How to be a happier parent

I saw this article on yahoo today and just had to take a break from my usual silly banter to post something a bit more serious.  I really like simplicity in parenting advice, as the whole 40-step, barter and hold, dance a jig crap is just far too complicated for me.

The authors posit that you should ask yourselves two questions:

1.  When are you happiest with your kids?


For me, this is definitely during the wind down part of the evening, when we are cuddling in bed together, reading a story, or talking about our days.  There is nothing sweeter in life than these moment.

2. What part of the normal day with your family routinely causes suffering?

The one that seems to cause problems consistently is getting ready in the morning.  Oh, the drama.  I've tried prepping the night before, etc. but there is some drama that we just can't seem to get past.
 
Evening mealtime can also be a bit frustrating.
 
By the way, I think they are relevant even if you don't have children.  The answers to these questions could help make life in general a little easier.
 
What about you? How would you answer these questions?

A Few of my Favorite Things

This post is a little off-topic, but might be a nice intermission piece after a series of more contemplative posts.

I have stumbled across a few new things lately that have made my list of favorites, and wanted to share:

As someone who tries my best to watch the nutritional content of our food, I've been on a quest to find natural peanut butter that doesn't have that disgustingly dry taste and texture or nasty separation.  I stumbled across a natural peanut butter (no hydrogenated oils, gluten free, no high fructose corn syrup) that doesn't require refrigeration, doesn't separate, and tastes better than regular peanut butter!  My favorite is The Bee's Knees.  The company is called Peanut Butter & Co and I was able to find it in our local grocery store.