We will get to see all the dresses and school uniforms that have been sewn down there in conjunction with Persnickety’s Buy One, Give One program. From the beginning, Persnickety has committed to donate a portion of profits from each sale to the production of clothing for donation and gifting to a child in need. This started with sewing dresses for girls in orphanages and lower income families in South America. This program now includes sewing school uniforms for children from poorer families who can’t afford the uniforms. These help the children be able to attend school when they haven’t been attending.

The Rickenbachs are taking their three oldest children, who are each slightly younger than our three oldest, who we are taking as well. They are great friends and are so excited to be taking a trip together.

Here are the 4 oldest Rickenbach & Wilson kids

My husband, Mike and Craig Rickenbach went down to Nicaragua last year and found some great seamstresses  to do the job. The Buy-One-Give-One program also benefits the families of these women who sew the clothing, because it gives them steady work and increases their income significantly. The dresses are much more simple than what we’re used to. Here’s what some of the dresses look like.

I’m so happy that these girls are benefiting from the program! When we first launched Persnickety, we created the program and talked about modeling it after TOMS Shoes, but we didn’t know at that point how well Persnickety would do or if any of our dreams would actually become a reality.

Here are Mike and Craig at an orphanage last year.

Persnickety dreams have become a reality and we are overjoyed about it! Isn’t this sweet?

So now we get to come along to see how Persnickety is changing the world for good!

When we first met the Rickenbachs, we had some other friends and teachers in common that inspired us and convinced us that we had the power to change the world for good. I agree with what they taught, that we all have genius within us. We all have the power to influence others and our small and simple actions of influence can affect powerful change in the world.

We mothers have a magnified power to change the world. We have great influence on our children, and the principles we teach them will strengthen them throughout their lives. They will find ways to change the world positively if we show them how through our example.

We don’t have to go out of the country or even away from home to do important service. The sweetest service happens in quiet and personal ways, without fanfare or publishing. However, I know I’m inspired when I hear about how others are changing the world, and that is empowering.

I’ll be sure to post some pictures from our trip when we get back. The kids are hoping we get to see this volcano, and that it’s still smoking when we’re there.

We’ll pray for safe travel!

Now Persnickety Clothing is helping Mom Essentials grow (which benefits my causes) with a giveaway and contest for a couple of their adorable fall outfits!

A lucky winner chosen at random AND the person who promotes Mom Essentials the most will get to choose one of the following outfits as their prize.*

Choice #1- Pearl Dress

The first is Persnickety’s gorgeous grey Pearl Dress, modeled by adorable Lily Rickenbach. I got one of these for my own Lily, and it looks stunning on her!

Choice #2- Macie Jane Dress

Love this. Comes with the red triple ruffle leggings & adjustable belt.

Choice #3- Penelope Dress

This one comes with the same leggings as shown with the Macie Jane dress above. So cute!

Contest & Giveaway Details

In order to qualify for either the contest or the giveaway, you must:

1. Get my Free Flu Report and be a current subscriber to Mom Essentials tips & news (sent occasionally-if you get the report, you will automatically become a subscriber).
2. Refer at least one friend to visit this blog post and leave a comment on this post as your entry. The giveaway will be random. One entry comment per person please.

The contest winner will be the person who refers the most people to Mom Essentials.

To participate in the contest:

1. Please leave 1-2 comments on this post telling me how many people you’ve invited to check out Mom Essentials and get the Free Flu Report (you may want to do this near the end of the contest so you don’t go over 2 comments-Flu Report button is on the upper left side of MomEssentials.Net).
2. Instruct your friends to leave me a comment on this post or on the Mom Essentials Facebook Page telling me 2 things: -That you sent them and -If they got the report.
3. Promote my website in other ways and tell me how in your 1 or 2 comments.

This is easy to do using the share bar at the bottom left of this post. On Facebook, just click the messages tab on the upper left, choose “Send a New Message,” create your message and type in who you want to send it to. An easier way to reach more people at once is to create an event and choose from your list of friends, who you want to invite to participate. Please don’t spam or you’ll be disqualified! Only invite friends you think will be interested.

The person who has the most friends leave a reply and subscribe to Mom Essentials will be our contest winner! Both winners will pick their choice and size of one of the above Persnickety outfits.

Deadline is Tuesday, October 18 at midnight.

If you haven’t seen or heard of Persnickety Clothing before now, be sure to check out their website and blog!

Good luck!

*Not all sizes are available. We will do our best to accommodate the request of the winners. Accessories not included in giveaway or contest. Outfit choices include specified dress or dress and red pant combination.

If you have ever played sports, you will also know that until you master the fundamentals, you don’t master the game or event. It’s those fundamentals that every aspiring athlete gets bored of, but that every expert knows makes all the difference.

Fundamentals of parenting are no different. Some of the moments which make the most difference in our parenting success and happiness are no more than skills practice time, and can seem pointless.

So what are the fundamentals of parenting?

