Around February each year we have a SOUPer bowl potluck at work. People pitch in to bring in soups and stews and various breads. It’s fantastic. Someone last year brought a muffin tin from home to try all the different soups

I get gas on Friday mornings, every second or third week. I leave a little earlier and if I’m a little late to work, who cares. And when I’m at the gas station I get myself a little something extra too

I definitely plan to allow as much freedom as developmentally appropriate as she gets older. As it is now I try to make sure she has time to play independently and with friends and I try to not intervene too much when she has minor issues. She has even asked for privacy or that she wants to be by herself and I always respect that within reasonable limits.

I did not enjoy the anxious generation book. There were a few small parts that I liked, but it’s why I started reading other books instead. My school district was all about the anxious generation and wanted us to read it. I did, but wanted a broader perspective.

My kid is 3 but this has been a big issue on my mind lately. I’ve read The Anxious Generation, The Screentime Solution, and The Art of Screentime over the past 9 months (with some other tech-adjacent books). My husband has also recently had a turn-around on tech for kids. I think our big thing is no personal devices for the little one for a long time. Family computer in a common area. Family cellphone that can be used when she’s not with us. Family tv in the living room. Family iPad that is used for specific tasks.

I stayed at one once that offered a few granola bars and maybe some fruit. If you didn’t grab them quick enough it was gone and the staff wouldn’t replenish them.