Enjoying the Small Things

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2022 Easter Basket Stuffer List

February 22, 2022 By Kelle

Next week we’ll usher in March–hopefully like a lamb–and the Peeps and Cadburry eggs have officially hit the Target aisles. You know what that means? It’s time for the annual Easter Basket Stuffer List! I love to start early on these. Assembling my kids’ Easter baskets brings me so much joy, especially when I get a head start and can tuck them away completed without feeling the need to rush to Target the night before. We use Easter Baskets as a great time to stock up on some things that need replenishing–art supplies, bathing suits and flip flops. But with summer adventures and travel not far off, I also use this time to buy art and activity books, card games and little treasures my kids will use and wear throughout the next couple seasons. With that, I give you the 2022 Easter Basket Stuffer List. Happy Shopping!

1 – Stamp Garden Set
Your kids have to wait no longer for spring with this floral stamp kit–everything they need to create their own floral prints prints and patters. Combine with #2 to make a set of spring stationery.

2 – Blank Postcards
This one’s always fun to have around with kids, especially artsy ones. They’re the perfect size for small works of art–painting, stamping, drawing, etc. and fun to send out to family and friends.

3 – Bunny Plush
What’s an Easter without a bunny plush in the basket. This one is the cutest–looks like a real baby bunny.

4 – Andy Warhol Tin Can of Crayons
Crayon storage was never so cool. The perfect size tin to tote crayons for road trips, or keep them displayed in a bedroom or playroom.

5 – 365 Days of Art in Nature
The 265 Days of Art books are the best! Lainey got the Creativity one for Christmas and loved it. This nature one is perfect for upcoming days of outside adventures.

6 – Glass Water Bottle with Silicone Sleeve
Each of my kids have their own color of these water bottles they use at home (instead of pulling a new cup every time they want a drink so there’s 29 cups on the counter at night). They come in so many different colors and create a fun rainbow display on open shelving (The Home Edit uses them too!).

7 – Food Lovers Coloring Book
I’m always on the lookout for interesting creative books we’ll actually want to color in. This one has so many cute drawings that are actually fun to color–great for road trips and rainy days.

8 – Slamwich Card Game
We’re big fans of good card games that slip in a purse or backpack for trips, restaurant waits and more, and we use stocking stuffer time and Easter basket fill-ups to replenish our collection. This one’s a fun one for all ages.

9 – Stretchy Dough Balls (2-pck)
Fidgets are still a hit around here, never failing to thrill.

10 – Pop-it Tetris
Speaking of fidgets, I thought I had seen every kind of pop-it they offer, but this! I had to get this one. We love doing Tetris puzzle races to see who can complete theirs first.

11 – Bunny Ponytail Holders (12-pck)
The cutest spring accessory, and there’s enough in this pack to share with siblings and friends.

12 – Barrel of Monkeys
Another fun game to throw in a bag for restaurant waits, this one’s timeless and a great challenge for all ages.

13 – How to Draw Animals
Dash is very into drawing tutorials lately, so this one’s for him–simple and straightforward.

14 – Quicktionary Card Game
I know, I know–enough with the card games, but we can’t quit. We’re always on the lookout for a new one. I was so excited to find this fun word challenge game from Chronicle, one of my favorite publishers. This one’s for sure coming with us to Michigan this summer.

15 – Watermelon Butter Slime
Exactly when does the slime phase wear off? Because it’s still going strong here. Apparently in the world of slime, butter slime is the luxury version.

16 – Magnetic Tangram Puzzle
A fun little brain challenge for Nella’s basket–and it’s magnetic so perfect for travel (can you tell we have our summer road trip on the brain already?).

17 – Braid Headband
Have a preteen/teen who loves playing around with different hair styles (ahem–Lainey)? These headband breads look super real and come in so many different hair colors. When my hair was longer, I wore mine all the time–my long hair tucked in the back with bobby pins, so it looked like a cute updo.

18 – Jellybean Snake-in-a-Can
For the pranksters. These are never not fun.

19 – Pipe Cleaner Pets Book
Someone messaged me this book, suggesting it for Lainey. Ordered immediately for her basket–she’s going to love it! (the little Friday on the front!)

20 – Cupcake Floss
Maybe they’ll actually floss now.

