Have big-kid nightmares got your household missing more sleep than you’ve missed since you had a newborn around? That’s how our house has been feeling lately, since Kimmie went back to school. For example, take last night. It’s around 9pm. My husband and I had just wrapped up our nightly planning meeting and settled into […]
Big-Kid Nightmares? Try Big-Kid Massage Read More »
So the kiddos have been back to school for a few weeks now. How’s the back-to-school anxiety level in your household? In ours, it seems we’re still sorting through back-to-school anxiety, with mixed results. Your back-to-school anxiety checklist Have you noticed any of these back-to-school anxiety symptoms in your child(ren) since they resumed classes this
Back-To-School Anxiety: Tips on Herding the Purple Cow Read More »
Parenting While Disabled. There’s a loaded topic. I’m icing my left knee as I type this, having recently reentered the land where I can’t trust my body. Meaning that self-care is my top priority. This land doesn’t mesh well with caring for small children. In the United States, there’s growing awareness of the challenges of parenting
Parenting While Disabled: My Latest Attempt Read More »
Maybe you’re a first-time parent of a less-than-one-year-old. Maybe your kiddo is going through a sleep cycle shift. The switch to summer vacation and longer daylight hours in the Northern Hemisphere can leave even veteran parents wondering how to get your kid to go to sleep. And as seasoned parents know, you will find yourself
How To Get Your Kid To Go To Sleep Read More »
So you want to teach your kid to ride a bike. Maybe you’ve even heard of the “one day” method, and been suspicious – as I was, when I first stumbled across references to it online. Perhaps you’re wondering, as I did: does it work? Can you really teach your kid to ride a bike
Teach Your Kid To Ride A Bike In One Day? Really? Read More »
Do you always feel overburdened? As if you’ve got too much on your plate, because responsibility for the entire world somehow landed on your shoulders? Would you like to free up a few brain cells for something else? If so, then it’s high time you turn over some of that responsibility to your kiddos. Experts
Teach Your Kids Responsibility: Ten Super Hacks Read More »
If you’re a mama who’s continued to hold down a high-powered position post-parenthood, without dropping balls on the job or at home too often, my hat is off to you. Parenthood has a way of thrusting a whole new level of being responsible onto unsuspecting grownups (holy cow, did they just let us walk out
On (Not) Being Responsible for Everything Read More »
Do you need a few good holiday hacks? I know I do. Barely a week in, my December is already bursting at the seams. My to-do lists keep getting longer, and some things (like this post) never get done until weeks later than I’d planned. What’s on your plate this month? Too many kids’ concerts,
Holiday Hacks: Ten Tips to Make Your Life Easier This December Read More »
So it’s days from Halloween last week, and I’m dashing out to bulk up our candy supplies for trick-or-treating. Just one problem, though: I had a hard time finding the Halloween candy, thanks to all the Christmas displays already out in full force. Funny, I had the same problem when finishing back-to-school shopping – in
Do you need NO November? Read More »
Plenty of mamas with elementary education degrees have created super posts and printables that can help you teach your preschoolers math, all based on sound educational theory (for example, see here and here, and even here). As a mama with no formal training in this area, I’ve stumbled upon a different approach. Many preschoolers love
Sneak Some Math Into Your Preschooler Read More »
My husband teaches math for a living. To kiddos much older than ours. Because of this, I wasn’t surprised when my friends began asking me, years ago, what we were doing to teach the girls math. Truth is, when the girls were still infants and toddlers, I was the one with them most of the
Math for the Diaper Set: Six Ways to Get Started Read More »
Kimmie starts kindergarten this week. She can’t wait. She is soooo ready. Her first day of preschool, she marched right into the building without a backward glance. Kindergarten will be the same way. That is, as long as she survives the bus ride. Don’t get me wrong; she can’t wait to ride the school bus,
Why Mama’s Crazy Rules Matter Read More »
Oh, the ironies of parenting. Not twenty-four hours after publishing my last blog post, on finding your kids’ reset buttons, I found myself mentally running through my own checklist, searching in vain for one of my own tricks that would work on a five-year-old who stubbornly resisted each and every attempt I made to help
Reset Buttons Broken? Try Using a Code Word Read More »
It’s one of those days (hours, minutes), and you’re at the end of the rope. You just wish your kid had come with an on/off switch, circuit breaker, or some other way to turn her off. Then you could power her down, reboot her, and start all over with a clean slate. Or maybe it’s
Finding Your Kids’ Reset Button: My Top Ten Hacks Read More »
It’s 1:15 a.m. My husband and children are once again sound asleep upstairs, but I’m wide awake. That’s because a half-hour ago, my dear husband nudged me out of a deep sleep and informed me that Essie wanted me. Translation: Essie had to go potty, and it was my turn to deal with it. No
Toilet-Training Your Monster, Commando Style Read More »
Both of our children have been way ahead of the curve in some areas (mostly academic), but have taken a more leisurely approach in others. Kimmie was nearly eighteen months old before she mastered the art of independent walking, and for Essie that skill didn’t come until the age of sixteen months. And then there’s
On Toilet-Training Your Monster Read More »
Tonight I wish to propose a toast, to each and every parent-of-small-children who survived today. Especially those who still have at least one child in diapers. The joke’s on us As I write this, the full moon is still a few days away according to my calendar, but the date is yet April 1 for
Same Poop, Different Day: A Memo From The Trenches Read More »
Kimmie spent most of last week home from school with a fever. Although her appetite for food was way down, and her appetite for sleep was way up, she was otherwise her happy, normal self. So afternoons involved lots of napping and movies, and mornings when Essie was in school quickly became lots of bonding
Less is More, Three Months In: An Update on the New Tidy Read More »
Whenever new people enter a family, things shift a bit. It doesn’t matter whether the new person is a significant other or a newborn infant. New traditions come into being, or get passed on from one family segment to another. The first time my husband and I spent Christmas together, he got a stocking as
What Are Your Family Traditions? Read More »
Even though the first week of December was rainy and dreary in our neck of the woods, the girls and I have had a super start to our month. Part of the credit goes to the fact that I’ve made some very conscious decisions to simplify our lives, both for the holiday season and beyond.
Less Is More: Three Ways We’re Cutting Back and Living Better This Holiday Season Read More »
