Real Talk

Kindergarten Chapter 2 :: “We Finally Did It!” You hear about someone else’s child getting held back for Kindergarten until it is yours. My oldest son and I navigated many tears while doing Kindergarten over again. In Spring 2023, I felt thrown into a closed door when I was told my child would not advance to 1st grade. Months before his first Kindergarten school year was over, he was diagnosed with ADD. At first, we thought it was ADHD, but he doesn’t experience the hyperactivity. Personally, my family and I decided not to medicate our son because, for us, the cons outweighed the pros. We gave him Saffron gummies and other vitamins instead to help our son during test days. Fast...

GroupMe Etiquette for the Modern Parent Okay, moms. Let’s talk about GroupMe. I’m officially using my unofficial authority to set some rules. This is for your own good. These rules will liberate you - freeing you from feeling obligated to respond to every message in GroupMe and silencing the constant barrage of notifications. You probably have several unread and irrelevant GroupMe messages to tend to now, so let’s dive right in. Rule #1: If the coach asks who will NOT be able to attend the game or event, only respond if your child is NOT attending. This one’s pretty simple, but it’s commonly misunderstood. Let's examine this one closely: "Not attending" signifies your child won't be there - not present in...

You're Not Alone Mama Life has a funny was of throwing curveballs at us. Not everything always goes as planned. Jobs are lost. People breakup or divorce. Loved ones pass on. None of us are immune. Eventually something will happen that turns our lives upside down and all around. Our human experience is disappointing sometimes, there’s no denying it. Days filled with tragedy that force us to examine the things that really matter. So how do we proceed with grace? How do we look at these obstacles put in front of us and continue on to live another day? Do we lean on our villages, hoping for a shoulder to cry on? What if we don’t have villages? What if our...

Fostering Healthy Body Acceptance In Your Teen Daughter Teaching a young girl how to accept and love her body starts with her mother. You will be a mirror to either her strengths or her insecurities. It's up to you to decide which she will reflect on. She will already be bombarded with the unattainable world of filters, advertising, TikTok videos, and the latest internet celebrity. She will hear the gossip of peers calling out the too fat, too thin, too tan, not tan enough, too tall, too short, anything too much, making her feel less than. But you momma, can lessen the damage of these things. Never Criticize Yourself in Her Presence Momma I'm with you. I've got pounds to lose. There...

Let Them Play I used to be that mom. The mom with an arsenal of baby wipes and wet washcloths at the ready, constantly wiping faces and feet and God forbid they wear those brand new shoes outside. Oh you want to catch bugs and lizards? Um, how about no. Then I came to my senses. Gone were the days when I really gave a second thought to my children playing in the mud, exploring the sights and sounds around them, and just being kids. Slowly and surely I was letting that part of my ever present helicopter parenting go and I couldn’t be happier. Kids are curious by nature, I was done with hindering that curiosity. I stopped hovering, I stopped being...