Featured Blogs

Featured Posts – Share Your Post Links

Sharing, Blogs, Networking, Growing Readership, Connection, Bloggers, Blog Posts

‘PLEASE SEND IN YOUR LINKS.’ 

Today’s featured blogs posts are:

Do step in and show some love.

Labeling yourself or others – insert I am illness An insightful post you’ll be glad you read. We’ve got to be careful what stickers and labels we affix on ourselves.

The 5 stages of dealing with your kid’s car seat This post gave me several chuckles. I remember days of battling with the children’s car seats. Thankfully, we’ve grown past that. Take a peek and buckle up 😉

Repurposing The Talking Drum We can make music from anything. This is fun to watch 🙂

Penpoint Pub Have you been to pen point pub? I love the byline ‘let’s get to the point together.’ Visit and say hey.

Amanpan blog My dear lady Eugenia serves up decadent brew from her bottomless pot of coffee while entertaining you with chatter that provokes thoughtful rumination. Go say hello.

Do you want more eyes on your words?’

Well then, add your LINK INTO THIS LOOP.

Comments are disabled here to keep the loop tidy. Any comments or link you want to send can be added through the link in the post.

Thank you for your understanding and regards.

‘Remember, we create a cohesive community when we come together.

Gratitude

As Fresh As Thyme…

Cooking, Mashed Potatoes, Photography

In auto mode, I quickly tossed ingredients into the bubbling sauce, rehashed a passage for my book in my head while trying to pay attention to the cacophony of my children’s voices milling around me in the kitchen.

They had just returned from school, each voice was relaying some information, each child wanted some form of attention and as usual, my three ears was listening to them, responding to their inquisition, addressing the accusation from my third child that I wasn’t paying him enough attention, stirring the saucepan, figuring out my passage and reminding myself respond to that request that had just popped into my mind as a reminder…and the crazy beat went on.

Why I haven’t gone batty is a question I ponder fleetingly. When will the hecticness stop, if ever?

My bubbly sauce was almost done, all that remained was to toss in the shredded fresh thyme and as I lifted the chopping board to scoop it in, I literally heard a voice whisper in my head, ‘enjoy the time.’

I smiled at the pun, enjoy the time while scooping in the thyme, but my ever roaming mind gripped those three words and allowed it to marinate.

I realized that in the near future these young children craving my attention right now would all fly out of my coop and spread their wings.

They will go in search of their own dreams and set up their own little spaces and they won’t be underfoot in the kitchen all talking at the same time.

The thought certainly gave me pause.

It reminds me that we should appreciate and enjoy each fresh moment of time that we are given.

To catch the time and hold it as close to our heart as possible because it’s delicate and fleeting.

I am reminded to gratefully relish these moments like no other because no two moments are the same.

Shall we eat?

© Jacqueline

If you wish to participate in a gratitude challenge, there are several gratitude/thankful platforms in the blogosphere that you can tune into and get your ithankful going on. I can’t express in words the enormity of Joy and fulfillment that comes from having a heart of gratitude. Please check out Maria’s blog, Colline’s blog and Bernadette’s for thankful/gratitude challenges.

Writers Quote Challenge

Emulation – Writers Quote Challenge

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‘When the nanny goat eats grass, her kid watches her mouth.’ African Proverb

I heard this proverb over and over as a child that I have no atom of an idea how many times that could possibly be, but even as a child, I knew my parents meant that I should emulate them by watching what they did.invitation-shel-silverstein

In essence, it’s not just what they said that I should look at but at the examples that they set.

Of course, believe me when I say that I fell flat millions of times in emulating their examples, not due to any fault of theirs but due to stubborn individuality and sometimes outright foolishness.

It took Higher Grace not to have killed myself with my own foolishness despite all the words of correction and examples set by my parents.

The interesting thing is that now as an adult and parent, I catch myself sounding just like my own parents to my children, repeating the same words of wisdom that they drummed into my ears and hopefully portraying some sensible and responsible behaviour for my ‘kids’ to emulate.

