Melificent

Chalkola

Coming at you from our corner of quarantine to share some awesome products that may help your little ones stay occupied despite so much time indoors. Luna has recently gotten into drawing (she especially loves pretending she is writing now that she can write letters), and this Chalkola mini chalkboard and set of THIRTY different colored chalk markers is just perfect for her. She had a blast drawing this scene from Moana (that’s what she told me anyways), and I can’t wait to play with them either. I think they are going to make a great addition to drive through birthdays and celebrations. Plus, I always like to have some inspirational quotes around our home, so this will be a fun and unique way to do so, while stretching my artistic muscles too!

Not only am I sharing this awesome new find with you all, but I also come bearing a coupon code. If you use MELISSALS10 you will receive 10% off your entire order! Feel free to have fun exploring all the products here (there are so many great options) and let me know if you were able to pick something out, and if so, how you are creating during this tough time!

Welcome to America, Bluey!

Finding quality TV for Luna is hard, especially in a YouTube world. I know everyone has their own opinions on screen time and how little or how much they let their kids watch and where. It’s an even bigger topic of contention for me, being a behavior analyst, but I take a realistic approach that can be addressed on another day, at another time!

I really love for Luna to watch things with appropriate and relatable lessons, that also teach her how to be a good human. We had funnily enough stumbled on Bluey, an Australian cartoon series, on YouTube of all places (well, let me clarify, Luna stumbled on it). Luna adored it and so did we, but we noticed that it wasn’t available to watch on our Disney+ app, despite being on Disney Junior. So Luna would continue to watch short clips of the few Bluey episodes she could find on YouTube, until we found out Bluey was finally making her way to America to join the lineup over on Disney+!

We were lucky enough to be invited to Bluey’s welcome party this week at State of Kid, and it was so fun! The kids got to have plenty of 1:1 time with Bluey, do some arts and crafts, watch 2 episodes, play games and finally have an epic dance party with Bluey! It was such a fun time in a great space, and Luna is even more obsessed with Bluey than before.

Make sure to check out this adorable show that centers around a very energetic, imaginative and curious blue heeler puppy and her family available on Disney+ now!

Four.

I just cannot believe that I am drafting up another birthday post for Luna. That cheesy saying of the days are long, but the years are short? Yeah, it’s been around so long because it is facts. I don’t want to blink for fear of missing these amazing little moments. I think it’s the reason that I’ve stuck with the 1 second a day app this year – I want to remember all those little, seemingly mundane, moments that aren’t mundane at all.

But back to the birthday girl. Luna, you are pure magic wrapped in glitter + sunshine. You make everyone you encounter smile with your big personality and charm. You hate wearing pants, and would prefer to live your life in the most puffiest and glittery skirts and dresses possible. Every moment of every day is a special occasion for you, and I love that you inherited my lust for living. You wake up, and instantly ask what we are doing – the same exact way your mother woke up every single day before having you. You are fierce and tenacious: if you want something, it will be yours. You will achieve it, and all while having fun.

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Work|Life Balance

I don’t usually blur the line between my hobby (blogging) and my career (behavior analysis), but I feel like this particular topic can benefit us all in this crazy culture that we are living in. For those of you that don’t know, I have another instagram (@behaviormagictherapy) where I share ABA tips + tricks, and I posed the question of sharing my thoughts on work/life balance and everyone replied with a resounding yes. So here I am.

My field (amongst others I’m sure) is renown for blurring boundaries and having severe burn out within the community. Working so closely with families day in and day out can cause you to always be “on,” and I was able to manage this pressure with relative ease for years…until I started a family. The second I became a mom and came back after maternity leave, I felt an insane amount of stress and anxiety with the task of balancing my child, my husband, my hobbies AND still being a kick ass analyst. And yes, although at times I feel bogged down and let my negative thoughts consume me, I know I am still good at my job. But that is because, although I learned to say no to others some time ago, I am just recently learning to say no to myself. And that by saying no to my overachieving, over anxious mind, I can still manage to do a good job without negatively effecting myself and other (honestly more important) areas of my life.

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Megacon 2019

Megacon Orlando and I? We have history.
My first Megacon was in 2014, just a brief month or so after I suffered a miscarriage. I cried the way up to Orlando because I felt guilty for doing something “fun,” but then quickly realized it was just what I needed. The convention scene and I have always been allies, a place I feel safe and at home in. Somewhere where I feel I can be myself without judgement. I had quite a lot of that fun I was feeling guilty for experiencing and met some lifelong friends. For this, it has always stayed in my heart.

It was only natural that Luna’s first convention be Mega, and it was last year. I had my reservations about how she would take it, but she was such a champ. Not many two year olds can say that their first celebrity encounter was Jeff Goldblum while dressed like Queen Elsa. Just sayin’.

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