On Easter at my in-laws house a cluster of balloons snagged on a fence caught our eye. My kids ran over and grabbed them and then my daughter pointed out, "there's confetti inside one of them!"

I popped the confetti balloon and we discovered that inside were written wishes!  It was so exciting. Inside were about thirty wishes written by college students (my in-law's live 5 miles from Butte College).  We immediately sat down and read the students wishes.

Among their wishes:  "For my daughter to live a full and happy life" "To pass this class" "To find a full-time job and help my parents" "For my nephew to receive the treatment he needs" "To find true love" 

and...my personal favorite below!

After reading these wishes my faith was restored in the goodness of people, of college students going out into the world who want to be helpful, employed and loved!  People are good.

In my 10 years of experience as a stay-at-home mom I’ve been asked quite often how I run a smooth ship and (usually) manage to keep a smile on my face.

Here are my top 5 tips:

1.  Stick to a routine. As much as it’s fun to sometimes throw caution to the wind and do things out of the ordinary, kids and adults alike feel less stress when they consistently know what to expect. As young as infancy, I’ve kept my kids on a routine.
2.  Take care of yourself. Exercise, eat right. Keep date nights with your spouse. I always have smoother days when I do my hair and put a little make-up on, even if it’s just lipgloss and tinted moisturizer. I don’t wear business clothes, but I do try to dress in clothes that flatter.
3.  Get out of the house every day. Even if it’s as simple as going to the grocery store, there should be some sort of activity. It breaks up the day for you and the kids. A change of scene is good, right? Joining a mother’s club was a lifesaver when my kids were babies. There is always someone you’ll connect with and it’s inexpensive, enriching entertainment for both you and your kids. You may very well build relationships that will last long after your kids are grown.
4.  Keep it simple. Don’t get involved in too many activities. I read once that it’s better for your kids if you spend more one on one time with them than it is to volunteer at their school, coach their sports or activities, or sign them up for a bunch of activities. In other words- say NO at least twice for every time you say YES to something else.
5.  Start, or keep, hobbies. Stock up on art supplies. Do some yourself with your kids. I often tell people I have more hobbies now than I did pre-kids. I’ve learned to knit, play the guitar some, and I’m definitely becoming a better cook. Hobbies are a wonderful way to remember the individual you are, who is still learning and loving life, not to mention it’s great role modeling for your kids. We ditched cable when our kids were very young. It can be so easy to get sucked into the “boob tube” when you’re a stay-at-home mom. Ever notice it’s sometimes harder to find something to watch on 500 channels than it is on 20? Better to go read or do one of your hobbies when you get free time instead.

I’d love to know- what else keeps you thriving staying home with young kids?

A dear friend called this morning to tell me that her 4-year-old son’s preschool classmate and family had a terrible, tragic accident over the weekend. They were camping and had taken an off-road, 2-seater, ATV vehicle. At one point the family jumped in it to drive a short distance to get cell reception, the parents placing their 2 young children on their laps.

The decision was a fateful one.

The dad lost control of the vehicle and it flipped, ejecting everyone. Miraculously the mother and 2 children survived, but the dad died at the scene.

The preschool has sign-ups for meals already and plans to help the mom with childcare in the nightmarish days ahead. But my girlfriend kept saying, “I don’t know what else to do…”

What IS most helpful when someone is going through a tragedy such as this and has young children?

We packed our son up this morning to go on our elementary school’s annual 3-day trip to Coloma, reserved especially for 4^th graders. It seems he was just in kindergarten yesterday, and now he gets this rite of passage reserved only for the “big kids” on campus.

I bought him a disposable camera to document all the fun. The concept of film and having to manually thumb the camera to take the next shot was novel to him and made me feel really old!  But it also struck me that the camera is s a perfect symbol for how the next few days will be for him- a step back in time. He gets to pan for gold, bond with his class over bonfires and giggle in their sleeping bags as they camp out- He’ll be completely tech-free for the next few days! And I think it’s great.

How I love living in this region for opportunities like these.

Today is my youngest child’s 4^th birthday and I think I’ve finally figured out that kids’ birthday celebrations don’t have to be all or nothing. My older kids had big blowouts every year and by the time my 2 younger children came along I’d come to the realization that 2 year-olds don’t remember the piñatas and millions of guests who helped them celebrate.

