Modern Parents Messy Kids

mindful living, effortless style

happy family habits #1 : Share YOUR STORY with the kids

28 Mar

New Series: Happy Family Habits

Last week something kind of remarkable happened to me. I had one of those rare days where everything just seemed to be flowing. The kids and I were connecting, I was getting stuff accomplished without feeling frazzled or distracted, and the whole day through I felt… happy. It was so wonderful that once the kids were in bed that night I sat down and took a few minutes to reflect on what we’d done differently that day to make it so.

In fact, since starting the Raising Happiness program, I find myself doing quite a bit of reflecting on what makes our family happy. It’s my firm belief that happiness is something that can be taught to our kids – and is also something that needs to be practiced. Happiness is, quite simply, a state of mind.

Furthermore, I believe, from practicing gratitude to carving out one-on-one time with the kids, there are intentional things families can do to be more happy together. So today we’re announcing a new series here on MPMK: Happy Family Habits.

They say it takes 21 days to form a habit (side note: research has actually shown that this number probably varies quite a bit from person to person but it’s nice and tidy for our purposes so we’re going with it). Here’s the plan – every 21 days Kristin and I are going to post a new “Happy Family Habit”. The MPMK team will weigh in on ways we’re planning to form said habit and the rest is up to you.

I’ll do my best to remind you over the following 3 weeks to keep up your new happiness practice and at the end of that time we’ll reconvene to compare progress and start on a new habit. Ready to get started?
Read More

21 Comments / posted in Happy Family Habits, Kristin, Simple Ideas

27 Mar

3 New Approaches to The Easter Egg

Happy hump day friends. Do you all have big Easter plans for this weekend? We’re actually double booked – which I’m bummed about. Friends of ours are hosting a hunt in their backyard and the idea of all our littles running around together sounds so fun.

But our annual tradition is to head home for an organized egg hunt with both sets of grandparents – anything else just wouldn’t be Easter. (Plus the Easter bunny himself makes an appearance, which the kids love). So we’ll be piling in the car for a short road trip.

Before the big day arrives, though, I wanted to be sure to share some of the Easter-centric projects I’ve been getting up to over on eHow as well as some of my favorite MPMK posts from Easters past… Read More

0 Comments / posted in Holiday Projects, Style & Simplify, The Make & Play Vault

26 Mar

How to Instantly Double Your Play Space (Plus a Giveaway!)

Time for another play/art room update. The last time I showed it to you guys we had just chucked the couch and acquired a huge new art table (thank you craigslist). Since then we’ve been getting tons of use out of it – we can be found creating in the room almost daily. I’ve been so, so happy with it, with one exception. While the addition of the art table has exponentially increased our creative endeavors, it takes up quite a bit of space and has cut down a bit on the amount of area we have to play.

I’ve thought for a while now that the solution to this would be a nice cozy rug. Why? Because kids love burrowing into spaces to play – truly, there’s little more enticing than a tucked away space they can call their very own. And with the size of our new table, there’s a whole lot of said space up for grabs underneath it. The problem was our tile floor wasn’t exactly cozy.

Yes, I’d been wanting to get a rug for a while but what kind of rug would be able to stand up to the messy art projects we create at the table? I was stumped. And then one fortuitous day I received an email from Mohawk flooring looking for some friendly bloggers to test out their super-stain-resistant Smartstrand carpet.

So what’s so special about this carpet? From Mohawk:

Smartstrand has permanent stain and soil resistance that will never wear off. Most carpets have stain and soil treatments that are applied topically to the fiber. Over time, due to wear and tear, the topically applied stain and soil treatment wears off. This can leave ordinary carpets looking worn out and dirty sooner than you might expect for such a large purchase. With SmartStrand, you don’t have to worry about that. For as long as you have the carpet, it will have stain protection because it is built into the carpet fiber itself.

