Dear Moms of Littles – Here’s Your “*Don’t* Have To Do Holiday List” – You’re Welcome

by Lisa-Jo | Nov 23, 2015 | Cheering for you, Christmas, Motherhood, Rabid fear of parenting

Last year was the first time I cooked a Thanksgiving turkey and put together a family advent countdown calendar. The FIRST TIME EVER IN NEARLY TEN YEARS OF PARENTING. Because that’s how long I’ve been sleep deprived. Dear Moms of Littles, listen up here...

5 Ways to Manage that Mom Who Always Makes Us Feel Insecure

by Lisa-Jo | Oct 21, 2015 | Just plain hard, Motherhood, No more mom guilt, Rabid fear of parenting

I knew a new mom once who made me crazy how quickly she lost all that baby weight. How she didn’t have to drop her son off at daycare every aching morning, who laughed at the easy familiarity of motherhood that seemed like a strange and scary land to me. We sat...

Why My “Difficult” Kid Is a Gift and Not a Reason for Despair

by Lisa-Jo | Oct 12, 2015 | Faith, Family, Kids, Rabid fear of parenting, Raising Boys

The woman who looks back at me from the mirror is someone I never expected to meet. There she is, with her tired eyes and wrinkle lines and the soft brown spots of aging on her hands. Her hair hasn’t been its own color since she turned nineteen. She prefers a shade of...

A Prayer for All the Weary Mothers

by Lisa-Jo | Sep 17, 2015 | Cheering for you, Faith, Family, Motherhood, Rabid fear of parenting

May today be its own unique story. May we remember that these kids aren’t an interruption, a distraction or a nuisance. May we open our eyes to this morning and remember that the two sleepy heads crawling into our bed are a gift. May we wash out bottles and fill...

For When You’re Having an “I Don’t Measure Up” Week

by Lisa-Jo | Sep 8, 2015 | Cheering for you, It Gets Better, Motherhood, Rabid fear of parenting

How do you measure the life of a mom? Is it in diapers changed? Loads of laundry folded? Dishes washed and stacked and put away? Is it in temper tantrums soothed, fevers treated, number of steps walked to rock babies back to sleep? What about all those dentist...

What to Do When Our Kids Are Looking For Heroes In a World Full of Beliebers, Subway Jared and Ashley Madison

by Lisa-Jo | Aug 31, 2015 | Family, Kids, Motherhood, Rabid fear of parenting, Raising Boys

My kids are 10, 7 and 4. And my two oldest – my sons – are old enough these days to long for a hero. They’re old enough to have started noticing. They notice sports stars and singers and tween celebrities. They see the kids who have their own youtube videos that...