Don’t miss the moments. @Cara_putman shares one she’s glad she didn’t miss. #parenting #swimlife Click To Tweet Parenting can be tough. Our oldest son is 16 and a junior. He’s in the middle of SAT prep, AP and college courses, swim season. All the things that add stress and take sleep. Add in he had to make a big decision …
5 Reasons to Stop the Comparison Game
Parenting isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s hard enough to mother in a generation where there are more how-to books than any one person could read. And each has a different strategy, a different technique, a different this-is-the-way-you-must-mother-or-you-have-epically-failed. Yet this ignores several important elements. 1) Each child is completely different. I have certainly seen this played out in my …
Developing a Love of Reading in Your Young Children
Periodically I get asked questions about how my children became lovers of books. Today I wanted to explore a few of the strategies that have worked really well for my family. The key has been that our kids are constantly surrounded by books and see my husband and I read all the time. Kids will mimic what they see.
A Teenager? When did this happen?
I have to laugh at this title. I started it three years ago when my oldest turned 13. This weekend she turned 16. All that time I had a draft with this title and nothing else. Next month my oldest son will turn 13. Time continues to pass as I continue to be in denial that my kids are growing …
The Comparison Game
Late last week I was somewhere – where doesn’t matter – but as I left my heart was grieved. Why? Because I listened to two younger moms talk for almost an hour about who’s schedule was more chaotic and driven than the others. As I listened my heart broke in so many ways. Maybe you can guess some of them. …
5 Ways to Breath Life into Your Child’s Dreams
A year ago my oldest daughter and I spent about twenty hours helping out at a gymnastics meet. Yes, you’re reading that right. Twenty hours. The competing girls were all levels 3 & 4s. For many of them it was their first state competition. And their dreams were coming true. This weekend our 11 year old competed in his first gymnastics …
4 Tips to Finding Peace as a Perfectionist Loving Mama
From my earliest days, I knew I wanted to be a mom. I also knew I wanted to take Katie Couric’s spot on The Today Show – hasn’t happened. Wanted to take Sandra Day O’Connor’s spot on the Supreme Court – also seems highly unlikely. And wanted to be the youngest state senator in Nebraska history – my college friend …