As a parent of a toddler, hearing birds chirp in spring makes you stop in your tracks. You find puddles rather than avoiding them. And you throw a birthday party for your daughter’s “children,” complete with candles, singing, and pie. “Jason,” the stuffed dinosaur, is turning 5 years old, and “Piggy," a wooden elephant, has the same birthday, but with an undetermined age. Ellie spends the evening making gifts and getting her “children” ready for dinner and dessert. Once we ha

It’s 8pm and my entire family is asleep. Husband on the couch next to me. Toddler snoring quietly on my chest. Dog curled up on the chair beside the fire. Fall has always been my favorite time of year and it’s because of nights like this. A hearty dinner, family and friends, a fire in the fireplace, and football on television. A home full of warmth and love and laughter. We always have great gatherings this time of year. Amazing friends and awesome spreads worthy of a magazin

In the eyes of my toddler, waking up means a fresh start and a new day. I, on the other hand, can’t believe it’s morning. Already. In the eyes of my toddler, showering is a horrific experience of relentlessly being pelted with water and no chance of escape until “clean.” For me, showering is just the precursor to a hot cup of coffee. In the eyes of my toddler, it’s perfectly acceptable to throw a tantrum on the way to, at, and being dragged away from, a super fun activity tha

My daughter unapologetically loves dinosaurs. She wears t-shirts made for boys because Spider-Man and Batman aren't found in the little girls section. She builds with blocks. She has a set of tools and enjoys spending time with her dad in the garage. At the same time, she takes care of her baby dolls, feels pretty in dresses, makes a mean dirt cake, and gives me kisses and I love you's. Ellie is who she is. She likes what she wants, plays with what she wants, and does what sh

Is it a prerequisite for motherhood to have an unhealthy amount of guilt? Or is it caused by the gig? I'm an anxious person by nature, so I've always felt a lot of guilt over a lot of things. But as a mom, I feel guilty about pretty much everything. For example, I took a few days off from work this week. Is Ellie at school today, even though I'm home? Yes, yes she is. Do I feel guilty? Sure. But I have to remember that I want to get some housework done and to take some time f

As I glance at the clock, I notice it's a few minutes after 8pm. Ellie's bedtime! I turn to her and say, "Ellie, guess what? It's bedtime!" Immediately, she throws her head back and falls to her knees, wailing "No!" "It's dark outside," I say. "It's actually past your bedtime." More tears. Then, desperation. Anything to postpone the inevitable. "Please, can I have more milk?" "No, it's time for bed." "Please, can I watch a movie?" "No, it's time for bed." "Please, can I have

I'm not ready for you to get your first haircut. Am I pushing it off because your long, blonde hair is so wild and crazy, just like you? Or because once it's cut it will lose that baby softness that keeps you little? I'm not ready for you to stop asking me to play. Sure, sometimes I think I have more important things to do and I don't really want to sit on the floor and try to color as you decide you only want the crayons that I'm currently using. But, someday you'll be askin

How do you keep your head above water when your toddler begins to undermine everything you ask of them? Like, literally has something to say. All the time. Sometimes it feels like I'm arguing with a wall. A very stubborn wall. Ellie has always been very talkative (she gets that from her father). And she has been independent and strong-willed from the beginning (traits she also gets from her father). So I knew it was coming. I just didn't expect to feel this helpless. There ar

I'm done. I'm really done...with diapers. Let me start at the beginning. Before Ellie was born, I had decided that I wanted to use cloth diapers. I thought that it would be a great way to save money and I'd read that cloth-diapered babies sometimes potty train earlier. I was in. So, I purchased some new, some used, and joined a local Facebook group to get tips and tricks from other moms. What ended up working for us (after much trial and error) was a combination of inserts, t