My youngest started Kindergarten last week. I surprised myself by crying most of the walk home. Realizing that my last child started school hit me harder than I expected. The last one—I’ve officially closed the door on one season of parenthood. I won’t lie. I cried on my walk home; yet, a strange sense of […]

I took a walk with my four-year-old son the other day. We do that a lot. He was telling me about his friend at preschool who was crying for his mommy. I asked him if he told his friend it would be okay. He said he did and that he was glad his friend stopped […]

I had another first in the realm of motherhood last week. My youngest started preschool. In our school district preschool is a half day every day, soooo it’s pretty much like half-day kindergarten. Parenting is a Mixed Bag of Emotions What a crazy mix of emotions as I sent kids off to school this year. […]

As part of my bullet journal, I make a daily checklist of everything I need to accomplish each day. It’s been awesome for my productivity but I’ve noticed a small side effect that I’m constantly fighting. I rush through activities in my haste to check everything off my list. For things like cleaning the bathroom, […]

Do you remember when you were a kid and you did something bad? Really bad? So bad you knew your parents were going to flip?   When I was 12-years-old, I was parking my dad’s pickup truck (before you’re shocked, I lived in farm country where 12-year-olds drove tractors and silage trucks) when I got […]

It’s time for a summer reality check at my house. I was so excited for summer. I even had a plan. True, it was a plan to fight summer learning loss but we’re only halfway through the summer and that plan is barely being implemented. It’s time for a new summer goal. I think that […]

Being a mom changes you. In some ways, it’s absolutely beautiful. You love more, play more, and laugh harder. In other ways, being a mom breaks down your pride, modesty, self-confidence, and intellect into its most basic elements. You learn to function with no sleep, negotiate with pint-sized hostage takers (their hostage, by the way, […]

I didn’t get along with my dad very well as a tween or teen. I think there is plenty of blame to go around on both sides. My rudeness, ingratitude, and eye rolls certainly did not encourage his attempts to ask about my school day, yet he always did. I’ve apologized before and certainly apologize […]

I didn’t know I would become a human napkin. When I first became a mom, I had no idea how bad I would smell.  All the weird things that happen to your body after you’ve given birth aside, things get weird when you have kids. As long as you have a nursing or bottle fed […]

Dear New Stay-at-Home Mom, Welcome to the wonderful world of SAHMs. Whether you’re starting a new journey with a baby or leaving the workforce to be at home, you’re in for a crazy ride. When people find out that you are staying at home with your kids, you are going to get one of two […]