21 – You Me We Journals
I love this journal so much–a great way to connect with your child and create a forever keepsake. These two identical journals are meant for parent and child to both fill in fill-in to learn more about each other and collaborate on fun.

22 – Bungee Bacon
Fidget bacon you can stretch? My kids dig weird stuff like this–maybe yours do too.

23 – Bunny Wish Bracelets
I love gifts that come in 3-packs and 4-packs for multiple kids. These sweet little wish bracelets have the cutest little bunny charm, perfect for Easter gifting.

24 – Plush Bunny in a Sleeping Bag
They had me with the little old-fashioned bunny, but then they had to blast more cute with the tiny little sleeping bag it tucks into and the teeny tiny clothes.

25 – Magic Playing Cards
Kids can perform ten different magic tricks with this trick deck–has Dash’s name all over it.

26 – Bunny Airpod Case
Lainey’s always thrilled to switch out her Airpod case to something new and cute, so it always makes a great gift for her. This little bunny is perfect for Spring.

27 – We Rate Dogs Game
I smiled so big when I found this game. It’s just the sort of fun my kids will love. You rate dogs in show events and try and knock your opponents’ dogs down in the ranks. And–it’s on sale!

28 – Kids Thermos
Nella and Dash are both due for new lunch Thermoses. I figured the Easter basket is the perfect excuse for new ones, especially if they’re accompanied with fun water bottle stickers that they can use to customize and decorate theirs. Enter #29.

29 – Roblox Water Bottle Stickers
As if I need more Roblox in my life. The kids will love these though. They also have horse stickers! :o)

30 – Scholastic USA Game Tin
Yes, there are a lot of card games on this list, but they bring us so much joy. With upcoming travel on the horizon, they’re so great for trips. At least one’s educational–a fun way to learn state geography and capitals.

31 – Kawaii Writing Stationery
Lainey loves having her own pretty stationery to send notes on or include in her Poshmark packages. These are delicate and spring-themed and priced just right. These would have been nice for the apology letters Nella wrote to her teachers last week too. :o)

 

 

Filed Under: Family, Holiday Leave a Comment

Best Marriage Advice You’ve Ever Received

August 23, 2019 By Kelle

Early this summer, I shared how therapy is strengthening our marriage and why we love it. I asked for the best marriage advice you’ve ever received on Instagram. These are some of my favorite replies. Happy Friday!

Marriage therapy throughout marriage is almost like “well visits”–helps stop problems, helps build a strong foundation. @_natasha_ann_

Go to bed angry! If we get mad or upset, instead of trying to hash it out at night, we rest. Sleep. And generally when we wake up, we either forget we were angry or it doesn’t matter enough to start being angry about it again. @littleavalyn

Think as a long term investor, not as a get-rich-quick day trader. Bad days, bad months, even bad years do not equate to a bad life. Keep investing and trust that it will grow. And the best life motto is also the best marriage motto: Be kind to one another. @greenthumbinpuzzler

A marriage doesn’t need agreement to survive, but rather, empathy. Don’t assume your spouse knows you’re empathetic towards him. Actually say the words, “I would feel that way too if I believed what you believe.” @kayla_gray00

Before I got married, a divorced friend of mine said to never threaten divorce, even jokingly. I’ve always remembered that. @kwriddick

When you stop working on your marriage, your marriage stops working. @wahinekehau

Give each other space and time. Encourage your partner to be an individual and do your own thing as well. Don’t get caught up in marriage and loose yourself. Remember to never let go of who you are. Take care of yourself so you can take care of each other. @mdvanriper

You will fall in and out of passion. Many people mistake that for falling out of love. But when you make the effort to be friends and partners, love is an action, not a feeling; and that passion will always come back around. Some days you feel like you are looking at a stranger, so just do the next right thing. @meganjeffery3171

Best marriage advice is also my best life advice: anger is almost always rooted in fear. Keep digging for it and you’ll find they aren’t mad at you, they are scared of something bigger. @joniedelman

You don’t have to say everything you think. @abharward

 

 

Filed Under: Family, Parenting 9 Comments

A Few Things I Learned from Middle School

August 21, 2019 By Kelle

I spent an hour yesterday priming the chalkboard wall in Lainey’s room, painting over her friends’ signatures and rainbow doodles that have represented these past two years. I’ve loved that chalkboard wall–an artistic canvas and a billboard of her thoughts, so many of them that say “I’m still just a kid.” But she’s ready for something a bit more sophisticated or “modern” as she’s requested. She wants black and white like her cousin’s room with millennial decor touches like succulents and candles and geometric art. So I’m following her lead, happy for the opportunity to scratch my decorating itch and right in line with what I’ve promised I will be for her, especially during these middle school years…embracing of the changes.