1. Know how to stay calm.
2. Know how to teach children a new skill
3. Know how to effectively correct a child when he has done or is doing wrong
4. Know how to calm a child who is out of control.
5. Know what skills are essential for making a child into a happy adult
6. Know about boundaries and how to teach children about them
7. Know what your parenting vision is and how to get it
8. Know what your child is thinking and feeling
9. Know how to communicate effectively
10. Know how to keep the family united in purpose and feeling

These fundamentals are discussed in great detail in my book, Parenting: A House United, so I will not attempt to explain them all here. However I will share with you a few of my thoughts on staying calm and effectively correcting children in this video (Please forgive the synchronization problem):

In this video I talk about a few skills: accepting no answers and disagreeing appropriately. I also briefly demonstrate the appropriate way to correct a child who has made a wrong choice. When I did foster care for troubled teens I learned about some important life skills.

Four Basic Skills for a happy life.

1. Following Instructions
2. Accepting No Answers and Criticism
3. Accepting Consequences
4. Disagreeing Appropriately

Ninety-nine percent of all discipline problems can be solved by learning these four basic skills. Most people who have failed relationships or end up in prison can’t do at least one of these things. These are essential life skills which are worth teaching and referring to often. For a free copy of the steps to these four basic skills and steps to correcting problem behaviors go HERE.

For the next few weeks I will share some more principles for becoming a happy successful parent. If you have any specific questions leave them in the comments below and I will attempt to address as many as I can.

Visit Nicholeen Peck’s blog at www.TeachingSelfGovernment.com

Buy her book HERE.

At the end of this series we will hold a drawing for a free copy of Parenting: A House United, so stay tuned!

Nicholeen Peck is a mother of four and previous foster parent of many troubled teens . She spends her free time helping families learn the principles of self-government, and happiness. She was featured in a one hour documentary by the BBC called The World’s Strictest Parents, writes for many magazines and blogs and teaches all over the world about calm, effective parenting.

Since I’ve received so many requests for the Modern Essentials reference book, I am giving away another copy, which makes me happy that you all are interested in education! I am also giving away a large (15 ml) bottle of Wild Orange essential oil and a bag of On Guard Protecting Throat Lozenges. One lucky winner will receive each of these items.

There are 3 ways to enter. You will receive 1 entry to “Like” Mom Essentials on Facebook (or if you already do, share this website with someone new), 1 entry to Re-Tweet this giveaway, and 1 entry to Re-Post on your Facebook profile. Then leave me a comment here telling me how many of these you did. Deadline is midnight, November 30th.

If you are interested in buying essential oils at wholesale prices, see the Doterra promotion at the end of this post or fill out the contact form on the Doterra page of this website.

The On Guard Protecting Throat Drops are wonderful to have at this time of year. They contain essential oil of Doterra’s OnGuard blend, which has just been shown at Oklahoma University to inhibit viral replication within the human cell.* It really does boost the immune system and help prevent winter illness. It immediately resolves my sore throats and reduces yucky “getting sick” feelings.

Wild Orange essential oil is one of my favorites. Just one drop in my water with a couple drops of lemon and a dash of stevia gives me daily enjoyment and protection. I’m going to try it in my wassail this year.

Here is a recipe from Doterra’s Holiday Gift Guide:

Hot Cocoa Flavored With Essential Oils

INGREDIENTS
1 Cup Water
5 tsp. Cocoa Powder
½ Cup Sugar
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
3 Cups Milk
ESSENTIAL OIL FLAVORINGS
Peppermint, Cinnamon, or Wild Orange Essential Oil
DIRECTIONS
Heat water, cocoa powder, and sugar on stove until ingredients are smooth. Add vanilla and milk and bring to a simmer. Pour into your favorite mug . Introduce flavor by swirling a toothpick dipped in your favorite essential oil.

Here are a few more ways to use essential oils around the holidays.

Christmas House Spray

Add 8 drops White Fir or Pine, 4 drops Wild Orange, and 2 drops Cinnamon essential oils into 2 cups water. Put in a spray bottle and use to spread holiday scents all around your home.

Everyone I’ve shared White Fir essential oil with, raves about it. Its woodsey smell brings back memories and feelings from years past. It makes Christmas become more real to me.

Aroma Candles

If you love candles, make your own real aroma. Synthetic fragrances just don’t please me anymore. Natural oils are so much more enjoyable and healthy.  Just light a candle, wait til a little wax melts, then add one drop of essential oil right by the wick. It’s delightful!

Doterra has a special holiday oil blend available called Holiday Joy. It’s wonderful to use this way or to diffuse.

Christmas Tree Aroma

The fake trees don’t have it, and even many of the real ones are sprayed with preservatives that inhibit the release of the natural resin smell. So make your own by combining 12 drops of White Fir or Pine essential oil in 2 cups of water into a sprayer to spray on your tree. Or put a few drops of oil on cotton balls at the base of your tree.

You can also infuse pine cones with delicious aromas by putting them in a large ziploc bag with a cotton ball containing 2 drops of essential oil.

Essential oils are so practical to use around the holidays. They help keep us healthy and let us enjoy wonderful tastes and smells. I hope you’ll try them this year!

*Study at University of Oklahoma was just completed last month and will be available in its entirety soon. The results showed that by taking 4 drops of On Guard internally, twice a day, virus replication in cells was inhibited by 90%.

Congratulations to Paul White! He is the winner of this Holiday giveaway!

I want to thank you all for entering, and more than that, for helping promote my website and my messages of inspiration and self-reliance. I am grateful to you all for reading and for all your encouraging comments.

I wish you each a wonderful, healthy holiday season!

There were over 800 entries for this free essential oil kit & bottle of Breathe! Amazing! There are definitely many people out there looking for more tools for health!