PARENTING BLOG
SUSIE E CARON
MOTHER, TEACHER AND PSYCHOLOGIST RETIRED
WELL, MOTHER'S NEVER RETIRE. RIGHT?
SUSIE E CARON
MOTHER, TEACHER AND PSYCHOLOGIST RETIRED
WELL, MOTHER'S NEVER RETIRE. RIGHT?
 How To Generate Unlimited Blog Ideas
by Susie Caron © 10.27.15 If you really want to blog and you feel lost as to how to generate enough content, here’s a simple plan to get you going. Below I explain what you can do if you’ve already written and published a book. Then I describe how to generate ideas if you haven’t written a book, but want to write blog articles now. If you’ve written a book do these: 1st: take out a physical copy of your book and a book mark. 2nd: without ‘thinking’ begin with the preface, introduction or chapter 1 and scan for words that ‘jump out’ at you. Jot these down on a piece of paper or on your computer. Do NOT think, Just Do. 3rd: when you get tired, put the book mark where you stopped. You can resume later. 4th: look at your list. Do you know what you just did? You just created an important list of words that resonate with you. They actually mean something to you. 5th: write a sentence, a statement or question with this word. 6th: Now you have a word, and written something important to you. You can probably see, now, how you can write a 300-500 word article to share what you know, in your heart, is important. (If it’s important to you, it is also likely to be meaningful to others.) 7th: Write your article. Bonus: Writing it will help your readers get to know you, to like you and want to read more that you’ve written. 8th: You’ve written a blog article. You want people to know about it and read it right? That’s why you need to know this: How to do tweets or Facebook posts about your blog. Here’s how: Read over your fresh, new blog. Highlight on your own copy, any words or phrases that seem to stand out as main ideas, quotes to tweet, or could be written as questions. Write down 3 or more of these and turn them into tweets, or Facebook posts. To get people directly to this your latest and wonderful blog article do this. After you’ve uploaded it to your on-line blog site, click on the TITLE . That should give you a specific URL for it. Click on that and copy it. Save it. You can then go to a URL shortener: I use GoogleURLShortener,and paste your long URL in. Then copy and save the shortened link to use when you tweet or post to Facebook, or other places. That’s it! You Don’t have a published book? No problem. 1st: take out a physical copy of a dictionary or thesaurus. (I prefer the thesaurus.) Grab a book mark. Start at “A” and go through jotting down words that seem to jump out at you. These are the words that mean something to you. Now follow the same path I wrote above. Hooray! You have unlimited ideas to blog about. Just take one you like and write. Have fun! Did this article help you? Oh please, please tell me in the comments below. Share this article with your friends too. Remember, Twee’ Means You & Me. & Together We Can Write! Susie Caron  http://taralazar.com/ What Am I Doing In PiBoIdMo?
by Susie E. Caron © 10/25/15 This is an exciting day! I just signed up for the PiBoIdMo challenge. PiBoIdMo stands for Picture Book Idea Month. This is a challenge, for picture book authors, created by http://taralazar.com/ The challenge is to think of 30 picture book concepts in 30 days. The challenge is free, but participants must sign up between Oct. 25 and Dec.5. Throughout the 30 days of November, we create titles, characters, pictures, summaries, and more. There are prizes too!!! It's all honor system, (we keep secret what we're up to). At the end of the month we will be asked to sign a pledge that 30 new picture book ideas were created in 30 days. Wow! I’m so excited and I’m already generating ideas. Will you be Cheering for me? I hope so, because this is what I 'm planning. I will generate a great new picture book series to launch in 2016. I will also discover and review picture book author's and their books on my blog. Speaking of #PictureBooks, Are you looking for #GiftGiving Ideas for #Children ? You can Buy my Picture Book series* Today. Click HERE to get them on Amazon. Not ready yet? Here are some good reasons to buy *Twee', I Am Twee', and Twee' for Two.
