Made my evening trek into the school tonight. 9:00 p.m. Kids are safely tucked into their beds, dark load of laundry is in process, house is tidy and relatively clean… therefore it is time to lesson plan! I think my van could drive the well-worn path there and back on auto-pilot, if need be. When …
Little voices, tiny hands. Baby hair still wisps, framing round faces. Wide-eyed. They move, and squirm, roll and tumble. And I try to quiet them, but they are alive with energy. Full of life. We read on the blue rug, I’ll Love You Forever. As I begin to form words on the tongue, I can …
Humble pie always is the hardest to swallow. But before I get to that, let’s start with this. Wednesday’s incident. I was still trying to get over that. Wednesday. Our busiest day of the week, hands down. We have umpteen dozen things to do between dawn and dusk, and that’s just the day job. Then …
I’m doing double-duty tonight. Husband lies feverishly curled up in the fetal position on the couch under that stringy, blue blanket that has seen better days. While the girls and I tiptoe past like fervent mice on a scavenger hunt. Then, on up the stairs to bedtime routines and tuck-ins. I haven’t done the bedtime …
He sits beside me. Calm, quiet-like. In between me and his father. I have just nestled myself into a seat, in a row of black chairs connected by a small hinge along one side. We call them a pew. That’s church speak. They’re really just uncomfortable, black chairs with a slight cushion to ease the …
Sometimes (just a wee tiny bit…), I wish I was her. You know her. That girl. That girl, who seemingly has it all together. Who’s all that and then some. Whom I admire from afar. I’ll admit it. I read her books, her articles, her blogs. I see her out and about, I watch her …
My kids occasionally ask me what it is I want for Christmas. Which completely throws me… because I place very little stock in what I receive at Christmas. Whereas I realize this is the very large part of what makes Christmas magical for them. So lately, and after reading one Mama’s very consumer-driven, grown-up Christmas …
I am standing in front of him, my fists clenched. I feel frustration in every pore, every cell. My blood pressure is on the rise. Pulsating. Throbbing. Everything is crashing down around me, and I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. Sometimes a day just seems to bring more than one has …
Cherish. A word that speaks of highly valued treasure. A mother-colleague spoke today of her family and made reference to the fact that her three teen-aged children knew they were cherished. That they felt cherished by her and her husband. And we talked about the significance of this fact to our children’s lives. Mine included. …
My children have been gifted. Gifted with family who value faith, honesty, respect, education and co-operative learning; hard work, effort, diversity, honor and humor. Among other positive qualities. All which serve to instil within our offspring an appreciation for integrity and a value for a high standard of living. We work hard as parents to …
I have a friend who chooses to stay at home in spite of the fact that all her children are now in elementary school. She was a former professional, prior to the birth of her children. But following the birth of her second last child, she decided she no longer feels called to work outside …
As a mom, I feel pressure to capture and preserve every waking moment of my four children’s lives. To photograph, video-tape, blog, anecdote; to keep a baby calendar, baby-record book, family scrapbook, and personal diary; to Facebook, Pinterest, Tweet and Instagram for the love of my children; and to do things the old-fashioned way: write …