There is something supremely frustrating about having to stop children from beating each other like a piñata. Then you try to sort through the excuses and get down to the root of the problem. The longer you play referee, the foggier the picture becomes. There tends to be a lot of ‘he said this’ and […]

As a new parent, you want to do things right. If only children came with an instruction manual. If they did, this lovely manual would tell you the best way to get your baby to sleep or how to potty train your toddler or even how to get them to stop fighting with their siblings. […]

Let’s face it, talking to kids about tragedy is a fact of life. We live in a world where traumatic events happen. It cannot be avoided. As much as I would love to put my kids in a bubble for the rest of their lives, I can’t.  We live in an age where we hear […]

Kids are getting out of school, hallelujah! I love summer time. I love the lazy mornings. I love that I don’t have to make sack lunches every day…although I still have to make lunch. I love that we can go to the park for the morning or play a board game if we feel like […]

  Times of transition bring anxiety. Sometimes that transition comes smoothly, as though you are adding chocolate to the milk. It’s good and wonderful and everyone thinks the change is great. Other times transitions can be a nightmare that you hope to wake up from. It’s more like pouring oil and water together and trying […]

I wrote a post several weeks ago about our typical family dinner. Yes, it’s chaotic and usually pretty frustrating. However, I have noticed that there are certain steps that, if I take them, make for a successful family dinner. The tricky part often comes in implementing them on a daily basis. If you are like […]

  Futile parent phrases are everywhere. We say them every day and, yet, they don’t get us anywhere. I love my children. I really do. My children are four of the greatest things that have ever happened to me. On the other hand, they also make me want to slap my forehead and wonder why […]

There is no substitute for hard work. – Thomas A. Edison Before my husband and I had children, we talked about the kind of things we wanted to teach our children. High on our list was teaching our children to work. The interesting thing with work is that you assume people just know how to […]

Kids activities can quickly get expensive when you add up the price of admission, parking, food, or souvenirs (which we hardly ever buy) .  At the same time, you want to provide a wide range of experiences for your children and have fun together as a family. Luckily, there are a lot of kids activities […]

My 6 year-old asked me to walk down the stream with him last night. Literally, we walked down the middle of the stream because there is so much vegetation you can’t walk on the side. The water was deep enough that my son wore my husband’s boots.  It was absolutely beautiful and peaceful. He chattered […]