I recently lost my step-mom to stage 4 cancer. It's unbearable...losing a loved one. This is the sort of pain that I vigilantly protect my children from. I get in mother bear mode and don't want them to hurt at all....
Motherhood is such a whirlwind. Your entire life revolves around you and a significant other (maybe). Then a few magically painful hours pass and everything, and I mean everything is different! Showers are timed, your job is broken up...
Tired of begging your children to comply? Want to learn how to trick your kids into helping out more?
I distinctly remember the family gathering when I saw my mom convince my then four year old cousin to willingly eat...
Talking to Your Teen about Underage Drinking
Guest Post by Halley McIntyre - Program Manager at Mothers Against Drunk Driving Arizona
An ounce of preparation, as Ben Franklin so wisely noted, truly is worth a pound of cure. This fundamental idea...
Can you even image a child NOT having fun on the playground?! I sure can't.
Well this is exactly my current issue to solve. With a new school, new schedule, new teacher and new environment, my daughter who normally adjusts...
Do you ever wonder why it is important to take care of your child's baby teeth? You may be thinking that these teeth will just eventually fall out. Although baby teeth don’t last as long as permanent teeth, your...
Becoming a mom was never a part of the plan.
From a young age, my dream of becoming a career woman was absolutely certain. The future I envisioned consisted of completing a Doctorate in Philosophy, working my way up in...
The first six months of having two kids were the hardest of my life. In the two short years between my children, I'd forgotten how little sleep you can survive on. I'd forgotten what it felt like to be...
Turn It Up!
When my son hit the scene he came in with a bang and blew my heart wide open. My beautiful gift of a spirited and idiosyncratic kid that never slept, never wanted to leave my side, recited...
Since becoming a mom two years ago, I’ve juggled a few different career paths while trying to figure out the best fit for our family and lifestyle. I’ve worked at home for a 40-hour a week corporate company, switched to...
A letter to my surprise baby,
I remember when your daddy and I first started talking about having kids. We were so young, hopeful and naive. We didn’t know about pregnancy complications, congenital defects, infertility and infant loss. And slowly...
Somehow it has been a year since I did what once seemed one of the most impossible items on my Bucket List... I ran the New York City Marathon and became a Marathon Mama. While I wrote down some...
“I have to get out of this house today,” I thought as I watched my two-year-old twin boys push around their toy trucks on the hardwood floor while I sipped my morning coffee. I considered what we might do...
When we welcomed our first child into the world, it was unlike anything else I'd ever experienced. The very minute I met my baby, my chest filled up with so much love I thought I might explode because I...
As a young, childless schoolteacher, I remembered a great idea from one of my student's parent for future school years. Her words of wisdom for preparing for back to school with routine are something I have been using for...
The other day, a girl that I don’t know very well asked me if I was pregnant….I am not. {insert eyeroll here} I sarcastically replied, “No. But thank you.” Knowing her, even the little that I do, I know...
There are several memes going viral about how awful 2016 has been and how ready everyone is for 2017 to start. I think most people would agree that even if it wasn't a bad year for them personally, it really seems...
One of my good mom friends and I got to talking about the challenges that parenting can present. We moms are often caught with the feeling that our cups are overflowing, and we are giving all aspects of life...
When my son entered preschool at the age of three, my husband and I had already started hearing reasons why we should consider delaying his entry into kindergarten ...
"His birthday is in May. You don't want him to be...
Today we are partnering with Childhelp to share a post written by Deborah Pshebniski, Char Hubble and Erika Monroe-Williams. These women are moms themselves and spend time working on various events in Arizona to raise funding for great causes. Today,...
Let's face it. We have all been there.....we have felt the judgement of others for decisions we make in raising our children. If we really dig deep, I bet we can all admit to a time that maybe, just...
Perhaps it was the way I was raised or just the Type A personality traits in me, but being late drives me nuts. Even as a kid, my punctuality was on point. But when I became a mom I suddenly...
When I told people I was pregnant, they started calling me mom, mama, mommy right away. I didn’t know how to respond, we had been trying for a long time and I still didn’t think it was real, even...
I have always been an introvert. For as long as I can remember it has been difficult for me to be in groups and large social settings. Throughout my life I have learned how to deal with being introverted......
Getting pregnant can be hard. I can hear the laughter of those who know I got pregnant with Melody the first time I did "the deed" on my wedding night. Fast forward to the present day, and we have...