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From Susan Merrill

The Blog

Marriage

7 Life Hacks for Wives

Life hacks are the best. I’m a shortcut girl as long as the shortcuts don’t compromise quality. Because, hey, what’s the good of, say, a super easy chocolate cake if it doesn’t taste good? So these 7 awesome life hacks for wives are not only shortcuts, they’re easy ways to help you be the wife you want to be: Be Content Life Hack Distraction and busyness drain my attention from my husband. What I need is a hack to help me remember how to make him a priority and show him that I adore him. Adore Him Life Hack The problem with social media is that I begin to believe that everyone I know has a perfect husband, a perfect house, and a $10,000 vacation every year. What I need is to be thankful for my real husband and the real pictures of sweet memories posted on my not-so-perfect but real walls. Be Thankful Life Hack Guilt is a problem for me. I often feel as if I am not being or doing enough. I seem to remember all the negatives with razor sharpness and they cut into me painfully. What I need to do is challenge myself to small …

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Marriage

Sometimes It Hurts to Be Silent in Marriage

I am pretty chill about most things. This can be a good quality to have for marriage and a bad quality. On the one hand, I am more flexible than my husband who is more defined in his opinions. He likes to think about dinner—I don’t really care where we go to eat. There are times when he likes quiet—I am game for 5 kids spending the night any time. On the other hand, he is clearer about what is important to him and we all know it. I am not clear. There are some things I do care about, but my family doesn’t always know what that is because I tend to do the wrong thing—I remain silent. It hurts. And it can hurt in different ways. Sometimes I am silent about my desires because I don’t want to be a bother. For example, my birthday is just a few days after Christmas and the exact same day as my husband’s. So, it’s tough to feel special because gifts have already been given ad infinitum and who is going to spearhead the “party?” Me or Mark…it’s his birthday too. Normally I don’t really mind, but recently I had a big …

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Parenting

Mini Putt Putt Golf

When my kids were little, they loved playing mini golf. In fact, I’m pretty sure they still enjoy it! So I love the idea of setting up a mini golf course at your own house, so your kids can play any time they want to – and you get to save some money. On my guest post on My Kids Adventures today, I share three really fun mini golf courses you and your kids can design, create, and play. Plus, there’s a cute printable scorecard to make your games seem like the real thing. So pop over to My Kids Adventures and let me know what you think!

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Parenting

Toddlers and ADHD Medication

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common behavioral disorder of childhood, yet experts are worried by statistics that show very young kids are now getting powerful medications to treat the problem. Some 10,000 toddlers across the U.S. are being diagnosed as hyperactive and receiving drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced in a new report. The 2- and 3-year-olds — especially those whose families who are on Medicaid —are getting the drugs even though the American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t even have guidelines for ADHD in children under 4. “We’re giving Adderall to 2-year-olds? I mean, that’s nuts,” said Dr. Lawrence H. Diller, a behavioral pediatrician. “There’s no evidence that it works. There’s no evidence that it’s safe. These are desperate measures.” An excerpt from Today.com Before I say a word, I do want you to know that I understand that parenting a toddler is at times tiring, exasperating, and frustrating. Little ones have big energy. But that’s normal. Their little bodies and minds are growing and often at odd times. What does that mean? It means that their curiosity may be exploding and driving impulses, but their self-control is just forming and hardly …

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Encouragement

Join Me in Supporting Moms’ Night Out

From the crazy mom characters to the silly scenarios they found themselves in, I found myself as a mom really relating to so many moments in Moms’ Night Out. So when critics recently came out against the movie, I was completely caught off guard. I couldn’t think of one way in which the movie “never takes the difficulties of motherhood seriously.” I decided to look further into it and checked out the Rotten Tomatoes website. According to them, only 15% of critics enjoyed it while an overwhelming 86% of the general audience loved it. The main concern of the critics seemed to be that the movie was suggesting that “a woman’s place is in the home, not out on the town.” As soon as I read that, I thought to myself that the last thing we needed was to pit working moms against non-working moms. A mom is a mom—whether she is a stay at home mom or works in an office. Through different seasons of life, I have found myself in both places; sometimes my office has been the traditional cubicle with a desk and a stack of papers, like now. Other times, my office has been the floor …

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Encouragement

Look Up From Your Phone

Are you suffering from digital distraction? “You need a new pacemaker and another ablation.” I have heard this before. Last month, I had my 5th pacemaker replacement and next month I will have my 3rd ablation. My heart keeps me very grounded in the reality that life is tenuous. Every minute, hour and day count. Before every surgery I am forced to ask myself, “Is this it? Have I done everything there is for me to do?” And when I wake up, post surgery, my first thought without fail is, “I guess not. I wonder what I have left to do?” There is always a reason for life because God always has a plan. And that plan always includes people. I am thankful for the constant reminder that I am here for a reason. I think many people have forgotten why they are here. They think they are here for their phone instead of their husband, child, or neighbor. Phones are a constant digital distraction. We all need to be reminded, some of us more than others. My surgeries are my reminder (I needed obviously needed a big one). Maybe the quote above and the video it was taken from below, …

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Encouragement

My Moms’ Night Out on the Red Carpet

Wow and wow! I love this movie. It is funny, it is encouraging, and it is awesome family entertainment. But what I love most is that this movie celebrates MOMS and the producers, directors, and Provident Films made that very clear at the premiere. Everywhere you looked on the red carpet, you saw moms—every day, plain old, normal moms! Ok, so we didn’t look quite as plain as usual and definitely not our normal selves. We glammed it up as best as we could. Notice how smooth I got my hair. It was a combination of effort and the LA air. Lesson 1: You can have Hollywood hair in dry air!

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