One of my eldest daughter’s treasured Christmas presents this year was a 24-pack of play dough that she received from one of her best friends. Now, this probably isn’t news or even slightly interesting to most parents, but my eldest will be seventeen in a matter of weeks. On Christmas day, as a matter of fact, she and my second daughter (who will be sixteen) scooted off the red holiday dining room tablecloth and played with the play dough for close to an hour. It was amazing all the very creative little sculptures they came up and I was pretty … Continue reading →

When my children were small, keeping them entertained and amused while we were running errands, going to appointments or even visiting relatives was a huge challenge. As most of you know, bored kids cause trouble. The more bored they get, the crankier they get and soon, everyone is crabby and stressed and the outing is a bust. I stumbled across journals as one way to keep kids entertained and focused when were out and about. We made a big fuss over our “journals.” For my kids, since many of the adults in their lives (mom, grandparents, etc.) kept both writing … Continue reading →

We chat a great deal amidst and amongst these blogs and forums about the work of parenting–the have tos and shoulds and oughtas, but as I’m sitting here this morning in my crispy, crunchy sunny Pacific Northwest, I am actually thinking about days off, holidays, vacations, trips to the park, silly games, dates, outings and PLAY…why not a little focus on more play? Everything has to be so very organized–I’m the first person to stand up and confess that my name is Kori and I completely over-organize everything. Regardless of how naturally spontaneous I may be in the very core … Continue reading →