Eight Steps to Adopting a Child

Step 1: Pray about adopting a child. Don't just pray, "Dear God, let's find the right child to adopt." You should pray, "Dear Lord, should I adopt a child or not?" This can also be talked over with your family.

Step 2: Decide where to go. Well, that's a big choice. Do you want to go far or near? My suggestions if you want to go far are, of course, Africa, and I think England would be a pretty good place to adopt a kid (at least they would speak your language). (No offense, Paris!)Australia is another good choice. By the way, Africa might be a hard trip for the little kids. 

Step 3: Find an airline. If you're deciding to go near, you can skip this step, get your jeep and go. If you're deciding one of my three choices, listen up folks. Ethiopian Air has really nice tvs and you can just yell and they will bring you any sort of snack. But don't yell at night, please. 

Step 4: Find a place to stay. Like I said, if you decide to go near, you can skip this step or find your nearest hotel. First in Africa, see if there is someone who would let you stay with them or there are many hotels in Africa. In England, it's a pretty different situation. Everywhere you look, there are hotels around the block, so find your cheapest one because I'm pretty sure you're going to be spending a lot of money in England. In Australia, it depends where you are adopting there. If you have relatives there, you can stay with them. 

Step 5: Find the right child for you. This depends on your personality. Are you artistic and a beach lover or are you wild and love going to the mountains? Beach lovers should look for children who are very careful and graceful, and, of course, children that they love. Mountain lovers should look for children who like to be outdoors, and like I said, who they love. That is the most important thing. If you get a child who doesn't like the same things you like, focus on who you love because that's what matters. 

Step 6: Train your child. Most of you know my little sister, Lillie. If you don't, I might as well tell you, she is very wild. If your child is like my little sister, there is only one way to train a child like her. If she gets a reward for everything she does right, she's sure to be trained in 10 weeks or so. If your child is calm, but still naughty, you should have a chart of everything she does in her day, and every time she does it well, put a little check. If she does it wrong, put an X (and give her a scolding), and if she gets a whole week of checks, she can go out to her favorite restaurant. 


Step 7:(My goodness, we're almost done.) Back to Step 7, this is my favorite part, and the dads' worst part, picking out clothing! No matter if your child is brown or light, it's going to love this! Africans and darker skins should wear one color that everyone loves to see. Rain or shine, ladies and gentlemen, it's pink! Just think, brown and pink on your child, don't you love it? And one thing I love about lighter skins, red or green has a spark that makes them shine! 


Step 8: The last one! Help your child get used to that spot - her bed! Let's go over the most famous things about getting your child to stay in bed. Spanking is not a good idea, but a little scolding once in a while, might be OK. Telling your child that your bed has bedbugs is not OK, for you want that moment with your child in your warm cozy bed for a little while, and that's not going to happen if you tell her your bed has bedbugs. The big answer to every parent in the world's problem - but first, answer me this - is your child picky or not picky? If your child is picky, here's the solution:(drumroll please), the sticker chart! 15 stickers and you can buy your child a little gift, Littlest Pet Shop, a Barbie doll, or maybe a pack of gum. Your choice. If your child is not picky, (another drumroll, please): the sticker chart without the little gift, but this time your child gets to pick the stickers. 


Finding the right child for you is probably the hardest step we went through, but I know if your smart, you will find the right one. Can you see, just eight steps and you're done. Tell me, how wonderful is adopting? (Seriously, please comment!)

Three Wishes

Three Wishes is a consignment sale - not just for women! I saw at least three dads there, yelling at the kids to stop taking clothes off the hangers! Just kidding, but I did see a lot of dads there! It's not just for parents because there were tons of kids! Boy or girl, you're going to love this place.

Three Wishes is a consignment sale that really has three wishes. Number 1, is to get rid of clutter. Your trash is someone else's treasure! Your old tricycle that you outgrew could be a hot-shot tricycle that some lucky kid gets to drive around the block! Number 2, is to gain stuff the kids need. Maybe your kid's bicycle broke and you could find another one there! Maybe your kid needs new clothes, but with most moms, it's the cuteness that keeps them coming! (I know this is sounding like a commercial, but the next wish is going to blow your mind!)Number 3, is to give back! We will be helping children in Malawi to have money to buy their new uniforms for school. Yes, I know that's sort of crazy, but uniforms. These children used to be orphans, but now they are living with new families in a community called Adziwa. The People's Church helped start the school, and Three Wishes is helping with the uniforms.(There is another story connected to this that I will post later.)


