Becoming a good mom, one hour at a time
The other day I was driving home when I saw the google maps car zipping along in front of me. I cracked up, which made my girls ask, “What are you laughing at, Mama?” Well, the funny way time passes was what made me laugh—but that would have made little sense to my kids, who just turned 3 and 5.
I told them a story instead. Read more
Gardening with your kids has about a million benefits, but these are the top reasons I get out in the yard with my children. It’s not hard to garden with your kids. Try it and report back if you see any of these side perks, too! This post contains affiliate links.
The other day, Peeper looked out the window and asked, “What’s on fire?” In a panic, I looked outside and saw not smoke—but clouds upon clouds of pollen wafting off a tree in our backyard. Spring is officially here, people.
(Now where’s my Claritin?)
As much as allergies annoy me, I am so ready for spring, partly because I can’t wait to garden with my kids! We’ve been talking a lot about what we want to plant, and we picked up some seeds from the garden store the other day. We’re raising bees this year, too, which will greatly benefit our garden—and influence what we plant, since I want to ensure we grow a pollinator-friendly garden.
But my aims to garden with my kids goes beyond providing food for our honeybees. Getting outside with my preschooler and toddler, connecting them to the natural world and teaching them responsibility by caring for plants are just a few reasons why gardening with my kids is at the top of my priorities.
Curious? Hungry? Excited for spring? Here are my top reasons why you should dig in with your little gardeners.
This is the first of my 2018 monthly resolutions. Up first in January: create a sanctuary at home by kicking out clutter, organizing like a boss and getting the whole family on the home organization bandwagon. Here’s how.
I hit a breaking point the other day in my home: We had just gotten back from a weekend trip to the beach, the girls were hangry and I was just trying to grab a book to read to them while their dinner cooked. But as I pulled out the library book, an entire stack of stuff—more books, artwork, a box of bibs—toppled onto me.
Having a disorganized, overstuffed house is not new to my family. We have more than we need, and I have struggled to get it under control. In the past, I’ve made progress and instituted systems, only to have the everyday chaos of kids undermine my best intentions. My house usually feels like this:
Not good.
Some folks flourish in clutter; I’m not one of those people. Although I’ve developed a tolerance for mess (thank you motherhood!), the explosion of stuff everywhere is a constant source of stress.
So for my first monthly resolution, I’ve set the goal to create a sanctuary at home.
It’s probably a bad sign when a household ant infestation feels like a metaphor for your life.
A few times a year since we moved into our house, tiny sugar ants appear. They swarm on crumbs and march in lines along room perimeters. After a while—and usually more rigorous housecleaning—they go back to whatever outside home they have.
This time is different. I keep fighting the ants, and, predictably, more show up. And they are spreading. They have found the bathroom, a room they’ve never infiltrated before. And I just can’t keep up.
Perhaps it’s not shocking that this particularly bad ant infestation mirrors a time in my life that also feels like every time I turn around, I have more to-do items that tickle me, nagging thoughts that won’t get lost and worries that swarm my distracted mind.
This is my first year as a mother when I’ve actually felt on top of Halloween. And that’s 100% because I decided to not go all DIY.
I’m so glad I’m half-assing Halloween.
When Peeper said she wanted to wear a Cinderella costume, my inner feminist cringed—but then I hopped on Amazon and ordered her a damn Disney dress.
Kiwi is still too little to have much of a preference or even know there’s a holiday coming up. So I figured that hey, she has fleece giraffe-print pajamas, so why doesn’t she dress as a giraffe? #twoforonepajamas
Now I have to get out and show off these top-tier costumes. And if you’re like us, you won’t be spending all of Halloween at home, either, waiting to give out tiny chocolates to almost equally tiny Elsas and Pikachus. We’ll be taking the girls out to get their own candy (which we’ll quickly appropriate, obvi). So I wanted to set out a trick or treat sign welcoming the neighborhood kids to help themselves to the treats I’ll leave on the front porch.
And hey, so can you, because you can download this Halloween trick or treat sign for free!
Peeper, in all her almost-three-year-old wisdom, has become quite the picky discerning eater. Tool around the internet searching “picky eater” and you’ll find about a billion recommendations to miraculously make your preschooler ask for seconds of that spinach-quinoa-frittata you whipped up. The tip that has made a lot of sense to me, though, is having your kid help grow the food you want her to eat.
Unfortunately, I’m a bit of a black thumb. I have somehow managed to kill a half-dozen cacti and succulents in the last year, not to mention the less hardy plants that have perished on my watch.
But I refuse to give up—especially if persistence means fewer power struggles around the dinner table. So this spring and summer we are growing some edible plants in planters.
First up on Peeper’s homegrown menu: tomatoes!
Peeper was so excited to plant the tomato starter. She’s been checking on it daily as the poor plant languished in its tiny pot for weeks. (See my earlier note about killing plants. Oops!)
We couldn’t find the trowel in the rat’s nest of our garage, so Peeper helped scoop potting soil with a little Mason jar.
I’m most excited about the (theoretical) expansion of Peeper’s menu, but there are other benefits to helping kids grow food.
Planting a seed, tending to it and watching it grow is a tangible lesson in where food comes from. Hands-on gardening teaches kids about the life cycle and the effect of the environment (like what happens to a plant after a rain storm or a scorcher).
