Monty Python movies.


12-15



Ditch the serving bowls, plates, tablecloth and utensils. Cover middle of table in tinfoil for the food. Give each kid a tinfoil placemat in lieu of a plate. Let them eat with their fingers. (Works great with spaghetti, chicken, ribs, shrimp, etc. Try it with ice-cream and cake for a birthday party!


3-6



Parent the way you want your children to behave. Compassion, patience. Loving.


1, 2, 3, 4



Invest in a laminator, a label maker and a glue gun. You’ll be glad you did!


5



“Tell me something you want to be when you grow up.”


5, 8



“If you want to be beautiful, make beautiful choices.” - (Greek philosopher whose name I can’t remember.)


10, 13, 17, 21



You can’t ask someone to change who they are before you live or accept them.


12, 15, 21



Re-Read "Girls and Sex: Navigating the New Landscape" by Peggy Orenstein.


13



Teach them about the law and how it applies to them: Here's what happens if you hurt someone, steal, drive drunk, use or sell drugs, sexting, etc.


12



Anger is the bodyguard of sadness.


14



Plants eat sunlight. Eat mostly plants.


14, 17, 21



If you get comfortable telling little lies it will be easier to tell big lies. Tell the truth, even on small matters. (Except if your friends ask if they look fat. Then it’s okay to lie!)


13, 18, 21



Do feel like you’re where you’re supposed to be?


19, 21



When you’re at home in your own skin you invite people to be at home in theirs too.


14, 20



Big secret to happiness: Let other people talk sh*t about you. They have a right to an opinion and you have the right to ignore it. The only standards you have to live up to are your own.


12, 14, 17, 21



Be kinder than necessary.


9, 15, 21



Three things you cannot change: The past, the truth, someone else.


18



Sometimes, no matter how great a thing is it can’t make up for what it’s not.


14, 19, 21



Watch Ted Lasso together.


16



Sometimes it’s easier to describe what a thing is *not* than to describe what it is.


14, 21



A red brow line is an early sleepiness cue. If you notice the skin around baby’s eyebrows seems red, they’re ready for a nap.


Infant-1



take advantage of the bike trail. Bike places as a family.


11



When setting off fireworks...Keep a hose or a bucket of water nearby. Also remember Costco is a great place to buy them!


5, 7, 9



Read up on the adolescent brain.


11, 13



“Courage is cheaper than Channel. It works better too.” - Scott Galloway


14, 15, 16, 21



Respect people’s boundaries / quirks. Someone who “doesn’t fly” may have fear of enclosed spaces due to anxiety or past trauma. Someone who doesn’t drink may have had a parent who was an abusive alcoholic. Don’t laugh, question or prod. If they want to talk about it, fine. Otherwise just accept their boundaries.


15, 21



Sad but important fact: You’ll never be enough for some people. Never. -Chasten Buttigieg


18



Talk about what’s normal and what’s abnormal reactions to alcohol and drugs. Basically all kinds of feels from euphoria to paranoia to jealousy or infatuation, etc. Getting sick is normal but blacking out is not. *Anything that could interfere with breath or circulation is dangerous.


13, 15, 17



There is an expression “God only gives you what you can handle.” I think that’s backwards. I think that God gives you the grace you need to handle whatever comes your way. He is faithful and generous. I think that’s what “Be not afraid” means.


17



“But what is grief if not love preserving?” - Unknown


18