Parenting hack: Toy Jail

There has been a lot of talk around our house about natural consequences. If you don’t eat, you’ll be hungry. If you forget your coat, you’ll be cold. And if you don’t put your toys away, I will.

Wait, what? Yes, I will put them away. But my way. Which means you may or may not find them again.

I’ve been seeing a clever parenting tip going around lately, that gets more specific.

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Thanksgiving frills: Special-occasion tops

When it comes to dressing for Thanksgiving—and really all of the dinner dates and gatherings that tend to happen around this time of year—it’s more likely that I’ll reach for a special top to pair with pants than I will a dress.

Lately, I’ve been loving all of the silky, frilly, high-collared options cropping up, so here are some favorites of those—and some others I’d like to add to my closet for the holiday season. (I may have gotten a bit carried away.)

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The Weekly Digest

The kids had today off for a teacher work-day—making this a sort of surprise four-day-weekend. It was a surprise because every other year they’ve done it the Monday before Veterans day… alas a trip to Monterey last weekend, for which we took the kids out of school. Whoops! But we’re content to stay close to home this weekend—there will be birthday parties and farmer’s markets and I’ve signed the kids up (with some nudging) for a choir workshop on the holiday.

I was reading through my feed and there are so many black Friday sale notices mixed in with the Veteran’s holiday ones. That and all of the notices about Oprah announcing her holiday list, plus all of the catalogues pouring in can be so overwhelming! I know I will be gearing up for gift guides myself, so I’m not one to talk, but it’s hard not to get swept up in the pressure to shop—earlier and earlier. I read somewhere that having Thanksgiving fall so close to the end of the month cuts down the retail season—which cuts significantly into retail margins—and that’s why all of the added effort to move things up. I definitely feel it.

I’m curious, how much do you plan ahead for all of these big sales?

Enjoy the long weekend! And some links…

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