Lessons that Stick

In the news lately, there have been countless parents that have been publicized for their disciplining tactics.

There was the father in Texas whose daughter was stupid enough to post things on Facebook about how horrible her family was:

Then there was the mother who posted on her daughter's Facebook page:



And tonight on Facebook I saw this one:



We discipline our children in a pretty simple ways. We talk and explain. We then place in time out. If that doesn't work, we take things away. And if by some reason they continue the same offense or if there is an offense that is so bad and/or dangerous, we will (gasp) spank.

However, recently I found that none of my tactics were working, and I had to get creative. My oldest daughter has recently been having trouble remembering to flush the toilet. It has gotten so bad that my maid has complained, my mother, and even our occasional guest. I put her in timeout, made her write letters of apologies, took her Nintendo DS away, and, once because she repeatedly lied about it, I spanked her.

I came to my wits end, when after I found a present in the toilet left for me by my precious 8 year old, she lied to me again about it. This came after the day before we had been at my parents' house and the same thing happened. So I got extremely creative....creative and probably a little cruel according to some people and a lot cruel according to my daughter.

After making her flush, I made her clean the toilet. I gave her Clorox wipes, a scrub brush, and some toilet cleaner and made her clean from the top all the way into the bowl. She cried and cried and I almost gave in, but then I thought about her going to third grade in August and being made fun of for not flushing the toilet and I stuck to my guns (no pun intended).

She was mad at me for a while, but my job as a parent is to teach my children lessons to help them be better people: better, responsible, and considerate people. But my job is not only to help her learn lessons but also to make sure she remembers these lessons. Not just the little lessons about flushing the toilet but also the lessons about not doing drugs and being kind to others and waiting for true love before having sex.

So yes, I made my kid clean our toilet, but hopefully that lesson, along with all of the other lessons, will be a Lesson that Sticks.

Ham, Cheese, Broccoli Ring

This is easy, delicious an nutritious!

You need:
1 cup of chopped ham
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of chopped broccoli
2 tbsp of honey mustard
1 tbsp mayonnaise
2 cans of crescent rolls

1. Cook broccoli. Allow to cool. And chop.

2. Chop ham and place cheese, broccoli, and ham

3. Add 2 tbsp of honey mustard dressing and 1 tbsp of mayo and mix well. 

4. Separate crescent rolls into triangles and lay in circle with tips pointed out. 

5. Press the seams flat so none of the yumminess will escape.

6. Scoop mixture onto crescent rolls in  a circle. 

7. Fold the points toward the center to cover the filling. 

8. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. 

Patriotic Cupcakes

I saw this on Pinterest and couldn't help myself. They were too cute!

What do you need?
1-2boxes of your favorite cake mix. Yeah, you could make it from scratch but why? It is just as good and so much easier! I always use pound cake because I love it and it is always firm and ready for decorating.

Now you just need to prepare the cake mix according to the box's instructions. 

Next evenly divide the batter into three separate bowls. 

Line the cupcake pan with liners and then scoop each color into every mold. Layering them: red, white, blue.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Top with your favorite icing. I use my homemade buttercream that is super easy and cheap.