The beginning of seventh grade this year has been a smooth transition, a welcome shift from the beginning of last year. Last year we went from the bubble of the most wonderful elementary school where everyone felt like family, and parent participation was welcome and celebrated; to a jolting they-need-to-grow-up environment where doors keep parents out and kids are encouraged to advocate for themselves. While I agree for the most part with the importance of self advocating and letting kids fail, the drastically different middle school environment was a hard pill to swallow for a long time. I cried every day after drop-off for the first two weeks last year. But it got better, we learned so many things and had wonderful friends and teachers who helped make sixth grade as good as it could be given the circumstances. I’d be lying though if I said I’m not putting a giant check mark through sixth grade as the first in a “1-down, 2-to-go” hold-your-breath, get-‘er-done experience. Speaking of, this was hilarious.

Middle school isn’t just new to me as a parent; it’s new to me, period. I was homeschooled from middle school through high school, so I don’t have much to go on. However, I can offer great advice on how to quickly change the channel back to your trigonometry VHS so your mom doesn’t know you were really watching Saved by the Bell during.

Here’s a few things I learned about parenting through middle school.

Don’t be fooled by this “They need you less stuff.” They need you more.
Sure, they might not need you to send notes to their teachers anymore because they’re talking to them themselves, but don’t be fooled. They need you more now than ever. The big life questions begin–the complicated social situations, the exposure to real life stuff they’ve been protected from, all the internal dilemmas–“Who am I?”. I feel the responsibility to be on, present, listening and supportive more now than I ever did when she was little. You may have pulled the training wheels completely off their bikes because they’re riding on their own, but now the real work begins because you have to run faster to stay beside them while they pedal. Pay attention.

It’s okay for things not to be perfect.
We were lucky in elementary school to love all of our teachers. If something ever felt off, I e-mailed or called to schedule a meeting, and it was amended in no time. Making sure Lainey had the most loving, supportive environment to learn was an important goal, and it was always met. Now she has more teachers, and while we had a few who stood out as remarkable last year, we didn’t love them all. But I didn’t jump to fix it as quickly as I would have in elementary school because, as long as it’s not majorly affecting learning, I want her to learn how to handle not-so-good teachers too. She’s not going to love every boss she ever works for, and she’s going to need to know how to work through that.

Stay in the know.
It takes a village. Stay connected to it. My kid is a girl of few words which is great for staying out of drama. But I still like to know what’s going on at school and in friend circles beyond her “everything’s fine” answers. Staying connected to other parents–even for things as simple as projects kids are working on for school–helps me understand a broader picture of her world so I can support her appropriately.

Compliment them A LOT.
Sometimes I think I’m subconsciously aware that my time is running out for packing Lainey with all the things I want her to know which compels me to shell out advice. Middle school years are easy targets for parents to try and fix things, but that can come across as fixing them–pointing out things they could do differently. These middle school years are also the prime years for self confidence building though, and I am often reminded of the imbalance of my compliments/advice. Middle school has heightened my awareness of the importance of compliments. Let them know you notice all their amazing qualities. Specifically point them out. Tell them how proud you are that you can trust them. Don’t take for granted that they’re responsible, that they study without being reminded, that they’re kind to their siblings, that they keep their room clean. Point it out. Internally, at this age, they could very well be comparing themselves with everyone else. Your authentic compliments and reminders of their gifts could very well be turning down the volume of those comparisons.

It’s Going to Get Better.
All those This is the Most Tragic Thing Evers that feel so overwhelming at the time? They aren’t going to last as long as you think they are. If there’s anything we learned last year from experience, it’s that the things that felt so BIG as we were heading into them actually turned out to be completely surmountable–maybe even good. “This too shall pass” is the tattooable phrase that will carry you through middle school.

Filed Under: Family, Parenting 12 Comments

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