1. For Valentine’s Day, I made two kinds of cookies. I had some leftover scraps of dough, so I cut out little hearts and whipped up a strawberry buttercream frosting and made little sandwiches. They were cute and tasty. Then I added a few cookies to these adorable plates I found at the grocery store of all places and gave them to a couple of local friends.
My husband and I exchanged cards and candy and we got Carla a bunch of candy and a little pink bunny. (Side note: I happened to be near a Kohl’s recently and went in, remembering the luck I’d had finding stocking stuffers there. They had one tiny Valentine’s Day display and the rest of the holiday products were related to Easter. And not just bunnies — they had a strange array of large, weary-looking pigs, which seems a little odd for Easter. I mean, I would look weary if I were a stuffed animal on display in a Kohl’s too, that’s gotta be a hard job, but they were not particularly cute or cuddly and really seemed like they were counting the hours until they could clock out. I DID find one small, pink bunny and snapped it up.) Carla also cut out a bunch of paper hearts and stuck them all over the walls of the house. It was adorable and the hearts are still up and may remain for months.
2. A recent parent interaction has me feeling cranky. And ranty, just to warn you. I was at a school event and several of us were discussing various challenges our kids are having, as one does, and the topic turned to leaving our kids at home alone. I was struck, once again, by how adamant some people are that their way is The Only Way. The comments ran the spectrum from, “Oh my gosh, I would NEVER leave a kid that age alone!” to “There is NO REASON a kid that age can’t stay at home by themselves for reasonable periods of time.” With equal emphasis and near outrage.
I don’t know why, after nearly eleven years of being a parent, I am still surprised by people’s inability to consider the wide array of differences in our situations, upbringings, and specific children, but I guess I am. I’m guilty of it too – I still cringe, remembering how I’d mentioned to a friend that I OF COURSE make my child sit in the back seat because the American Pediatric Association says it’s best to have them sit in the backseat until age 13… and then she’d gently noted that her child is not yet 13 and sits in the passenger seat. Gah. When I KNOW that she is a wonderful, thoughtful parent and also know that MANY of my kid’s cohort sit in the front seat of their parents’ cars, for a wide variety of reasons I cannot begin to know because I am not them. (ALSO, lest you have a moment of panic about your own car-seating choices, the APA data on why age thirteen is a magical turning point for kids suddenly being safe to sit in the front seat is not super persuasive! I have read it!)
Okay – there are obviously some parenting choices that are less safe than others; if we’re talking about an infant in the front seat, that would be different; if we’re talking about a child riding in a car without restraints, that would be different. But there are SO MANY things that have NO SINGLE RIGHT WAY and yet some people seem incapable of understanding that there are many equally fine ways to do a thing.
This comes up every time I mention that my daughter needs melatonin to fall asleep. People have strong feelings about melatonin! As they should! And yet I have Reasons – and have carefully considered the angles and have consulted with multiple physicians and continually revisit whether it’s a good idea in our particular case for our particular child. It’s just so frustrating when someone says, “I would never give my kid melatonin” or “If she’s tired enough, she’ll fall asleep on her own” or “She clearly needs more physical activity during the day, that’ll help her sleep” as though they know.
And this happens with everything! I have had people scold me for allowing my child to wash her own hair. Does she do a great job? Not particularly. But am I weighing Other Factors? YES. The ways we judge one another are endless! Food – frequency, type, preparation. Buying clothing at Target vs upscale department stores. Bedtime. Age-appropriate chores/responsibilities. Sleepovers. Access to devices.
