When I was a kid, my parents saved their time off work and extra spending money for the big two-week summer vacation. The trips started out humbly—camping in a tent—but progressed to more exotic locations like Mexico and Hawaii. Two weeks is a significant amount of time. You can drive far distances, really experience a new location, do all the tourist things on the list. While there’s nothing wrong with the two-week vacation, I’ve found that mini-breaks work best for my family. We spent … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: My Biggest Mistake with Family Game Night
I was pretty excited when my eldest was old enough to play Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. I’d been waiting for years and years to reach board game age.Unfortunately, the two-and-a-half-year age gap between my kids meant that my youngest wasn’t ready—not by a long shot. Neither was he interested in leaving us alone to play a board game without his “help.” If you have a toddler, you know just how helpful they can be. I came up with “baby rules,” which meant that the baby got to do … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: I’m Giving My Kids a 1970s Summer
I meant to be a free-range parent (affiliate link). I love the idea of kids roaming through the neighborhood, devising their own games, riding bikes and climbing trees. Instead, I became a helicopter parent with an over-excitability concerning signing up for activities. And honestly, my social life mainly consists of chatting with my parent-friends at sporting events. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself with all that free time either. Yet, every summer, I declare that this year, … [Read more...]
Parenting Hack: Camp Invention
It's officially June- have you booked your kids' camps yet? Before you put the final touches on that summer calendar, I want to tell you about an amazing STEM camp that I am SUPER excited to once again partner with, Camp Invention®. HEADS UP: MPMK readers can use promo code FINAL10 to save $10 on your Camp Invention registration! This camp is a standout from other STEM summer programs because it's the only one affiliated with the National Inventors Hall of Fame® (NIHF) in partnership with the … [Read more...]
Family Travel: Circumnavigating the Globe
I've been keeping a little secret over the past year. While working away behind the scenes of Modern Parents Messy Kids, I've also been planning a deluxe trip half-way across the world, in Bali, to celebrate my 15th wedding anniversary.I've got lots of stuff I could share about this trip... where we went (and why), how we ended up completely circumnavigating the globe (Seattle to Tokyo to Singapore to Bali on the way there, and Bali to Dubai to Seattle on the way home), and how we did … [Read more...]
Spring Dessert: Creamy Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Growing up, my mom always did such a fantastic job bringing the whole family together with all the classics for Easter brunch.We always had deviled eggs, ham, scalloped potatoes and an assortment of salads. But, she would change up the desert and we loved it. Sometimes she would bake a cute Easter bunny cake. Other times she would make something with seasonal ingredients.This year Easter is falling a little later in the calendar, which means strawberries are now in season. When I … [Read more...]
Favorite Find: CleanMyMac X
Thank you CleanMyMac X for sponsoring this post. Ranked as the “App of the month” on Product Hunt, CleanMyMac X is an all-in-one package to awesomize your Mac and make it run just like it did on day one. #CleanMyMacXLike many of us, it doesn't feel like an exaggeration when I say my Macbook is my life.I use it to organize my family, to do my work, and for my kids to do their homework. So when my Mac starts giving me signs that it could be at the end of it's life, it's also not an … [Read more...]
Parenting Styles: 5 Words for When Your Child Struggles Academically
My kid recently bombed a Big and Important Test. It happens to all of us at some point. I certainly bombed a test or two in my day. OK, let’s be honest, I’ve bombed plenty of tests—and not just the written kind. I’ve gotten Fs—note the plural. I’ve been fired from a job. Backed my car into more than one inanimate object. Been divorced not once but twice. My life is salted with screw ups of various gradations. I generally don’t need someone to help me feel bad … [Read more...]
Parenting Hacks: Our #ParentingPlaylist for Raising Teens
It’s probably an understatement to say raising a child from birth to adulthood can be a rollercoaster. Once you graduate out of the toddler years, things appear to be smooth sailing. You have a child that no longer needs their diapers changed, can communicate well, and is, hopefully, learning to be more self-sufficient by the day. Things can start to get a little wobbly, once again, when your child goes from the double digits into numbers that contain the word 'teen.' As a … [Read more...]