Jessica's Friday Five: Bee rescue, Mother's Day breakfast idea & supporting NICU families
Published 9 days agoΒ β’Β 3 min read
Hi Reader,
Some of you might remember me mentioning a few weeks ago that we had a hive of bees set up in the wall of our home while we were out of town. We've been working with a local beekeeper to move the bees safely, and we had to cut a large hole in our wall to pull out what turned out to be a huge honeycomb (picture a 5-gallon bucket full of honeycomb). The bees and their queen are safely in a new space, and the keeper left us with some (hyper-local at an entirely new level) honey made in our own house. What an adventure. π―
Phone Safety Tip: I learned this from a friend years ago - if you turn on the voice assistant feature on your phone (in my iPhone it's called "Hey Siri", in Android phones it's Hey Google), you can then say, "Hey Siri/Google, call [person] on speaker phone". This would be a super helpful feature in certain cases - for example an older person living home alone who might fall but could then call out for help to their phone, or a baker who might have messy hands but want to make a call, or anyone else who just wants that extra layer of ease to make a phone call. Set it up on your phone or on someone you care about who might find it helpful for ease or safety. β
Pregnancy, NICU, and Infant Loss: I met Michelle Valiukenas recently at an event and learned she's a Friday Fiver here in this community with all of you! She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving outcomes in pregnancy, childbirth, prematurity, and infancy, while also supporting grieving families. Since its founding in September 2018, the organization has provided over $1.7 million in financial help to over 3,100 families throughout the United States. The organization's ability to give is based on the generosity of donors with 100% of all donations going directly to their financial assistance program. As a maternal "near-miss" mom (I was saved after my 2nd child's birth by 9 blood donors and talented medical staff) and a friend of many who have dealt with infant loss and NICU stays, this topic is close to my heart, so here's my offer to you: make a donation of any amount to the Foundation using our Friday Five linkand I'll gift you one of my digital products or courses (that sell between $7 and $37 each) completely free. Just forward me your receipt and I'll get you set up! β
French Toast Sandwiches: Years ago, I read a tip about making sandwiches into French toast that forever changed my approach to this meal. Instead of just dipping bread into an egg mixture, make sandwiches (think peanut butter and jelly, Nutella and banana, or anything else) and then dip those in and fry them. It's a delicious way to up-level your French toast. Maybe make it for a mom in your life this Sunday on Mother's Day? β
Movie Night Ideas: Last week I asked for your movie night recommendations and promised to share back! Here's a collection of what you suggested with the notes you mentioned about the movies. I hope it helps you find a film to watch soon. Feel free to bookmark and come back to the list. I did not know there was a kid-friendly James Patterson series on Prime, so that's going onto my list! And I need to regain my elder millenial parenting credibility by showing my kids The Sandlot. Thanks for the nudges, everyone! β
4 Steps to Getting Your Son off Screens this Summer: I just signed up for this free webinar in a few weeks with Rachel (who is truly the smartest person I know when it comes to being a mom to boys) and I wanted to make sure you knew about it too. Maybe I'll see you there on Zoom? This isnβt another lecture on screen limits. Itβs a real plan that works for boys who push back or seem vulnerable to screen addiction. Letβs keep them out of the manosphere and inside reality. β
Bonus Sponsor Resource: LifeVac to Save Choking Victims. I got one of these a few years ago. I put it near the dinner table in our house - it's inside a cabinet with a bright pink post-it that says, "Choking Kit Inside" that I added as a reminder to us and any guests if we were in a stressful moment of trying to save the life of someone choking on food.
Most of us keep a fire extinguisher around at home, and a LifeVac is another example of something you can rest a little easier knowing you have on hand when seconds matter. This resource is from one of our Friday Five sponsors - thank you to them for keeping this newsletter free for readers!
