I nearly blew it again. My youngest daughter turned thirteen this past weekend and I almost didn’t have a card for her. As a rule, I don’t buy cards. I’m a crafter and I know I can make a card that I like much better than anything I’d find in the store. And I enjoy…
motherhood
Bucket List Life Dare: Make Spring Break Memorable
How many spring breaks do you have left with your children? What will you do to make this spring break memorable? Bethany, my eldest, received a packet in the mail this week notifying her that she has a summer job as a lifeguard at a camp in Wisconsin, 100 miles from our home. It wasn’t a complete…
The Appeal of ‘Just Once’
A handful of years ago, when my daughters were preschool- and elementary-aged, I surprised them with a Valentine’s Tea. I set out my china, made tiny cucumber sandwiches cut in the shape of hearts, baked cookies, and brewed up some hot tea. When they arrived home at the end of the school day, instead of…
The One Where We Sat on the Roof and Ate Ice Cream
In July I dared readers to step out and conquer a bucket list goal that required them to let go. To be wildly free. Something like dancing in the rain. For me that expression of whimsical freedom came in the form of sitting out on my roof eating ice cream sandwiches with my kids –…
July Bucket List Life Dare: Be Wildly Free
Recently I was talking with a group of moms when the topic of dancing in the rain came up. “I have always wished I could do that,” one mom said. “But I just can’t seem to bring myself to go ahead.” Everyone agreed. We all yearned to be so carefree. But we all had to admit that…
Holiday Helps for Harried Moms
It’s the most exhausting time of year! For moms the duties of kid schlepping, meal cooking, and overall household management, are joined by holiday baking, gift buying, card sending, and party coordinating. Put it all together and you end up with many mothers who are barely surviving. I’m right there with them! Why does it end up…
A Crisis Self-Care Plan For Moms
During a recent months-long crisis in our household, I surprised myself with how much strength I had as a mom. I gave myself to caring for my family like never before. But I also stretched myself thin, emotionally and mentally. I went to bed drained more nights than not. When others reached out with offers…
The House is Empty. Now what?
It was the start of first grade for my youngest child. I remember standing among the other camera-wielding ‘mamarazzi’ waving to our children as their stubby legs, barely visible below bulging backpacks, stumped their way in a line behind their new teacher into school. We all lingered there, suspended for a few minutes. The swoosh…
Help for Spring Break, Spring Cleaning & More: March/April Articles
The kids are bickering, the house is a mess, and you’re just wishing you could get away from it all. Does that sound like your family’s spring break? No? Maybe yours goes more like this: the kids are bickering, your car/hotel room/suitcase is a mess, and you’re just wishing you could get away from it…
Permission to Think of Yourself, Mom
What do you want to do? What is your biggest dream, your highest hope? No really. What do you, mom, want to do most in life – today, tomorrow, next month? Can you tell me off the top of your head, without needing to hear other people’s answers first? I ask this question because I…