Today, Lindsey (also of A Design So Vast) recommends an upcoming yoga camp for kids:
Last summer my 8-year-old daughter Grace attended Tara Rachel Jones's week-long yoga camp at the Arlington Center and absolutely loved it. She was, and continues to be, at an age where doing a camp or activity without a friend takes some cajoling. After the first day of yoga camp, though, she bounced home happily and eagerly back every other day. She absolutely loved yoga camp with Tara.Today, Lindsey (also of A Design So Vast) recommends an upcoming yoga camp for kids:
Last summer my 8-year-old daughter Grace attended Tara Rachel Jones's week-long yoga camp at the Arlington Center and absolutely loved it. She was, and continues to be, at an age where doing a camp or activity without a friend takes some cajoling. After the first day of yoga camp, though, she bounced home happily and eagerly back every other day. She absolutely loved yoga camp with Tara.
Today, Kate shares an art center I'm itching to try with Laurel:
My daughter has always loved art. From her early daycare days of finger-painting and messing around with sand, through coloring and cutting, and now up to learning how to sew and knit and make complex collages, she is drawn to create using color and materials and shapes. And while she always makes a beeline for the art table at school and we have collected boxes full of art supplies at home, there are still limits on what we're able to do ourselves. For this reason, I was thrilled to discover Maud Morgan Arts, a wonderful art center and school discreetly hidden on Sacramento Street in Cambridge.
Whitney Johnson impresses me in so many ways. She is smart. She is kind. She makes stuff happen. She wears fabulous jackets. And she's probably the only person I have ever talked to who ends conversations with, "So, what can I do for you?" Last year, unbeknownst to me, Whitney played a pivotal role in moving my book dream forward. And now, I'm just beyond thrilled that her book Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream has launched. It was such an honor to help Whitney kick off her book launch last night at Pivot Boston. Read on for some thoughts about this book and what I have realized about my life dreams, as well as to enter to win one of two copies of this awesome book.
Back when Asha and I announced our Minimalist Parenting book deal, I mentioned that we wanted to ultimately integrate our communities into the process. Why? Because you are awesome. And smart. And funny. And such an integral part of why this book is even happening. And now, the time has come -- we want to add your brilliance to our completed chapters! Over the coming weeks we will ask specific questions on various topics over at the Minimalist Parenting blog; our first question is about money. Come on over and share your brilliant budgeting tools and strategies!
Today, Debbie (also of Two Adopt Two) shares ideas for handling emotional challenges around Mother's Day:
Mother's Day seems easy, celebrating what our moms do for us. But it's not easy for every child. My children, for instance, are adopted. They don't remember their birthmother, but they do miss their foster mother from time to time. They have several friends for whom Mother's Day is sometimes challenging as well. Some have two mothers, one has two fathers, and a few have parents who divorced and remarried. Creative, loving intervention can help everyone enjoy the day. Here are some suggestions to handle Mother's Day challenges.
Today, Jennifer shares 7 tips for navigating the juice jungle:
My son recently outed me as a neurotic non-juice parent at a birthday party. And during his "WE. DON'T. DRINK. JUICE!" meltdown, and while my daughter stood perplexed in front of this foreign combo of drink pouch + straw, I started to wonder whether I had been wrong in depriving my kids of this common beverage. Here are some ideas for navigating the juice jungle, culled from my own experiences, and tips from Ayla Withee (a registered dietitian at Boston's SportsClubLA and nutrition blogger for Boston Magazine) and Boston Mamas editor Christine Koh.
Today, Priya shares five ways to declutter the weekend:
In a lot of ways, I feel as if I'm always working for the weekend. Given the long hours I work, weekday mornings go by in a blur and, with my kids being as little as they are, it's not uncommon for them to be tucked into bed before I get home from the office. And while I daydream about weekends filled with second pots of coffee and leisurely snuggling on the couch with my kids, the reality is that weekends are also the only time I have to run all the errands that have been piling up. Which is a total bummer.
Today, Miriam (also of Other Pieces of Me) shares a time management system that's helping her rock the productivity, even during fleeting nap times:
I am the first to admit that focus has never been my strongpoint. Left to my own devices, I will gladly dart around from project to project, never really getting down to business until 3:00 in the afternoon, when all of the sudden I have a burst of productivity. And now that I have a 5-month-old and a toddler in the house, moments of solitude (usually gifted by the rare, simultaneous nap) must be leveraged...but it is so tempting to slip down the Facebook rabbit hole and come up for air having completely wasted an hour of my life.
I am all about encouraging more play in life (particularly given the amazing weather and since I recently decluttered the playroom) so I'm thrilled and honored to announce my new ambassadorship with Let's Play, an organization devoted to inspiring play through general awareness and supporting playground builds and renovations around the country. This month marks Let's Play's one year anniversary and they are celebrating with their first playground build of the year in West Philadelphia (where a school was destroyed by a fire and students later provided input on the playground design that is being implemented today by over 200 volunteers!), and also by launching their Let's Play Pledge.
