1. Family Team Rules. Don’t be the referee all summer! Become a team and learn to respect and include each other rather than fight. Make them really think about their actions! 2. Think About It. Use this tool to enforce accountability so that they are responsible for their own behaviors. 3. Build Each Other Up. Teach your kids to cheer for each other when they are successful and do good things.…
It is so hard to be a perceptive mom! But sooooooo important. I have failed at this. Have I confessed that enough over the last few weeks? I have tried to be a perceptive mom, but there have been times when I have missed seeing what is really going on in my children’s lives. When that has happened, it’s usually been because of one of these three ways moms are unperceptive……
The process of adopting a child can often be daunting in itself, though the real journey for an adoptive family starts after the child comes home. It’s wonderful if you want to support an adoptive family, but be sure to keep these 6 things in mind. 1. Give them space. It’s important to allow the family bonding time with the child, so allow them the space they need to do that! 2. Watch your words. Kids are always listening, so…
Do you ever have that nagging feeling in your gut that something is not right? Has it become a constant companion so familiar to you that you don’t know what life without it was like? Are you parenting in fear? Most of my worries follow a little pattern that includes the surprising ability to spiral out of control without me even noticing. The feeling springs up as a little pang of fear in my gut; it then grows, picking up speed, swirling…
There are times in a mom’s life when she simply cannot live without friends. I have been through one of those times. Years after I received my first pacemaker at seventeen, it gave out. I had three small children ages 5, 3 and 1. New doctors did new tests and gave me a new diagnosis. They felt that I probably didn’t need a pacemaker. They put me on steroids instead. I was not the same person. After a year, I…
I have been resolutely cooking now for 6 weeks–not every night, just twice a week. I skipped one week because I was traveling. The results in my mind are clear–home cooking is good for the soul. Not only is it better for your health, it’s better for your family. You feel more connected. Setting the table, the smell of simmering deliciousness, tripping over hungry, hovering peeps trying to get a taste–it’s all homeyness. And I really mean this–for a working,…