Sam and I have worked from home throughout our marriage: first telecommuting, and then owning our own online business of DVD sales. I wrote out our story in Working from home, Part 1 and Working from home, Part 2, if you want the background.
As we approached starting a family, we realized we wanted to continue to prioritize working together, but we knew it would take some sacrifices and shuffling to make working from home jibe with parenting small children.
Here are the pros and cons so far as we coparent and homeschool a ten-year-old, six-year-old, and two-year-old while running a family business for our income. This is from our experience and might not reflect your own if you already run a business or choose to begin one, but I hope it gives you some perspective on what it can be like.
Our Marriage
We started working from home by accident, but once we got going, we loved it. We had nine years together as a married couple before Mikko came along (well, he beat our anniversary by one day), and that was nine years of seeing each other nearly all day, every day. When we tell some people that, they groan or shudder, but we still really like the person we married! Now that we have kids and live in a(n increasingly) small(er) space, we've made the choice to separate more during the day so one or the other of us can have dedicated work time. We also rented a small and inexpensive work loft for storage and office space. So Sam and I don't see each other quite as much as before — but I'm guessing a whole lot more than most couples where one or both partners work outside the home. I totally understand why other couples would choose the work they do and know that not being together as much is a necessary evil in those cases, but I really do enjoy seeing Sam as much as possible and think it's helped keep our partnership strong.
Coparenting
When we were thinking of having kids, Sam and I knew we each wanted two things: to continue pursuing income and our passions, and to raise our kids. Having a family business has allowed us to divide those goals so we each get a share of both of them. We purposely chose this business in particular (after trying and discarding several others over the years) because it gave us the most income for the least amount of stress, leaving us time to share the parenting.
My 12-month-old son recovering
from a surgery we almost didn't have
because we couldn't afford it.
I try not to be too political on this blog. You probably don't believe me given some of my recent posts, but it's true. If you're politicked out and want to skip this one, feel free. I just want to give some public insight into how maternal and child healthcare work — or don't — on a high deductible plan with an HSA, and since that's been my lived experience, I feel an obligation to share.
There are many Republican plans floating around right now suggesting a replacement to the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), which currently covers 20 million people in the United States. Several replacement ideas, including the latest GOP plan, have touted health savings accounts as the best option for those who need private insurance. I'm here to tell you how that works out in practice, and how it might nearly have cost me my fertility and my life and how it could have prevented my baby from having a needed operation.
Scenario 1: The five-month miscarriage
When my husband, Sam, and I were first trying to conceive, we got pregnant right away, but not all was rosy. I started spotting at 6 weeks and then full-on bleeding with cramps at 10 weeks: a miscarriage. I put off going to my gynecologist, whom I hadn't seen in a long time due to budget constraints. I figured what needed to come out had come out and that there was nothing more to be done. I had a hankering to keep this baby's "birth" natural in any case, but this was aided by the fact that if I went in to a gynecologist, it wouldn't be covered as a preventive visit. It would be an urgent-care visit, which meant I'd be on the hook for the full amount, including any tests and procedures. I'd had problems with this before, even when going in for preventive visits, which were supposed to be covered with just a copay. The doctor, without asking me, would tack on some extra lab work, and the next thing I knew, I'd be getting a lab bill I hadn't budgeted for.
So I stayed home, and I kept bleeding. And bleeding. And bleeding. For five months, I continued charting my temperatures to see when I'd ovulate, and I'd note which days I had spotting. It was nearly all the days in that five-month span, interspersed with what seemed like menstrual periods as well. I fretted. I searched message boards. Surely this was not normal? I called the midwives I'd been hoping to see for my pregnancy. They told me to call my gynecologist. I called Planned Parenthood, hoping for a cheaper option. They told me to call my gynecologist. I finally did, and my gynecologist's office scheduled me for three weeks out. I called back to see if they could see me sooner, and they scheduled an urgent-care visit for that week, but I was so wracked with anxiety about going to an appointment I couldn't afford that I ended up being too late for it, and it was canceled on me. Not too long after, I woke up tortured by the most painful cramps I'd ever experienced. I cried and labored in the shower, took some ibuprofen, then fell back asleep. When I woke up, a chestnut-size piece of tissue lay in my underpants. After passing that tissue, the bleeding stopped from that day forward.
Have you ever tried to pare down your belongings when you have no money?
It takes a steady hand and a brave heart, that's for sure.
