After raising five boys, I have become passionate about sending the message to as many women as I can, that while boys need many things – affection, tenderness, and respect – there is one thing a son needs most from his mom. We live in a world that has lost all sense of boundaries and the sheltering of children. From many parts of our culture our sons’ innocence…
My 24 yr. old daughter, Mary Grace, and I went to see the new movie version of “Little Women”. For Christmas, along with a Kate Spade purse (that I wished I had kept for myself!), I gave her the gift of going together to see the movie (love language: quality time 😊). When she opened the box, I saw her hesitate as she read the tickets. I wasn’t…
When I was younger, there was something about the excitement of a new year and having that “start line” to begin new habits – also known as New Year’s resolutions. But as I’ve grown older, and the New Year’s Resolutions never really became new habits, I kind of dread the idea of thinking about a new year, new resolution. I’m a perfectionist so when I make a resolution…
A few years ago, my husband and I decided to do something different for birthdays for our grandchildren. We have 13 (!) and we were beginning to get gift fatigue. Plus, I have never been a big accumulator of toys, so we decided to shake up birthdays. Instead of a physical gift, we decided that when our grandchildren turned 6, the perfect gift would be to take them…
I am amazed at the power of mindset and the fascinating control it has over our behavior. Women accomplish all kinds of remarkable things because they want to or because they believe they can – childbirth is probably the most obvious. But if we can harness that positive mindset to be used in the ordinary, daily life we would find our lives so much happier and more easily…
“Self-care for moms is overrated,” said no mom ever! And even though we all agree that as moms we are tired, stressed out, lonely sometimes, and in need of self-care, we don’t take the time to do it. We act like it isn’t important. Why? Excuses for Why We Don’t Practice Self-Care We’re too busy. The kids “need” us too much. Our husbands couldn’t handle all the kids…
The benefits of reading to your children are more than just a way to quiet them down before bedtime. In fact, if you embrace the habit of reading to your children throughout the day, you’ll find a number of excellent side-effects! Improved Imagination and Creativity When you’re not exposed to fantastic stories with magical endings or far-away places, you don’t develop a sense of wonder, awe, and imagination.…
I’m not sure when the whole notion of doing everything for your child began, but it has been devastating to the last couple of generations. It used to be that raising self-sufficient children was the goal. Now it seems to be “mean”. In generations past, children were not only self-sufficient – taking care of themselves – they also took care of the farm animals, went to work at…
Our days are so busy that we sometimes move from one day to the next without really any consideration of who we are, how WE behave (we’re so focused on how the children behave), and what kind of mother we are. It’s good to stop, think and pray about the woman we are, how we interact with our children, and how we can become a better mom. If…
Family traditions are small ways to connect and bond family members, as well as create great memories that really last. When my father passed away 7 years ago, much of what his children and grandchildren remembered and spoke about were the little family traditions he and my mom set for all of us: the kite flying contest, homemade wonton on Christmas Eve, the Easter egg hunt in my…