I often think of this line from Arrested Development:

Lucille: Well, I may not have been a perfect mother, but you know kids don’t come with a handbook.
Narrator: In fact, there are thousands of books written on child-rearing. But Lucille was in denial.

And that’s just the thing, there are probably too many books on parenting and child-rearing. When I need advice most, I find that I have the least amount of time to read. And when I do steal time to read and find those gems, my sleep-deprived brain cannot recall the information when I need it.

So, I started taking notes and turning them into one-pagers <cringe> that I hung on the fridge. The one-pagers began a conversation with my partner, our childcare providers, and anyone else interested: teachers, doctors, baseball coaches, haberdashers, tattoo artists, Fedex delivery person, the guy on the subway pretending not to listen to me by reading the paper…you know, the “inner circle,” the “village.”

Pretty soon, these tidbits became tools and systems that made us better people to help nurture our kiddos. I decided to share them. With you.

With that Happy Volcanoes erupted. What Happy Volcanoes is: 1-part weekly newsletter, 2-parts Cliff Notes, 1-part jokes. What Happy Volcanoes isn’t: a mommy blog, preachy, anyone’s retirement plan, opinion pieces, or a place to find the world’s best chocolate chip cookie recipe. Each week, we send you a newsletter full of helpful and informative info to help you in your parenting journey.

Why the name “Happy Volcanoes?” I have three kids, all named after volcanoes: Vesuvius, Krakatoa and Mount Saint Helens. Okay, obviously, we are using pseudonyms here (Eyjafjallajökull would never let me use her real name). Initially, I just liked the names, and then I began to think about their names as a metaphor. Big emotions that sometimes come spilling out. Every explosion comes with a bit of growth. With time the whole process becomes fertile soil for life. And happy? For now, this is my wish for my kids, not that they’re happy every minute of the day, but that they’re happy in their skin. The word I was probably looking for was flourishing, but that didn’t have quite the same ring. And, yes, one time they were all volcanoes for Halloween:)