take a Sunday nap every week.

Sunday afternoon naps are a long running tradition in our family. It was started when my girls were very little and it continues even now that they are grown. The whole family is involved in this important ritual - mom and dad most importantly. The routine is church, lunch, then naps. No exceptions. Children will often say "I'm not tired." And you can say "That's fine. You are taking a nap anyway." Children are required to be in a horizontal position in their beds during nap time period i.e. until the parents wake up. Books are allowed, DVDs are not. It is humorous to watch how the children who "are not tired" are sound asleep before you know it.

Your week will go better if you have a nap on Sunday. When our Creator God made us, the owner's manual instructs us to rest one day in the seven. This simple mandate in scripture is not given the respect it deserves.

pee is clean.

Mother Rabbit hates to get too gritty on her blog, but I was 50 years old before I knew this handy information. It was on one of my many hospital adventures with my sweet daddy that I learned that pee is actually sterile. My dad was a storehouse of many-things-important-and-wise. And I have had it confirmed by my medical expert friend. Yes, there is no bacteria in urine (unless of course you have an infection at the time.) This is important to know because pee happens, and if a baby pees on your lap you do not need to freak out.

By contrast, poo is laden with bacteria and should be treated and cleaned up with care. Speaking of, this would be a good time to recommend the book What's Your Poo Telling You by Anish Sheth & Josh Richman. If you have not already seen this clever little book, I recommend that you find it on your next trip into Barnes & Noble, and at least thumb through it. Be prepared to laugh. And at the same time, be prepared to learn something. It is all stuff you have thought about... but not out loud.

be savvy with priority mail.

Knowing how to use the benefits of the U.S. Postal Service can come in very handy. Mother Rabbit is a believer in using Priority Mail at the USPS. Did you know that packages sent Priority Mail are delivered in two days, and if not, they will tell you the estimated arrival when you send the package? Did you know that Priority Mail packages keep moving toward their destination even on weekends and holidays?

It is important to remember that your cost includes the box too. Did you know that you can take those boxes home with you for your own personal postal stockpile? Just ask the postal clerk for two of each size on your next visit to the Post Office. Nothing is handier than having a collection of boxes at your fingertips. You can also go online to usps.com and they will send you a set of boxes at no charge, with no shipping cost. You can pick up some cool sizes that the Post Offices don't even carry. (Mother Rabbit also recommends always having Scotch clear mailing tape, envelopes and stamps on hand at all time.)

For the flat-rate envelope (like the one in my mailbox) you will pay $4.90 for whatever you can fit inside, no matter the weight. There are also flat-rate boxes available. While they are priced higher than their rate-by-weight brothers, you could save $ if you are mailing something very heavy. Since you will have these boxes at home with you, you can make smarter decisions with your packages. For example, if you are mailing some dried milk weed pods and fall leaves to your daughter so she can remember what fall looks like - you would select a Priority Mail Mailing Box. If you are sending her a stack of her favorite magazines and a brick, you would select a Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box.

Everyone loves receiving a package, so why not have fun sending them too.

think 3 for snack time.

When you need to grab a snack for some energy, pick something from three different food groups for a healthy, happy choice. Did you know that your body will absorb nutrients more efficiently when different food groups are eating together? So even with a snack, grab something from three different parts of the food pyramid. To review, the basic food groups are: Vegetables, Fruits, Protein (Eggs, Meat, Fish), Dairy (Cheese, Milk, Yogurt, Butter), Bread /Starchy (Cereal, Pasta, Bread, Potatoes) and Fats.
An example is a carrot, a slice of cheese and a whole wheat cracker. Or slice of bread, peanut butter and a piece of fruit. Some raspberries, yogurt and a few almonds.

I think you will have fun using Mother Rabbit's "think 3" principle next time you grab something to eat. You will be amazed how easy it will be to grab two more things. Even if it is just a bite-sized portion, you are rounding out your diet and enhancing the nutritional benefits of your snack.

grow tomatoes.

These are the last tomatoes of summer picked on October 25, 2010. How glorious. Even though the tomato vines look like scary skeletons, there is fruit to be found. Are they as tasty as the August harvest? No. But are they oodles better than what you can find in a grocery store? Big yes. I recommend that you plant a tomato plant somewhere in your life next spring, and hopefully it will still be surprising you with goodness in the fall.

dating game.

The most sage advice you might ever receive is this:
FOR THE GIRL
Watch and observe how your date treats his mother, sisters and grandmother. This is how he will treat you at the end of the day.
FOR THE BOY
Observe her mother carefully. You are looking at a picture of what your date will be like and look like one day.

Sorry, but there is much truth in these words. Don't be fooled by youth. One day I don't want you to say "If only I had listened to Mother Rabbit"...

journal every night.

Journaling something about my day when I get into bed at night is one of the sweetest parts of my day. I spend just minutes doing it, but there is something very satisfying about capturing the day and holding it in your hands before it is over. There is something rewarding about stopping to remember what really happened in the past 24 hours. There is something rich about taking time to be thankful for specific things that were experienced that very day.

For the past ten years I have used Susan Branch's book called "Days from the Heart of the Home" to record my daily sentiments. There is a tiny space to write in (just the right size!) with much inspiring goodness in the margins. Did you know that Susan Branch is one of my life mentors? She inspires me in countless ways.

Sometimes I write down three favorites from the day. Sometimes I write about a poignant moment. Sometimes I doodle a picture. Sometimes I write a prayer. Sometimes I just list what I did or accomplished. There are no rules! But it sure is fun to look back and read your stories. This is where my history is being written. Join the fun and journal. Don't let life rush by so fast that you don't notice it.