This weekend I finished the audio version of Brené Brown's new book Rising Strong.
Y'all. This book broke my brain.
If you are unfamiliar with Brené's work, stop what you are doing and watch this Ted Talk.
How to repurpose kids art as birthday cards
I'm trying my hand at Periscope! Yesterday, I shared one of my new favorite parenthacks. It's shockingly simple but is always paying big dividends!
How I got my family to help around the house
Recently, I looked around my home and realized I WAS DOING ALL THE THINGS.
I am lucky enough to have a husband who cooks and does most of the grocery shopping. But guess what? With church and community events and family obligations, we can go days and days without eating dinner at home, which means he is basically off the hook.
But breakfast? Packed lunches? Laundry? Picking up? Cleaning up? Plain ole KEEPING UP?
That was ALL. ME.
Us v. Them
I don’t spend a lot of time bemoaning the state of the world. I like to take the long view when it comes to history and, as overwhelming as certain global trends can be, I believe that the world is a good place worth bringing children into.
That is not to say I am immune to fear.
I worry about climate change and the growing power of ISIS. Like the rest of the world, I saw those babies’ lifeless bodies on the shores of Turkey and thought, “How could things have gotten this bad? What kind of world are we leaving to our children?”
However, there is an undercurrent I’ve noticed when people discuss the problems plaguing our planet and its people. I’ve noticed it when people talk about the refugee crisis in Europe. I’ve noticed it when people talk about Kim Davis. I’ve noticed it when people talk about the Black Lives Matter movement.
Then, as I listened to an episode of This American Life, it really hit home.
My latest parenting FAIL
In the midst of my terrible, terrible time, Amos forgot how to use the potty. People had warned me that regression was a real possibility when a new baby enters the picture. However, when Felix was born in February and we went months without an issue, I just figured Amos was old enough it wouldn’t be a problem.
Then, two things happened. First, we got really lazy about taking his pull-up off in the morning (a mistake we had also made with Griffin because we are clearly slow learners) and he started peeing in them while awake. THEN, we went to the beach where kids spend a lot of time peeing in the ocean (or - let’s be honest - in the pool).
The combination of the two WITH the new baby meant I had a four-year-old pooping in his pants on the REGULAR.
The EASY way to limit screen time
My kids LOVE screen time. If given the choice, they would spend every waking moment playing Minecraft, LEGOS® Star Wars™ app, or watching Netflix until their eyeballs rotted out of their heads.
Obviously, as their mother, I try to prevent this from happening.
Now, I’m not opposed to ALL screen time. We live in a digital age and I want my children to be digitally literate, but I also don’t want their legs to atrophy or backs to develop humps.
I’ve tried and tried and tried several techniques to limit screen time. When Griffin was little, we used a clothespin technique, which worked really well when all we had to deal with was the television.
Since then, we’ve added an iPad, a Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition, and a LeapPad. (In my defense, we won the LeapPad and my husband purchased the Kindle Fire!) So, now I’m not trying to keep them from ONE screen. I’m trying to keep them from FOUR screens.
One of the best pieces of parenting advice I’ve ever received
Last week, as I stood on elementary school lawn enjoying the Back to School Night picnic, I was chatting up another mother, who also happens to be a dear friend, about our kids. We were talking the hilarious things kids say - some of them funny funny and some them embarrassing funny.
I was telling her all about Amos explaining “tongue lick kissing” to me the week before.
Apple Watch: The Parent’s Best Friend
When word of the Apple Watch first started to spread, it barely made a blip on my radar. I’m not opposed to wearable technology, but – at the time – I still had my Fitbit so I didn’t really see the point.
Then, my friend Jessica got an Apple Watch. This is the same Jessica who changed Christmas forever so I tend to listen when she speaks.
Y’all, she used the word “life-changing.”
