One of my favorite things to do is bring encouragement to people – especially moms. And we moms need encouragement, don’t we? Because at times motherhood can seem like a fiercely competitive arena. We all want others (our kids) to think of us as great parents, but the bar just seems to be set higher…
Hopes
When You Forget That You’re The Mom
Spiky hair, beefy biceps, swift dance moves. They epitomized every girls’ boy band dream. And they were only a few feet away from me, crooning their way down a long stage. My fingers tapped hard at the camera icon on my phone as one of the band members crouched down near the girls in front…
Growing a Bucket List
As summer draws to a close (only a week and a half until school starts here), I’m fascinated to see what has happened with the bucket lists in our family. We were fortunate to check off a number of goals, and even some long-standing ones. Yet the lists of what we still want to do…
Going After Dreams While Saving For Your Kids’ College
Living your bucket list dreams has to cost a lot, right? Can only the wealthy afford to check off their goals? Are the rest of us left to fulfill only one or two? Not really. My family is living out more dreams at a time when it would seem least likely for us to do…
Same event, different story
My hair whipped around my face and into my eyes so I could no longer see the crowd gathered round. I held tight to the ropes, turning my back on the cold air. And then came a short blast of burners. Heat rushed past my arms and the nylon envelope of the balloon billowed and…
A Great Gift For Any Occasion (Hint: It Involves Sharing Time)
A recent issue of Family Circle featured the story of Lynya Floyd, who asked her friends on FaceBook to honor her birthday by leaving a message on her timeline – but not just a generic wish. She asked them to offer a suggestion. Floyd’s request? “Please note one epic adventure we haven’t been on that…
Why You Need to Rethink Social Media This Spring Break
We’re a connected society. Ellen DeGeneres’s record-breaking 2014 Oscars Twitter selfie is just one proof. We text, tweet, pin and post our way through our days. We browse, troll and read too. It keeps us in touch and informed. We can be supportive and get support. But there comes a time when social media usage can…
What We Can Learn from the (Boring) Big Game Pre-game
Okay, let’s all admit it – even most diehard Seahawks fans found last night’s championship football game boring. By halftime most of Twitter was alight with complaints of how much of a non-competition the game had become. I felt for Peyton Manning and the rest of his team, but that wasn’t enough to overcome the…
Balanced List, Balanced Life
Do you feel like you spend your weekdays waiting for the weekend only to spend the weekend exhausting yourself with a packed calendar? Are you enjoying time as a family but often have a nagging feeling that you’re missing something or missing out on something? It may be because you have an imbalanced list of…
Seasonal Bucket List… Or Activity List?
Are you working your way through a “Winter Bucket List” right now? Have you been putting ideas down for a “Spring Bucket List”? It’s time we set the record straight on seasonal lists and what we call them. Because the name really does make a difference – in what goes on the list and in…