Unfortunately, there won't be another sale this year, but you can see the video about it on News 2. In February of 2013, there will be another Three Wishes Consignment Sale! Please consign to help wishes come true!

 

Book Bug or Book Worm

Today you will figure out about if the books your child is reading are book worms or book bugs. Book worms are books that are good for a child, funny, and that a child will learn from. Book bugs are books that the child will not want to read. They are boring and should be avoided. Some book bugs aren't exactly boring, but are just plain inappropriate. 


Book Bugs

• I have nothing against The Titanic, but I don't think children under 10 should be reading it. I have heard about it from friends at school, and it doesn't sound like seven, eight, and nine year olds should read it because it sounds scary and inappropriate. I think 10 year olds might be ready for it.
• I haven't read many book bugs, but I'm not crazy about Little Critters. I think that they sort of tell the child to do bad things.
• I think that you should look at a book before you ever let your child read it. Check to see if anything is inappropriate or sends a bad message, like if a character does a bad thing and gets credit for it. Bad words may affect a child's mind. (By the way, many of these tips apply to movies. I will write about those later.)

Book Worms

• My top pick for babies is Pride and Prejudice: A Baby Lit Board Book. It teaches counting and the story at the same time. The only thing I don't like is that in the part about four marriage proposals, two of them say no!
• My top pick for ages 2-5 are Golden Books. The Lion's Paw is a classic and one of my brother's favorites. In it, a mouse helps a lion, and it reminds me of the story of the Good Samaritan, but children can understand more. I also like The Poky Little Puppy because it shows what you get for disobedience. Other good ones are The Saggy Baggy Elephant, Toodles, and some of the Disney Golden Books.
• Another series to grow on is The Boxcar Children. I think it is good for about 4-15 year olds. They are smart and clever children. Now no book is perfect, and one problem with these books is that even though no person is perfect, the Box Car children seem pretty close and like they never sin. Even Benny is just a little angel. I wish they show their mistakes once in a while. Still, the children are smart and clever, and I enjoy reading these books.
• Another series I love is the Carole Marsh mysteries. These are good for children 6-14. I enjoy them quite a bit, even though some of them are pretty easy. I like that many of the children in these books are my age, and I think the character, Grant, is very funny. I love that these are real stories in real places, and I love when they go places I go like Hershey, Pennsylvania and Africa.

If you want some other books for your child, your closest library will give you more suggestions. Don't forget to fill your house with book worms and have a yard sale for the book bugs!

To Eat or Not to Eat

This post is all about making your shopping list, so when you open your pantry door, your kids will find that popcorn and chips aren't the only way to make an afternoon snack! 


Things to Eat/Not to Eat
Instead of cheese dip, try hummus! Hummus is made from ground chickpeas, which are pretty good most of the time! You will be surprised when you see how good hummus is with pita chips. By the way, hummus and pita is delicious with Taziki's lemon chicken soup!


Instead of popsicles, try frozen yogurt pops! Also, you can find a really good frozen banana icecream recipe on Pinterest, made with only bananas, almond butter, and cocoa!


Instead of processed cheese crackers, try whole-grain crackers with melted cheese on top! They are seriously heavenly!


Instead of a packaged cookies or cupcakes, try fresh strawberries with whipped cream! Try sprinkling raw sugar over the top for an extra special treat!


Instead of Pillsbury cookie dough, try no bake-energy bites. There made with oats, honey, almond butter, coconut, flax seed, and chocolate chips. Don't forget to put extra chocolate chips!:)


Instead of a chocolate bar, try some cocoa-almond spread from Trader Joes! It is great on animal crackers or whole wheat toast!


Instead of fruit gummies, try fresh fruit. I recommend apples, but grapes are good too! One thing I like to do is mash up oranges, put them in the freezer for several hours, and serve them to my family!


