catherinemryan, Author at The Ten Thousand Hour Mama

Portland’s The Grotto with kids: Outdoor Christmas fun

December 7, 2017December 6, 2017catherinemryan

This week we checked off a Portland bucket list activity: Visiting Portland’s The Grotto with kids. The families from Kiwi’s homeschool preschool planned a p.m. field trip to see the Christmas lights there, and since I didn’t exactly know what was in store, this Portland Christmas activity gave me so much more than I expected!

Visiting The Grotto with kids is a painless, fun outdoor activity to get in the Christmas spirit in Portland.

If you’re looking for a family activity in Portland that’s

inexpensive
easy for little kids and entertaining for older kids, too
not stressful

then I recommend visiting The Grotto with the whole family. (I didn’t receive compensation or free entry for this post; I just really enjoyed our visit and am glad we finally went to see the Christmas lights there!)

Family Christmas activities in Portland: The Grotto with kids Read more →

Preschool sounds theme and activities: homeschool ideas

December 5, 2017January 10, 2018catherinemryan

Plenty of attention gets paid to sensory play these days—a quick dip in Pinterest turns up slime recipes, scented cornmeal and even instructions on how to dye spaghetti noodles for a squishy bucket of fun. Yet hearing is one sense that is often neglected in sensory play. At a recent homeschool preschool meeting, then, I focused on a sounds theme and activities—and it was a roaring success.

Toddler preschool sounds theme and activities for homeschool - ideas for sensory play. Ten Thousand Hour Mama

With this theme and sounds activities, the kiddos engaged their sense of hearing at every turn. They also practiced fine motor skills, creativity, gross motor skills—and had an absolute blast doing it.

Whether you do a homeschool preschool for your kids or just want some sensory play that engages your kids ears, the sounds theme and activities here will be an absolute delight.

Holiday shopping with kids: 10 tips to survive the season

November 21, 2017November 20, 2017catherinemryan

Shopping is not my favorite. It ranks somewhere below scrubbing toilets and clipping my kids’ fingernails in the things I’d rather do. But, alas, Christmas presents don’t buy themselves. And with research I’ve been doing about how shopping locally and at small businesses keeps 3-7 times more money in the local economy, I’m avoiding my Amazon Prime account when I can. But shopping with kids? That’s a whole other challenge.

I know I’m not alone here: Parents agree that shopping with kids is like herding cats, only if the cats were rabid. And drunk. And hangry. And loud enough to draw the stares of an entire block.

So I put on my thinking cap (and asked a few other bloggers) to come up with these tips for shopping with kids this holiday season. If you’re heading out on Black Friday or waiting until crowds die down, these ideas will help you keep your sanity—and family—intact.

Family photography: Bringing out the best in your kids

November 17, 2017catherinemryan

Kiwi, our 2-year-old, is currently in a phase where she covers her eyes and cries “No!” every time anyone tries to take her photo. So I was less than confident how our family photos would turn out when we met Becca from Becca Jean Photography on a recent fall afternoon. Becca and I met on an online group for mom-owned small businesses, and she offered to take our photos for free—an amazing and generous offer, especially considering her beautiful work. A bit later, I warned her about Kiwi’s camera shy phase.

Becca wasn’t too concerned. “I’ll joke around and you guys will play and the girls will naturally be smiling,” she assured me.

It turns out Becca was right, and I could not be more blown away by the family photos she took. If there is an award for getting kids who favor the stink eye to smile, Becca wins. Hands down.

I mean, look!

Holiday card family photo ideas for Christmas and fall photography - Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more →

Toddler homeschool preschool: Daily schedule for fun + learning

October 25, 2017October 22, 2017catherinemryan

Kiwi comes with me to drop off Big Sister Peeper at her pre-K every day. She puts together puzzles, reads books, waves to the teachers and constantly tries to sneak the same teddy bear home with us. (“Blue! My favorite!” she insists, clutching the bear to her chest, when I have to yet again persuade her to put it back.) So when I told her she would be going to her own school—a toddler homeschool preschool—she shone the biggest smile at me.

“Me school!” she shouted, literally bouncing up and down. “So excited!”

I saw it with Peeper when she was a 2 years old: Her homeschool preschool strengthened her curiosity, listening skills, friendships and love of learning. I knew it would be no different for Kiwi, so several friends and I recently began a new toddler homeschool preschool.

They’re loving it already.