Then again, kids will be kids after all. However, with sustained repetition and the right examples, the lessons planted will be retained and eventually mature with them as they grow and hopefully, their ears will turn out to be more than fancy bits of their body.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Written for the Writers’ Quote Weekly challenge prompt from Joan “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”
James Baldwin

Guest Posts · Parenting

Sharing Bedrooms: How To Stop War Breaking Out Between Your Kids

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As a parent, all we really want is peace and quiet – but if you have more than one child, that’s never really the case. If they aren’t playing rambunctious games that you’re worried might just shatter your home into pieces, then chances are they’re fighting as loudly as possible – and this might happen even more if they share a room. Not having your own space can be rough on kids, but luckily there are things you can do to make it easier on everyone.

Set Up Room Dividers

If they’re having problems separating their possessions from each other’s, then add room dividers so that they have the illusion of having their own space. It’s important, especially as you get older, to have your own private space. A lot of kids feel happy and secure knowing they can go into their rooms and close their doors for a little breathing space – but if this isn’t possible for your family, putting dividers across the room might do the trick, whether they’re folding ones or simply a curtain that can be pushed back.

Give Them Separate Storage

You’ve probably already heard numerous fights about who stole someone else’s favourite toy – honestly, it can be exhausting to have to deal with. You can get around this by giving them separate spaces to store their toys and possessions, along with another container for toys that belong to both of them.

Although sharing is a key skill that it’s important for them to learn, it’s also important for them to understand to respect other people’s things.

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Move Furniture To Give Them More Space

If there isn’t much floor space so they tend to be crammed in together, then why not go for children’s bunk beds? This will free up a lot of the room, and it’ll also help them to feel a little more alone as they’re trying to get to sleep at night. Bear in mind that this might make dividing the room into two a whole lot harder – but the extra space might just be worth it.

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Give Them Another Place To Do Homework

Make sure that there’s another place in the house for your kids to do homework or to go to generally be quiet and have their own space. It’s crucial for every child to have their own quiet orderly space to study, and if they’re being interrupted by a sibling in their shared room that might be hard. It’s also important for them to know that if they need to, there’s a place in your house where they can go to chill out and destress and be alone.

Lead Their Communication

It’s important for you to show them what good communication is. Make sure that you and your spouse are always polite and loving towards each other, and that you apologize after any disagreements or harsh words that you might have. If you encourage your kids to do the same thing when they have disagreements with each other, you’ll find that they’ll be kinder and more gentle with each other and that fights will get resolved much more quickly.

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Gratitude

Moments Like This…. Personal

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I must be doing something right somewhere, though many times I question my own authority as a mother and call myself out for messing up now and again, but when you get a letter from your child’s school authority inviting you to an investiture ceremony because he has been chosen to be the school’s Head Boy, your heart can only swell in pleasure and gratitude.

Believe me, when I say that in a community where the percentage of black children is negligible, nothing prepared my mind to think that my child would be selected. It’s a new precedent for the school to have a black child as their head boy and moments like this make me thankful and a proud mother.

I don’t have all the material wealth to give to these young blessings who adorn my life, all that I have to give is my love, teaching them basic human values and hoping to do my best in raising children who will be worthy ambassadors of the humanity that they belong in.

Moments like this make me thankful for these things that bring warmth, hope, and rays of sunshine into my life.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

If you wish to participate in a gratitude challenge, there are several gratitude/thankful platforms in the blogosphere that you can tune into and get your ithankful going on. I can’t express in words the enormity of Joy and fulfilment that comes from having a heart of gratitude. Please check out Maria’s blog,Colline’s blog and Bernadette’s for thankful/gratitude challenges.

A Click A Day · Everyday People

The Little Smiles from every day people – A Click A Day.

In a World that has been increasingly hectic with ugly and disturbing news, I make it a point to look out each day that I’m opportune for that little thing that makes me smile. It may not seem like much, but these little things warm my heart.

Watching this dad adjust his daughter’s tie, rearrange her hair and hold it up with a scrunchy, is one of such smiley moments for me.

Find something to smile about today 🙂

A Click A Day

Homemade Juices and Smoothies – A Click A Day.

 

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One of the decisions I made earlier this year is to reduce as much as possible, my families consumption of fizzy pops, KoolAids, Caprisun, Tang and all such drinks and to replace them with fresh, healthier options.

