Search Results for: blog gaining perspective

Gaining Perspective

You know it’s going to be a bad day when you spend 10 minutes standing on your front porch trying to figure out why you can’t get into your home before you realize that repeatedly pushing the unlock button on your car’s smart key isn’t going to open the front door of your house. Yes, it’s been one of those days. Actually, it’s been one of those months. One of those months when you can’t seem to catch a break. One of those months when the war against fatigue has you in the trenches. One of those months when your … Continue reading →

Playing the Numbers Game

It’s dinnertime and you’re frantically scrambling to get your three kids under six years old fed before you have to get the oldest to his soccer game and the middle one to the barber.  You swing into McDonald’s, order, squeeze into a booth, divvy up a 20-piece McNuggets amongst your offspring, and then quickly shove the first meal of your day down your gullet. What’s the last thing you’re thinking about during this manic mealtime? Well, other than wondering if Kate Middleton is breastfeeding Prince George. That’s right; calories. Those numbers, which are now posted on many restaurant menus in … Continue reading →

The Importance of Listening

How could I possibly resist listening to this adorable angel? My daughter’s smile can light up a room, but her insanely long recaps of lunchroom drama between five girls, a shoe, a note and some other item that I have no earthly idea about, are far from illuminating. In fact, her convoluted conspectuses often make my ears burn, though the pain could actually be my brain frying, as I try to decipher what green socks and Eggplant Parmesan  have to do with how she fared on Friday’s spelling test. I try to make sense of it all, but I’m old. … Continue reading →

Timing Is Everything… Or Is It?

Racing against the clock is a futile exercise most parents endure while raising children. If time kicks your butt getting out the door in the morning, consider the consequences if you choose to ignore it when disciplining your kids. To be effective, discipline must immediately follow a child’s transgression… or so claims numerous childhood experts. Easy enough if you are dealing with a toddler whose actions are fairly simple to monitor.  Not so when your kids hit an age when they would rather you not be a constant presence in their lives. Or present at all. Parents of school age … Continue reading →

Easy Save

The mass killings at Sandy Hook Elementary were beyond senseless.  Nearly a month after the tragedy millions around the world are still stunned by the horror that robbed Newtown, Connecticut, of dozens of its most precious residents. Of those millions, many are parents, who cried with Sandy Hook victims’ families in the days following the horrific shootings.  Ironically, some of those same moms and dads, who clung tightly to their own children in the hours and days after the murders, are the same ones who place their kids in jeopardy when they get behind the wheel of their vehicle. According … Continue reading →

When Being Sick Is Not An Option

What do you dread more?  Dealing with a sick kid or running a household while running a fever and to the toilet every few minutes? When my daughter was an infant she got violently ill.  In a moment of utter fatigue and desperation, I tried bargaining with her doctor.  I offered him all of my appendages in exchange for a cure for my child.  I wanted to alleviate her pain at any cost, even if it meant dismembering my own body. It’s a scenario most parents can relate to; we’d rather be the ones suffering than see our children in … Continue reading →

Conquering Cabin Fever

If the only thing your child is suffering with right now is cabin fever, consider yourself lucky. Contrary to popular belief, kids can contract strep throat and hand-foot-and-mouth disease at the same time. Oh.Yes.They.Can. Let me tell you how I know this… Actually, I will spare you the gory details and instead share more practical advice for conquering cabin fever during these last days of winter break.  Students in our neck of the woods head back to class next Monday.  That means parents have to endure a few more days of kids complaining that their new Christmas toys are not … Continue reading →

Getting Organized for the New Year

If your New Year’s resolution includes getting organized in 2013, you are not alone. When the clock strikes 12 on January 1st, I am vowing to better manage all aspects of my life. Of course, that’s the same resolution I made in 2011 and 2012. Hopefully, the third time will be the charm. I’m a busy mom, just like millions of other parents in the world, and more often than not, time gets the best of me. Actually, it haunts, punishes and kicks the life out of me. Hence, my New Year’s resolution. If you are looking for affordable ways … Continue reading →

End the Year With Family Time

New Year’s Eve is the perfect time to take stock of your life and focus on how you can make the most of 2013.  A new year means a fresh start.  Out with bad habits and in with better ones. For busy parents, evaluating the year gone by is a chance to reprioritize; for many that means figuring out ways to spend more time with their children. Of course, there’s no time like the present to get a jumpstart on that resolution.  To illustrate your newfound commitment, consider spending the last days of 2012 bonding with your kids.  Remember, it’s … Continue reading →

Keep It Simple

In the wake of the senseless shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, many parents are reevaluating their priorities.  With Christmas just a few days away, there’s been a shift from chaotic to calm. Whereas a week ago many parents were rushing around like decapitated chickens trying to hunt down a mountain of material items to place under the tree, today, those same parents are realizing that life’s greatest gift isn’t something that can be wrapped in pretty paper.  Rather, moms and dads around the world are slowing down and savoring every minute with their kids.  If the incomprehensible loss of … Continue reading →