Growing Up

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...

Right now I am drinking a glass of wine and eating Goldfish. Yes. Goldfish. My son's snack. And, I'm home alone. So no one can stop me.  My current situation prompted me to think about all of the other things that are supposed to be for my one-year-old son, but I find myself enjoying instead. Goldfish. As I just mentioned, I'm eating them now. Aren't they the best? I have been known to take an entire bag of (my son's) goldfish to work and eat the entire thing. Let's be honest, one of the best parts of being a mom is always having snacks. Besides being a wife and mom, I love eating. And let's not leave out the other...

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...

My son is nearly 14 months old. Wow, when did that happen? I’m now far enough into this parenting thing to look back and reflect a little on how we’re evolving as a family, and how William is growing a little more independent all the time. I’ve learned that everything is a process, and our latest adventure has been learning to spend a little more time apart. Of course, when William was a newborn, we were together constantly. I was nursing around the clock and sometimes multiple days would go by when we wouldn’t even leave the house. I remember leaving him at home with my husband when he was about six weeks old, just to make a quick grocery...

Loving a Child that's Dyslexic {What You Need to Know} As a special education teacher, I get attached to many students, especially those who have dyslexia. These children hold a very special place in my heart because they are not like typical children. They can't just pick up a book and start reading with great fluency and accuracy, BUT they can pick up some Legos and make something extremely creative and tell you all about it. They can't write you a full paragraph with correct spellings, punctuation, and perfect handwriting, BUT they can tell you a story straight from their amazing imagination. Their brain works much different than ours. Let me explain dyslexia.... Dys= difficulty             Lexia = with words     ...