How many of us have been there: busy mass transit situation, your legs are killing you after a long day’s work. No available seats, so you stand, exhausted though you are. Through it all, blissfully oblivious, several teens sit comfortably in their seats, earbuds plugged in, heads bobbing. All while your calves and toes scream for mercy.
Now that we are all home – a lot, there seems to be a never-ending laundry stream. Being super-concerned with bacteria and pathogens, it can be terrifying when the ‘clean’ laundry comes out a bit rank. Why does this happen? Bad news, friends – bacteria + sweat + oils mean that clothes will need special treatment. Dampness is the big culprit, and when left for hours or days (ewwwww), your items will need some TLC. Here are a few ways to get the stink out of typically stinky items like hockey gear, yoga mats, workout clothes and mattresses. We also have some great stain tips for red wine, grass, oil and dirt in this article.
Laundry can feel like an Olympic event. In my house, laundry is like my inbox – it’s never quite at zero. While we can teach kids to re-use towels and make sure clothes are ‘actually’ dirty before tossing them in the hamper, there will always be stains that need a bit of extra time to deal with. With the right tools, stain removal tips and Bill Nye the Science guy techniques, though, stains shouldn’t slow you down too much. If you deal with stains right away, you save a ton of time. Another trick is to mark stains with a clothes peg so that you don’t accidentally miss them and (worst possible outcome) put them in the dryer to really set the stain. We have a great LAUNDRY LABELS for common laundry room stain removers so you can make gorgeous jars. If you have to do laundry anyway you should be surrounded by beauty!
Children of all ages treasure their bedrooms – it’s their refuge, their castle, their playroom, their private spot, whatever they want it to be. And they spend as much time there as they can. But is this space actually healthy for them? Kids’ rooms seem innocuous – a floor, four walls, a bed, desk, bookshelves and a closet. What’s unhealthy about any of that? You’d be surprised at the number of toxins and allergens that may be present and to which your child may unwittingly be exposed. We have some ideas how to make your kids’ bedroom healthier.
It’s a weird time. Kids are getting educated online. Video meetings are riddled with cats (or half-naked toddlers) running across the screen, and girlfriend wine dates and dinner parties happen in front of a computer. How do we navigate the expansive world of video hangouts and meetings? Which ones allow multiple people? Are they expensive? How do I teach my grandmother so she can see the kids? I’m pretty green too, so decided to dig into the world of video hangouts and meetings so I could connect with others digitally. We’re all going to need to connect virtually with others as we self-isolate or practice social distancing.
As the world changes and we all stay at home to limit the transmission of the virus, we are all looking for things to do and ways to learn. If your family is like mine, it’s a bit easier to convince the kids to learn when there is some sort of screen in front of their faces. Here are ten digital family boredom busters to get you through the next days and weeks.
Mothers of multiples, if they didn’t have them before, have to develop shrewd multi-tasking skills. Multiple kids will turn you into a multi-tasking mama.
What is it to be ‘good’? Does it matter why people practice kindness? My grandmother told me to be kind for religious reasons. Some people may want to make up for a misspent past, while others just want others to be happier and make the world a better place than it was yesterday.
There’s a lot of unhappy going on out there. Buzz words that conjure the worst viral stories and make our hearts drop into the pits of our stomachs. Words that lose all authentic meaning in the moment and become emblems of pure emotion, driving parents to despair. A once normal word like ‘gorilla’ triggers conflicting feelings of anger and hopelessness. Add ‘anti-vax’, ‘forward-facing’, and ‘breastfed‘ to the list and you’re sunk; it’s evolving and eternal. And it’s also true—these things do happen and they’re awful, but reading about them on Facebook every day doesn’t empower us, it drowns us. Sure we’re drawn to the heavy, but shouldn’t we also celebrate the light? 100 happy days was my shift in focus, my commitment to happy—and it can be yours too.
Quirkiness can be a great thing – especially at Hallowe’en. The best part of living in a true quirky community with lots of kids is that we all go overboard on October 31st. As part of a neighbourhood of film directors and actors, kids flock to our area to experience the wonder of the holiday. Bouncers control the crowds lining up to enter haunted mansions and adults stay in character all night. My favourite night of the year, giggles and screams can be heard for miles. The only downfall to being the scariest, quirkiest neighbourhood? We all run out of candy. But it’s worth it! Here are a few tips and tricks (he he) or making your home super scary for Halloween.
