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Posts Tagged ‘family’

  1. Thanksgiving Buffet

    November 23, 2014 by admin

    54952_cornicopia_mdWe love Thanksgiving!  It’s one of the most popular holidays at the TR household.  We count down to it, decorate for it, and just love it!

    Bluey has been talking for weeks about his plans to watch the Thanksgiving parade and we all love the relaxed pace of the day.  We sometimes watch a bunch of movies, or even a little bit of a football game.  We’ve been excitedly going through the grocery store, taking note of special food items here and there that would be perfect for our feasting.

    One thing that’s not perfect for us?  A big sit-down meal.

    We’re just not into it.  We love food and we love eating.  But we don’t like to force ourselves into a drawn out holiday sit-down meal.

    And here’s why:  we’ve done the big Thanksgiving traditional meal and found that it hampers our day.  A day that could be spent in fun and games, silly TV, and walks in the woods instead becomes a day wrapped around a tight schedule.  In order for all that food to come out at the same time for a formal family meal, it needs to be carefully timed out.  The day is spent prepping food instead of relaxing and connecting with family.  We’d rather be free to look at one another and declare: “Let’s go for a walk!” and not worry about whether that means the potatoes will be done in time.

    And then there’s the matter of satisfying everyones tastes.  Rather than cook up a bunch of food that might not be eaten due to the whims of some family members preferences, we like to present a food plan that leaves everyone happy without any worries about who’s eating what.

    We offer a Thanksgiving buffet.

    Our buffet includes all manners of foods: hot and cold; salty and sweet; filling and light.  We select a wide range of items like homemade bread, cheese and crackers, nuts, various unique dips, chips, salad fixings and a few holiday favorites like mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce.  We bring everything out in waves, a few selections at a time, whenever we feel it’s time for something new.

    For our family, this plan leaves everyone well fed without anyone being stuck in the kitchen all day.  Our whole family is free to take up whatever activities we like without worries about getting home at a particular time, nor concerns about ‘spoiling your appetite’ before the big meal.  Everyone eats what they want, when they want, allowing us to enjoy our time as a family and appreciate what we have.

    And isn’t that the idea?


  2. Landspeed Record

    November 14, 2014 by admin

    TRMom and Dad can both run 20 yards in one second flat. You might not think we were so swift judging by our physiques/ interest in running. Yet there we are, challenging the Flash to a footrace.

    Bluey’s snoozing in bed, late into the night, and he starts crying out: “Daddy! Mommy!”

    We don’t know what’s the matter, but we know we’re needed.62590_boydad_sm

    Trust us, the high school track coach never saw us move that fast.

    Is he sick? Is it a bad dream? We’ll probably never know, he usually can’t tell us what happened. But Bluey knows that when he calls, we come running. We are there for him- unapologetically there for him- whenever he needs us.

    And should your kiddo jump into the deep end of the pool while you are standing in the shallows, you’ll find yourself putting Michael Phelps to shame as you race across the water.

    We’re all capable of amazing things when called upon.


  3. Sick Day

    October 29, 2014 by admin

    The TR Family makes efforts to limit screen time and maximize activity, especially outdoor activity.  There is hardly a day when we aren’t out for a walk or a bike ride, or reading books rather than sitting in front of one more TV show.boy_33_sm

    But when a TR family member is down for the count with an illness, we are much more flexible with the house rules.

    When a kiddo (or adult) is sick that may mean we enjoy a movie at home.  We usually curtail or eliminate our walks around the neighborhood with the dog or biking off to the local grocery for a fun treat.  Instead we focus on restful activities and certain sick day indulgences, like extra popsicles to soothe a sore throat.

    It’s okay to make exceptions to your family routine for unique times like holidays and illnesses.  We don’t normally spend long periods watching television, but sometimes that sort of ‘spoiling’ is just what the doctor ordered.   We’re not afraid to let the rules shift for a day or so, as long as we know we can get back on track when the atypical event passes.


  4. What Happened Today?

    August 17, 2014 by admin

    We have a simple daily tradition at our home at dinnertime: Tell us what happened today?princess_11_md

    We like a little conversation with our evening meal, it’s a chance for us all to connect and reflect at the end of the day. But we don’t want it to just be TRMom and TRDad doing all the talking.

    So we have a time where we go around the table and ask: What happened with your day? Or: What’s the best thing that happened to you today? Or some other variation on the same theme. It gives everyone at the table a chance to share something, or tell us what’s going on.

    And we mean everyone. Guests at our home usually find themselves asked the same sorts of questions. We have two young friends who come over a few times a week, and while at first they were hesitant to talk, now they argue over who gets to go first!  These conversations give us a chance to learn more about our friends and our children’s friends.

    Rather than silent, sullen, or rushed meals- our dinners are a chance to speak your piece, to share an exciting event, or talk about an upcoming event.

