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sign up to bake bread with me?

May 21, 2020

Who wants to come to a zoom meeting and bake bread with me? I’m NO pro but make one kind that’s really easy, pretty well. Okay, email me and let me know so I can give you the zoom info & password! wholeparenting @ gmail. We’ll do it in about 2 weeks when you’ve had time to accrue your supplies. All amazon aff links! My book I love: Bread in 5. But you can use just the recipe here. I love the book because it teaches you a lot that I can’t! Here’s your supply list // Yeast Flour (my fav is King Arthur but whatever you have will work) Salt (i love coarse kosher but whatever you have is fine) Measuring cups (1 cup and 1/2 cup) Measuring spoon (1 tablespoon) big stainless bowl parchment paper dough hook (this actually makes a difference when mixing by hand) dutch oven casserole // baking stone // cookie sheet upside down oven, water Optional scoring tool proofing basket YAY!

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a little honest parenting, four kids in

April 30, 2020

This blog started as a parenting blog in 2010. Now ten years later, I rarely blog but mostly micro-blog on instagram, or now, blab with my husband on our podcast/youtube. But really, my heart for parents with little kid(s) hasn’t changed. When I started sharing more about my parenting struggles and consolations, it was, in part, because lots of parenting websites made it sound like a task that could be conquered, mastered, a skill you learn and then apply. Like any other field or area of practice. But as I say in the latter half of today’s episode, most of parenting starts with disciplining myself, with curbing my irritations and annoyances, by actively choosing to respond with love. And that’s an everyday exercise for me. So enjoy a little longer episode today on our approach to kids, tending to the person they actually are, and trying to help them grow in their own sense of prayer. I also mention what happens to your fourth kid, Anthony shares when he started podcast listening (midnight dishes), and a few real life unedited tidbits of a three year old interrupting you. Cheers! Listen on spotify or anchor (itunes coming!) or watch on youtube.

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when you’re strolling along and everyone wants a drink {review & givingawaying something}

October 5, 2014

Maybe your children are perfect. Maybe they never complain on walks that they are in a constant state of 1) hunger. 2) thirst. 3) needing to go pootttttttyyyyy. or possibly even 4) needing to sit in the stroller seat their sibling is sitting in. Well my little angels like to do all of the above it. All of it. Even wanting to have the baby put in the stroller so I can carry SweetPea. She adores her brother, but also adores getting away from her older brother so she can do something special. And yes, it was 46 degrees out when I took these pictures. Don’t say the kids are overdressed. One of our constant parenting differences. The beverages have gotten out of control. They both need their own special water bottles. And then they both want them down in the belly of the stroller because their hands are too full with leaves? gripes? hardened hearts & fists? Whatever it is, they want to relocate their drinks all the flipping time. And BabyLoves is big. And heavy. And my knee joints aren’t what they were. Enter Christie and her kiddo collection line. She made this really smart stroller attachment and was kind enough to send me one. It has TWO beverage holders, insulated, naturally, and a magnet sealed compartment in between. iPhone? check. keys? check. SweetPea’s random paraphernalia that she’s tired of clutching and chucking. check. And slotted pockets on the outside. Because Christie is a mom and knows you gotta…

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Teaching Your Child Gentleness Toward Pets

September 30, 2011

  If your toddler is anything like mine, he or she swings, tugs, rolls, and shares everything with our two dogs. He also tries to bury his face into our two cats’ bellies, pick them up by their legs, and pet them on the face. How to tame this wild toddler? A few techniques that we use in our household to keep the animals and toddler happy. I’ve written about bringing a baby home to your pets, here, but a toddler is a whole new ball of wax! He did like his birthday horse back ride, though! (He’s his mother’s son 🙂 1) Designate “safe” pet areas–free from child. When our Great Dane is on her doggie bed in the corner of the kitchen, J is informed that she is having “private” or “alone” time and is not to be disturbed. Does he heed this? Not always, but he gets the point with the repetition of terms and tone of voice. The cats have ways of making themselves unavailable, but the toughest role falls to our little 20 pound miniature American Eskimo. She constantly trolls the kitchen floor to ensure every last morsel has been licked up, so her being on the move makes for an easier target than the others. She has a doggie bed as well, underneath an overhang that is somewhat protected, and we try to reiterate the “private” or “alone” time phrases when she is there. 2) Normalize the situation. J is so much more mobile…

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