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Parenting

10 Calming Strategies for Kids | If you're looking for tips to help improve your child's self-regulation at home, we're sharing 10 simple ideas that help. If your little one struggles with impulse control and big emotions, and finds it hard to calm down when triggered, these tools help prevent emotional outbursts and teach kids how to exercise appropriate self-control. Inspired by the Zones of Regulation and Social Thinking curriculums, these behavior management strategies for kids work!

Self-Regulation at Home: 10 Calming Strategies for Kids

12 Stress Relief Activities for Moms Who Feel Overwhelmed | If you're looking for quick and simple calming activities to help you destress, we're sharing 12 fun and creative ways to relax. This list includes things you can do on your own, as well as fun ideas you can do with your kids to help you reset when emotions are high. These also double as anger management activities for women!

12 Stress Relief Activities for Moms Who Feel Overwhelmed

How to Host a Virtual Birthday Party for Kids | Stuck at home on your child's birthday? Don't fret! We're sharing 11 ideas for kids birthday parties that are being hosted on Zoom or another online platform. From virtual birthday party games for kids, to birthday activities for teens and tweens, these ideas will teach you how to throw a virtual party your child will cherish for years to come!

How to Host a Virtual Birthday Party for Kids: 11 Ideas for Parents

17 Virtual Baby Shower Ideas | If you're trying to figure out how to host an online baby shower, this post has 17 planning tips and virtual baby shower games to inspire you! From figuring out the best hosting platform (Facebook and Zoom are top choices!), to party favors and food, to invitations and gifts, to super fun and easy games, these virtual party planning tips will make your long distance celebration meaningful!

How to Host a Baby Shower Online: 17 Virtual Baby Shower Ideas

How to Stay Calm in a Stressful Situation | If you're looking for tips and strategies to help you stay calm in any situation (when stressed, when angry, when nervous, as a parent, in a crisis, etc.), we're sharing 9 stress management tips that help. Learn how to stop anxious thoughts in their tracks, what to do when things are out of your control and you feel overwhelmed, and how to be less stressed in the face of adversity moving forward.

9 Tips and Tricks to Help You Stay Calm in a Stressful Situation

10 Educational Apps for Kids in Elementary School | If you're looking for the best educational websites you can access on your tablet to keep your little ones engaged and learning outside of the classroom, there are tons of great ones available for free (or for a small fee). From math and literacy games, to puzzles and brain teasers, to science, coding, and STEM learning, we've curated the best free learning apps for kids, with paid options for teachers and for parents who want more.

Learning Made Fun: 10 Educational Apps for Kids in Elementary School

9 Time Management Strategies For Moms | If you're looking for productivity tips and ideas that go above and beyond creating daily schedules, meal planning, and kids' chore charts, this post is for you! Whether you're a stay-at-home mom, work-at-home mom, or you go to work outside of the home each day, these simple, life-changing productivity hacks will help you to stay focused and find balance on even your busiest days!

9 Time Management Strategies For Moms Who Feel Overwhelmed

17 Independent Activities for Kids Who Are Stuck at Home | If you're looking for fun and engaging quiet activities your children can do by themselves on sick days, school holidays, and/or during an extended school closure, we're sharing 17 ideas that require little to no prep! Most of these are indoor activities for kids, but we've included some outdoor options for spring, summer, and fall! If you're trying to figure out how to work from home with kids, these ideas are perfect!

17 Independent Activities for Kids Who Are Stuck at Home

How to Work From Home with Kids | If you're a mom or dad in search of time management tips to help you be effective with your job while still being an awesome parent, this post is for you! Whether you're dealing with school closures, sick days, or school holidays, you're a stay at home mom working a side hussle to earn a little extra money to help with your monthly budget expenses, or you're switching to a full time career as a work at home mom, these productivity tips for moms and dads work!

How to Work From Home with Kids: 13 Tips for Parents

How to be a Better Wife | If you're looking for tips to help you be a good wife without losing your independence, this post is a great place to start! As much as I enjoy the humor in those 'how to be a good housewife' memes about women in the 50s, I like to think our view on the important qualities of being a good wife have changed since then. If you're looking for the modern woman's guide to a happy marriage, we're sharing 12 tips you don't want to miss!

How to be a Better Wife: 12 Tips for a Happy Marriage

48 Tips and Recipes For Picky Eaters | Most kids go through a period of fussy eating, but some take it to the extreme. Whether you have toddlers, school-aged kids, tween, or teens, finding a balance between serving healthy meals and avoiding power struggles can be difficult! We're sharing 8 tips and 40 delicious breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack recipes the whole family will love! With tons of simple and easy hidden veggies recipes to choose from, these recipes will save your sanity.