Screen time is a big one. For my particular kid, screens are a no-go on weekdays. There are REASONS for this. Do I despise screens? Not really, no. Would I love to be able to set her up with a TV show after school while I make dinner? Sure! Would it be much more convenient if I could say yes to her playing a video game after she does her homework? Definitely. BUT IT DOES NOT WORK FOR US. I have no concerns about YOUR family’s screen time choices. None! If your kid has unlimited screen time every day, I am sure that is a choice you made based on what’s best for your kid and your family. (Please note that I am aware too much screen time can have a negative impact on children. I am not advocating setting your three-year-old in front of a screen all day every day, although of course there are still probably Reasons someone might make that choice! Like if that is the only way you can work the job that allows you to feed your family or if you are so sick or pregnant you cannot do anything else or all sorts of other situations I know nothing about.) If you ask me about screen time for my kid, I am neither judging you for your own screen time limits nor inviting you to say, “Come on, an hour of Netflix after school isn’t going to hurt anyone.”
I know I cannot SOLVE this problem, and all I can do is surround myself with people who say things like, “This is what we have found works for us,” and who don’t make black-and-white accusatory statements about what I SHOULD and SHOULD NOT be doing without having all the information I am trying to balance, but I am SO SICK OF IT. Listen. I am not saying that I am completely free of judgment. We all judge one another, to some extent, because usually we think our choices are The Right Ones. But… I try really hard to acknowledge that we all have different value systems and different priorities and that, mostly, we are all trying our very best. Also, we can all judge one another SILENTLY. It is hard enough to be a parent, turning to other parents for support about choices that you have made based on Reasons but maybe you aren’t really sure are the BEST choices, as in my case with the melatonin, you are just doing the best you can with the information you have, without having someone who is not an expert, especially on YOUR CHILD, say you are Doing It Wrong.
Wow. I really got fired up about that. MOVING ON.
3. Accidental laundry efficiency hack? Laundry is my nemesis. I am pretty good about sorting the clothing into piles, and pretty good about putting the piles into the washing machine and washing them. I am less good about remembering to dry the freshly washed clothing, and then really terrible about folding the clothing. Yesterday, I had two loads of clean, dry laundry to fold and I was dreading it. I had a little more than twenty minutes before I needed to leave to pick up Carla from school and I just wanted to finish my book. So I made a deal with myself: I would set my timer for six minutes, and fold laundry until the timer went off. Then I would go read for fifteen minutes. Even a little progress on the laundry would make me feel better about it, I reasoned. Plus, sometimes if you get started on an onerous task, momentum will carry you through. I set my timer for six minutes, started folding… and FINISHED BOTH LOADS IN SIX MINUTES. How is that possible? In my head, folding laundry takes HOURS. But two loads took six minutes! (To be fair, I don’t fold all of Carla’s clothes, because a lot of them hang up in her closet. Also, I only put away my own laundry – my husband and Carla ostensibly move their clothes from my bed to their own drawers/hangers.) It was an astonishing and bolstering discovery. Has this new knowledge prompted me to fold the clean and dry load of laundry that is currently hanging out in the dryer? No, it has not.
4. How about a little mid-February giveaway? Amazon has issued me a refund for a product I did not return. I ordered a book and have not returned it; it’s right next to me as I type this. Nor have I returned anything else. And yet I got an email from Amazon saying they had processed my refund. I would like to pay for a product I received and kept, so I looked online at my options… and the only option I found (“cancel my return”) simply took me in a loop back to the returns page. I was able to chat with an associate, and they said I could keep the item. Seems like the perfect excuse to do a little giveaway. I have $14.40 in money that I should not have, which is the perfect amount for a paperback book that you’ve been meaning to read for a few years but haven’t gotten around to. If you want the chance to get a free paperback book, and are willing to share your address with me, let me know in the comments what backlist book you would order. I will randomly choose someone and send them the book of their choice, compliments of Amazon. Unfortunately, I will only be able to include US readers in this mini giveaway, which is a huge bummer. But if you are from outside the US, I am still interested in whatever backlist book you have been meaning to read but haven’t gotten to yet. Let’s say this giveaway is open until midnight on Monday, February 19 or until Feedly decides to say I wrote this post, whichever comes LAST.