Growing food also teaches kids about how a plant grows. Peeper got up close and personal with the tomato plant’s roots as we loosened the packed dirt around the root ball.
Kids also learn ownership and responsibility. Peeper has asked to water the plants we repotted and loves to check their progress. The patience she’ll gain, too, as she waits for a tiny green tomato to turn into a beefsteak is a bonus for any preschooler.
Once we repotted the tomato, we had to stake in the tomato cage. We explained to Peeper that tomato plants grow big and heavy, and the cage helps support it.
When I’d gone to the hardware store to buy the cages, I wanted to get the beautiful, brightly colored ones—but couldn’t justify paying three times more for a pink or green one. Instead, I bought the regular silver tomato cage—and gave it a 60-second facelift!
Using stuff you probably already have in your garage, you can make a tomato cage even prettier—in about a minute!
One year ago we moved into our West Linn home, which, thanks to Peeper, we still call New House.
We’ve been here long enough that people have stopped asking us how we like our “new” neighborhood, house and town. But I’m just as grateful today as I was on that first day we moved in.
Eric and I stood in the bare living room, grinning at each other. We had just received the keys to our new home, the first property either of us has owned. We were saying good-bye to cramped apartment living, chain-smoking neighbors and car alarms that consistently blared in the middle of the night.
We had ordered pizza because that’s what you do the first night in your new place. Finn and Edie had been sprinting in circles, taking advantage of all the space and complete lack of furniture.
We weren’t going to spend the night; we had hardly begun packing, in fact. We were just about to head back to the apartment when we changed Peeper’s diaper.
Then—but of course—she peed on the floor.
The house was officially ours.
I was happy to see the other day that Raising Alex The Great nominated me for a Real Neat Blog Award. (I’ll send you my address so you can send me the check/plaque/gold-plated statue. K?) She writes about motherhood and the unique challenges—and joys—of having a premature baby. Check out the blog!
She posted a few questions I answered, below. Beyond that, I’ve nominated 7 blogs that I love—take a look for some phenomenal reading.
Home is a welcome mat.
I nominate the following blogs:
Urban Bliss Life is a down to earth but stylish lifestyle blog with posts about recipes, kids’ parties and actually easy DIY.
The Monster In Your Closet tells it like it is, hold the BS. She writes about work, raising two sons and the balance of immersing yourself in the present moment without abandoning the past.
Loni Found Herself chronicles the adventures of raising a toddler in LA. I admire her openness in goal-setting and reflecting on how becoming a mom has changed her.
Little Fall Creek is a mama-homesteader who mixes posts about wrangling free-range chickens with photos of her daughter getting muddy in the yard.
A Tiny Rocket posts about motherhood and art. I can’t figure out how she finds the time to create her gorgeous paintings daily (follow her on Instagram, too!), but I find her dedication inspiring.
West Metro Mommy reads more than I thought humanly possible and publishes honest reviews of each book. This is where I go before heading to the library; I get most of my recommendations from her.
Snapshots & My Thoughts is a style and family blog out of Austin. I love her photographs, inspiring style posts and—ahem—giveaways!
Here are my questions for you bloggers to answer!
1. What do you do if you have writer’s/painter’s/photographer’s/creator’s block?
2. What’s your food guilty pleasure?
3. If you could magic yourself into an alternate career, what would it be?
4. What was your favorite childhood book?
5. What’s one thing you love about yourself?
6. Dogs or cats?
7. Any upcoming travel plans? Where?
I was happy to see the other day that Raising Alex The Great nominated me for a Real Neat Blog Award. (I’ll send you my address so you can send me the check/plaque/gold-plated statue. K?) She writes about motherhood and the unique challenges—and joys—of having a premature baby. Check out the blog!
She posted a few questions I answered, below. Beyond that, I’ve nominated 7 blogs that I love—take a look for some phenomenal reading.
Home is a welcome mat.
I nominate the following blogs:
Urban Bliss Life is a down to earth but stylish lifestyle blog with posts about recipes, kids’ parties and actually easy DIY.
The Monster In Your Closet tells it like it is, hold the BS. She writes about work, raising two sons and the balance of immersing yourself in the present moment without abandoning the past.
Loni Found Herself chronicles the adventures of raising a toddler in LA. I admire her openness in goal-setting and reflecting on how becoming a mom has changed her.
Little Fall Creek is a mama-homesteader who mixes posts about wrangling free-range chickens with photos of her daughter getting muddy in the yard.
A Tiny Rocket posts about motherhood and art. I can’t figure out how she finds the time to create her gorgeous paintings daily (follow her on Instagram, too!), but I find her dedication inspiring.
West Metro Mommy reads more than I thought humanly possible and publishes honest reviews of each book. This is where I go before heading to the library; I get most of my recommendations from her.
Snapshots & My Thoughts is a style and family blog out of Austin. I love her photographs, inspiring style posts and—ahem—giveaways!
Here are my questions for you bloggers to answer!
1. What do you do if you have writer’s/painter’s/photographer’s/creator’s block?
2. What’s your food guilty pleasure?
3. If you could magic yourself into an alternate career, what would it be?
4. What was your favorite childhood book?
5. What’s one thing you love about yourself?
6. Dogs or cats?
7. Any upcoming travel plans? Where?