Today, Paige (also of Mudroom Boston and Make More, Buy Less) shares 8 transformative shower curtains (Laurel would pass out from happiness if I bought #7):
When we moved into our home two years ago, we were faced with bathrooms that were squarely stuck in early '90s decor. Forest green was the color of choice for the master bath, and though we could strip the wallpaper, changing the tile and fixtures didn't fit our budget. It was amazing how effective a gallon of wall paint and a simple striped shower curtain in soothing aquas and pale greens was in transforming the space.
Today, Debbie (also of Two Adopt Two) shares her adventures putting PYOP Studio in Northborough to the test with her kids:
My kids and I have painted plenty of objects at plaster-painting shops. With relatively few choices in paint colors and no wait to have the object kiln-fired, these outings were great when my kids were younger. However, now that they're 8 and 9, we have been seeking more adventure (and my kids now can handle delayed gratification!).
It is enormously gratifying when ideas that I propel into the world not only stick, but help people minimize stress and clutter. During my Do Less As a Life Strategy talk at BlissDom in February, someone asked me about e-mail management and I shared my "3-touch rule." And then a couple of days ago (about two months later!), there was a bunch of Twitter chatter between @the818 (who used my method to get her inbox down from 770 to 24!) and @alexandrawrote, @Melaina25, @LoveFeast, @hollywoodhwife, and @linzlovesyou about this topic. I promised these folks I would share the method with everyone so here goes.
I've been meaning to share about Life Alive ever since my sister Kyoung and her partner Marjorie introduced me and Laurel to it following a fun downtown outing in February. We visited the Central Square location (they also have a home in Lowell, and will open another in Salem) on a Saturday -- the two-floor café has a casual yet warm vibe and was bustling with adults and kids, all happily munching on and sipping organic, vegetarian, unprocessed fare. (Kyoung and Marjorie kindly suggested we visit this café since Laurel is a vegetarian.)
Today, Jules shares 8 indoor fitness activities to jump start your spring fitness plans:
The weather has been a little unpredictable lately, and when the April showers (or unexpected cold days) hit, it's nice to have an arsenal of indoor fitness activities at your disposal. Working out at home can be challenging for obvious reasons (the pile of unfolded laundry staring back at you, bills waiting to be paid, etc.), so I generally prefer to leave the house to get my sweat on, but sometimes you don't have that option. Here are 8 exercises that are will get your muscles pumping and your heart thumping, all within the comfort of your own home.
I love photography and have approximately a bajillion digital photos sitting on my hard drive, but I definitely struggle with helping these images see the light of day (it wasn't until just before Violet's first birthday that I finally got a photo of her on the wall...doh). So I'm always intrigued to learn about easy ways to turn photos into gifts and art, particularly since Laurel and Violet's grandparents love photo gifts. Today, Lindsey (also of A Design So Vast) shares her experience testing out (for the second time, actually) Pinhole Press. Read on for Lindsey's report, as well as to learn how to win a $100 gift certificate to Pinhole Press!
I am many levels below my mother's golden standard of housekeeping (for example, she used to iron my father's boxer shorts...I, on the other hand, cannot recall the last time I wielded an iron), but I do -- like many (all?) women -- wrestle with issues related to home and work and time. So I'm thrilled and honored to be co-hosting a live chat on The Motherhood tomorrow (noon EST) with Kristin Van Ogtrop (Real Simple) and Ellen Galinsky (Families & Work Institute), in addition to a group of talented and inspiring featured guests, to talk about women and time -- specifically, how to let go of perfection and allow yourself to relax and enjoy more free time at home.
Today, Paige (also of Mudroom Boston and Make More, Buy Less) shares a roundup of lovely (sometimes insanely inexpensive) multifunction trays:
In my opinion, the humble tray may be the single most useful and versatile item in a home (which may be the reason why I have at least 15 in mine). What other object can you use to: 1) serve food and drinks, 2) keep toiletries/office supplies/spices neat and tidy, 3) use as a surface for Play-Doh-creating and Lego-building, 4) capture slush and mud, and 5) decorate?
Today, Miriam (also of Other Pieces of Me) shares seven favorite local indie shops (that have saved her on more than one Saturday):
It's not entirely uncommon for me to wake up on a Saturday morning and realize that my son is scheduled to attend a birthday party later that day. I imagine I'm not the only one who has encountered this scenario, right? Thankfully, there's no shortage of independent stores in almost every corner of the city of Boston that are replete with great last-minute selections. Here are seven of my favorites...and bonus points if you pick up something for the next birthday party that's coming your way!