Whenever the topic of potty training comes up (and it does when you hang out with other parents of young children), I joke that our dog toilet-trained my oldest son. And I say it only half in jest. One night when I was cooking dinner, my son – at age 2.5 – came in and announced, “I peed outside, just like Mazel[-dog].” … Continue reading
Family
A Day of Snowed-In Fun
This past week we had a lot of snow. In fact, there was so much snow that we got snowed in. My Sweetie graciously takes care of the snow blowing when he’s in town, but he was on the road during this storm.
While the boys and I were a bit disappointed to cancel a brunch-date with a dear friend, it felt nice for the weather to declare a day of rest on our behalf.… Continue reading
Getting Kids Involved with Preparations for a Special Day
Since Thanksgiving is tomorrow, I thought you might find a reminder about this post from over the summer helpful. In it, my friend Lainie discusses how she uses a Sticky Note Wall to help involve her kids in preparing for a big gathering or celebration.
You can find the post HERE.
This is a great suggestion for families, especially once your kids can read.… Continue reading
Encouraging Self-Sufficiency: Teaching my 7-year-old to do Laundry
Before my children move out of the house, there are a wide variety of skills that I want them to master. Basic self-care, home care (HERE and HERE), basic repair skills, cooking (see HERE), financial literacy, and many other things along these lines. One of these skills is doing laundry.
My 7-year-old, who has watched me do laundry from the time I wore him as a newborn, recently expressed an interest in doing the laundry himself. … Continue reading
Teaching Compassion to and Learning Compassion from a Young Child
“Mama, wait!” my three-year-old called as we were leaving the park, “There’s a worm on the sidewalk and I must save him.” My son did his best to gently pick up the worm (it took three tries to get the worm securely onto his palm), then explained to it that worms need dirt to survive so he was going to relocate the worm to the nearby grassy area. … Continue reading
Voting Matters: Talking with your Child about the Election
Election season is upon us. No matter where you sit on the political spectrum, I hope that you agree that voicing your opinion by casting a vote is vital to protecting our freedoms and shaping our government.
Voting is the chief right and duty of all citizens. Our founding fathers granted a vote to white landowners at the founding of our nation. … Continue reading
The Rationality of Irrationality: Listening to an Upset 3-year-old
My son got a splinter in the arch of his foot. It wasn’t very big, but it went deep under the surface of his skin. After lots of hugs and kisses, I gave him an ice pack to hold on his foot while I went to gather our splinter-removal supplies (sharp tweezers, some Thieves oil*, and an adhesive bandage). … Continue reading
A Circle of Caring
Last week was a tough week for us. I mourned the death of my mother-in-law (see HERE). A friend’s dog nipped my 3-year-old, who then needed an emergency tetanus shot. A wasp got under my son’s shirt and stung him 8 times before I managed to flush it out. I missed my husband while he was out of town (big things always feel more difficult when we’re apart). … Continue reading
A Long Goodbye: Death, Mourning, and Alzheimer’s
My Mother-in-Law died this past week after over a decade of struggling with Alzheimer’s Disease. We all miss her. A final goodbye is still difficult, even when we’ve seen it coming for a long time.
Watching her succumb to dementia over the years, I feel like we not only said this last goodbye, we’ve also said 100 little goodbyes along the way. … Continue reading
Through the Eyes of a Child: Waiting Can be an Adventure
Through the eyes of a child, everything is magic and full of fun. Even waiting in a parking lot.
As we waiting for a friend who was running late, my boys had a great time exploring a dirt and weed filled parking-lot island. They took what could have been 20 minutes of simply waiting (or lots of complaining), and turned it into an outdoor adventure.… Continue reading