8 easy pumpkin decorating ideas for lazy parents
I am unafraid to admit to the masses that I am the laziest of parents! And the last thing I need this Halloween is another mess to clean up. So here are some easy pumpkin decorating ideas that won’t leave you covered in seeds and despair…
When kids are not our “mini me”: accepting your children as they are
When you become a parent, I think it’s natural to have expectations and preconceived ideas of what the little person you have created is going to be like. Imagining the future and what that could look like is perfectly natural. But as they grow, you begin to see them become this little person who is unique and special in their own ways. At that point, you should let go of the ideas and expectations you had in your mind at the beginning…
How do you handle a relative giving religious education to your child without you?
My mother-in-law knows I’m a non-religious person. It’s been the subject of very awkward conversations and loaded questions and hasn’t always gone well. The first question from her upon learning her son and I were pregnant was, “Can I take the baby to church?” But she knows my parenting plan of exposing my child to all religious options.
Has anyone tread this road before, and have any advice on how to handle it? What language do I use to make it clear I don’t want my toddler being pushed into a certain religion before she’s old enough to understand?
You can DIY coloring pages from your own photos
We featured this in-depth tutorial on how to create DIY coloring book pages from your photos for weddings, but they’d kick ass at kids’ parties, family gatherings, or just for your own zen coloring needs. Imagine a coloring book or coloring calendar as a holiday gift this year!
Yep, you can totally do this yourself if you have access to a program like Photoshop, GIMP, or Pixlr. My tutorial focuses on Photoshop, but I’ve linked other program tutorials in the post as well.
Here’s an amazing way to make finding out about Santa a little easier
Unless you decide to be transparent about the myth up front, there comes a point where you’ve got to come clean to your kids about Santa before they find out from friends or older siblings.
I recently spied this method that I HAD to share since it’s so good. with it, you’re allowing your children to learn about Santa in a less trust-breaking way, all while encouraging empathy and generosity that can live on every day after…
What should you get for a parent adopting an older child?
A friend is adopting three older children (ages 6, 7, and 11) out of foster care very soon. I’d really like to throw a shower of some sort for her, or at least arrange for some sort of group gift from our co-workers and mutual friends. But what should you get for a parent adopting an older child?
Bridging the gap with my children’s interests: Why one geeky dad is learning to love cartwheels
I’m beginning to have an understanding of what my father felt when he came home after working all day, grabbed our baseball mitts, and stepped into my room to ask if I wanted to play catch. He would usually find me on the floor of my room, in the midst of a galactic battle between good and evil, Empire and Rebellion. Now that I’m a father, I find myself with two young daughters who have the same view of their father as their grandfather once held.
The perfect classroom for a child is a hiking trail
Hiking is so much more than just walking around in nature with a hiking stick, a back pack, and some provisions. It can be a way of escape, it can be a time of meditation, it can be challenging, it can be educating, it can be down right frustrating. For us… it’s all of the above.