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Children Who Don’t Fit the Mold

Children come in so many different packages, and discovering who they are is like opening up a wonderful present. You never know what you’re going to get when you have a baby—you hope they take after you, and they will, but they’ll also have their own way of looking at the world that is both fresh and frustrating as you try to guide them to making right choices. Sometimes a homeschool setting is just what these children need to find their true path. I thought about this as I continued my conversation with ToriAnn Perkey. She said, “My oldest daughter … Continue reading →

How Moms Can Connect to Their Teen Sons

As my children have been getting older, it’s become obvious that connecting to my daughter is much easier than it is for my oldest son. His world is very different than my world. His world is about music, playing guitar and video games. It is easy for me to spend time with my daughter because we enjoy similar things. It takes a little more work to try and engage my son and spend quality time with him. However it can be done. The relationship between moms and teenage sons can be a little uncertain. He is no longer a little … Continue reading →

Dealing with Disappointment

This week was a disappointing one for my oldest son. He took his driving test and while we both went into it with a lot of confidence, he ended up failing. Honestly, I think my son is a better driver than me and I really didn’t think for a moment that he wouldn’t pass. However there are some automatic disqualifications and he did one of them. Apparently he was very nervous and let his nerves get the best of him. Now he has to wait another month and a half to retake it. My son is very laidback and not … Continue reading →

Time Out Before Two Years Old

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Once your child is older, time out can be a great tool for any parent when trying to teach your child what is wrong and right. But, in the beginning, time out can be frustrating for a mother of a smaller child. My son started doing plenty of naughty things when he was very young. He was so much more mischievous at a younger age compared to my daughter. He would write on the couch with lipstick, throw things and break them, grab knives out of the dishwasher, etc. etc. As soon as he could walk, I was in trouble! … Continue reading →

Is Your Teen Ready to Date?

If you are the parent of a teen there is one particular issue that you have probably been dreading for many years…teen dating. It conjures up in my mind all kinds of emotions from my past. I remember how difficult teen dating was. So often my heart would overtake me and I was so sure that I was in love. When it didn’t work out, I was left with broken pieces. Teen dating is not something that every teenager will be interested in. Sometimes we make the false assumption that as soon as high school hits, every teenager will be … Continue reading →

Lingering Memories

This past Wednesday was the first day of school for my children. My youngest son who just started middle school had been up since 4:30 a.m. He was very nervous and didn’t know what to expect. His stomach hurt, he couldn’t eat breakfast and I think he checked himself in the mirror a dozen times. I made my rounds in dropping off my children, starting with my oldest getting dropped off at the high school and then it was time to drop my youngest son off. As he got out of the van he had this terrified look on his … Continue reading →

Being Balanced with Teen’s Grades

One of the things that I strive really hard for in parenting is to be balanced. I don’t claim to be perfect. In fact, I am far from it. However, I do make every effort I can to make sure things are fair and balanced. I think this has more to do with my own childhood. In some areas my parents weren’t very strict, like with my grades at school but then in other areas, they were over the top strict. An example would be telling me what I could go to college for. When I announced the field I … Continue reading →

No More Disappointing Mother’s Days for Me

I used to really complain about Mother’s Day. In fact, I used to feel very sorry for myself every time it rolled around. Just about every Mother’s Day my husband gets stuck working and so I don’t get spoiled like it seems everyone else does. I don’t get breakfast in bed, flowers waiting for me or help with the chores. It usually ends up being a typical day for me. I would love to say that my children jump right in there and make up for it. But they don’t. So one year I decided that I needed to let … Continue reading →

Do All of Your Children’s Names Begin With the Same Letter?

The Duggar family didn’t start the same first letter name trend, but they’ve certainly perfected it like no other. For the past two decades, Michelle and Jim-Bob Duggar have paid homage to the 10th letter of the alphabet by giving each of their 18 children names that begin with J. There’s Joshua, John-David, Jana, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jeremiah, Jedidiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer and 8-month-old Jordyn-Grace. Kind of puts the Carter, Cole and Cailin combo to shame. It’s not unusual for parents with more than one child to have their kids share the first letter … Continue reading →

Walter Cronkite Dies at 92

I’m sorry if it seems that, in the last few months, the Pop Culture blog has become more of the Dead Celebrity blog, but we have lost so many great personalities. Today, we lost another as Walter Cronkite died at the age of 92. It sometimes seems as if there wasn’t a new story from the twentieth century that Cronkite didn’t cover. World War II? Check. Nuremberg Trials? Check. First man on the moon? Check. Assassination of President John F. Kennedy? Check. Watergate? Check. Not only was Cronkite there for the pivotal times of our last century, he covered each … Continue reading →