I’m not going to sugar coat this for you. I struggled horribly with my 2-year-old not listening. As a mom who researches things like how to make kids listen and how to be a positive parent to a strong willed child, the twos about did me in. Yes, really. (That's why I started researching why parents yell...) But here’s the real [...]
What Kids Secretly Want to Tell You About Roughhousing – Girls Included!
As I child, I remember roughhousing with my dad in the living room, playing Buck the Bronco. I would jump all over him, giggling incessantly. Then we would play Wake the Sleeping Bear, where he would pretend to be a sleeping bear and I would sit on his head, stand on his back and tickle his feet until he "woke up" and scared the [...]
The Angry Mom Days No One Really Talks About
Saying that I was an angry mom is an understatement. We were leaving. We were at the park for only 20 minutes, but we were leaving. Because his behavior was out of control, and we weren’t going to continue down that path anymore. With my daughter in one arm and my son in the other, we marched straight back to the car. Putting my son [...]
How to Create an Amazing Stay at Home Mom Schedule
The house smells like toast and freshly brewed coffee. I grab the Bun pot and fill my cup. The coffee is almost too hot to drink, but I sip it anyway because coffee and I belong together. Wrapping my hands around my mug, I can't help but think how much I love an organized stay at home mom schedule. In case you didn't know this is [...]
The Parenting Tip You’re Missing to End Power Struggles
It all started with the elevator buttons. We were leaving the house. I was in a hurry to get my strong willed toddler off to school, and I pushed the elevator button. This was the beginning of toddler power struggle number one. He wanted to push the elevator button. He was super frustrated. Pushing the button makes him feel [...]
4 Ridiculously Easy Ways to End a Power Struggle
“No. No. No bath!” This is my son on bath night. We are in the middle of a toddler power struggle. I'm desperately trying to figure out how to make my kid listen so we can get on with the bedtime already. “Do you want to play with cars or letters in the bath tonight?” “No. NO. NO BATH!” He used to love baths, but in the past [...]
Why I Finally Quit Doing It All
My husband and I were picking up the house after we finally got the kids in bed for the night. Toys, laundry, cleaning up after dinner, and finally throwing away the hidden snickers wrapper from earlier in the day. Yes, I eat hidden snacks when my toddler isn’t looking. I’m not ashamed to admit that. By the time we finished picking up [...]
25 Life-Changing Essential Oil Hacks for Busy Moms
Essential oils are all the buzz and craze it seems these days. A few years ago it was the snuggie. You know, the onesie pajamas for adults? Last year it was the Paleo diet. I recently heard wood sunglasses are taking the world by storm. So the real question is do you really need essential oils and do they really live up to the hype? In a [...]
4 Important Words to Help End Power Struggles
As a child, I spent idyllic summers at my family’s secluded lake cabin in the woods of Northern Wisconsin. My fondest memories include swimming with my cousins, cooking with my grandmother, and fishing with my dad. Hello nostalgia. Last Summer I returned that tiny lake cabin to share a week-long vacation with my dad, cousins, and this [...]
The Magic Tip That Teaches Kids to Be Kind
From the time my son was 12 months old until he reached age 24 months, it’s conservative to estimate he bit nearly fifty other children. Yes. Fifty. It brings tears to my eyes sharing that with you right now because that is an insane number of children to bite. And because working through a year of biting is an insanely long time. [...]