Initially, it was not an easy sell to the children and Dear Himself.  I heard a lot of moans and groans to start with, but it caught on right  after the first trial run. Now, we bulk purchase a variety of fruits, juice them, mix them, make smoothies out of different blends and bottle to freeze.

The children participate in doing this, from washing the fruits, to peeling, to juicing with the electric juicer….

The process is fun since they get to eat the sweet pulp from the fruits and to label their hard work. Each school morning, a bottle of frozen homemade juice is tossed into their lunch box (it retains its freshness from freezing and would have melted by break time) and they bring back the bottles, rinse it out with warm water and reuse.

The interesting thing is that when we eat out these days, the kids compare the drinks they get outside to the one that we make at home and their verdict is that our’s is better 😉

How do you get your children to assist in the house? I love to learn from others.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha


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Writer's Quote Wednesday

The Resilience of The Broom – Writers Quote Wednesday Writing Challenge.

Image result for images of Nigerian broomsticks

The strength of the broom lies not in the power of a single frond but in the resilience of its united fronds. African proverb

Like most families my growing up years consisted of squabbling with my siblings over things that I can’t even recall anymore, but the saying above is one of those proverbs that I’ll never forget because my parents used proverbs like that one to teach us life’s lessons.

‘Igwe bu ike! This is an Ibo word that means ‘there’s strength in numbers.’ My mother will tell us that while demonstrating with a broom.

She would give each of us a broomstick and instruct us to go ahead and break it. With barely much strength applied, the broomstick would snap. Then she would give us the entire broom to break and no matter how much you tried, that broom would never break. It might bend, but not break.

She used this example to emphasize to us that we had to stand together as one family because when we stand together as a unit that’s the only way we would withstand adversity and over the years of my life, we have individually and collectively gone through the storm as a family, but having each other to lean on has made passing through the eye of the storm easier.

Our unity didn’t mean that we lost our individuality, but there’s a code of oneness that understands and tolerates diversity.

This saying is not just for families, but to any group that man forms because we are social beings.

Unity brings strength
and creates harmony.

Unity promotes prosperity
and fosters love.

Unity covers the weakness of one
and infuses him with support.

When we are united
we can withstand.

When our unity is broken down
we will crumble.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Unity – #WQWWC


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Featured Blogs

Featured Posts 113 – Share your blog posts.

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‘PLEASE KEEP SENDING IN THE LINKS.’ 

Today’s featured blogs posts are:

The journey ahead: I simply love this quote from Joan.

Follow your dream: A great Monday morning pick-me-up.

Dear God, I need a friend: We all need our friends in order to thrive.

Portrait of a day: I like posts and photos that perk up my spirit any time of the day.

Your love is sweet misery: Sweet love is intoxicating. Take a peek at Pamela’s short, sweet romance to start your week.

Do step in and show some love.

‘Do you want more eyes on your words?’

Well then, add your LINK INTO THIS LOOP.

Comments are disabled here to keep the loop tidy. Any comments or link you want to send can be added through the link in the post.

Thank you for your understanding and regards.

‘We create a cohesive community when we come together. 


 

out-of-the-silent-breath 2

I hear the reverberations of the magic that’s hidden within.

Support Me.

Featured Blogs

Featured Posts 111 – Share Your Posts.

1456149614808[1]

‘PLEASE KEEP SENDING IN THE LINKS.’ 

Today’s featured blogs posts are:

The armed woman: Ha, ha! Don’t try this! You might miss the target 😉

Smiles: the best makeup any human can wear is a warm smile.

Change for them: will you do so? Are you able to do so? Short and wise quote.

Tiny teacher still a bear: Most times we need to learn from the children. I loved this short narrative story and I think I read it in a child’s voice 😉

I loved the idea of her: a short tale of love, expectations, and the interesting tapestry formed when you fall in love with someone whose ideology is in direct opposite of yours.

Do step in and show some love.

‘Do you want more eyes on your words?’

Well then, add your LINK INTO THIS LOOP.

Comments are disabled here to keep the loop tidy. Any comments or link you want to send can be added through the link in the post.

Thank you for your understanding and regards.

‘We create a cohesive community when we come together. 


out-of-the-silent-breath 2

I hear the reverberations of the magic that’s hidden within.

Support Me.