    This dinner conversation is also a great learning opportunity. When Bluey was younger, much of his grasp of the passage of time came from these conversations.  It required him to think about the recent past and upcoming events, and to try and set things in order. For Plum, many dinner conversations start out simply enough but evolve into talks about dealing with school, friends, or life in general- topics many tweens are hesitant to bring up otherwise.

    Not every meal is scintillating conversation at our house. Sometimes the kiddoes don’t have much to say. And that’s OK, too. We encourage, but we don’t force, conversing at our meals.

    We’ll ask again tomorrow.


  5. No Food Zone

    July 30, 2014 by admin

    D5858

    We came up with one step towards bringing a higher level of order to our house:

    No food in the bedrooms.  Ever.

    We’d been experiencing increasing problems having the kiddoes keep their bedrooms clean.  Our efforts at cajoling, convincing and threatening had come to naught.  We didn’t know what to do.  We found we had to step back and look at some of the causes of the clutter and the main reasons it bothered us.

    This resulted in a major rule change.  Eating snacks and such in bedrooms was no longer permitted.

    We got some resistance at first, but it quickly diminished.

    It’s early on in the new program, so we don’t have long-term results.  But the early returns are good.   Not only are we seeing no dishes and food waste in the bedrooms, but the absence of the foodstuffs seems to have helped foster a higher level of neatness and order in the bedrooms.

    We hope this is permanent.

    What else might be a good move for keeping a bit of order in your messiest rooms?  Let us know if you have further ideas for us to try.


  6. The Rule of Threes

    April 18, 2014 by admin

    Our house gets a little disorganized. Sometimes we go hard all day and the place gets trashed. Or it’s just little things that pile up over time.   And finally, the place needs to be neatened up.

    Cleaning and organizing is easy enough to do when the kids are well occupied.  Frequently they are- Bluey’s busy inventing something, or making a superhero outfit. Plum’s reading or drawing. Or they are playing together happily, and we TRParents are able to swing into action and take care of a few home tasks.

    IMG_5530Occasionally we can even ask that the kiddoes play together for a minute, while we run a vacuum or sweep a room. It’s great when that happens.

    But more often than not, our kids want our attention more than they want us to clean. Or what they need is to snuddle on the couch with us and read. Or sit on the floor and build a Lego something-or-other together.

    How are you supposed to get your place really clean?

    In this situation we try to follow our “Rule of Three.”  Each time we get up to do something quick- get a fresh cup of coffee, take a potty break, fetch a snack- we take a few seconds to put 3 things away. We take some dishes to the kitchen. Or bring a handful of laundry to the hamper. Or we quickly shift some junk mail to the recyclable bin.

    These are little things, each one isn’t much of an accomplishment.  But over the course of the day they make a huge difference in the clutter levels in our home. All done without any little one noticing that we’ve been cleaning. The kiddoes think we’ve been with them the whole time.

    And really, we have been.

    It doesn’t make up for the deep clean that every house needs at some point.  Hopefully on that blissful day when the kiddoes are playing happily for hours. But the “Rule of Three” helps us feel like we are on top of the mess, three things at a time.


  7. Hating Your Kid’s Music

    April 16, 2014 by admin

    “OMG!  If I hear ‘Let It Go’ one more time, I’m going to explode!!!!”

    Let It Go!

    Let It Go!

    We hear this a lot lately.

    It happens that this TR Family loves the film, Frozen, and the awesome soundtrack.  But we understand that the Broadway style music may not suit everyone.

    Explain to us two things:

    1. Why is so much adult energy being spent on this adolescent competition of who likes the coolest music?
    2. Why go out of your way to tell your kids that their opinion is worthless?

     

    This ‘my music is better than your music’ stance is pure BS.  It was stale when we were all high school freshmen, let alone in the here-and-now.  Different music appeals to different people, no matter their age, so just get over it.

    If your kid likes Frozen, or Bieber, or whatever- that doesn’t mean your kid is hopeless.  Your music isn’t better, it’s just different.  Millions of people around the world like Bieber.  Maybe they’re all onto something?

    Or maybe not.

    Even if, on some absolute plane of music judgment you can prove that Let It Go is the worst song ever- where does it get you?  Your kid likes a song.  Just allow him/her the joy of the moment, without being made to feel bad about it.

    Or use this song, or whatever song your kid is obsessed with, to become a bridge to other music you happen to like more.

    Our Plum loves Taylor Swift.  And through her enjoyment of Swift, we’ve been able to introduce her to Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Coldplay and Tegan&Sara– to name just a few.

    And it goes both ways.  By opening yourself to the possibilities that there are other types of music out there for you to enjoy, you might learn a few things from your kiddo.  Plum has shown us some cool tunes from Selena Gomez or Sara Bareilles.  Bluey’s love of the Figureheads has us enjoying some fun kid-hop.