Thank you, Remember, Twee' Means You and Me  My New Life Gets A New Improved Look! by Susie E. Caron © 10/24/15 What 'New Life'? I have a new life! This summer I retired from careers in teaching, psychotherapy, parent coaching and entrepreneurial pursuits. Now I plan to focus on writing articles, stories and publishing ! Oh, and of course I plan to have more fun with family. WoooHooo! Why the 'New Look'? Devoting full time (almost) to writing meant the web site had to change. Formerly it was titled "Twee' Means You & Me", which was primarily about my first 3 picture books and a blog about parenting. I wanted to branch out and offer more, much more. So I asked my friend Jo Linsdell for help. Jo is the CEO of www.WritersAndAuthors.info , www.PromoDay.info., as well as an award winning and international best selling author and illustrator. She has written and published many children's books, and she writes and produces articles, books and even video tips for writers and authors, so I knew she could help me.  Jo's suggested that I redesign my web site to compliment my determination to become a best selling author of a variety of works. For example I plan to broaden the topics I write about on my blog - "Between You & Me". I wanted to add articles about many things that I love, such as family, writing, illustrating, dogs, cats, kids, owning and riding horses, gardening, cooking, taking good care of yourself, and much, much more. I also plan to write and publish more children's books, a non-fiction, narrative novel, and some non-fiction books for kids and parents. I may even write about my journey into writing and publishing. This is all good, but there is something much more important: The reason I write.  You are the reason I write.
I write because I want to share, and I want to share with you! As a result, this web site is for you. So I arranged it to be a comfortable and easy place to visit. To accomplish this I…..
I really hope you are pleased and like the changes. Tell me what you think. Make a suggestion. Ask me a question. I cannot wait to hear from you. Please share this on social. We need each other. Which reminds me about my friend: you can find out more about Jo at http://www.jolinsdell.com/ Remember, Twee’ means you and me Because Friends are the best. 
Pumpkin Carving: A Must Have October Family Tradition for Building Happy Childhood Memories
by Susie E. Caron © 10/17/15 One of my favorite family activities, which became a yearly tradition, is pumpkin carving. We began carving pumpkins when our kids were toddlers and continued right into their adulthood. Building a family tradition is fun and important for lots of reasons. Kids benefit from practicing happy family traditions. Traditions are those activities you repeat year after year with your kids. They create the things that kids remember long into adulthood. If enjoyed, grown up kids will often continue these activities with their own children. That's why it's important to make traditional activities memorable by making them fun, with family, food, and even friends. 3 reasons to carry on happy traditions with your kids:
Here’s how you can begin Pumpkin Carving for a yearly family activity that becomes a happy, memorable tradition. 
How to Carve pumpkins with Kids. Get your pumpkins anywhere from 2-4 weeks before Halloween. Part of the traditional fun is taking the kids with you to pick out their own pumpkins. Each one gets one, even adults. When you get the pumpkins home, an adult can rinse the outsides with a mild bleach and water solution to remove any bacteria or mold and slow down the natural rotting process. Let the pumpkins dry or wipe with paper towels. Set a date with your kids to do the actual carving and put it on the calendar. It will be a special event. (I explain more toward the end of this article.) How to carve pumpkins with kids of every age. You can begin when your kids are very tiny. Provide them with cut outs of facial features to glue or tape onto pumpkin surfaces. Preschool aged youngsters can draw faces or designs onto pumpkins with markers. These may be left on, as is, or the features may be cut out by an adult. Later, with adult supervision, older kids may begin to cut out features directly on the pumpkin themselves. It’s best to do pumpkin carving outdoors on a picnic table. If you don’t have one, you can use the ground or set up a board from your steps to something solid for carving ease. If it becomes too cold to do this outside, just put newspapers or even towels all over your kitchen table. Get out a good sharp knife and a strong spoon, so you can cut off the top and scoop out the seeds and remove the stringy pulp. An adult must do this until the kids are older. However, even teenagers should be supervised for safety. Some people separate the seeds from the stringy stuff and roast the seeds in the oven with a bit of salt. Others, put the messy stuff into the compost. It’s your choice. Let the kids do their artistic expressions of anything they want while you also do your own. My kids loved this. We each had our own pumpkin and engaged in a little light competition. They often told us that their designs were better than ours, and they were usually right. 
How to make it memorable.
