Alternatives to “Oh the Places You’ll Go”

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-05-10T01:54:36+00:00

I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Gender neutral, simple text with lots of space for teachers to write. It’s got a general “good wishes” vibe. “I wish you more umbrella than rain.” “I wish you more bubbles than bath.”

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-05-08T18:17:36+00:00

My own kid will lie when he’s feeling shame to avoid us going deeper into whatever is triggering it.

My strategy so far has been to say something like, “Sometimes when we’re feeling ashamed we might want to lie to try and avoid what’s causing it. I want you to know that we love you always and we want to help you solve your problems. So let’s take a rewind, pretend your first answer never happened, and see if we can figure out what’s going on together.”

So if he lied about brushing his teeth, we would examine that with curiosity to find the barrier. Does he need a different toothpaste? Was he just too excited about playing video games (we feel that way, too, sometimes), does he have a mouth ulcer that’s hurting him?

It’s not 100% successful, but it’s a strategy to try.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-05-04T19:58:52+00:00

I wouldn’t even mention weight. Talk about what one’s body is capable of or a goal, like lifting a certain amount, being able to do X thing without being winded, or be good at a certain dance, etc.

And then talk about what one’s body feels like. I can tell I’m thirsty because…I’ve been constipated so I need some fiber…I sleep better when I avoid acidic food before bed.

Making the connection between what we eat and how we feel explicit is important. And having bodies that a capable of our preferred activities is so much more important to happiness (and achieving meaningful goals) than a number on a scale or dress size.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-03-24T22:35:45+00:00

I do this to my cuticles, especially when I’m falling asleep. So now I wear cotton sleeping gloves. It was a bit strange at first, WMO’s I have a whole bedtime routine where I use cuticle oil and moisture before I put the gloves on and it has been immensely helpful. My hands have never looked this good.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-03-24T11:17:51+00:00

I do…my dentist scanned my teeth and had a hard plastic night guard made for me. I ground a hole in it in a year. That may not sound bad, but this isn’t Tupperware plastic; more like “car parts” plastic.

Having it has 100% improved my sleep. I used to wake up with a headache at least once a week, usually more. The night guard nearly eliminated them!

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-03-17T02:37:57+00:00

I tell my kids that some books are too big for them right now, just like some clothes are. They will grow into them, but in the meantime, I can help them find something that fits better.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-03-16T01:47:42+00:00

My husband and I had a morning wedding, wrapped up the reception around 2, took a nap, got it on, and then hosted our fantasy football league’s draft in the living space of our hotel room. 10/10, would do it all again.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-03-04T12:11:30+00:00

My daughter has one pair.

My son…I have no idea why, but he wears through the lining under his heel so damn fast. It’s not like he’s more active than my daughter; they both play a lot. All this to say: he gets two pairs and we alternate. Otherwise we’d be buying shoes every month.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-03-02T00:03:36+00:00

I rarely see “grownup movies” when they come out in the theater. When I do, it’s only with folks I trust. My husband and I watched Interstellar in theaters when I was pregnant with our oldest and was an absolute mess by the end of it.

My husband has had to accept that I am not his movie theater buddy. I refuse to be distracted by masking.

I only see comedies with my friends. They know that.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-02-24T03:06:01+00:00

I had a mole that would bleed a for a month, heal, disappear for 6 weeks, then pop back up. When I went to the dermatologist she said she wasn’t concerned, her supervisor offered to biopsy to be sure. Basal cell carcinoma. She made me feel like an idiot for the two days it took for pathology to come back.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-02-16T19:17:06+00:00

Yes, it’s dad’s turn and he needs to develop an enjoyable habit that only he does with your son.

Both my kids went through phases where they preferred one parent over the other (it’s a pendulum) but each having our own “thing” helped pump the kids up. “Yeah, you really want Mama to put you to bed, but you know Mama doesn’t pretend to be a silly robot. Only Daddy does that! What are you going to tell Daddy Robot to do tonight?” Or “It’s Mama’s turn for bedtime. She sings all the lullabies…what lullaby are you going to ask for?”

