I miss being spontaneous.  During my time in counseling after Ada was born, I learned it’s ok to grieve that loss.  We used to go where we wanted, when we wanted, as the idea popped into our naive little minds.

Then we had children.

As I prepared to write this post, I looked up the word “spontaneity” in the dictionary thinking I would be clever and include the definition.  Sadly, it included this example of the word in a sentence: The couple sacrificed some of the spontaneity in their lives when they had a baby.  Ouch.  Merriam and Webster know.  … Read the rest

It is day to day, isn’t it?

I think I can say, with fingers crossed, eyes raised to Jesus in a silent prayer, that Grace’s anxiety is fairly under control.  She hasn’t even been taking her acid reflux medicine.  Chad and I are working very intentionally on seeing a mood swing coming and talking through it with her before it’s in full action.  And I just think SHE’S getting better at handling her emotions which is truly the ultimate goal.  I want her to have the tools to manage this on her own, because someday I won’t be there to … Read the rest

Yes, the fact that my children only have two days of school left makes me a little panicky.  I’m always ready for a break from the morning routine and from homework, but I do like that school provides separation for them for 6.5 hours.  They are very close in age, and fight A LOT.  Sure, there are times when they play well together, but they honestly just get tired of being together all day.  And this is what makes me panicky.  How on earth are we going to make it through 75 days of togetherness??  Yes, I know how many … Read the rest

Have you ever noticed how terrible kids’ timing is?  They never puke while you’re still awake (usually somewhere in the 12-3am range), they realize they don’t have a drink the minute you’re ready to eat your own food that you’ve FINALLY managed to get on your plate, they don’t need you until you’re in the bathroom, they wake up early on Saturdays… and on and on in a comical list that I know many others could add to, and we would all nod in a sad sense of understanding and empathy.

My kids are now 6, 7, and 8, and … Read the rest

After school today, Grace tells me this little story:

Grace: Mom, today we had a fire drill, and they didn’t tell us we were having a fire drill!  When we had to go, my shoelaces were tied together so I had a hard time getting down the steps, and then I had a hard time getting them undone so when it was time to go back inside I had to take my shoes off, and everyone was laughing at me.
Me: Yeah, that doesn’t sound very fun.  What did you learn from this?
Grace: (very sheepishly) That … Read the rest

Parenting is fluid; if it never needed tweaking we’d still be working on sleep patterns and whether you need to eat or just have a pacifier.  It’s also different for each child – just because I’ve had a 6-year-old before doesn’t mean I’ve had a 6-year-old Ada before who thinks she’s my equal.  I’m currently rereading Boundaries With Kids for a book study I’m leading, and I’m SO glad.  Here are a couple of things I’m tweaking, thanks to this book…

Homework  I hate the homework battle.  It seems to me that my kids should be used to it, but … Read the rest

I get frustrated when my kids don’t listen.  I also get frustrated when they don’t like what they hear.  Yes they’re kids, they’re learning, they push boundaries, blah blah blah.  It’s exhausting.  Today I need to make a joke about it so I can continue to calmly sip my coffee.

I said…it’s time to get dressed.  They heard…it’s time to all go into one bedroom and play, preferably while one of us is getting dressed so we can be inappropriate.

I said…it’s dinner time.  They heard…nothing.  

I said…it’s bedtime.  They heard…I hate you AND fun.

I said…you need to clean … Read the rest