Tag: motherhood
From Two Kids to Three Kids
A year ago, we had our third baby. He has bleach-blonde hair, a surprise to all of us, since our kids have dark hair....
My Story of Pregnancy Loss, Birth Trauma, and Postpartum PTSD
A Note Before You Read: This is an honest account of childbirth, child loss, birth trauma, postpartum PTSD, and recovery. It includes graphic medical...
Forget the Summer Slide: What if Summer is Actually Your Child’s...
Every summer, parents start hearing the same warning. "Don't let your child experience the summer slide." The phrase refers to the academic regression that...
Homeschooling vs. School at Home
The definition of homeschool is “to teach (one's children) at home instead of sending them to school." This is how I’ve always defined homeschooling,...
Teaching Kids Responsibility Without Turning Into the Family Manager
We have entered our expensive era at Beaven home. Everything is much more expensive, and so are their wants and needs. This is to...
5 Traveling Hacks for Kids
Whether the trip is long or short, traveling with kids is exhausting. There is a reason people say there is a difference between a...
How to Avoid a Bummer, Bummer Summer
The comparison-fatigue-death trap of social media can be a serious bummer. Clearly, everyone is having the perfect summer. Their children are smiling through beach...
The Comparison Conundrum
For the last month or so, I have felt “off.” It hasn’t been because of anything specific being wrong or any one thing that...
Manageable Messy Art
As an early childhood professional, I love messy, process art. As a working mom, I need manageable, easy-to-clean art. Over the years, I have...
That First Year of 4-H
My daughter is doing 4-H for the first time this year. I never did 4-H, and neither did my husband. We knew nothing about...
5 Years Later: Reflections on Leaving Full-Time Work for Family Life
This summer marks five years since I decided to leave full-time work. As I contemplated stepping away from the workforce, I was scared and...
Deciding Once: Gift Edition
Decide once: my favorite principle out of my very favorite self-help book, The Lazy Genius Way. There are so many ways you can apply...
Building Community When It’s All Too Much
"It’s all too much." Over the past few years, I’ve caught myself repeatedly saying some version of this sentence while waving my hands around...
Moms: How to Stop Recovering and Start Creating Energy Margin
Ugly truth: Most moms aren’t burned out because they’re doing too much. They’re burned out because they never truly stop. We’ve confused productivity, connection,...