5. I am suffering from home maintenance burnout. This past fall, when we moved to our new house, we had to do so many things, some elective, others more urgent… and I grew so very weary of all of them. But that doesn’t mean we are DONE with the home maintenance issues. I feel like they continue to pile up. This includes things I knew about last year that I intentionally put off until the spring (getting a tree cut back, finding a pool person, getting our air ducts cleaned, looking into the carpenter bees issue with our roof) as well as things that have cropped up in the interim (some electrical issues, a leak in our furnace, also our furnace is making a weird noise, our doorbell is caput). But I am having such a mental block to doing the things. Maybe if I write about it here, the guilt and self-consciousness will spur me to schedule at least one of them? Maybe I need to apply my laundry efficiency hack to making home maintenance phone calls, somehow? (Except they always drag on so much longer than they should, and require research and multiple phone calls and visits. This is part of the problem.)
That’s all I have for today, Internet. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I try to approach my own parenting with grace and forgiveness and conversations about others’ parenting with the 100% certainty that I don’t know everything about them – their lives, their values, their priorities, their day to days – so all I can do is listen with an empathetic heart and talk about what we do and why where I’m comfortable doing so. I think from having navigated being a mom for 10 years now the one thing I am 100% certain of is that there is no magic button that works for everyone and that we’re all just muddling our way through with best intentions and sometimes wild results. PS: that laundry hack could be true for literally 90% of the tasks I put off; things take so much longer in my head, but I have a feeling the time that takes longer is my procrastination / dread vs. the doing, haha!
You are probably right on the money about the procrastination/dread adding to the feeling that things take much longer than they do! I will try to remember that next time.
And you’re so right — no magic button, muddling, wild results. Parenting is hard!
Those cookie trays are wonderful!
I was once a mom with many of the RIGHT ways to do things. And enough kids and challenges later, I realized that there are many fine ways to parent. (And any more, my goals are reduced to : kid fed, kid is mostly clean, and kid has enough clothes on. I’m much more humble!)
And home maintenance never ends. I want to rip up carpets and paint, but there are pesky things like leaking pipes and crumbling mortar to deal with first. Oh, and getting electricity to the garage – which has been a work in progress for MONTHs now.
Have a lovely weekend!
It never ends!!!!!
I like your goals of fed, clothed, decently clean. Doable! (Usually.)
Oh the parenting judgements start when you’re pregnant, for crying out loud. How you give birth, If you breastfeed, Will you stay home, etc. It’s terrible. I think one thing I’ve learned from being a parent is that I don’t know much! Every kids is unique and it’s such a struggle to try and raise them well, and I second guess myself and feel guilty all the time.
Those cookies look too lovely to eat (but I would!)
While my heart aches that you feel that way, I have to tell you how comforting it is to read that a mom of multiple kiddos who is clearly doing a GREAT job feels guilty and second guesses herself. There’s no playbook.
Oh my god, the parenting thing. It kind of never ends, but it does seem to improve with time. Also? We are all just doing our best and what works for one family – and also, for individual kids within that family – might look very different. “Might?” It does look different. I support your melatonin/ screen time/ everything choices. a) sleep is of utmost importance, how you get there is not as important as getting there, b) in terms of front seat/ back seat, children are all different sizes, c) screen time shmeen time, we are all different on that aspect, who the fuck cares what anyone else is doing. I was scolded recently about my alcohol policy with my children. I mean, they are both legal drinking age now (well, J is technically a year behind since legal age in BC is 19 but in AB it’s 18, I CARE NOT). My policy is European-ish, which is to say pretty open about it. My friend who scolded, however, has a family history of addiction so of course she is much, much more cautious. But…it’s different for us, and this works. Also also also, and this is a rant, people who don’t have children, or who don’t have children in the same stage who like to give (scolding) advice? FUCK ALL THE WAY OFF. I once had a woman tell me – probably 8 years ago or so – that I was ruining my children by not having them become babysitters. They had zero interest in babysitting but this woman told me that I should MAKE them otherwise they would end up being terrible fathers. OKAY THANKS.
