Some Leisure Reading

Throughout the week, Ben is always sending me interesting articles he comes across.  I always read them, and they're usually really good!  So I thought I would share a few favorites from the past couple of weeks.

Here's an article that talks about sleep as a competitive advantage (as opposed to thinking of working extra long hours as the competitive advantage).  And if you think it's ironic to be writing about sleep when I have two babies in the house, you should look at this Ted talk about how we naturally sleep (Spoiler: it's not in a single stretch of eight consecutive hours!).  Mothers of nursing babies, you have to read it!  It will make you much more chill about that 2 am feeding.

I loved this article called Masters of Love.  It has some wonderful thoughts about ways to have a lasting, successful, marriage.  Years ago, when a newly engaged friend asked us for our best marriage advice, Ben had an immediate answer: Always assume positive intent.  Is your spouse late?  Messy?  Grumpy?  Did (s)he leave underwear on the floor in the bathroom?  The answer is the same: assume positive intent.  "Ah yes, a hermeneutic of generosity," our friend responded, which is a beautiful way of putting it.  Whatever you're going to call it, I strive every single day to live it out with Ben, with our kids, and with whoever I might come across.  It will change the way you look at the world.

This is exactly how I feel when I think about these babies growing up!  This little girl has captured my emotions to a T.  The best part is when the baby smiles at his sobbing sister.

Have you guys watched Bob's Burgers (link to one of our favorite episodes)?  It is a seriously funny adult show (definitely not for kiddos!), and I think you'll find the characters just as silly as we do.  Here's an interview with the cast which you should look at after you've watched a couple of episodes. Can you believe the way they cast those voice actors?

And here's some research that supports what I think many parents already know: it's play that makes kids smarter, not classroom time.  And with that, carry on with all of your summer adventures!

We're taking a bit of a technology break these coming days: looking forward to dropping in soon!