Growing Up

I don't really enjoy cleaning. So when my kids - ages three and two - each started showing small interests in helping, I took advantage of the educational opportunity! While their willingness to help clean is not a huge help to me just yet, I know it will be in the future. But it's not just that - I think this also allows them to feel more a part of the family while having a role in the overall picture of what it takes to run a household. And in this house, every member of the family pitches in! Here is a list of chores we've started doing with our toddlers: 1. Unloading light items from the dishwasher. Since both my kids have always had a...

Sometimes as parents we see a light bulb go off in our kid’s mind, and they just get it. These are some of my favorite moments in my journey of motherhood. Recently, things got switched around for us and my daughter said something that made a light bulb go off in my head about body positivity and raising girls. On a Sunday before church a few weeks ago, Keilyn was watching me do my makeup which she does regularly. She loves to ask questions about the colors and how to blend eye makeup. Playing dress up is one of our favorite activities after all. I was beginning the process of “putting on my face” with foundation and Keilyn pipes up...

I'm a coach. So, whenever people discover we have a 12-year-old son his athletics always come into question. People are always blown away that I really couldn't care less if my son plays a sport. "He's my math-lete, dagnabbit!" Fortunately for my son, he isn't growing up where I grew up. He has options. Survival isn't one of his daily objectives. His father grew up in a single parent home, was an apartment kid (never had to cut a blade of grass), went to seven elementary schools, was smart but lacked guidance, was the man of the house at age 5, had a parent that didn't support his dreams and dictated to him what he should do with his life. I vowed...

  Each evening, I set my alarm for 5:15 the next morning. Do I need to get up at 5:15? Probably not. And I don't. I hit the snooze button. I annoy my sleeping husband in increments, each with a nine minute reprieve. Sometimes I don't get out of the bed until 6:00. There are *things* I have to do in the morning to start the day and it would be SO. MUCH. EASIER if I didn't have to rush to do them. And I don't. Have to, that is. But I totally wind up rushing - and sometimes, there is crying in my house before 7:00am. I don't have babies anymore. My children are seven and four. Full disclosure: Sometimes...

Ok, I lied. She isn't five. She's four and three quarters. But, she isn't sleep trained. In fact, she's never been one who understood the glorious allure of shut eye. Most days, I'd rather eat one of those world record hot peppers than deal with bedtime. And naps? Ha, not in this lifetime. This kid just plain hates sleep. I know I'm not alone. I've watched Super Nanny. I also know that I still have it pretty darn good in other departments, so I can't complain too much. But I'm still praying that any potential future child of mine will love bedtime. It all starts during the bedtime routine. Putting on jammies and brushing teeth is a threat-filled marathon with...