In Which There are Links

Today you get links. Lots of 'em. And me trying to be smart in order to keep up appearances.

etsy, obviously

Wait, not THOSE kind of links. Although, can I just say that is totally amazing?



This nonsense has taken the interwebs by storm:

"Having kids and getting married are considered life milestones. We have baby showers and wedding parties as if it’s a huge accomplishment and cause for celebration to be able to get knocked up or find someone to walk down the aisle with. These aren’t accomplishments, they are actually super easy tasks, literally anyone can do them. They are the most common thing, ever, in the history of the world. They are, by definition, average. And here’s the thing, why on earth are we settling for average?"

"Numberless modern women have rebelled against domesticity in theory because they have never known it in practice. .. . Generally speaking, the cultured class is shrieking to be let out of the decent home, just as the working class is shouting to be let into it."

What's Wrong With the World G.K. Chesterton

Read the rest of Ashley's take here and whatever you do, don't click on the other link, because it only gets sillier from there.

"He’s been away at work all day. He’d much rather be with you. All of you. He’s missed your face, your voice, your smell, and your touch. He’s had to deal with whatever crap he has to deal with in order to provide for the family that he loves. He doesn’t enjoy walking out the door every morning, but he does. Every day. For you. For them."

In a similar vein, I also liked this:

"When he treks mud in with his shoes, let her think it is because he does not love her. Such extremes of thought may seem ridiculous to you or I, but to the exhausted mortal woman, it can seem possible. Your goal is to make her think the husband does not notice, or even better, that he does not care about her efforts at home."

I do love epistolary. Anyway, assuming the best intentions of our husbands (and all people, really) goes such a long way towards having a happy home. If he didn't do it, let's assume it's because he actually forgot. It's so much nicer that way.

And now some stuff about kids.

"The most important skills that children everywhere must learn in order to live happy, productive, moral lives are skills that cannot be taught in school. Such skills cannot be taught at all. They are learned and practised by children in play. These include the abilities to think creatively, to get along with other people and cooperate effectively, and to control their own impulses and emotions."

Also feeling good about "letting them climb on stuff and maybe fall off of it" part of the day.

'AUT professor of public health Grant Schofield, who worked on the research project, said there are too many rules in modern playgrounds.
"The great paradox of cotton-woolling children is it's more dangerous in the long-run."
Society's obsession with protecting children ignores the benefits of risk-taking, he said.
Children develop the frontal lobe of their brain when taking risks, meaning they work out consequences. "You can't teach them that. They have to learn risk on their own terms. It doesn't develop by watching TV, they have to get out there."'

Thanks to my mother-in-law for this one.

"All four of my girls have found friends similar to Annie. While no friendship is perfect, I've been surprised by some of the kindness I've seen at young ages. They know how to look out for a friend. They get it. And can I tell you what their kind friends all have in common? Kind mothers. Time and time again, I've become friends with the moms I meet through my children's beloved friends because they're good souls. I don't think it's a coincidence their children are, too."

I had a rough time with girls when I was in junior high (back when that was a thing) and high school. But I remember fondly the girls who were kind. As I raise my daughters now, I'm equally as concerned with the idea of them being nice girls as I am with other girls being nice to them.

I like this article's premise that if we moms are nice to our friends, our daughters will learn to be nice to their friends. Works for me!

And, lastly, this:

"I finally gave up and took it all away. I wasn’t angry, just fed up. I calmly began packing up not just a toy or two, but every single thing. All their dress-up clothes, baby dolls, Polly Pockets, & stuffed animals, all their Barbies, building blocks, and toy trains, right down to the the furniture from their dollhouse and play food from their kitchen. I even took the pretty Pottery Barn Kids comforter from their bed. The girls watched me in stunned silence for a few minutes and then, when the shock wore off, they helped. And just like that, their room was clear."

We already (mostly) limit toys to the playroom, and keep them out of bedrooms and common areas. I intend that they only have a number of toys that fits in the toy closet and can be maintained by them in a reasonable amount of time. (It was one of my earliest posts!) But oh how I want to just ditch ALL of it sometimes.

They could have a truck and a doll and maybe a hoop and stick. Just think of all the character they'd build. And then *I* would have an adorable schoolroom where the playroom used to be. With a big map! And cursive letter borders!

So far their father has intervened on behalf of the toys. But someday . . .

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Have a great weekend everyone! I'm off to host a Princess Bride-themed sleep-over for 11 little girls . . .

also etsy