It’s the most important job there is.
They are the words most likely to strike fear into my heart. Beach. Toddler. Without my husband. I know. I must be losing it, right? But when my BFF (love you, girlie!) got a hotel in Daytona for a week and invited us to spend a day hanging out at the beach, I said yes. Because I love my best friend. Not because I love the beach. The night before the Big Day, I actually found myself kinda dreading it….
I started this blog as a place where I could be “real” as a mom. A place where I could let other moms know that they weren’t alone. I need to apologize to you all. Because I realized that I haven’t been real at all. I’ve been sanitizing my words and trying to create a perfect life so I could share my “secrets.” (As if I really have everything figured out! And with only one child at home, no less!)…
I don’t have to run out the door every morning to be at work at a certain time. I don’t even have a Gymboree class that I need to get to. But mornings are still rough. You feel me, Mama? You see, even though my body wakes up early, my mind takes a while to catch up. That’s why I do my best to create a calm, yet energizing atmosphere when Bear and I are having “one of those mornings.”…
Summer is coming to a close and, even though Baby Bear is only 16 months old, that big pencil display in Target has me thinking about school. One friend of mine is going to put her 15-month-old daughter in preschool next month. My niece will be starting kindergarten this year (where has the time gone?!). And a close friend of mine has a 4-year-old that she plans on homeschooling. Knowing that I was homeschooled myself, she asked if I was…
Moms are complete paradoxes. On the one hand, we are confident that we’re doing a great job and have everything figured out. On the other hand, we often find ourselves staring in bewilderment at the child with a crayon in her mouth and wonder how we’re going to transform that into a well-adjusted, capable adult. And yet, despite the fact that none of us really knows what she’s doing, we still feel compelled to give our unsolicited opinion: “Have you…
Registering for a baby as a first-time mom is confusing. There are all these lists online for “must-have baby registry items,” but they include so many obvious items: cribs, clothes, diaper pail. Um…DUH! So you go to your mom for advice. You: Should I get a baby swing that runs on batteries or one that plugs in? Your Mom: They have ELECTRIC BABY SWINGS NOW? When you were a baby, I had to turn a crank and it was…
After 15 months, I’m tempted to say that I’ve got this parenting thing under control. I’ve struggled through two bad baby colds, successfully sleep trained, planned a kick-butt birthday party for 50 guests, and cured the diaper rash from hell. Most days, I feel like Super Mom. (Talk to me again when we’re potty training and I’ll have a different perspective.) But there are a few mom questions I still don’t know the answer to. Because adulting is hard. What…
The other night, I had an eye-opening revelation. My husband and baby were both in bed, so I took a moment in the silence to do my Bible study. While reading through Mark, I came across a verse that made me stop in my tracks. “Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to Him, ‘Look, why do they…
Ahh…summer! What kid doesn’t get a thrill of excitement knowing that three months of no school is just around the corner? What mom doesn’t get just a touch of dread at the thought of having to keep all those kids entertained for three months? Even if your youngsters aren’t in school yet, it’s still hard to get out of the house and keep everyone happy without going to the same 4 places over and over again. So, I’ve come up…
Dear Stranger, Please don’t touch my kid. I’m sure you mean well. I can see that you’re a parent yourself. I also hear that my daughter was laughing when you tickled her. And no, I didn’t even say anything to you because I’m non-confrontational to a fault. But I’m asking you now: please don’t touch my kid. It has nothing to do with germs. Your hands are probably cleaner than my living room rug. And it’s not even about “stranger…