A For Effort

They wanted to suck us in, and boy did they! Did you even know "rage bait" was a thing?? We did not until this episode and honestly, it worked. They got us, but they also got some good conversations going. So although it's unanimous that NO ONE will be paying for playdates anytime soon, it is good to just be aware of the kind people hosting our kids. Let's make sure our village knows how much we appreciate them. And watch out for that rage bait!

Today we're talking about finding things to celebrate in our kids lives. Because kids do a lot of cool things and it's good to shout the good news sometimes. It might be easier to rail on them, but it's more important to build them up to others and to THEM! So we gush and are positive in the first half, then we get our friend Doorly on the phone and talk about her experience with older kids before we dive into the embarrassing moments. Which in our opinion are just as important! Because remember, balance in all things. We're keeping it real here.

We're back and we're ready to rumble! And apparently you are, too!! After the longest, most delightful summer, where the kids ate us out of house and home, and talked way more than we knew they could, they are all back in school. Parents around the world breathe a long exhale as they lovingly send their kids off to school and turn on this episode. Because this episode is just us saying all the things you thought this summer, but never said out loud.

Having a pet can be a lot of work, especially when there are already kids in the same home as the pet! Every kid begs their parents for a pet, and every parent has to either come up with a good excuse as to why they can't have one, or they cave. Team pro-pet and team no-pet both weigh in to help prepare parents everywhere for that special day when their child calls them at work and begs you to bring home a pet (while possibly reciting scripture, right Amanda?). 

Could we all thrive a little more in "May-cember" if we adopted the 4-day work/school week? We debate our own pros and cons, as well as the listeners' hot takes on whether or not the 4-day week is a good idea. Megan gives us the insider take from a teacher's perspective, and Amanda is a self-labeled "work ox" (is that a thing?) concerned about members of society becoming "lazy lemmings" (is that a thing too?). But who doesn't want an extra day added to the weekend?! Chores, appointments, and long weekend trips... oh, the things we parents could do with one extra day! 

Mothers do it all and a little more. This episode is all about how to treat her right. Did you get her the birthstone jewelry she's been hinting about? Did you send her away solo for the weekend? Did you clean up dinner AFTER you made it? No... well that's okay. She'll forgive you after you make it right by sending her away next weekend. Show that woman you appreciate her and give her what she wants! 

Gift cards? Stickers? Fancy lunches everyday? We know what the teachers really want because, in this episode, we asked a real life teacher! With nearly 20 years in the classroom, high school teacher Christin LaMourie walks us through Teacher Appreciation Week. The good, the ideal, and the... appreciated efforts.

We want to celebrate the incredible work teachers do to educate, inspire, and prepare students to go on to be successful adults! So, be like Amanda, and go write a thank you note to a teacher. Or, better yet, have your kids write one!

Here's the Ideology Quiz link! Print it, take it, learn from it. Discuss it with your parents! Yeah, you read that right.

You know that song from The Lego Movie "Everything is Awesome?" Well that's basically the theme song of this episode. Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of a team, everything is awesome when you're living the dream.... and by the dream we mean the PARENTING DREAM!!! 

Amanda recently lost her 4 year old. Megan has lost a few of hers... but found them. Amanda ran away as a child. Megan also did, but she hid. In Kids-R-Us. And apparently we are not alone in these shenanigans. All of you have lost your kids as well, but luckily, we've all managed to find them again. This episode has many happy endings. 

With summer right upon us it's time to start thinking about how to keep these kids reading! We tried to make it easy for all of us by having the one and only Aimee Smith join us from "Keep A Book Out." Find her on Instagram @keepabookout. You will not regret this follow. This parent knows what she's doing and it was so fun to hear her book recommendations (which we linked below!)

We asked her if she "pre-read" all the books her teenagers read and she said "no! There is no time!" But she did enlighten us by saying she will check out COMMON SENSE MEDIA & AMAZON REVIEWS for info on book content.

Here are the books mentioned in this episode:

- Anything by Kate DeCamillo
- Anything by Dan Santat
- Anything by Mac Barnett
- Anything by Shawn Harris
- The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza 
- Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series

Books for teens:
- Brandon Sanderson
- Hunger Games

Books for tweens:
- Kelly Yang
- The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
- From the Desk of Zoey Washington
- Ella Enchanted
- A Wolf Called Wander
- Bob
- Cranky Chicken
- Wilderwood
- How to Survive Anything

Books for kids:
- Zoey and Sassafras
- Bibi
- Chester Van Chime who Forgot How to Rhyme
- A Dog Named Doug
- When Charlie Met Emma
- The Giggles are Coming & The Yawns are Coming
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