Think back to your childhood. Slowly sift through your memories and think of the times your own parents felt like they were at the end of their rope with you from being uncooperative, disobedient, and ultimately a defiant child. Does anything stand out? Can you relate to your child better or understand your parent a…
While I am still waiting for number two to make her debut, it is on my heart to speak to mothers from a very real place in my life right now. If you are like me and only have one child and maybe you are a family who will only have one child, please let…
Before I had kids, I didn’t fully understand why keeping a clean home after you became a parent seemed so darn impossible. Now as a parent to four young children, including a set of twins, I fully understand that it is because children leave a trail of stuff behind them all day long. They break…
As a child development psychologist, I had some ideas about how I wanted to parent long before I became one myself. But, the knowledge I relied on the most as a new parent surprised me — it wasn’t all of the charts of expected developmental milestones or the research on successful development instead, it was some…
It was 5 pm and Chris picked me up from the zoo where I had walked with Jenn in a desperate attempt to get out of the house with my newborn. “Eurgh, Kara! You smell awful. Jenn must need a new diaper” Chris said as I unwrapped the baby from the wrap (what seemed like…
In sub-zero windchill and blizzard conditions, I was running through the snow without a coat on, tracking paw prints, and screaming my dog, Samson’s name. He was lost. And it was my fault. Two hours previous I decided to let him go outside, hoping he could get his business done before the bulk of the…
When my oldest was 6 months old, we did 10 hours of tornado disaster relief with her on my back. When my middle daughter was one, our family served other children in the community teaching them how to play soccer and fulfilling their every need. And now with my youngest, we regularly go grocery shopping…
While I can’t believe it’s already April, 2017 has already had a great start! In the first quarter, there have been some amazing parenting stories from magazines, news sources, and blogs. So don’t miss this parenting digest to skim through and find some gems that interest you and spark some joy or pique your interest!…
I remember the first time someone told me they made their own chicken stock. This blew my mind and elicited my staccato response, “What?! Wait. How? Why?” For them, they wanted to know all the ingredients in the food they were serving their family. Similarly, I also desire confidence to know the food I feed…
For years I have pleaded, “God if you’re real, show a sign. God if you’re real, break my heart to make a change. God if you’re real, please deliver me.” But I’ll tell you… Tonight, God did my dishes. Tonight, God crawled under my bed, dusted, and swept top to bottom. Tonight, God brought pizza….
In preparing for my homebirths, I started designing birth affirmation t-shirts, tank tops, and all sorts of products and apparel in order to give myself positive messages to focus on any moment a felt the weight of anxiety kick in. I made them for myself, husband, and even my entire birth team to wear if…
By 10 AM today my toddler was eating a vanilla ice cream shake. Why? Because I negotiated with my child. We’re in the middle of a move across country and my heart knows I need to loosen my grip on our day in order to get things done. So today? I will compromise on food because…