Screen Free Week at our house….didn’t go the way I expected.
I was excited to participate in it.  I love the idea of a digital detox….But, since our kids usually see just one show each day, I didn’t expect it to make a huge difference in our home.  I expected to have calmer, more peaceful kids (which I got), but I also expected to get way behind on all those not-kid-friendly tasks I usually try (quite hurriedly!) to knock out during …

A giraffe threw a temper tantrum on my kitchen floor last week.
 
Now, this wasn’t just any giraffe.  This giraffe is “Baby.”   My two year-old’s baby, to be specific.  My son loves to give Baby rides in his wagon or on his tricycle.  He sleeps with it, runs to help it when he sees it endangered, and carries it tucked in the crook of his neck, sweetly rubbing its back and telling it what a “cute baby” it is.  This giraffe-boy …

Have you ever had one of those conversations where, no matter what questions you ask, the conversation never went past, “Hey, how are you? How’s the weather?”
My relationship with my father had been that way for as long as I could remember. Conversations rarely got beyond the superficial formalities. Everything was always just ok and the conversations usually lasted five minutes. I longed for a deeper connection with him. I wanted him to open up to me and let me know what was …

On principle, I approach our days in a gentle and slow manner. I like breakfasts that sizzle and dinners that simmer.  I love enjoying these meals with time enough to honour them.  I love our weekday rhythm and watching Coco explore her world with little hustle and bustle.  We pace ourselves and enjoy ourselves.  We slow down, we connect.  We watch the days getting longer as the crispness in the air fades away.  It is …

“Earth is crammed with heaven, every bush afire with God.
But only those who see take off their shoes.”
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning
One of the best perks to our new simplified schedule is that the boys have plenty of time to dig and explore. I love to watch the older one get lost in his own world whenever mud, dirt, and bugs are available for his play. A kid who you might say is borderline hyperactive indoors becomes …

A community of like-minded parents have come together to discuss Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne on the natural lifestyle blog Clean.
Through a weekly blog post about the current chapter in the book, readers discuss their struggles and inspiration by posting comments to the blog.
An extension of the discussion is happening through Clean’s Simplicity Parenting group on Facebook as well.
The book club began on April 19th. Currently over 100 parents are participating through Facebook and many more through the main …

 
I finished Kim John Payne’s book more convicted than ever that we need to cut our toy load in half at the house, and only keep the most simple, natural toys that open up the best possibilities for rich sensory experience and imaginative play.

We’ve had all kinds of toys in the past at the house: toys that beeped, talked, flashed, toys that were nice and quiet but very locked-in (a …

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Last weekend, the boys went away with daddy for a trip to the park and I finally got our little rhythm chart done. It was so easy (it had to be, I am not crafty.) It’s made of watercolor paper, mod-podged onto an art canvas. The little tags for each activity are also mod-podged for durability, and everything attaches with little magnets I cut up and stuck to the tree. No sewing, …

When our firstborn turned one, my husband and I made the call to cancel our cable TV. Since our son was too young for it (and always around), it seemed a wasted monthly payment and an easy place to save 40 dollars a month. It was just an experiment, and I fully expected I’d return in a couple of years to my (then) everyday life of constant streaming news, commercials, and background noise to whatever …

If you were to ask me and my husband what our biggest challenge in parenting has been thus far, we would easily answer: Sleep! Our son will be two years old this June and most nights he still does not sleep completely through the night.  Do you want to know a secret?  He isn’t the only one.  Most toddlers wake at least once during the night.
In our sleep seeking adventures, we’ve found a couple of things to be most important:  …