On the other hand, I did feel bad, though, when my 6-year-old asked what we did when she turned 1 and I showed her a picture of just the 5 of us gathered around her high chair for that memorable first piece of cake. Where were the piñatas and guests like her brothers had, she wanted to know.

So this year I decided to have my youngest daughter’s birthday party on a weekday, tomorrow, at a bounce place and she invited only 4 special friends. Her older 2 siblings will be at school, but 8 and 9-year-old boys really doesn’t need to be jumping in a bounce house with a bunch of 3 and 4-year-old girls anyways, right? And instead of spending $300 on a private party, I paid 1/10 of that to occupy the private room and will just pay for the kids’ public play admission.

I am sure we will both be happy with this compromise.

Last week with the rain and two howler-monkey kids leaping around the house I decided it would be a great idea to go to a movie!  We headed to a small theatre to see The Lorax.  My kids are 5 (just turned boy) so really he is like a 4 year old and my daughter is 6.  

There were 10 (felt like) previews that came at us very loudly and with a lot of dark imagery and violence.  My son's eyes began to glaze.  He sank low into his seat, mindlessly shoveling popcorn into his mouth.  3 previews in - he jumped in my lap and stayed there until the movie was over!

The movie was good.  It was sweet and I liked its message.  My daughter (6) had a great time.  

My son, however melted down as we were leaving the theatre and once in the car, began to scream hysterically. He was overloaded - over stimulated and spent.  

I learned that he is not ready, even at age 5 for a theatre movie experience.  He would have been better off at home building a Lego firetruck or baking muffins.  

Has this ever happened to you?  

A friend invited us to her kids’ elementary school this weekend in Cool to see a live Civil War reenactment. Let’s just say, my kids and all the others were entranced. For nearly 30 minutes, soldiers from the North and South battled in authentic uniforms, with real muskets (but not real bullets), and a cannon that shot every few minutes.

The cast never left character. The few, fortunate soldiers on horseback had shields- but most were easy prey, unguarded with nothing except the devotion to their cause. Soldiers fell on the battlefield and a surgeon tended to their wounds on the side. Nurses with bloody aprons assisted.

Afterwards we watched a soldier lying on a table, gritting his teeth while the medical team asked for chloroform before amputating his limb. My son even got some fake blood squirted on his sweatshirt- something I am sure he won't soon forget!

It was amazing for the young people to see what life was like so long ago and even more amazing to see all of the adults so passionately involved in a hobby and equally knowledgeable about a time in our country’s history.

What's a stand out educational experience your family has had together?

February is tomorrow and I have Valentine's Day on the brain.  I love Valentine's Day with all it's girly pink, red and especially chocolate!

When I saw this on Pinterest I had to add it to my DIY board.  Perfect. Money instead of candy, maybe the only thing better than candy!  

Friends, if your husband gave you this for V Day what would you buy yourself?  Assuming the box he gives you is a decent amount of dough.

Lingerie?

A little bauble?

Housecleaners?

Perfume?

2 Months worth of Starbucks?

Would you buy yourself chocolate?  

Did you know Steve Jobs didn’t allow his 3 kids to watch TV? It’s ironic that of all people, Jobs advocated unplugging.

“Do not go and live someone else’s life,” he urged in his 2005 Stanford commencement speech, which has gone viral since his death last week. In the 15-minute speech Jobs shared with new graduates the 3 biggest lessons of his life, with it all coming back to doing what we love and going after it with full force.

But some people never figure out what it is they love. Our parents tell us what we’d be good at and society can make tempting offers of fame and fortune.

Still, if many adults can’t find what they’d really like to be “when they grow up,” how are we to expect little kids to know?

Thinking deeply often requires boredom, something our kids aren’t familiar enough with in today’s fast-paced, instant access world.

Yet boredom can lead to imagination and that is when creativity is most likely to flourish. My 3 sisters and I were bored when we tried to score a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for marathon Barbie playing. A trip to the restroom meant our Barbies went on an airplane ride. Taking out the garbage meant they were in the great outdoors. I think we made it about 6 hours until sleep forced us to quit. We never even thought there wasn’t such a category in the Guinness Book, either- we just went after it.

How will the future Steve Jobses of the world cultivate the great works they are capable of if we thrust Wii remotes into their hands every time boredom comes calling? Let them take the time to sit, even complain, and then see what happens.