Teaching Table Manners to Kids!
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Stop sloppin’ the hogs: Teaching Table Manners to Children (Dan)

ByDan Jacobs

He spilled. Something that happens only… every…single…meal. Don’t cry over spilled milk they say. The parent version should be more along the lines of “Don’t go off on a parental tirade over spilled milk.” (I am still working on that one.) It wasn’t the fact that my eldest spilled milk, or food or whatever it was. It was how he so casually morphed into what looked like one of those sucker fish you see in the fish tanks and hoovered up what he had splashed on the table cloth. Almost equally as disappointing was his surprise by my objection to his doing so. Seriously?? Where did I go wrong?

teach children to be self-reliant

Teach Children To Be Self-Reliant – 3 tips (she: Heather)

ByHeather

There has been a lot in the media lately about different parenting styles. Specifically helicopter parenting vs. free range parenting. The differences between the two can be a discussion for another time as there are very strong opinions one way or the other. Regardless of the differences, we should all be able to agree on one thing, the need to teach children to be self-reliant. Our parenting style has a huge affect on our children’s ability to take care of themselves. Here are three tips for encouraging our children to be self-reliant.

These cute bun hairstyles for girls will have you running for your combs and hairspray! #cutebunhairstyles #bunhairstyles #hairstylesforgirls #ldsblogger #lds #mormonblogger #mormon www.orsoshesays.com
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Cute Bun Hairstyles for Girls – Top 5 Picks!

ByBecky

These Top 5 Cute Bun Hairstyles for Girls will have you running for your combs and hairspray! These are some of our tried and true go-to styles for school mornings or playful weekends. As a kid I LOVED doing my sister and friends’ hair. I taught myself how to french braid on a doll, then graduated to my (poor guinea pig) sister, and I finally get to play with my daughter’s hair! Since she’s the only girl, she gets the full brunt of my love for all things hair.

bedtime tips

Bedtime Tips for Getting Kids to Bed Without Fits (she: Jen)

ByJennifer from PinkWhen

Happy Monday everyone, it’s Jen from PinkWhen back to share with you Tips for Getting Kids to Bed without Fits. Having four kiddos can be a little trying at bedtime. I never really have an issue with the older three, but it’s the youngest one who has had an issue with going to bed. I am going to share with you some tips that I learned that helped me save my sanity in this last year. If you have a toddler who refuses to go to bed and is constantly trying to get into your bed, then these bedtime tips are for you.

toilet training

Toilet Training – Is Your Child Ready? (she: Heather)

ByHeather

Heather here, from FamilyVolley.com, ready to talk about one of the most dreaded milestones in parenting: Toilet training! It can be hard and frustrating and stressful. Some would argue it is a nightmare. Today I offer some tips and tricks to help things go a little more smoothly for you and your little ones. The best place to start? Determine if you child is ready to toilet train in the first place.

Did you know that mothers report that as a child grows older, the lack of toilet training causes progressively greater strains and tensions on family life, and on the mother/child relationship?

Here are some things that parents can do before they toilet train to help get kids ready, as well as how to know if your child is ready to be trained:

traveling with kids
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Traveling with Kids Tips (she: Liz)

ByLiz

Hi there! It’s Liz again, from Liz on Call. My family and I just recently returned home from a trip to Disneyland! We had such a fun time and I can’t wait to see what Disney will reveal in celebration of their 60th Anniversary. I have 3 young children, and if you’ve even had to go on a road trip with one child, you know it has potential for disaster. Today I’m excited to be sharing some fun tips for traveling with kids.

a year in review printable
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Year In Review Printable – Good for All Ages (she: Sharon)

Bysharon

Hi all! It’s Sharon back again for another fun year with ‘Or so she says…’ I’m looking forward to visiting with you all each month and sharing ideas I hope you’ll be able to put to use in your own home, family and life.

I’ve had this on-going goal of compiling a list of questions and answers from my kids around each of their birthdays so I could remember all the cute little quirks they have. Well now that I have three birthdays to remember…this never happens. So to solve my little problem, I decided that just once a year I would ask them questions, and this way I’m much more likely to remember to do it. So, starting this year, every January I’m going to fill out this year in review printable I created for each of my kids. I tried to make almost all the questions apply to most ages, it works for my 10, 4, and 1 year old twins.

good better best
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Good, Better, Best (she: Veronica)

ByVeronica

Hello my friends!! I’m so happy to be back this year as a contributor for “Or so she says…”. For those who don’t know me yet, I thought I’d briefly introduce myself. My name is Veronica and I’m married to Ricky…AKA Big Daddy, a good ol’ southern boy. I’m the mom of 9 amazing kids. We are literally a “his, hers and ours” family, which is never the ideal situation, but we are proof that it CAN work! I live in the south…which I love! By day, I can ALWAYS be found at my little table making bow ties for my Etsy shop. I’m also over the teenage girls at church, who keep me crazy busy, but I love them! I have many favorite things (my kids being #1), but with 9 kids, my favorite things are simple. Like the fact that Big Daddy was able to fix my 10 year old washing machine this weekend, or how happy I was to sit in a house of sleeping creatures and watch the episode of Downton Abbey that was recorded. Then there’s always the day last week when I found a forgotten hidden stash of chocolate in my t-shirt drawer. Now THOSE are my favorite things…

Anyhoooo…

I’m not your typical blogger. Actually I’m not a blogger at all.

But, I once was.

I knew exactly what I wanted to share this month, and it made me think of my old blog. I really wanted to do the “blog” thing a couple years ago, with the intention of keeping a better record of the little moments in our lives. And I loved it more than I can tell you! I was constantly writing things down, taking pictures, planning what I was going to do for what day, etc. I found myself sitting at my computer more and more. I could easily justify it, because I was being a good mom and recording our lives. Future generations would LOVE me!!!

One day, everything changed. It was a day when I was “BUSY”. Busy with life. Busy with little things…that seemed like big things. Not busy with bad things, just not the best things. I won’t share the whole post, but you can read it here if you would like.

Helping Your Family Keep New Year’s Resolutions (she: Heather)
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Helping Your Family Keep New Year’s Resolutions (she: Heather)

ByHeather

I know, it is hard enough to keep your own personal resolutions and goals. Why would you want to set goals with your family too? Well, because setting goals together and working towards goals, brings us closer as a family. It builds unity, trust and is a great opportunity to teach our children skills and values.

Whether your family has a word of the year, sets resolutions, or you have goals that you want your family to work on this year, here are tips to help your family stick with those resolutions so you can improve and grow together.

52 Family Night Lessons all in one post! www.orsoshesays.com #familynight #FHE #family
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52 Family Night Lessons for Every Week of the Year! (she: Mariah)

ByMariah

Happy New Year everyone! I hope all your resolutions are going well so far! Something that I want to be better at this year is having weekly family nights or family home evenings.

For those of you who don’t know what family home evening is, it’s basically a night where your family spends time with each other and they usually include a little lesson, an activity, and (if you’re lucky) a treat.

simplify your life
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Simplify Life – 9 Simple Ways (she: Lindsay)

ByLindsay

For my first post here, I get to share some of my tips to help you simplify your life. A very fitting topic as we enter a New Year and probably have ambitions of making this our best year yet. I have been thinking a lot about this topic lately, of simplifying, and have been working hard at doing just that in every area of my life. Sometimes I fail miserably. But I think I’m making baby steps towards living a simpler life.

So. Here are 9 strategies I use to simplify life. And this all comes with a disclaimer that my life is anything but simplified and easy. But I do what I can to simplify where I can so I don’t get sent to the crazy bin.