I came across Marie Kondo's book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, a little over a year ago, when Karsten was still quite small. I started implementing some of the techniques — picking up objects and determining whether they sparked joy, and even folding my socks the KonMari way — and immediately enjoyed the increased serenity that came with less clutter, less crowding, less need to organize and cram and put away. I am a declutter-o-phile and reforming packrat, and the KonMari options clicked with me.
Some examples:
How I redid the kids' drawers. I love how visible everything is.
My mismatched socks before. I'm NOT KIDDING. These are all SINGLE SOCKS with no mate.
HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? These all went bye-bye.
My sweet little socks and undies afterward, with socks organized and separated by color family.
But … it was around this same time that we realized how little money we had coming in. Sam and I work for ourselves, which means our "paychecks" are unpredictable, so things can sometimes coast for a bit before we realize there's been an income swing. We've always had a dip like this when we've had a new baby, but this one was perhaps deeper because the pregnancy itself was hard as well and we have — count 'em — three children now to care for and homeschool. I don't worry about telling you this, because I trust I've been honest that being self-employed is only for those who can handle some degree of risk, and we are such people. Our income has always been cyclical, so we tightened our belts while we devoted what energy we could to earning more money, and we have pared way, way, way down on spending.
And this is where the KonMari giddiness took a nosedive.
Welcome to the September 2015 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Kids Blogging
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have let their children take over writing and sharing.
Young people today with their Tubes of You. Sam and I both have been surprised at how much pleasure Mikko and Alrik have found in online videos uploaded by amateurs-turned-professionals, on a variety of topics that we'd never have suspected were so popular on YouTube.
Mikko tends toward gaming videos, learning how best to play the Xbox games he adores. It's a form of research — one within reach of an 8-year-old still learning to read fluidly. He can watch walkthroughs and search for specific scenes he needs help on, and he knows his favorite YouTube personalities. He also gets quite a chuckle from game-related humor, such as musical parodies, and unboxing and reviews of toys he's considering saving up his allowance to buy, such as Transformers and Legos.
Alrik's preferences are more arcane. He watches adults act out scenes with children's toys (yes, we have to make sure the channel is appropriate first), he has crushes on personable young ladies who create funny desserts or test out as-seen-on-TV products, he follows along with families who share their daily lives, he views Japanese-language versions of Power Rangers shows, and he loves surprise-egg videos, which were not a thing I knew existed until he found them and decided they were the best ever. For the uninitiated (was I the only one behind the times?), they feature big plastic eggs with thematic toys inside, often blind bags, and usually some cool decoration over the front. Sam made Alrik a My Little Pony egg for his birthday covered in a Play-Doh design of Rainbow Dash, and Alrik was giddy. He'd entered a YouTube video!
It turns out that wasn't enough for him, though, nor for Mikko. Pretty soon, Mikko started telling us we, as a family, should start our own YouTube channel. He decided it was the way of the future, and we needed to get with the times. Alrik was so excited about the idea that he began requesting that we film him opening absolutely anything: a toothbrush, a shower cap, random packages that came in the mail. He quickly began imitating his heroes and chatting merrily to his "fans," showing an innate video personality that was fun to capture on camera.
Welcome to the August 2015 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Life Learners
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have talked about how they continue learning throughout life and inspire their children to do the same.
I dug into my photo archives to bring you
these pictures of pursuing learning as an adult.
One thing being an adult has taught me — even before I ever heard of unschooling or wanted to pursue that for my then-future kids — is that learning never stops. There is no window to learn something that then closes and you don't have a chance anymore — there's always a new opportunity to educate or train yourself.
I did really well in school, kind of too well. By that I mean that I knew how to play the "game" of school — parrot back what the teachers wanted to hear, get good grades on tests, behave properly — and yet I didn't fully understand the point or value of learning for learning's sake until I was nearly out of academia. I'd thought about going for a master's degree, and, not to knock anyone who kept on into higher and higher education, I'm personally glad I decided to stop after my bachelor's. I'd had 19 years of being in school, from preschool on, and it was time to stop schooling and start learning.
It was actually my senior year of college where that thought had (finally!) kicked in: What was beyond for me, the good-grade-earner schoolgirl? How would I find value? How would I prove my worth? Was I able to direct my own life without others determining my path for me?
Welcome to the March 2015 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Day in the Life
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have given us a special glimpse into their everyday.
This month is fun, because I get to give you a peek into what our daily life is like. Sam and I co-parent, co-homeschool, and co-run family businesses. It's an interesting balance!