Kids Won’t Eat?! 48 Tips and Recipes For Picky Eaters

Surviving a School Closure During a Pandemic | If your child's daycare, childcare services, and/or school has been shutdown due to the current pandemic, preparedness is key! We already know the facts, we have our lists written and supplies handy, and now it's time for a little prepping. If you're looking for work from home tips to help you juggle a full time job and keep your kids entertained and off of Netflix while you figure out a daily homeschool schedule, we're sharing 12 tips to help!

Surviving a School Closure: 12 Tips for Working Parents

21 Budget-Friendly Family Staycation Ideas | If you're stuck at home with your kids during summer vacation, the winter holidays, and/or spring break, and you're looking for planning tips and activities ideas for kids to help you spend quality time together while also allowing everyone a little alone time to get some much needed R&R, this post is for you! We've got a list of things you can organize on a budget for a fun yet relaxing family vacation at home!

21 Budget-Friendly Family Staycation Ideas that Don’t Suck

49 Story Starters for Kids | If you're looking for creative writing prompts for kids, we're sharing 49 classroom ideas and activities to inspire you! Perfect for kids in elementary and middle school, we've included a mix of different narrative ideas, including journal prompts, personal essay prompts, and fun fiction writing prompts. We've also included tips to get kids excited about writing, and how to keep the momentum going!

How to Get Kids Excited About Creative Writing: 49 Story Starters for Kids

5 Postpartum Pelvic Floor Exercises for New Moms | If you're looking for exercises you can do post-baby to help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, treat incontinence, and close a diastasis recti, we're sharing 5 workout videos you can do at home. There are tons of benefits of doing pelvic floor exercises after natural childbirth, a c-section, and a hysterectomy, and these are helpful for prolapse as well. From kegels, to postpartum yoga, to exercises with weights, give these a try!

5 Strengthening Postpartum Pelvic Floor Exercises for New Moms

How to Make Hair Scrunchies with Your Kids | If you're looking for simple tutorials to teach you how to make 80s-inspired retro ponytail holders, we're sharing 5 step-by-step videos that are equal parts easy and stylish! Whether you use a sewing machine, sew by hand, or opt for the no sew options, there's a DIY scrunchie here for everyone! #scrunchie #scrunchies #DIYscrunchies

Retro Ponytail Holders: How to Make Hair Scrunchies with Your Kids

What to Do When Kids Talk Back | If you want to know how to stop kids from talking back to parents and to teachers without yelling, handing out time outs, and enforcing consequences, we're sharing 8 positive parenting tips and techniques that work. Whether you're trying to discipline toddlers, elementary aged kids, tweens, or teens, these behavior management strategies work - even on a strong willed child! #positiveparenting #positiveparentingtips #disciplinekids

What to Do When Kids Talk Back: 8 Tips for Parents

How to Limit Screen Time for Kids | Limiting screen time sounds easy in theory, but it can be much more difficult to implement for parents, especially if you have tweens or teenagers! If you're trying to enforce rules around your child's screen time, and want to know the effects of screen time, how much is too much, along with digital detox tips, we're sharing 7 practical strategies to get your kids to spend less time on their electronic devices. #screentime #kidsandscreens #digitaldetox

How to Limit Screen Time for Kids: 7 Effective Tips for Parents

How to Raise Independent Children | If you want to know how to teach your kids responsibility without nagging, reminding, and power struggles, these positive parenting tips will inspire you. Whether you're raising toddlers or teens, girls or boys, these strategies and techniques will help you empower your child to take on new challenges and give them the tools and solutions they need to be successful along the way! #independentkids #choresforkids #parentingtips #positiveparenting

How to Raise Independent Children: 9 Tips for Parents

How to Calm Down When Angry | Perfect for adults, children, teens, and especially overwhelmed parents, these anger management tips will teach you how to deal with anger in the moment, and will provide you with coping skills and exercises you can use to develop a plan that promotes better temper control to avoid feelings of anger and frustration from occurring in the first place. #calmdown #angermanagement #selfhelp #copingskills

How to Calm Down When Angry: 11 Tips that Work

How to Teach Kids Responsibility | While teachers often do a great job of teaching responsibility to kids at school, parenting our own children never seems to be as simple. Am I right? If you're trying to teach important life skills to your kids, and need an easy daily system that works, we're sharing 9 ideas to help. From assigning chores by age, to developing a chore chart, to rewarding kids through praise and allowance, this post has great tips! #chorecharts #behaviorcharts #kidschores

