Lifestyle
Love Yourself, for Your Daughter’s Sake
“Because, friends, our daughters are watching, and we get the privilege of being their first model of what it looks like to be strong, beautiful, capable women. Women who like themselves, speak kindly to themselves and others, and don’t stagnate but actively pursue growth.”
Traveling with Toddlers :: Can We Talk About the Good Stuff Too?
I know our son won’t remember our travels from these early days of his life. I do hope that maybe these experiences in some way help him internalize that the world is so much more than our street here in Boston. Even if it doesn’t do that for him quite yet, it is good for me to remember that there is life outside nap schedules and ‘Daniel Tiger.’
An Ode to My Local Library
This week we celebrate National Library Week. As a voracious reader and former teacher, I have long appreciated my local library. Once I became a mom, this appreciation reached a whole new level. Love? Devotion? I’m not quite sure the word… all I know is I owe a debt of gratitude to that charming little building around the corner that I will never be able to repay.
Afraid to Garden? Do It Anyway!
We grew together as a family as we learned from our failures and wrestled with waiting to see if Mother Nature would come through. We brainstormed and problem-solved, we raked and we watered, and we got to see cucumbers grow from seed into an almost overwhelming amount of produce. The look of pride on my daughter’s face when she walked in with her haul of ruby red tomatoes folded up in her shirt was priceless.
Autism :: More Than Awareness, It’s Time to Accept and Appreciate
“Over the years I have had mixed feelings about ‘autism awareness.’ It has never sat quite right with me, and being a completely burned out mom with three kids, I’ve never had the energy or time to really think about what I want to say. But the past year has hit us hard at home and at school. Now that my son is getting older, his behavior and quirkiness are more obvious to others, including his peers and his younger sister. It is making me realize awareness is not enough. What I need, as a parent, is autism acceptance and autism appreciation.”
Potty Training Your Toddler in 30 Easy Steps :: A Definitive Guide
Step 1. Stop in diaper aisle. Mutter to self about flushing money down the toilet with each diaper purchase. Realize that diapers don’t actually come in any larger size before they begin to be labeled for adult incontinence. Side eye toddler.
Meal Planning Mama
For me, meal planning and prep have been an evolving process. As my family has grown and expanded and their palates and proclivities have varied, I’ve had to get creative about what I prepare for them.
Call to Order :: The Family Meeting
As soon as your kids are preschool age, consider calling to order a Family Meeting. It’s a way to give everyone in the family a voice (and to take those little voices seriously), to practice democracy, and to show that we’re part of a team with common goals. And, it’s — yet again — a way to slow down and touch base with one another.
An Apology to My 1998 Sorority Semiformal Pint Glass
I’m sorry that you have to sit on a counter with a baby bottle and a sippy cup that somehow has a wad of silly putty adhered to the side of it. You will likely meet your eventual demise at the greasy hands of a child. One of them will bumble across the kitchen holding you — full of milk — then trip on their own feet and send you flying to the tile floor. You will shatter and die, and they will not understand why their otherwise iron-souled mother will burst into tears.
