If you read my blog with any regularity you probably know that my 17 month old baby is a real stinker. He screams. He throws stuff. He hits me. He won't eat. He insists on being picked up, mostly. He insists on being put down,...
The Essentials Only Guide to Baby Gear: six months to one year
This post is number two in a series on essential baby gear, see here for the first. For parenting book recommendations, see here. My six to twelve month old babies are still using most of the gear from my newborn to six month old recommendations, but I've also...
From the Trenches: Mass Survival Strategies That Work for Us
Voting is now closed. Thanks to you if you voted, or if you didn't. That's fine too.After nearly a month of blogging, I am FINALLY getting some recognition. :0) I am excited to have been nominated in the category of "Best Lifestyle Blog" in the...
The Essentials Only Guide to Baby Gear: birth to six months
In honor of some soon-to-be mothers I've been thinking about recently, especially my lovely cousin Pryor and the adorable Sarah of Oh My Soul, today I'm going to share with you my guide to baby gear for the first six months (check back later this week for my...
Chores for Enthusiastic Toddlers
Two-year-old Jack (and his black eye) doing a little mopping. I have had two different readers request that I address the subject of chores and chore charts. For us anyway, this is an area that has seen a lot of flux over the years. Since...
The “Your Baby” Method of Sibling Preparation, and Some Book Recommendations
Sometimes, baby makes four, or five, or six, or well . . . you get it. I think I had the standard reaction to finding out I was expecting baby number two: crying, for no reason. But right after that . . . I was excited, but worried about how a new...
Notable and Quotable
Hey All, For today, you get a roundup of how things sounded around my house this week and the important lessons we learned. 1. I am not an acceptable substitute for Julie Andrews.Anita (3) in the car: "Mom, could you not sing? I'm trying to hear Mary...
DIY Chewbacca Sleepsack Mod and a Homemade X-Wing Bomber
If you like Star Wars and Christmas presents and awesome, but prefer wood and lasers to faux fur and embroidery floss, you should just scroll down a bit. This is a bit off topic . . . but, speaking of projects, I wanted to share my most recent one, my...
The Myth of Me-Time
Thanks to Diana for sending in A READER QUESTION! It still counts if I know her in real life right? What things usually look like from where I'm sitting. So, the question is: How do I take care of myself in general, and specifically during the homeschool year? The...
My Favorite Parenting Books
It feels so easy now. The kids can still surprise me, and each one is different of course. One, in particular, is especially noisy. But mostly, I feel like I know what's coming, and how to handle it when it does. It's easy for me to forget now how overwhelming it...
An Open Letter to the Church Lady Who Yelled at My Mom
I am noisy in church. Dear Church Lady, You probably recognize me as half of the people you yelled at in the Adoration Chapel before storming back into the main church to continue reciting your rosary. I was the one banging on the glass. My...