When your Christmas plans & hormones collide
After a whirlwind of a road trip in the weeks before and following Thanksgiving, I was anxious to get home and settled so that we could focus on advent and Christmas and enjoy…
When you need to do it MORE not LESS
This weekend we went out to eat after our family photo session, and within a couple of hours, Sean was hit hard with food poisoning. The next day he stayed home from church…
A simple rule for traveling {and life} with kids
Last week the boys and I flew to Florida to spend six days with my sister and grandmother. Traveling with two kids under three isn't exactly the most relaxing activity, but I really love…
The power of the family meeting
I've been reading a lot of books about intentional living and parenting over the past couple of months in my quest to reprioritize. I'll share more about those books soon, but first I…
Chores and allowance for keeping the house clean AND building character
One of the questions I hear most often from other families—blog readers and friends alike—is how we handle chores and allowance as a family. There are so many different approaches out there... unpaid…
When you blink and they grow up right before your eyes
At one point I had four kids under five years old, so I know what it's like to live in the trenches. Those are the days that revolve around changing diapers, preparing three meals and two snacks…
The gift of perspective
It's funny, really, because when we decided to add "one more baby" to our family (to recap, that was two babies ago), I knew I wanted to soak up every moment. I planned for…
Can you ever get just *one* tattoo?
"I only want one tattoo. No more." Those were my famous last words, as they say, and sure enough, two years after my first tattoos, I ended up back at a tattoo shop…
An open letter to my divorced parents: Thank you.
Mom & Dad, It's been many years since I've said your names together for any reason, something I didn't realize until I typed them just now. These days it's Mom & Mike and Dad…
What a red dye sensitivity means for our family
We’re traveling this week and next, so I’m sharing some of my favorite posts from the archives. This one seemed especially timely with Valentine's Day, and all of it's pink and red food,…