All posts by Janna

Open House – Officially Starting Middle School

Anxiety, Kids, Parenting, School

Tonight was yet another first for me in this parenting gig: middle school open house.  Allow me to set the scene…

The gym was set up with tables around the perimeter with each elective, club, sport, and music option represented.  They each had a teacher or coach, and an information sheet available for the students.  After making the round, a current 6th grader took you on a tour of the 2nd floor, which is almost exclusively used by 6th graders.

Here is what I learned tonight…

She gets to start choosing the smaller paths of her life.  I let Grace … Read the rest

Wednesday Wit: April 23, 2014

School, Wednesday Wit

This is a worksheet that Ada brought home from school…

What’s bugging you at school?
What really bugs me at school is that we have to stay at school for one hundred eighty days and we are only at the one hundred forty-sixth day!

What’s bugging you at home?
The thing that bugs me every day at home I have to deal with the two littler kids who argues about who plays with me! (We have two neighbors who don’t really get along)

What’s bugging you in the world?
What really bothers me in the world is that people do … Read the rest

Fences

Just My Thoughts, Parenting

Which side of the fence are you on?

You know, those fences that somehow go up as soon as your pregnancy test shows positive.  Are you getting an epidural?  How much TV do you think a toddler should watch?  How much time should kids spend playing video games?  (PS – I totally hate the word “should”)

Those questions tend to make me feel trapped, like it’s not really a question but a means by which we are subtly judging other parents.

I’m deciding to take the fences down.  

I’m going to make a conscious decision not to ask those kinds … Read the rest

Parenting a 10-Year-Old

Parenting

There are goods and bads in every stage of parenting.  We always come out the other side stronger, smarter (hopefully), and sometimes with a few emotional scars.

We’re nine months into parenting a 10-year-old, and I’m not exaggerating here – something changed the moment she turned 10.  This is slightly worrisome for me because in June we’ll have another 10-year-old, and another 18 months after that.  So…

I’m learning that I have to shift the way I parent, which is not an easy thing to do.  She wants so desperately to be grown up but she just isn’t.  I’m trying … Read the rest

Temporary Exceptions

Parenting

We have goals.  We have the bar set.  We have expectations and limits.

And sometimes there need to be temporary exceptions.

As parents, of course we want what is best for our children in every area of their lives.  Chad and I have been on a journey to teach our kids about healthier eating and a major part of that is just not having the less healthy options in the house very much.  Their breakfast options are eggs or oatmeal, and their snacks have been replaced with fruit and yogurt.  I haven’t bought cereal, freezer waffles, granola bars, or crackers … Read the rest

My Little Big Kids – In Between Parenting Stages

Parenting

Parenting stages are so incredible and vastly different.  I’ve been told all along the way that parenting doesn’t get easier, just different.  True, true words.

So right now, my little darlings are 8, 9, and 10.  I’d say we’re about knee-deep into the journey of learning to expand their boundaries, grow their independence, and let them into the decision-making process rather than inform them of the final decision.

Here is where I’m floundering…in the same conversation I can be encouraging them and teaching them more responsibility, then calming tears and giving hugs.  It’s just an odd place to be.  Not … Read the rest

Wedding Plans

Kids

I felt the need to capture this for my own purposes, for someday when my girls are wedding planning and I can show them what their wedding plans were in 2014…

Ada’s dress: purple
Bridesmaids: red and pink

Grace’s dress: white
Bridesmaids: red
Groom & Groomsmen: blue

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“Do This in Remembrance of Me”

Faith

I sat in church on Sunday listening to one of our pastors prepare the congregation for communion.  He said the words that are so familiar to me, “do this in remembrance of me“, and I really started to think about those words in a new way.

I thought about how the disciples would have shared the passover meal together after Jesus had died, risen, and returned to heaven.  They would have remembered Jesus during this meal – specifically the last one they had celebrated together, then maybe shared stories of him (He had some great stories!).  Maybe it … Read the rest

BEING a Mom

Parenting

My friend Heather wrote a great post about giving first-time moms a break, and I’ve heard a lot about this lately, and even been convicted of it myself.  I think, “Oh she’ll learn when she has a second.”  And while that may technically be true, it’s also completely dumb to say.  OF COURSE she’ll learn more upon having more children, but she’s also learning an insane amount just by having one.

Nothing prepares you for being a first time mom, Heather says in her post that not even being the oldest of 8 children managed that task.  You may … Read the rest

Wednesday Wit: December 11, 2013

Wednesday Wit

Kindergarten student: Can you put my keychain back on my book bag?  I got it at church.
Me: Which church do you go to?
Student: The one where Jesus was born.
You win.

Eli: What part does Doris Day play in “The Sound of Music”?
Me: She’s not in that.
Eli: Sandy Duncan?
Me: No…how do you know about Sandy Duncan?
Eli: Scooby Doo Meets Sandy Duncan.

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