Kids Archives - The Inside of Life

The Greatest Gift of Social Isolation: Time

April 8, 2020April 8, 2020 Melissa AtLee

Photo by Christopher Paul High on Unsplash.

This is a strange, strange season we’re living in. Never in my life has the entire world shared one single focus: the eradication of the COVID-19 virus. Here in Canada, we’ve been practicing social isolation for close to a month, and counting. As a family of six with a newly minted teenager, we have already had our share of intense, angst-ridden moments. The extroverts are bouncing off the walls and the introverts are craving some real alone time. We miss our extended family and our friends. And I really, really need a haircut.

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Family, Kids, Marriage

The Perks of having Mom in bed

January 6, 2020January 6, 2020 Melissa AtLee

This has pretty much been me for many, many weeks. Photo by Rex Pickar on Unsplash .

Confession: I have been at low-functioning capacity (ie. in bed a lot) for a combined total of 28 weeks in the past year and a half. While this state of affairs has not been ideal, I have had plenty of time to reflect that it hasn’t come without its blessings. Because, while it has been a period filled with anxiety, worry and suffering, it is undeniable that much fruit has been borne from the pain. Every cloud truly comes with a silver lining.

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Family, Kids, My favorite things

Watch this: The Nativity Story

December 30, 2019January 3, 2020 Melissa AtLee

Keisha Castle-Hughes as Mary and Oscar Isaac as Joseph in “The Nativity Story”.

Merry Christmas, dear friends! We are now right in the middle of the Christmas season, which ends on the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6). So while it looks like I’m publishing this post a tad late, it’s not late at all!

One of our favorite (and easy) traditions during Christmas is to watch movies. It’s not something that we do often, so it’s truly a treat to gather together under cozy blankets and watch family movies while drinking hot chocolate. While there are a few good movies which capture the spirit of the season (It’s a Wonderful Life and The Sound of Music are musts), for a while there weren’t any movies which actually told the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Isn’t it strange and sad that among the myriad of so-called Christmas movies, hardly any of them mention the reason for the season?

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Kids

What to give to kids who have everything

December 15, 2019December 16, 2019 Melissa AtLee

Around this time of year, one the most common questions we moms ask one another is, “what meaningful gifts can we give our kids for Christmas?”, quickly followed by “how can we keep the grandparents from giving a truckload of presents to our kids?”. Because let’s face it. We live in a society where our kids have everything they need, most things they want, and a ton they don’t need or want. And in our world of plenty, we see our kids develop attitudes of greed, entitlement and ennui. These are not qualities that any parent of good standing desires in their children, surely.

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Education, Family, Kids, My favorite things

How to Observe Advent like a Boss

November 29, 2019November 29, 2019 Melissa AtLee

Look at this beautiful image of the Annunciation. I wonder where it is?
Photo by Simon Matzinger on Unsplash.

For those of us who live on this (commercialized) part of the planet, we often confuse the end of Hallowe’en with the beginning of the Christmas season. Secular Christmas decorations show up in the stores before we put the carved pumpkins in the garbage bin. People excitedly begin to light up their homes and radio stations start playing Christmas tunes. All of which make my inner Grinch come out.

Now please don’t get me wrong. I love Christmas like any normal, Jesus-loving person does, and I do love the lights and the trees and all the feasting. But did you know that before Christmas there is the beautiful, month-long season of Advent? Advent is a time of contemplative preparation, a time of anticipation of the epic event that is the birth of our Savior. As someone once explained to me, Advent is to Christmas what Lent is to Easter. I love the idea that we can unite ourselves with Mary and accompany her as she patiently awaits the arrival of her precious baby. Having had the privilege of happily awaiting the birth of each of my children, I keenly feel the sacredness of this expectant season and I wish for our family to enjoy it as fully as possible.

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Family, Kids, Self-care

Need a laugh? Check out these Funny People

November 21, 2019November 28, 2019 Melissa AtLee

It’s been a rough couple of weeks. One of my kids and I are currently engaged in a brutal game of who-can-push-the-other’s-buttons-the-most. Super fun. Another kid has major disobedience/tantrum/sloth-like issues. I feel like I’m constantly running against the clock, wrangling the offspring to convey them to the next scheduled activity. As a result, I’ve got a bad case of the grumpies, which doesn’t make anything easy on the home front. Sigh sigh sigh.

While I figure out how to sort out this period of chaos and intense emotions, I’m reminded that one of the best ways to get out of a grumpy mood is to laugh. I also need a reminder that while family life sometimes makes me cry, it also has its hilarious moments. No one illustrates this better than a good comedian. Have you heard of Michael McIntyre, Jim Gaffigan, Jason Manford and Sindhu Vee? They are amazing stand up comedians who have had me in stitches over the realities of marriage and parenting. The fact that three out of the four hail from Britain only points to my obsession with all things British.

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Education, Family, Kids, My favorite things, Self-care

My Favorite Things: What is Leisure, Teaching Manners, why Graphic Novels count as Reading, and Bake this Cake

October 24, 2019November 6, 2019 Melissa AtLee

This scrumptious Almond Cranberry Cake is definitely one of my favorite things. From a Taste of Home.

Starting the Homeschooling Year on the Right Foot

Have you heard of homeschooling burnout? Many moms experience it in the bleak month of February when the weather is frigid, noses are forever runny and it’s just been too many days of nonstop math and spelling. But not me! I actually burn out the second week of September. We haven’t even cracked open all the books and I already want to quit. I’ve thought a lot about why this happens to me. I’ve realized that I get incredibly ambitious and excited about our new academic goals, only to feel deflated and defeated when my offspring don’t share in either my ambitions or enthusiasm. Huh.

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Family, Kids

What I did last summer: Family Camp

September 30, 2019November 7, 2019 Melissa AtLee

Tug-of-war. “We play to win, and we know how to lose.”

Summer. It’s time to relax, reconnect with friends, and revel in the all-too-brief warm weather. As a homeschooling mom, it’s an opportunity to break from the intensity of the academics and focus on my relationships with my children. Yes, I know that I should be working on those relationships all year round, but it’s so much easier when I don’t have to ask/cajole/bribe/force my kids to do their math and practice their piano.

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Family, Kids, Marriage

Back to normal…sort of

September 12, 2019November 7, 2019 Melissa AtLee

Hello dear blog, how are you? It’s been forever since I paid any attention to you. I had grandiose visions of dedicating more time to my little blog over the summer. I thought that not homeschooling meant more time for other things, like writing. Isn’t there a Yiddish proverb that goes Man plans, God laughs? Wise words.

In many ways, the summer was amazing. In July, the big boys enjoyed summer camps and camping trips with Dad. We started a few renovations to improve the main floor of our home. The hubby and I even enjoyed a romantic weekend getaway.

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Family, Kids

Musings from my 12-yr Residence in Diaper Land

June 13, 2019July 3, 2019 Melissa AtLee

The infamous potty training chart. Good times, good times.

This post is for all you mammas of pre-potty-trained toddlers. This year we are celebrating a very special milestone in our parenting journey. For the first time in 12 years, we are diaper-free! Honestly, we never thought the day would arrive.

Before potty training becomes a fond, distant memory, I’ll share my humble thoughts about it all. While we were in the midst of it, I found it an intense, exasperating, and sometimes hopeless experience. This may sound extreme but it is, to this day, one of the hardest things I’ve done as a parent. And then, one day, the kid gets it. And then, another day, he goes to the toilet without you having to prod him like a broken record. Then another glorious day, he stops wetting at night! It really does seem magical. It’s like learning how to read, except way messier.

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