Encouragement

If you walk into our house at 2pm, there is silence. And darkness. And non-touchingness.  All of the little people are in their rooms, and Momma gets a break. We don't schedule anything in the afternoons and avoid having anyone over.  I am a work from home / stay at home mom with four girls, all 4 and under. I adore them all and wouldn't change our crazy for anything. I love their hugs and kisses, their sweet voices and curious minds. But they touch me all. day. long. And the questions - so. many. questions. So Momma needs a break and Momma has made a break. At 1:30, everyone gets a snack, drink, bottle ... WHATEVER your age & stage dictates. At 1:45 you go potty / get...

Running a close race with religion and politics, discipline techniques for children is a pretty taboo topic of conversation in mixed company. These days, there is such an influence of media over our parenting styles and discipline tactics.  As I child, I surely received my fair share of spankings and can remember hearing rumors of a paddle used on naughty children in the school principal's office. Before I had children of my own, I was never against spankings and thought I'd eventually resort to spanking as a discipline tactic with my own kids. When the time came to truly implement discipline, I found myself on the other side of this discussion and much to my own dismay, I have and hope...

I went to bed with a heavy heart last night. The word 'heavy' sounds too light in writing. I can not describe in words how I am truly feeling at this very moment. It is normal to feel angry, sad, frustrated, and anxious when watching the news these days. What is happening in Texas has me on my knees. It was a little over a year ago when I too was standing face to face with the fear of what was to come as I watched the water come closer and closer to our home. It crept up on us as if it were a predator, and we were its prey. Then it pounced. It changed my life forever. My...

My name is Mandy, and I have working mom FOMO. It has been 3 days since my last attempt to force family time ... It was Saturday morning, and we were out of everything. After a long week at work, I was looking forward to spending the day screaming at my kids to stop screaming and making lunches no one would eat, but I needed to run my bi-weekly errand marathon. I shared my dilemma with my husband, and his advice was to just skip it. I don't even want to know the Lord of the Flies world we would live in if moms got to "just skip it." My over the top reaction to this ridiculous idea obviously caused him...

What's in a Name? Back in my single days, I had a persona that I would use while out with my girlfriends. If anyone approached me that I was not interested in getting to know, I would say that my name was Veronica. It became a signal to my friends that my intuition had red-flagged this guy and that I was unleashing my alter ego to protect us. Veronica was smart and independent and had no time for your BS. In fact, she once responded to being called a "witch" (I'm trying to keep this post PG) for politely passing on a free drink from a potential suitor by saying that a real "witch" would have taken the drink and then...