I’m a mom, stepmom, and theatre educator helping exhausted parents access their inner creative playfulness for more connection and joy. No messy crafts, complicated setups, or sensory bins here! Just simple, silly moments that bring your family back together through laughter. My short weekly emails share reflections from real life and a simple invitation you can try for yourself or with your kids.
I pretended I was dreaming and it turned our whole day around
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My nervous system was shot the other day and I was really on edge and agitated. I felt stuck in “serious mode.” Part of me knew that if I could “activate play mode” even just a little bit, we could all feel a little better. But another part of me was like: “NO. I don’t WANT to lighten up right now. I deserve to feel this way!” It’s true, I did deserve to feel that way. AND yet there was also this tiny voice asking: What if you let go of clinging to serious mode… just for a minute? That opportunity presented itself when I was folding laundry and all three of my kids wandered over to help. Instead of saying, “Wow, guys! Thank you!” I decided to be silly about it and instead said: “Ohhh wow. I know what happened. I fell asleep! Yeahhh, I’m sleeping right now and I’m having a great dream that my kids are all helping me fold laundry!!! This is great, never wake me!” They started pinching my arm to prove it was real but I wasn’t “falling for it” and kept trying to make other crazy things happen in my dream like candy fall from the ceiling. then I’d say “ewww! All I can taste is stale fart air! This dream is sooo weird!” They were all laughing. And… I felt the heavy rock on my chest lift. Not completely. But it was lighter. Enough to reconnect and change the course of the entire afternoon!! My invitation for you this week: I wanted to share this because I think we all have moments where we can feel a little crack forming, where lightness is trying to come through… but something inside us wants to cling to anger, hurt, or control. I’m NOT saying we shouldn’t feel those emotions, so please don’t get me wrong here!!! I’m definitely not promoting toxic positivity. I’m just saying when you notice that little crack, try giving yourself permission to let a teeeeny bit of light in. Because every single time I do, I never regret it. Cheering you on always, Mia 💞 P.S. If you are an Activate Play Mode member, we just moved our community onto the Circle app and it's AWESOME! So easy to chat with each other, and yes I am active in the group! This is included with your APM purchase, no matter when you grabbed it, so if you haven't seen an invite from me, reply here and I'll make sure to get you in there. 🥰 MORE FROM PLAYFUL HEART PARENTING: Learn how to play all my FAVORITE improv-inspired games for laughter, connection, and all-ages fun. Skip the brainpower and jump straight into fun with with 1,500+ prompts, games, conversation starters, and silly moment ideas right in your pocket! Includes 400 print-your-own cards for screen-free play. A practical framework to help you enjoy parenting again with more laughter, cooperation, and connection. Includes lifetime access to the private podcast course, app and community, plus ongoing encouragement from Mia. |
Playful Heart Parenting
I’m a mom, stepmom, and theatre educator helping exhausted parents access their inner creative playfulness for more connection and joy. No messy crafts, complicated setups, or sensory bins here! Just simple, silly moments that bring your family back together through laughter. My short weekly emails share reflections from real life and a simple invitation you can try for yourself or with your kids.
Steve and I were overdue for a date night, and luckily, the stars aligned for that to happen last Friday night. When we finished dinner, we realized we had a whole hour before we needed to head home... Steve said, "So, what do you wanna do now?" "Honestly?" I said, "I want to find a bench to sit on with you and play games." "Okay," he said. He knew it would make me so happy. But little did he know HE was the one who was going to end up like THIS: Yep. That's my husband who was laughing so...
Yesterday our dear friends were over and just before it was time for them to go home, the witching hour had started. My son’s best friend was running around, sticking out his tongue and blowing wet raspberries at everyone, spit included. actual footage We told him to stop. We told him “spit stays in your mouth.” But it was the end of a long day, and he literally was not hearing us… you know when kids are dysregulated and just on another level? It was that. To make matters worse, my son picked...
(Hey, that subject line rhymes!) We just got back from our first big family adventure visiting family across the country, and as usual I was in hustle-and-bustle mode, drenched in sweat from packing… already running late as usual for our fam… (Side note, I used garbage bags and then sat on them to press out all the air and semi-vacuum-seal our clothes and I felt like a GENIUS… I am going to pretend I discovered this so don’t correct me if I’m wrong, let me have this 🏆) When we got to security...