Smartphone addiction is real. So is letting a phone think for you instead of utilizing your own brain. And while we’re at it, let’s talk about sexting. Squirming in your seat yet? Or are feeling sweat drip down the back of your neck just thinking about actually handing your teen, tween, or even elementary school-aged child…
Several years ago I also heard about the 4 gift giving rule. You know “Something you want, something you need, something you’ll wear, something you’ll read.” It’s cute. But it always missed the mark for me. I would come up with ideas that were good, but didn’t fit the mold and personally, I desire the…
The Sunday before Halloween my husband asked me to coordinate trick-or-treating with a friend to which I replied “If it was up to me, we wouldn’t go. I don’t want all that candy.” I know. Some of you are in sheer horror and others are standing in solidarity nodding their heads thinking “next year, we’ll do…
My third child was born with teeth. They were two little daggers waiting to see what damage they could do on me. And knowing the pain of both the newborn stage and the horrors of a biting baby while trying to breastfeeding, my blood ran cold just at the sight of them. Breastfeeding is hard…
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…
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!…
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…
Today it was a blue slushie. Yesterday it was the iPad. They’re things that my nearly 4-year-old daughter feels entitled to. She pleaded her case declaring that she ate “real food” and reminded me that she spent countless hours frolicking around the house and playing outside. Her righteous indignation came out demanding that she deserved…
Through tears my four-year-old exclaims “but I just need space and Emma won’t leave me alone!” In fact, Jenn will regularly tell me that Emma is just not giving her space and she just wants to be left alone right now because her sister is not respecting boundaries or personal space. And that’s hard. Especially because…
I’m a mom on a mission to help other families get dangerous chemicals out of their lives. Every single day more of us are learning about the thousands of poorly-studied chemicals in our air, water, food, furniture, and personal care products. Over 80,000 synthetic chemicals are in use right now, only a few hundred of…
I remember my oldest’s first Christmas and thinking about all the things our family could do to make the time more meaningful. And I started dreaming those nostalgic and magical dreams of creating our own family traditions that the kids would remember and love. It led me to search for ways to instill family time,…