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What Moms of Young Kids Really Want for Mother’s Day

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Ask any mom of young children what her ideal Mother’s Day would look like, and if she’s being honest, chances are she’d like an afternoon without her kids. All. By. Herself. I know that doesn’t exactly match the spirit of the day, but moms are already with their young kids the vast majority of the time. Every day is “Mother’s Day.” Moms are always caring for their children, changing diapers, making food, acting as peacekeeper and referee, constantly being interrupted from a task they’d like to accomplish. So the thought of not having to do that for a day actually sounds really nice.

Continue reading “What Moms of Young Kids Really Want for Mother’s Day” →

Calling All Adults: Grow Up

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My middle schooler’s band concert was quite possibly the worst concert I’ve ever attended. Oh, don’t get me wrong. The middle schoolers did a great job. They’ve worked hard all year, and their songs were terrific. It was neat to see the progress they’ve made, and I was proud of my sixth grader and his classmates. No, it wasn’t the kids who made the concert so terrible. It was their parents.

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Are We Failing Our Kids?

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Behind every good kid is a mom who’s pretty sure she’s screwing it all up.

I saw the meme on a friend’s Facebook page, and my first thought was, “Man, if that’s true, then my kids are gonna turn out awesome, because I’m pretty sure I’m completely failing at this parenting thing.” What is it about raising kids that makes me so vulnerable, so self-conscious, so quick to believe I’m failing? I worry that I’m letting my kids have too much processed food, that I’m disciplining them wrong, that I let them have too much screen time, that I don’t assign enough chores, that I yell too much, that I don’t spend enough quality time with them, that I don’t…The list goes on and on. Well-meaning parenting books often make me feel guilty or cause minor panic that I’m already messing up my kids by doing things wrong. But ultimately, the test of whether or not I’m failing as a parent boils down to one question.

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Caution: Work in Progress

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Had anyone stopped by my house yesterday, they would have been greeted by complete chaos. The kids and I were taking down the Christmas tree, so ornaments, boxes, storage bins, and strings of lights were strewn about the living room. Branches of the artificial tree were tossed around haphazardly. My two-year-old’s blocks and wooden train track pieces were mixed in with the Christmas stuff. One could hardly walk through the room, it was so cluttered. It was a total disaster. But that was okay. It was, after all, only temporary. It was a work in progress. Continue reading “Caution: Work in Progress” →

Why I Want My Kids to Fight

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My seventh-grade son has a unique set of friends. A few “kind of” believe in a generic god out there, a few flat out don’t believe in God at all, a few aren’t sure what they believe, and then there’s my son. He’s grown up in the church, attended parochial schools until 5th grade, goes regularly to Sunday School, midweek (church) school, and confirmation class, and hears Bible stories and devotions at home as well. And thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit, he believes those biblical accounts. He has faith in Jesus and isn’t afraid to say so, even when all his friends are arguing against him. And argue they do. Religion is a regular topic of discussion at their lunch table. Yet despite the wide variety of views among them, they have a close bond and manage to stay friends even after a lively discussion. And to be honest, I couldn’t be happier that he’s fighting in school, because it’s already preparing him for life as an adult.

Continue reading “Why I Want My Kids to Fight” →

Kids in Church—Why Bother?

I don’t know why I even bother. Trying to corral five children in church by one’s self is not for the faint of heart. And truth be told, by the time I’m halfway through the service I’m usually mad at one or more of said children. I generally hear about half of the sermon, if I’m lucky. I usually have to take out the baby and/or toddler at some point. And to what end? Is it even worth it? Do they even get anything out of the service? Do I? Like I said, I often wonder why I even bother. And yesterday was no exception until something amazing happened.

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Equipping Your Kids to Share Their Faith

One thing that weighs heavily on my mind as a Christian parent is the question of how to equip my children for sharing their faith in this fallen world. My husband and I try very hard to make our home a safe environment for discussing our faith openly. We have devotions and read the Bible together. Our kids know a lot of Bible stories, Bible verses, hymn stanzas, sections of the Catechism, and prayers. But will they be able to share their faith with others outside the home?

Believe it or not, our kids are already sharing their faith, sometimes more boldly than I am. Continue reading “Equipping Your Kids to Share Their Faith” →

Buried Treasure

I had no idea what I was getting into when I had kids. I knew all the answers, of course, and my kids would be little angels. I’d never let them eat in the car, they would eat their fruits and vegetables, they would get along with each other, and they would listen right away when disciplined. My rosy vision of life with children was a far cry from my reality now. All of my expectations above fell short. My kids do eat in the car, they don’t always eat their fruits and veggies, they fight with each other, and they sure don’t listen right away when I have to discipline them. Not only that, but along the way I find myself in situations I never would have imagined before my children were born. These things range from the humorous to the absurd to the poignant. Let me give a few examples of what I mean… Continue reading “Buried Treasure” →

Tales of a Fourth-Grade Sleepover

What happens when you combine three spirited fourth grade boys plus a jealous second grade brother for a birthday sleepover? It sounds like the beginning of a joke, but I assure you it is all too real. That’s exactly what happened at my house this past weekend.  Continue reading “Tales of a Fourth-Grade Sleepover” →

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