Guest Post: "Things I've Learned - Parenting Style" by Chocolate Covered Daydreams

Meet my mentor and friend Simone from the blog Chocolate Covered Daydreams.  I don't exactly remember how I found her wonderful site - I think it was just from another blogger's reel on the side bar.  But I'm so glad I did discover her. 


Simone has become almost like an inner voice in my head - her positive spin on life and her constant upbeat outlook and observations on the little things really keep me going.  She writes about things like bread crusts that make you look at life in a whole new way!   Then Simone also shares real life-altering stories like how she lifted up a truck to help save another woman's (a must read that will make you cry and rejoice~! )

She is a wonderful writer and a beautiful person.  Simone is always sending me encoraging words and pushign me to write more!   I feel so lucky that I know her and can call her my friend.   Please stop by her site to say hello or leave her a warm comment below.  Thank you and enjoy her stories!


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I am so excited to be a guest blogger for Mandy. This is like being invited to be a guest on a talk show except I’m not anyone famous.  

Hi, I’m Simone of the site Chocolate Covered Daydreams.  I am a mommy of two who are now all “growed up”.  On Thursdays, I usually impart 10 things I’ve learned throughout the week or just in general about life. I call it Things I’ve Learned Thursday. But, since I’m guest posting today, I’m going to do a special Things I’ve Learned - Parenting Style.

Before I became a mom, I had huge goals and aspirations. I pictured sewing matching mommy and me dresses and baking bread and having tea parties and a baby that went to sleep without having to be told twice.  Most of those things never happened. Real life happened instead!

Yet here are ten things I've learned about that real world of parenting that have made me a far richer person - woman and mommy - on the inside and out.   These are things I'd like to share with you about my experiences - things I will never forget and would not change for an instant! 

1) I learned that in order to sew a dress for my daughter’s first day in kindergarten, make sure the neckline was cut accurately. I had to almost grease her with Vaseline to get the dress over her head and had to cut it off of her when it was time to remove it. (She sure looked adorable but wore it only one time.)


2) Always encourage your child’s passion and excitement. When I was a kid, my mom didn’t take my desire to draw and paint seriously. She treated it as if it were a passing thing. From the time my twin sis and I scribbled on the walls until now, the passion hasn’t disappeared. Look for talents and abilities that your child may have. When my first one was 2 and had no fear or shyness and loved watching Annie and singing, Tomorrow over and over again, we enrolled her in acting class. She soon had an agent and a manager and auditioned and nailed some pretty great parts. BUT, also listen to when your child says, “Enough.” No matter how much I thought she would want to continue to act, by 6 years old, she had had enough of being in the car and memorizing lines. She just wanted to have fun and be a typical, normal kid.


3) Don’t take your kids out during naptime. Trust me, when you are getting stared at because your child has hit meltdown, it’s only because their patience has run out. Have you ever walked on your knees and saw the view from a kid’s stroller? There’s not much fun or amusement after sitting in a stroller for two hours.


4) I learned that homeschooling my daughters was the best decision I could’ve ever made. I am an advocate for learning. I believe that babies are like sponges and are ready to learn even before they reach school age. By the time my daughter turned 4, she was reading quite well. I taught her the old fashioned way I learned…phonics, then, sight words. When she got to kindergarten, she was already reading at a third grade level. The teacher didn’t have the resources to keep her challenged and also told me more than once that she would just have to wait until the other kids caught up with her. After growing more and more tired of her wearing a different alphabet hat each day, I decided to jump head first into homeschooling. She loved it and her little sister loved going to school right along with her. I knew what kept each of them intrigued and how to challenge them. I also learned never be afraid to say, “I don’t know. Why don’t we find out together?” We went on field trips at home using the computer. We learned how M&Ms were made, what it took to manufacture crayons and so much more.


5) Use your imagination! Kids now don’t really know how to use their imaginations because electronics have really taken over and zapped all of that free creativity. Collect paper towel tubes, old bars of soap, rubber bands, buttons, material, magazines, wood, straws and whatever scraps that can be used for creating and let them have a ball.

My youngest daughter was a taker aparter. By the time she was 4, we would take apart an electrical fan (not the electrical portion) and put all the pieces in front of her and have her put it back together again. Of course, there was plenty of supervising and she knew that she was never allowed to take apart or put anything back together again unless she was given the permission. To this day, she is very mechanical and has decided that one day, she is going to go to school to become an auto mechanic, just because.


6) Open up your kids eyes to other cultures and people of all ages. Even though my girls had grandparents, they knew that there were elderly people that lived in nursing homes that didn’t have grandkids and were sometimes lonely. We adopted a grandma and when they made a card or drew a picture, we went to the nursing home so that they could show their “grandma” and of course, tape their picture to her walls. They would sit and have a snack in the dining area while others ate their snacks too and the elderly loved it!


7) Start your own traditions. Where I lived, usually Halloween was so cold that I seriously didn’t want them out trick or treating and ending up sick. Plus, there was a scare at the time of people poisoning candy so I started a Family Harvest Celebration. The fun part was that I chose the candy that I wanted them to have and my now ex husband and I, hid it all over the house while they stayed in their room in anticipation. Then, they went on their candy hunt, we ate junk food and watched movies together and “officially” lit the fireplace. They looked forward to it every year. As the years went by, we celebrated the harvest celebration the day after Halloween when the candy was 50 – 75% off.


8) Long drives can be actually entertaining when you allow your kids to tell you a story. We took turns telling stories and singing songs or telling jokes. Kids and knock knock jokes never go out of style.


9) The best adventures are those that are free. I knew of a little girl that always wanted to spend time at our house because she was always kept so busy with after school activities she never had the chance just to be at home. Sometimes, just being at home and reading a book, painting, making cookies and playing a game is better than being away from home until late in the evenings.


10) Be a mommy as well as a friend. Too many parents are told that it’s wrong to be “a friend” and that their kids won’t respect them as an authority figure. Wrong! As women, we wear many hats, from nurturer, to cook, to veterinarian, teacher, librarian and housekeeper, but the one that your child will treasure the most is your friendship. Treat your child the way you’d want them to treat you. If you want to be heard, then listen to them. Ask questions and show appreciation when they least expect it. My girls were taught to not ask for anything when we went to the store. I would surprise them and buy them random things for “not asking”. Their faces would light up when I’d put two packages of Skittles on the counter, just because. It gave me joy to give to them because they didn’t ask.



Everything I’ve learned in my life, I’ve learned from being a mom.  What have you learned today?


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Well Simone my friend, I can tell you that I've learned that I want to be a mom just like you!  These are amazing tips and wise words that I will remember for a long time.  Actually, they even made me cry as I read them.  I can tell how much you love being a mom and how much you've gained from raising your two "growed up" daughters. 

Thank you, thank you for sharing this guest post with my readers and me.  I just love your blog and all the things you continue to learn each day and week and share with the world!  Keep up the great work and thanks for being here today! 


Okay folks, I have one more guest writer this month; then I'll be back!  I'll actually be a guest writer myself next week on two of my favorite sites. 


I've really enjoyed this break from blogging though..... I've been getting so much done with my book!  Hooray!  And I've gotten some time to relax, get well from my strep throat.  This week I'm hosting a brunch at my home for friends.  So thanks to my guest writers for giving me this vacation!  I'm so happy you've been here filling in for me!  


I'll be back next week with updates and a special birthday post for Vivian!  Until then, cheers and enjoy this fall weather!