A Few Things...

Inside Out is wonderful. Have you seen it yet? I keep thinking about it. It's really more of an older kid and adult movie, although my kids enjoyed it. It's very thought-provoking and incredibly imaginative and wonderfully done. Please go see it.

Gun Control And The Need For It. Wonderful post and accompanying videos.

Working moms have more successful daughters and more caring sons.  I think perhaps it's more about having moms who are pursuing personal goals, whether they are making money or not. It's also about having parents who are true partners, both contributing to the home.

My cousin Krista wrote another great post for Huffington Post.  This one made me tear up a bit.

Another frustrating but important article about parenting.  "Affluent parenting can deprive a child of fundamental life skills."  I especially liked the end of the article, comparing our kids childhoods with our own, and thinking about the experiences that we had growing up that our children won't get to have. I will admit that it does make me sad sometimes. I don't want to be as poor as my family was growing up, but I do want to make sure that those same values that I was raised with - responsibility, frugality, empathy... - are passed on.

Interesting article about how optimistic people are always late.  I'm never late. It's probably my biggest pet peeve. I am also a pessimist, so I suppose that fits. I have many optimistic-and-always-running-late friends, though, including the one who shared this article. It's interesting to think about how their minds work.

Free personality test.  It's a quick, 10-minute test. I am a sucker for doing one of these every year or two. They always say the same thing, so I don't know why I'm compelled to take them. My personality is pretty set in stone at this point.  I'm an ISTJ, through and through. These descriptions of strengths and weaknesses are pretty spot on.

This is very random, but I'm thinking I'd like a pair of cute, casual shoes like these Vans.  I'm not sure if I'll think they are comfortable enough, though. What do you think?

Well, this is a not surprising find: Screen addition isn't good for children.  My oldest (Aaron) is 8 and a half, and he already has friends who have their own smart phones. So many of them have been playing Xbox for years, and they've had tablets since they were toddlers. And let's not even mention TV! Just the other day, Aaron made a comment about when he'll be "...in the 5th grade and I'll have a phone...".  I guess he heard that a few of his friends were getting phones then and assumed that he would as well. I had to correct him on that. We'll see how it goes, but I'm going to keep all the screens to a minimum for as long as possible. One day they'll thank me. Or not. I don't care.

I had such fun sharing the Women's World Cup experience with my boys. They love watching soccer, and I love that there is a women's sport that is so awesome to watch.  I think it's important that my boys get to see women being amazing in sports.  I loved this article containing reactions from the 1999 team on this year's World Cup win.