Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

Category Archives: Parenting

The Newborn Days w/Baby #2 – Keeping Your Sanity the 1st Month

The Newborn Days w/Baby #2 – Keeping Your Sanity the 1st Month

Wow, just 6 short weeks ago I shared my last preggo update…10 days later I gave birth to a magical little girl, and today she is celebrating one month of life!  The past 4 weeks have been a whirlwind of eating, sleeping, and not sleeping…and showering every now and then.  Slowly but surely we’ve started to get into a groove with life as a family of four.  There have been a few key strategies and pieces of gear that have helped us find our stride, so I thought I’d share them… 1.  OLDER SIBLING ONE ON ONE TIME –  The…Read the rest of this entry →

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Why the Second Baby is Easier…and Harder

Why the Second Baby is Easier…and Harder

From the moment we told the world we were pregnant again, it seemed that everyone that had been there, done that more than once, felt obligated to express their opinions.  It seemed like everyone clearly fell into one of two camps – the “Number 2 will be a breeze compared to Number 1” folks, and the “Number 2 makes life really complicated” people.  With such a wide range of (unsolicited) experiences to take in, we really didn’t know what to expect.  (And considering that our number 2 is not even a month old yet, we hardly qualify as experts when…Read the rest of this entry →

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How to Cultivate Independent Play in Your Child

How to Cultivate Independent Play in Your Child

It’s probably safe to assume that most parents would agree that allowing your child to park him/herself in front of the TV all day is a bad idea.  So why is it that in 2009, the average 2-5 year old watched a screen (TV, DVD, iPad, computer) for an astounding 32 hours per week?!?  (And 6-11 year olds weren’t that much better, at 28 hours per week.)  That’s more than an entire day out of every week!  As shocking as those statistics are, I think the reason behind them is simple.  Parents are tired, and stretched too thin – an educational DVD…Read the rest of this entry →

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On Change…and How Love Multiplies

On Change…and How Love Multiplies

 As I sit here and type this with my little girl snuggled up against my chest in our Boba 4G carrier (review coming soon!), it’s getting harder and harder to remember what life without Baby Z was like.  I remember that strange phenomenon happening with C, but for some reason it still took me by surprise this time around.   I guess that’s because families aren’t  designed to stay the same.  Even if your family is finished adding members, everyone is getting older with each passing year (and each passing minute for the youngest ones!)  That means the family dynamic…Read the rest of this entry →

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The 5 Most Unpleasant Things I’m Thankful For This Year…

The 5 Most Unpleasant Things I’m Thankful For This Year…

Well, it’s Thanksgiving again, and like many of you probably have, I’ve taken some time to pause and reflect on what I’m thankful for this year.  However, at the risk of sounding cliche and sappy, this post is going to take a different perspective than the usual rote lists of blessings.  Often times, situations that seem unpleasant at first glance end up being the gateway to other blessings that we never would have encountered without the former unpleasantries.  I think it was Garth Brooks who once sang that “some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”  I’ve certainly found that…Read the rest of this entry →

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“Not all who wander are lost.” —JRR TOLKIEN