In the Burn Zone.

Even though it is bitterly cold outside, my heart is burning with fervor and my thoughts are leaping for joy because at 58 years old, I am in the springtime of a new life. It doesn’t matter that it is freezing outside;  inside it is warm by the wood stove. I am coming back to life. For the first time in 33 years all my kids have basically moved out and I am free to write.

My body has not yet adjusted because the body remembers the tension and stress of running a household of eleven people.. My body has not quite caught up to this new reality because as the mother of nine, I was always on call. My ears are trained, listening for the sounds of my children playing, working and sleeping , always ready to soothe or help.
The result is that I am still tense, rushing to squeeze in some time to write when in fact, God has graciously handed me hours of the day where I am free. I am free to write, pray, even relax and enjoy the acres of land the surround our old house.

The subconscious too needs time to unwind long after the conscious mind has grappled with the past, let go of memories and forgiven. Then there are the pre-verbal, non-verbal parts of my soul that cannot be cajoled into coming out of their cave. Any sign of control or manipulation sends them scurrying back into hiding; they take the longest to warm up in the light and warmth of the truth.

Although I have not yet adjusted to solitude and free time, I  am thankful for this new freedom to start to write again. The walls of ice which imprisoned my writing skills are thawing out. It might be -28 C outside with almost 50 cm of snow but in the study, the wood-stove is burning.

Yep, my heart is burning with fervor and my thoughts are leaping for joy because I am in the burn zone.

Are We All Here? Anyone Missing?

A mother of 9 grown children reflects on dinnertime: the central hub that held all the spokes of her family’s activities together into one cohesive whole.

"Oh good, you’re done barn chores. Perfect timing; dinner is almost ready."

"Two more minutes, everybody!"

"Daniel I’ll help with that after we eat, okay?"

"Mary, please run up and open Claire’s door and shut off the music."

'Dinner is ready!"

"Lucy, I know you love that book sweetheart but, remember, no reading at the dinner table."

"Where’s Matthew?"

"Honey would you lift up David into the high chair?"

"Are we all here? Anyone missing?"

Ah, dinner time in a large family.

Dinner was the highlight of the day with everyone clambering to share their news or simply squeeze in comments or opinions into the cacophony of voices. It was a humorous symphony that sounded perfectly in tune and in harmony to my ears with high baby voices, loud, boisterous little boys, the quavering of a male voice changing, Dad’s reassuring bass tones and my calls for every one to listen to the toddler’s newest word. The highlight of this often unruly symphony was the spontaneous laughter that punctuated the entire meal.

Life around the dinner table was relaxed and happy because I allowed my children to behave in age appropriate ways. I did not demand adult perfection. The consequences of this decision were messy but well worth the time it took to mop up after meal time. It meant and not shoveling in neat, tidy mouthfuls of food into a toddler because we let little people feed themselves as soon as they reached for the spoon. It meant including three-year olds in meal prep, sending five and six-year olds running out to the garden for vegetables and letting go of pride by letting a ten-year old make the dessert. In other words we valued participation over a neat and tidy kitchen and orderly meal time.

Now I am reaping the rewards of decisions that sent my mother-in-law into a sputtering, spiral of incredulity as she eyed my kitchen and the faces of my little people after a meal. Yet even she looks now at my grown-up kids with admiration because they all love to cook and entertain, especially for each other. Just drop by for a quick hello and inevitably they will cajole you to stay for a meal. It is a simple fact that there is no better way to form deep relationships than conversation over a home-cooked meal. In fact there is no better way to encourage the development of a warm supportive family than with delicious food and relaxed conversation around the dinner table.

Humour Helps: Kids and Housework

• First fact to accept as a new mother: Kids are messy. In fact mothering is messy so you might as well laugh about it. Getting frustrated  is a waste of energy. Getting angry over reality simply upsets everyone. So laugh. Trust me, it works.
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 Accidents and mishaps are simply part of every day life when you live with kids, so plan on all your plans falling apart.- melanie

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.  ~Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller’s Housekeeping Hints, 1966

LET KIDS HELP: THEY WANT TO WORK WITH YOU

 

LET GO OF PERFECTION- melanie

Positive attitudes

It’s all in the attitude – housework is exercise.  Slim your way to a clean home! ~Linda Solegato

A secret to housework- don’t over think, just do it, with the kids. One of my two-year old vacuumed the living room just with the hose. It took 3o minutes but it was clean when she was done!!

if you clean your entire house every day for 2 weeks, at the end of two weeks it will be clean

if you clean your house once a week for 2 weeks, at the end of two weeks it will be clean

if you clean your house at the end of the two week period,at the end of two weeks it will be clean

First and last rule concerning housework and kids..laugh. Laugh at yourself, the kids, the mess and enjoy the irony.