Hi friends! Happy Wednesday! What are you up to today? It’s a short day at school, so I’m just catching up on some work stuff before I pick up P. I’m hoping to sneak in an upper body workout (and a shower! #necessary) while she naps later today.
Yesterday was kind of a tough parenting day. The Pilot had been out of town for one of his airline interviews – he has 3! – so it was single parent mode over here. We’re obviously used to our groove with just the girls (since we did it for quite a while) but by yesterday, everyone was going crazy. Just one of the gold star moments from the day: I had to carry P across a parking lot because she refused to hold my hand and wanted to run around. I carried her to the car while she flailed and yelled at me. Instead of taking them out for Taco Tuesday, I figured it would be smarter to get Chipotle takeout and bring it home so I wouldn’t have to chase her around the restaurant. (99.97% of the time she’s an awesome listener, but we were just having a bit of an off day yesterday.) It ended up being the right choice. Early bedtimes all around and we’re all reset today and doing much better.
It’s funny because the tougher days like that have become so rare as they’ve gotten older. I was chatting with a friend last weekend about this, but when they get to these ages, everything just seems like fun instead of work. They make me laugh so many times during the day and my heart explodes watching them be such sweet little friends and sisters to each other. I mentioned that I was unsure of how to navigate the teen years – she has older kiddos – but she said something that made a lot of sense: there are hard parts and easy parts about every phase. For example, no one likes being woken up a bunch during the night when they’re newborns. But the newborn snuggles are the best thing ever! As they get older, there are still some tricky parts, but obviously way more amazing parts than anything.
For today’s post, I thought I’d share some of my favorite parenting resources. I’d love to hear about your faves if you wouldn’t mind sharing the love in the comments section below. I’d especially love any books or advice you found helpful in the later elementary school and tween years. <3
Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: This book is my #1 recommendation to new parents. This is what helped us get the girls into a routine when they were babies and they learned to sleep through the night without having to cry it out. I also loved that it helped me learn how to interpret their cues (how to tell when they were hungry vs. tired) and it’s a quick, easy read. When the kiddos were a bit older, I loved this book for sleep strategies and tips. You can skim it if you’re in the throws of sleepless nights and just want ideas.
Sleep Shop Consulting: I can’t thank or praise Sleep Shop enough! We chatted with Heather when we were going through out big sleep issues, and with her help and guidance, we’ve been sleeping through the night ever since. Everyone in our family is happier and more rested. (I wake up at 6 or 6:30 am now before my alarm, which I NEVER thought would happen.) Also worth noting that they don’t know I have a blog or anything like that. We did the 30-minute consultation call and that’s all we ended up needing. It was the best $100 I’ve ever spent! You can check out more about our great sleep struggle and resolution here.
The Dad Facebook page because it makes me laugh every single time I check it.
Janet Lansbury Facebook page and podcast: I love that she truly respects children as little people, and recommends teaching and leading with respect. She provides information on so many aspects of parenting, from tantrums, to sibling rivalry, discipline, and so much more. She recommends seeing the situation from your child’s point of view, and I highly recommend her book No Bad Kids.
Coffee and Crumbs podcast: This has become one of my very favorite podcasts! The hosts are fun, insightful, and I love how real and joyful they are about parenting and motherhood. The hosts chat about navigating motherhood, marriage, birth, pregnancy, and always crack me up at least once during each episode.
I hope you have a wonderful day and I’ll see ya soon! Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today.
xo
Gina
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