Baking With A Princess

Some of the most precious moments i have as a mother are doing some of the most common everyday things with my girls. Cooking and cleaning may seem like mundane tasks, I have been learning how to make these tasks fun and exciting. They have to get done no matter what, so why not work together. I have found that whatever it is you face with disdain, so will your children... Like Snow White said " whistle while you work" I realized how much time i had wasted shooing them out of the room, and plopping them in front of a video rather than including them in what i was doing. Now given that there is a time and place for children to have independent time. I think its a bit silly of some mommies who are obsessive baby holders or entertain their children all day so as nothing on the household list is able to be done. But the ability to include your children in the every day tasks that keep a household up and running is a fruitfully thing. The biggest goal i have every morning is setting out to make the best of the day no matter what has to be done. Every mama knows how trial-some doing things with a hand full of children can be. But on laundry day, we all gather in the laundry room, and my 7 year old loads the machine and measures soap and softener. My three year old helps shove the wash into the dryer, and we all help fold and put away. Errands are our biggest challenge, the in and out and here in there wear so badly on the children. I had the idea of drawing all our stops on a homemade map, labeled by stops 1,2,3 and so on. At each departure, i would ask every one to tell me where to go next. finding treasures and treats along the way. Baking is easily turned into the days math lesson... measurements, and how many scoops of something are easily adapted to any child's learning age. So hopefully this is a little encouragement for some struggling mommy out there. I know i get in a rut just like anybody... its good to have reminders and encouragement for the average parts of life.