RUINING YOUR CHILDREN. Why are some people like this? And so… intensely like this???? It’s never, “Oh hey, my experience was that babysitting was great for my particular brand of child, in case that’s info that might be useful to you,” it’s YOU ARE RUINING YOUR CHILD AND ALSO HIS UNBORN FUTURE CHILDREN. Argh!
But Suzanne, this is the kicker: that woman did not have children. She still does not have children! And yet she had a lot of advice on how to raise my children. *head explodes*
Whoops. You clearly said that in your original comment and it didn’t register in my brain because it is TOO MUCH. Why? WHY???? How does she have any idea?!?!
The folding! The FOLLLLDING! It is the literal worst. I actually have an arrangement with my husband wherein I will do any and every bit of laundry for the house, cheerfully and without complaint, as long as I do not have to fold it. I’m thankful that he doesn’t mind folding, otherwise we’d be living out of laundry baskets full time.
And yay, giveaway!! I know you said paperback, but if Kindle is an option, I’d like to enter my name for Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews. I’m slowly buying their backstock for my Kindle, since I use it much more than physical books these days. If you really want to buy a paperback, I would request Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots, which I already own on Kindle but love so much, I would be thrilled with a physical copy as a back up. 🙂
Thank you!
Kindle IS an option, definitely! I haven’t heard of either of your book choices and need to look them up immediately! (Wait – maybe I have heard of Hench? I can’t remember.)
I love anything by Ilona Andrews and own everything other than the Kate Daniels series already- they are my comfort rereads for when you don’t want to think, you just want to escape into another world for awhile.
And Hench! Yes! I am evangelical about it, it was so good. Promptly started rereading once I finished the first go-round. I’m sure it’s not for everyone, but I love it so, so much.
Hench!! So good!! I don’t actually want to own more books, but I just got excited about the idea of owning Hench.
Oh, the parenting is such a mine field. Why do we accept that one person’s decisions about a career or a spouse or an exercise regimen might look different from our own, but every child is the same? (OK, lots of people are judgy about those things too…)
I had a friend with a child a few years older than mine (well, she has 5 children, but her oldest was a few years older, and the next was 1 year older than mine). We were talking about walking to the grocery store alone, which is about 1/2 mile. When I was a kid that was no big deal, but I lived in a VERY small town and it was pretty safe. We live in a large metropolitan area with very busy roads. She said she would trust her 2nd oldest fine, but not her oldest, because she knew them, knew who was likely to remember to look both ways when she crossed the street, and who was likely to get distracted and walk in front of a bus. I always remembered that, and tried to apply it to other people’s decisions about their kids. I just have the 1, so I can’t compare her to another of my own, but I can see that what works for me may not work for you, etc.
Oh, a giveaway! I’m in. I would buy the 2nd paperback in the Neapolitan series (My Brilliant Friend is the first book). I am loving the first one more than most people in the book club I think.
Home maintenance sucks. That is all. I have something specific to say about it, and meant to write about it on my blog today, but got sucked into reading a book and didn’t post, so it will have to wait for another day. All I can do here is give you moral support. Excuse me while I go fold some laundry. Thankfully it doesn’t bother me (I listen to music or a book while I do it.)
Oh that is such a good real life example of how every kid is different!!!!
Yay for loving MBF and yay for wanting the next in the series!
I look forward to your home maintenance post and am sending you my advance commiseration.
AAAAAAHHHHH the parenting thing, omg my blood pressure just shot up thinking about this. The thing that has set me off this week enough to make me swear at strangers on Facebook after months of not letting myself swear at strangers on Facebook is the breastfeeding in public thing. “How hard is it to just be modest?” HOW HARD IS IT TO AVERT YOUR FUCKING EYES. I will never, never understand this, except I do understand so many, many people being extreme assholes who need something to feel aggrieved about. *exhale*
I go down to the laundry room every night before I go to bed, usually to bring up the dryer load, transfer the washer load to the dryer and throw a new load in the washer. If any of these things doesn’t need to be done, that’s fine, but I do it every night because otherwise I would never remember to do any of it. I love folding laundry and would happily fold yours. I am procrastinating heavily about literally everything else in my life, though.
