Thought about writing about bellbottoms today but I was boring even myself

Whenever I'm not sure what to write about on a given day, I click over to the "Drafts" folder on my dashboard. I have a tendency to jot down titles and a quick note or two there whenever a potential post title pops into my head (it's a good habit; if you're a writer of any kind I recommend it highly). Which means that, at present, I have 678 drafted posts dating all the way back to 2010 that, for one reason or another, have gone unseen. They cover topics including the wonders of Jessica Simpson shoes, why VHS tapes make excellent gifts (yes, I wrote this), how to handle illicit love affairs between your dogs (omg), and many more topics that make me thank the Internet gods that my 28-year-old self was wise enough to skip hitting that "Publish" button.

But there are also a couple that were kinda cute...and one that made me weep. And so now? Now they shall be seen.

My mornings involve far more yelling than I'd like to admit ("PUT. ON. YOUR. SHOES"). So I asked our sleep expert Mahaley to tell me how to have the calm, lovely pre-dropoff hour of my dreams.

Q. Mahaley, please help me yell less?

A. If I may be honest here, I don’t have all the answers. My daughter is three, and she still wakes up in a horrible mood some mornings. I guess we all wake up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes, right? But here are some strategies I've found to be helpful for creating a (relatively) stress-free and happy morning. 

1.    Make sure that your child is going to bed at an appropriate time. I cannot stress this enough. If your child is not getting enough sleep, there’s virtually no saving their mood in the morning. For babies and young toddlers, an appropriate bedtime is usually somewhere between 6-7 PM, depending on when their nap ends. For older toddlers and young kids, I recommend somewhere between 7-7:30 PM.

My tiny Ewok

It's been two months since we lost our girl, and it's getting close to the time when I feel ready to bring another dog into our family. I needed a minute to recuperate after Lucy died - emotionally, of course, but I also needed a second to breathe, because the last few months of her life were...a lot. Besides the logistical work - vet appointments, messes to be cleaned - I worried about her all the time. I'd wake up in the middle of the night to check her breathing, or terrify myself imagining the worst when she didn't run up to greet me at the door when I came home (which, towards the end, she never did).

I was exhausted from the sheer volume of care she required - that on top of the care required by the other living things in my household - and honestly? I wanted to rest. But now my kids are starting to mention wanting another dog, and not just that: They've taken on a bunch of pet-related responsibilities (scooping the litterbox is one of them, thank Jesus) to try to convince me that they'll help out with the walking and training and such, and I want to reward their efforts.