Don't worry - this is not another book about ridding your life of all excess items. Rather, Cleaning House: A Mom's 12 Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement is a parenting book I first read about three years ago and continue to think about with regularity. As I was reflecting on what I wanted to do with my kids this summer, the book again came to mind as I was thinking about what kitchen skills we really need to start practicing more. Kay … [Read more...]
Virtual Book Club: Happier at Home – Part 2
Hi friends - how are you? I've been a bit distracted lately, have you noticed? Hopefully not thanks to the continued great work of our MPMK contributing team. I'm dealing with a lot that's taking me away from the blog these days - getting ready to list our house next week, our dog begin seriously ill and hospitalized, and the end of school (eek!). I hope to be back in the swing of things soon but until then Janssen has my back today with her wrap up of Happier at Home. Have you guys … [Read more...]
Virtual Book Club: “Happier at Home” – Part 1
Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project has been on the top of my reading list for a while now (it was the runner up for our last virtual book club selection), so when I heard she had a new happiness book out based on the idea of starting at home, I knew we had to tackle it here. And I'm so happy with that decision as I'm really loving this book! As much as I'm enjoying reading it, I've been swamped with extra projects this month and haven't had much (or any) time to write about it. So, … [Read more...]
Virtual Book Club: “How to Talk So Kids Will Listen…” – Part 2
It's time to wrap up our latest virtual book club selection - are you all caught up? If not, no worries - it's never too late to start! I've asked our resident children's librarian Janssen to take over for a bit. And I must say - she totally nailed this wrap up. I loved what she had to say and I can't wait to hear what you thought too! P.S. Just in case you're the over-achieving type and want to read ahead, we'll be covering Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin (the author of the uber popular … [Read more...]
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 … [Read more...]
Virtual Book Club: What Should We Read Next?
It's time to pick a new book for Virtual Book Club folks (yipeeee). Before we get to the choosing, a few new ground rules... I think you'll all agree that our inaugural book stretched on for an epicly loooong time. This time around we're going to attack the thing in much larger chunks. Here are the proposed steps: Take a vote [Today]: We'll do that here in just a bit. Don't forget that write-ins are totally welcome on the ballot. Announce our book [Friday March 1st] : Keep an eye … [Read more...]
Virtual Book Club: Conclusion
We're finally wrapping up our book, Buddhism for Mother's of Young Children, today! Although I have truly loved this book, I'm not so crazy about the way I handled book club - one book just dragged on way too long. So some changes will be made but I think it will all be for the best in the end. In the meantime, lets wrap up the last three chapters, all of which I really enjoyed because I felt they were filled with concrete ways to implement the author's ideas. CHAPTER 8: CAN I CHANGE MY … [Read more...]
Book Club: Week 6
First off, a big mea culpa for dropping the ball on our virtual book club. So sorry guys! I could fib and say I was saving this chapter for this month but the truth is things got crazy the last few months and stuff like writing my own book got in the way of reading anything else. Nevertheless, we're back on board now and I'm thinking of picking up every other week again. How does that schedule work for you all? This week's chapter is so appropriate for POYEL, it's eerie. Today in our … [Read more...]
Book Club: Week Five
I'll be honest, the beginning of chapter 6 of Buddhism for Mothers of Young Children – Becoming a Mindful Parent scared me a bit - uh oh, there's a lot about meditation and even "dukkha" here. Is this finally going to be the part in the book where things get just a little too New Age-y for me? But I pushed through it and I'm so glad I did because this chapter, more than any other, taught me some very applicable lessons. In it, the author encourages us to stop worrying (and lamenting) so much … [Read more...]