We have no kids at home so I didn’t bake any cookies, and I sometimes send the kids chocolate but I didn’t this year (procrastinated) and now I regret both of those decisions.
ARGH the breastfeeding thing whyyyyyy. I like your strategy of doing it every day. That’s a good way to keep on top of it.
I have no words about the parent interaction other than people be weird. I am in AWE of you: “In my head, folding laundry takes HOURS. But two loads took six minutes!” Yes, me too. I bow to your prowess and overcoming the dread that can consume a person who is going to fold and put away laundry. You rock.
People DO be weird, Ally. I feel like a much too large portion of my life is taken up by “overcoming dread.”
The cookies are gorgeous! What a fun way to celebrate the holiday.
Circling back to the “you look tired” discussion, we talked about how it’s a good rule of thumb that if you want to comment on someone’s appearance and that comment is not “you look great” then not saying it is probably the way to go. I feel like some offshoot of this rule should be applied to parenting chit chat. Trade notes and leave it at that. My notes that I will trade is that Hubs gave the boys melatonin in grade school and everyone is still alive to tell about it, and no one ever died from lack of screen time.
I’ve never timed myself folding laundry, but my hunch is that it’s probably a 6 minute job that feels longer.
Grrrr home maintenance. Hubs does most of it, and I’m OK with that. From what I remember from my single days, it was an epic pain.
I love that the metric is everyone is alive/no one died. At the end of the day, that is really the only metric that counts, right?! Everything else is just gravy.
This is so nice! I’m dying to read the new court of thorns and roses, but I am about number 250 in line at my local library- I would love to have it!!
Also – totally agree on the judgment parenting- I have 7 and 4 year old boys and I’ve already heard so many things!! It’s so funny because in my family, I’m considered kind of a helicopter parent (which I don’t think I am!), but in my local neighborhood I am very permissive compared to neighbors lol. Everyone does things differently!
Those books are so popular!!! I haven’t read any of them – yet.
I do laundry just about every day these days and let me tell you, that speeds up the folding considerably! Plus, in my head, I think it probably uses less water and electricity than a giant load would. (If that is not the case; please do not tell me).
At this point in my book reading life, I’m afraid to throw my hat in the ring. Currently, I’m on the 3rd (4th?) book I received for Christmas – all of which I specifically requested. And so far, I think I’ve already read all of them before.
Oh no! That’s a bummer, Gigi! It is hard to keep track sometimes of the books we’ve read.
I agree 100% that doing a load every day helps.
When my kids were maybe 6, 4 and 2 my sister had girls 4 and 2. I was at her house and suggested the kids go play in the basement. She said no, because then the adults have to go in the basement. I thought to myself that she was just a crazy parent, and talked her into letting our kids -gasp- play downstairs without us. Well turns out she was right. Long story short, it quickly became apparent her kids could not play in the basement unattended. And I learned the hard way that what works for my family may not work for everyone else’s, even my sisters. Let me tell you – I never let her kids out of my sight after that experience.
It’s so wild how different all the kids are!!! So wild!
I am more about admitting that I don’t know what I’m doing or what’s correct than I am judging BUT there are certain things that do set me off. I judge internally though and not out loud. I thought that my sister-in-law was a controlling and punitive parent; she also constantly called her 3-year-old daughter a brat (to her face); I didn’t like that much at all. The cookies look and sound delicious!
I mean, I would judge name-calling, too, Margaret! Although I guess I could see a situation where a parent just LOST IT and then felt awful and used it as an opportunity to talk to the kid about big feelings and apologizing, etc.
