Two minutes that mattered for me today.

I've restarted this post today more than once. For some reason, though, I've kept at it. And this time, it's going in an entirely different direction. I finally figured out what I want to say so brace yourselves: Sometimes, people just want to help out. I know. It's not poetic. It's not quotable. You might …

RBG’s 7 tips for raising a trail-blazing daughter

I read a lot of things about raising children: books, blogs, articles, forums, scriptures, and on and on. Like I’ve previously mentioned, being a parent is daunting and pretty much impossible. We are all doing our very best and all imperfect. Recently, I’ve been reading the book, Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling …

Dear 4YO son: be happy. Love, mom.

Dear Son: You recently celebrated your fourth birthday in which you told your friends at school a list of your favorite things: Food: bacon Color: ALL the colors! Snack: applesauce and fruit snacks Movie: Cars Toy: cars Place to visit: Discovery Gateway Animal: tiger Book: Put Me In The Zoo Game: Robot Turtles Good list, …

Angry mommy needs a reset

I was buckling my three-year old into his car seat when he asked, "Are you angry, mommy?" My body language, expression, and silence all told him I was mad. I paused. I didn't realize I was so easy to read. Being patient and calm is beyond hard. I failed miserably this morning when breast milk …

Quick note about family

In about a week, I imagine that Dom will ask me what we're going to do that day and when I tell him we don't have plans, he will be quite bummed. He'll probably inform me that I am not interesting, Gabbi doesn't talk, and Pogi is a one trick pony/cat. And it's true because …

Today’s healing

Dom required bandages today for some owies. He then wanted to check and see if I had owies, too, rolling up my pant legs. He found my scratches. Don't slide on a dirt patch in the soccer field. Dirt, scratches, pebbles, stinging in the shower... How silly of me. He put five bandages on my …

Daily spousal emails and what to say

"How was your day?" I'm trying to come up with a more clever response to that question when my day revolved around nap times, poopy diapers, messy mealtimes, and trying not to neglect tummy time. Suggestions?

thinking about mother-daughter relationships

Ever since I was little, I imagined myself as a mother of sons. I suppose growing up with 5 brothers and only one sister played into this. Perhaps it was influenced by my tomboy leanings, my love of sports, and my preference for playing with GIJoes over Barbie's (though I had both). Whatever the reason, …

Christmas 2015: My only regret is that I was busy sorting

Music. Christmas is about music. My favorite Christmas traditions include--evolve around, really--music. And one Christmas carol in particular, the peaceful lullaby, Silent Night. Over and over again, year after year, I've asked my Mom to come and play an arrangement at church during the month of December. She's played with me in a Relief Society …

Gabriela’s birth story

Warning: very lengthy post. No flowery details. No descriptive prose. I tried to keep it simple. Still, it came out long. Dominic, my first kiddo, was a c-section because he was breech. Recovering from major, abdominal surgery while learning how to care for a newborn was far above my skill level. I floundered. Newborns don’t …