A must-watch for the upcoming elections: Read more
A must-watch for the upcoming elections: Read more
I wrote a post the other week about a scenario in our family where my oldest child, Matthew, broke down into tears one day because he was feeling more criticism than love from me. Poor guy. He needed a few mama hugs and then some… I admit, it is easier to come down hard on him because he is my natural-born leader. His example sets the tone for our family. He is my go-to guy for help. He paves the way for... Read more
Growing up, I would watch my grandmother closely. She would stand in her kitchen with her hand on her hip and look straight in the mirror at herself (she had a large mirror in her kitchen!) and say with determination, “I tell you, me…” Then she would launch into some issue she had with something or someone, some beef she needed to get off her chest. Inevitably she would start to laugh because everything my nana did always ended with... Read more
Here is an interesting test of parenting: My daughter would like me to learn to do this with her. This involves her dropping her school work to practice it, and my dropping, well, everything else. But it is so, so cool. And also, true to the lyrics, I know that one day my daughter will have a ticket for the long way round, and I am going to miss her when she’s gone. She won’t always want me to do... Read more
As we begin to think about school routines, I really like this post about a morning routine — note that it happens AFTER breakfast. That would be a huge help for us, making it more likely that we can do our family breakfast and then have a good start to the day. It is always a tough thing to have the kids actually dressed and pressed in time to eat before Dad has to leave. Also, checklists will go a... Read more
Dear friends ~ I found this article to be both enlightening and touching, and wanted to share it with all of you. The article details a Nigerian woman’s reaction to Melinda Gates’ recent announcement that her foundation would be allocating $4.6 billion dollars to providing contraceptives in poor countries. If Bill and Melinda Gates were to spend some time talking with the women of Africa, they might find that that these funds are quite unwelcome. Unlike some Western societies, which... Read more
When I found myself covered head to toe in poison ivy, I came up with someone to blame, but I really needed to just go looking in my own backyard. Read more
We are guests at a lake house while our daughter is at camp nearby. Next week I will be back to a reality like Tex’s – I have to take 7 children along with me to a doctor appointment – but for right now my life actually is “picture perfect!” Read more
I had one of those blissful moments on Monday when all the pieces seemed to fall into place and I felt “successful”. I had to have stitches from a recent surgery removed and my sitter was not available and my mother-in-law is out of town. So I took my baby, 4, 5, and 6 year old with me. I couldn’t hold the baby when they took out the stitches, so my 5 year old sat on the floor and... Read more
As a mom, I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with Play-Doh. I love that it keeps the kids occupied for long periods of time and allows them to be creative, but I hate picking little pieces of stickiness out of the carpet when they’re done! Since finding this recipe for homemade Play-Dough, I am much more of a fan than I used to be. The consistency is more elastic and less likely to dry out, so the ball stays together... Read more