    Open your mind and use music as a way of sharing and connecting with your kids, rather than creating another wall between you.


  8. The Cooking Plum

    April 2, 2014 by admin

    Of her own volition, our Plum has recently embarked on a mission to cook dinner for the family one night a week.   We love it!

    * It was all her idea. (Yay!)

    * She plans the menu, with just a little help from TRDad. (Yay!)

    * After some angst about whether or not we could afford a special ingredient Plum wanted, she now has her own budget and creates her own    IMG_1096shopping list.

    It’s going pretty well.   Yes, like any beginning chef, she keeps coming back to the same few meals that she thinks she can make well.  But Plum is slowly starting to experiment with finding some new choices.  We know her repertoire of ‘good dishes’ will only expand as time goes on and her confidence grows.

    We love that Plum is embracing this important life skill on her own terms and in her own way.  TRDad is there to back her up and to teach hands-on skills needed to make each dish.  But our Plum is the Chef- there’s no doubt about that!


  9. Woof! Woof! Reading Dog Books

    February 19, 2014 by admin

    IMG_1512Somewhere along the line, we started reading ‘Dog Book’ stories to Bluey.  It might have started with  The Incredible Journey, which we enjoyed after viewing the movies.

    We now have a bonafide tradition of reading dog books over breakfast and lunch-  we read just a few pages (maybe 10) at each meal.  It gives us a chance to mellow out in the middle of the day and prepare for whatever adventures our afternoon may bring.

    We go through quite a few books.  On average, it takes us about 2 weeks to finish one.  So there seems like there is always a new story to begin.

    We enjoy these books because we love animals.  Most of the stories go into some detail about animal care and animal illnesses and that helps spark conversations about the animals in our world.

    Here are a few of our favorites from the past year:

    Clarence the TV Dog:  This funny, upbeat book from Patricia Lauber covers the antics of a TV loving pup growing up in the 50’s.  We love Clarence’s  many adventures, and how he always seems to be a step ahead of the people who try to reign him in.

    Animal Ark:  It is a series set at a veterinary clinic in Wales.  The series revolves around the vets’ daughter Mandy and her friend James, who have a knack for finding lost animals and solving animal related mysteries.  With its vet clinic setting, these books contain tons of real world info about all sorts of animals.  And the recurring cast allows us an easy starting point at the beginning of each book.IMG_1514

    Star-Dog:  Star Dog took us in a different direction: science fiction!  With aliens and government agents afoot, we were able to explore a whole new genre while using our dog book theme.

    We are about halfway through our stack of dog books, gleaned from shops and book sales over the years.  We are having a great time with them.  It is so much fun to explore the many worlds of these stories.


  10. Do You Hear The Music?

    February 2, 2014 by admin

    It’s no secret– we love music at our house.  We have songs playing constantly.  We are singing along, or making up our own songs, too.

    IMG_7825TRMom and TRDad began an experiment some ten years ago.  We created our own, joint list of the 100 Best Songs Ever.  It was a fun project that we worked on via email.  We’d alternate at five song intervals, listing the best songs that came to mind.  This way the finished list wasn’t “in order”, but it did include all sorts of songs we adored.

    It allowed us to share our musical love with each other and confess secrets- Madonna?  Yes, Madonna is on the list.  Neil Diamond? Yes, no list could be complete without him.

    Here’s a small sample from the original list, circa 2003/4:

    1.) Crimson and Clover – Joan Jett

    2.) Possibly Maybe – Bjork

    3.) Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad – Meatloaf

    4.) Someone’s Daugher– Beth Orton

    5.) Honeysuckle Rose – Rose Murphy

    6.) Dizzy– Throwing Muses

    7.) I Believe In You– Neil Young

    8.) Accept Yourself– The Smiths

    9.) Flag Day– Housemartins

    10.) Ingrid and the Footman– Jane Siberry

    Recently, we started all over again.  It’s the same process, but ten years later.  What songs will repeat?  What songs will be replaced?  What new voices have we uncovered in our last decade of musical exploration?

    Here’s a sample of the 2014 Version:

    11.  Lose Yourself – Eminem

    12.  Stay Monkey – Julie Ruin

    13.  Gunpowder and Lead – Miranda Lambert

    14.  Get What You Give – New Radicals

    15.  Radioactive – Marina and the Diamonds

    16. Break Stuff – Limp Bizkit

    17. Untouchable Face – Ani DiFranco

    18. Pounce – Nellie McKay

    19. Fake Plastic Trees – Radiohead

    20. Everlong – Foo Fighters

    Maybe when we’re done, we’ll post the entirety of both lists!

    Meanwhile, tell us what you’d include!  What are the absolute best songs ever?  Let us know, and introduce us to your favorites!