Parenting

Hugs, kisses and waves; and then you’re out and the kids are the babysitter’s problem. Or maybe your kid cries a lot when you leave thanks to that evil separation anxiety thing, and you have to sneak out while he or she is eating the cookies you gave him so that you can forgo the […] More

I remember my mother expressing her anger to me in this manner growing up. Don’t get me wrong, I was a good kid. I was an athlete, a star student and I rarely did anything worth getting in trouble over. I did, however, have a bit of an attitude. Of course, what teenage girl doesn’t?  […] More

Baby stores are dangerous locations. Not only are they filled with all the baby stuff, they also have a lot of babies out and about doing their shopping. It’s a place in which you will find baby fever. It is the place you will find that you cannot control yourself. It is the place in […] More

Kids mature, develop and change at different times. No two kids are the same. Trust me; I’d love for my 4-year-old to be a bit more like her older sister in the potty training department. When one child is ready to do something, another her own age might not. That’s what makes the topic of […] More

For every 5 horrible crimes my children commit, there is 1 or 2 very sweet and amazing little things that they do that make me forget that they’re obviously tiny terrorists out to kill me. Kids are the most infuriating, most horrible people in the world. And they’re the most adorable, sweetest and most heart-stoppingly […] More

To throw a party or not to throw a party, that is the question. And I have the answer – nope. Don’t do it. Skip it. They won’t remember it. If I could redo my entire parenting life over again, I’d skip the big, expensive, ridiculous, over-the-top early birthday parties in favor of cake and […] More

Barbies and trucks and dolls and hide and seek and Candy Land and Go Fish are just a few of my least favorite activities. They’re actually right up there with my fear of heights and my annual gynecological exam. Of course, my kids love these games; and they’re the reason I dislike them so. Why, […] More

With four kids, I’m so far past the annoying questions, thoughtless statements and very personal comments that people make when a couple has only one child. I’ve got a whole new set of inappropriate comments, questions and statements to respond to on a daily basis (yes, we know how this happens; no, we didn’t plan […] More

During a recent trip to a gorgeous lake in the middle of the northern Tennessee mountains, I stood for almost half an hour on top of a 20-foot bridge, tears in my eyes, scared to death to jump off into the 200-foot lake. Everyone else had already done it, including several of my nieces and […] More

Just a few weeks ago my 4-year-old demanded (as opposed to asking) ice cream for lunch. Because the kid detests sweets, I knew what she really wanted was a bowl of ice cream she could stir – it’s her favorite. But I can’t give her that even though she’s not going to eat it, because […] More

There is a certain type of torture and pain that only those who have kids that share a room will understand. Thank goodness for me, this is something from the past. When my husband and I were just a few months shy of welcoming our twins into our family, we moved our then almost 3-year-old […] More

I’m going to start this off by saying that I’ve never hit my kids, and I have no intention of ever hitting my kids. I’m not of the belief that violence is the answer, and I will not do it. This is something that drives my mother absolutely insane, as she is a teacher and […] More