How to Teach Kids Responsibility: 9 Tips for Parents

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‘STOP TRYING TO CALM THE STORM. CALM YOURSELF, T ‘STOP TRYING TO CALM THE STORM. CALM YOURSELF, THE STORM WILL PASS.’ —Unknown
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My daughter went back to school virtually today, and while the Type A in me is excited we’re back in some kind of routine, I had forgotten just how chaotic and impractical distance learning is. A province-wide internet outage took down her teacher within 2 hours, shattering any hopes I had of grabbing a little time to myself to get caught up on all of the work stuff I’ve been putting off for the last 3 weeks. I’ve dried tears, prepared snacks, provided new Zoom logins, helped with grade 4 math, and I even made paper plates out of construction paper for a last minute craft.
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Wash, rinse, repeat.
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All is good in our world again, and soon we’ll dive back into those math problems and whatever else is on tap for homework before I retreat to my office to print off tomorrow’s agenda and worksheets. We’ll all play Roblox before dinner to help us unwind after a crazy day, and I’ll stay up later than I want to tonight trying to get caught up because I know tomorrow will bring more unforeseen challenges, and I hate starting my day feeling behind schedule.
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Parenting in a pandemic is extra messy, and if this sh*t storm has taught me anything, it’s that we need to give ourselves a hell of a lot of grace right now. There will be days where we’re super productive and get through everything on our never-ending ‘to do’ lists, but there will be many more days where we feel like we’ve accomplished absolute nothing.
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It’s on these difficult days that we need to remind ourselves that our most important job right now is making sure our kids are healthy and happy, and that they feel safe and loved. When they look back on this time, they won’t remember if the house was clean and the laundry was folded, how often we ordered takeout, or if we gained weight. All they will remember is how we showed up for them - even on the days we were struggling to show up for ourselves.
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If the return to reality has you feeling overwhelmed today, stop trying to calm the storm. Take a deep breath, get present in this moment, remind yourself what’s important, and focus on that instead.
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We’ve got this. 💙
BACK TO REALITY… . Are you ready to get back at BACK TO REALITY…
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Are you ready to get back at it?
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While we’ve certainly been busy organizing, packing, and getting our new home ready and didn’t really relax as much as we’d hoped to over the holidays, I’ve enjoyed operating at a slower pace the last couple of weeks. We’ve stayed up late, slept in a little bit each morning, had too much to eat and drink, and enjoyed a break from routines and schedules. 
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Toronto is currently under lockdown, so my daughter is going back to school virtually tomorrow while my husband and I continue to work from home. It’s not ideal, but we’ll make it work and I’m excited to get back into a routine. The time away from my computer helped me reset and recharge, and I feel like I’m starting 2021 with more realistic expectations of myself. And that feels good.
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2020 was definitely not my favorite year, but when I look back at the last 12 months, a lot of really great things came from it. It gave me more time with my husband and daughter and brought us much closer than our busy, pre-2020 lives would’ve ever allowed. It helped me reconnect with friends I had lost contact with due to the craziness that is being a working mom. And it helped me form amazing new friendships that I will cherish forever.
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I know 2021 is likely going to be just as challenging - if not more so - as 2020 was, but for the first time since becoming a mom, I finally feel like I have a tribe of people around me. I feel less lonely than I’ve ever felt in my life, which is hilarious since we have been holed up in our house for ~10 months, but it feels pretty amazing.
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I’m not sure where I was going with this post, but suffice it to say I’m ready to caffeine and conquer! ☕️
‘ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR LIFE. KNOW THAT ‘ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR LIFE. KNOW THAT IT IS YOU WHO WILL GET YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO, NO ONE ELSE.’ —Les Brown
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I think we can all agree that 2020 was the absolute shits, and I know we’re all looking forward to a chance to start fresh in hopes that the universe will be a little kinder to us in 2021. 
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Of course, our lives aren’t going to magically go back to the way they were at 12:01 am. It’s not easy to be positive right now, but instead of getting stuck in the suck, remember that the only thing you have control over is your attitude.  You can continue to feel sorry for yourself and mourn all the ways your life has changed, or you can straighten your crown and focus on all of the good things happening in your life.
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If you dig deep enough, you’ll see that there is so much to be grateful right now.
