Here’s a interview done by Chazda from GreatStoryBook:
Chazda: I met publishers Agnes and Salem de Bezenac, a very nice couple who runs iCharacter Ltd., while at the 2015 Buchmesse in Frankfurt. Each year, they attend the fair, representing and selling their books, making new business contacts and meeting with old friends and associates. This is my interview…
With our summer vacations soon coming to an end – all the while preparing our kids and ourselves for them going back to school, so much to do, but yet such a desire to see our children succeed and feel confident about themselves – I found these encouraging one-liner boosters to help set things in motion. I love these and have them printed out and stuck in my pocket ready to use when I feel like saying something that might not have the most desired effect. I try to either keep my mouth shut, let them figure things out on their own, or when I remember to do so, use one of these!
When would walking be advantageous over running? Not very often; most would probably answer. There are great benefits to running, and I’m full of the subject especially considering that my husband and I took up the sport not too long ago. I found that even though walking is great exercise for most people, if you’re pretty fit and need a little more of a workout, intensity is the key here. We need to make the exercise a little more intense if we’re going to get the benefits for our health. And because running is more intense than walking, the general health benefits are higher. Within reason, more pain is more gain, etc. etc.
I sat down today and jotted down, just for fun, the first Twelve T’s of Time that came to mind, that I wanted to experience often with my family this year.
I like everything organized, planned and controlled to a T. I get a lot done and don’t have much time to waste over pity affairs or things of small importance. Even finding time to play and enjoy life can be somewhat difficult for me, because I love my work. I enjoy it so much that I could do it all day. So when my kids come home from school and after we’ve all eaten lunch, I don’t mind the fact that they’ve now grown up a bit and like to do things on their own. They each have their own projects they like to work on or when they prefer playing, they’re great at agreeing on what to play with together.
Another cold wintery morning! One of those mornings that you just wish you could stay in bed and sip hot chocolate, not wanting to even get out of bed in the bitter cold. But it was a Tuesday and it was a school day, it was another work day. Work, of which I very much enjoyed, especially since I was working from home at the time. I could even have stayed in my pyjamas and robe for all I cared. No one was coming over, I wasn’t visiting anyone, no neighbors around. But wait; first things first! One small detail here. I did have to get the kids to school.
So after all, I did have to get up, I did have to get dressed, and I very much did have to go out in the cold. Tuesday morning meant it was still the beginning of the week, still a whole 4 days before the weekend lay before us, where we could relax and do those things as a family that we loved to do. I don’t know exactly what it is about the weekend that I just look forward to so much, but there is something about not having a tight schedule to keep, much less an alarm clock to get you up in the morning.
I began to cook, with a heavy heart, with a stressed-out mind. I was particularly discouraged with my kids who just didn’t seem to be getting the point with some of the things that we’ve been working on together as a family. Everything seemed so “horrible”, which mean that I was a horrible mom, doing a terrible job.
And to prove it, my boy had to come to the kitchen with one of his little toy cars and drive it all around the counter, as loud as possible. I have to say here that he is crazy about cars, but it had been a while that he came and played in the kitchen with one. He enjoyed playing in his room, on the floor, on his road mat. But it was not the time for play, in my mind or according to my plan and schedule. I was cooking dinner and the kids were supposed to be doing their homework, cleaning their rooms, taking their showers and getting in pyjamas.
I was reading a Blog the other day, and a part from Vicki Hoefle kind of stood out to me, and so I thought I’d share it here, so that it might come to your remembrance at the appropriate times as well. Here’s what she said:
“Here are three of my tried and true tips for enhancing the relationship with our kids.
I was having a particularly difficult day with the kids. They seemed not to require much sleep the last few nights which meant tensions were pretty high in our family. On top of it, I was sick with a cold and sinus infection.
After preparing dinner, my daughter comes to me, handing me an envelope filled with twirlies and hearts, sparkles and kisses. Here comes another one of her hundred drawings, I almost dreaded.
“The way kids learn to make decisions is by making decisions, not following directions.” (Alfie Kohn)
The other day my little girl asked if she could bake a cake. I said “Sure!” and began looking for an easy recipe for her to follow. I wanted to make sure she stuck to each ingredient and each measurement to make sure the results would be just right, or just like I expected it.
But that wasn’t exactly what she had in mind. She got all the ingredients out and began pouring and filling her bowl with anything she could find that she thought would be tasty in her cake. She didn’t measure anything, but just spooned in her flour, poured in the sugar, sprinkled the salt, etc.
The end result? It was great! It was tasty! It was to her liking and even to mine.