I’ve been noticing something lately. I’ll walk away from a conversation, or review it in my head hours later, and realize I was only barely paying attention at the time. I missed an opportunity to truly connect with someone, or wasn’t the listening ear someone was seeking.
Sorry, everyone I’ve spoken to in the last few weeks.
Here are my excuses for this rather neglectful and rude habit I seem to have fallen into. Continue reading
I recently saw a post from a mom that just had a baby and needed to go back to work. Now I know that everyone’s situation is different, and there are a lot of families that have to go back to work to just make ends meet. I can only imagine how hard it is, having to leave my brand new baby. And this is not a “my job is job is harder than yours” scenario . But her comment about “being a stay at home mom” didn’t sit very well with me.
Let’s just go over what the word luxury is first. It is defined as “the state of great comfort and extravagant living.” HAHAHAHAHA. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Continue reading
For the majority of us, there is very little we have to do for our bodies to nurture and develop tiny humans and then birth them into the world. It’s built into our anatomy; it’s part of our DNA.
Why then, are we so naturally insecure about a role that should come so naturally to us? Continue reading
We’re in the midst of awards season, with celebrities of all types taking home hardware for songs or movie roles. I don’t pay much attention, honestly, but it got me thinking about all the awards we could – and probably should – be giving to the incredible moms out there.
Parenting is often a thankless job, but sometimes just making it through the day is enough to earn mom a gold statue or at least a couple hours at the spa. Continue reading
Toddlers are strange creatures. One day they love carrots, the next they act like you just offered them smelly garbage for dinner. Sometimes they want to wear clothes, but other times it’s a wrestling match to get anything on their little bodies.
They are fickle. Unpredictable. Silly. Dictatorial. Adventurous. And, maybe beyond anything else, totally unreasonable. Continue reading
It was one of those days.
She was supposed to nap at her usual time, because then she’d be awake and refreshed to play with her aunt while I went to an appointment – alone, for a change.
But of course, because we had plans, she refused to sleep at the time she always naps. And not only would she not close her eyes, she also cried and cried. That’s not normal for her. So I cancelled with her babysitter and braced myself for a cranky toddler in a waiting room not designed with children in mind. Continue reading
Yesterday I had the privilege of driving my daughter-in-law to Montpelier, Vermont, and back. Eight hours in a van together. I’m not going to lie, I was slightly nervous about that much time alone, just sitting, doing nothing. I wondered if we would have enough to talk about. Would it be awkward? I even put a stack of cd’s in the van, just in case.
I had nothing to worry about. Continue reading
When I was expecting our first, I downloaded a popular pregnancy app to my phone. At first it was just a way to track the baby’s development and compare her to random foods.
But then I discovered the community section. And more specifically, my “birth month board”. Here was a group of moms or moms-to-be, all due with our little ones in the same month. Despite being from literally all over the world with varying backgrounds and parenting ideals, we had the same pregnancy aches and pains, the same fears and worries, the same questions for our care providers. Continue reading
I’ve been around kids my whole life. Neighbors, cousins, friends. So I figured I knew quite a bit when it came time for me to have my own.
Jokes on me.
Sure, I had a good foundation of knowledge. But even full days of babysitting multiple children can’t prepare for being a parent of your own offspring. Continue reading
There are some surefire ways to tell that we have a toddler in the house. Here’s just a few …
1.Throwing away food
I hate to waste food, but I find myself trashing half-finished yogurts that sat on the table all day, or that last bite of cookie she dropped on the floor, or those veggies I cooked for dinner but she decided she no longer likes. Sigh. Continue reading