Ten years. I’ve been his mom for ten years. 
Ten years ago I became the mother of a boy.
Ten years ago I became the mother of siblings.
Ten years ago our family grew from three to four.
Ten years ago I learned to love the phrase “momma’s boy”.
Today I see a boy who is learning so much from his father about becoming a man, and I both love it and hate it. He’s too young to learn about being a man. Isn’t he? Oh but I’m thankful for the role models that he has – his dad, his … Read the rest
I hate seeing fear on my children’s faces. When it storms, when there’s a big dog, when they were little and they couldn’t find me… it hurts my heart.
But. There is absolutely nothing worse in the world than seeing fear on my child’s face and knowing it’s because I’m yelling at my child.
I used to yell a lot. I just snapped all the time. Grievances big and small, legitimate or small kid stuff, it didn’t matter. I snapped. I didn’t have the margin in my life (mentally or emotionally) to handle it in an appropriate way, and I … Read the rest
Already. I know.
But we’ve been reading the Money Smart Family System (and you can find more at their website, moneysmartfamily.com) and will be implementing it this summer. This includes chore charts and point systems, and I wanted to incorporate this into the summer schedule that I already had so that I was setting them up to succeed.
Guys, for real, this book is helpful. It gives practical advice (with age-appropriate suggestions!) for starting children on chores and earning money so they learn financial responsibility.
Here are my summer documents if you are interested. Grace gets 15¢ per point, … Read the rest
My sweet, tender Grace. She’s my mini-me. Knowing this helps when she comes to me with certain self-image questions.
While we were in the car together recently, she shared with me that her cheek bones stick out a lot, and her face is sort of shaped like a pentagon. And maybe some kids might make fun of her because of how her face is shaped.
I said, “You know who else has cheek bones that stick out and a face shaped like that? I do.” And she smiled, because she knew it was true. Then I was able to share … Read the rest
I was sitting with my small group ladies (whom I love by the way), and some of them were discussing potty training. I hated potty training. Then I found my mind drifting to the new “bathroom conversations” I have now with my daughter.
Periods and bras and pimples and WHO SAID I WAS READY TO PREPARE HER FOR THIS???
We haven’t reached all of these milestones, if you will, but we have been talking about them (good heavens, have we been talking about them) so that we are ready when the time comes. Parenting a preteen is serious business.
My … Read the rest
Those words.
Those words can be paralyzing. Those words don’t discriminate. Those words can stop you dead in your tracks. I’ve seen those words in the eyes of my children, and I’m hearing and feeling those words deep in my being.
Chad is my biggest cheerleader when it comes to my blog, and is convinced that someday I will write a book. He believes I could already be writing professionally. I don’t know about all that, it’s not like I have much of a following.
I’m not fishing for pats on the back…just laying it all out there! Maybe you’ve … Read the rest
This is my first summer not working since 2006…my children were 3, 2, and 6 months old then. I’m thinking things will be slightly different this year! Since I like to be honest here, I’m overwhelmed by the idea of summer. I decided I need a summer schedule for the kids.
When I thought about summer and what my goals were, I knew I wanted to limit their screen time (TV, computer, Wii) without having to actually keep track of how much they’ve been on. You know, an easy, lazy way to limit it. I also knew I would ideally … Read the rest
We made it! 1700 miles round trip as a family of five. We had such a great trip, and by far the most peaceful one.
The trip there was split into two legs (8 hours Friday, 8 hours Saturday), so I was stingy with surprises from the activity bag (compiled from various “road trip ideas for families” searches). I saved most items for the long, long, LONG 15-hour drive home. Here is the breakdown for how the items went over.
1. A binder – given immediately
This was great. They enjoyed having the step-by-step maps, played road trip bingo repeatedly, … Read the rest
I deeply, deeply love planning and making lists. I full-on geek out about it. This post is dedicated to the searching I did for road trip ideas for families, and the work I have put into packing an activity bag for our kids (8, 9, and 10 years old) on our upcoming road trip to South Carolina – 840 miles one way. I know that’s not a lot for some people, but it is for us.
What’s in the bag is a surprise to the kids, and I will keep it that way. I will give them things as needed … Read the rest
I was talking to my neighbor the other day, and wondered how it is that I can stay calm as a substitute teacher, but staying calm as a parent is a much greater challenge! In a room full of 26 middle schoolers I seem to keep things under control but my three children can make me lose it in no time at all. We laughed, and I said it’s probably because I’m not allowed to snap in the classroom.
Well wouldn’t you know, I felt convicted from that conversation. It turns out I AM capable of keeping my cool, I … Read the rest