The day starts before the camera and I are up. Sam wakes early and sneaks downstairs for time by himself to write, a blanket around his shoulders and a glass of coffee at his side.
Meantime, I wake up to this:
Which is not bad at all.
Karsten, 4 months, and I snuggle as he wakes, and then Sam comes to rescue me.
Sam and Karsten head downstairs for a diaper change while I stretch out the kinks in my back from a night of cosleeping and perform my morning ablutions.
Alrik, 3.5 years, gets up around the same time, so Sam carries him downstairs for snuggles and milk in a sippy cup. Once he's more conscious, he helps entertain his little brother.
I thought I'd give a little update on how the big boys are handling a new little brother. In general, Mikko and Alrik (7 and 3 years old) can't stop swooning over baby Karsten.
Now, it's not all fun and games. Mikko's adapting really well. Alrik's much more prone to meltdowns and seems to need a ton of attention from both Sam and me (which is fair).
I've pre-written and scheduled posts for my babymoon as we enjoy the anticipation of our new little one. Responses may be sporadic during this time!
I recently took the boys to see Rio 2 at the $3 theater, a movie about domesticated blue macaws who find a new home back in the rainforest. It was an enjoyable movie (and I wasn't too lost from not having seen the first one…), but as the film progressed, I was struck by the feeling: I've seen this before.
Without spilling much of the plot, suffice it to say that there's an oppositional setup between the noble conservationists and the greedy developers who want to clear cut the Amazon rainforest. It's the classic good vs. evil in children's-movie form.
I live in Washington state and have insurance through LifeWise, bought on the healthcare exchange since I'm self-employed. If you're employed with health benefits or covered under a family member's employer-sponsored plan, you're likely already on one of the newer plans. If you're freelance, you probably know whether you're uninsured or on an older, grandfathered plan (which are not required to meet all the new benefits, including this one), or whether you've purchased one of the new subsidized (depending on income) healthcare plans through the government marketplace for your state. Among the new rules of healthcare reform are a requirement that new plans cover maternity and newborn care (no pre-existing condition exclusions) and that they cover lactation consultation and either the purchase of a retail breast pump or the rental of a hospital-grade breast pump. (If you have Medicaid or WIC or a state-sponsored low-income insurance plan, the Affordable Care Act might not apply to you, but you can still get a breast pump through WIC or possibly your state's Medicaid program.)
Health insurance plans must provide breastfeeding support, counseling, and equipment for the duration of breastfeeding. These services may be provided before and after you have your baby.
…
Your health insurance plan must cover the cost of a breast pump – and may offer to cover either a rental or a new one for you to keep.
Your plan may provide guidance on whether the covered pump is manual or electric, how long the coverage of a rented pump lasts, and when they’ll provide the pump (before or after you have the baby).
Welcome to the September 2014 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Home Tour
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have opened up their doors and given us a photo-rich glimpse into how they arrange their living spaces.
Hello, and welcome to our beach house!
And by "beach house," I mean 1980s condo near the beach. While most people try to upgrade and modernize, we're trying to antique-ify. We love the look of 1920s beach bungalows but the upkeep and lower price tag of a 1980s condo, so we're trying to meld!
Our entryway, with redone tile floors. It took us so much effort to find someone who could do black & white tile the way we wanted. Apparently we're weird?
When entering, the downstairs half-bathroom is on your left, the galley kitchen on your right, and the living space straight ahead, past the stairs leading up to the second floor.
All told, we have 990-ish square feet of living space, and two bedrooms, with soon to be five occupants. Because we're smart about family planning that way.
Le kitchen de galley. (That's the French for galley kitchen.) (It totally is.) (Don't question it.)
If you're eagle-eyed, you'll spot the things we've done … and the things still undone.
There is so much still undone!
We've lived in this place for five years now (wow! time flies!), and it continually astonishes me how much time each renovation project takes, even now that we have some people we hire to help us with all the stuff we're too clumsy and helpless to manage.
I'm 29 weeks along with #3, and it's made me think about how this pregnancy and the expectation of this child have differed from my pregnancies with Mikko and Alrik. Each pregnancy has been special and golden in its own way — here are some highlights of how this one has gone so far.
Everything's less a mystery
But that feels like a good thing. I sometimes have to refresh my memory on whether such-and-such is really a pregnancy symptom or not, but this one has been running similarly to my others, which makes it easier to handle. I remember when Alrik was born, too, having that reassuring sense of been-there-done-that mixed with flashes of "Oh, right, I forgot about that" when it came to newborn care and breastfeeding but then being able to figure it out. It's nice to feel confident.
