avatar by on August 31, 2011   •   53 Comments Kids: Developing Character Your Family

Character On Aisle Nine

Written by fatherhood contributor Shaun Groves.

Mom and I grabbed a cart on our way from parking lot to grocery store. We passed through the automatic sliding doors together, cooled from the Texas heat by the immediate welcomed whoosh of AC.

A good way through our list, we saw her.

Bent over at the shoulder blades. Hair that shade of pinkish silver denial. Spotted hands on the crossbar of her shopping cart, pushing hard against it. Wrestling her way down the aisle in a losing battle against a wobbling stubborn wheel.

I passed by. But my mother? She stopped.

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avatar by on August 28, 2011   •   4 Comments Links

Weekend Links

Thank you so much for all the great feedback about my new e-book, One Bite at a Time. I’m so glad (and humbled) that you like it!. Many of you have asked when it’ll be ready in Kindle or Nook format. I was honestly going to wait until later in the fall, but so many of you are requesting it that I’ll move its creation closer to the front edge of my plate. I’ll let you know soon when it’s ready! In the meantime, you can easily upload PDF documents to your e-reader from your computer’s desktop (just FYI).

I’m giving away ten copies of my other book, Organized Simplicity, to readers who bought the e-book on my birthday (Friday)! Here are the winners:

  • Alyssa N.
  • Patricia H.
  • Rebekah M.
  • Stacy K.
  • Teresa F.
  • Lori M.
  • Susan H.
  • Jessica I.
  • Karen K.
  • Arianne S.

Congrats! Look for an email from me in your inbox soon. And thanks again for your support in buying the book—I’m honored.

“There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age 11.” -Dave Barry

avatar by on August 26, 2011   •   103 Comments Personal Growth You

One Bite at a Time

This thing has been about a year in the works, and I hope you’re as excited about it as I am. Today, I’m popping a bottle of wine and celebrating my hard work on this project for the past month. Oh, and it’s also my birthday today. This calls for nothing less than a little giveaway!

Sometimes, simplifying can feel… complicated. Isn’t that weird? We make “living simply” such an ordeal. We think of all those things we know to do, and we try to start them all at once. And then we get overwhelmed, and then we fail. And then we think we can’t do this “simple living” thing.

It’s like we just need something that tells us what to do, in manageable, bite-sized steps.
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avatar by on August 24, 2011   •   34 Comments DIY Your Home

DIY : Finishing What We Start

Written by DIY contributor Katie Clemons of Making This Home.

I’m a serious do-it-yourselfer. If we need a new blanket for the bed, I’ll start sewing a quilt. If we need bread for sandwiches, I might start making a loaf of bread. Now my husband and I need a place to live, so we’re remodeling an old airplane hangar all by ourselves.

It’s so easy to get excited about DIY projects! (Perhaps this is why I’m the DIY Contributor here at the awesome Simple Mom, huh?) It’s cheaper! It’s creative! It’s so much more fun!

But so many of our DIY projects are not getting done.

DIY is in my blood. Unfortunately, finishing my projects isn’t. You too? Do you have half-done knitting projects? Half-painted trim? A half-weeded garden?

Artist and songwriter Piero Milani said, “Why should I buy expensive art when I can make my own.”

Half-finished projects often end up being a huge waste of our time, money, and emotional happiness. It can be really hard to break the cycle. (But trust me – it’s so worth it when you do.)

So here’s what I propose for finishing the DIYs we start.
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avatar by on August 22, 2011   •   36 Comments Productivity You

The Second New Year

This time of year is akin to a second new year for parents. A new school year, new fall commitments, extracurricular activities, and an eventual change in season all make it feel like a new horizon around the bend.

It gets me in the mood to reevaluate how we’re doing as a family. To start fresh with new routines and habits. To prepare mindfully for the busy season ahead.

But if you’re like me, it’s all kind-of ironic—these things are meant to help simplify life, but instead, they feel like one more thing to do. These to-do list add-ons eventually make life more stressful, not simpler.

After the summer season, I want to dust off menu plan, wake up early enough again to have alone time, and regularly commit to weekly family meetings with Kyle. But when I try to do all those things, all at once, I stop before I start. It’s too much. I’m overwhelmed.

I’ve got a little something-something up my sleeve, and I’ll pull back the curtain this Friday. Its launch date is to celebrate my birthday, but it’s also deliberate: it’s the Second New Year for us parents. A fresh start feels good right now.
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