Here I go back to my monthly favourites, after pretending September didn’t exist and skipping it completely. Truth is, our trip to Italy and my return to full-time working kept me really busy last month and I completely forgot to keep notes of my favourite things. Luckily, I’m confident this October’s list will be able to compensate and you will forgive me. I have several cool things to share with you, on adoptive parenting, multilingualism, and even a nice treat for you, tired and busy moms. Let’s do it!

I am a Lionheart mother

Sometime you meet someone or something exactly at the right time in your life. That was the case with me and this book. It truly guided me through the dark times of post-placement with my son and I’m sure it will offer support even later, when adoption-related issues will pop up. Three adoptive mothers open up about their experience, with great humor and no shame about their struggles and challenges. The three families have had very different journeys and can report on a multitude of experiences, therapies, successful and less successful strategies. One thing I loved about this book is how the authors created a lively community of adoptive parents revolving around it. They shared a lot of additional resources on the book’s website. If you know anyone who adopted, is adopting, or is close to an adoptive family, I strongly recommend you give them this wonderful gift.

Raising multilingual kids, a podcast

As you know by now, we are raising bilingual children – most likely to become trilingual in the near future. Our daughter, now four, fluently speaks Italian and Finnish, while our 2 year old son speaks Italian and is starting to learn his first Finnish words. I’m constantly looking for the best strategies to enhance my kids’ language experience and the podcast Bilingual Avenue offers great practical advice. Marianna alternates several kind of episodes, with suggestions, ideas, as well as interviews to other multilingual parents. I love to listen to her while I drive to work every morning! If you want to know more about multilingualism, read also my review of Be Bilingual.

Easy, cheap, and delicious family meals with ResQ

Life with two kids is hectic and it will only get worse when my husband will go back to working full-time. Cooking is one of the house chores which take the most time for us and we don’t want to surrender to microwave meals. I like cooking, but it annoys me when it becomes repetitive and compulsory every single night. It’s not easy after a busy day at work and with two toddlers who demand constant interaction. I’m sure many of you sympathise with our situation and this is why I want to warmly recommend ResQ. ResQ is an app you download on your phone, which flags if restaurants nearby are selling discount meals. Restaurants have leftover portions from lunch or dinner, and are more than happy to sell them for discounted prices. For us it’s also a way to occasionally enjoy restaurant quality food and keep into our monthly budget. For the time being ResQ operates in Finland, Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands, but keep an eye on it as it’s expanding to new countries.

A new level of relaxing: body desserts

I’m a great fan of products by Organic Shop, which I usually buy from Sokos in Finland. They are organic cosmetic products, entirely made in Europe, sold for very accessible prices. And they are amazing. I was a regular buyer of scrubs and hair masks, until I found their new line of body desserts. Let me tell you, you cannot go back after you try their soufflé body creams. They smell fantastic, are nourishing to the skin, and lovely to the touch. This is my new ritual after shower. I don’t care if the two brats – I mean, angels – are killing each other in the next room, I’m taking those fabulous five minutes for myself after every shower.

Just this podcast episode

I was sent this podcast episode by a friend and it presents a refreshing point of view for adoptive parents. I know many of us struggle to incorporate our children’s birth culture into their family (I talked about that also here) and it was great to hear feedback about that from grown-up adoptees. After listening to that episode, my husband and I discussed the option of teaching Hindi language to E., and I resolved to make sure I will keep my focus on facilitating a serene cultural identification for E. and R. (after all, she’s the daughter of immigrants as well). I feel the whole series is interesting for everyone, as it questions how culture is passed on through food. I find it a great plus that they considered featuring the experience of adoptees.

How does this October’s favs list look to you? I hope I made it up to you guys for missing one month. If you try any of these suggestions, let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear feedback. If you liked this post, make sure to share it on any social media of choice. Have a great November, y’all!