When people first spend time around our family, they often act surprised. "You guys actually seem to like each other!" "Your kids act like best friends." And people will ask "What is your secret to having such a happy family?"Well, first to be clear: our family is NOT perfect. We have flaws, and rough patches, and difficult seasons, too. But overall I'm pleased to say that yes, we really are a happy family. My boys really are best friends. They come to my husband and I for advice. They
Parenting and Family
A must-read if your kids are on social media.
A few weeks ago my oldest son told me that he is taking a break from social media. No biggie, he said, he just had a lot going on, needed to focus on school, and he'd get back to it some time later. Maybe.This son, now seventeen, is the only son who I no longer regularly monitor on social media. He has proven to be wise with his phone and has a clean track record in his use of social media. He also has accountability outside of his parents now, in the form of a youth leader and small
Birth Order: What Youngest Kids Need Most from their Parents
After a long pause, we return to the fascinating topic of birth order. And just like those baby albums that never seem to get done for the youngest kids, we almost left the babies out of our birth order series!But I couldn't do that, because this is my favorite one of them all! And of course it is, because I happen to be a youngest child. And youngest kids love to talk about....themselves!Yep, birth order is a super fun topic. And no, it is not a perfect science, but yes, it is
Homeschool Updates 2016: Part II High School
I'm back today to finish my annual (give or take ;) ) homeschool update. In my last post I shared an update on what my elementary and middle school boys are doing, and now I'm here to talk high school. **At the end of this post I am also going to cover the details of how we keep records, and what we plan to do for graduation. (I'm trying to keep it brief, but I get a lot of questions on this stuff...)And once again -- If you're not into the homeschool thing, there are surely more
Homeschool Updates 2016, Part I/II: Elementary and Middle School
I've been getting a lot of requests lately, so I decided it's time...Time for a homeschool update. NOTE: If you are not a homeschool family or looking into homeschooling currently, I won't even try to pretend this post will be interesting. I totally excuse you to exit this one before I bore you to sleep. Of course I invite you to click around my site and find more interesting topics, and I promise...I'll be back again soon with regularly scheduled programing.Now...for the
The Dirty Truth. Edition: It’s My Birthday!
Hi friends! So...this Sunday is my birthday!And though I have a bunch of posts in the pipeline (all unfinished, of course,) ... I thought I would repost this birthday post from two years ago. Because on your birthday you get to do whatever you want, right? And also: Most of the confessions here haven't changed a bit, and they might help you newer readers get to know me a little better. Plus, I'm adding a couple "bonus confessions" to the end...which are
How To Parent with Confidence
We all do it... (Or so I tell myself.)We hit those moments as parents when we feel completely inadequate. Unqualified. Unfit. Like maybe there's been some kind of mistake.It might hit us when we scroll through social media, or see other moms out with their kids; the moms who always seem to be doing more...smiling more...looking better... Being better than we believe we are.Or it might hit us when we blow it and miss a school activity, or we parent in anger, or just feel like we
Seven Things to do this (and every) weekend
How many times have you been going through your Monday and someone asks you, "So, how was your weekend?" only to have your mind go completely blank.How was my weekend? What did I even do last weekend? I know I've done that a ton. But I don't want my weekends to be a blur!...Too hectic to even remember, or just a big string of catch-ups from a too-busy-week before. I want my weekends to be full and fun and all about making memories.And yet like most things in life, a good, solid,