What We Tell Our Daughters

I have a daughter, and I think she is the most beautiful little girl in all the world. She absolutely delights me.

The other day, we were getting ready together. I noticed her soft, round little features. I noticed the way she crinkled up her nose to smile. I noticed her confidence as she stuck her belly out and look in the mirror. I noticed her contentment with picking clothes she liked, detached from any sort of expectation of how they looked on her body. And I thought with a sinking feeling, not for the first time, that I wished I could bottle up this confidence for her and help her keep it forever.

The topic of body image scares me for her. Continue reading “What We Tell Our Daughters” →

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Discern What Matters To You, So You Can Do What Matters

Sometimes I feel caught between wanting to continue to grow and always make myself better, and feeling discouraged by the voices of “inspiration.”

Can you relate?

It can feel like such a fine line. The line between seeing where WE are and where THEY are and allowing it to either speak inspiration or discouragement over our life. Continue reading “Discern What Matters To You, So You Can Do What Matters” →

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The Only Birth Advice I Give Out – Use a Doula

I don’t give a lot of birth advice to other moms. Birth is a sensitive subject. I’m always happy to share my thoughts and experience when asked, but I’m careful to never impose what I care about in regards to birth on others. My journey is my journey, your journey is yours. But there is one topic that I’d love to address simply because I don’t think there is a lot of great information out there, and, as in every aspect of life, knowledge is power.

Knowledge is especially power when you are pregnant. In particular, knowledge that is pro mom, pro baby, and grounded in a belief in a woman’s ability to have that baby. For that reason, I’d love to share with you today why we have used a doula for each of our birth experiences! Continue reading “The Only Birth Advice I Give Out – Use a Doula” →

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My Boys, My Phone, and Me

We talk A LOT about impulse control in our house. My two oldest boys have exactly zero self control. This, I hear, is developmentally normal. I was told the horrifying statistic that boys will struggle with impulse control – and all things prefrontal cortex related – well into their twenties. Their twenties, for goodness sake! Lord help me.

For this reason, I try to talk to my boys openly and honestly about cause and effect to help them start to become aware of their actions, which will hopefully have an impact on helping them develop the kind of self control that thinks first and acts second. Continue reading “My Boys, My Phone, and Me” →

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Finding A Rhythm of Rest

If it weren’t for my bookmarks tab, I’m not sure I could have found my way to my blog tonight. And I’m only sort of kidding.

Hi. Hey. How are you?

I logged on tonight to tell you I’m doing fine. I logged on to write a few words down because my soul longs to write. I logged on because I’m trying to sort things out and this space – writing, blogging, talking here with you – is how I make sense of the jumble inside my brain.

So life, lately. It’s been…. Continue reading “Finding A Rhythm of Rest” →

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Assume The Best

Mike and I (and baby Monty) spent the past weekend celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary by exploring Cleveland, eating all.the.things, and enjoying some time together away from home and our normal day to day. It was refreshing and relaxing and so much fun. I love spending time with Mike more than anything in the world. (I’m still working on finding a way to get paid just to hang out together. There has to be a way! 😉 ) Continue reading “Assume The Best” →

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Exactly Where You Are Supposed To Be

I was having a bad day. It was mostly self inflicted, as bad days (I’m learning) usually are, when I received a card from a friend. She, like me, is in a season of transition. A season of new baby meets old life meets figuring out expectations we didn’t know we had meets trying to figure it all out. (What does it all MEAN, we ask, and what should we DO about it?)

In her card she wrote:

transition = tumult

Yes. Yes that is it exactly. Continue reading “Exactly Where You Are Supposed To Be” →

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Baby Number Four: A Birth Story

I came to a different and awed understanding of what life is. It’s not what you think it is. First, what you call your life is not yours at all – not yours to plan, manipulate, or control, at least not very often. That’s a staggering realization. I was humbled to see that the maturity and serenity I thought I had achieved was simply the result of having things my way all the time. If life wasn’t mine, what was it? In fleeting moments of deep satisfaction and insight, I saw the absolute truth of life…love that is no mere word, love that goes beyond feeling, love that is life itself. I was filled with a rush of respect for all mothers everywhere. This was how we all got here. What miracles, what sacrifice, what love! I never knew, nor could I have, before now. Can you imagine this love? Can you anticipate it, fabricate it, measure and evaluate it? No, you can’t, you can only be love, and your child will release its magnitude within you. -from Momma Zen, by Karen Maezen Miller

Where do I start? Continue reading “Baby Number Four: A Birth Story” →

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