With today being our "official" due date (no baby yet!), I thought it'd be neat to share an amazing resource for grandparents (and parents too). Even though our new little one is not the first grandchild on either side of the family, the grandparents are quite excited just the same. In fact, our baby is my Grandma's 24th great-grandchild. "The more the merrier," she says! Grandparents have the best job in the world... limited diapers, permission to spoil, and at the end of the day they go home to a peaceful house with a full night of sleep on the schedule. Plus, they have the wisdom that …
Delight in the Little Things
Thinking Thankfulness
Thanksgiving is nine days away (which means our due date is just seven!). This time of year it's important to enter into a reflective state of gratitude and happiness. Too often Turkey Day sneaks up so quickly and is gone so fast, leaving us in a turkey coma that we awake from in panic about all that needs to be done in the short couple weeks before Christmas. Take a moment this week before the holiday to spend some time being grateful. Kids naturally know how to maintain perspective, aligning their priorities more effectively than even the most effective life coach. Their secret? Time. They …
Be The Free Prize
When I was a kid, my favorite cereal of the moment was usually ranked based on two very important criteria: total sugar content and desirability of the free prize inside. Once in a while, the prize inside was so valuable, you had to save up UPC labels from multiple boxes of cereal and send away for it. And once in a while, my mom let me do just that. I remember one instance when I sent away for a limited edition Emperor Palpatine figurine from the then newly released Star Wars movie, Return of the Jedi. I think I started checking the mailbox the very day we sent out the hand-written …
Halloween Happiness
A surefire way to Escape Adulthood this week is to carve a pumpkin. I know, it seems too simple, but sometimes the simplest ideas are the best ones. On my morning walk (or waddle, as Jason calls it), I love seeing all of the jack-o-lanterns adorning the walkways and stoops of houses in our neighborhood. They bring a smile to my face. When you're living with Adultitis, you often find yourself making excuses for why you are not having that extra fun. You haven't carved a pumpkin yet this fall because... well, it's messy, for one. Plus, you haven't even bought a pumpkin, so you'd have to take …
The Joy of Not Knowing
There is something lacking in our society today. I believe it's one of the reasons Adultitis is so rampant. These days, we are in short supply of anticipation. Remember the days when you'd use most of October to dream up and analyze myriad Halloween costume ideas before settling on the perfect one? Remember using Herculean effort to try and fall asleep on Christmas Eve, even though visions of what might be in Santa's bag made that nearly impossible? Remember fantasizing about what sort of Valentine message you'd get from the person you secretly had a crush on? Anticipation is the …
Tip of the Week: Laugh Attack
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #32: Laugh Attack: Do something that will get you to laugh out-loud (one that puts you in danger of peeing your pants a little bit). It's not news how important laughter is. As Jason says in his speaking programs, "Laughter is the natural stress release valve." Even though it's a challenge these days with bad news everywhere, it's actually more important than ever to be working toward those 400 laughs a day that four-year-olds are managing. With Halloween just four days away, why not have a little fun this week, ensuring …
Tip of the Week: Spoiled Rotten
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #33: Spoiled Rotten: For no reason at all treat yourself to something out of the ordinary. With Trick or Treats coming up in only ten days, it's a good reminder that it's okay to treat yourself every once in a while... just because. In light of the recent financial fears it's more important than ever to recognize that you don't always have to wait for that big trip to Disney Land to get a reprieve from the grind. Life is too short to push off happiness. Take a few minutes to think about something that would make you grin from …
Tip of the Week: Hero For a Day
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #35: Hero For a Day: Do something to make the day of a child. In almost all of Jason's speaking programs he talks about a problem that many adults have, which is that they live by rules that don't exist. One example he gives is how I accomplished Challenge # 11 during our original undertaking of The Escape Plan. I decided to eat dessert first. Why? Because there's no rule saying I can't! It was glorious! In yesterdays intergenerational program (ages 5-105) Jason asked the kids "How many kids here would like to have dessert …
Tip of the Week: Dress Up Day
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #36: Dress Up Day: Accessorize your wardrobe today with a touch of childhood. Jason has always joked that I have never had a problem with this challenge. In fact, sometimes I go a bit too far. (Read about what I was wearing the night Jason and I first met.) Who knew, however, that expecting a baby would end up helping me accomplish this challenge everyday. As Jason mentioned in a recent post, this baby bump is quite the conversation starter. Last week we were in four states in five days, so we were exposed to a number of …
Tip of the Week: Tastes Like Childhood
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #37: Tastes Like Childhood: Eat or drink something today that brings back childhood memories. It's ironic that today is the first day of fall (my favorite season!) This time of year elicits a plethora of childhood memories associated with food... candy corn, apple cider, pumpkin bars, and my ultimate favorite fall treat- homemade caramel apples. Mmm! As a yearly tradition, my mom would pick up a bag of caramels and some apples from the store. My sisters and I would spend what seemed like hours unwrapping each individual …