The New Year brings us more than an urge to make resolutions, clean out cupboards and start new regimes: it brings colds and flus. For parents with little ones, this is a most difficult time of year. Just when we were ready to bustle them into their coats and mitts and head back to school, they come down with something just ghastly enough to keep them from attending… yet not so debilitating it knocks them out for the day.
We have a live in nanny and he rocks. His name is David and he has been living with us for almost a year. David was a family friend before he moved in. He never intended to be our manny (a live-in nanny, who happens to be a man) but the situation worked out well for him and for us, so here we are.
I’ve always just been the girl that had separate pockets of women that I connect with – some far away and some that live close. Some of them are from the workplace, and some are parents from school. More often now, many women I know have a larger circle of online friends. We may not be Snapchat-ting all day like our kids, but these online friends are just a quick text away.
I am a determined, independent woman with strong opinions (sometimes to my detriment, to be sure) but I have (mostly) learned along my 40-year journey when to bare my teeth and when to turn my back. And then I had a daughter. I had to think about raising a girl. All of a sudden, I felt the weight of having to teach her how to be all of those things that I wanted to be, too, while still making sure she didn’t choke on grapes or fall out of the stroller.
My goal is to try new and creative recipes this winter to reconnect with my love for salad, starting with this amazing Kale and Hazelnut Winter Salad recipe featuring kale, carrots, dates, hazelnuts and a warm dressing drizzled on top.
It’s not uncommon to have a child who hates homework. No child out there enjoys doing homework they get from school. Many children just get it done and move on with their other activities, but some children really struggle to get their homework done.
Oh dear. Spotting before your period – what does it mean? Your period is not due for at least another week, but you have found a little blood or pink or brown discharge that isn’t followed by normal flow bleeding. This is spotting and tends to always lead to your heart skipping a beat.
The other day, my daughter came home from school very excited. She asked me if I knew what her favorite holiday was. Knowing this is an answer that can change quite frequently, I guessed Christmas. And, I was wrong…
I’ve been working lately on trying to get my morning act together. Not so much my routine, but my mindset upon waking. I’d fallen into a habit of opening my eyes, tossing out a quick mental, “Hey God, it’s me, Annie,” picking up my phone, and immediately bombarding myself with the day’s news and to-dos. I knew I needed a new habit—something to replace my (rather pathetic) God nod and morning Facebook feast.
In order for you to even manage lip gloss in the morning, and get to wash your face at night, the little ankle-biters must pitch in somehow (or even get used to the idea). They may hang up their coat upside down and look like Justin Bieber after brushing their hair the wrong way, but it’s a start. And a little praise can go along way.
