I homeschooled my boys for years and have always caught flack for it. However, the one group of people who rarely criticized my decision were other parents with school-aged children. More often than not, they seemed to feel compelled to offer an apologetic explanation for why they weren’t homeschooling their own kids. Why? Because they were well aware that we live in a world where … Continue reading Jiu-Jitsu for the Bullied
The other day I was scolding my girls for their habit of changing their clothes multiple times a day. The laundry! Sophia replied, “if we were real princesses, we could do it.” “You’re not that kind of princess, honey,” I explained, “if you were that kind of princess, a maid would be doing the wash. Instead, the queen has to do it and she is … Continue reading The Laundry!
I’m so gonna build one of these one day! How to build a natural swimming pool: in recent years, a few builders and a growing number of homeowners have learned how to build pools without relying on a mass of manufactured materials and chemical additives. They’ve found it’s possible to construct pools that are more about building with nature and blending into the natural landscape. … Continue reading Natural Swimming Pools – so coooooool!
From Parenting Magazing – 7 Discipline Mistakes All Moms [And Dads!] Make: 1. We’re too negative. 2. We expect too much from our kids. 3. We model behavior we don’t want to see. 4. We intervene when our kids simply annoy us. 5. We’re all talk and no action. 6. We use time-out ineffectively. 7. We assume what works for one kid will work for … Continue reading Normal Mistakes – pass it on!
I did a little research about the going rate for the services I provide for a family our size in the area I live in and I also looked at Denver Concierge’s affordable maid service to have a comparison. So, here’s my version of one of those “how much does it cost to replace a stay-at-home-mom?” lists that comes out every year around Mother’s Day: Full time, … Continue reading My husband can’t afford me!
I’m pretty sure I’ve had this before, but it never got bad enough for me to seek treatment. It never occurred to me that it was a mom thing – I just figured I had done something to my hand. Who knew? The dangers of being a mommy! Continue reading Mommy Thumb?
Or perhaps you are the difficult person. Most likely both have some truth in our individual lives. It seems like everything that could be said about dealing with difficult people has been said, but this article on the notion of “Invalidation” as a tool frequently used by difficult people is really well done, imo. I’m afraid I haven’t been blogging much because I’ve been SICK … Continue reading Anyone know a difficult person?
Today I was reading through a fairly fluffy article offering advice to parents of teens. (Because with two teens in the house and a whole lot of future teens coming down the pipeline I need all the help I can get!) In the middle of this fluffy little article, I found the best parenting advice I’ve read all year. In the for-parents-of-teens version it goes: If … Continue reading The best parenting advice I’ve heard all year!
Interesting story in the NY Magazine this weekend about how praising kids harms and sometimes helps them. Much of the research about praise isn’t new to those of us to pay attention to such things, but for many people the reality of how praise can help and harm kids runs counter to what we’ve been taught to believe. The first thing that researchers have discovered … Continue reading All Praise the Kids?
My 9 year old spent last week at a nearby nature center for summer camp. It ran from 8-4 with an overnight camp-out Thursday night. It was really the first time he’s spent that much time in that short a period away from his family. He had an absolute blast, got along very well with the other kids and only had one serious discipline problem … Continue reading Summer Camp and Peer Socialization
The Upside Down World 