Well, the answer to my problem came from my mother-in-law’s suggestion. She knew of a woman who had grown up in her old neighborhood that was married with three of her own grown kids who might  be interested. I learned later that she was also the parent of one of my favorite students. Small world. After a phone call, interview and sigh of relief she was hired. I really liked  her. She was prompt, responsible, caring, helpful, capable of handling five kids,and seemed to genuinely like them. Five years later, after the last baby went off to school, she left our home, but never our hearts.Like had  turned to love over the years and she became part of the family as we became part of hers.

-Mama Bell, mother of five, lover of nannies, and brand new addition to the LLD in-house team!

  Yesterday we celebrated Valentine’s Day and showed our love to families and friends through gifts and cards and kind words, but we would like to start incorporating this love and kindness in our family everyday. What are some suggestions you could make in doing so for our busy family

-Love is all around

Dear Love is all around,

First, Let me say Happy Belated Valentine’s Day to you and your special ones! I don’t know about you but I think love should be shared everyday. And for many of us that is shown through little acts of kindness. I know how hard it is  to take a moment and reflect how you can incorporate kindness into your family’s everyday life due to busy schedules. Here are my top five to start, please share your tips in the comments below.

1. Read a book about kindness, one of my favorites is The Berenstain Bears Kindness Counts.

2. Volunteer as a family with a cause you care about. My family and I have served the homeless for the past 10 years at our church for Thanksgiving.

3. Have a “Word of the day” that has a positive connotation!

4. Start a family thankful jar and put in one thing you are thankful for for the day as shared in the picture above and read it at the end of every week as a family.

5. Make your next door neighbor, child’s favorite teacher, a sick relative a treat together, Recipes made in a jar

–#AskaSitter and Lil Lucky Darlings!

-Renee is a lifelong learner of parent’s education,creativity, special needs and early childhood. She is addicted to Pinterest, organizing, and the color purple. She is honored to be a guest blog for LLD as their go to sitter expert via #AskaSitter. Renee is currently working on an upcoming blog on education, you may follow her launch and tips on Reneepedia. You can also chat with her via twitter at @enrichingkids.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

• Googly eyes are always a big hit with kids! This cute card puts a whole new meaning into “Eye Love You”
•  Have any old crayons around the house? Put them to good use and make an awesome stained-glass heart card! Or create your own heart-shaped crayons for future coloring projects!
• We know you’re not supposed to play with your food, but sometimes veggies make great stamps! Makes some rose cards with celery and decorate with glitter or stickers.
• One really fun way to create a memory is to use hands and feet as stamps! Use your hands or feet to create letters by applying washable paint and than stamping!
• For a fun collage project, cut out different sized hearts from a variety of fabrics and patterned or solid-colored paper and layer them for a bright multi-colored heart! For expert crafters, these origami hearts are a really cool way to show your love!
• Heart Garlands are a festive and easy way to decorate for any party or special dinner! All you need are scissors and brightly colored paper!

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day with your loved ones!

-LLD