Remember who I am. 

Yep, that is the number one thing I wish I'd done when my kids were tiny. 

Instead, I turned over every part of myself to them. 

Gave until I had nothing left to give, and then, pushed harder.

Of course our job is to meet their needs when they can't, particularly as in...

Meet Sylvie and her collaborative mama and daddy celebrating her 3rd birthday. Last Saturday, was her first “real kid” birthday party.  

The kind where you invite allll the kids from daycare, and hope for the best while expecting the worst!

Picture this: Lots of  littles  running around (ind...

Honestly, I say those words sometimes too. 

Nope - not the swear words. 🤣I'm not a cusser but be sure to listen to this short podcast episode to hear what I DO say! 

I'll hear myself take a *long, deep sigh* and say, outloud, 🗣️"I'm so bored". 

But the truth is, I'm feeling a lot of things in tha...

Gluten and I hate each other. Okay, that's not entirely true.  It’s more like a double dutch jump rope rhyme:

I love gluten but it hates me. When I eat it, I feel icky!

I don't have celiacs or even a ‘gluten sensitive’ diagnosis, but I do know my body.

When I indulge in gluteny-goodness ...

 I just got back from two weeks on the road. I racked up:

• Three climates
• two time zones
• and a whole lot of amazing adventures.

I was in Colorado, meeting clients, writing, and exploring the Rocky Mountains.

The mornings started at 24 degrees, the afternoons finished at 60 but felt like 8...

Christmas 2011 - Also known as the year we hit the reset button on the holiday.

Christmas is the season of giving and receiving between friends, families, and coworkers, but from the perspective of a little one, it’s all about the ‘getting’.  

The way they give back to us, through their smiles,...

I sat on the floor, face to face with an 18 month old little boy. He was trying to put a circle shaped toy into a square shaped hole.

He tried again and again and again, and it wouldn't fit.  

Frustration strained his face. His hands gripped tightly around the little circle. He tried many ti...

When my kids were one and three, the daily struggles were REAL and honestly, I thought it would never end.  

“Two and four have got to be better, right?” My daily prayer, mantra style. 

When I turned to my village for support they said loving, yet unhelpful, things.  

Don't blink and you...

“It's not very beautiful is it?” We were painting little plaster Halloween creatures and this little four year old’s was multi-colored and multi-layered, hues blending to create new and different shades. 

When I hesitated, he put down the paintbrush held it up to show me and said again, “Nanny C...

"You can each pick one thing" I said to each of my girls as we entered the store. 

With that statement I released any attachment to what that item was.

Whether it was healthy or junk, a tube of bubbles or colored, lined index cards. (Even as a tiny Caroline already had a thing for school supplies!...

It was a quiet summer Saturday morning.  I was up early, a cup of hot coffee in my hand while momming mantras ran through my mind: I will stay calm today. I WILL stay calm today. I can do this. 

The day before with my 4 year old had been hard. The day before that, even harder. Honestly, it had j...

"Ok, it's time to clean up. Help me put these blocks back in the box please."

I was wrapping up a home visit and the recently-turned one year old looked at me and smiled. 

She then did these three things in quick succession:

1. Picked up a block
2. Put it in the wooden box
3. And dumped all the blo...