Birthday Party Wins and Fails
Since this issue of Parents & Kids Magazine has a lot to do with birthday parties, I thought I’d revisit some of my own children’s birthday party “wins” and “fails” from over the years. Win: My first child’s first birthday party included pretty…
Hard Conversations
Hard conversations are part of life. And for those of us who really don’t like confrontation, these conversations can be extremely taxing. The easy way out would be just to avoid them altogether–to “keep the peace”–, but we all know…
Pain and Perspective
A few Saturdays ago, I had big plans for the day. I had a huge to-do list, since our big yard sale/fundraiser for our adoption was just a week away. I had items to gather, donations to sort, errands to…
Our Family Is Growing
A few years ago, Kevin and I began to feel that we should expand our family. It’s not that we thought that having three kids wasn’t enough. We weren’t bored. We weren’t missing the baby days. Rather, we felt compelled…
Now Entering the Teen Years
It’s official. I am now the parent of a teenager. My daughter Callie turns 13 this month, and I can hardly believe it. Just like every other parent in the world, I find myself wondering where the time went. I…
Boy, Oh Boy!
LEGOs, comic books, football, video games…These all have two things in common. (1) I have never had much to do with them. (2) My son is crazy about them. Caleb Partridge is my only son, and he’s sandwiched between two…
It Takes a Village
I used to kind-of laugh at the saying “It takes a village to raise a child.” But that was before I became a mother and realized how true that statement is. I, for one, could never make it through motherhood…
A Tough Break
“Mama, come quick! Callie hurt her arm!,” Katie ran to tell me. Our family was attending an M-Braves game with another family, and the kids had gone off to play in the grass behind center field. Since I was in…
A Brand New Baby
I got to hold a newborn baby (my niece) the other day, and I was reminded that there really is nothing else in the world that quite compares. I mean, it’s a whole new person right there in your hands!…
The Trouble with Facebook – or – My Lack of Confidence in Parenting Publicly
I’m the first one to admit how much I love Facebook. But I’ll also admit that I’m glad it wasn’t even around (except for college students) when my kids were babies and toddlers. While there is truth to the idea…
