Our family had an eye-opening experience this past weekend. We were able to go to the American Museum of Natural History in NYC where they have this new exhibit all about the senses. It was a fascinating display of how we all perceive things differently with our internal senses (cold, hunger, etc) and external senses…
This morning I sat down and mapped out a route and just how long it would take to walk the 2.1 miles to Jenn’s school to pick her up. I thought that maybe since the weather is nicer and because the emotions have been running so high in our home that a quiet walk in…
It was 3:30am on April 5, 2015. The fire alarm in our hotel room was BLARING to the point I thought I might go temporarily deaf. We had just moved across the country with a our 2-year-old and 3-month-old and were only 2 days into this new life adventure. Living on very little sleep and…
In 2011, I started shifting away from negative language in my high school classroom to a more positive beat. It’s part of what I studied and researched throughout college. Even so, to my astonishment, I started seeing results almost immediately. As if I was holding some sort of magical potion, these teenagers started behaving differently…
This isn’t a political post. In fact, I will never tell you how I feel about guns or the 2nd Amendment. But this is about our kids. It’s about their need to stand up, be heard, and make change as they see necessary and to be better citizens. In high school, I remember both witnessing…
Noise is one of my triggers. And when anyone in my family spends a little too much time in front of a screen we get a little crazy. And those are the days I wish there was a magic family reset button. I start wondering why I ever turned on the TV or start blaming…
I was 7. It was my first sleepover. And it was all Barbie. It should have been a dream but all I remember is the sheer horror of watching my 12 closest friends trample through my brand new poster, unintentionally ripping it to shreds. It was my birthday, and I was the one crying. Fast forward a couple…
I was barely ten feet into the store and I heard a woman earnestly whisper over my shoulder “They’re so beautiful.” “Thank you,” I said as she stopped walking to look over Emma and Rhett sitting in the shopping cart. She started telling me all about how she had 4 kids back to back and that she lived…
Smartphone addiction is real. So is letting a phone think for you instead of utilizing your own brain. And while we’re at it, let’s talk about sexting. Squirming in your seat yet? Or are feeling sweat drip down the back of your neck just thinking about actually handing your teen, tween, or even elementary school-aged child…
There’s a magnet on our fridge that reads “Be not simply good; be good for something -Henry David Thoreau” and sits nestled above my daughter’s routine charts. It’s a gentle reminder for all of us to both be good, do good, and go the extra mile to make a difference. Jenn started Kindergarten this year…
“OUCH! That really hurt.” I heard my husband cry out. “Say sorry. We tell each other sorry when we hurt others.” It’s something that we said over and over as our oldest has gotten older. There was nothing inherently wrong with teaching our kids to apologize when they hurt someone or when they were wrong……
Think back to your childhood. Slowly sift through your memories and think of the times your own parents felt like they were at the end of their rope with you from being uncooperative, disobedient, and ultimately a defiant child. Does anything stand out? Can you relate to your child better or understand your parent a…