The Wackiest, Most Ingenious Things My Mom Taught Me

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My mom is something of an eccentric, amazing, creative genius. She taught my sisters and me a lot of great things, and many of those things are a bit imaginative. Here’s the short list of her more inventive lessons.

  1. Always have ingredients on hand to make Rice Krispies treats at the drop of a hat. All you need is marshmallows/marshmallow cream, butter, and puffed rice cereal.
  2. If you don’t have enough bedrooms for each of your children to have their own, allow kids of the same gender to have their own room each year. They will each have opportunities to have their own space, and also times to bond with different siblings.
  3. Don’t take the closest parking spot unless you really need it because someone else probably needs it more than you do.
  4. Before your kids go to bed, take 30 minutes to take a bath and read all alone.
  5. Teach your kids to say they “feel sick” if they are in a situation where they don’t feel safe. You’ll know they are either sick or something is wrong, and promise if they say those words, you will immediately come get them — day or night.
  6. Sit by the person who is alone. Make the outsider always feel welcome. 
  7. A great time for your kids to have braces is when they are most likely to want to make out with someone.
  8. When your young children play outside alone or play with others, you can put a baby monitor nearby to listen and make sure they are having appropriate conversations and making good choices while still giving them a level of independence.
  9. Don’t scream at others when you’re angry. If you scream, you’ve lost control.
  10. Let your kids buy each other and their parents presents for Christmas and birthdays. Even if it just means letting them pick out an item at Dollar Tree, it’s important for them to practice being generous and thinking of how to bless others.
  11. Let your kids wear your husband’s soft T-shirts as pajamas.
  12. Give your kids a budget, and let them plan their own birthday parties.
  13. After your kids get in trouble, make them tell you why they got in trouble to ensure they understand why they are being punished.  
  14. Chew cinnamon gum while studying to help you remember things better.
  15. Take two or three hours on Sunday afternoons for family nap/rest time when everyone must be home and off their phones.
  16. Learn people’s names and call them by their names every time you see them because the easiest way to make someone feel valuable is knowing his or her name.
  17. Generously sprinkle colored glitter on your front porch according to the nearest holiday to make life a little brighter.
  18. When you let your kids watch shows, let each pick one — and while watching the show, hold them, cuddle, scratch their back, or play with their hair.
  19. Use creative consequences. If you need to, take your kids out of school and homeschool them for a bit, have them pick up dog poop for a week, make them walk home from school, or sign them up to serve others in some capacity.
  20. When you do something special with your kids, try to buy a crazy souvenir they will enjoy for a long time so they can recall good family memories.
  21. If your kid is sick, slightly thaw popsicles and mix them with Sprite for an awesome home-made slushy.
  22. When traveling out of town, have your older children visit a new church’s Sunday school class so they learn what it feels like to be the new person in class.
  23. Occasionally surprise your children by having a quick water fight with the water sprayer from your sink. Find simple ways like this to play and laugh together. 
  24. Let your kids choose their own hairstyles and clothes — even if that means your kindergartner chooses to wear a long jacket to school that she believes is a dress.
  25. Regularly pull out your sleeper sofa or make pallets on the floor and have sibling slumber parties in the living room.
  26. Set an alarm next to your bed for the time your teenager is supposed to be home. If he or she doesn’t get home in time to turn off the alarm, you’ll know he or she is in big trouble.
  27. Pay your kids some money after they go to a dental appointment and don’t have any cavities. 
  28. mom lessonsTry to take some kind of family vacation each year. Even cheap, simple vacations can make great memories and help your family bond closer.
  29. If your TV remote has a way of getting misplaced, tie some yarn around it, spool out a few feet, and connect it to a leg of the end table or coffee table.
  30. Safety-pin sock pairs together when you put them in the dirty clothes hamper so you don’t have to find sock pairs after you’re done washing and drying the laundry.
  31. Use stretched out metal hangers to let your kids roast marshmallows in your fireplace or over a candle.
  32. Sleep with a tomahawk under your side of the bed. If an intruder comes in and you don’t have time to get to your gun safe, you can quickly use it to protect yourself.
  33. If someone comes to pick up your daughter for a date, welcome him kindly but also let him see you write down his licence plate number.
  34. Use an old toothbrush to scrub spot cleaner into stains on clothes.  
  35. Serve pizza for breakfast on the mornings your kids have tests

I hope one day my kids will be able to write this many uniquely beautiful things they learned from me. What would you add to my list? What inventive mom lessons did you learn as a child?

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Jami
Proud to be raised in Burleson (shout out Kelly Clarkson), Jami was even the Elk mascot for her beloved Burleson High School. Jami's greatest pleasure comes from exploring the world and learning about all the beautifully unique people in it, so she started a business in the summer of 2021 taking groups of women around the world! Her business, Women Exploring the World has already taken women to experience Christmas markets in Bruges, Brussels; Paris, and London. They've also taken women to Costa Rica, Italy, Tanzania/Zanzibar, Scotland, and to Norway to see the Northern lights. Jami's greatest gift is her family, Corban, her beloved hubby; Jessy (born 2011); Maggy (born 2013); Lilly (born 2015); and Jude (born 2018). Besides running her travel business, Jami spends her days having adventures with her kids, homeschooling them part-time, assistant coaching PE, attempting to keep her brother and sister labradors out of trouble, keeping her son from killing their cat, and supporting her husband at his Edward Jones office downtown Fort Worth. Jami is a woman secure in God's love for her. He is her first love.

6 COMMENTS

  1. You should write about her great wisdom and tidbits on how to joyfully survive Mystery retreats and youth camp! She is one of my favorite people!!

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