Parent Hacks

Reading + links for your weekend

It has been an odd week around here. I've been in a low-level funk ever since returning from Mom 2.0 Summit, which makes no sense. Frankly, it pisses me off because really, why? (Especially in light of the happenings in Oklahoma, it feels pretty spoiled. Donating to the Red Cross helped.)

It finally dawned on me that transitions (even good ones) usually break my stride.

This week, my husband, Rael, started a fantastic new job at charity: water and celebrated turning 45 by pledging his birthday to clean drinking water programs. I've talked about charity: water before, when Christine and I teamed up on a raffle to raise money as part of our 2011 Camp Mighty team. At the time I had no idea that Camp Mighty would be the birthplace of our decision to co-author Minimalist Parenting.

This is an amazing moment for Rael and for our family, and I couldn't be more proud of or excited for him. But it also means shuffling the work/family balance again, especially now that Minimalist Parenting is making its way in the world.

It's yet another lesson in humility: even good changes (and this is a GREAT change) take time to settle in, and we need to be gentle with ourselves during the process.

So! As you head into the weekend, I hope that you can take a moment to be gentle with yourself and enjoy this transition into summer.

I just found out that my long weekend will include BBQ, Star Trek and fondue, which improves my mood considerably.

P. S. As I finished writing this, I got news that Christine and I will be talking about Minimalist Parenting and summertime planning on NPR next week! EN PEE ARE, FOLKS! I'll post the details as soon as I have them...but talk about MOOD FIREWORKS. *hyperventilate*

[Edited to add] NPR details! We'll be on Tell Me More on Tuesday, May 28. Check the NPR website for local broadcast times.

While I calm myself down, here's some weekend reading for you:

Kiddley is back!

Hooray for returning blog friends! Not that I've ever met Claire Robertson (formerly known as loobylu) in person, but does it matter? She and her husband, Phil, have relaunched Kiddley, their wonderful site full of fun kid stuff. I talked about Kiddley a bunch of times when it launched in 2006, and am so glad it's back.

→ Kiddley (say hi to Claire for me)

10 Shortcuts for Better Cooking

 There is so much smart stuff in this post by Lindsey Johnson I don't even know where to begin. And that's not even menitoning the gorgeous photos. 

→ Living Well: Ten Secrets (Actually, Shortcuts!) for Better Cooking (Design Mom)

15 tips for parents who travel for work

In case you missed it, here's my recent Babble post about minimizing business travel "reentry." It's getting good feedback -- this is a real pain point for many families.

→ 15 tips for minimizing work travel "reentry" stress (The Accidental Expert)

The Family Dinner Challenge

Aviva's giving folks practical help and encouragement for pulling off family dinners. Four weeks of menu plans, a checklist, and resources for healthy family eating. Check it out!

→ The Family Dinner Challenge (The Six O'Clock Scramble)

Gardening with kids: grow a "petting garden"

I'm pretty proud of this project I did with the help of a Summer Stunner grant from P&G.

→ Soft plants inspire a good idea (Go Mighty)

Please help Oklahoma tornado victims

Sarah James is from Oklahoma City, and her post broke my heart AND provided direct links to organizations providing direct assistance. Please click over and help if you can. 

→ How to help Oklahoma tornado victims (Whoorl)

 

Minimizing "reentry" stress when a parent travels for work

Photo credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My husband, Rael, and I both travel for work.

His is the more “official” business travel given his more formal work setup; every six weeks or so, he spends a week in the office (he’s telecommuted from home to jobs based in other cities ever since we moved to Portland 12 years ago). He sometimes attends conferences and professional meetups as well.

Since I started Parent Hacks in 2005, I’ve also had the opportunity to travel for work. Most often, my travel amounts to a few days spent at a social media conference twice a year. But during the last couple years I’ve traveled more than usual. My travel highlight was spending nine days in Ethiopia with the ONE Campaign last year.

Traveling for work is one of our favorite things about our jobs. But work travel can also throw a logistical and emotional wrench into family life. I did an informal poll of friends and neighbors, and most tell me they struggle with the adjustment when a parent travels for work.

It took us a long time to find equilibrium around business travel, but we did. We’re now both better able to support each other and our kids (and even enjoy it) no matter which one of us is traveling.

Here are our tips for a smooth exit and return; some for helping the kids adjust, others for helping maintain relationship harmony.

→  Continue reading 15 tips for minimizing work travel “reentry” stress at The Accidental Expert.

Free movie "rental" through your local library

In our ongoing quest to reduce our monthly subscription expenses, we cancelled Netflix. It just wasn't pulling its weight given that we're Amazon Prime members and get free movies and TV shows via Amazon's Instant Video streaming.

But every now and then we want to rent a particular movie and we miss having an ongoing DVD queue. We're fine paying the rental fee for a big-splash recent hit, but when we want to watch an older movie it's painful to pay as much for 24-hour access as we would buying the used DVD.

Solution: the local library! Our county library has an extensive media catalog, including audiobooks, videotapes and DVDs. We can request titles using the library website (not unlike adding DVDs to our old Netflix queue), and when they come available, they're delivered to our local branch.

FREE MOVIE RENTAL. That's what I'm talkin' about. I make a weekly library run anyway, so it's almost as convenient as getting the movies in my mailbox. I even keep a library basket by my door to keep track of borrowed materials and avoid overdue fines.

Look into your local library's media offerings -- hopefully it's a practical option for you.

Any other tips for lowering movie rental expenses?

Several Parenthackers have mentioned the library as a source for movie rentals before but it just didn't sink in. *forehead smack* I've finally seen the light!

How to grow a petting garden (sponsored)

If your kids are as attracted to soft, fuzzy things as mine were at that age (and still are), you will love this easy garden project...perfect for a summer afternoon.

Read more →

Kids hang their own coats with the help of stick-on hooks

Michelle's hack illustrates how simple home tweaks can make a big difference to your kid's independence.

Read more →

Mother's Day disappointment? Honest advice for next year.

At Etsy: Mother's Day Card: Shark Attack, by Emily-Bell From Mother's Day fail? Lessons learned -- and honest advice for avoiding disappointment next year: "I hate Mother's Day." This, from a friend I ran into on the walk home from school. I appreciated her candor but couldn't help feeling sad....

Read more →

Managing kids' computer use using built-in parental controls

I appreciate this hack from Melissa -- simply, how her family uses the parental controls built into her computer's operating system to manage her kids' computer use. It's easy to overlook the tools we already have right at our fingertips.

Read more →

Weekend reading + links

Ahhhhhhh. That's the sound of me coming down from a fab time at the Mom 2.0 Summit in Southern California AND getting my working computer back from the Apple Geniuses. Feels like a new beginning all around, you know? Mom2 was the first time I saw Christine in person since...

Read more →

Happy Mother's Day to YOU [giveaway]

Mother's Day is almost here, and I'd like to give you a present. I know you're not my mother, but you are the reason I do what I do here every day and I am so grateful for that.

Read more →

Your new favorite salad: Bacon, Egg and Asparagus on Tossed Greens

Delicious, satisfying, easy, beautiful, fancy enough for company. Even your Paleo and slow carb friends will appreciate this.

Read more →