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Hello and I hope everyone had a great Mother's day! Today I want to start off with a little story.
My parents have been doing a lot of work on their house, and a few weeks back Emily and I were visiting when my dad was putting in a new smoke alarm. Emily was intrigued by what it was, but when my dad pushed the test button to show her how it worked it startled her. A bit later she was talking to me about it and told me she was glad that OUR house didn't need that alarm! When I told her we did actually have a smoke alarm in our house she became so upset and afraid, she thought the alarm itself meant our house WOULD burn down, and that terrified her.

The idea of your house burning down is, of course, terrifying, but I realized that we had never discussed any type of plan of what we'd do in case there was a fire, and what Emily should do to keep herself safe.

So I got onto Amazon and found these two books to give us a starting place to help Emily feel more prepared if ever she is in a place where there is a fire.

First, we got this Plan and Prepare book about what to do if there is a fire and read it together. This book is perfectly geared towards small children with images and music to accompany the lessons it's teaching about fire safety. The book talks about making a plan with your family of how you'll get out of the house f there is a fire, where you'll meet, crawling to get low under smoke, and not opening hot doors.

If you can use music to teach these principles to your kids they'll remember them better, and the idea of a fire in your house will seem less scary because they'll know what to do to get out and be safe.

This Stop, Drop, and Roll book is the perfect book to teach about personal fire safety. Every adult probably remembers being taught "stop, drop, and roll" as a kid in school, and now it's time to teach it to our kids. Again, this books can help your kids not be paralyzed by fear when it comes to fire danger, but instead feel equipped about what to do in case there is a fire nearby, or if they, for some reason, find themselves on fire. The pictures clearly depict how you do each step, and again this fire safety book includes music to help solidify this fire safety protocol in you kid's minds.

These two fire safety books were a great intro to talk to my three year old about what to do if there was ever a fire in our home. It can be easy to forget to talk about these things with your kids. Once we were able to be clear on what to do I was able to reassure her that our home will PROBABLY never catch fire. We don't need to live ours lives in fear. However, if there ever is a fire, if we know what to do, we will be okay.

​What other tips do you have for how to teach your kids about fire safety?

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That's right we're bringing back the podcast! We're so excited to be doing this again and chatting about our favorite movie adaptations of some of our favorite books!

Since it's Women's History Month we decided to start with a work of literature by one of the most famous women in literary history, Jane Austen! We chose to do a comparison of Jane's Emma and Amy Heckerling's "Clueless."

That's right, if you didn't know "Clueless" is actually a modern day retelling of Ms Austen's Emma. And we love it. So listen in as Lindsey and I discuss how "Clueless" aligns with Emma and why we think books are made into movies in the first place. 

​If you'd rather read our discussion I'll post the transcription below!

This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Hello everyone! As you are hopefully aware, February is Black History month!  Did you know that the origins of Black History Month date back to 1915, when historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History.
Beginning in 1926 the group sponsored a National Negro History week in the second week of February. The second week of February coincides with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. By the late 1960s this had evolved into Black History Month on several college campuses.

In 1976 President Ford officially recognized Black History month. He called upon the public to, "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

Well, we are excited to seize that opportunity with you today! 

I had the great honor of interviewing Alexandria Scott, the creator of Ditto Kids Magazine. If you haven't heard of Ditto Kids, it is a magazine created to help parents in teaching their children (and perhaps themselves) about anti-racism. If you click on the link it will take you to the website where you can subscribe to the magazine and check out their blog!

I've had the privilege of calling Alex my friend since we met our freshman year of college. If I could use any one word to describe Alex, it would be passionate. She is passionate about what she believes in, and puts in the time and effort to bring what she wants to fruition. So, it was really exciting to me to be able to interview her!

So without further ado, here is our interview with Alexandria Scott of Ditto Kids Magazine!

1. What led you to create Ditto kids magazine?
I had an experience when my oldest was 3 when she heard something racist from another child and it affected her self-esteem a lot, and then she also began parroting what she heard. I began creating some basic resources that I and others could use but eventually I realized the need for a physical, well-made printed resource for kids and parents. 

2. I think there are many people who would like to teach their children anti-racism, but feel overwhelmed with everything they're already juggling. What is your advice to them about how to start now?
That's exactly why I started Ditto Kids :) We are trying to do our best as parents by our kids, but there's only so many hours in the day. The magazine is designed to be used slowly and as a springboard for new conversations with open-ended questions and new concepts. Truly, it's not so much a magazine as it is a curriculum supplement of sorts.

Additionally, as you as a parent read the magazine with your child, it will hopefully start to become easier and more natural for you to work consistent conversations into your life and the activities you already do. 
I would also say examine your priorities and see if there are areas where you're expending more time and energy than is maybe needed. I think that anti-bias education and learning a more decolonized world history and perception is very important to our world. 