Plan ahead to have a special lunch together. After lunch, do the messy business of carving. When everything is cleaned up you and your kids can decorate a place to set up the pumpkins indoors. That evening, light up the pumpkins with candles inserted in the middles or use tiny portable LED lights available for this purpose. Turn off all the electric lighting in the house and sit close together to ooooo and ahhhhh and talk about your creations. In a day or two put the pumpkins outdoors in a special spot, off the ground, where you can watch them change as the days go by. The ‘faces’ will change as they ‘age’ throughout the fall, and into winter. It’s funny and fun! (In the spring, any residue can be put in the compost.) What traditional family activity do you practice with your kids? Please share it with us in the comments and share this article with your friends on social media. Thank you. Remember Twee’ means you and me making memories with our kids. Susie Caron  2 Easy Ways to Handle Your Kids Interruptions
by Susie E. Caron © 10/11/15 Do you get impatient when your kids interrupt you with frequent requests and irritating questions? Most parents do. But there are really important reasons to meet most of your kids’ needs, and to be able to get your work done. This article explains why you will want to respond more positively and 2 easy ways you can do that. Reasons to respond in positive ways to your Kids' Interruptions. "Kids need to feel their parents welcome, understand, and value them to become healthy, confident adults." Parents want to help their kids feel welcomed and understood, but parents can’t always, immediately take care of every kid’s needs. Kids who interrupt only to feel their parent’s rejection, irritation, or disinterest, have more personal insecurities and difficulty handling disappointments and stress. However, the kids who know that their parents welcome them, validate their feelings, and attempt to understand, feel that they are worthy of their parent’s time and attention. These kids usually become healthier, happier, more confident adults.They also tend to handle life difficulties and disappointments much better. Most parents want to help their kids grow up this way, but find it difficult and don't know how to handle the seemingly constant interruptions, questions and requests. If you struggle with how to handle your kids' interruptions,, the information below can help you. Two Good Ways To Respond To Kids' Interruptions. Here are two easy ways you can address most of the interruptions, requests and questions so your kids feel welcomed and valued. The first way suggests how to prepare your kids, when you really cannot be interrupted. The second gives you ways to handle their interruptions if you were unable to prepare them beforehand. These 2 responses will help your kids feel welcomed and worthy of your time and attention. That goes a long way to building healthier, happier, and more confident kids. Prepare kids before you begin your work. If possible, BEFORE you engage in an important activity, set the kids up with something to occupy them and tell them how long you will be unavailable. Tell them you'll set the timer so when it rings you'll come visit with them to see if they need anything. Let them know how important it is that you get this task completed without any interruptions. Also tell them that you plan to play, read or do something else for fun with them after your finished. When the timer goes off, stop and go to your kids. Thank them for giving you this time. Tell them it is because of them, waiting so nicely, that you were able to complete what you started working on. Now reward them by doing something WITH them. (You can set the timer if you want to limit the time for play.) What to do when 'work' (phone call etc.) appears and your kids interrupt you. If work, an important phone call, etc. appears without enough warning, you can still make sure your kids' needs are met later. Here's how: When your kids try to get your attention, excuse yourself for a moment. Then quickly turn to fully face your child, make good eye contact, and say, “I know that you want me to ____(do, say, fix, ) and it is really important to you. I WANT (use this important word) to do that for you, but I can’t do it right now. I will come find you when I finish this in _____(time)." (Give child a time and try to stick to it. If you find you are running long, apologize to your child and set a new time.) When you practice this response each time you are interrupted, your kids will trust that you value them enough to acknowledge them and their needs, and that you will indeed follow through. It takes time, but this save a lot of aggravation. Bonus: Did you know that by giving your UNDIVIDED attention to kids, in 15 minute slots throughout your day, (read a book, play a game, watch part of a TV show, etc together.) You will reduce the number and times you get interrupted? Try this and you will find that you can actually get more of your own work done! I hope you liked this article and found it helpful for when you get interrupted. Please share this article with your friends, email me or comment below to tell me what you think, and what you have found works to distract your kids when you are busy. As always Twee’ means you and me Working together to raise great kids. Susie Caron  What do Mommies Need? by Susie Caron © 10/4/15 Mommies’ daily duties are never ending. They work, give, struggle, try, comfort, feed, give again, rock, chauffer, cook, phone, pay, organize, read, tuck in, wake up, teach, and many more things. It’s amazing. Mommies are miracles at work. Mommies want their kids to grow