They’ve actually done some pretty amazing tests on these carpets. I’ll get to that later but first… Want a chance to win your very own Smartstrand carpet bound rug? Simply click on the link below to enter a giveway just for MPMK readers:

ENTER HERE TO WIN A SMARTSTRAND RUG OF YOUR OWN

All entered? Good. Before you go, I thought it would be fun to show you just how much our new rug is expanding our play potential. Read on for a bunch of ideas on how to play under your table. Read More

2 Comments / posted in Dramatic Play, The Everyday, The Make & Play Vault

top kids books for spring (including 3 Easter picks)

25 Mar

Book Nook: Top Kid Reads for Spring

Resident MPMK children’s librarian Janssen is back today with her top 10 picks for Spring and, bonus, a few Easter favorites too. I’ll definitely be picking up a one or two of these to add to S and C’s Easter basket this weekend.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Do you have a seasonal home library for the kids? (We started ours about a year ago and it’s so fun to see S and C’s excitement over the books they remember from last year hitting our shelves again.)

I’ve always loved spring, but now that I have children, I’m even more in love with it.

When the weather is nice enough to spend hours on the patio reading books together or drawing with chalk on the pavement, when walks are a daily occurrence (without thirty minutes of prep time to get everyone bundled up!) and trips to the park are back on the schedule, it’s hard not to feel a little bit of extra bounce in your step.

Here are ten books that are perfect for celebrating spring weather with your kids while sitting on your front porch or on a blanket in the backyard. Or, if spring hasn’t quite arrived in your part of the world, these books will help remind you that it will be here soon. Read More

7 Comments / posted in Janssen, The Book Nook

ratatouille family dinner and a movie night menu

22 Mar

Family Movie Night Menu: Ratatouille

Do you guys remember this post on creating Family rituals? From holidays to Friday nights, starting the bonding when your littles are still little is such a great idea. I believe in the idea so much I wanted to give you all a cheat sheet of sorts on throwing together a family movie night that goes beyond pizza and popcorn (although those work too!).

The recipe here is simple: pick a flick the kids are sure to love and combine with a few easy to throw together courses that stay on theme. This week’s special: Ratatouille with Linguini Alfredo, Co”Lettuce” Wedges, and Remy’s Eclairs. Read on for the recipes and enjoy! Read More

6 Comments / posted in In the Kitchen

Virtual Book Club - How to Talk So Your Kids Will Listen and Listen So Your Kids Will Talk

21 Mar

Virtual Book Club: “How to Talk So Kids Will Listen…” – Part 1

Today’s the day we finally get to delve into our new-and-improved book club format. Hopefully you guys already picked up your copy of “How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk” and are ready to jump in today. If not, it’s not too late. We’re covering the first half today and will be back in 3 weeks (Thursday, April 11th) to finish up.

Overall, I’ve been impressed with this book so far. I especially love the format. I found all of the examples and the cautions really fleshed out the ideas for me. Most importantly, after reading a chapter I felt prepared to try out the techniques.

So, without further ado, let’s jump in – shall we?

CHAPTER 1 – HELPING CHILDREN DEAL WITH THEIR FEELINGS

GENERAL IMPRESSION

The first line of this chapter made me laugh and that, my friends, is a surefire way to get me on board. ”I was a wonderful parent before I had children” – Amen to that!

Beyond the humor though, I really appreciated this chapter’s emphasis on how to help kids identify and accept their feelings. I’ve been a big fan of John Gottman’s theories on raising emotionally intelligent children and this chapter seemed to fall right in line with that school of thought.

Since I’m familiar with the idea of emotional coaching, not a lot in this chapter was new – yet it still drove home the importance of empathy to a new extent for me. Since reading it I’ve really been making an effort to empathize FIRST, and then move on to dealing with the issue, and I’ve seen a real change in the way my kids and I are relating. I can feel that their trust in me has grown and that they really believe I’m trying to understand what they’re saying – not just to fix it.

I really like what the authors say about the effects of empathy:

But let someone acknowledge my inner pain and give me a chance to talk… I begin to feel less upset, less confused, more able to cope with my feelings and my problems.

