May 30, 2013 by Allison Hendrix

The Interrupt Rule

The situation is all too familiar. Two adults are talking and a child needs to tell their mother something.

“Mom! Mom! ” the child says as their mother is mid-sentence with her friend. 5 minutes later it happens again. “Excuse me, Mom?”

Even with polite words, the parent is being interrupted. It can be hard to focus on either conversation AND be an effective listener when your thoughts are continuously interrupted.

There is a great opportunity here for a child to show respect and honor to their elders by properly knowing how to interrupt a conversation.

Several years ago I took a parenting class called Growing Kids God’s Way which taught a solution I have recently reintroduced to my children. It’s called The Interrupt Rule.

Here’s how it works: When two adults are talking and a child needs to interrupt, they simply put their hand on their parents arm or shoulder. The child waits patiently without speaking.

By maintaining contact, the parent knows the child has a need. The parent can touch their child’s hand to acknowledge its presence.

The parent can continue in their conversation until there is a natural pause or good moment to address the child. ” Thank you for waiting Palmer, what can I help you with?” The child’s needs have been met and were addressed with undivided attention at a moment determined by the parent.

The Interrupt Rule - How your child can show respect and honor to their elders through a simple rule.

I also have been known to hide in my closet when talking on the phone to avoid being interrupted; so I have implemented the Interrupt Rule when I am on the phone. My children don’t wait forever, but this gives me a few moments to finish up my conversation before shifting gears.

In addition to the obvious lesson in patience, the Interrupt Rule teaches children to honor and respect their elders and the conversations amongst them.

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10 Ways to make your husband feel loved while traveling

When my husband travels, it’s hard on the entire family. Although I usually enjoy the first day or two of easy dinners and a pile of magazines as my bed companion, the novelty wears off, and we all want daddy back. He used to travel a lot!! I remember having a newborn, and my husband was out of the country for 3 weeks. I felt physically exhausted and assumed he should return refreshed from his “time away”. I acted like his business travel was a mini vacation. I could not have been further from the truth.

When he would return home, he would cling to me. The look in his eyes said it all. The travel schedule was rushed. The hotel room was lonely. The airplanes delayed. The meals quiet. His heart longing for the chaos of our home and warmth of our love. It was at this point, I made an intentional decision to start sending a little of that warmth with him. Here are a few ideas and ways to make your husband remember he’s loved on the road.

Get him a voice activated Alarm Clock – Record a sweet message that he will hear when he wakes up. “Good morning sweetheart. Time to wake up. Have a great day!” My kids would record messages “I love you daddy”. Could you imagine a better way to wake up in a lonely hotel room?
Text him pictures of you and the children at fun activities. We were at a Fall festival in this picture and took 5 minutes to write daddy a note and text it to him. He loved knowing that even admist cotton candy and music, we were thinking of him.
When he calls, DON’T COMPLAIN! I’m not suggesting to pretend everything is perfect, but you can discuss things without whining, nagging, or feeling entitled to a different set of circumstances. If you need to vent when he’s away, call a girlfriend, write in a journal, pray, go for a run.
Call the hotel and order him room service (even just a beer is fun).
Make him laugh… or cry- Hide ridiculous things in his shoes or dobskit. Be funny. Make him miss you. Humor is extremely underrated. You can also write encouraging notes, the ones that communicate your respect and appreciation for him. My son has even hidden his very special lovely in the suitcase – if that doesn’t say ‘i love you’, nothing will.
Enter ‘reminders’ or ‘alerts’ into his phone that will pop up throughout his trip.
Comfort food – Stick in some of his favorite power bars or his favorite candy. You can even wrap them for an element of surprise.
Hide a pair of your panties between his boxers – No judgement..
Download a romantic but cool song or playlist onto his phone. Halfway through the trip, tell him about it.
Facetime or Skype – Technology has made eye to eye contact possible. Little kids can actually believe they were with daddy….and I, sometimes just need to see my man.

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April 26, 2013 by Allison Hendrix

Teacher Gift Ideas

Thank you for not being "impatient" with us this year

Impatient Plant – Plant a simple impantien into a bright colored plastic pot. Tape a card onto a pencil and stick in dirt. Tie a ribbon. Cute and witty.

Lantern – We bought a lantern from Target and fill with chocolate covered pretzels. Attach a card with a reference to the teacher being a “light” in your life.

Personalized Starbucks treats – I bought cups from the dollar store and a package of chocolate covered shortbread from costco. I personalized these labels with each teacher’s name from this link. Printed them on sticker paper, cut and attached. Great way to start any day! Tea Jar – Fill a canister with tea and then print this label from www.lifecreated.com

Personalized Heart Poem – I asked my child what they love about their teacher, typed in his reply on this link , and it generates a heart shaped card. Print and give. You can never go wrong with a child’s sweet words.

I am Blessed

I am Grateful

Say it with socks – ” I am Blessed and Grateful for you!” – These socks from Notes to Self are my obsession at the moment. Here’s an affiliate link Hand Picked strawberries – with a cute tag “I couldn’t have picked a better teacher”(from Dixie Delights).

photo from “Hello from the Natos”

Homemade Cookie Dough – Wrapped adorably in parchment paper, a favorite cookie dough has always been a well received gift. You can write a recipe directly on the parchment or print it out. You can also print the label from Nato’s photo from this link. double-chocolate-chews-l

Munchins – Cute idea from the Happy Home Fairy to bring in Munchkins with note. Click here to print their note.

“Orange you glad it’s summer” Printable – I found the printable over at Coley’s Corner and you can attach it to pretty much anything. Thanks to them for allowing us to use it.

Gift Card – “A teacher can’t survive on apples alone…” – I saw this months ago as a Christmas gift but think it’d be just as cute for a year end gift.

cake pops

Cake Pop Stand – after packaging each cake pop in plastic bags from Michaels, we wrapped a styrofoam rectangle in wrapping paper, stuck them in, and made a sign. Great Grab and Go treat when lots of teachers are involved.

Personalized Gifts – These ideas are easiest if you have a die cutter machine. Here are some ways we personalized an inexpensive item which are just so much fun to receive.