Encouragement

It’s a common theme on blogs, in parenting magazines, in commercials: Mommy versus baby, parents vs. kids, surviving motherhood, etc., etc. It can often be comedic, and I know all parents feel like sometimes their kids are out to get them, but I think that mentality, even if it's mostly meant as a joke, can sometimes get in the way of resolving issues between children and their parents. My son has started throwing some tantrums. He’s 15 months old, and while he’s always been a kid who knows what he wants, he’s started getting very, ahem, peeved when he doesn’t get his way. It’s been new territory for me, because before this, if I had to take something away from him...

People always tell you that nothing can truly prepare you to become a parent and the longer I'm a mom the more I know that to be completely true. Becoming a mother has been the greatest blessing in my life.  To watch my two children grow and learn everyday is what I live for.  My children have taught me more life lessons in their few short years than I had ever learned before becoming their mother.  Just the other day I was thinking how completely boring and lonely my life would be without kids.  With the daily ups and downs that come along with parenting, I have also learned that motherhood is not always glamorous.  I'm sure every mom...

*All opinions below are uniquely my own. And if you disagree, well that’s ok, too. Remember that Similac commercial? You know the one that had us all wanting to hold hands around a fire and sing Bob Marley songs? Well, I’m not buying what Similac is selling. Why, you ask? Because I don’t believe in the mommy wars. Fact: Women always have and always will judge each other (GASP!). We used to judge each other for things like letting our kids eat candy before dinner and wearing white after Labor Day. We gossiped to our girlfriends and our mothers on our corded phones about the local drama. The Internet, bless her heart, has simply given us a new platform to judge....

I have written a few times previously about my struggle with my son’s sleeping. I don’t think he is the worst sleeper ever, but he’s certainly not the best. Now that he’s over a year old, I’ve been reflecting on our journey toward a full night’s sleep and I’ve found that I can break it up into a few different stages. Every baby is different, but I bet a lot of parents can relate to these: Stage 1: You are in the shiny new baby phase: you are in awe of this life you and your partner have brought into the world. You can’t believe what you’ve created and they are so. freaking. cute and they smell SO good. And you...

Its 2:30 a.m. Molly (my 5 month old) is waking for the third time tonight already. She’s not sick. She is not in a growth spurt. Her diaper is clean and she’s not too hot or cold. I don’t know what she needs. I do know that after five days of this and VERY little sleep, I can’t see straight. The house is a mess. We have used all of our allotted “eat out” days for the month and we are only half way through. I go about my days like a zombie. I feel like I am not even carrying on a functioning conversation. I’m not sure how much more I can take of this. The house is...