Today is my older son’s birthday. Whenever these special days come around, I have this desire to make everything perfect. I can remember the joy I felt on my birthdays as I was growing up, and I want my own children to experience that joy as well.
In our family, we have made a decision that the day of the actual birthday is spent with just our immediate family. This means no grandparents, friends, etc. It is a special day just for us. We spend the day at a playground we don’t normally visit, and sometimes have a picnic lunch. My children know we will, at some point in the day, visit a party store in order to get a mylar balloon for the child celebrating and a latex balloon for the other child. The celebrant will also be allowed to choose where our family will eat dinner. (This usually means us parents must suffer through greasy burgers or stale pizza, but we put on a smile just the same.) We will also have a small cake just for us and a few presents will be opened.
I think I get just as excited as my children on these special occasions. My mood is better, and I seem to have a near endless supply of patience. We should celebrate birthdays more often. Today is going to be a great day.
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Written by Laura on July 16, 2010
My baby turned three-years-old this week, and he still takes my breath away. As I am sure most any mother can, I am able to clearly recall the day he was born. It was a quick, easy (if there is such a thing when there are no medications involved) birth. He was placed on my chest immediately after he was born as the nurses cleaned him. I can remember being completely elated and my breath was go
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Written by Laura on June 21, 2010
A few months ago, and for several years previous to then, meal times were extremely stressful with my two little boys. I have one child who will eat just about anything except common kid’s foods, along with anything his brother does eat, which is a menu consisting of about ten items. The other, literally gags if he is made to try a new food he does not want to eat.
My husband and I had trie
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Written by Laura on April 23, 2010
My family, including my mom and step-dad, recently returned from a much needed vacation to Orlando, Florida. While there, we visited Sea World, Walt Disney World and Gator Land. We were busy with activities from start to finish nearly each and every day. Since our days would be so packed, we wanted to take a planned, but flexible approach to our visits to these parks. The first day proved to b
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Written by Laura on March 29, 2010
Right now, it’s whining. My two boys, especially my older four-year-old, whine about everything. They whine if they don’t get their way. They whine if they want something. They whine…well…for reasons I don’t think I’ll ever understand. I don’t know if my toddler is getting it from my preschooler or the other way around. It may be that my preschooler
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Written by Laura on March 2, 2010
rennen has light blonde hair. Elliot has brown hair. Brennen eats like a bird. Elliot eats like a horse. Brennen likes structure and order. Elliot prefers spontaneity and chaos. These two children couldn’t be more different, and yet, they are brothers. Perhaps it has to do with birth order or maybe God just wanted to chuckle at his own creative abilities. Whatever the reason, my boy
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Written by Laura on January 9, 2010
As parents, we have all had times where we know there is an area in our parenting skills that is being neglected. I have had times where I can feel my patience has been worn particularly thin. I have also dealt with bouts of constant raised voices. I often feel as though I should be developing some particular area of my sons’ lives. “We should be studying Spanish more” and &#
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Written by Laura on December 15, 2009
I love to watch my children learn. There are moments throughout the day where I can see the light go on. I can actually see them processing information. This is especially evident in my four-year-old whom is in a stage of asking about the meaning of various words which he has heard.
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Written by Laura on December 4, 2009
I live in an area of the country where the snow has already blessed our yard with its presence during the month of October. This early snowfall has come to be expected by anyone who has lived in our area for more than a year or two. Although I know that this first bit of white will not last long, it is a sure sign of things to come.
As a child, I can remember longingly gazing outside for the fir
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Written by Laura on November 3, 2009
Where I live, Trick-or-Treat night is always the Thursday before Halloween. So last night, we walked around our block having a grand time going from house to house as my children, or should I say Dino the Dinosaur and adorable, little Lion, kindly asked for treats. All was going splendidly until my older son asked to go to a house I had tried to avoid.
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Written by Laura on October 30, 2009
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