Crowdsourcing California Adventure (& Friday Links)

We’re taking off and driving south this weekend to take the kids to Disneyland! I’m probably as excited as they are. It was our birthday present to Skyler, who—though her reaction was pretty blazé—has started to look forward to it more since seeing Hudson’s excitement build. This morning she asked me if today we were going to Thailand, so the whole concept is clearly a little unclear.

We’ve taken them to Disneyland before—Hudson when he was still a toddler, and Skyler before she turned three—but we’re staying at the resort for a couple of days and so it will be the first time we’ve taken them to California Adventure. In fact, I’ve only been to that park once, when it first opened. They hadn’t even built Cars Land yet. So I’d love to hear all of your tips for spending a day there. I’ll be sure to report back…

Some links of note… 

How to keep your white canvas kicks clean (aw, reminds me of my Keds-wearing days).

Black artist- and entrepreneur-owned Etsy shops to support, and 13 black-owned small businesses.

This resonates WAY too much.

Practice listening to be better at conversation.

Scandinavian road trip, anyone? (P.S. Our drive on the West Coast of Sweden)

Will you be watching the Olympics? What to eat while imagining your triple salchow.

Also, Molly Yeh’s Olympic-themed cake (if you dare). The video is amazing.

What screen-time experts do with their own kids.

“What I learned from trying (and failing) to quit Instagram.”

The take-home: “Be kind. Read more books. Spend time with your family. Crack jokes. Go to the beach. Hug your dog. Tell that special person you love them.” (No, you’re crying.)

Last-minute and DIY valentine gifts.

For my good friend, Emarie, who loves to swear.

The siren song of balloon sleeves. I think this top might belong in my closet.

Also, last-minute valentines for kids. And a winter-citrus-themed galentine’s dinner.

Zadie Smith: “Racial homogeneity is no guarantor of peace, any more than racial heterogeneity is fated to fail.”

Expanding on that post about odd beauty treatments… a vagina facial.

Our next read for book club. Anyone read it?

Have a great weekend!

P.S. More Disney tips: Skyler’s first trip to Disneyland and a family visit to Disneyworld. Also, staying at the Aulani and making homemade Dole Whips.

Thinking About: Morning Routines

It seems that most of us can expect to have roughly 25,000 mornings in our adult lives.

What do yours look like? Are you happy with your routine?

With the new year tends to come more reflection: How should I be getting my exercise? How should I establish better eating habits? Am I spending my working hours efficiently? Am I doing the work I want to be doing? Am I making the best choices for all of us? How do I balance my daily ambitions against my desire to relish parenthood and be there for all of the kids’ activities?

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Is this normal?: What to expect at every age

Three years ago, at age 3-1/2, our son—a typically sweet and agreeable three year old—seemed to turn into a threenager. Mood swings, battles of opinion, and crying over whether or not a particularly food was whole or broken had me losing my cool more than I’d like to admit.

One day, after a particularly long morning (which is really a mild euphemism for what seemed awful at the time), during which there were a series of proverbial straws (that broke my proverbial back)—grabbing toys from his sister, chasing the dog, hiding under the coffee table when it was time to get dressed, and then being a real curmudgeon when it came to my singing along to the radio—I found myself tearing up while desperately asking advice of a teacher at his preschool. “What is going on?” “Should we be doing more time outs?” “Our pediatrician has suggested counting, what do you think?” (One of the benefits, I’ve found, to sending him to preschool is the sage advice of teachers who each have 20+ years of experience with two-to-five year olds). After assuring me that this too will pass and agreeing that the negative discipline often just makes you end up feeling crummy, she recommended a couple of books. One had the telling title, Your Three Year Old: Friend or Enemy? Then, later that day she texted me: “I just realized he’s exactly 3-1/2. That explains a lot.”

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