Looking forward
Speaking of newbornhood, I find this time around, I'm more keenly aware of those little kicking feet in my belly and wanting to meet this sweet little baby. For Mikko, I did want to get to know who he was, but it was all so surreal — it was hard to connect a growing bump with a real, live human with a personality and features, until after he was born. With Alrik, I can't remember feeling all that eager to get him out — maybe because we'd had such difficult newborn days with Mikko, maybe because we had so many renovations to finish before I felt comfortable giving birth. Either way, I just get giddy this time around considering who this little one is going to be and wanting to hold that little squish in my arms!
Welcome to the April 2014 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Family Pastimes
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared stories and wisdom about family pastimes.
We all need time as families to reconnect. Many of our families have parents who are working opposite schedules, or with one out on the job and the other at home. Many of us have kids in school or activities that keep us separated many days of the week.
Our family decided to become intentional about having one day a week we spend solely on each other: Family Day. Does your household have a Family Day?
Sam and I have an unusual lifestyle in that we're both self-employed, and we both unschool (homeschool) our two (soon to be three!) kids. To make that balance, we each need dedicated time to work as well as plenty of opportunity to spend time with our children.
We've decided on this schedule, and it's been working for us for awhile now: Sam takes care of the kids Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday while I work. I take the kids Monday, Thursday, and Saturday while he works. (Sometimes the person working leaves the house for a different location, and sometimes the person taking the kids does, and sometimes the person working just hides upstairs!) This does mean our work days can sometimes be quite long since we get only three of them a week, but it's working out well at this point, and I love that we have this flexibility.
That leaves Wednesday as the best day of the week: Family Day!
I realize for a lot of people, it's probably a weekend day (or days) that ends up being Family Day, but we're happy that most things are open but not crowded mid-week. Might as well take advantage of our unique situation, right?
Let the politicos argue about Obamacare — I'm just happy to report that Health Care Reform has solved those problems!
Back in 2010, here were our choices:
Upgrade our health insurance before conception to a plan that includes maternity coverage, which ended up being one of the two most expensive plans offered by our insurer.
Pay out of pocket for all our prenatal, birth, and postpartum expenses.
I thought this was all horrifically sexist for so few insurance plans to cover maternity — sure, not all of us get pregnant and have babies, but all of us have been babies. It wasn't just penalizing women of childbearing age — it was penalizing the most vulnerable members of our society, the soon-to-be and recently born. I'm so glad someone told the insurance companies they needed to stop being weasels.
With Alrik's pregnancy, we ended up going with upgrading just my insurance to the most expensive plan — so expensive, in fact, that I ended up paying more per month to insure just myself with maternity coverage than we paid to insure the other three family members (once Alrik was born) combined on a non-maternity plan.
Welcome to the March 2014 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Everyday Superheroes
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have talked about the remarkable people and characteristics that have touched their lives. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
When I meet non-homeschooling people who find out we are, I get a lot of the same messages:
Wow, I couldn't do that! You must be really organized.
Well … I dunno. I think it's due to people's lack of imagination for what it might actually be like to live some of these choices. I'm not some amazing superheroic mother or entrepreneur. I just … prefer doing things this way.
Same with home birthing and breastfeeding and babywearing — I'm not a crunchy green superwoman. To be totally honest here, I chose those things because (a) I don't like leaving home and being around strangers, (b) it seemed a lot easier to use a body part attached to me than get out of bed to wash bottles and pump parts, and (c) my arms get tired if I have to carry my baby around all day (and I do).
So … yeah. Taken all together, I'd say I made a lot of my "heroic" choices because — wait for it — I'm lazy. Because they were convenient and made sense to me and were expedient.
To switch things up a bit this month, the Simply Living Blog Carnival cohosted by Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children, Laura at Authentic Parenting, and Joella at Fine and Fair is running a blog hop! Link up all of your old, or new, posts about money. This may be a post in which you talk about how you keep purchases in check to live a more simple life in tune with your goals, about your budgeting skills, how you talk about money with your children, or more. If it deals with money and finances, we want to hear about it. Simply add your link to the handy linky tool below before October 15, 2013.
I've added in a few of my favorite posts about finances and how we make things work, money-wise.
Here's a selection of what I've written about money if you're interested in a particular topic:
The wage gap hurts mothers & babies — women and their wages support their families, and the mothers I know could really put that extra $10,622 per year to good use.
