- Are you in a busy season? Try this to ease your anxiety.
- You should try these picture hangers. You just push them into the wall, no hammer needed!
- Kate's current code for Spoonful of Comfort is KATE15. Her code for Minted is NAPTIMEHOLIDAY.
- Need an easy after school snack? Try this.
- Kate and Molly got together to make a short, practical NTK Gift Idea Shop. Many come from small businesses Kate loves, and everything is something Kate and Molly have gifted, received, use, or plan to give this year. No category has more than 10 items. We wanted it to be short and sweet. Hope you like it!
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"If you are allowed one wish for your child, seriously consider wishing him or her optimism. Optimists are normally cheerful and happy, and therefore popular; they are resilient in adapting to failures and hardships, their chances of clinical depression are reduced, their immune system is stronger, they take better care of their health, they feel healthier than others and are in fact likely to live longer.
Optimistic individuals play a disproportionate role in shaping our lives. Their decisions make a difference; they are the inventors, the entrepreneurs, the political and military leaders – not average people. They got to where they are by seeking challenges and taking risks. They are talented and they have been lucky, almost certainly luckier than they acknowledge... the people who have the greatest influence on the lives of others are likely to be optimistic and overconfident, and to take more risks than they realize." - Daniel Kahneman |
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– Unfrosted (2024) - Jerry Senfield's satirical movie about the cereal battle between Kellogg and Post. Despite a great cast, Kate and I couldn't get into it. – Wonka (2023) - The new one with Timmy C. Loved it. Great with the kids. Whimsical, fun. I'm not usually a musical guy either. – Godzilla Minus One (2023) (subtitles) - I liked this one. It's not really a "godzilla movie." But it kind of is? I could see this doing well in award season. (has subtitles) – Land of Bad (2024) - Delta Force operation movie with Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth (not Thor). Just like all the other military movies. In other words, overall pretty enjoyable. – The Bricklayer (2024) - Retired CIA agent (Aaron Eckhart, who I like) gets back in the game for one more mission. Not great. – The Fall Guy (2024) -- This one didn't land with Kate or me (see what I did there!). Was expecting more with Blunt and Gosling, who are usually very good. |
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Look at that run mozzarella has been on since around 2008! It's overtaken and now created some distance on cheddar. Here's a movement we can unify around: Make Cheddar Grate Again! (too soon?) |
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QUESTION FROM SARAH: Kind of a two part question! You have four kids and it looks like you and Nate both come from families with four kids. As our family grows I’m curious how you seem to maintain a close knit family group dynamic but also prioritize each of your children individually? Would love to hear your insight on this and it could apply to any size family! But also would love to know how you felt four kids was right for your family? KATE: This is such a good question! One thing that matters a lot to me is that the kids would feel closely knit to each other. For that reason, we don't tend to make a lot of plans on the weekends and try to do things as a family. Us as a family unit matters a lot to me and I think it collectively fills all of our cups. For doing things with each individual, we have tried to learn the different things that the kids love and hit where it counts. Scout will run errands with me all day long. She loves it! Millie feels the most loved if I spend 10 minutes rubbing her back while we watch TV or before bed. If I am going to run errands with Scout, I will make a point to sit next to Millie and rub her back at some point that evening. As to having four kids, I agree with Nate below. For the last few years we have felt very much at capacity. I also always want to note here…we have been extremely blessed in getting pregnant easily and being able to have a big family. I know for many that is not the case and if you are in a place you would give anything to grow your family know that I am stopping to pray for you now that God would meet you because that is a painful place to be. NATE: Prioritizing each of our children as individuals has definitely been a challenge for me, especially with the girls. With Johnny, it happens pretty naturally. He likes sports, and so inevitability we find things to do together – even if it's just watching a Penn State football or Orioles game. But the older girls don't really like sports – at least not yet. I have tried and failed a few things with Scout, including: buying and reading Nancy Drew books to her and renting art books from the library and looking at the pictures with her. Some things that have sort of worked: 1. I take Millie and Scout each shopping individually at the outlets on their birthday. We get lunch, walk around, and try on clothes. They love it! 2. We have season tickets to the College of Charleston basketball games. While this isn't 1 on 1, usually Kate doesn't go (we only have four tickets) and so it's “something they do with dad.” They don't love the basketball, but they like the halftime show and the snacks. It's a work in progress. As to why four kids, all I can say is that we took it one at a time. After the first, we both wanted a second, after the second we both wanted a third, etc. After number four, we both agreed that was it. I'm not sure what would have happened if we'd have “disagreed" at any point. I guess we'd have just figured it out. |
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Have something you think would be great for The Power Nap? Email it to: nate@naptimekitchen.com **Please note: the above links are affiliate links. That means if you purchase through them I make a very small commission at no cost to you. Thank you in advance should you wish to use them! |
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P.O. Box 30097
Charleston, SC 29417, United States |
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