Spring is here, Earth Day is coming up and I find myself not just spring cleaning but looking for ways to simplify our lives, save money and be better at living green. Paul Taylor from www.babysittingjobs.com is our guest contributor on the topic this week and has a lot of great things to stay about being greener and how it doesn't take a lot to make a big difference. Let's get started- … [Read more...]
As I write this I am pondering how best to give my kids a healthy but fun dinner. Tonight, I have a bit more time. I'm mixing onions, peppers and tomatoes with black beans to create a simple dinner of black bean nachos. The girls can add their own toppings once everything is heated and it is a light meal that makes dinner easier and more fun. They pile on the black olives, dollop on some sour cream and add a healthy bit of montery jack and cheddar cheese. Add some spice with salsa or hot sauce and their plates are full in no time. … [Read more...]
I didn't grow up in a house that held family meetings. Being an only child it was basically "This is what your father and I have decided and the way it is going to be." Like it or lump it and sure, go ahead and smoke out your bedroom window. You'll get tired of that bad habit some day. Yet it was clear that in our home, a family of five, we need to do things a bit differently. We are working with a lot of personalities, a lot of schedules and a short supply of patience more often than not. Between school, work, activities and just life we were all feeling disconnected and discontent. When my Mom gave me a Parents magazine a few weeks ago with an article about holding family meetings I sort of wanted to groan out loud and throw it in the recycling bin. As it happens insomnia … [Read more...]
Hi, my name is Vicky. Most days I feel like this version of JC … [Read more...]
It is the night of your seventh birthday. The house is quiet. You and your sisters lay exhausted and asleep in your beds. The last 24 hours a whirlwind of birthday streamers, balloons, sugar-frosted cakey dreams punctuated with laughter, fun friends and good wishes from family. The only noise I hear right now is that of the Oscars droning on in the background. I sit surrounded by a tiny golden light lost in the thoughts of the day as glittering stars smile their toothy grins. … [Read more...]
There are three kids in my house under the age of seven and they all want to watch videos on the computer. YouTube is one of the first places my oldest will go to get her 'sweet-making baking' fix, but there is a tendency to skip around and end up on a totally different sort of video. The various ages of the girls and their likes and dislikes can complicate things, but LEGO® has created their own channel on YouTube that allows parents to create their own playlists and you can do it per kid, which is almost as helpful as having a guide for blue screen of death causes and fixes for tech headaches. This setup not only keeps the kids entertained safely but also saves parents time by preventing constant supervision over what’s being watched. … [Read more...]
It was the email titled, "Pizza, Pizza!" that just shoved me right over the edge. The day already felt long. The weekend had felt that way too. In fact, every day lately has been a bit of a slog with me feeling ever closer to that "edge" that parents all talk about. As I sat in preschool car line waiting for The Comedian to come out of school I checked my email and found the 'pizza' one from her teacher. An impromptu field trip, "what fun!" My brain seized. All at once I felt angry, defeated and yes, I will admit to a little bit whiney. It's just. I just. I can't. I felt frozen as I searched my swirling, over-crowded brain for what that day might contain on the schedule. Did we have Occupational therapy or speech that day? Was it the one day all week that I had a … [Read more...]
Somewhere in the last few months it would be easy to categorize my emotions as saying that I just stopped caring. I stopped caring what other people thought, I stopped caring what I thought about other people and I stopped getting so spun out about work and our schedule. I lump it all together as if it was all so easy but that's never the case. It is as if I turned 36 and much like the year I turned 30 it was a fabulous year in so many ways and in other aspects truly awful. The big girl panties I thought I was wearing no longer fit and I had to go up a size. God, that is awful. I think the death of someone you love dearly, sudden or not, will do that to you. The realization that your child isn't quite like all the others is another. The added bonus and realization that … [Read more...]
Part of being a parent, to me, is being healthy. Healthy in body and mind, as much as you can be. I won't say it is easy but it is definitely worth it. The strength, energy, stamina and ability to lug kids and groceries and get a better nights sleep all because I exercise on a regular basis makes me feel a thousand times saner and balanced. Plus, my kids love the ridiculous insanity of the kid zone at the gym. It's a win-win. Except on those days where I look at my crumb-riddled floors, laundry monster growling at me from the depths of the basement and piles of work that are hitting deadlines and I think, … [Read more...]
There are some times that I forget that you are gone. I think to myself, it has only been a little while since we last spoke or emailed each other. My brain tells me that I should really pick up the phone and call or send a message. Then I remember that none of those things can happen. The distance that I'm feeling will remain forever and I can't have those times back. … [Read more...]