I know and I cannot believe that we are thinking about Back to School again. I am never the one to start these conversations, as you can usually find me at the pool feeding my family sandwiches until 9:00 p.m. the day before The Big Day. As much as it pains me, I think our…
Category: MINDFUL PARENTING
A Summer Garden Party
Our flat has access to a private garden for tenants. It has a keyed entry and is a pet-free area, which keeps it quiet and the perfect spot for picnics. Ironically, a family of foxes now lives in the garden, but they don’t seem to be as comfortable taking over a picnic. We were so…
How to Make Reading Fun for 8 Year Olds
Sharing stories with my daughter has been something I’ve looked forward to since before she was born and enjoyed all of her life. Now that we’re really growing into independent reading as well, it has been a good challenge on how to make reading fun for 8 year olds. These years began my feeling of…
Five Benefits of Performing Arts for Children
My name is Lilly and I owe every part of who I am to theater camp. It’s true for so many of us, whether we went on to ever find ourselves back on center stage in life or just in a happy adult life using our voice, carrying ourselves with confidence and knowing how to…
Tips for Moving with Kids from a Children’s Therapist
This weekend is three months since we moved to Freiburg, Germany as an American family. The number one question I’m asked is how our little one is handling the change. To which I’m always tempted to respond with, “What change do you mean?” The truth is, our second grader hasn’t had much of a normal…
Learning How to Self-Parent
For a couple years in my mid thirties, I thought I had it all – everything that I understood to mean success, accomplishment, and external happiness. Lots of things looked good on the outside: I was a junior partner at a growing engineering firm and we had a nice house in a great neighborhood. I…
How to Naturally Dye Easter Eggs
Did you know you can naturally dye Easter eggs? It’s crazy to think last Easter I was trying to find items curbside and hoping the stores had enough food to pull off any type of special breakfast for the three of us at home. Traditions seemed to halt in an instant. Just taking one year…
Kids Gifts on Etsy
One thing I really enjoy is being around children. Whether I’m getting to enjoy the company of children at one of my art parties in Dallas, getting to spend precious time with my nieces and nephew and, of course, being with my daughter, I find getting really present with a child reminds me that there…
The 10 Best Craft Supplies for Kids (& 33 Crafts to Try!)
At my daughter’s fifth birthday party, I was delighted to see that a friend of mine had gifted the birthday girl a craft kit. The kit included all of the art supplies for kids to make a “yarn llama,” which felt like a delightful intersection of our interests in art and animals. I threw it…
Our Family Chore Chart Template and How to Encourage Family Chores
A few years ago, I was facing burn out and took a much-needed sabbatical, leaving full-time work for a more rewarding part-time job and, with that, more open time to consider my legacy and the type of work I felt called to do. Quickly, the concept of open time became a fantasy. Like Cinderella being…