up. They look forward to when their kids get big enough to take care of more responsibilities on their own, think for themselves, stay safe, have fun, become adults, move out and make themselves happy, responsible contributors of society. Mommies look for signs that these things are indeed happening and they worry, teach, correct and comfort when they don’t. Mommies are guardians of the next generation. Mommies wish their kids would just stay little. They secretly wish their kids could live with them as their own, adorable little children forever. Mommies laugh at their antics, cry with them, kiss away hurts, hug them, rock them and read to them just to cuddle one more time. Sometimes, when kids say they don’t want hugs and kisses, Mommies resort to other ways to connect with their kids. They arm wrestle, give head rubs and shoulder bumps, pool- noodle sword fight, wrestle on the floor, swim, pillow fight, bike ride, or swing in the park. Mommies are in touch with what their kids need. But Mommies struggle to get their own needs met. Mommies work in the most important job of their lives – raising children. They concentrate on this so much, that most of the time, they put themselves and their own needs aside. They also worry about how they are doing as a parent and how their kids will turn out, and they doubt that what they are doing is ever enough.  But, what do Mommies need? Mommies need love, support and encouragement. But how can they get this? They start by taking time to take care of themselves. Mommies who engage in a little self-care, like visiting friends, exercising at the gym, taking art or music lessons, find that they also receive some love, support and encouragement from others. These Mommies discover they are healthier, happier and automatically take better care of their children. When Mommies don’t take the time, they miss out on something vital. These Mommies will have to fight their own usual hectic way of operating each day in order to get their needs met. When they say, “I just don’t have the time,” their relatives and friends may misinterpret this to mean “I don’t have the time for you.” So then the love, support and encouragement Mommies need, may not come automatically, or when it’s really needed. When Mommies do take care of themselves lots of things work out better. Mommies who engage in some kind of exercise, eat as healthy as possible, spend a little time with friends, and on date night with Dad for example, feel better, sleep better and connect much better with their kids. While they engage in these things, they find opportunities to debrief with friends, relatives, and spouse and receive love, support and encouragement. There is another bonus: by taking a little time to do something good for themselves, they communicate to their kids that it’s okay to take good care of themselves too. That’s an important life skill. You probably know all this. So why did I write this article? I want to challenge you today. Take just 6 minutes for a quick eye opening exercise. Do this right now. Don’t put it off. You and your kids are too important.  Directions:
Take a large sheet of clean paper, divide it in half. Divide just the bottom in half again. Now write these headings on each part: On the top write: Everything I do, responsibilities and duties. On the left bottom write: What I do for me. On the right bottom write: What I want to do to take care of me. Set the timer for 3 minutes and fill in the top half of the page with your duties. Write fast and don’t stop until the timer rings. Set the timer for 1 minute each to fill in the two bottom sections. Write fast and don’t stop until the timer rings. Take the final minute and look at all that you have written. What did you learn from this exercise? Challenge Yourself Today. Pick out at least one self-care item that you’d really like to do and know you can do it this week. Put it on your appointment calendar and enjoy taking good care of yourself. It’s a good step toward getting what you need. "Mommies need to take time for self-care, to be healthier, happier Mommies." Comment Below: Tell me what you do to take good care of yourself and what benefits do you see. Please take a second to click and share this article with your friends on social. Twee’ means you and me Working together to be happy healthy Mommies. |
Susie E. Caron
These are from my former life with many current memories and helps for parents. I retired from teaching, became a psychotherapist treating children and families and an author. After retiring I became a full time artist. I recently reopened this parenting blog because I believe wisdom is to be shared. Author of Chidren's Books, Christian, Wife, & Mother, I want to help you build parent-child relationships, 1 blog, & books at a time. When I'm not busy creating articles or paintings, you might find me looking for dark chocolate or playing with my Boxer, Josie. Disclaimer
These articles are for educational and self-help purposes only and are not intended as psychotherapy. If you experience unusual symptoms or discomfort please see your medical or mental health practitioner. No patent liability is assumed for use of the information contained. The author disclaims any responsibility for loss or risk for use or application of this material. 
Buy All 3 Today.
Categories
All
Blog Reviews & Thank You!
Sheila Michelle July 13 at 7:17pm · Just wanted to say that I love your posts about the different ways to connect/relate/understand your child. It has given me a new approach towards understanding my daughter and allowing HER to tell me how she feels instead of me suggesting to her how she should feel. Thanks Susie! |
RSS Feed