Hello, hola, 안녕하세요, and bonjour! (I really want to master another language one of these days...)

So glad you made it back to another edition with us here at OHV! We've missed you tremendously.

Without further ado, I present to you:

1. 🔊 A parent of super successful children shares some sage advice

2. 🌪 Teen spirit is no joke

3. 👻 Halloween grub for the kids

4. 🙇🏽‍♀️ Random thoughts from the crew

(and you know you won't get away without some savings to keep that wallet fat!)

(All ages)

Boss Mom Shares Her Thoughts on Parenting (and we LOVE it)

If you have been reading our work of art (ok, work in progress 🤓) long enough, you should already know the name Ester Wojcicki. Am I right?!

Yeah, totally kidding. We had no idea who she was either (please don't tell her, because seriously, we think she is awesome).

Ester wrote a little book called "How to Raise Successful People". She also happens to be a co-founder of Tract. Oh, and she also raised 3 successful children; 1 is a physician and the other 2 are co-founders and/or CEOs of a couple of small companies- you may have heard of 23andMe and Youtube.

She also kicks it with Maye Musk - yes, that Musk. As in the mother of Elon Musk.

Bruh. I KNOW. I'm a bit of a fanboy at this point.

Ah, I digress.

Ester wrote a cool piece that I found immensely eye-opening and also chock full of wonderful parenting tips.

Wanna know the bottom line up front? (that's called BLUF in the military...I still can't get down with this too long didn't read or TL;DR that everyone is using now)

Stop "helicopter" or "snowplow" parenting. Even Mama Musk agreed.

It's when we good-intentioned parents try to help and end up being overly involved and removing too many obstacles from our children.

Sheesh. I don't know about you, but guilty here.

Enough of the remorse. How do we fix it?! She says to work on finding a meaningful balance of creating kiddos that have independent thought and are self-confident.

We can do this with a cool TRICK:

• Trust ourselves and empower our children to build trust in themselves

• Respect and nurture the natural gifts our kids have

• Independence in our children should be encouraged through trust (there's that word again) and respect to foster better coping skills to deal with life's up and downs

• Collaborate with our kids to work together on family matters and goals - both in school and in the home

• Kindness and all of the those accompanying attributes - serving and caring for others, understanding we are part of a bigger community, and being thankful - are immensely important and should be deeply encouraged

Now that's some good stuff, Ester.

(Teens)

It's Tough Being a Teen

For some of us, it was longer than we care to be reminded of (yikes). Yet still, we can remember the days of being a teen.

School, sports, and.....super weird emotions. Bring on the stress.

Hey, I've heard it all. "What could they possibly have to worry about? It's the greatest and easiest time of their lives!"

BUT, we have to understand that for those reveling in teen spirit, it's easy to be caught up in the mix and lose that "10,000-foot view". For them, it can be super difficult to see the forest AND the trees, so to say.

As parents, it can be frustrating and extremely hard to watch your kids go through things (and man, we know school and kids can be downright ugly at times).

So whichever side you land on, whether thats compassion because you can remember how it was or more of the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" type, parents can help their teens by being supportive and helping them to develop their own healthy coping mechanisms (I can't recall exactly how I developed my own coping skills, but I would assume it was a mixture of several parenting styles).

If you want some good ideas for helping your teen manage stress and anxiety, take a look here. Prefer some handpicked favs that give the most bang for the buck? Say no more 👇🏽

1. Let them talk about their emotions (actually encourage them to talk). This could be to you as their parent, a trusted friend or member of their faith, or maybe even a counselor. I am a HUGE advocate of kiddos having a good therapist if needed. (it's amazing they can say the same things that you say but somehow your kids listen to them more 🤷🏽‍♂️)

2. Encourage healthy eating and a good exercise plan. Did you know that studies have shown that exercise is as effective as any antidepressant on the market? (Disclaimer: this is not medical advice and you should speak to your child's healthcare provider. Exercise is not a REPLACEMENT for antidepressants when clinically needed - in fact, I encourage BOTH and in combination with therapy to support a quicker recovery)

3. Help them develop good sleep hygiene and sleep routines. (this is MASSIVELY important and I will do more on this in the future!)

4. Encourage them to do things that they enjoy and help to support the things they are naturally gifted at.

There are so many more great ways to help your kids manage stress and anxiety, but here are a few that are sure ways to get on the right track. Remember, don't be afraid to get them extra help where needed!

Just for Giggles 😆

Oooo, one of the best parts of the show!

If you want to live to see morning, dear husbands: not a word. Not. A. Single. Word.

Wow. JUST WOW. Kids are brutal!

Bring on the yum! 😋

Halloween is on the horizon, and it’s time to bring out the cute (and easy) spooky foods! But listen, we totally understand how busy you are (we see you, super parent 💪🏽), and we’re here to help you!

Before you dress those kiddos up for some trick or treating, throw these super fast ideas together for an easy but ghoulish meal! You’ll be the coolest parent on the block with little effort. 😎 If that’s not a win, I don’t know what is!

And if you want a few healthier options, check out this list of creepy cute snacks! 👻

Deals, steals, and money-saving thrills 🤑

Man, we love some good deals and being able to save money. This week, we are serving up:

✅ Costco coming in with a win for the tiny people wranglers. How's $9.50 off Kirkland diapers sound? Stock up with all that you need until October 23 when this deal goes bye-bye.

We have "another one"...for my credit card fans 👇🏽

✅ American Express "Member Week" is available October 10-14. If you are an AMEX user, you can check out up to $300 in credits for various shopping categories.

Say what?! 📣

Random finds from across the web to satisfy your non-parenting knowledge thirst!

• Tupperware is trying a run with a big box retailer...again. Yep, now you can find all of your storage needs without the accompanying party (or with, if you prefer it like that) at your friendly Target store. No promise of finding those pesky lids when they go missing shortly after purchase though. 🕵🏽

• Elon Musk whistles a new tune with plans to buy Twitter, maybe...(also again). Who can even keep up anymore? Musk is more flip flop than Katy Perry's 2008 jam "Hot n Cold". 😒

• Sam Cox (aka Mr. Doodle) finishes a two-year-long doodle session. It only took 2,296 pen nibs, 900 liters of white paint, 401 cans of spray paint for the exterior, and 286 bottles of black paint for the interior. You really HAVE to see the makeover of his $1.5M property. 👩🏽‍🎨

Questions for the Crew! 😎

Let's Give Some Food for Thought:

• We find colorizing old black-and-white photos and film reels super cool right now. I imagine in 50 years we may reverse the trend and see what people and places looked like without all of the beloved (and some atrocious) filters.😜 - Z

• Our energy and tone affect the mood and response of our children. Let's work on leaving big people's reactions out of little people's actions.👏🏼- I

• “I want to do, not just be.” Thanks for that Princess Dianna….me too 💜 - J

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TTFN! (that's "ta-ta for now" for any of you non-Winnie the Pooh fans)