LIGHT BULB MOMENTS

“It wasn’t just using a technique. I really meant it” – This, I think, is the key. I do a lot of reading on parenting so sometimes it seems like I’m just racking my brain for the technique that will fit the situation. Not trying to figure out what will solve the problem, and trying instead to tune into what my kids are feeling, has really made a difference for us. I’m finding that kids can sense when adults are being disingenuous and sincere empathy really goes a long way.
“The language of empathy does not come naturally to us. It’s not part of our ‘mother tongue’” I didn’t realize this was true until the authors pointed it out. It seems like parents should naturally be empathetic. But I think it’s true that we don’t naturally speak that way in our everyday lives. Personally, I tend more towards the role of manager with my kids – especially when things are hectic or they’re ganging up on me. Read More

5 Comments / posted in Virtual Book Club

20 Mar

MidWeek Musing: Do You Use Natural Home Remedies?

When it comes to dealing with sick kids, parents fall all along the spectrum from purely homeopathic to over-the-counter all the way.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Where do you stand on homeopathic cold or flu remedies? Any that your family swears by?

A few months ago our contributor Natalie shared a slew of her favorite naturopathic cold remedies and I was intrigued. As with a lot of things, I’m somewhat of a moderate when it comes to treating sick kids. Mind you I’m not talking about serious illness here – for anything more than a cold I dutifully dole out the antibiotics. But when it comes to the seasonal stuff, I’m not opposed to going a little more au naturel.

After all, I’m pretty weary of cough and cold medicine for young kids due to numerous reports of hazardous side effects. So when S and C came down with fevers/runny noses/sore throats, I’d be much more likely to reach for the children’s ibuprofen and supplement with some comforting homemade popsicles or honey pops. But that’s about as “alternative” as I got.

Then, just before Natalie’s post, S got one of those colds she just couldn’t shake and our sitter suggested chopping up an onion and leaving it in her bedroom overnight (apparently a common practice in her homeland of Poland). I figured it couldn’t hurt so we tried it Read More

20 Comments / posted in Midweek Musings

19 Mar

Getting Ready for Spring: Make a Family Game Basket

When I think of spring I think of two things: spring cleaning and spring showers. So right now seems like a great time to do some organizing and pull together a family game basket for rainy afternoons.

Said basket would also come in handy for Family Game Night – a tradition I’d love to get started around here now that the kids are getting old enough to enjoy the fun.

We already have a few favorite games of our own but I’m always on the lookout for more to keep S and C interested as they get older. Plus a quality family game would be a great idea for the Easter basket. A few days ago I asked our Facebook followers about their family favorites and they came up with a rather extensive list.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

What’s your family’s go-to game for Game Night?

Here’s what our Facebook fans came up with (along with our family’s personal favorites in bold): Read More

11 Comments / posted in Learning & Engaging, Toy Recommendations

18 Mar

Watercolor Eggs: For a More Creative Dyeing Experience

Hope everyone had a good St. Paddy’s Day, now it’s time for Easter – it’s so early this year! Kaley’s here sharing an awesome idea on how to make egg dying more fun for the littles. I’ll definitely be trying this with S and C for Easter. In fact, boiled eggs have become a daily snack around here ever since New Year, New Rules so this might become a regular art activity for us.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Speaking of Easter – how do you all hunt? Do you prefer a small backyard gathering or do you brave one of the public spectacles (fun but chaotic!)?

If you have a toddler or young child, simply dropping eggs into dye and waiting a few minutes until they are ready to be taken out may not be engaging enough to keep their interest. This was definitely the case with my 3 year old when we were making our Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs.

She couldn’t understand why we didn’t get to actually color the eggs, and for her it seemed like an eternity waiting to take the eggs out of the dye. So we made another round of colored eggs, but this time she painted them with watercolors made of food colors and vinegar. She had so much fun, and after 2 dozen eggs she was still begging to paint more. Read More

11 Comments / posted in Creating & Engaging, Holiday Projects, Kaley, The Make & Play Vault

15 Mar

Friday Share: An Easy Lunch, Hair Tutorials, and Bubble Painting

Time for another “Friday Share” friends. But first two quick notes:

Our eBook Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life: The Quick Start Guide is on sale as part of a limited offering Spring Cleaning eBook bundle at Bundle of the Week. For $7.40 you get 5 helpful eBooks on cleaning and organizing – only catch is the sale ends Sunday.
Virtual book club is next Thursday. So grab your copy of “How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk” and get reading. We’re covering the first half March 21st!

