On Fridays, I will try to share a quick tip on how to incorporate an easy trick to to be more intentionally fun and playful as a parent, if you are in need of a little encouragement and help. Being playful with your kids on just a normal day keeps you both in the moment and is what really boosts all those core childhood bliss moments. the activity: Empty Hand Surprise Who: kids ages 1-3 actually fall for it, but ages 4+ still think its a funny inside joke and play alongLength of activity: ...
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Diaper Rash Quick Fix from a Mom of six!
This page contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Momma said there'd be days like this...And sometimes days like this are days that our sweet little babes have a flair up of diaper rash. Well, I (mom of six) have got a quick fix for you using only three supplies that you already have in your home - no special, expensive, or fancy stuff to buy! We are the disposable diaper kind of a family, I know some ...
Kids in the kitchen
In a big family, one thing we never lack are kids in the kitchen asking to help cook, bake, or taste test! This works out for us because as a big family, we have a lot of food to make, so the more help we can get in the kitchen, the faster it gets on the table! We are big on kid independence in our house and helping in the kitchen is a great way to practice new skills and obviously make memories together too. Everything generally takes a bit longer and is usually a little more of a mess - ...
Fun Parent Friday: Copycat dance off
On Fridays, I will try to share a quick tip on how to incorporate an easy trick to to be more intentionally fun and playful as a parent, if you are in need of a little encouragement and help. Being playful with your kids on just a normal day keeps you both in the moment and is what really boosts all those core childhood bliss moments. The activity: Copycat Dance Off Who: kids ages 2 - 12yrs and at least 1 parent/adultLength of activity: about 3 minutes (or more if you choose)How many ...
What to do when your baby is bored
Your baby is not bored Crazy, right?! But it is impossible for your baby to be bored (in the way that you experience boredom). Babies are born with zero sensory experience, so literally every moment is an opportunity to experience something new. As in, your baby has never seen the sunlight come through your living room window while the curtain gently lifts up from the wind and a songbird sings a sweet song in the tree right outside. As adults, we read that scenario like an idyllic ...
An open letter to my daughter about her body
My darling, You will spend much of your life receiving mixed messages about how you should feel about your own body. They'll try to get you to walk the line between being 'too skinny' and 'proud of your curves' and having muscles - but not too many. They'll try to convince you that your skin is too light or your skin is too dark; your hair too flat or it needs tamed. That you should use more make-up or that natural is what looks best. That looking older when you are young ...
Dear Son, I love you now put on the damn hoodie
When you were a baby, I was in charge of keeping you alive. It was scary because you couldn't talk, so I had to guess. Were you hungry? Did you need to burp? Were your teeth coming in? Did you need a diaper change? Did your belly hurt? Did you get enough sleep?Were you warm enough? So, as mothers do, I became in tune with you. I started to learn the difference in your tired cry and your hungry cry. I started to watch what made your eyes light up ...
Intentional Parenting: Personal Email for your tween
As school becomes increasingly more technology-based, all of my children have school email addresses. They are under the school district domain and can only receive and send emails within the district. They use this address to log into their laptops at school and if they have a virtual school day (#thankscoronavirus), sometimes the teacher will email them to let them know where to find their assignments. As our tween son inches toward teenagehood, we have decided to purchase him a laptop and ...
Mend the part of the world within your reach
I recently finished reading Katrina Kenison's The Gift of an Ordinary Day, A Mother's Memoir and found myself reflecting and dog-earing my whole way through. Her attention to the minutia of being a mother and raising kids up, while also trying to figure out how you (as your own actual person with dreams and feelings of your own separate from motherhood) were eloquent and so very relatable to my own inner dialogue. Most of the pages are turned down so I can remind myself in ...
1 easy way to start being an intentional parent today
Being an intentional parent can mean many things, but at the core it means being present. Removing distractions and being in the moment with your child on purpose. This seems like an easy thing, but being an adult is hard and parenting is hard - and sometimes it tends to get all swept up in a stressful, fast-paced, ball of anxiety and we kind of forget to look up and see the people that are right in front of us. I'm not judging because believe me - there are days that have me completely ...
Intentional Parenting: Sitting with disappointment
Our son, Greyson, got to play in the championship series for his basketball league when he was 9 years old and after a win followed by two close losses, his team ended up in second place. He was so bummed (tears) and when he came down from the team locker chat, he immediately asked for me to check his grades (which meant he wanted to know if he was able to play his gaming device). I understood right away that he was feeling disappointed and he wanted to get away from that feeling as soon as ...
How we, mothers, spend our days
One of my the mom blogs I am almost always inspired when reading is by Lindsay Mead over at A Design so Vast. Her style of writing and her topics almost always leave me sitting breathless and chilled to the bone. She wrote once The prism through which all of life is seen and I I think of it often even now, several years later. She's also introduced to me a quote by Annie Dillard that has kept me grounded in this fast pace life of raising little children. "How we ...
An open letter to my first born child
to my first born child, I don't know whether to start this letter to you with a thank you or an apology. The thing is, my darling, that as our first born, you get both the best and the worst of us as your parents. My sweet baby, the day you were born, you made us parents for the first time. You should have seen us leaving that day from the hospital, you only two days old. The nurses wished us good luck and breezed out of the room - leaving your dad and I standing there ...
The random perks of being a mom to littles
There's not much like being in the thick of raising toddlers and preschoolers. It is mostly a thankless, sticky, messy, exhausting job. What is funny (or not so funny) is that once you get through it, you almost forget how insane it felt while you were in that section of parenthood. There are spills and diapers and booboos and so many snacks! Snacks to be eaten, snacks half eaten, snacks that ended up being your meal, and good grief, don't even get me started on the snacks in between the couch ...
With grace, intention, and a deep breath
I have been blogging for 13 years! I am proud of all I have written and shared on my personal family blog - it has been such a beautiful way to connect with family and friends, meet and build friendships with blogging friends, and find myself as a writer. In all the honesty, my personal family blog was meant to be a place that someday I hope our kids will find themselves sifting through the notes and memories when they are adults. There were a few times through my blogging experience that I ...