Life lately
Abby is excited that as of this episode we have been podcasting for a whole year! A special thank you to everyone listening for being part of it; we wouldn’t want to do it without you.
Sarah and Neil just got back from a kid-free trip to Arkansas where they hiked, caught up with old-friends, and marveled at being able to talk uninterrupted for hours at a time.
Reading lately
Abby read the New York Times article When the Revolution Came for Amy Cuddy. In an earlier episode Abby talked about Cuddy’s book Presence. Abby also liked this article about the research.
Sarah read The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein, as recommended by listener Misti. It is a YA mystery set in pre-WWII Scotland and the prequel to Code Name Verity.
Self-care
The craziness of the holidays is nearly upon us, so we thought it would be timely to think about how we care for ourselves, how we prioritize that time, and how our perspective on self-care has changed since becoming parents.
Eating lately
Sarah is warming up with Abby’s chicken noodle soup recipe while Abby is attempting to recreate her co-op’s chipotle pimento cheese recipe.
If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening!
Friendlier 
Hi Ladies,
I wanted to share one blog post that has stayed with me almost 4 years now when I think about self-care and the holidays. And even though this post mostly talks about toddlers, as I get older I know this concept is true for kids of all ages (including adults), because all of us remember the quality of time spent, not the quantity of activities.
http://loralynnfanning.com/to-the-mamas-of-littles-during-the-holidays/
Also my one other tip around the holiday season is that basically from mid November until the end of December, I ensure no unnecessary maintenance type appointments are scheduled–this includes everything from dental visits to required online training for my professional acitivities to car oil changes. If it’s supposed to fall in that time frame, I either do it earlier or push it back. Yes, this might mean my teeth are cleaned after 7 months instead of 6 months, but this usually only happens once and then everything is set for January the next time around. I do this because while inevitably the first few years of parenting it didn’t even occur to me that those things would be a burden (because they never were before during the holidays, they were just a part of regular life), there is so much MORE with a small child around the holidays that they absolutely do become a burden.
Also I’ve learned the hard way as regards to my professional life also NOT to assume I will get anything extra done during this time. For example, my last day teaching college classes is December 7 and in the past I would assume, yes, I can do that recommendation letter or lesson plan for next semester as soon as classes end since I don’t have to teach! Nope, never going to happen. I need to assume that all that extra time will be taken up with doing the holiday things (albeit fun things) of shopping (online if possible), wrapping, cooking, going to my son’s holiday activities at school, and planning for family to visit.
So those are my best tips. Wishing you a healthy and happy and calm holiday season!
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Love this. Thanks for sharing! And good call on the dentist appointments. I have coming up in December and may try and move it to January! -S
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