I was watching a documentary on the universe with our space-loving 5-year-old the other day, and it reminded me of this epiphany I had a while back . . . Photo credit: NASA Mathematically speaking, we humans barely exist. The …
A Quick and Simple Way to Help Local Families in Need
If you’ve been to Wal-Mart this week, you may have seen a purple display from Champions for Kids. Admittedly, I’m not usually one to advertise something at Wal-Mart—I’ve made no secret of my love affair with Target—but this program is …
Why We Stopped Using Screen Time as Currency (and What We Do Instead)
“If you don’t stop whining, you’re going to lose your screen time for today.” “If you get out of bed again, you’re going to lose your screen time for tomorrow.” “The timer went off a few minutes ago. If you …
Why Yes, I Am SuperMom. And So Are You.
Perhaps it’s because I have three pretty great kids that I haven’t managed to totally screw up yet. Or perhaps it’s because I often look frazzled and harried and desperate for positive reinforcement. Whatever the reason, my kind-hearted friends and family …
It Takes a Village to Raise a Mother
Last week, I showed up to my friend Jana’s house (where we co-teach our kids three days a week) late and frazzled. The morning had started off fine, but time slipped away from me between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. The …
What I Want My Children to Know About Being White in America
I have a guest post up over at my friend Paula Fitzgibbons’ blog, Mommy Means It, today. It’s one of the few posts that I’ve actually been hesitant to publish, not because I’m unsure about it, but because I’m not stupid. …
Motherhood, Graphically Organized
My daughter and I were exploring different kinds of graphic organizers the other day. I saw this flower one: And got inspired: I would have added “bedtime battles,” “random fit-throwing,” and “ongoing nose-picking,” but there wasn’t room, so I just …
10 Rules for Talking to Mommy Before Her Morning Coffee
1. Don’t talk to Mommy before her coffee. 2. Talking to Mommy before coffee is not allowed. 3. No talkie. I’m serious. 4. Opening your mouth and letting sound come out in Mommy’s direction is forbidden. 5. Attempting to ask Mommy …