Parenting Archives - Page 3 of 15

“Frozen” Invitation to Play

November 29, 2017 By Michelle

Busy Bag Inspiration

I found some FUN Frozen inspired ideas for a toddler or preschool busy bag on the Disney Family website. My wheels are often turning for the different ways to keep little ones busy and this printable was a great find.

Quick and Easy

Using this Frozen printable, I created quick and easy invitation to play. After printing the template, I roughly cut each piece out, then laminated the set. (I use this Scotch laminator) Then, I cut out each of the pieces again.

Olaf in laminated pieces

Applying adhesive magnets to one set, I instantly had an activity for the refrigerator. I popped on the magnets and designed an invitation to play right there on the fridge. And that invitation might well extend to older members of the family. Seems “big” kids find magnetic characters too tempting to resist.

The second set of laminated printable went into a ziploc bag and is sitting in the “busy bag” tote for kiddos to find.

Super easy, fun little Olaf magnet and Snowman play forms provide an invitation to play.

Do you reserve space on your fridge for grandkids to play? Check out the Imagination Tree for Invitation to Play inspiration.

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This Moment…Remembering

November 25, 2017 By Michelle

waiting for the butterflies…

worth the wait…

A simple moment, precious, delightful…to be savored and remembered.

Not A Scaredy-Cat, A New Book For When You Wish You Were Brave

October 20, 2017 By Michelle

Maybe the readers of By Quiet Waters know I love a good children’s book. As my own kids have grown, the youngest is in high school, I’ve passed on quite a few books. That’s been a challenging job because if my bookish daughters are around they will declare “they are all good books”. In any case, all the old friends are still on the shelves.

This love of children’s books is why I accept new children’s books from places like Tommy Nelson, Tyndale and Moody Publishers.

“I’m Not A Scaredy-Cat” by Max Lucado from Tommy Nelson arrived this month. Can I just say, the title grabbed me right away. The subtitle of this gem is A Prayer for When You Wish You Were Brave. Don’t we all need that?

The Stray, A Family Movie Giveaway

October 11, 2017 By Michelle

Have you seen the trailer for this movie? It is the sweet story of a family, struggling as we all do in this full, hard and very good life.

Based on a true story, this movie’s hero is a stray dog named Pluto that shows up at just the right moment. The true story is heart warming, but I think the movie struggled to capture the fullness of that story.

That movie makers are continuing to produce family friendly movies is a very good thing. I am thankful.

If you would like to participate, there is a Giveaway for a free family pack of tickets to see The Stray.

Thank you to Front Gate Media for the family pack of tickets we received in exchange for this review.

Brave Beauty, Finding the Fearless You

September 26, 2017 By Michelle

Brave Beauty: Finding the Fearless You

Messages to girls and boys abound. Positive, negative, helpful, most certainly damaging. As parents, grandparents, teachers and mentors, one of the steady roles we have it is to help each other, and the young ones in our midst, sort out the harmful and untrue from all that is beautiful and true.

Having a rich supply of wholesome and beautiful resources on the book shelves is one way to nurture the minds and thoughts of those who live, or pass time, in our homes. As the years have passed, I have held tightly to many books, old friends, from my children’s younger years. And I am finding that it is a lot of fun to find new additions for those shelves, as well.

It is a joy and an honor to have the opportunity to share these treasures with grandchildren. At this time, we have all daughters, and only grand daughters. I do expect that to change over time, with the addition of more grands… and hopefully adding a few boys in the mix. But for now, it is all girls and I’m having fun discovering books for them.

Brave Beauty is one such book. I”ll be tucking it onto the shelves for a couple of years, but one day in the not too far off, I imagine we’ll pull it off the shelf and delve into this book of devotions written to encourage young ladies to build their confidence in the God who created them.

This book has 100 devotions, covering the topics of “who am I?”, “what about the tough stuff?” “Who is God? And will He really help me?”

Delving into these topics will help a young lady to tell herself the truth about who Jesus says she is. The temptation to indulge in damaging habits (comparison, eating issues, self abasement, etc) is overcome when we know who we are, and what is true in the world around us.

Growing up is exciting, and scary. Taking the time to introduce a young lady to the truth, and to walk alongside her has a lasting impact toward strengthening and shaping her in beauty, truth and wholesomeness.

Journaling opportunities and enriching activity ideas are woven into these devotions. These help the message to go deeper, and give the girl to time to flip the material over in her mind and process it.

Brave Beauty is another wonderful resource for mom and daughter, a small group of young ladies with an older mentor, or for Nana to share with precious ones in her care.

Thank you to HandleBar Publishing for adding another book to my shelves in exchange for this review.

Freezer Meals for Back to School

August 16, 2017 By Michelle

Freezer Meals.

It’s back to school time once again, and this year is the most challenging one yet. We have 2 kids in high school, but two different high schools! What a blessing it is to have options for kids who are not “one size fits all”, but it sure makes for some crazy scheduling. Add in sports and work schedules, and I could be driving all through the early evening. To help get dinner on the table in a timely manner I decided to start filling the freezer with some meals, and sauce packages.

For this first run of fall freezer cooking, I pulled out recipes for some favorites, and one new recipe. I picked up several packages of chicken from Sprouts, so that’s what I started with. Cashew Chicken is a new one for our family, and we’ll try it out early next week. The Sesame Chicken is an absolute favorite, and we like to pull together some fried rice to toss the chicken into. For the Sloppy Joes, I just mixed up the sauce ingredients, which is the most tedious part of making this family favorite. Now whoever is making dinner just has to chop a couple of veggies, brown the beef and then add the sauce packet.

Sloppy Joe Sauce

The Chili Taco Seasoning is a mix I make several times a year. It’s called Taco Seasoning, Mexi Spice or Chili Seasoning around here. That’s why it seems to be named differently within the blog posts. We use it for Tacos, Burritos, Chili, Rice & Beans, you name it.

Chicken Enchiladas, Individual Sizes

I also put together several individual meals for my daughters who work. Their shifts often are over the dinner, or lunch hours, so it is great to have some food for them to grab and go. There is a microwave at their place of employment, so I think these meals work great. This time I made shells and cheese and enchiladas. I love these pyrex bowls!

We also put together about 2 dozen breakfast burritos, and some bean & cheese burritos that should make the dash out the door easier in the morning or between school and work.

Just this one activity helps ease the tension I am feeling about the fall schedule. I work hard at not letting anxiety take a hold in me, but this month it’s been a tough fight. Getting food in the freezer, and telling everyone what’s what has helped quite a bit. Now to finish sorting out how to get to two different schools by 7:30, without dropping someone off crazy early!

Are you filling your freezer in anticipation of the fall back to school season? What are your favorite recipes?

Busy Bag Inspiration

Quick and Easy

Brave Beauty: Finding the Fearless You

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