Instead of roasting marshmallows, try roasting vegetables! I love broccoli cooked in the oven with olive oil, lemon, and sea salt! Carrots are good roasted too!


Instead of a sugary cereal like Applejacks, try oatmeal. It's best made with milk on the stove. Just add real butter and raw sugar. Cheerieos with milk and honey will work if you're in a rush! 


If you have children under two, they probably can't eat many of these foods, so check out organic baby food. Older babies can try these cracker things called Mum-Mums. Bananas and cheerieos are a good thing to try once your baby has teeth.(By the way, Lulu has two teeth now!) 


Eating healthy is important, and sometimes, even I, forget to do it. If you've been reading this, but you still miss those chips in the bottom of the pantry, try sweet potato chips, but make sure your Doritoes take a trip to the trash can! 

Sophie Says: TV Shows: The Good, The Bad, And The Wicked

This blog post is something parents should read before they even think about picking up that remote. What if you were a child and your parents made you watch unacceptable shows and then you got in trouble for acting like the characters in them? What would you do if you got caught saying something rude in your kindergarten class? What would you do? So read below, and then you will be ready to pick up that remote.


First up, good shows: My top pick for 4-5 year olds is Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Warning: Big sisters, this may drive you crazy! I like that they do a lot of counting and teach the alphabet without the kid really knowing it. Some parents haven't heard of this, but it's a learning show that is like a baby Peter Pan. One thing I dislike about it is the use of one word that is not acceptable for children to say, and they say it at least 12 times a show - "Never!" Even the title has "never" in it! But, no show is perfect, and overall it is my top pick for 4-5 year olds. You can find this on Disney Jr.


Next up, is Care Bears. Now I don't watch this much, and as I say, no show is perfect, but Care Bears are about lovable imaginary friends that live in the clouds and dance away the day! I have a four year old cousin that watches this all the time, and she loves it! The good thing about Care Bears is it makes children happier. The only bad thing that I dislike quite a bit - now brace yourselves, parents, is the care bears say, "na na na na na!" No show is perfect, but really? Care Bears is a good show, but just like there are sometimes foods, this is a sometimes show. 


Next up is Arthur! Arthur is my top pick for kids 5-10. What I like about Arthur is that it deals with problems that are in many kids lives. It deals with divorce, bad report cards, getting new glasses, and even ear infections. The only thing I don't like, and they don't do this much, now brace yourself, is one character, named Francine teases a little bit. No show is perfect, but Arthur is pretty close. 


Next up is My Little Pony. Now I don't watch this much, but I saw it in Africa, (yes, Africa!), and it is good, but on the bottom end of the good range. There are some good things about it. It makes children happy to think about little ponies traveling in a magical world. (I think it makes them have good dreams). The bad thing is that they say a word you should only say in the bathroom. I won't say it, but you know what I mean. So my My Little Pony just barely makes it into the good section. 


Now for the bad! Bad shows are not acceptable for little children, and even bigger children should think before they switch them on. I have to put Looney Toons in the bad section. There are baby Looney Toons that are OK if you are older than your early 2s, but the plain Looney Toons should never be watched because there is so much rudeness. I can't say much more because I don't see it much.


Now for the wicked! I know some of you are asking, "what's the difference between a bad and wicked show?" Wicked shows have many more worse words and really scary parts. The remote should never turn on these shows.


My top wicked is Ultimate Spider Man. I've only seen this once, but it says bad words and is pretty scary. If you have a son, you think before you put this show on. You can find this on one of the Disney channels. 


My other wicked has to be Sponge Bob. Now I know some parents are not against these. Maybe you thought they were in the good, didn't you? But you probably haven't seen an entire episode. They are very rude, and sure, they put out some imagination, but I really don't think they should be watched - ever! 


That's my thoughts about tv shows that are good, bad, and wicked. Keep reading to hear my thoughts about movies, snacks, and other things that involve parenting!

Welcome to Sophie Says

Welcome to Sophie Says! Here I will tell you about the things you really want to know about parenting! This isn't about discipline, but it is about what you should do and what you should not to with your kids or if you are babysitting. This is a good web site for you to visit. Happy reading!


Love,
Sophie