Binkies and Briefcases

My oldest child recently turned eleven and my middle child is turning nine. At this age they are starting to have a lot of questions about the way that bodies work and the changes that will be happening to them. We’ve sat down and had a few discussions, but we understand that sometimes kids are too embarrassed to ask their parents what they really want to know. So I put together a list of books that are helping us have these tricky conversations. Here are five great books to help kids understand puberty. 

Please note that some posts on this blog contain affiliate links. If you click on the picture of each book, you will be using my link and taken to the Amazon page where you can read the reviews from other parents and purchase the book, if you choose. 

5 Books To Help Kids Understand Puberty

1. 1. We are big fans of the American Girl informational books in our house. Abby LOVES The Care and Keeping of You. I love that they have two versions of this book, one for younger tweens and one for older teens. I bought Abby the one for younger girls and she sits in bed at night and pours over it. She even asked me to buy her the one for older girls. Version 1 of this book is recommended for ages 8-12. Version 2 is recommended for older kids in grades 5-9. 

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Going Vegan and Gluten Free?

Are you thinking of going vegan and gluten free? I have soooo much to tell you!

Have you missed me? I have taken a long break from the blog over the past few months to focus on our family. You might not see me quite so much on the internet, but don’t worry, I’m still here, and I have some exciting news! And a looong post to welcome you into the new year.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I have been struggling with my personal health issues for several years. It’s true that I have also wanted to lose weight, and I’ve even blogged about that before as well, but last year I made some very big changes to my lifestyle and they made a huge impact to my overall health. This post is for those of you who may have made a similar New Year’s resolution and are also considering going vegan and gluten free (or maybe just one or the other). 

When I shared on my Facebook page that I had been successful not only losing a significant amount of weight, but also reducing the neurological symptoms I’d been suffering for the past few years, several of you asked me to do a post about the changes I made. When I wrote my post What I Learned From Posting My Weight on The Internet, I weight over 180 pounds. It says 180 in that post, but if I remember correctly I was actually 183. As of this morning, those last two numbers were inverted and I was about 138. That’s 45 pounds gone! My ultimate goal was 135 and to get back into my wedding dress. I have not hit my goal quite yet (close enough), but I DID get back in my dress!  [Read more…]