Parenting

Mommy Guilt…It’s Inevitable!

Gah-Who else has Mom (or Dad) guilt? I hate to say it, but parenting in general can cause stresses that stir up guilt that can truly make you down and depressed about your own parenting styles or how you interact with your child(ren). Most mom’s I have chatted with have had that pit in their stomach where they feel se terrible about their interaction with one of their kids and making it better seems impossible. I get it. Been there, done that! Just because we suffer from the occasional mom or dad guilt doesn’t mean we are bad parents or there is something wrong with us, it just means we are conscious of our parenting and what we are doing right and wrong in a moment’s time. You may be asking, what exactly is “mom guilt” and how do I navigate through it? Great questions!

By Mary Bockert, ago

Family Dog

The family dog…or should I say the dog that Mom and Dad take care of?!?

In all seriousness, we are extremely grateful we have a pup that completes our family…regardless of who may be the one actually taking care of him. Having a family dog does offer a chance for your children to experience a sense of responsibility. We have a rotating schedule in our house where one week one child is in charge of the dog food and the other in charge of the water dish…the youngest gets off easy at this point. I was surprised at how much the kiddos love helping to take care of the pup…named Barley. There is the occasional “Oops, I forgot to feed the dog!” moment, but for the most part, our family is working as a team to raise a well-loved puppy.

By Mary Bockert, ago

Encouraging Your Kids to Grow

So many times I tell my kids to stop growing for selfish reasons. For some reason, watching my kids grow out of one stage and into another causes a bit of sadness deep in my heart. I quickly get over it and am excited for their new stage they enter but a piece of me dies with that growth. It happens with each of my kids. I know I am not the only parent who feels this way either.

By Mary Bockert, ago

Working with Kids and Stay-at-Home Moms

Working with kids…You may be thinking, “What does she have to add to this topic? I mean, she is a stay-at-home momma, right?”
Well yes, I am a stay at home momma and love every minute of it but on the contrary, I am a working momma. I like to say that I am a “stay-at-home mom that works”…meaning that I consider myself a stay-at-home mom during the daytime hours while the kiddos are awake and while they sleep, I work.

By Mary Bockert, ago

Getting a Family Dog

Barley is (almost) 4 months old and let me tell ya…having a 3 year old toddler and 4 month old puppy is NOT for the faint of heart. I find myself wondering who got into the toilet paper, who broke the crayon to pieces on the living room floor, who took the laundry out of the laundry basket, etc. IT IS A LOT OF WORK. Why did we decide together a puppy you might ask?!?

By Mary Bockert, ago

How to Serve Others with Your Child

Bake some treats for your neighbors

This has to be my favorite–and one we will definitely be doing again this year. Last year, Little Girl and I baked banana bread for our neighbors, but this year I think we may make an assortment of treats, like pumpkin spice donut holes, healthy chocolate peanut butter fudge, coconut-cranberry peanut butter truffles and my triple chocolate peanut butter truffles from the Healthy Holidays eBook. We like to attach a Bible verse proclaiming Christ’s birth.

Last year, we delivered the bread on a rare white Christmas morning, and it was a blast getting to know our neighbors (most of whom invited us inside!).

By Mary Bockert, ago

Getting Ready For Lockdown…Again.

I don’t want to think that we will be in a lockdown yet again, but with the COVID cases rising, the election going a bit crazy and everyone a bit on edge about this virus, I feel like it may just happen. With that being said, if you have littles this is something you may dread. The last lockdown left us with little imagination to make the lockdown “fun” and interesting anymore. We executed some pretty amazing plans to keep the littles busy and did that for many months only to now have no ideas left. I thought I’d help a momma, daddy, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, caretaker out and get some new, fresh ideas out there in case we are quarantined once again.

By Mary Bockert, ago