Parents especially are full of advice for other parents and happy to dispense it freely. I think once some people become parents, they develop a very strong and proprietary sense of protection for children everywhere. They’ve also decided that they owe it to children everywhere to monitor them and their parents. It’s, of course, ridiculous.
Oooh yes – I agree that I have developed a strong sense of protection for children! I find myself more aware of kids than I ever was before. So weird.
“Large, weary-looking pigs”!! I am enjoying that description. The cute, optimistic bunny is WAY BETTER, I feel certain, and the cookie plates look so good it makes me wish I’d done cookie plates.
I wish I had taken a photo of the pigs.
Best of Both Worlds has a one star review that simply states:
” I cannot believe that Sarah let her kids play on trampolines.” Well, okay then. (Again – whether or not someone has a rule about this is totally okay — but when did it be okay to attempt to bash someone over something like that?)! So yes- 100% get it. And the WORST I agree when someone without kids (or with like, 1 younger kid) tries to tell you how it’s done. THANKS BUT NO THANKS!!
Well. That is quite a comment. AND a one star review. Closing my eyes briefly and breathing deeply at the world’s rich tapestry.
Those cookie platters are so sweet and festive. You need to open up a bakery or party planning store because you always knock this stuff out of the park.
Sheesh. Don’t get me started on the parenting thing. If kids are safe, loved, and fed…most of the rest is icing on the cake and comes down to preference. We’re all trying our best and EACH CHILD IS UNIQUE. Really and truly. They need different things, different approaches…and that’s okay. Sending hugs!
Home maintenance is the worst. I hate it. I guess the only way to turn the frown upside down for me is to realize it is SUCH a privilege to own a home, but really all the stuff that goes wrong just makes me grumpy. Our bathroom fan sounds like it’s ready to explode and we have needed to get it looked at for…18 months? I’ve stopped using it, so now the bathroom fills with steam when we shower. Sigh. We have shingles that blew off in a wind storms months ago and the person we hired to fix them hasn’t been able to do it because of scheduling/weather. It never ends!
You are so right about reminding myself it’s a privilege to have a home. And it is fairly easy to pretend like these underlying issues don’t exist, LOL. We also have a bathroom fan issue! Woo! I just need to get the electrician out here to replace it…
Your valentine cookies are adorable and do look tasty!
I also dread folding laundry and I like your workaround/incentive with a timer. I suppose the moral of you telling this is that folding laundry IS not a time consuming chore, but I’m still in denial about that.
I can’t think of a book I have been pining for, so best of luck to whomever you choose to gift too….which is very sweet and generous on your part.
I replicated the laundry experiment today, Suz! It was a massive load of laundry and it took five minutes to complete! It just FEELS like a time consuming task
I have to say that I don’t miss that aspect of raising children. When they are young, other parents can sometimes be judgmental and feel compelled to share their opinions. Why can’t everyone just stay in their own lane? Gah.
Now I rarely have to deal with any parents, which is wonderful. That day will come for you as well, and it isn’t far off, I promise.
Your Valentines cookies are so cute!
Those cookies are so pretty!
I’ve been on both sides of the parental judgment game but I (almost always) manage to keep my mouth shut when I’m on the judging side. I have a friend who was accused of trying to “poison the children” when she brought non-organic rice cakes for snack at our co-operative preschool. This happened many years ago, obviously, but it has stuck with me because who says things like that and why?
I hear you on the home maintenance. It always drags on. It is never easy. And for some reason you always have to follow up a million times until things get done.
I also love to push it further and further down on my todo list until it bites me in the behind.
Your cookies! They are SO CUTE!!!
