Chelsea Day

The Car Seat that Lives in Dad’s Truck

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We’ve gotten a lot of questions about our truck and child safety. Friends have questioned if it’s even possible to fit six people in a crew cab without putting someone at risk. It seems to be a long-standing belief that trucks aren’t family cars and therefore can’t properly handle car seats. I’m proud to say that our truck gets the highest crash test ratings in its class, but I’ll admit it’s not without its issues. As a one-ton vehicle created more for hauling gear than for hauling people, there are certain comfort and ease-of-use features that are missing. That said, it IS possible to safely and securely install a car seat in a truck.

These Perfect Summer Shoes Do it All

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I feel like the picture at the top of this post pretty much sums up summer for me. I haven’t had a pedicure in at least two months. The sun is absurdly bright and everything’s a bit over-exposed. There are rogue blades of dry grass popping up out of the cracks in the cement around my swimming pool. But I have my summer shoes and I’m ready to take on the world!

How to Teach Kids the Value of Money

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The boys have hit that point in school where they start learning about money. Instead of adding ones and tens, they’ve started calculating pennies and dimes. Naturally, this prompted ALL sorts of questions. The day our 1st grader asked if he could purchase a house with a handful of change, Nate and I realized it was time to show them that coins are more than just numbers and placeholders. How to teach kids the value of money? For us, a piggy bank was the obvious first step!

2 Weeks to More Mindful Habits

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We’ve still been traveling and working a ton. As awesome as it is to have a steady stream of projects that we enjoy, it’s easy to get overcommitted and exhausted. I’m sure everyone does it: we get caught up in the MORE MORE MORE mentality and catch ourselves striving. For some reason we’re compelled to prove that we’re capable, good, efficient, successful, worthy. As creative people in a competitive industry, Nate and I need to constantly check in on our mindset and energy level. We’ve learned to give ourselves the flexibility to hit the reset button and weave more mindful habits into our lives.

Restaurant Celebrations with a Totally Picky, Super-Active Family

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We’ve talked about a few different kids party ideas, and received an email or two from readers wanting to know how we plan parties when so much of our time is spent traveling. Our festivities are quick and nimble. We try our best to grab a few decorations and on-the-go activities even if we’re headed to a hotel. That being said, there are times when we have something to celebrate and ZERO time beyond a quick sit-down meal. Oh yes, people, restaurant celebrations are a serious party tactic around here!

How to Start a Kids Book Club Anywhere, Anytime

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With all our independent study lately, the big kid has been looking for ways to dig through a book as a group when he doesn’t have access to the reading circles that are often found in a classroom. We read one-on-one, but a ton of learning and connection comes from reading with your peers. A kids book club was needed to help him solidify what he was reading and and really get engaged!

The First Shoes we Buy for our Little Walkers

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We get this question from readers a lot. What are good first shoes for a toddler? Having had four boys in 5 years, we know a thing or two about little baby feet and MAN, some companies really get it wrong. Nate and I initially tried buying our own favorite shoe brand and simply getting “baby size.” That resulted in an irritating experience attempting to smoosh tiny toes into kicks that were WAY too narrow. This is one of those purchases where specializing really pays off!

How my son overcame Phoneme Blending and (Finally!) Learned to Read

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People often ask how we juggle the kids’ school work when we travel so much. Living in California, we’re able to do a blended approach with independent study AND local elementary school enrollment. I’ve explained a bit about how we meet our children where they are in the learning process and supplement with different tools at home. An online tool is actually what helped our son breakthrough and figure out phoneme blending when his school’s traditional approach failed!

8 Great Wolf Lodge Tips for Big Families

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Great Wolf Lodge invited us for a visit a couple weeks ago, but Nate got called into work at the last minute. I was momentarily panicked about being alone at this epic indoor waterpark with four little kids, but I realized that the situation was more or less the same as usual. Once you find yourself outnumbered as a parent in a big family, it’s chaotic fun no matter what the specific balance is! I rolled with it, and soon realized that Great Wolf Lodge had a TON of cool things specifically catering to big families like our own.

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