Aren't books wonderful?!! We love to read in this house, and I do mean we. I grew up obsessed with books. I loved going to the library to find new and exciting books to read, and my first library card was a treasured possession. Before we had kids, Mr. AJ and I loved to browse …
Our lives are busy, messy, and rushed at times. It seems that we are constantly in need of more time. We've improved things some by implementing a pretty solid schedule. I discuss the importance of a schedule for our own family in How Scheduling Saved our Family. Still, even with the awareness that we need to …
Continue reading Being Mindfully Present Even When It’s Hard
Back when Mr. AJ and I got married, we loved to go on road trips any time that we got the chance. It was a fantastic way for us to get some uninterrupted time together as we explored new and exciting places. It was easy to hop in the car and stop for food or …
Our six-year old showed signs of being highly sensitive from the day she was born. I really mean that. In the hospital, this tiny newborn made it impossible, even for the nurse, to put a hat on her head. All through her first year of life, we had to constantly change her diapers, even if …
Continue reading Parenting a Highly Sensitive Kid: What we’ve learned along the way
By limiting your exposure to once or twice a day, you can be connected to others and share parts of your life, while still having your own experiences. So for now, log off of your accounts, turn off the computer, and start a conversation in person with someone else.
We used to watch a lot of TV. It was pretty standard, really. I grew up watching cartoons on Saturday mornings, a different set of cartoons in the afternoons after school, and sitcoms with my mom, and different shows with my dad. At my paternal grandparents house, my grandpa used to have some pro sports …
Being a vegetarian, at least in our house, means that you have an immense variety of delicious and nutritious plant based foods to choose from. It also means that you get asked a lot of questions about your health and diet. (And I do mean a lot) I usually welcome the questions. I love talking …
In the first part of my sleep series, I wrote about the importance of sleep, and the consequences of not sleeping enough. If you're in a situation where you want to sleep, but you're having problems actually getting to sleep, you probably identify with this scenario: You are physically exhausted, but you're lying awake, staring …
Naps help you to refocus your day, improve your mood, and they even help with creativity. The CDC recommends that adults have at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Children need more hours of sleep, and trust me: we can vouch for that. Sleep is an extremely active and busy time for our brains, and it's absolutely essential to our well-being.
We were very bad at scheduling anything other than work and outside events and commitments. Now, we schedule our family time and activities first. Here is how we do it.
What We Learned This Week 