Search Results for: blog learning to laugh at ourselves

Some Days…There is Nothing to Do but Laugh

I know that we all “know” in theory that laughter is pretty much a cure-all and when times get tough and stressful—laughter can be the very best medicine indeed. As a single parent, however, we might be tempted to take everything very seriously—after all, a great deal is often riding on our shoulders. But there are those times when things can get so kooky and out of whack that the only sane thing we really can do…is laugh. Life can be pretty darn hilarious and life with children can be hilarious on a fairly regular basis—between the silly sayings, irony, … Continue reading →

Laughing Through the Challenging Times

My little family received a compliment from one of my eldest daughter’s friends the other day. He said that he liked being around our family because we “always found a way to laugh and have a good time, even when things were chaotic and stressful.” While I think we tend to take our senses of humor for granted, and I sometimes even worry that we can turn to humor TOO often, it was nice to hear someone else’s “take” on one of our family strengths. If there is one thing parenting and family life has taught me, it is that … Continue reading →

Learning to Laugh at Ourselves

There is a difference between teasing, picking on someone, making fun of them, and just learning to not take things so seriously. We can help our kids develop a sense of humor and learn how to laugh at themselves–not by teasing and poking fun at them, but by modeling our own ability to laugh at ourselves and helping them to appreciate the silliness and humor in every day life. I do not think that people are born with a sense of humor. How’s that for a dramatic statement? I think it is something that is learned and shaped over the … Continue reading →

Creating a Learning Atmosphere

When it comes to the spiritual atmosphere in our home, we can create one that is either conducive to learning, or not. Some of the responsibility for such an atmosphere lies on us as parents; some of it lies on our children. As parents, we have a more direct role than an ordinary teacher in controlling what habits our children learn. When we work to create a learning atmosphere, and take the time to raise our kids in it, then they will also take the steps necessary to maintain that atmosphere. How We Can Contribute to a Learning Atmosphere In … Continue reading →

More Monopoly as a Learning Tool (Here and Now Version)

Tristi Pinkston recently wrote about how she used Monopoly as a Learning Tool while homeschooling. My son purchased Monopoly Here and Now for a family Christmas Gift, and today we sat down and played it… for 6 hours. We did not watch the television, or listen to music, we just sat and played and laughed and competed heavily. Just as Tristi and her family learned a great deal of lessons while playing, we did as well. The cool thing about the Here and Now version of Monopoly is that a few zeros were added to the monetary denominations and the … Continue reading →

The Marriage Blog’s New Millenium

Good morning! Welcome to our 1,000th post here in the marriage blog and let me tell you, it feels so weird to say we’ve been here for a 1000 different entries tackling everything from wedding planning to problem solving to dating and more. It’s been a real pleasure for me to be writing for this topic for nearly a year now and to share it with such an awesome co-blogger as Sherry Holetzky. With that in mind, we thought we’d offer a small treat for our 1,000th blog and we interviewed each other. So without further ado, let me present … Continue reading →

We Are All New At Parenting

Posted on by

It’s such a beautiful day today. I took a walk around my neighborhood just enjoying the day, watching all the little ones out playing in the sunshine as their mom’s hovered close by. It’s so cute to watch people interact with their toddlers. We all try to reason and use logic and all that toddler can think is I. Want. it. Now. As I walked I saw one of the moms shoot me an embarrassed smile as her tiny little one threw a tantrum. I smiled back, thinking how hard we all are on ourselves as mothers. We want our … Continue reading →

Working Through Situations With Your Intense Child

If you are not a temperamentally intense person, it can be difficult to understand a temperamentally intense child. I am definitely not what you would call an intense person, I’m pretty easygoing and generally go with the flow. Dylan, on the other hand, is very intense. He reacts to things, both positive and negative, in a very strong way. It is never difficult to know what he thinks about something. Children with intense temperaments bring a depth of experience into our worlds that we have not previously known, if we are not intense ourselves. When they laugh, it comes from … Continue reading →

How Did Your Family Wear The Trends of Their Generations?

At this time of the year, when many of us are shopping for gifts for relatives, we are learning a lot about what the current trends for toys and fashion are. A fun idea for a family history scrapbook is to focus on what the trends were when you, your parents, and your grandparents were growing up. Looking at old photographs is a great way to get started, and you can also find a lot of great information online. For example, I was born in 1978 and my sister was born in 1980. Certain toys stand out in my mind … Continue reading →

Uncle “I Don’t Know”

Posted on by

One of the joys of being around family is the amount of humor that generally results. I’m not certain from where this quality derives (be it an amount of relaxation, no need to impress, or something else), but it is certainly an ever-present situation with our families. There is a general feeling that people don’t censor themselves very much. This results in humor for obvious reasons. People are more likely to say or do things that others would find risky in other situations. As my father has said many times, “If you can’t make fun of your family, who can … Continue reading →