The Blog

Parenting · December 12, 2013

How You Can Guard the Gate to Electronics

Phones, iPads, laptops, and video games may be a big part of your child’s Christmas joy. But after a week of policing your child’s use of their new technology, you may feel slightly less joyful. Electronics are here to stay and as a mom protecting your child while using electronis is your job. I call this guarding the gate to electronics. An excerpt from The Passionate Mom. Gate 5: The Electronics Gate This gate leads to today’s most popular entertainments: television, computers, music, movies, video games . . . I have covered much of why this is a gateway privilege. Anyone, adult or child, can lose himself in electronics for hours a day. I confess: I love technology and the sleek efficiency of what this gate has to offer. Gates are opportunities, but if misused, any gate can be an enticing distraction. (click to tweet) Electronics are not evil. They are wonderful tools for learning and entertainment, but they do require wisdom and self-control. (click to tweet) There are good choices and bad to be made in what you allow your child to watch, listen to, and play. The stakes in the choices are getting higher. Television and movies are more explicit today than even ten years ago. …

Parenting · December 9, 2013

How to Give Your Children Wings

“Good parents give their children roots and wings. Roots to know where home is, wings to fly away and exercise what’s been taught them.” — Jonas Salk Roots are easy. But how do you give your children wings to fly? I still struggle with the wings. It is so counter to everything in me as a mom. Or shall I say a protective mama bird who really doesn’t want hurt chicks? And yet, it is one of the most important things we can do. It is a gift only you can give. Give your child wings and you give them a much deeper learning experience. The moms who fear the sorrow of their child growing up have a tendency to clip their child’s wings. They inadvertently hold their child back from the adventure God is planning for them. As a parent, it is so much better to let them go. Give your child wings and you give them your confidence–your blessing. You say to them in your actions, “I know you can do it. I believe in you.” Whether we realize it or not this process of taking flight doesn’t begin at 18 it begins when they are young. Giving …

Parenting · December 1, 2013

How a Mom Mafia Can Help You Protect Your Kids

Sharing information with friends about their children can be a rather tough thing for a mom. Many moms do not want to hear that their children are in trouble. With five teenagers, I have been on both sides of bad news, the giving and the receiving. I say the following with great urgency and concern: moms, swallow your pride and listen. If you don’t listen, you may close a door to future information that you need to know—information that could save your child from a troublesome situation, such as an abusive boyfriend or drugs. I know moms like this; they choose privacy and pride when what their children need is open and honest communication between parents that will deliver to them the protection of accountability. Instead, try to build a group of moms who stand together; at iMOM we jokingly call this the “Mom Mafia.” Here are some tips on starting your own Mom Mafia. 1. Build relationships with key informants. If you don’t have a social relationship or friendship with any of the parents of your kids’ friends, start one. It’s important to know these people well if your child is going to be hanging out in their homes and spending lots …

Encouragement · November 28, 2013

Encouragement · November 26, 2013

Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt

Have you been to, heard of, taken advantage of all the cool kids activities at… Well go, see, have fun–today! I am blogging at their site with a …. Why? Because this is a great site. Kids love adventure and after that turkey on Thursday everyone over the age of 2o will be comatose. Everyone under the age of 10 will be bored and ready for some action. So send them on a mission and make it fun–cousins unite in a colonial adventure from me and My Kid’s Adventure. Hop to it and Happy Thanksgiving!

Parenting · November 15, 2013

Home Alone Rules for Kids

Eventually there will come a time when your kids will have to stay home alone. Make sure that they are well-prepared with the right safety tips in mind and the right phone numbers to call if necessary. Use these resources from iMOM to give you more peace of mind when your children are home alone. 10 Simple Rules for When You’re Home Alone Home Alone Rules By State When Mom’s Away Planner Home Safety: Leaving Your Child At Home

Parenting · November 13, 2013

Mother Son Bucket List

It’s easy to fall into a mindset of just going through the motions. It’s easy to go through the days without really seeing or caring or experiencing. It’s easy to just get to the next day without focusing on the moments it takes to get there. As parents, how do we get out of this habit? How do we make the most of the time we have with our kids? To help me do this I created a Mother Son Bucket List.

Encouragement · November 11, 2013

Count Your Blessings, Instead of the Cost

When I saw the image below I thought surely someone had snapped a picture of Mark and I on our last vacation—just kidding! This couldn’t be us. We don’t look this good and we weren’t alone on our last vacation. We had five kids with us. We also wouldn’t be lying on the sand. We Floridians know that you can’t get all comfy and serene on sticky, itchy sand. Nope, these are models for sure. The sand that this lovely, serene couple is lounging on is the soft sort found on the beaches in Sarasota where my husband grew up. We go there often—it is soft to walk on, beautifully white and makes the water look clearer and bluer. However, it’s still sticky like all sand and so fine that it is harder to get off.

Encouragement · November 6, 2013

Using My Productivity Tools in Relationships

Sometimes, it feels as if there’s an app for everything. Technology seems to have a solution to every problem, a way to make any situation easier. But when it comes to relationships in our family, friendships and just using our gifts to serve, there isn’t an app to do it for us. The best you’ve got is right inside you not in an app. So rather than looking for a quick trick to help, try taking a deeper look at the strengths you have already built in you and I do have a little help for that. We all have strengths within us- whether it’s encouraging, listening, taking initiative, or anything else. Recognizing your God-given gifts can make you great at relationships with family, friends, and even co-workers on the job. Recently, I took the Clifton Strengths Finder assessment with Gallup to understand some of my own strengths and it really helped and even motivated me. Yes, it does cost $10 to take the online evaluation, but it is knowledge worth knowing! I recommend anyone interested in more deeply understanding their strengths try taking it as well! According to Gallup, here are 3 of my strengths and how I…

Marriage · November 5, 2013

A Fall Date Night for You and Your Man

It is easy to fall in love with Fall. But in Florida, we have to wait a long, long, sometime never-ending time for Fall. It was 86 degrees on Halloween night last year, and the poor kids were sweating in their costumes. People are often envious of our balmy weather, but when the rest of the world is sporting sleek boots and cozy sweaters I get a little green longing for fiery orange and falling red. When Fall finally makes an appearance, we scramble to milk it for all it’s worth. And it’s worth at least several romantic, cozy, intimate, and cheap date nights a season. Fall in love with the season again using my fun fall date idea.