Somehow, somewhere, maybe while I was sleeping... I decided it was time to stop wearing a bikini. At the sprite age of 32. Fine, I'm no spring chicken, but 32 isn't exactly over the hill. I didn't decide to stop wearing them because I can't fit in them either. Actually this has nothing to do with ...
Archives for 2013
Going back to go forward
The past few months have been an odd season. In parenting, relationships, finances and life in general, it has felt that there was some forward momentum. However, though I felt as though we were going forward, it also felt like we were moving back. Going south to go north, if you know what I ...
How To Create Family Mottos That Stick
Inside: Family mottos that will stick around and help motivate everyone. These are great reminders when you want to encourage your kids as well. I decided that I didn't need to focus on hard fast goals next year. I am a goal-oriented future facing neurotic type A person. This means ...
Supporting Other Mothers
Lately I've had such a heart for supporting mothers. I have a friend and mother of 4 little girls who is having a hard time. Her husband says he doesn't have to treat her well since she can't keep the house clean. Oh, and he no longer believes in the institution of marriage. Whatever that means. ...
Character Training: consistency
I was at a Christian bible camp one summer in Italy and at the end of the week we were to vote on three categories, awards if you will. It was a little too Who's Most Likely to Succeed for me, but the whole camp was in Italian so I was doing my best to pay attention and learn a few things, ...
Raising Adventurous Eaters
Now, I'm writing this from the perspective of a mom of 3, only two of whom eat real food and none over the age of 2. So... I am not saying I've raised adults who are out eating cockroaches and training to be chefs. I just want to talk about how to get your children to eat what you want to cook, how ...
Why mothers will argue about your parenting choices even when they don’t care about your parenting choices
After a discussion with a friend last week, I had a moment of clarity. Then I read the article My Choice to Parent Differently Does Not Imply Your Way Is Wrong, and it confirmed my suspicions. Mothers take their roles seriously and want to think they're making the best decisions possible for their ...
Finding God in the Little Things
Recently my pastor gave a sermon on the spiritual journey.Though he talks about that every Sunday, this day it stuck with me in a new way. Of course we need to live our lives "right" and do the "right" things and avoid the "wrong" things, but really we just need to be in a relationship with ...
Does your child have curly hair?
Curly hair tips for those of you (and your daughters) who need to tame the frizzies! The reason there isn't a picture of my daughter is that she has straight hair. And it's blonde. And she's tan... it's a cruel world, people. However, I know there are plenty of you straight haired mamas who ...
“How to be the parent you always wanted to be” book review
How many of you ladies like to read parenting books? How many times have you requested your husband read a book only to have it sit on his nightstand indefinitely? Well let me tell you, How To Be The Parent You Always Wanted To Be is one that may actually get read. Why? It's short and it has ...
How to Get More Done Without Multitasking
It's tempting as a busy mom to multi-task and do many things at once, but you end up distracted and not getting anything finished! Here is how to het more done without multitasking: I used to be a major multitasker. In fact, I used to pride myself on being able to do many things at once... ...
Never let this battle start
We've talked about which battles are worth the fight and which aren't. Some we want to be sure and win and some, we don't mind losing. There is one major battle, though, that we should simply never get involved in. That is the battle for authority. By authority I don't mean physical power or brute ...
How can I keep our home family centered when my whole day is child centered?
This week we've been focusing on a guiding principle of the Ezzo books, which is to keep the family centered on the family, not the family centered on the children. This sounds so ideal and logical and simple in theory. Maybe it is even logical and simple in practice sometimes. But if you are like ...
Training our children in Faith vs. Fear
As parents, there are many times we have to step in and reassure our children. At bedtime we reassure them we'll be there in the morning. When we go to work or on an errand, we reassure them we'll return soon. Children - because they have the good sense God gave them - often feel fear when they are ...
Do your children have a favorite parent?
This article written by me was first posted on The Graceful Mom. I've previously written a post called Do you have a Favorite Child, so I thought I'd take the opposite spin this time. Does your child have a favorite parent? This is a hard question to ask, a hard thing to think about, and so ...
Managing children close together in age throughout the day
Big tips on handling kids close in age throughout your day. As mothers we learn lots of tricks to keep the house from burning down while we're on duty. With each child we've welcomed into the family we learn something new. In fact, each child brings with it new opportunities to see just how ...