That Day I Froze And A Discussion On Anatomy There really is a difference between being an actual parent and just talking about being one. In my case, this became readily apparent when I realized that some of my pre parenting plans of action would be more difficult to follow through on than I anticipated. For example before children, I …
The One Mistake Parents Make Every Summer And How To Avoid It
It’s the end of the school year and up down the halls of school, parents and kids alike are asking each other the same question, “What are you doing this summer?” There are as many answers given to this question as there are different people, but as often as I have personally participated in such conversations, I have never heard …
Potty Training: It’s You And Me Against The Pee
As parents, each new milestone our children reach brings us equal parts excitement mixed with a tinge of fear. “Hooray, the baby is rolling over! Wait, how did she get her leg stuck under the couch?” “Yay, look he is sitting up, but all of the sudden that sitting baby will keel over and hit his head on a chair! …
Top Ten Tip-Offs You Are A Mother
A few weeks ago I was invited to guest blog by my friend Lysa and today on JENerally Informed in honor of Mother’s Day, I wanted to share an expanded version of the post I shared over there. To all of my fellow Mothers out there, here are the Top Ten Tip-Offs You Are A Mother: 1. You carry around …
The Dirty Little Secrets (no one talks about) On Pinterest
How about we start this post off with a little introduction. Hi my name is Jen and I am addicted to Pinterest. Feel free to join my sharing circle if you are also a Pinterest junkie. Pinterest is like a smorgasbord of the best and brightest ideas the internet has to offer. Within Pinterest one can find inspiration for almost …
How To Share Difficult News With Children
My oldest daughter was born on September 10, 2001. Only one short day later, I sat in my hospital bed holding her and like the rest of the world watched in horror as the world changed and the World Trade Center crashed to the ground. This was my intro to parenting. It was a tough one. Because we live in …
If Adults Acted Like Toddlers We Would Go To Jail
My fourth child and youngest daughter Anneliese just celebrated her 2nd birthday in March. Having reached this milestone a few times before with previous children, I am equal parts self congratulatory mixed in with a healthy dose of desperation. First off, I am pleased in the fact that I survived the initial sleep deprived baby years and have now progressed …
The War On Women
First off, you should understand that this is not a political post. I’ve been an activist, and at times a very effective activist. This post isn’t about that. This post is about people. One of today’s big buzz phrases is “The War On Women” I tire of hearing that phrase, especially with the context for which it is currently being …
Surviving First Grade:Tips From A First Grader
This week is our school Spring-break and all of our best laid plans for fun and adventure have been waylaid by a malicious stomach flu. It really isn’t right. Instead we have done a fair share of board games and easy crafts for those who could manage to get up out of their sick beds. During one particularly riveting game …
Why Our Family Cut The Cord On Cable
The beginning of the end happened one Sunday night about a year and a half ago when our older children, Jen’s Guy and I sat watching our favorite TV show, Once Upon A Time. As the show cut to commercials, the very first one was for a horror movie called Mama. My husband quickly muted the TV as I told …
Talking Tutus
Talking Tutus I am lucky enough to be the mother to three adorable girls (and one completely darling little boy who we’ll talk about another day). My girls are sweet, precocious, bold and witty with equal parts rough and tumble mixed in. I get great pleasure from watching my little Princesses climb trees and race down the street while dressed …
Just A Mom
Sometimes there are conversations that you are a part of or overhear that leave you thinking about them for days. Last week I was sitting in the children’s section of my local Library with my toddler Anneliese. She wasn’t really interested in having me read her any books, but instead wanted to play with the interactive kid’s structure the Library …
All I Need to Know In Life I Learned From Musicals
I might have been a strange kid, but some of my earliest TV/movie memories are of musicals.The thrill of watching Rodgers and Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber and more filled my little heart with happiness. I loved the dancing, the color, the costumes and of course the music. As perhaps would be expected, watching these musical “dramas” provided much learning to …
When Magic Happens
My family lives in Southern Arizona. Winters here are typically sunny, beautiful and clear with average temperatures ranging in the 70’s. On New Year’s Eve a storm blew in that brought cold and rainy weather. It also brought something else. Snow! This isn’t something that happens on a regular basis here so we bundled up the older children (we left …
