I’ve heard Facebook described as a curated version of your life – sometimes building a blindingly perfect version for all to see. Recently, a friend posted a very real and honest parenting picture on Facebook, and it was such a great example of bravery, acceptance, and support; so with her permission I’d like to share it as a reminder to…
Category: PEPS Parent Bloggers
When It’s Really Hard
I think I just had a true emotional breakdown. In car with Anderson. Not listening ad nauseam. Can feel my stress level reaching cataclysmic, desperate, absolutely miserable levels. I raise my voice, deep, gravelly, shaking—it doesn’t even sound like my own—desperately pleading with my 4-year-old to be quiet. I feel helpless and truly tortured. I have to leave the car.…
The rewards of leading a newborn PEPS group
Leading daytime newborn groups has given me the opportunity to meet and be part of many families’ lives over the past 4 years (nearly 100 in fact!). Sitting with moms once a week for 2 hours keeps my own perspective on parenting fresh, and also lets me help other moms. I like to focus on moms (versus dads or couples)…
Who will you meet in your PEPS group?
When you attend your first PEPS meeting, I think it’s natural to come in with a bit of anxiety – not sure what to expect and not sure who you will meet. You try your best to “come as you are” but at the same time, trying to impress…a little. Do you measure up to the other parents? Will they…
How do you know you’re done?
According to family lore, my parents always just knew they were done after two babies. It was crystal clear from the moment my little sister was born: family complete. End of story. Throughout my own parenting journey, I’ve heard a similar refrain from other parents, usually uttered in a tone of outright certainty: I’m one and done. I’m two and through. Three…
Spring parenting is finally here
Maybe it was the tickle of the breeze in my hair as I readied the soil for snap pea starts, or maybe it was the joyful ring of my daughters giggling as they splashed at the water table, their feet bare and their sweatshirts abandoned. Maybe it was the realization that our gloves have grown lonesome in their drawer for over a…
Dear Brand New Mom: Remember This
Dear Brand New Mom, There are some things during this newborn phase that you will likely want to quickly forget – but some things you will want to remember forever. But what about those details you didn’t know you’d want to remember? I am a scrapbooker and photo historian by nature: I love taking pictures to remember things. However, it’s…
Dear Brand New Mom: Listen To What They Can’t Say
Dear Brand New Mom, Learning to understand your child’s cues is a skill you will work hard to develop over their lifetime. It starts when they are newborns and continues when they are teenagers. It didn’t dawn on me that this was a lifelong skill until I was faced with two tweens who have their own way of communicating. I don’t…
ABCDs of Marriage & Money
by Zach Brittle One of the most common areas of conflict for couples is around the issue of finances. It’s a tricky topic because it’s one of the only issues in a marriage that is measurable. The ability to measure gives us the ability to assign worth. Assigning worth is dangerous business in a relationship, especially when it opens the…
Armchair Quarterbaby
by Shelly Mazzanoble I come from a sports-loving family who taught me the names of every NHL team, the location of every MLB stadium, and which NBA teams had mascots. (Very important to an eight-year old girl.) But when it comes to the NFL, ask me to decipher the difference between a touchback and a fullback, and I deflate quicker…