This is the most magical time of year. Everyone bundles up in their scarves to gather with friends, eat tasty food, and settles in eager anticipation of what’s to come. Lots of people call this season “Christmas,” but around here we know it as “Bowl Game time.”
Here in the Day family, I’m always advocating for clever use of resources. Our household duties are often solved with either delegation or automation.”Work smarter, not harder” is the driving philosophy around here! Delegating things can be challenging, though, if you’re isolated or travel a lot or simply don’t want other people mucking around in your house. For seniors and active families, it can be a financial and time burden to manage the comings and goings of helpers. That’s when smart home features can step up and hold down the fort to give you the most independent life possible.
Nate and I have an outdoorsy home with a bit of a wild side. In case the big dog, the axe on the front stoop, and the chainsaw carving of my face didn’t make our lifestyle glaringly obvious…we also went ahead and adopted Moby.
When we bought our house, it came with a hot tub. The sellers made it part of the deal that they could leave said hot tub where it sat, and we soon learned why. It was dead as a door nail from day one! There was something wrong with the overly-complicated electrical setup, and soon this massively-heavy beast of a machine was acting as a makeshift sanctuary for wayward frogs and snakes. It HAD to to be replaced, but we didn’t have a ton of money for this task or the first clue about how to install a hot tub.
I don’t foresee the Sonos One hopping up to wash my dishes anytime soon, but this sexy little number gives every other smart speaker a run for its money. And there’s even more capability on the way. The biggest testament to its abilities? It got this husband and wife to agree that it’s the best choice in home assistant hardware on the market today.
I feel like vacationing together is the Amazing Race of friendship tests. It COULD go well. You might double your fun-having capabilities and emerge champion in epic memory-making! On the other hand, it might implode into a bicker-fest. Your besties might decide to claim the master bedroom for the duration of the vacation rental, leave their hot curling iron on the bathroom floor and scream about you owing them $1.63 for your family’s excessive ketchup use on barbecue night.
I’ve always been a rather health-conscious parent, but as my kids get older I’m starting to realize how much emotional health matters, too. These concepts are so intricately-woven. As important as it is to provide their bodies with nutritious food, they also need to be supported with time and patience from their parents. Kids are more willing to try new things when they come from a foundation of security and safety.
The boys have had a Hawaiian calendar up in their room for the last year, a gift from a friend of mine who lives in the islands. Several times over the last few months, Sidekick has pointed to one of the streaming waterfalls or sandy beaches in the photos and asked if we can visit. “One day,” I promised, “I’ll take you to Aulani and you can see ALL the special things about where I grew up.”
We recently had family portraits taken by a professional photographer for the first time EVER. We’ve been in a few brand photoshoots, we’ve done the self-timer thing plenty of times, and we’ve enlisted other photographers in our family to snap all of us together for Christmas cards. Never before, though, have we done pictures just for us, taken by someone we didn’t know, for no reason other than posterity. It was a nice change of pace, and I picked up some helpful new family portrait tips from the other side of the camera.
There are few things that my husband loves more than pizza. I’m pretty sure I’m one of them, and I’m fairly positive his truck is up there on the list as well.