Teaching your kids to self-soothe by letting them “cry-it-out” gets a lot of heat. Some parents swear by it, other parents swear at the parents who practice it. It’s sure way to start a heated debate at playgroup. When my oldest was a baby, I was desperate for sleep and didn’t know what else to do. [...]

There is a shockingly easy way to tame tantrums and moderate meltdowns. I’m still amazed at how well it works with my boys. It’s a little trick called validation. Kids are full of emotions. Happy. Sad. Tired. Hungry. Irritated. Frustrated. And downright mad! Kids don’t always know what they are experiencing and emotional outbursts can [...]

I love hugs. But there are two types of hugs that I simply adore. #1. Sick hugs. Yes, it’s sad and a bit heartbreaking when your kids are sick, but man, they give the best hugs and snuggles when they are a bit under the weather. #2. “I missed you!” hugs. When my kids were [...]

After an exhausting week in Utah with my dad in the hospital, I was able to sleep in my own bed. Not too surprisingly, my husband and I were joined in the middle of the night by two extra bodies (three if you count the fuzzy orange body of my cat, Elvis). Although I was [...]

I recently wrote a post on how to keep yourself healthy. Because moms don’t get sick days.  Last year I learned a lot about what to do when your kids get sick–hospital sick–when my youngest had Kawasaki disease. Well, recently my dad got sick. Scary hospital sick. Starting with a stomach ache, the situation quickly [...]