amacbean16

Love the idea, but it’s regrettable that it’s got crude jokes and beer trivia as the hallmarks of fatherhood. I guess maybe it’s just meant to be funny and not actually helpful? I was thinking something along the lines off the Art of Manliness blog …

Absolutely. I saw this a lot in school, that kids who were dubbed “smart” early on felt like they had to maintain that reputation. The immense pressure led to cheating, anxiety, and a focus on maintaining apprearances rather than personal growth …

I think people buying magazines in airports is sort of a niche thing. It’s part of the flying experience for lots of people who wouldn’t normally subscribe or seek them out. They’re disposable, short, and readily available. Ads in a magazine for …

We hit on the idea of Argentina and can’t talk ourselves out of it. Neither of us have been to South America, we know not a soul in the country, and my Spanish is a bit rusty. First order of business is to deep-end on Spanish and bring my kids …

It recently occurred to me and my husband that we have the chance to do something epic in our family. We are learning how to travel on the cheap with credit card points, we homeschool, and we love to travel (but haven’t done as much since we added …

I’d love to have an book discussion here, but I’ve already got an overambitious stack of books I’m working through so I can’t add any new ones at the moment! Here are some I’m in the middle of or read recently that I’d love to discuss... maybe we …

Neat project! I hope you find what you’re looking for. (Unfortunately I don’t have any connections in that part of Ohio.)

I’ll be forever grateful I heard him talk about his experiences. Nothing can compare to having an eye-witness to history sit in the same room as you and see in his eyes the impact of events you’ve only read about in books.

I do have some kids who are “keepers” of things so this definitely made me snort:

I have a “saving sorter” folder that a lot of their masterpieces go into. They don’t get thrown away right away. They marinate in there for months or a year until we/I go through and pick a few favorites to save. It’s not nearly as emotional when …

I hope they rebuild. I can't imagine it will be quite the same, but it's wonderful to see people from all over rally support for such a beautiful piece of history. I'm grateful I visited just a few years ago. There was scaffolding all over the …

So sad. I'm seeing lots of outpouring of love and nostalgia for that beautiful building. Here's mine... It's the backdrop for so many of my photos and memories of enjoying the streets of Paris after dark with the love of my life.

We’ve done this 4 times now... it is easier for some kids than others. Here are some ideas that may or may not be relevant to your toddler: - We transitioned when they could climb out of the crib or when we felt they were ready for it (in the case …

Ok, this made me laugh: ”A move to outlaw toasters or bleach-based floor cleaners seems unlikely to succeed. ‘You can even light a candle at home!’ Marina Vance pointed out, in a tone that expressed her horror at the atmospheric implications of …

Of course you can take this vegetable eating too far... this picture is of a time my daughter thought dinner was done and she was ready to carry her plate to the table. (It was actually my prepwork to make an Asian pasta dish... but she was ready …

I spoke too soon: one thing that helps here is that vegetables *are* the main dish more often than not. Mostly that’s because I keep dinners pretty straight forward without a lot of side dishes. This could look like pasta with veggies, vegetable …

So, if you were looking for tips, here is an idea that works for me: - Serve up a first course with a small amount of everything. Make sure there’s at least one thing the child likes here (even if it’s just a couple of apple slices). - Then …

On second thought, we’ve been know to sword fight with leeks at our house so maybe that article was on to something when it comes to playing with your food?

I thought this New York Times article was spot-on, well except for the part about asparagus paint brushes maybe... 🙄 …

Not weird, but unexpectedly impactful: When I worked for SmugMug, they used to send me and my husband out for a special dinner to celebrate on occasion. We celebrated the news of our first pregnancy with fondue. Our server brought out dessert with …

I’ve been in an NYC subway bathroom with a pottery-training toddler. She insisted on *not* using the cute walk-in bathroom at the cafe we ate at for lunch, nor would she just go in her diaper. Instead, she stopped in her tracks as we passed by a …

Oh that footnote is helpful, thanks! I apologize for the confusing comment about tattoos. What I meant is that belief in church teachings doesn’t mean that a person has always perfectly followed them. A tattoo can be a very visible example of this …

Hmm. I’m a little confused by the Word of Wisdom data shared here. “Faithfully observe” seems to be equated with “perfectly observe.” It seems the questions were along the lines of “have you ever,” which is very different than “do you …

(Responding to my dad here...) There was exactly one black family in our neighborhood and as far as I recall only one black student in my high school, so I’m not sure this was a church-specific thing.

I’m reading Treasure Island aloud to the kids and we are all enjoying the pirates and high adventure. My six year old son gets a little nervous but he’s desperate to find out how it ends so he’s sticking it out. 😀 I just finished A Wizard of …