This toddler homeschool preschool daily schedule sample is an easy way to start teaching your kids at home. Ten Thousand Hour Mama

This post contains affiliate links. Clicking and buying nets me a few pennies—thank you for supporting me and my family! Read more →

5 steps to get the best holiday family photo: Wisdom from the pros

October 23, 2017January 20, 2018catherinemryan

5 tips from professional photographers: How to get the best holiday family photo for this year's Christmas cards. Ten Thousand Hour Mama

Last year, when I scheduled a holiday family photo shoot, I did close to zero prep—I was busy enough wrangling a photo-adverse husband and two headstrong kids to consider how to make the photos actually look good. The best family photographers do the bulk of that for you, but a little preparation doesn’t hurt to get the best holiday family photo to put on your Christmas or New Year card this year.

(Looking back at 2016’s images, I laugh so hard at all the drama Kiwi caused! Poor bug was really ready for her nap.)

If you have holiday family photos on the horizon and want to capture your family at its best, look no further. I asked five of the best Portland family photographers to offer their wisdom with these 5 tips to get the holiday family portrait you’ve dreamed of.

5 tips from professional photographers: How to get the best holiday family photo for this year's Christmas cards. Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more →

Saying goodbye to summer feet

October 18, 2017catherinemryan

We are just coming down from a beautiful, sunny summer here in Portland. But along with the return of school and pumpkin spiced everything, the rains are back. Luckily, fall is my favorite time of the year, so I welcome the change of season—but I’m sad to say goodbye to summer feet.

You know, summer feet: When your soles harden from climbing trees and playing chase and walking around barefoot. Or maybe it’s been so long since you cultivated your childhood summer feet that you’ve forgotten.

My girls are definitely familiar. But just as their soles have toughened up after a summer of outdoor play, this fall, we bid goodbye to summer feet.

Kids going barefoot embody the carefree spirit of childhood. Saying goodbye to summer feet—and to summer—is bittersweet. Ten Thousand Hour Mama — Photo by Diana Feil

From afraid to empowered: The power of breast self-exams

October 17, 2017catherinemryan

A few weeks ago, I found myself in a thin hospital gown, staring at the speckled ceiling tiles as I waited for my ultrasound technician. The last time I’d done something like this was finding out the sex of my baby, who turned into Kiwi. This time, I was making sure a lump in my right breast, which I found during one of my sort-of regular breast self-exams, wasn’t going to kill me.

I hadn’t been that worried. In fact, I mentioned the lump to a breast health specialist in an offhand way when we were talking about my genetic risk factors for the Big C, since my mom had a very aggressive form of breast cancer at 39. The specialist referred me to an ultrasound tech, “just to be on the safe side.“

So I wasn’t sweating my appointment—until I was half naked, waiting, with nothing to distract me from my spiraling thoughts but the pocked patterns in the ceiling.

Spoiler alert: I’m totally fine. Turns out my boob is “cyst-y,” as the radiologist came in to tell me. (Pretty sure that’s a medical term she learned in very expensive medical school.) So in addition to having post-breastfeeding sad sag, my breast is also lumpy.

Killing it.

But! The cysts are totally benign. And lumpy is much better than deadly.

Doing breast self-exams is one thing every woman can do to protect her health and catch cancer early. Here's how I overcame fear and regained power over my health. Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more →

Best kids’ books about fall leaves: What we’re reading

October 9, 2017October 7, 2017catherinemryan

Autumn is my favorite season. As much as I love summer, by the end of August I eagerly await fall’s crisp evenings, the trips to the pumpkin patch, the excuse to cuddle under a quilt and drink tea, and the changing leaves. Oh, how I love fall leaves! Good thing for me, Peeper and Kiwi share my love of autumn, so it’s no surprise we’ve collected a list of our favorite books about fall leaves and autumn.

After all, autumn is the perfect time to crack open a book after running around outside.

Jump in puddles, get muddy at the farm, collect fallen leaves, collect a pocketful of acorns—then head inside to read a stack of children’s books about fall leaves. Need some ideas? Check out this list then request a few—or them all!—from your local library. These make for a great unit for homeschool, if that’s your thing, or just a lovely read-aloud to learn about autumn.

This post contains affiliate links. Clicking and buying nets me a small amount if income. Thanks! Read more →

Spark a fire for gun reform: 4 things you can do to stop gun violence

October 3, 2017October 3, 2017catherinemryan

Days like yesterday, I just want to burn shit down.

I, like so many, woke up to news about dozens dead and hundreds injured after an angry man opened fire on a sea of strangers in Las Vegas. And then I went through what many of us have experienced so often before: Shock. Anger. Sadness. Frustration.

The terror, then grief, thrust upon hundreds is absolutely needless—and preventable. That’s why I am so furious: Because events like those in Las Vegas (and Orlando, and Sandy Hook, and San Bernadino, and Aurora, and many more) are predictable. They will keep happening—unless we as a country do something about it.

Inspirational quote: You can't start a fire without a spark. Actions to take to end gun violence. Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more →