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And if you can’t think of anything that you feel proud of or that brings you joy, then it’s up to you to create it. Accept responsibility for your life. Stop making excuses and be the change you want to see. 
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Instead of thinking of 2021 as another year of lockdowns and restrictions while we wait for vaccinations to take place and herd immunity to take hold, look at it as an open book. 
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12 new chapters. 365 new chances. 🥂
‘BE PRESENT WHERE YOUR FEET ARE.’ —Unknown . ‘BE PRESENT WHERE YOUR FEET ARE.’ —Unknown
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What do you do when you have downtime?
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I haven’t had time off since last Christmas. We hit the ground running in January as we were planning a 2-week family vacay in March and wanted to do ALL THE THINGS beforehand so we could unplug and enjoy the trip. Our vacation obviously got cancelled, and we’ve been on autopilot ever since. I feel like the pandemic has either made people really busy, or extremely bored. There’s no in-between!
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My team and I have been busy working ahead over the past couple of months as I really wanted to unplug and unwind for a few weeks over the holidays and now that the craziness of Christmas is over, I don’t know what to do with myself!
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I’m caught up on This Is Us, we finally watched The Undoing, I’m almost done Open Book, I’ve done a lot of drawing on my iPad, I’ve had a lot of wine, I’ve eaten a ton of chocolate, we’ve played games, I’ve done my nails…and I’m bored, lol. But unless I find something else to do, I have to face packing up this house (we’re moving, ya’ll!) and I can’t face that just yet.
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👇🏻how do you unwind?
‘WHAT IS CHRISTMAS? IT IS TENDERNESS FOR THE PAS ‘WHAT IS CHRISTMAS? IT IS TENDERNESS FOR THE PAST, COURAGE FOR THE PRESENT, HOPE FOR THE FUTURE.’ —Agnes M. Pahro
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The holidays are going to be extra hard for many this year. Whether you’re living under a lockdown with travel restrictions, voluntarily cancelling plans to keep yourself and the ones you loved safe, or dealing with heart-breaking loss, please know that you are not alone. 
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While we are all navigating the same storm right now, remember that we’re not all in the same boat. If you are lucky enough to be surrounded by excitement and chaos, enjoy the insanity of it all. Embrace the mess and be grateful for all your blessings, and don’t forget to check in with those who are less fortunate than you are. 
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And if there’s an empty chair at your table due to distance, sickness, or loss, remember that it’s okay to not be okay right now. The holidays can be hard at the best of times, and this year is unlike any we’ve ever experienced. Feel the feels, reach out to others, and be kind to yourself.
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Merry Christmas my beautiful friends! 🥂
‘WORRYING IS LIKE PRAYING FOR THE OUTCOME YOU DO ‘WORRYING IS LIKE PRAYING FOR THE OUTCOME YOU DON’T WANT.’ —Denis Morton
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This is your Monday morning reminder that no amount of anxiety can change the future, and no amount of regret can change the past. Worrying about something you have no control over does nothing but interfere with your ability to be fully present in this moment. So, inhale the good shit, exhale the bullshit (also a Denis Morton quote), and have faith in your ability to handle whatever life throws at you. ☺️
Is this thing on? . It’s been a MINUTE since I p Is this thing on?
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It’s been a MINUTE since I posted here, and I’m not even sure I’m the same person anymore, lol, so I figured I’d re-introduce myself.
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My name is Gwen and I’m the founder and managing editor of Meraki Lane - a website dedicated to sharing all of the latest tips and trends to help you be the best version of yourself in the least amount of time. 
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I’m 43, married to the man of my dreams, and the proud mama of a feisty 9-year-old who has an infectious personality and love for life. I grew up in Singapore, live in Toronto, and have an unhealthy obsession for clothes, shoes, peanut butter, makeup, and my Peloton bike.
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I’m also anxious AF. I’ve struggled with high functioning anxiety since I was 9, but you probably wouldn’t even know if you met in IRL. I grew up at a time when mental health challenges were something to be deeply ashamed of and it took a global pandemic for me to finally realize that it’s okay not to be okay.
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I’ve been thinking a lot about this little account of mine and how I want it to evolve. I’m never going to be a beauty influencer, I suck at taking photos of my food, and no one on the internet wants to see videos of me working out. While I love seeing other people do these things, they fall way outside of my skill set and comfort zone.
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What I can offer is a candid look at my life with anxiety - the things that help me cope, the quotes that make me think, the mantras that keep me grounded, the products I love, and the memes that make me laugh and remind me not to take life too seriously.
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My experience with anxiety probably won’t look like yours, but even though I may not be able to relate to your struggles, my hope is that I make you feel a little less alone. 💙
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