Lessons from an albino squirrel

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Out of the corner of my eye I see a flash of white.  There it is!  The elusive neighborhood albino squirrel had just darted up a tree outside my window.  Since the winter snow had fallen and blanketed our backyard, I hadn’t seen our little friend as much.  I had missed his fluffy white tail and little pink nose.  He finally blended in with the world around him.

This was not the case last June when I first noticed him scampering across our weathered wooden fence.  I had to look twice to figure out what the little fur-ball was.  With a backyard full of oak trees, there is always an abundance of squirrels, but I had never seen an albino one before.   Continue reading →

I love my kids, but sometimes I hate being a mom

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It’s six o’ clock in the morning and my boys are awake.  They “sneak” into my bedroom and try to crawl into bed with me.  I sleepily protest and send them back to their room.  I can hear them jumping off their beds and wrestling each other to the floor as I doze back to sleep for a few minutes, only to be forced out of bed by the hungry cries of my five month old daughter.

I try to rub the sleep out of my eyes as my daughter persistently nurses.  It had been another “cat-nap” night as I drowsily attended to a son’s nightmare induced sobs, followed soon after by a late night feeding for baby.  Continue reading →

How Jillian Michaels Pointed Me Towards God

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Sweat poured off my body as I strained to finish my last 30 second rep of plank jacks.  My muscles were burning from all the previous strength exercises:  walking push-ups, static lunges, arm curls, to name a few.  I had one minute of abs to complete and my twenty minutes of progress and pain would be over.  A two-minute cool-down and a much-needed shower would complete my workout routine…  Continue reading →

Ode To My Astro Mini-Van

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I drive a 1998 Chevy Astro Mini Van.  It has well-worn gray cloth upholstery, bench seats that are heavy and awkward to move, a tape deck (yes, that’s right, a tape deck), and one sliding door that rattles and squeaks.  There are no power doors or remote power locks, which means I actually have to walk up to my vehicle and insert a key into the door to unlock it.   The driver side power window rolls down without a problem, but doesn’t always come back up on the first, or second, or third attempt.  Oh, and did I mention that it is rear wheel drive? Continue reading →

The power of a small act

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Life is full of the mundane and routine. Many of our routines are healthy… but some are not. Unfortunately, at my house my very spirited 5 ½ year old has gotten into the frustrating routine of battling me at every meal. The usual question: “What are we having for dinner?” The predictable response to every meal choice put on the table: “That’s disgusting! I don’t want to eat that!”

I used to get really frustrated, and even angry about World War 3 breaking out at dinner time, which delighted my little adversary. He loves a good fight with mom! I’ve been trying a new tactic—showing no emotion and reminding my son that if he doesn’t want to eat what I’ve cooked, that’s his choice, but he’ll go to bed hungry. This has been very helpful in diffusing the conflict, but has not taken away my frustration. Continue reading →

Unexpected Joy

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I took all three of my kids to the doctor this past week, and on the way there, I couldn’t help but think of one of our past doctor office experiences…

It was summer time, and I had to take my two-year old son in for his well-child check at the clinic.  I was pregnant with my third child at the time, and was moving slower than I would have liked.  My oldest son was along for the ride and “a ride” is what doctor’s appointments tended to be for us.  I don’t know why, but as soon as we enter the doctor’s office, a switch seems to go off in my little boys’ brains: “conquer and destroy!”  They turn into little monsters (cute and lovable, but monsters nonetheless).  This visit was no exception. Continue reading →

He Heard My Cry

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It was a preschool morning at our house, which meant I had to get all three kids up, clothed, fed, make a sack lunch, and get us out the door and to preschool by 9:00 in the morning. This is no feeble task when you are wrestling a five, 2 ½ year old, and a 4 month baby out the door. I’ve learned we have to start putting on shoes, hats, jackets, etc., about half an hour before we actually have to be anywhere or we will never make it on time. And often, we still don’t! Continue reading →