A long time ago, I wrote a quite depressing post on how postpartum sex after Mikko's birth kinda sucked, for a long time. I used words like "chafing" and "neutral" and "no physical sensations of pleasure." It was about nine months after Mikko's birth before I started enjoying myself again.
I thought I really should do a baby #2 update for you, since things were completely, entirely different this time around. Go figure, right?
Warnings once more: TMI up the wazoo & likely NSFW. Let's be blunt, shall we?
I'll go through the topics I covered last time to contrast and compare.
Physical recovery
Once again, I had a vaginal birth without medications or interventions. Well, definitely this time, since Sam and I were the only ones there! I probably pushed too fast in my excitement and surprise that a baby's head was coming out of me before the midwife had arrived, so I did have a little tearing that needed stitches. However, not many, and the pain down there was just sort of twingey. My bidet (!!!) helped a lot with those early days of soothing, and I had postpartum compresses pre-frozen for myself that I lurved. (I should really post my recipes for those sometime!) However, I was quite lochia-y and otherwise feeling worn out from the birth for a couple weeks. My uterus was very stretched out, making it a bit hard to breathe from the pressure on my diaphragm. (I had to lift it up and push it in when I walked for the first week or so.)
Anyhoo, I was much more hesitant this second time around to even attempt anything in the pantsal region (that's a term; look it up) until at least the prescribed six-week waiting period was up. I'm not even sure when exactly we did first re-attempt the horizontal mambo.
I do, however, remember tensing up, bracing myself, waiting, waiting … and … it felt GOOD!
Welcome to the Sunday Surf, a tour of the best blogposts I've read throughout the week.
Mikko desperately wants to set up a lemonade-stand-style business because he loves when people give him money. In addition to a peanut-butter stand (at which you got a taste of peanut butter for 25 cents or a whole jar for 20 dollars), he decided that this sponge cake he bought should be sold at a cake stand for $10 a chopped-up piece. He never actually takes his business outdoors and doesn't seem to understand that fleecing us isn't going to work. Still, I have to admire his self-employed spirit!
Sometimes when I tell people what I give up to be a mother, I feel like defensively assuring them I’m not a martyr. Because I’m not — I choose this, right here, right now, and I know this time with little ones so dependent on me is fleeting. Very eloquent post:
[T]his peace over my voluntary position as a mother has burned as an ember deep inside me from the earliest days, from the first decisions that I made to set aside some of my wants and needs in deference to my children’s needs.Those choices represented an ever-shifting, intricate blend of willing sacrifice and practical necessity.
I think the world would be a better place if we stuck to one acceptable way of commenting on what is on a fellow adult’s plate. That way is “That looks delicious” + some variation of “Where did you get it/how did you make it/does it taste as good as it looks/smells/Is it like this other thing that is also delicious?“
[…]
If people could do that, that would solve 90% of your problem right there. You are the boss of what goes on your plate and into your mouth. Other people are the boss of what goes into their own mouths.
[…]
You’re not that person’s doctor? You’re not their nutritionist? You’re not the parent of a young child talking to that child? You’re not running a proposed dish or a restaurant by a dining companion? Then NOTHING you have to say about what they are eating is important.
This seriously could not be a more beautiful bathing experience for a newborn — you can read the bliss on the baby's face of reentering the familiarity of the womb. Oh!
I'd say it would be lovely to have a bath just like this as an adult, but that makes me think of a recent episode of New Girl and start laughing.
Here are my top three ways to get pinned and repinned on Pinterest!
Carnival news:
Lots of carnivals posting this week, so stay tuned! And, make sure you sign up for the Parenting Blog Carnival Calendar and check out the upcoming due dates:
Check out upcoming carnivals in the calendar below, and click the "plus" button at the bottom to add it to your Google account.
To add carnivals to the calendar, see the static page with an email form that takes you step by step through submitting your carnival information. Any carnivals on topics of interest to natural parenting bloggers are welcome.
Welcome to the Sunday Surf, a tour of the best blogposts I've read throughout the week.
I am visiting my parents this week, and I decided that was a good reason to unplug, destress, and bask in the present with my family. The busyness will come back to us, but it's nice to have these moments, yes?
I've scheduled a lot of posts this week in advance but have been mostly in absentia in truth. And for that reason, I'm going to share just two links that speak to me in this time:
But the pulling gets weaker. After a few days, I forgot to carry my phone with me a couple of times. The information and news that seemed so necessary last week, became more unnecessary, with each passing day. The immediate loses its charm. I started to forget. I began to relearn patience and observation, being present, and how to embrace boredom.
Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen
Thank you to Emily of Embrita Blogging for giving me a video to think about and enjoy. She's always got the best media to share.
At LaurenWayne.com:
Loose vs. lose
The copy editor tackles another pair of commonly confused words! Here they are in a sentence:
It was such a happy surprise to see my baby boy lose his first loose tooth.
Welcome to the Sunday Surf, a tour of the best blogposts I've read throughout the week.
I'd like to preface this with a big Thanks a lot for nothing to Blogger. They switched me over to the new editor, which I'd tried out before but despise. Everything took four times longer, and it messed up my formatting, and, to top it off, it lost all my changes! Lovely.
Sam taught me a hack for getting back to the old editor (for now): Replace blogger.g in the URL with posts.g — booyah!
Anyway, that's why Sunday Surf is so late today. I just had to go to sleep instead of trying to reconstruct at 3 in the morning. I think that was the wise course.
Yesterday the boys took me out to eat and to buy (SECRET) items for my (SURPRISE) birthday party. I don't know what they are AT ALL, except for all the things Mikko blabbed to me.
Four-year-olds love having secrets but are not as down with the keeping of them.
So, yes, tomorrow is my birthday. And our big plans this weekend include continuing to use birthday coupons I've amassed. Same as every birthday. But I like it, for I am easy. Also, a cheap date.
At some point I will be AMBUSHED by the fantastic surprises I don't at all know about. And much merriment will be had by all.
I've already started teaching Alrik some birthday signs in preparation.
I’ve read three interesting variations lately on the topic of television and screen time for kids.
How to Wean Your Child (From TV) at True Confessions of a Real Mommy — if you’re worried about screen time, some low-conflict approaches to unplugging.
TV: a Tool or “The Devil” at Living Peacefully With Children — a middle ground to using television for the good it can bring a family.
Unlimited Screen Time? at The Path Less Taken — on letting go of limits and managing (and enjoying) the results.
Sam and I have had various talks about unplugging the TV, because Mikko lovesit, but here’s the thing: We really, really love it, too. For ourselves, I mean. We’ve been watching TV all our lives, and yet we‘re not unthinking zombies.
So for now, rather than enforcing limits, I’m concentrating on offering alternatives whenever I get that nudging sense that too much TV watching or other screen time is happening (for any of us). Usually an offer to go somewhere or do something fun is more appealing than a show — and if not, then we watch the show!
What’s your take on TV for kids? (You can answer at Tumblr or here.)
Really interesting take on how the princesses’ lives might turn out in the “happily ever after.” How do you relate the stories to your kids (especially daughters) and give a realistic view of human experience?
Beautiful post on honoring our children’s needs and offering comfort at any age, written by Dionna of Code Name: Mama for SortaCrunchy, and featuring one of my poems!
Read the reviews of my poetry book from six fabulous bloggers and enter the group giveaway to win one of SEVEN COPIES! I'm so excited to be sponsoring this giveaway. Please enter, and enjoy!
See that cover at right? --> That's my side boob up on Amazon. Support nursing in public by purchasing your own endorsement — it fits nicely on your bookshelf!
I'm Lauren Wayne, writer and natural parent. I embrace attached parenting with an emphasis toward green living.
Riding the rails with my husband, Crackerdog Sam, and our hobo kids, Mikko Lint Picker (born June 2007), Alrik Irontrousers (born May 2011), and Karsten (born October 2014). Trying every day to parent intentionally and with grace.
Sam and I have worked from home throughout our marriage: first telecommuting, and then owning our own online business of DVD sales. I wrote out our story in Working from home, Part 1 and Working from home, Part 2, if you want the background.
When we were thinking of having kids, Sam and I knew we each wanted two things: to continue pursuing income and our passions, and to raise our kids. Having a family business has allowed us to divide those goals so we each get a share of both of them. We purposely chose this business in particular (after trying and discarding several others over the years) because it gave us the most income for the least amount of stress, leaving us time to share the parenting. 
I came across Marie Kondo's book, 
I'm 29 weeks along with #3, and it's made me think about how this pregnancy and the expectation of this child have differed from my pregnancies with Mikko and Alrik. Each pregnancy has been special and golden in its own way — here are some highlights of how this one has gone so far.
To switch things up a bit this month, the Simply Living Blog Carnival cohosted by Mandy at 
I've added in a few of my favorite posts about finances and how we make things work, money-wise. 
I'm Lauren Wayne, writer and natural parent. I embrace attached parenting with an emphasis toward green living. 
