How do you entertain four boys under the age of ten for several hours without resorting to bribes, bodily function contests or sticking them in from of a screen? This was the question I had the pleasure of answering recently when school was out, my husband was working and I had four energetic boys View Post
Staying Authentic When Parenting Gets REAL!
Have you ever had to be so REAL with your child that it hurt? - Like you were punched in the gut?! Well, today I managed to stay authentic when parenting got real, it was down-right raw! It was a normal afternoon after school pickup. The kids’ mouths didn’t stand still for a minute. They were View Post
Start a LEGO Tradition For The Whole Family
It is said that “if you build it, they will come!” As a little girl, living in Denmark, I took those words to heart, year after year… after year. The Danish folklore is full of tales of elves and gnomes who move into your home during Christmas time. These little creatures play harmless tricks on View Post
Secrets to Parenting Happiness
Have you ever looked over your shoulder, in hopes that the mother of the toddler screaming on the floor in front of you will magically appear? Only to realize that YOU are the kid’s mother… for a minute you teeter between hysterically crying or laughing. Parenting is part intuition and part like View Post
Long Distance Grandparent
In honor of Grandparent's Day and in response to my post about "Six New Ways to Connect With Grandparents" my mom is sharing her thoughts on being a long distance grandparent (or "bedstemor", as the kids call her.) For a while I have been meaning to write about being a long distance View Post
My Promotion!
I am thrilled to announce that I recently accepted a new position, read all about my promotion! This is the job I applied for: Executive to Supervise a Team of Micro-Managers Candidate must possess the following qualifications: Excellent conflict negotiation and resolution skills. Prior View Post
Prevent and Get Rid of Lice (Almost) Naturally
It's "back to school" season! Time to dust off the lunch boxes, pull out the backpacks and get your kids ready to learn. They will learn how to make friends, do math, read and share. I hope your kids share only toys, experiences and knock-knock jokes. May they not feel the need to share, exchange or View Post
Our Kids Will NOT Have to Go Commando, Thanks to Amazon!
This weekend I was picking out the kids' "first day" outfits, when all of a sudden it hit me: "UNDERWEAR!"! I forgot to buy the kids new, fresh, crisp, clean underwear! Of course new underwear isn't on the supply list provided by the school, but I always use "back to school" shopping as an excuse to View Post
8 Ways to Keep Your Family Safe When the Unexpected Happens
“Tove, this is Tina from your children’s soccer camp. Your boys were not picked up by Susan today. They are still here in the office with me. I have been trying to reach Susan for the past hour, but her cell phone goes to voice mail!” (Names and locations have been changed.) Imagine receiving View Post
The Unexpected Happened…
“Tove! They found dad. Dad! They found him! They found him by the water! Tove, he’s not doing well.” May 17, 2008 was the day my sister in Denmark called me frantically. We were on our way home from Costco. I saw her first call and figured I would call her back when I got home. Then she called View Post
Son, I Failed You!
Dear Son, I failed you yesterday! I didn’t see you. I did not SEE you all day – and now I miss you terribly, probably as much as you miss me. I am sitting here thinking back on the day that passed , and I realize that I went an entire day without truly seeing my boy. The morning was View Post
The Incredible Things You Realize After Your Kids Have Been Sick
We are just coming off a few weeks of back to back to back illnesses of varying degrees and origin. With four boys in the house there is often some type of germ, bug or other contaminant in the house. However, the past several weeks were more "interesting" and educational than I recall in recent View Post
An Open Letter to “the Flu!”
An Open Letter to "the Flu!" Dear Influenza A, B and whatever other alphabet-soup-combinations there are! I have feared you for years! - actually loathed your mere existence. Every single year you keep scientists on their toes. Your constant morphing and mutating leaves the vaccines full of View Post
You Are The Day…
You are the day with the sunshine and the rain. You are the night with the stars and the moon and the shadows. Everybody wants you, everybody needs you. No one can exist without you. The rich man wants you. The poor man needs you. But no one can take you. You are a baby’s crying and a View Post