Today we’re changing up the order of things a bit. Here we go…

THEY’RE SHARING

(clockwise from top left)

This DIY Recycling Center for Kids is amazing. I’m smitten by the bright, cheerful look of it – but what I really love is how it promotes both environmentalism AND creativity. Brilliant.
I’m bummed this watercolor nails tutorial didn’t come out until after Alt – that’s probably the only event I’d ever attempt it for. But for those of you more fashion forward, or manicure adept, than me – could be fun for Easter?
Speaking of fashion forward… hair tutorials! 20 of ‘em. ”How to Style a Low Bun” is my favorite. And while we’re on the topic – I’ve been trying this beauty tutorial with my hair this week and have been loving my transition from Shirley Temple curls to hip beachy waves.
Here’s a great little summary on how to help your children set up a book club just like the grown ups do it. Such a wonderful way to grow enthusiastic readers.

Read on for “You’re Sharing” an “I’m Sharing”… Read More

2 Comments / posted in Style & Simplify

14 Mar

DIY Book Binding: Experience Journals

We have two very special guests today, all the way from Singapore. They’re stopping by to share with you a little of the book arts – specifically how to easily create what we’re calling an “experience journal” with your child. I love the idea of using them to capture some of the journeys you make together, both big and small.

P.S. QUESTION OF THE DAY

Are you good at capturing some of the everyday moments with you kids? What are your favorite ways for doing so? (When I remember, I try to use the voice memo on my phone every once in a while to capture some of my kids’ monologues. Those precious little voices, and mispronounced words, are treasured keepsakes.)

MAKE A TRAVEL JOURNAL

Text by Pooja Makhijani
Photographs by Claire Dalgliesh

I’ve kept journals of my travels for as long as I can remember. I have shelves full of folded pamphlets, spiral-bound notebooks, and hand-stitched volumes. My treasure trove includes notes from an elementary school field trip to my town’s fire station, a family road trip to Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, and a wedding anniversary trip to Paris.

I’ve also made books for as long as I can remember. Book binding now has turned from an avocation to a vocation. Here in Singapore, I teach the book arts at schools, colleges, and community centers all over the city state. I take pride in teaching people – especially those who may not have the access or the means to procure expensive tools and materials – how to bind their own books.

I’ve taught all sorts of binding structures and, today, I’ll show you how to make a journal, perfect for documenting an everyday excursions or an around-the-world odyssey. Read More

6 Comments / posted in Art + Kid Crafts, DIY Projects, Style & Simplify, The Make & Play Vault

12 Mar

POYEL: How I’m (finally) Planning for our Financial Future

If you’re visiting this site then you are most likely a grown person, probably with kids. Which also means that you have a working budget and emergency fund as well as a solid plan for paying for your retirement, their college, any remaining school loans of your own, and other debt… along with adequate life insurance, disability insurance, up-to-date beneficiary forms, a living will, power of attorney documents, and a last will and testament - right? No?! Did your blood pressure rise just reading that long and increasingly frightening sentence?

Spoiler: Don’t panic, today we’re offering up a prize worth $299 – a personalized 5 year financial plan put together via a one-on-one consultation with a LearnVest financial planner. So be sure to click through for your chance to win.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Do you have your will, retirement plan, and the kids’ college savings all figured out?

I know just how you feel. There’s a whole section of the original Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life list devoted to this type of thing that I’ve been whole-heartedly avoiding until recently. Not even just avoiding, but running away shrieking from. Why? Because a lot of this stuff feels both vitally important but also really hard at the same time. It also sounds intimidatingly expensive.

Which is why, I was so very happy to find the LearnVest site. I’ve been working with them over the past few months and I already feel so much lighter when I think about planning for the future. After a little hard work, and some sage advice, we now have a solid plan to work towards with concrete goals and tangible steps to complete. And here’s the best part: the majority of the info. we needed was totally free.

