family Archives - Page 12 of 16 - My Life: A Work in Progress

Can you “ruin” a child?

12 January, 2013 6 Comments

Today I came across a parenting piece on MyDailyMoment.com called “6 Ways to Ruin Your Children.” I’ll be honest, the title immediately rubbed me the wrong way. Can you ruin a child? Ruin implies that something has been destroyed and can’t be fixed. All parents are going to make mistakes, some more than others. But I don’t think that means a person’s ability to be a contributing member of society is automatically nixed because of poor parenting. We can all rise above our circumstances, though difficult it might be.

I’m probably reading into the headline too much. After all, if you’re a news writer, you want people to read what you’ve written, right? Shoot, I want people to read what I write. Maybe a catchy, controversial title is what does it.

Anyway, according to the editorial (I didn’t see the author’s name listed, btw), there are six ways you can ruin your child:

Give in always
Seldom discipline
Take their side no matter what
Fight in front of them
Being a bad example
Not being there

What I did like about this piece is that the writer listed an explanation or negative example for each number, followed by a positive suggestion. Also, when I was teaching, it was incredibly frustrating when a parent always took their child’s side, believed their child was in the right, and that the teacher was wrong. Sometimes a teacher may be in the wrong, but I don’t think parents always handle it the correct way. I believe they should also be careful how they react and deal with any problems in front of their children.

What do you think? Is it a good list for parents to be mindful of?

cooking

Slow Cooker Homemade-Style Beef, Lentil, Veggie Soup

11 January, 2013 4 Comments

An expert chef, I am not. I do believe I’m getting better at putting meals together from scratch and making them taste, not just edible, but good. I want myself and my family to be healthy, so I try to incorporate healthy ingredients and avoid processed foods when cooking.

My beef, lentil, and veggie soup recipe makes about 4 servings, but you can easily double or triple it. Soup tastes great as leftovers and freezes well. Also, the ingredients are easy to tweak, add, or delete.

I also have an obsession with my Crock-pot and like to break it out for meals at least twice a week!

Ingredients:

6 oz beef (roast or steak)
14.5 oz can beef broth
3 cups water
1/2 cup kidney beans
1/2 cup lentils
1 large carrot
2 celery stalks
2 large onion bulbs
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup kale
1 tsp chili sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Soak kidney beans overnight or for at least 3-4 hours. Add soaked and rinsed beans to slow cooker.

Step 2: Brown the beef in a pan on the stove top. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over top. Once browned, add beef to slow cooker. I added the juices from the pan, but to be healthier, just leave it out.

Step 3: Chop your carrot, onions, and celery into bite-size pieces and add to slow-cooker.

Step 4: Crush or chop your garlic cloves and add to pot.

Step 5: Add broth, water, chili sauce, fish sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.

Step 6: Set slow-cooker on High for 3 hours.

Step 7: At about 2 1/2 hours, rinse lentils and kale and add both to cooker for the last 30 minutes.

Step 8: When the veggies, beans, and lentils are soft or al dente (depending on your preference), add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Do you have a slow-cooker? What’s your favorite meal to make?

giveaways

CLOSED Bellies To Babies: Maternity & Baby Giveaway Hop Jan. 5-15 #Bellies2Babies

5 January, 2013 30 Comments

Welcome to another awesome giveaway hop! Hosted by MamaNYC, the Bellies to Babies Giveaway Hop from Jan. 5-15 focuses on maternity and baby, bringing you more than 30 blogs with designated giveaways!

Here on My Life: A Work in Progress, there are several prize packages for multiple winners, thanks to my awesome sponsors: Babywearing Workout, Beautiful Burps, Zookiescrafts, Cheeky Bunz, Barry’s Toys, and Delight Designs.

After entering the giveaways below, please scroll down to the linky at the bottom of the page. Then, hop around from blog to blog and enter all the other awesome giveaways!

Babywearing Workout:

The Babywearing Workout is a 30 minute fitness program created by mom Kelli. After Kelli had her daughter, she found herself constantly bouncing around with her daughter in a mei tai, trying to get her baby to sleep. Kelli decided to turn her bouncy movements into exercises to lose weight she gained while pregnant and before. She lost 70 pounds within 10 months! Read my full review HERE.

Beautiful Burps:

Created by working-at-home mom (WAHM) Courtney, Beautiful Burps is a line of adorable handmade bib and burp cloth sets, individual bibs, individual burp cloths, and burp cloth sets of three. She even has decorated onesies and cross over shirts available! Her burp cloths can be used as changing pads when on the go, as a blanket, or under a baby’s head while sleeping to protect from spit up or drool. Read my full review HERE.

Zookiescrafts:

Whether you cloth diaper your little one or not, these cloth wipes by Zookiescrafts are sturdy and soft to clean up messes and wipe little faces and hands. Michele, the WAHM (working-at-home mom) behind Zookiescrafts, has a lot to offer…cloth diaper covers, receiving/swaddle blankets, girls’ skirts and dresses, cloth wipes, beanies, wet bags, loveys, crayon wallets, pacifier clips, and more! Read my full review HERE.

Cheeky Bunz Diapers:

Cheeky Bunz is a line of cloth diapers and other fun, necessary items for babies and mamas, like baby blankets, cloth wipes, and mama cloth. This year, Cheeky Bunz is expanding to selling bags, children’s clothing, some household linens, nursery bedding and quilts. Elizabeth, the hard-working mom and Cheeky Bunz creator, is planning on opening up a brick and mortar shop the summer in Albuquerque, New Mexico! Read my full review HERE.

Barry’s Toys:

In his crowded studio in Southern Ireland, Barry handcrafts beautiful wood animals, puzzles, and other toys. A member of the Etsy Ireland team, Barry began making toys for his grandson. Based on his wife’s experiences working at a Montessori school, Barry designs toys and puzzles by combining his own designs with those of tried and true developmental toys. Barry’s toys are made with sustainable wood and eco-friendly materials. The toys are finished with a water-based varnish, safe for little ones. Read my full review HERE.

Delight Designs:

Jessica of Delight Designs makes more than six versions of cute little baby or children sleeping signs as well as other adorable items. She even sells decals for cloth diaper pails to make sure no trash finds it way in! At Delight Designs, you can find anything from Christmas ornaments to nostalgic and sweet gifts for parents and grandparents. Jessica is open to custom designs, so contact her on Etsy if you have any questions! Read my full review HERE.

Giveaway Terms & Conditions:

Sweepstakes open to residents of the US. Must be 18 years or older. Void where prohibited by law. Odds of winning depend on total number of eligible entries received. Winner chosen via Random.org. Once winner has been selected and emailed, winner will have 48 hours to respond or new winner will be selected. Winner’s first name and last initial will be posted on this blog and other social media and Web sites. My Life: A Work in Progress is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Entrance into the sweepstakes indicates acceptance of these terms and conditions.

If you agree to the terms and conditions stated above, enter below. Please note, there are four different Rafflecopter widgets (one for each prize package). If you have any issues with Rafflecopter, please empty your Web browser’s cache TWICE, then return here to enter.

Winners:
Entry #449 Aubree F. Entry #493 Ellen F. Entry #279 Judith M. Entry #679 Colleen L.