“But Mama, I am just so nervous!” were his tearful words to me, when I gently encouraged him to go say “hi” to the boy that just moved in down the street. At that moment, when he stood at the kitchen table and cried, my heart broke for him and his childhood growing pains. I silently cursed the View Post
3 Things to do to Prepare for the End! – The End of Maternity Leave!
As we all know, all good things must come to an end - and so it is, that I am facing just another three weeks of maternity leave. Don’t get me wrong, I am extremely blessed and fortunate to get a total of 16 weeks with my baby. Our time together is not something I take for granted, nor is it View Post
The Dinner Time Blues
Some evenings I just dread dinner time. There I said it - dinner time can be a struggle, annoying and heart breaking. Yes, granted it is a time for the whole family to gather around the table, to share a meal and stories about our day at work and school. But wait , I said “share a meal”! The MEAL View Post
Letter to the Mom Sitting Across From Me
Dear mom sitting across from me, I know we have not officially met before, but I can comfortably say that I know you already rather well. Our paths might never cross outside of these walls. We live different lives, even speak different languages - but here, none of that matters. Here, we speak View Post
Happiness is Juggling Boys
I was recently reminded that some milestones are downright painful to reach, even for your third and fourth children. Jonah has for the past eight weeks, since birth been within arms reach of me. I have responded to his cries, read his cues of hunger and been the only person to feed him. But... I View Post
Happiness is an Honest Friend – and a Zipper
We put so much stress on ourselves to lose the weight after we deliver our babies. I have been down this road a few times already, four to be exact. I know from experience that I get big - really big - but I also lose the weight (or most of it) rather easily. Normally my measure of success is “when View Post
Repotting Our Family
Spring is around the corner and therefore it is time to nurture the plants growing around the house. The best way to take care of the little green sprouts in your life is to give them a larger pot with fresh soil and fertilizer. Gently remove the plant from its current pot, shake off the old dirt, View Post
Happiness is an Untouched To-Do- List
Today started off like most days lately, with a long list of things on my “to do” list. We are closing on a new house next week and then moving shortly thereafter. So far, I have three boxes packed and ready to go - three small boxes... The mere thought makes me laugh. View Post
Happiness is a Big Meltdown
This was NOT the original blog post that I meant to write today, but when life hands you blog post material you need to run with it! Mornings can make or break your day. Sometimes the morning can set the tone for the entire rest of the day, color it either a bright cheerful rainbow, or leave you View Post
Letter to Mama – From Mama
Dear Mama, Stop what you are doing right now! Stop all of the thousands of thoughts that are running through your head this minute. Silence your inner-voice, the one that is constantly reminding you of all the things you haven’t done or that need to be done. You deserve a moment’s of silence, View Post
Happiness is Being the Youngest in the Middle
Dear Jansen, Congratulations on your promotion to “youngest in the middle”. You have worn this badge of honor with great pride now for two weeks. You have truly managed to assert yourself, and proven to us that you are a boy with a very strong will and character. Jansen, you will always be my View Post
Jonah – one week
Hello to a new chapter of our lives! We are now officially a family of four boys, party of six, “almost a basket ball team”, a big family - aka OUR FAMILY! Happy one week to baby, Jonah! You fit seamlessly and perfectly into our family. Without incident, you have brightened our lives, filled our View Post
The Night Before…
Here I am, enjoying my last night of pregnancy insomnia. It is officially “Jonah’s Eve” - the night before Jonah’s big debut into “the real world”. I know that babies have been born since the beginning of time. I realize that most of you reading this have already experienced “the night before” View Post
Howling at the Full Moon
OK - so I am sitting here in bed counting what apparently is just Braxton Hicks contractions. This feels much like cleaning my kids’ room while they are in there playing - POINTLESS! I am 39 weeks tomorrow, which is considered full term. There is a full moon in the sky tonight. Coincidence? - I View Post