The flyer came home from school on a Thursday. All of the flyers for various events, activities, calendars, and sign-ups arrive in the Thursday folder. I understand the school's intent to streamline the amount of paper and flyers that get sent home, but the brimming Thursday folder pushes my stress meter right into the red zone. It's not the sorting and organizing. I find great pleasure in going through the piles of pastel colored paper and dividing them into Keep and Recycle. Interested and Not … [Read more...] about Even When It’s Not Your Thing, It Can Still Be A Thing #10yearsaparent
Second Place Coconut Macaroons
I know, I know–I'm not ready the talk about The Holidays yet either. I'm still rifling through Halloween candy pilfering Heath Bars from my children. But like a train barreling down the track, there's no avoiding their inevitable arrival. In our house coconut macaroons = the holidays. If I failed to make them, I am convinced that Santa would not come, Rudolph's nose would not shine, and the baby Jesus would not arrive as scheduled. Two years ago I was invited to a cookie swap and my … [Read more...] about Second Place Coconut Macaroons
Dear Friends Without Kids, I’m Sorry
A friend sent my husband an email recently: "We found an old DVD of yours when we were cleaning out our basement. It's labeled Summer 2007. Do you want it? I can drop it in the mail." My husband replied, "Sure. That would be great. Thanks." I had to wonder, How in the hell did our friends come to have a DVD with picture of our kids in their possession? The summer of 2007 was the summer after our second son was born. He was an infant and our first son was 20 months old. We had kids … [Read more...] about Dear Friends Without Kids, I’m Sorry
What I Learned About Rejection After a Year of Seeking It Out
Last October I joined a group of creative entrepreneurs (artists, writers, designers, bloggers, makers, coaches) who planned to spend a year seeking out as much rejection as possible, putting ourselves out there, pitching, asking for what we want, and taking our businesses and lives to the next level. Here I am a year later to share with you what I learned after spending the past year seeking out rejection. 1. Things change. And that's okay. The original goal of the project was to get 100 … [Read more...] about What I Learned About Rejection After a Year of Seeking It Out
The Real Reason I Stay At Home #10yearsaparent
I could tell you that this was the plan all along. That I always knew that this is how we would raise our family. But that isn't how it happened. A series of choices led our family to this place, but underneath the practicalities and the logistics there was a feeling. A feeling of insecurity in my own childhood that I wanted to keep my own children from having. I've built my life around my kids' schedules. I put my sons on the bus in the morning and work from home while they are at … [Read more...] about The Real Reason I Stay At Home #10yearsaparent
More Moving Insight for Your Family’s Relocation
Excited to share some moving related news with you this week: The Moving Mom When The Moving Mom, a web site about moving with your family, approached me and asked for a copy of Good Move, I stalled a few days before dropping it in the mail. I was nervous that Good Move wouldn't be useful to these moving veterans and that they would review it harshly or even worse decide it wasn't worth featuring on their site. These ladies have moved a lot more than I have and have pulled their collective … [Read more...] about More Moving Insight for Your Family’s Relocation
Writing Next Steps & Shingle Hanging
Sometimes you have to say things out loud, put them out in the world to test out how the words feel when you say them, and also to hold yourself accountable. I can still remember two years ago, I was at Oktoberfest and chatting with an acquaintance. She asked me what I was up to, and I told her, "I'm thinking about writing a book. A book about moving with kids." I was just dipping my toe in the water to see how it felt. It felt pretty good. I wrote the book and now people can buy it. … [Read more...] about Writing Next Steps & Shingle Hanging
Identifying A Highly Creative Child #10yearsaparent
#10yearsaparent is back! Here's a little humor to get your creative juices flowing. Now that the kiddos are back in school, you're probably starting to wonder... How long until Ms. Teachy-teach starts noticing what a creative genius my child is? How long until my darling is recruited to be in the special program exclusive to following-in-Steve-Jobs-footsteps kind of kids? How long until all those hours of sitting on the floor pretending I like pretending pay off? If your child … [Read more...] about Identifying A Highly Creative Child #10yearsaparent