LearnVest, the leading personal finance and lifestyle website for women, was created by Harvard business school student Alexa von Tobel with the goal of “building a Weight Watchers for personal finance”. Visit the sight and you’ll see, it has a ton of tools available. My absolute favorites are their financial boot camps and their Smart Budget Tool (think a more intuitive version of Mint.com).

Both services are completely free and actually go hand-in-hand. If you’re looking to get a budget and start working towards some financial goals but just aren’t sure where to start I would HIGHLY recommend the Take Control bootcamp which will help you get all set up. But they also have lots of other nicely tailored bootcamps like Cutting Costs and Baby on Board. Read More

5 Comments / posted in Finances, POYEL

11 Mar

Make It: Donut Easter Bunny Surprise

Easter is in March this year so it’s time to roll out the ideas. We’re kicking things off with Alli and her super cute bunny donut idea, perfect for Easter. We’ll probably make ours Saturday morning since we do family brunch on Easter Sunday. Yes, we are working on clean eating around here but I have not problem having a treat or two on a special occasion – all things in moderation!

Who says you can’t play with your food? Especially your kids’ food.

Last year for Easter, we made these bunny tails out of our own homemade donut recipe. But this year, we decided to go straight for the store bought version. Blame it on Mommy’s pregnancy cravings mid-grocery run.

Our activity theme for this month is Easter, so I was determined to surprise Isaiah with a bunny breakfast at some point. And I just loved how our finished product turned out. He was almost too cute to eat. (Notice, I said almost).

To make these super simple donut bunnies, all you’ll need are: Read More

8 Comments / posted in Alli, Holiday Projects, In the Kitchen, The Make & Play Vault

08 Mar

POYEL: The Best Foods to Buy in Bulk

Not long now (if all goes as planned) until the release of the new Project Organize Your Entire Life eBook – Freezy Peasy: Freezer Cooking Made Easy. To celebrate, and to thank you guys for being such loyal readers, I thought it would be fun to give you a sneak peak.

UPDATE: FREEZY PEASY IS NOW AVAILABLE HERE!

Inside you’ll find…

50 kitchen-tested freezer recipes
10 menu plans complete with shopping lists
Printable cooking labels for each meal and a reference chart for the freezer door to help you keep track of it all.

I LOVE the labels and reference list – it helps so much in keeping things from becoming lost forever in a dark freezer corner. You’ll also find lots of tips and tricks on how to truly become a freezer cooking pro.

Including:

A 10-step plan for getting your freezer ready as well as tips on which containers to use for setting up the ultimate freezer kitchen.
Advice on how to shop, store, and defrost smart in order to eliminate waste and save money.
Detailed explanations of which foods freeze well, which don’t, and instructions on how to easily and efficiently throw together a whole slew of freezer meals in one sitting.

Today, I’m sharing our list of the best items to nab in bulk in order to have a well (and inexpensively) stocked kitchen… Read More

9 Comments / posted in In the Kitchen, Meal Planning, POYEL

07 Mar

POYEL: Using Technology to Get the Chores Done Whine-Free

It’s March! Which means spring – and spring cleaning – are just around the corner. Which also means it’s time to dig into some more Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life ideas. Today Kristin’s here sharing her favorite app for motivating her kids to get their chores done (without having to nag, yell, or essentially drag the will to participate out of them).

And speaking of POYEL – don’t forget, our new freezer cooking eBook is coming out in a matter of days. Be sure to join MPMK’s newsletter list here to be the first to know when it does!

P.S. QUESTION OF THE DAY

Where chores are mentioned, the idea of allowance often isn’t far behind. Do you give your kids one? If so, when did you start? If not, why not?

Learning how to help out around the house is a big part of growing up. It seems like this should be an easy concept, but if you have kids, you know sometimes it’s easier to do the job yourself. After thinking about the issue, I’ve realized the root of the problem (at least for me) is how to manage getting the chores done. And doing that without nagging the kids seems impossible!

I’ve tried chore charts on the wall with stickers. I’ve tried verbally reminding them and I’ve tried all kinds of incentives. In the end, the chores get done, but the process is arduous. It feels like more work for me to make sure the kids are doing the work. Enter: technology. Read More

15 Comments / posted in Kristin, POYEL, Schedules & To Do Lists

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