My 17 month old did not sleep well, and as I mentioned, my 4-year-old son was up by 6:30am on most mornings. From the moment I get out of bed, it is move-move-move, until bedtime. Tonight I hit the wall. Single parenting is tough. I feel that I have no right to complain. My husband is not even gone for long. Two friends have had babies while their husbands were deployed, … [Read more...]
Make Dads Feel Special
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Old Spice (P&G). The opinions and text are all mine. Please view my disclosure. We need to make dads feel special, because dads matter. When I view my work as a stay-at-home as actual work, it gives me value and makes me feel validated in my sacrifice to focus on home. When I feel that I matter, I am … [Read more...]
Tips for Parenting Alone
Welcome to Mom Motivation Mondays where weekly contributing writers share their motherhood experiences to encourage you to find the joy in being a mom. {This week: Post by Jaimi} I just experienced parenting alone for 6 ½ months. It was not my first time being the solo parent at home with my husband away, but it was the first with 4 kids. Parenting alone is a great … [Read more...]
How to Develop a Parenting Partnership
A parenting partnership has taken my husband and me a few years to create. Seeing eye-to-eye has not always been easy. He is a military guy, so we go from parenting together to him not parenting at all for stretches of time. Distance taught us how important it is to create a parenting partnership for our marriage and children. My husband deployed when our oldest was 6 months … [Read more...]
Encouraging My Husband
It used to bother me. In fact, I probably held a bit of a grudge. When other women would share their proposal story there was romance, excitement, and elaborate details involved. For me, it was better to just gloss over the topic. “He said, 'Will you marry me?' and I said, 'Yes.'” Simple. Straightforward. But it annoyed me for years. Comparison was the real problem, but I took … [Read more...]
Remembering the Why of My Marriage (Great Clips Veteran’s Day)
If you had told me I was going to meet my husband that night, I would have bet against it. I am a different person than I was. It was high school after all. Everyone changes and matures as they grow older. I know I did. I like to think we were stuck together by fate-God’s hand in the matter. … [Read more...]
Complete Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms: Marriage
So, I don't like to admit it, but I am not a perfect wife... Phew! Full disclosure takes a load off!! :) Viewing marriage as a work in progress helps me remember that we are in this together, he and I. It's important to note that I could not be a stay-at-home mom without him. We are a partnership, splitting the work of a house and family, sharing in this effort, … [Read more...]
Working on a Successful Marriage-The 3 C’s {Guest Post}
My husband and I have spent a significant amount of time as an 'island' isolated. Due to several moves across the country that took us away from family and friends, we were basically alone for several years. We had a growing family and were struggling with a major issue in our marriage. We had no one to talk to, no one to advise us, and we weren't sure we would make … [Read more...]
Guide to Set Up a Babysitting Co-op
What if there was a way to always know ahead of time when a babysitter would be available to watch your children? You could pre-plan doctor's appointments or cumbersome errands and always have a trusted adult to babysit. What if when you needed an hour or two to yourself, you could actually have it and not have to pay extra for a babysitter? Sound too good to be … [Read more...]
As the Mother of A Son
Considering my role as the mother of a son, every day I set an example. I am not only sharing with him how he is loved. When my sons see my interactions with my husband, I am defining an example of a wife. I got to thinking… Why is it that when women get together we often complain or joke about our husbands? I have on occasion been with a group of friends and … [Read more...]
The “Other Half” of a Stay-at-Home Mom: The Working Dad
I would be terribly forgetful if I did not mention one phenomenal half of the whole picture on being a stay-at-home mom: the working husband! How in the world could we do what we do without their sacrifice? I sometimes envy my husband leaving for work every day, although not the hour that he wakes up, or the drive from here to there and back. He has so much on his shoulders. I … [Read more...]