The choice is yours
CALM & COLORFUL
Weekly Newsletter · Week 2: Learn & Grow Week
Hey mama,
I use this one phrase with Korbin whenever I feel my own patience running out: "Mommy's not her favorite self right now, and that's who you deserve, so I'm taking some deep breaths before I talk again." I did not expect it to change much. It was just my kind way to not snap.
But something shifted. Korbin has started naming his own big feelings out loud now too, in his own three-year-old way. He did not learn that from a lecture. He learned it from watching me do it, out loud, over and over.
That is the idea behind this week's newsletter. You do not have to overhaul your parenting. You just have to try one small thing differently, and let your little one watch you do it.
What is one small script or practice you have tried recently, even if you were not sure it would work?
Hit reply and share with me. I truly want to hear <3
With warmth, Jessica
This Week We Are Bringing You
Here's what's inside this week:
• Your Mama Pause is waiting: sixty seconds, zero guilt • A simple parenting script you can use today • A check-in on the Choice Jar challenge: how is it going for your family? • Your Weekly Calm: a reset you can do in under 5 minutes • Your Aledo Moment: this week's playdates
💛 You don't have to earn a moment to yourself, it's already yours. Mama Pause is a growing library of short, guided audio resets for the moments this newsletter can't reach in real time. $12/month or $99/year.
The "Not My Favorite Self" Script
When you feel your patience slipping, saying it out loud, calmly, teaches your little one two things at once: that big feelings are normal, and that a person can pause instead of react.
Here's how to use it:
• Notice the moment you feel your patience starting to slip • Say a simple, honest line out loud, something like "Mommy is not her favorite self right now, so I am taking a few breaths before I talk again" • Take three slow breaths, in front of them, on purpose
You do not have to hide the hard moments from your little one. Let them see you handle one.
How did the Choice Jar go this week?
If it went beautifully, that is wonderful. Celebrate that a small jar of paper slips found its way into your routine.
If it went sideways, or the jar is still sitting on the counter untouched, that is normal too. Most families need a few tries before a new habit sticks.
One tip if you are just getting started: keep it to five slips at first, not fifty. A jar with too many options can feel like one more decision instead of a relief.
Drop a 🤝 in the AMOL group and tell me how it's going. I'm rooting for you.
Your Weekly Calm: The Cool Water Reset
Try this one with your little one, or on your own while they nap.
1. Run cool water over the inside of both wrists for 10 seconds 2. Splash a little on the back of your neck 3. Take one slow breath in through your nose 4. Exhale twice as long as the inhale 5. Notice one thing you can see, one thing you can hear, and one thing you can feel
You do not have to feel calm to start. You just have to start.
Your Aledo Moment
🎉 Exciting news, mama! We are moving over to Parker County Family Hangouts. This move lets us expand beyond Aledo, include more families across the county, and build an even safer, more connected community together, still the same warmth, just more room at the table. Come join us: everything you need for your first hangout is right here: calmandcolorful.com/pcfhwelcome
No elaborate prep. No performance. Just show up. 🤍
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pcfamilyhangouts
Know a mama who needs this in her inbox? Forward this her way.
The more mamas the merrier.
One Last Thought from Jessica
Growth does not usually look like a big leap. It looks like one small script, tried on a hard afternoon, tried again the next day, until it starts to feel like yours.
You do not have to get the Choice Jar right, or the script perfect, or any of it polished. Your little one is not watching for perfect. They are watching for real.
You are allowed to just choose the one small thing.
Choose one thing.
With so much warmth, Jessica
Calm & Colorful | calmandcolorful.com
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