Healthy Expat Parent

5 ways to regroup/chill/get over it when everyone is at home sharing that trickle of internet and what little space you may have.  I know, I know, you need more links like you need a hole in the head but ... let's get you a little less wound-up.

1.  Dance party.  5 minu...

It’s completely surreal: I’m sitting here in our amazing oasis of a yard, green all around me, with the different colors of all of the beautiful flowers softly waving in the breeze and I am watching the boys run around and goof off in the pool.  (Yes, we have a small p...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlPhMPnQ58k

(this is a very good but very sad song that reminds me of other places, other people, other things that I miss hugely.  Not to say I don't love where I am and who I am here with, but it doesn't, and it can't include all that I...

Weight is a topic that many people don't like to address, don't like to think about, and yet we worry about it.  We worry about it for our own bodies, for our families, and in general.  There are any number of myths and misconceptions floating around about weight; it i...

Did you notice this month was all about communication?  This year, I am trying for monthly ‘themes’.  My goal.  :)

Let’s talk about one of the most important forms of communication you experience: your inner voice.  This little voice is literally one of the lo...

It’s like the world is in fast-forward.  We rush rush rush and we forget, sometimes, to give feedback and, yes, accolades.  In general, but most importantly to those who we love and who deserve it most.  We forget that sometimes a verbal pat on the back and acknowledge...

One of my favorite things is the end of the work/school day, and checking in with my kiddos, and hearing about their day.  I can tell from their satisfied expressions, grubby/sweaty clothing, and grass-stained knees that they have had a busy and active day.  So when I...

There are THOSE words that you say that you can just toss out there almost without even thinking, and they really aren't worth a lot.  You know, the ones that you can say without actually listening (when your boys are going on and on and on about who they think is the...

There are many versions of this tale originally by Hans Christian Andersen (ours, for example, is illustrated with penguins dolled up - or not - in their finery).  The bottom line of this story regarldess of illustration is always the same: self-deception.  It takes a...

We try — as parents, as teachers, and those of influence — to teach those to whom we try to impart knowledge or ideas to celebrate our differences, to demonstrate to our kids how different is good, and how no one color or religion or culture is 'best'.  It is one of ou...

"Study Nature. Love Nature.  Stay close to Nature.  It will never fail you." ~ Frank Lloyd Wright.

This book is probably not much of a surprise: I love my green spaces, I love being outdoors.  And honestly, who wouldn't love to be surrounded by truffula trees? This...

This is probably one of my favorite books, and one I have used in many lessons.  In this book, The Lion and the Little Red Bird by Elisa Kleven, we meet two creatures who become improbable friends through their time together and a shared love of art.  The bird loves th...