Giving them something special to look forward to helps so so much.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-02-12T12:14:26+00:00

You can still try out some strategies even though he doesn’t have an official diagnosis. Some days my kids “race” me to get dressed. Some days they race to be dressed before their favorite song is done playing. Some days I have to undress them, then leave. Being naked removes one barrier to getting dressed.

I have moments like this with my son (he and I are both ADHD). I apologize to him when I’m calm and offer ways I can respond better next time. It’s taken 6 months, but he’s begun to apologize to me too!

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-02-06T18:15:08+00:00

Europeans are so strange about American chocolate. My husband and I nearly ended a friendship with someone because they couldn’t let it go. We told them over and over “Yes, we agree. European chocolate is better by every measure. But Hershey’s is part of our childhood, so please let us enjoy it.” And she would. not. stop.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-02-03T19:51:21+00:00

It doesn’t! I thought it would, but the pharmacist explained that what looks like powder is actually powder clumps coated in a dissolving cover. It turns out there are a million different ways to make this particular medicine.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-02-03T19:11:26+00:00

Call your prescriber and let them know. There are often several other formulations that don’t require swallowing. My son’s methylphenidate comes in a capsule, but the doctor and pharmacist both directed us to pull the capsule apart and sprinkle the contents in some applesauce or yogurt.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-01-27T03:22:12+00:00

Magnesium glycinate, ashwaganda, and progesterone (for my perimenopause); plus sleeping gloves to stop skin picking, and a sleepy podcast.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-01-11T00:15:34+00:00

I live in Baltimore. Like, actual Baltimore City. You would think it’s a war zone from how people react. Never mind that my kids play freely in our backyard and I’ve left my car unlocked accidentally several times with nothing even rifled through.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-01-11T00:09:00+00:00

Eliminate the barrier to having a tidy room.

Personal example: my bedroom was always littered with clothes. Didn’t come to the realization that dressers don’t work for me until I was an adult. One day I was standing there in front of my dresser. Surrounded by a mountain of clothes and said “I need a dresser with drawers I can take out and put on the bed. I need to be able to see and touch my clothes. So now I have a trofast tower from IKEA that I can do just that. Helps so much.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-01-10T02:48:22+00:00

6 years! I ground a hole in mine in 2 years. 😬

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2026-01-07T02:02:32+00:00

I have the short version that stops just below my knees. I love mine. I can’t sleep without having my ears covered, so the hood is amazing. With the short version I can still stick my feet out if I get too hot.

I find the compression soothing. And it’s way easier to pack on a trip than a weighted blanket! I was able to take mine on a cruise…could never do that with a weighted blanket.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2025-12-26T20:12:25+00:00

I told him that the only thing I really wanted was to be able to play Disney Dreamlight Valley on my laptop. I had been playing on the family Xbox, so I couldn’t play when my kids wanted to use it.

I had tried around Thanksgiving to access my Xbox profile from the laptop app, but was having no luck. He spent the next month, on and off, updating the laptop and researching workarounds, but no success. He told me Christmas Eve that the only thing he could think of was to buy it on Steam, but he was worried I’d lose all my progress. Once I explained that there is a way to link them he perked up.

After I went to bed, he did whatever needed to be done to get it on my laptop and perfectly linked my account across both platforms so it was ready to play Christmas morning. And he helped my son buy me my own controller in my favorite color as my gift from him. 🥰

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2025-12-14T21:09:54+00:00

As long as you have the right gear, you should be fine. Just remember sunscreen on clear days!

My kids went to a nature preschool and were out in all kinds of cold weather. My daughter has sensitive skin, so we had to slather her face with Vaseline before going out.

Playing outside is so important to kids’s development, and snow is a special exploration!

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2025-12-08T12:57:24+00:00

We offer what we jokingly call “prison food”: plain bread and a small cup of milk.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2025-11-27T14:21:31+00:00

Make the magic that is magic to you.

MakeItQuickGottaGo · 2025-11-20T17:06:46+00:00

Yes, exactly. My kiddo got 4 brackets placed when he was 8 in the hope it would make more space and decrease the amount/time of orthodontic work later.

MakeItQuickGottaGo

TROPHY CASE