Ah, parental judgment. What people sometimes fail to realize is that EVERY FAMILY IS UNIQUE. I have a client who told me this story: she gets to work very early in the morning, and at some point she always calls home to make sure her husband and son are awake in time for the son to get to school. Her coworkers chide her for this, saying they “should” be able to get up on their own. But then she told me her husband works very late hours because his job involves doing business with China (I know zero details). So if your husband is up working till 3 am, and you have a teenage son who has trouble waking up on his own, then yes, you might want to make sure they wake up on time. About the melatonin- when my sister was around Carla’s age, she had terrible sleeping issues. Some nights she would be awake so long, she would get up and drink some Nyquil, which would then put her to sleep, but then she would have terrible problems waking up in the morning and she would feel groggy all day. My parents had no idea this was going on- if they had known, and melatonin was an option, I can say that would have been a MUCH healthier choice. So, you just don’t know what’s going on with people. We all love our kids and are doing what we believe is best for them. People need to just shut up.
Ooh, a giveaway! I would love to read On the Beach by Nevil Shute. They don’t carry his books at my library, so I have to get them from Amazon.
The cookies look lovely – good enough to eat. 😉
I agree with everyone above – parents need to stay in their own lane. The judging is so nutty. People make decisions that suit them. The end.
Home maintenance is annoying and never ending.
I do not mind folding laundry, thank goodness. I often do it while watching something on TV or talking on the phone and it goes so much faster that way.
If I’m not too late for the book giveaway, I’d be interested in Bel Canto.
Well now my heart is racing a bit thinking about the parenting conversations that happen. It makes you want to just not say anything about any choice you’ve made because surely it will be wrong in the eyes of someone. I just hate “absolute” statements. Some people just cannot understand nuance. There are very few absolute, declarative statements a parent can make. That’s why when I was a guest on Elisabeth’s blog, my advice to a new parent was to figure out whose advice/opinion matters to you. I don’t understand what makes a person feel compelled to comment on a decision you’ve made. Like the comments about melatonin. WHAT IN THE WORLD. I know of many kids who take melatonin to help with sleep. It’s not like you are lacing her milk w/ alcohol or something. Sheesh.
We felt a similar level of weariness when we bought our house back in 2019. We had a spreadsheet of projects and it was so overwhelming, especially since our last house had no issues whatsoever. My husband is still grumbly about this house but he doesn’t want to move. I do love our house even with its quirks and issues. I’m just glad we’ve reached a period of few maintenance issues because those are just terrible to deal with!
Oh my-the opinions!!! 3 kids in and it still
Gets me! Though Honestly, I’m much more
lenient with my third!
I read The Whispers this weekend in a day-I would love to read The Push…and also A Court of Thorns and Roses…and a million other books!!!
Re: Strong Opinions: I find it interesting that early on in life we all (as children) learn that we are all unique individuals. Therefore, it always shocks me that there are adults that think that every child should be parented the same way and/or that other children are like their children and will respond the same way to the same parenting. The variety of personalities in this world is what makes this life interesting!
I’d like to enter the giveaway, although it is hard to pick one book because my list of “books to read” seems to grow faster than my reading speed. I think I’d pick Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows (recommended a long time ago by a friend), although The Cactus, Stiff, Prisoners of Geography, and Salt are also high on my list. I’m enjoying seeing other people’s backlist books in the comments.
Those cookies are beautiful! You are so skilled!!
Were the Kohl’s pigs book related? I know they sometimes have odd stuffies in the front that go with a book LOL. Or is Easter pigs a thing now?!
I am 100% behind shutting our mouths and judging each other silently 😉
I can only imagine the amount of judgment that comes from being a parent. It’s like when you see a really funny dog Reel on Instagram and you’re like, “Let me check out the comments. Everyone else must love this as much as I do!!!” And no, it’s just everyone saying stuff like “why is the dog wearing a collar, he should be in a harness.” ARGH. You do you, is the tactic I always take. What works for your home, your family, your kids may be much, much different than what works for other people. We’re all just doing our best. Well, most of us.
Your story aligns with my frequent thought of, why do people feel that they have the need and the *right* to weigh in on ANYTHING other people do? Why do they care how others live their lives? If your kids are fed, happy, sleeping, safe, and loved, I’m all good. (Safe is a biggie for me, hi, pediatric nurse…)