3. What do you suggest people do, especially during Black history month to learn more about the experience of BIPOC in America?
I feel like living in and creating the norm of an inclusive community in your life is very important. Your kids are watching and taking cues as to who and what is the norm in yours and their lives. If your kids and family are in a diverse environment, they will learn. 

I would also suggest advocating for curriculum reform in your local schools. It's almost always the case that Black Americans history begins with slavery and revolves around civil rights and struggle- and while that is an important history to learn, that isn't the crux of the Black experience. There is so so much history from the African Diaspora that needs to be taught. Kids always learn in school about ancient European History and even South American and Asian history but there is always a gaping hole around ancient African history. I think a fuller history is necessary to understand the Black experience. 

As far as specifically during Black History month, look around you! Dig deeper into Black history in your local area! Our family lives near enough to the Benjamin Banneker museum and historic park. Many state and local parks have Black history sites. Head to your library and do a bit of research. I find that what is closest is a great way to start learning. 

(Here is a link to eight virtual exhibits, published by Smithsonian Magazine last June. Some are still available to view!)

4. You have several posts on your blog of suggested books for people to read to learn more of different cultures. How do you suggest people go about getting those books made more easily available in their local libraries (including school libraries!)
In my experience, libraries love suggestions. They want to know what people want to read because they want people to check out the books! Some schools and communities have inclusion, diversity, anti-racism or anti-bias action groups. If enough people want books, libraries are generally very happy to order! 

5. What are some of your favorite books about historical BIPOCs that we can read?
The "Little Leaders* series is a great intro! (See below for a list of books you can purchase!)

6. What do your kids think of the magazine, and having their mom be the creator of it?
Good question. They think it's cool but they're so young and so to them, they've normalized all my projects and schemes haha 

7. What do you suggest to people who want to start their own business? Where should they start?
Know that you'll probably fail a couple times. This isn't my first business! I had a business with a friend for a few years that didn't work out. But that gave me so much insight into what I personally enjoyed doing and also how I wanted to structure my business to provide me the flexibility I wanted as the mom of a young family. 

I'd also say figure out who your market is and do market research. Also be smart about what you can DIY  by yourself and for how long and what you can't. In this day and age, visuals are so important but you still have to stick to your budget. You've got to be smart! I'd also say don't be afraid to reach out to some influencers etc. to send your product to. You'll get a lot of no's and that's fine but you need people with established voices to help build your brand presence and every person counts!

We just want to thank Alex for doing this interview with us! Linked below are the Little Leaders books she talked about, as well as a few other book suggestions for you to get to share with your children!

Did you know that tomorrow is National Home Made Soup day? In the winter soup is a wonderful meal to whip up for dinner, or any other meal really!

If you live where we live you'll know we had winter last week and now it seems we're kind of in spring mode (I want the rain to come back!) However, in most parts of the country it is still cold, perfect soup weather!

No matter where you live, we have a roundup of some of our favorite soup recipes from the blog for you to use! Choose any one of these soup recipes for your National Home Made Soup day dinner (or soup day lunch, or soup day breakfast!)

First up is this delicious Vegetable and Ham Bisque my mom made. You can buy the cute pumpkin tureen if you want, but the soup will taste delicious no matter what! All those yummy veggies and ham hocks sound so perfect for a cold winter's day!

If you're really in a ham mood, you could also try this Ham and Cheese Broccoli Soup! This soup is simple to make, and so delicious. Doesn't ham and broccoli sound like the perfect soup combination?

Sometimes there is nothing like Chicken Noodle Soup. This recipe I shared with you is a pretty darn good chicken noodle soup recipe, if I do say so myself!

Or, if you want something with a Mexican food flair, you can try my Chicken Taco Soup! This just might be the recipe I go with for dinner tomorrow because chicken tacos as a soup is really one of the best things to ever happen.

Or... I might try this Pumpkin Sausage Soup! You know I can't resist a good pumpkin anything, and that definitely includes a pumpkin soup! My mom made this pumpkin sausage soup and it is also a great option for those of you following a Keto diet!

If you're a big curry fan (like me!) then you could go with this delicious Coconut Curry Soup! The curry really gives this soup a depth of flavor that can't be beat on a cold winter's day!

You could also go international with this delicious Ecuadorian Encebollado Soup Alicia made for you! Alicia said they come home with cans of it every time they go visit Ecuador, but here she made it from scratch so you could try it too!

Sticking with international we'll round out this roundup with this delicious Irish Stew! Stew is perfect on a cold winter's day, and just look at the picture of this Irish stew! If that alone doesn't make your mouth water for it then... maybe you aren't feeling well and some soup would be really good for you!

Well, that is our soup roundup! I hope you find the perfect soup recipe for you to try out for tomorrow, and happy National Home Made Soup Day!